| Liuheta
(Six Harmonies) Pagoda (originally 971, rebuilt 1152
onward)
other
sites in Hangzhou |
Hangzhou, China |
Click on an image to enlarge
Liuheta (Six Harmonies Pagoda) is a huge structure originally built during the Song dynasty in 971. It was originally designed as a lighthouse to help boats navigate the Qianliang River, which it overlooks. The pagoda was a Buddhist structure from the beginning and was named after the six regulations of Buddhism. As pagodas tend to do in China, this one burned down several times, but the basic form of the present pagoda dates to 1152, with the last major renovation occurring in 1900. The pagoda has 13 stories of rafters on the outside, but is divided into seven stories on the inside. The layout is an octagon, representing the Eightfold Path of Buddhism, with masonry and stone wall. What makes the pagoda so impressive is the floor space it occupies, several times greater than the footprint of other similarly aged pagodas in China. This is undoubtedly due to the use of two concentric octagons in the floor plan. This leaves a central niche on each floor, surrounded by a ring of halls. Wooden floors have been built jutting out from the second ring of stones, from which an excellent view of the river and the mountains can be taken in.
Bibliography
All images copyright 2001 Professor
Kerk L. Phillips of Brigham Young University, Utah, USA.
Visit his webpage at www.pomosa.com
Boyd, Andrew. Chinese
Architecture and Town Planning: 1500 B.C. - A.D. 1911
Holmesdale Press Ltd., London.
1962
http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~hangying/hangzhou/hangzhou.html
http://www.travelchinaguide.com
http://www.LIUHETA.sz.js.cn/english/zhuye.htm