Restoring Buddhist pagoda to its past glory
An aerial view of the pagoda.
Restoration work on a Buddhist pagoda dating back to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), a precious cultural legacy with high historical value in Qingpu District, is scheduled to start in May.
Maota Pagoda, a typical brick-and-wood-structure pagoda in Zhangma Village, Zhujiajiao Town, features the typical art style of Tang pagoda with raised eaves, dougong, a bracketing system used in ancient Chinese buildings, and wooden railings and balusters.
The five-story pagoda is 28.2 meters high with the main body 20.6 meters.
The repair project is scheduled to take five months.
The pagoda, with a history of 1,150 years, is named after Maohu Lake which flows through Qingpu, Songjiang, and Jinshan districts in Shanghai and Pinghu City in neighboring Zhejiang Province.
The pagoda
It has served as a Buddhist pagoda and more.
At night, it was used as a lighthouse, becoming a navigation mark for ships traveling on the broad Maohe River.
Due to sediment deposition, only one river course is left, which is today's Maohe River.
In 1997, the pagoda was listed as a world navigation mark legacy by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities together with other four lighthouses in China and crowned as one of the world's 100 historical lighthouses featured in stamps.
Ascending the pagoda and looking far away, people are able to appreciate the enchanting scenery of Sheshan Hill.
Many literati have visited the pagoda and left a number of poems on it.
Located in the southeast corner of Maodao Island, the pagoda was built by monk Ruhai.
The Chengzhao Temple was built alongside.
Between AD1260 and 1264 of the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279), the temple was renamed Futian Temple and the pagoda was part of the temple structure.
The brick and timber pagoda.
The temple experienced several expansions during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) with new buildings such as the grand hall and depositary for Buddhist texts.
It collected plaques of many masters such as influential Chinese educator Zhu Xi (1130-1200) and calligrapher and painter Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322).
During the reign of Emperor Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, the pagoda experienced a major face-lift.
In the late Qing Dynasty, most of the buildings of the temple were ruined in fighting and only the pagoda was left.
A stone stele of the pagoda was found at the home of a local farmer who said he brought it home out of curiosity in the 1950s.
It bears the simple history of the pagoda with a picture. It is now kept at Qingpu District Museum.
The pagoda was repaired in 1995 and 1996 and several pieces of cultural relics.
An historical photo.
This restoration is the latest repair work to the pagoda.
"The pagoda is an important cultural legacy of the district and is of very high historical and art value," said Pan Yongqiang, director of Qingpu District Culture and Tourism Bureau.
Due to its age, coupled with rain erosion and natural weathering, many wooden columns, beams and dougong are cracked, and the painting is faded, said Pan.
Moreover, the tile parts are broken, and lightning protection facilities are worn, creating safety hazards, Pan added.
"The repair will maintain the original structure of the pagoda and its former appearance," he said.
The repair will mainly involve the wooden structure, wall, and roof of the pagoda.
Termite extermination work is part of the repair.
"It is not only the protection of the pagoda, but also the protection, inheritance and promotion of Shanghai's cultural legacy," said Pan.
After restoration the pagoda will open to the public as part of the ongoing efforts to inject new vitality into the district's tourism development.
A stamp features the pagoda.
