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The
Tianning Temple is located in the Guang'anmen district of
Beijing,
China. The temple contains the 12th-century
Pagoda of Tianning Temple. The pagoda is a
Liao Dynasty pagoda built from around 1100 to 1119 or 1120 CE, shortly before
the Liao Dynasty was conquered by
Song and
Jin. This thirteen story, 189 ft tall, octagonal-based
Chinese pagoda is made of brick and stone, yet imitates the design of
wooden-constructed pagodas from the era by featuring ornamental
dougong (
bracket supports). It rests on a large square platform, with the bottom portion of the pagoda taking on the shape of a
sumeru pedestal. The pagoda features a veranda with banisters, yet is entirely solid with no hollow inside or staircase as some pagodas feature. Other ornamental designs include arched doorways and heavenly
Buddhist guardians. Its design inspired that of later pagodas, such as the similar
Ming Dynasty era
Pagoda of Cishou Temple of Beijing built in 1576.
The structure and ornamentation have remained the same since the pagoda was built, but
a major earthquake in 1976 caused the original pearl-shaped steeple of the pagoda to break off and fall. It has since been restored. The temple grounds surrounding the pagoda have also been renovated and rebuilt several times over the course of the
Ming and
Qing dynasties. The architectural historian
Liang Sicheng (1901–1972)—known for discovering and documenting the
oldest existent wooden structures still standing in China—lauded the Pagoda of Tianning Temple as a pristine architectural design of antiquity.
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