Nine-storied Stone Pagoda Dedicated by Cao Tiandu

Nine-storied Stone Pagoda Dedicated by Cao Tiandu

National Treasure

National Treasure Intro

The Nine-storied Stone Pagoda Dedicated by Cao Tiandu is in the National Museum of History’s collection. It was built in Pingcheng (today’s Datong, Shanxi) by Cao Tiandu, a court official during the reign of Emperor Xianwen of Northern Wei, for his late father and son. The pagoda is 153.1 cm in height, 400 kg in weight, and it has three main sections: the base, the body, and the steeple on top. The pagoda is carved from sandstone and has a total of 1,381 Buddha statues. The layout of the pagoda is neat and orderly, with clearly carved stories; the carving of the Buddha statues is smooth and sleek, reflecting the high standards of Buddhist statue carving during the Northern Wei.

The Nine-storied Stone Pagoda was originally placed in the Amitabha Hall of Chongfu Temple in Shuo County, Shanxi Province. However, due to the destruction brought about by war, the steeple of the pagoda is now in the Shuo County Cultural Relics Conservation Institute in Shanxi Province, China. After WWII, Japan returned the body and stand of the pagoda to the Republic of China.

This clearly dated pagoda is the earliest extant one in Chinese pavilion style. From 460 to 480 A.D., it is the golden age of statue carvings in the Northern Wei, and it is also the peak of stone carving art in China. This freestanding pagoda is made at this period showing the significance and importance of the time.

The inscriptions and carvings on the pagoda have irreplaceable values in the fields of art, architecture, Buddhism, and history, making it an unquestionable national treasure, which was designated in 2011.

National Treasure Appreciation

The square pagoda is made of stone with a style imitating a wooden pavilion pagoda. It has nine stories and is divided into three sections.

The first is the base, the second is the body from the first to the seventh story, and the third is from the eighth to the ninth level. The steeple at the top of the pagoda is preserved in China now.

On the first story, there is a Buddhist niche carved on the center of each side. All four sides have different images of Buddhas.

On this side, there is a carving of “two Buddhas sitting side by side,” one is Prabhūtaratna and the other is Sākyamuni.

On the first story, there is a Buddhist niche carved on the center of each side.

On this side, there is a carving of a cross-legged Maitreya Bodhisattva and the attending Bodhisattvas.

On the four stories above the second story of the pagoda’s body, it has neatly carved figures of a thousand sitting Buddhas.

Although the figures are small, the influence of the Yungang Grottoes can still be seen in the shape of the Buddhas’ faces and the folds in their clothing.

The base of the pagoda is carved in a low-relief style, and the front side is divided into three columns. The three columns have the following images: a picture of monks making an offering with incense burners, two monks making an offering, and roaring lions and sacred lotuses.



An ink rubbing of the picture of two monks making an offering.

On the left and right sides of the base of the pagoda, there are carvings of male and female figures making offerings respectively.



An ink rubbing of the picture of male and female figures making offerings respectively.

On the back of the base of the pagoda, there is a 126-character incised inscription.

On the left and right sides of which there are figures making offerings. This is an ink rubbing of the inscription.

References

Collection

National Museum of History (NMH) was founded in 1955. The first national museum in Taiwan since 1949. The Museum was originally named as the “National Museum of Artifacts and Art”, and then that was changed to current name in 1957.

Two sets of artifacts fromed the bases of the NMH collection, one is the Chinese artifacts plundered during the Sino-Japanese War, and another is the artifacts from the previous Henan Province Museum (today’s Henan Museum). Both sets were transferrd to the MNH by the Ministry of Education. Afterwards, the NHM’s collection accumulated year by year through purchases and enthusiastic donations from all walks of life. To date, there are more than 50,000 artifacts within 19 categories, such as painting, calligraphy, bronze, pottery, etc.

The museum’s collection is rich and diverse, representing various cultural phases,and all these precious materials can be viewed on the“National Museum of History’s Database.”

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By using the Taiwan glossary available on the Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT-Taiwan),
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