A Study On Seven Buddha Pagoda From The Song Dynasty

The Seven Buddhas Pagoda symbolizes the belief of the past Seven Buddhas. It is a small monolayer and multi-eaved stupalike stone pagoda. In most cases seven pagodas would be built in one row, and the whole set always located in front of a sanmon, an important gate of a Buddhist temple. Most of the current remains of Seven Buddhas Pagodas in Zhejiang area can possibly date back to the Song dynasty (960-1279). According to historical records, there are fifteen identified proveniences of Seven Buddhas Pagoda, with the earliest one built in the Song Dynasty and the latest in the period of the Republic of China. The proveniences mainly distribute in the cities along the south bank of Chien Tang River, including Ningbo, Taizhou, Wenzhou, Lishui and so on.The shape and structure of Seven Buddhas Pagoda is unique. The cross section appears to be hexagonal. Each pagoda consists of four parts:a tower footing in Sumeru throne style, an ovoid stupalike body, a pavilion modeled after timberwork, and a vertical shaft that tops the pagoda. The structure originates from the monks’ temple towers, which were influenced by Indian stupas. Moreover, the quintessential technique of Chinese traditional timberwork was applied to the building of the stone pagodas. With the promotion by the Lotus Sutra and the belief in charitable and pious deeds in Buddhism, and the combination with Esoteric Buddhism which was once popular in the coastal area, the structure of the Seven Buddhas Pagoda was finally established.This research project will study and analyze the recorded archaic remains of Seven Buddhas Pagodas. The resources include but are not limited to religious relics and archaeological material. Based on the general knowledge about the development of Chinese pagodas, this paper will focus on Seven Buddhas Pagoda’s development stages, historical transitions, structures, characteristics, and the seven tower regulation that these pagodas followed. Meanwhile, the paper will try to explain the spread of the architectural characteristics of Seven Buddha Pagoda and the influence it brought. The project also includes the research into the stone tower regulation and the many Buddhism elements in the decorative art in the folk stonework, to specifically analyze the spread of the Seven Buddha belief that implied by these pagodas, and to discover the possible religious significance.With the wide spread of Buddhist culture, Seven Buddha Pagoda was brought to China and Korean Peninsula as a form of many-jeweled pagoda. But the design of the pagodas absorbed local architectural elements and traditions, so as to create distinctively pagoda styles that are unique to the regions.With a comprehensive study of Seven Buddha Pagoda, this paper gives a primary definition of what Seven Buddhas Pagoda is. By analyzing the physical and chronological distribution of the pagodas, we can learn about the development of Buddhism and folk belief in various regions. Then we may be able to explore the reasons that lead to the appearance of Buddhist architectural elements in the Seven Buddha Pagoda, and to study the causes of the religious meaning that the pagoda implicates. The above study will attribute to the building of an architectonic plan for the future research of Seven Buddha Pagoda.