The origin of Quanzhou East-West Building

Quanzhou Dongxi Pagoda is the highest existing pavilion stone pagoda in China. It is the emblem of Quanzhou hometown of overseas Chinese, a national key cultural relic protection unit and an important part of Kaiyuan Temple complex.

The National Pagoda, a famous town in the East Pagoda, was built in the Tang Dynasty (860-865) from the first year of Xian Tong to the sixth year. It turned out to be a nine-level wooden tower. In the third year of Southern Song Dynasty (1227), Baoqing was rebuilt as a seven-level brick tower. From the second year of Jiaxi in the Southern Song Dynasty to the tenth year of Chunyou (1238- 1250), it was rebuilt as a five-level stone tower. The west tower is called Renshou Tower. It was built in the second year of the Five Dynasties (9 16). It was originally a seven-level wooden tower. The brick tower was rebuilt in Baoqing in the Southern Song Dynasty for three years (1277). From the first year of Shaoding in the Southern Song Dynasty to the first year of Jiaxi (1228- 1237), it was rebuilt as a five-level stone tower.

The East West Tower is an octagonal five-story wooden pavilion with a roof structure. The East Tower is 48.27 meters high and the West Tower is 45.06 meters high. The pedestal, tower body and tower cover of the Twin Towers are all made of white granite. The stone used for the two towers is 6293 cubic meters, with a total weight of about 195 10 ton. The foundation of the tower is thick and stable, and the Quanzhou earthquake in 1604 (Ming Wanli 13) was safe and sound. Two towers with eight sides, four doors on each floor, and the doors between floors are staggered with niches. The top and bottom cornices, roofs, arch coupons, lintels and Huailang Goulan of the Twin Towers are interconnected, meticulous and firm. The tower gate is made of iron, and the heights from the gate base to the gilded gourd are 1 1. 1 m and 10.65 m respectively. Each tower gate is tied with eight big chains between the gate top and the cornice. Metal bell with cornice angle of 80.

The Buddhist art stone carvings in the East West Tower are colorful. There are 160 relief figures on the walls of the Twin Towers, including bodhisattvas, arhats, King Kong, immortals, monks, converted emperors, princes, famous officials, lay people, Buddhist story figures, etc., and there are 22 foil figures and animals in the middle. There are 80 watchmen carved between the eaves of the Twin Towers. There are 37 Buddhist biographies, 48 dragons, phoenixes, lions, flowers and birds, and negative towers 16 dwarfs. The elephant eye boards on both sides of the steps are embossed.