Baisigou Square Pagoda
Encyclopedia
Baisigou Square Pagoda (Chinese ) was a brick pagoda
in Helan County, Ningxia
, China
, built during the Western Xia
period (1038–1227). It is situated in an isolated location about 10 km into the Baisigou Valley on the eastern side of the Helan Mountains, northwest of Yinchuan, but may have been the site of an important Buddhist temple during the Western Xia. The pagoda was illegally destroyed in 1990; archaeological investigation of the ruins has uncovered a large number of Tangut artefacts and Buddhist relics, including books and manuscripts written in the Tangut language
and script
.
Local archaeologist Niu Dasheng (牛達生) (b.1933), who worked at the Ningxia Museum, thought that there may be cultural relics at the pagoda, or even an underground chamber like the one found at Famen Temple
after its pagoda semi-collapsed in 1981, therefore he organised an expedition to carry out an archaeological investigation of the site and to clear the rubble. In addition to archaeologists, his team included two police officers who were investigating the crime, and twenty or so soldiers from a unit of the People's Liberation Army
who were to help move the rubble. In August 1991, after receiving permission from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage
, Niu's team headed off to the site of the ruined pagoda, which was several hours from the nearest road, and could only be reached by foot, with donkeys carrying their equipment. The team lived in caves near the pagoda for the duration of the expedition, but there was no source of drinkable water nearby, and so bottled water had to be transported in by donkey.
On the sixth day the team uncovered a large number of historical artefacts dating to the Western Xia
period (1038–1227), including:
These objects were all concentrated in an area about 2 m in diameter, underneath about 1 m of rubble in the centre of the ruins, and were mixed in with earth, branches, bird carcasses and bird skeletons. The archaeologists determined that the artefacts had been housed in chambers occupying the tenth and twelfth stories of the pagoda, and that as these chambers had an opening to the outside on the south side they had thus been used as a roost for birds.
The books and manuscripts comprised both religious texts (Buddhist sutra
s) and secular texts, including the first known collection of Chinese poetry written by Tangut poets. The most important text discovered was a printed edition in nine volumes of a previously unknown Tangut translation of a Tibetan Tantric
Buddhist text and commentaries entitled the Auspicious Tantra of All-Reaching Union
, which has been identified as being the earliest known example of a book printed using wooden movable type.
Excavation of the pagoda base also showed that there was no specially built foundation platform underneath the pagoda, as is usually the case, but it was built on a foundation of broken stones. The pagoda was solid inside, with a central supporting pillar that was grounded in a depression 1.4 m in circumference and 2.1 m deep at the bottom of the pagoda. Although the pagoda was solid, there were small, square rooms built into the third, tenth and twelfth stories, with windows on the south side. Matching false windows were built into the south side of all the other stories.
Investigation of the surrounding area showed that there was a large Western Xia site to the west of the pagoda, from which archaeologists recovered pieces of tile ends, roof sculptures, and guttering, some of which was glazed in green or blue. As the Laws of the Western Xia specify that red, green and blue glazed tiles are only permitted for use in temples or palaces, these remains are thought to come from a Buddhist temple associated with the pagoda.
Although the pagoda is now in a very isolated location, the mouth of Baisigou Valley is guarded by two Western Xia pagodas, and there are a large number of Western Xia sites with broken pottery, bricks and tiles all along the valley leading up the square pagoda, and so Niu Dasheng has suggested that the temple and pagoda at Baisigou were an important religious site during the Western Xia. The name Baisigou (拜寺沟) means "Valley of the temple" in Chinese. There are no known historical records of the pagoda, but Niu speculates that this was the site of the Temple of Five Platforms Mountain (Wutaishan Si 五台山寺), named after the famous Buddhist mountain, Wutaishan, in Shanxi
.
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...
in Helan County, Ningxia
Ningxia
Ningxia, formerly transliterated as Ningsia, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in Northwest China, on the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River flows through this vast area of land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, built during the Western Xia
Western Xia
The Western Xia Dynasty or the Tangut Empire, was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak.The state existed from 1038 to 1227 AD in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and...
period (1038–1227). It is situated in an isolated location about 10 km into the Baisigou Valley on the eastern side of the Helan Mountains, northwest of Yinchuan, but may have been the site of an important Buddhist temple during the Western Xia. The pagoda was illegally destroyed in 1990; archaeological investigation of the ruins has uncovered a large number of Tangut artefacts and Buddhist relics, including books and manuscripts written in the Tangut language
Tangut language
Tangut is an ancient northeastern Tibeto-Burman language once spoken in the Western Xia Dynasty, also known as the Tangut Empire. It is classified by some linguists as one of the Qiangic languages, which also include Qiang and rGyalrong, among others...
and script
Tangut script
The Tangut script was a logographic writing system, used for writing the extinct Tangut language of the Western Xia Dynasty. According to the latest count, 5863 Tangut characters are known, excluding variants...
.
Investigation of the ruins of the pagoda
On 28 November 1990 a local peasant discovered that the pagoda had suddenly collapsed, and when the Ningxia police investigated they discovered that the pagoda had been blown up by unknown criminals, apparently with the intention of stealing any historical relics inside the pagoda. The pagoda was reduced to rubble, with only a fragment of the northwest corner left intact.Local archaeologist Niu Dasheng (牛達生) (b.1933), who worked at the Ningxia Museum, thought that there may be cultural relics at the pagoda, or even an underground chamber like the one found at Famen Temple
Famen Temple
Famen Temple is located in Famen town, Fufeng County, 120 kilometers west of Xi'an City, Shaanxi province. It was widely regarded as the "ancestor of pagoda temples in Guanzhong area".-History:...
after its pagoda semi-collapsed in 1981, therefore he organised an expedition to carry out an archaeological investigation of the site and to clear the rubble. In addition to archaeologists, his team included two police officers who were investigating the crime, and twenty or so soldiers from a unit of the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
who were to help move the rubble. In August 1991, after receiving permission from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage
State Administration of Cultural Heritage
State Administration of Cultural Heritage is an administrative agency subordinate to the Ministry of Culture. It is responsible for relics and managing museums on mainland China...
, Niu's team headed off to the site of the ruined pagoda, which was several hours from the nearest road, and could only be reached by foot, with donkeys carrying their equipment. The team lived in caves near the pagoda for the duration of the expedition, but there was no source of drinkable water nearby, and so bottled water had to be transported in by donkey.
Western Xia
The Western Xia Dynasty or the Tangut Empire, was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak.The state existed from 1038 to 1227 AD in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and...
period (1038–1227), including:
- coins;
- wooden knives;
- pieces of silk cloth;
- woodblock Buddhist prints;
- miniature moulded clay sculptures of stupaStupaA stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
s; - a bag containing Buddhist relics and fragments of bone;
- miniature moulded clay sculptures of Buddhas (over 5,000 pieces);
- a handwritten scrollScrollA scroll is a roll of parchment, papyrus, or paper, which has been drawn or written upon.Scroll may also refer to:*Scroll , the decoratively curved end of the pegbox of string instruments such as violins...
5.74 m in length written in cursiveCursive script (East Asia)Cursive script , sometimes translated as Grass script is a style of Chinese calligraphy. Cursive script is faster to write than other styles, but difficult to read for those unfamiliar with it. It functions primarily as a kind of shorthand script or calligraphic style...
Tangut characters; - more than thirty printed books and manuscripts in both ChineseChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
and Tangut; - wooden tablets inscribed in ink with Tangut characters (datable to the period 1102–1114).
These objects were all concentrated in an area about 2 m in diameter, underneath about 1 m of rubble in the centre of the ruins, and were mixed in with earth, branches, bird carcasses and bird skeletons. The archaeologists determined that the artefacts had been housed in chambers occupying the tenth and twelfth stories of the pagoda, and that as these chambers had an opening to the outside on the south side they had thus been used as a roost for birds.
The books and manuscripts comprised both religious texts (Buddhist sutra
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
s) and secular texts, including the first known collection of Chinese poetry written by Tangut poets. The most important text discovered was a printed edition in nine volumes of a previously unknown Tangut translation of a Tibetan Tantric
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
Buddhist text and commentaries entitled the Auspicious Tantra of All-Reaching Union
Auspicious Tantra of All-Reaching Union
The Auspicious Tantra of All-Reaching Union is the title of a set of nine volumes of Buddhist printed texts written in the Tangut language and script which was discovered in the ruins of the Baisigou Square Pagoda in Helan County, Ningxia, China in 1991 after it...
, which has been identified as being the earliest known example of a book printed using wooden movable type.
Construction of the pagoda
After excavating the base of the pagoda, archaeologists were able to determine that the pagoda was built during the Western Xia dynasty, in the year 1075, not in the Ming dynasty as was previously thought. Furthermore the pagoda was originally thirteen stories in height, not eleven as it had previously appeared to be, as the lowest two stories had been covered up by mudslides over the centuries.Excavation of the pagoda base also showed that there was no specially built foundation platform underneath the pagoda, as is usually the case, but it was built on a foundation of broken stones. The pagoda was solid inside, with a central supporting pillar that was grounded in a depression 1.4 m in circumference and 2.1 m deep at the bottom of the pagoda. Although the pagoda was solid, there were small, square rooms built into the third, tenth and twelfth stories, with windows on the south side. Matching false windows were built into the south side of all the other stories.
Investigation of the surrounding area showed that there was a large Western Xia site to the west of the pagoda, from which archaeologists recovered pieces of tile ends, roof sculptures, and guttering, some of which was glazed in green or blue. As the Laws of the Western Xia specify that red, green and blue glazed tiles are only permitted for use in temples or palaces, these remains are thought to come from a Buddhist temple associated with the pagoda.
Although the pagoda is now in a very isolated location, the mouth of Baisigou Valley is guarded by two Western Xia pagodas, and there are a large number of Western Xia sites with broken pottery, bricks and tiles all along the valley leading up the square pagoda, and so Niu Dasheng has suggested that the temple and pagoda at Baisigou were an important religious site during the Western Xia. The name Baisigou (拜寺沟) means "Valley of the temple" in Chinese. There are no known historical records of the pagoda, but Niu speculates that this was the site of the Temple of Five Platforms Mountain (Wutaishan Si 五台山寺), named after the famous Buddhist mountain, Wutaishan, in Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
.