By Xinyi Li, EDITOR
Chongqing celebrates a profound history. In contrast to our limited lives, the buildings there will stand firm through wind and frost. The Wenfeng Pagoda is a landmark building of this city, but there is more than one pagoda called Wenfeng in Chongqing.
Many other Wenfeng Pagodas can also be found in different places, most of which were built based on geomantic theory. In ancient times, Wenfeng Pagodas carried people’s hope for well-developed literature and culture and more scholars in the locals, thus boasting the ornamental and landmark values
There are 6 Wenfeng Pagodas in Chongqing witnesses and guardians of this city, enjoying time-honored history
Nanshan Wenfeng Pagoda, nearly reaching the sky, stands on the top of Wenfeng Mountain. It was built in 1851 in a hexagonal shape. From it, you will have a panoramic view of the scenes around the peak. Now tourists are not allowed into the renovated Wenfeng Pagoda. Nevertheless, it still stands brilliantly and imposingly on the mountain, just like a hermit.
“You cannot see the three pagodas connect inline” is an old saying widely circulating among Chongqing citizens. Specifically, the three are the Wenfeng Pagoda at Huangjueya, Nanshan, the Bao’en Pagoda at the Juelin Temple, and the Wenfeng Pagoda on the Tazi Mountain, Cuntan Sub-district, Jiangbei District.
Folk legend has it that these three pagodas were designed to suppress a dragon. The Huangjueya-situated one sat on its head, the Cuntan-situated one on its tail, and the Bao’en Pagoda on its body. Since they are all on the rolling hills, whichever one you stand beneath, you cannot see the other two. If not, the city will be flooded, and people will suffer disasters according to the folktale.
The Wenfeng Pagoda on the Tazi Mountain, Jiangbei District faces the Wenfeng Pagoda of Nanshan. Since the ancient time, the former one has been regarded as a major scenic spot of Chongqing. Both The Chronicle of Jiangbei Subprefecture and The Manuscripts of Jiangbei County Chronicles have listed it in the excellent scenes of Yuzhou, today’s Chongqing, praising it as “a writing brush pointing to the high sky.” In the past, once boatmen saw the Wenfeng Pagoda on the Tazi Mountain, they would feel reassured for it means that Chaotianmen is not far away. As a result, this one had become a landmark. When seeing it, you have already reached Chongqing.
These two Wenfeng Pagodas are all seven-story attic buildings, while the Wenfeng Pagoda located at Nanjin Street, Hechuan District, had nine stories at the time of construction, and was later added with four stories, totaling thirteen stories.
Hechuan Wenfeng Pagoda, also known as the Zhenxing Pagoda, was built in the 15th year of the Reign of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (1810), with a total of nine stories. In the 16th year of the Reign of Daoguang (1836), Li Zonghang, the then governor of the prefecture, added another four; thus it totals 13 stories. The gourd-shaped top had tilted during the earthquakes in 2008, but it was later repaired by the government and has opened to the public.
Wenfeng Pagoda in Hechuan District
“Along the Fujiang River, there are sprawling forests like a long fence, with towers and pavilions dotted amidst them. On the southern bank of the Jialing River grow verdant and green trees…”—these are lines in The Poem of Wenfeng Pagoda singing the praises of the pagoda. Wenfeng Pagoda, with a history of more than 200 years, stands at the riverside with an air of vicissitude. Like an old man, it overlooks Hechuan, witnessing its ups and downs.
Liangping Wenfeng Pagoda, adjacent to Hechuan Wenfeng Pagoda, is the second-highest pagoda in China and the highest in Chongqing. It was formerly called Wenfeng Pagoda (文风, literally scholar ethos), built in the 7th year of the Reign of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty (1827), and was renamed as Wenfeng Pagoda (文峰, literally the peak of culture) upon renovation in the years of the Reign of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty.
Legend has it that the Xishan Mountain in Liangping County borders Dazhu, Sichuan Province. The Xishan Mountain is crisscrossing and winding, with its main peak of 1,180 meters high. It rises high into the clouds and stands with an imposing air, in the form of fox’s mouth. The fox’s head is to the east toward Liangping and its tail west toward Dazhu, so that its mouth faces Daba, Liangping, fertile land with good harvests. According to the folktale, the fox opens its mouth to eat Liang Ping’s grains and then excretes to benefit Dazhu, thus placing Liangping in an unfavorable situation. So the people at Liangping built the Wenfeng Pagoda on a site at Pingba, about 3 kilometers northwest of the county, in the hope of propping up the mouth of the greedy fox. Ever since then, Daba, Liangping, which boasts a vast area of rice fields, can reap better and better harvests.
In Chongqing, another Wenfeng Pagoda has seldom mentioned but still popular among locals thanks to its unique geographical location. It stands on the top of the Wushan Mountain, 1,200 meters high, in Fengjie County. The pagoda and the grand Kuimen Gate form a magnificent Chinese ink landscape painting. Standing in the front of the pagoda and looking into the distance, you will see the sun rising from the Kuimen Gate in the morning and the rosy clouds hanging over the ancient town at sunset. Under this background, the sprawling mountains will dispel your worries and soothe your mind.
Kaizhou Wenfeng Pagoda was built in the 9th year of the Reign of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (1804) with one pagoda and one temple. The stone-and-wood-structured pagoda was about 33 meters high, totaling nine stories. It was grand and featured exquisite structure and fine carving, thus ever been regarded as the best among stone pagodas. Unfortunately, it was demolished during the Cultural Revolution, with only a few broken eaves and walls left at the site. In 2014, the local government had the Wenfeng Pagoda reconstructed, and the new one demonstrates the cultural attraction of the contemporary Kaizhou and adds radiance to the old one.
The pagodas tell stories about thousands of years in the past, and their grey tiles and white walls narrate the ups and downs of the city. They are also the witnesses and guardians of this city, enjoying time-honored history.
Source: WeChat Account on CQCB
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