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| Pagoda Forest at Shaolin Temple |
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The pagoda forest in Shaolin Temple was a concentration of tomb pagodas
for eminent monks, abbots and ranking monks at the temple. A rough
count shows more than two hundred fifty tomb pagodas of various sizes,
making it the biggest pagoda forest in China. The forest stands at
the foot of Shaoshi Mountain about half a kilometer west of Shaolin
Temple and is composed of pagodas dating from 791 to 1803. Most are
stone and brick structures of one to seven storeys, under fifteen
meters high-- much smaller than pagodas for Buddhist relics--but they
all carry the exact year of their construction and many carvings and
inscriptions. They are in a variety of styles, but are mainly multi-
eaved and pavilion-style. Their shapes are varied, including polygonal,
cylindrical, vase, conical and monolithic, making the pagoda forest
an exhibition of ancient pagodas, carvings and calligraphy of various
dynasties.
Here also lie the remains and traces of the activities of some
eminent foreign monks. For example, in the eastern part of the forest
a tomb pagoda built in 1339 in the Yuan Dynasty bears an epitaph
written by a Japanese monk at Shaolin Temple, which is of elegant
language and excellent handwriting. In the western part of the forest
is a tomb pagoda built in 1564 in the Ming Dynasty for an Indian
monk.
Besides the pagoda forest there are many invaluable tomb pagodas
scattered around Shaolin Temple. They include Faro Pagoda and Tongguang
Pagoda, built in 689 and 771 in the Tang Dynasty, Tongguang Pagoda,
constructed in 926 in the Five Dynasties, and Yuangong Pagoda, erected
in 1324 in the Yuan Dynasty, which are gems among ancient pagodas. |
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