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Songyue Pagoda

Songyue Pagoda

Photo: Siyuwj · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Dengfeng, Henan, China
Client / Owner
—
Year
Completed 523
Access
Public
Typology
Spiritual

The Songyue Pagoda stands at Songyue Monastery on Mount Song, in Dengfeng, Henan. The text dates it to 523 CE, with the introduction saying Northern Wei and the body saying only the Northern dynasties. The infobox gives no date, and the article names no builder or architect. It is described as the earliest surviving brick pagoda in China.

The pagoda is twelve-sided, blending Chinese straight-edged forms with the circular Indian stupa tradition. It is 131 feet (40 m) high, in yellowish brick bonded with clay mortar, with stone interior supports. A low brick pedestal carries a very tall first story with balconies and carved arched doors, with dougong-style eaves and fifteen roofs above. The interior is cylindrical, with underground burial rooms.

UNESCO inscribed it in 2010 as part of the Historic Monuments of Dengfeng. The article does not describe its current use or access.

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