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Tianshui: Pagoda Sculpture
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Tianshui: Pagoda Sculpture
CHINA, Gansu, Tianshui; Western Wei dynasty (535–556), dated 536; Commissioned by the Quan Family; Stone; H: 172 cm; Gansu Provincial Museum, Lanzhou, China
The pagoda was unearthed in 1999 and is shaped like a three-tier pavilion, with carved eaves and a truncated spire above dividing each tier. Open niches surround each tier, and inside each niche are Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, disciples, or devotees making offerings. An inscription the bottom dates the structure to 536.
The Prabhutaratna Pagoda was mentioned in the Lotus Sutra, which was a popular text during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (386–589). The act of building towers was a popular activity due to the expectation that merit could be gained from building them as stated in the Chapter on Skillful Means. " The towers initially derived from India as stupas. These stupas gradually evolved from Indian prototypes to towers and then to Chinese pagodas." |
