Fuzhou Dingguang Tower*

Towers in Shanxi

Dingguang Tower *, commonly known as the "White Tower *", is located at the foot of Shanxi and is a palace style building. Founded in 905, two years later, to congratulate Zhu Wen on his accession to the throne, it was renamed "Wansui *" (commonly known as "Tower *")

* History of the Academy

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During the Five Dynasties period, it was one of the famous buildings in Fuzhou. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, most of the main buildings were destroyed by the Japanese invasion.

. The existing buildings were rebuilt during the period from Daoguang to Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty. They are divided into three main halls: the Heavenly King Hall, the the Shakya ManiHall and the Fayu Hall. Fayu Hall was built by people to commemorate the practice of monks during the Later Liang Dynasty who collected "accumulated wages and self immolated" and sacrificed themselves to pray for rain

It is said that in the first year of the Zhenming reign of the Later Liang Dynasty (915 AD), Fuzhou was suffering from a long drought without rain, and the seedlings did not grow. At this time, a wandering monk named Yishou came to the White Pagoda to pray for rain. He piled up firewood in front of the pagoda and sat on it himself, closing his eyes and closing his eyes to pray for rain for the people; Three days later, at the agreed time, the firewood tower was lit, but Yi Shou persisted. As the flames rose, the heavy rain suddenly fell, and Yi Shou walked safely out of the fire. Later, people built the Fayu Hall to commemorate the harvest

Just south of the White Pagoda, there is a temple supported by large pillars of blue stone coiled dragons, known as the "Fayu Hall", which used to be a place for monks to meditate, recite scriptures, and do homework. When the Fujian Shipbuilding Academy of the Qing Dynasty was not yet built, it used capital as a school building, and Yan Fu, Deng Shichang, and others studied here. In his later years, Yan Fu still reminisced about this place. In a memoir, he wrote: "The sound of Yipi (English) in the morning and night echoed with the chanting of Sanskrit... Looking back on the past, the shadow of the pagoda and the mountain light still appeared in my dreams."

Origin of the name

Originally named Bao'en Dingguang Duo Pagoda, it was built by King Shenzhi of Fujian in the first year of Tang Tianyou (904 AD) to recommend blessings to his parents. Legend has it that during the process of divination, a radiant gem was discovered, hence the name Dingguang Tower. At the beginning of its construction, the tower was built with brick shafts inside and a wooden tower with an outer ring. It is a seven story brick core wooden tower with a height of 66.7 meters. The brackets, lintels, beams, and railings on each floor have been meticulously carved, and the tower walls and doors are also painted with statues. In the 13th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1534), the tower was destroyed by lightning and fire. In the 27th year of the Jiajing reign (1548), it was rebuilt as a seven story octagonal brick tower with a height of 41 meters. Because it is coated with a layer of white ash on the outside, it is called a white tower

Current situation

Full of scars

White Pagoda *, also known as Wansui *, was founded by the King of Fujian, Wang Shenzhi. It was once one of the most glorious names in Fuzhou, but now it has become full of scars

The White Pagoda, with its majestic hall and two large stone lions sitting steadily at the entrance, evokes the grandeur and glory of the courtyard

Walking into *, the scene in front of us stunned us. The magnificent palace and gorgeous corridor had already become a scene of vicissitudes. Inside the main hall, many tiles are already broken, and light shines directly into them from these broken tiles. According to the staff of the security bureau, the roof of the main hall leaks water every time it rains, and in severe cases, they even have to bring a basin to collect water. Following the instructions, we arrived at the White Tower corridor

Injured roof

Wooden stakes the size of bowls were propped up under the broken roof, arranged haphazardly. This was originally a scene that could only be seen when the building was topped out, but in the White Pagoda *, we saw the same scene. The wood has rotted and we are worried that the roof will collapse, so we use these wooden stakes to support it. If it weren't for these stakes, the corridor would have collapsed long ago. However, using wooden stakes to support it is not a long-term solution, "said the security worker. After speaking, the staff pointed to a wooden stake at the corner of the corridor. Following the direction of her fingers, we also saw a crossbeam that was nearly 2 meters long, 20 centimeters wide, and 10 centimeters thick. The interface between the crossbeam and the column had already rotted and broken. And it is the wooden stake that serves as the pillar, allowing the crossbeam to continue to function

Dangerous house slogan

"Dangerous house! Do not approach!" These large characters are very eye-catching, blocking tourists from coming and going outside the collapsed roof area. According to Aunt Cao, who is responsible for protecting the White Pagoda, they hung it specifically to avoid accidents when tourists passed by. Beside the warning signs, long ropes are looped one after another to isolate tourists from danger. Aunt Cao said, "We are more or less in ruins here, even the main hall has been damaged to varying degrees after the departments that used to work here moved out. For everyone's safety, we had no choice but to hang the slogan 'dangerous house'."

Typhoon damage

A considerable part of the roof collapsed during the days when Typhoon Haitang came. That day, Aunt Cao, who was taking care of the child, was resting when she suddenly heard a few "click click click" sounds. She ran out and saw that the entire roof in the middle of the corridor had collapsed to the ground. At that time, the wind was still strong, so scared that she hid inside the house and dared not come out. Years of disrepair are also an important reason for roof collapse, "said Aunt Cao. She didn't know when the last renovation of the White Pagoda was," Anyway, it was a long, long time ago