Wufu Temple Pagoda
Wufu Temple Pagoda
CHINA, Jiangsu, Nantong
Wufu means Five Blessings. The pagoda was built in 1582 during the Ming dynasty, and restored during the rule of Emperor Jiaqing (reigned 1796–1820) of the Qing dynasty.
It is a five-story, octagonal brick and timber pagoda. The body is constructed from brick while the eaves, columns, architraves, and balustrades are made from wood. The eaves turn steeply upwards at the corners. The doors on each story are on alternate sides. The octagonal pyramidal roof is decorated with bats. Since five bats can be found along each side, it is also known as Wufu or Five Bats Pagoda (“five bats” and “five blessings” are homophones in Chinese). The spire is thin and has seven stacked rings.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Architecture T-Z, page 1280.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Johnson, Peter and Mankuang and Lancaster, Lewis,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Architecture T-Z},
pages = 1280,
title = {{Wufu Temple Pagoda}},
volume = 4,
year = {2016}}