Songyue Temple Pagoda EMMA VORMSCHLAG, ARCHITECTURE, COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Thesis China has one of the most ancient civilizations on Earth, as the Shang Dynasty dates back to 3,000 years, a surving pagoda constructed in 523 AD known the Songyue Temple Pagoda located in the Songyue Monastery of China has a sum of twelve sides, nine levels and a hollow core, embodying a space to observe Buddhism.
Who Built It? The invasion of the eastern Chinese Tribe Xiongnu in 316 AD caused the fall of the Chang’an capital in China. A new capital was then relocated and constructed to Luoyang China, a still heavily populated industrial city in the Henan province. This city was commissioned to have around 500 religious establishments, the Songyue Temple Pagoda being one. Each pagoda commissioned was to have either a reliquary or shrine to Buddha.
Two Dimensional
Hierarchy
What Was It? Initially this pagoda was built for religious purposes. Today the building is a tourist attraction and used by the neighboring Zhengzhou University as a place for Confucian, a Chinese religion based around systems of thinking. This building is significant to the culture that surrounds it as it is built over a relic crypt of Buddha, holding great religious value.
When Was It Built? The Songyue Pagoda was built in 523 AD and was the first ever pagoda to be built in a multi-level style. This point in time was known as the Northern Wei Dynasty. During this time Buddhism was becoming a very honorable religion. The pagoda is only one story and is entirely empty, thus it is essentially functionless.
Where Was It Built? The Temple is located at the Songyue Monastery in Mount Song, Henan province China. Its majority of materials consists of brick, stone and wood. The physical environment in Henan experiences four seasons summer, winter, fall and spring. Also, In this area the temperature fluctuates and receives heavy rainfall in the warmer months. The topography of the area is very mountainous and the structure rests on top of a hill.
Why Was It Built? The civilization during the Northern Wei Dynasty was just beginning to advance their technologies to build multi-level structures. The Songyue Pagoda is dodecagonal and has a fourteen-story high center shaft. A technique called miyan was used to make the building look visually compressed as it reaches its peak of 39.9 meters high. The interior is decorated with lotus flowers and a shrine of Buddha. The purpose of this pagoda has not significantly changed over time as it has always been used as a space for worship.
Related Objects Statue Museum: Penn Museum Date: 500-899 AD Medium: Limestone Object Number: 36-5-1 This object is carved statue that portrays the of a head of an unknown bodhisattva. A bodhisattva can be any person who is on the path towards nirvana. This bodhisattva head represents a culturally ideal image of a Chinse person seeking enlightenment during this time period. This object was created between the sixth and ninth centuries, also referred to a as the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
Analysis
Perspective
There are three overarching design principles evident in the Songyue Temple Pagoda: symmetry, hierarchy and focal point. Hierarchy can also be seen on the pagoda’s elevation. The lower level of the pagoda has the most significance as it contains entrance ways and functioning windows. The lower level also is closest to the relics the pagoda was built on top of, giving its interior the greatest religious significance. The second level of the pagoda which consists of the fourteen levels has the second most significance as partial or false windows are still incorporated in the design but are less evident as the exterior design elements become more intricate. The chatra or top of the pagoda holds the least significance as it is the furthest point from the relics and has little intricate detail compared to the body of the pagoda. Aside from hierarchy on the exterior, inwardly focal point is most evident in the pagodas plan view. For example, a smaller octagon is created internally by the exterior walls creating a center focal point/ open space within. Along with this, the plan can be divided into for symmetrical quadrants starting from the center of the room extending towards each doorway.
Symmetry
Focal Point
Court Attendant Museum: Philadelphia Museum of Art, East Asian art Department Date: Early 6th century Medium: Earthenware with pigments Object Number: 1923-21-518
Figure of Warrior Museum: Philadelphia Museum of Art, East Asian Art Department Date: Early 6th century Medium: Earthenware with pigments Object Number: 1923-21-521
Statue Fragment Museum: Penn Museum, Asia Gallery Date: 6th century Medium: Stone and pigment Object Number: C354
This object is a sculpted depiction of a Chinese court attendant. Court attendants were mass produced sculptures that were placed in the grave of an emperor to serve the deceased in the afterlife. This sculpture was created in the early sixth century known as the Northern Wei Period. Culturally, this object held great significance during its time as it was designed to be buried with the highest power of China.
This object is a carved depiction of a Chinese military warrior made from earthenware. Warrior Figures were mass produced to be placed in the grave of the emperor to protect in the afterlife. This object was created in the Northern Wei Period, not only during the same time as the Songyue Temple Pagoda’s construction but in Laoyang, Henan Province China the same providence the Songyue Pagoda was constructed within. Like the court attendant, this object was dedicated to serve the highest power of China.
This object is a carved statue fragment of a bodhisattva head. This fragment would have been part of a collosial size statue. Staues like these would be placed in spaces of meditation to help worshipers reach nirvana. Like other Buddhist sculptures the bodhisattva serves as a medium of visual imagry of Buddha and various aspects of his life. This object was completed in the Northern Qi Dynasty in the year of 599 AD.
Conclusion There is no shortage of history and craftsmanship amongst China’s architecture. The Songyue Temple Pagoda is a prime example of how design elements and principles can come together to create a long lasting space adorned for ages. Around the world pagoda designs have continued to incoporate multiple tiers, chatras, relic crypts or Buddhist shrines. In unicen, the design elements of the Songyue Temple Pagoda also reflect practices of midevil architecture from its time. If this structure was no longer able to be studied the technological advancements of the pagod’s brickwork and support systems would not allow for reserach and insight of the ways of life in 500-600 AD. In contemporary architecture today the cultural elements included the pagoda’s design are still seen in the surrounding built enviornment of Henan, China.
Bibliography Cha, Juhwan, and Jae Kim Young. 2019. Design principles of early stone pagodas in ancient Korean architecture: Case studies on the stone pagodas at Chŏngnimsa and Kamŭnsa buddhist temples. Religions 10, (3) (03), https://ezproxy.philau.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.philau.edu/docview/2326975941?accountid=28402 (accessed September 9, 2020). Lin, Wei-cheng. “Performing Center in a Vertical Rise: Multilevel Pagodas in China's Middle Period,”January 1, 1970. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/ars/13441566.0046.005/--performing-center-in-a-vertical-rise-multilevel-pagodas?rgn=main;view. Tang, Y., Shao, Z. & Xu, T. Pore structure of ancient Chinese bricks under environmental vicissitudes. KSCE J Civ Eng 20, 1895–1902 Walton, Linda. “The ‘Spirit’ of Confucian Education in Contemporary China: Songyang Academy and Zhengzhou University.” Modern China 44, no. 3 (May 2018): 313–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/0097700417744165.