Tianhu Sutra Pillar
Tianhu Sutra Pillar
CHINA, Hebei, Shijiazhuang
Tianhu means Heavenly Protector. The sutra pillar is located within the ruins of Dongchan (Eastern Chan) Temple. It was built in 727 during the Tang dynasty. It was listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site in 1996.
Originally the sutra pillar was 4.7 m high but it has been damaged. It consists of 12 blocks of blue limestone piled on top of each other. Layers one to four form the base. Layer five is the body, or the main section, of the pillar. It is octagonal and is 1.4 m high. Each side has carvings of the Usnisavijaya Dharani Sutra. Layer six is an octagonal canopy covered with carvings of draperies, ribbons, and garlands. Layers seven to eleven are highly decorated with carvings of dragons, lions, tigers, elephants, drapery, ribbons, and lotuses. Layer twelve is octagonal and a niche with a standing Buddha is located on each side. This sutra pillar is noteworthy for the details on each layer.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Architecture T-Z, page 1120.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Johnson, Peter and Mankuang and Lancaster, Lewis,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Architecture T-Z},
pages = 1120,
title = {{Tianhu Sutra Pillar}},
volume = 4,
year = {2016}}