Qualla: Qizu Pagoda

Qizu Pagoda: Introduction

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Windmemories, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 738 AD, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty gave a name to a pagoda. The gesture was unusual -- emperors did not typically concern themselves with the naming of individual structures at provincial temples -- and it suggests that the monk honored here was someone of real significance. Nearly thirteen centuries later, the Qizu Pagoda still rises behind the main hall of Fengxue Temple in Ruzhou, Henan Province, its nine stories reaching 27 meters into the sky above the temple's ancient courtyard.

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Image: Windmemories | CC BY-SA 4.0

Qizu Pagoda: Stone and Brick Against the Sky

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Windmemories, CC BY-SA 4.0. The pagoda stands on a square base, its nine stories stepping upward in diminishing tiers. What catches the eye immediately are the outstretching eaves, which form an inverse curve characteristic of pagodas built during the early Tang dynasty. This upward sweep at the eave tips i...

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Image: Windmemories | CC BY-SA 4.0

Qizu Pagoda: Fengxue Temple's Hidden Valley

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Windmemories, CC BY-SA 4.0. Fengxue Temple, whose name translates roughly as "Wind Cave Temple," occupies a secluded valley setting that has drawn Buddhist practitioners for well over a millennium. The temple compound predates the pagoda itself, and the Qizu Pagoda was added as a memorial to a Buddhist monk...

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Image: Windmemories | CC BY-SA 4.0

Qizu Pagoda: Echoes of the Xumi Pagoda

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Windmemories, CC BY-SA 4.0. Architectural historians note that the Qizu Pagoda's design is comparable to the Xumi Pagoda in Hebei Province, built approximately a century earlier. Both structures share the multi-eaved style and square-plan foundation that defined early Tang religious architecture. But the co...

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Image: Windmemories | CC BY-SA 4.0

Qizu Pagoda: A Monument That Endures

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Acot一杯茶, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Qizu Pagoda is classified as a Major National Historical and Cultural Site, placing it among China's most protected heritage structures. In a country where countless pagodas have fallen to fire, earthquake, neglect, or deliberate destruction, its survival is itself remarkable...

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Image: Acot一杯茶 | CC BY-SA 4.0