China: India, the Origin of Pagodas

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The Origin of Pagodas

 

"The origin of pagodas, like that of Buddhism, can be traced to

India." China Internet Information Center

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Ancient Chinese architecture boasts a rich variety of styles and

high levels of construction. There were residences, official

buildings, palaces, temples, altars, gardens, bridges, city walls

and so on. Construction took the form of lou (multistoryed

buildings), tai (terraces), ting (pavilions), ge (two-storey

pavilions), xuan (verandas with windows), xie (pavilions or houses

on terraces), wu (rooms along roofed corridors), etc. All these

architectural forms were recorded in early documents of Chinese

history. Pagodas, however, appeared relatively late in China. A

Chinese term for pagoda did not exist until the first century. The

reason is that this new form of architecture was introduced to China

only when Buddhism spread to the country. The origin of pagodas,

like that of Buddhism, can be traced to India. The relation between

Buddhism and pagodas is explained in Buddhist literature, which says

that pagodas were originally built for the purpose of preserving the

remains of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. According to Buddhist

scripture, when Sakyamuni's body was cremated after his death, his

disciples discovered that his remains crystallized into unbreakable

shiny beads. They were called sarira, or Buddhist relics, as were

his hair, teeth and bones. Later, the remains of other Buddhist

monks of high reputation were also called sarira. Since more often

than not, no such precious shiny beads could be found in the ashes

of cremated Buddhist monks, other things, such as gold, silver and

crystal objects or precious stones, were used instead. In Sanskrit

pagoda (or stupa) meant tomb. Before the pagoda was introduced to

China, it had already had a considerable period of development in

India. Beside serving as tombs, pagodas were built in grottoes or

temples for offering sacrifices to people's ancestors. When the

Indian word for pagoda was first translated into Chinese, there were

some twenty different versions. A renowned scholar of the Qing

Dynasty, Ruan Yuan (1764-1849), summarized the history of the

pagoda's development in China in his essay "On the Characteristics

of Pagodas" included in his Yan Jing Shi Ji (Collection of Essays

from Yan Jing Studio). He said that during the Eastern Han Dynasty

(25-220) both the doctrine and preachers of Sakyamuni's religion

were called futu. Their residence and the object of their worship

was a building of seven or nine storeys, each surrounded by

banisters. In Sanskrit this kind of building was called a stupa.

>From the Jin Dynasty to the Southern and Northern Dynasties (265-

589), when the Buddhist scriptures were translated into Chinese,

there was no equivalent for the Hindu word for pagoda in the Chinese

language, nor was there anything in China similar to the peculiar

structure. Therefore, a new Chinese character was created to stand

for the Buddhist tower, or pagoda. The new character was ta, which

first appeared in Zi Yuan (Essays on Chinese Characters) by Ge Hong

(284-364), a scholar of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Ta is a much better

translation than many other versions, such as futu or fotu, because

it contains the radical meaning earth or soil, so it can be

understood as an indication of a tomb. Some scholars believed that

the character ta could be interpreted as an earthen tomb in which

Buddha was buried, so it was a satisfactory equivalent for the word

pagoda. Buddhism spread in China not only because of its doctrines

but also because of its concrete images, such as the religious

sculptures and pagodas. It became a popular religion after the White

Horse Temple was built near Luoyang, Henan Province, during the

reign (58-75) of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Legend has

it that the emperor once dreamed of a golden man more than three

meters tall with a halo over his head flying around his imperial

palace. The next day the emperor called his ministers to court and

asked them to interpret his dream. One of his ministers, Fu Yi,

said, "In the West there is a god called Buddha. The golden man Your

Majesty saw in your dream looked like him." So the emperor

dispatched officials, Cai Yin, Qin Jing, Wang Zun and others, to

India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan to learn the doctrine of Buddhism.

When they reached Central Asia, they met two Buddhist masters from

India and acquired from them Buddhist scriptures and a statue of

Buddha. They also invited the Indian Buddhists to China to lecture

on Buddhism. When the Indian Buddhists arrived in Luoyang, then the

capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Ming gave them a warm

welcome and built a temple for them to live in the suburbs of

Luoyang. Originally, the Chinese character si, meaning temple, stood

for an official building that, in ancient China, ranked second only

to the emperor's imperial palace. To show his respect for Buddhism,

the emperor ordered that the residence of the Indian Buddhists be

called a si, and ever since, Buddhist temples have been called that.

If pagodas were brought to China from India, what did the pagodas in

India look like? There used to be two kinds of pagodas in India:

those used as tombs for Buddhist relics were called stupas; those

serving as shrines or monuments were called temples. No relics were

buried in the latter in most cases. Both kinds of pagodas underwent

great changes in style after being introduced to China and became

integrated with China's traditional architecture and culture. The

latter pagoda was also called caitya in Sanskrit. In India they were

originally grottoes dug out of stone cliffs. Religious sculptures

were placed inside the caves and small pagodas were built at the

back as memorials. Usually space was cleared in front of the pagoda

for religious ceremonies. After being introduced to China, this kind

of structure developed into the so-called grotto temple. Typical

Chinese grottoes were much smaller than their Indian counterparts,

so no religious ceremonies could be held inside. Usually a separate

temple was built in front of or beside the grottoes to house

Buddhist monks and for assemblies as well. The pagoda placed at the

back of an Indian grotto changed into an ornamental pillar either at

the back or in the middle of the grotto. In fact, the Chinese temple

was different from its Indian counterpart in both form and function.

In India there was once a kind of special grotto called vihara in

which Buddhist monks lived. In the middle of such a grotto a square

or rectangular platform was built for Buddhist preachers, to sit on

to give lectures on Buddhism. At the back of the grotto a small

pagoda sculpture was erected in front of a small niche, serving as a

place for praying. Along the front and side walls of the grotto many

tiny rooms were dug out, each big enough for only one monk to sleep

in. Since each of the rooms was merely one square zhang (about ten

square meters) in size, later the bedrooms of the abbots and monks

in a Buddhist monastery were called fangzhang (meaning one square

zhang) in Chinese. Of course, most Buddhist abbots actually lived in

much bigger rooms. Such grotto temples, popular in the early

development of Buddhism in India, were found in very few places in

China. In fact, the Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province may be the

only place where remnants of similar structures can be found today.

For instance, Caves No.267 to 271 at Dunhuang, dug during the

Northern Liang period (397-439), used to be a group of related

caves, with Cave No. 268 as the center, to which Caves No. 267 and

270 on the southern wall and Caves No. 269 and 271 on the northern

wall were attached. In fact, all four attached caves were merely

recesses big enough for only one person to sit with bent knee. It is

believed that they were dug for the monks to sit in meditation, not

for them to live in. Cave No. 285, dug during the Western Wei period

(535-556), also contains four such recesses in its southern and

northern walls, less than a square meter. On the ceiling of the main

cave there is a painting of thirty-five monks sitting in meditation

in some remote mountain caves. From their size, the recesses as a

place of meditation were only symbolic. The characteristics of these

caves show that the so-called vihara underwent great changes after

they were introduced to China from India. We have learned that the

pagodas designed as tombs for Buddhist relics were soon integrated

with China's traditional architecture and culture and assumed

Chinese characteristics after they were introduced to China from

India. Most ancient pagodas still existing today in China are the so-

called temple pagodas of Chinese style. Though they are called

sarira pagodas, sometimes Buddhist relics are not inside. Few stupas

believed to hold any relics of Sakyamuni have survived even in India

or they have been destroyed and reconstructed repeatedly over the

years retaining little of their original features. Among the

earliest of such stupas is one built around the first century. It

resembles a tomb with a domelike top in the middle. A pole with a

dish-shaped object was erected on the top, and a platform surrounded

by a balustrade served as the base. Stairs in front lead up to the

platform. Four gateways face in four directions. On each side of the

front gate is an ornamental column with exquisite relief sculptures

of lions. They are similar to the ornamental columns erected in

front of ancient tombs in China. Another stupa featuring an inverted-

bowl-shaped body is located forty-five kilometers from the town of

Gorakopa in northern India. It is believed to be the place where a

famous Indian Buddhist monk attained nirvana. Though it has been

destroyed and reconstructed several times, it still resembles the

style of the great stupa mentioned earlier, which looks like a big

tomb. The Lamaist dagobas in China have inherited this style. Great

changes have also taken place in the structure of Indian pagodas. At

Buddh Gaya in Gaya County, Bihar State, there is a pagoda where

Sakyamuni is believed to have awakened to the truth of Buddhism.

Behind the pagoda there is a bodhi tree and under the tree is a

solid rock seat, called vajrasana. Legend has it that Sakyamuni

attained his Buddhahood while sitting on this seat. The structure of

the pagoda, therefore, is called the vajrasana style, which is

completely different from that of the stupas described earlier.

Pagodas of the vajrasana style also appeared in China. The earliest

images of this kind of pagoda are in a mural in Cave No. 285 of the

Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang, a work of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (557-

581), and a small stone sculpture preserved in Chongfu Temple in

Shuoxian County, Shanxi Province, believed to have been made in 454.

The Dunhuang mural shows a square platform on which stand five

pagodas; the one in the middle is much bigger and more spectacular

than the ones at the four comers. Each of the five pagodas has seven

storeys with a precious bead on top. Another small stone sculpture,

made in 455 and found at the old site of Chongfu Temple, and a

similar one made during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and found in

Nanchan Temple on Mount Wutai also bear this style, but the

Vajrasana in the mural at Dunhuang more closely resembles existing

structures than the small stone sculptures at Chongfu Temple.

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