The Five Dynasties Underground Chamber of Leifeng in

Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Antiquity and Archaeology

Keywords: Pagoda Leifeng site underground chamber Pagoda A oka

The site of Pagoda Leifeng 雷峰 refers to the deposited ground structure originally built in the last years of ruins of Pagoda Leifeng after its collapse on September State during the Five Dynasties is in mint 25, 1924. It is located on the smooth hill, east of Hill condition. Xizhao 夕照山, to the south of the in I. A Brief Survey of Pagoda Leifeng Hangzhou 杭州. It is 60 m long from north to south and 45 m wide from east to west, 9–11 m above ground. In The ruins of Pagoda Leifeng compose of the 1997 Provincial government declared it as one pedestal, the sub-staircase, the pagoda body and the archaeological site under provincial protection. underground structure. The pedestal, octagonal in profile, According to historical records, Pagoda Leifeng measures 43 m in diameter, 17 m in side length. Its main was originally built by 钱 , the king of body is a platform of sterile soil shielded by brick-and- Wuyue State at the end of Five Dynasties. From Song stone structure 1.2–2.5 m above ground. The 5.8-m- Dynasty to the end of this pagoda had wide sub-staircase has four square column footings of twice suffered severe damage. In the third year of 1.2–1.5 m in side length deposited on each side, amount- Xuanhe 宣和 reign period during Huizong 徽宗’s reign ing to 24 pieces altogether. In the center of the east and in the (1121), the pagoda courtyard and west sides of the pedestal is a flyer leading to the sub- the wooden structure of the pagoda itself were burned staircase. The pagoda body, octagonal, 25 m in diameter, down during war. In the Southern Song Dynasty from 3–5 m in remaining height, is a sleeve type ambulatory the seventh year of Qiandao 乾道 reign period in Em- structure composed of the outer jacket, the winding peror Xiaozong 孝宗’s reign to the first year of Qingyuan corridor, the inner jacket and the core chamber. The 庆元 reign period in 宁宗 ’s reign inner and outer jackets are all made up of bricks with full-scale maintenance was done to this pagoda, includ- yellow mud sticking them together. The exterior wall of ing the restoration of some partly-damaged structure. At the outer jacket is 10 m in side length. A door stands in the the end of Ming Dynasty, Pagoda Leifeng suffered a center of each wall. The winding corridor is 1.8–2.3 m second damage and only the brick core of the pagoda wide, at each corner of which is a column-shaped hole remained. No reconstruction was done henceforward. 0.3–0.4 m in diameter and 1.6 m in depth. The core In order to aid the reconstruction of Pagoda Leifeng, chamber is located in the center of the inner jacket, Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Antiquity and Archae- 4.5–5.3 m in diameter (Fig. 1). ology made an excavation of this site in two stages with The peripheral ruins rebuilt in the Southern Song the approval of the State Administrative Bureau of Dynasty and later times include monks’ dwelling and Antiquity. The excavation lasted from February 2000 to roads, located to the north and south of the pagoda July 2001 and covered an area of 4000 sq m. pedestal. As for the northern structure, three stone The excavation reveals that the pedestal and the column footings and some brick-paved ground of 2 m in sub-staircase are roughly complete, the bottom layer of width still remains, probably the peripheral winding the pagoda is in fairly good condition and the under- corridor to the pedestal. In the southern section, only

Volume 3 19 山体基岩 N

外围遗迹

砌石 排水沟 石砌基座

柱 础 副阶 坍塌块体

北门

坍塌 块体 柱洞 柱洞 柱洞 外围遗迹 柱顶石 柱顶石 地宫 塔 踏 门道 门道 心 门道 门道 步 室 外套筒 回廊 内套筒 内套筒 回廊 外套筒

砖砌散水 坍塌块体

石砌基座

坑 塔身 南门

副阶

柱础

坑 塔基

坑

外围遗迹

道路 0 5 M

Fig. 1 Plan of the site of Pagoda Leifeng

two stone column footings and some stone-paved ground The bricks with inscription of the Buddhist scriptures remain. The paved ground is of three bays in area, are of the same specification, only with a round hole of probably the ground of the monks’ dwelling. To the 10 cm in depth and 2 cm in diameter on one end. The southwest side of the pedestal is a brick-paved road, 12 round tile-ends bear impressed plants patterns such as m in remaining length and 1.7–1.8 m in remaining lotus, peony, lotus leaves, and chrysanthemum. The width. dripping stones are mostly of the double-lipped type and The unearthed artifacts from this site include archi- the animal-shaped ornaments are mainly in the shape of tectural materials, stone scriptures, Buddha images and lions. The stone Buddhist scriptures are of different size, so on. Most of them belong to the Five Dynasties period 1100 pieces in total number, with dozen thousand in- while a small quantity may be ascribed to the Southern scribed Chinese characters. As for the Buddhist scrip- Song Dynasty and later. The commonest architectural tures inscribed, the majority are 80 types of Dafang material is the rectangular tower brick 37 cm in length, Guangfo Huayanjing 大方广佛华严经, newly rendered 18 cm in width, and 6 cm in thickness with inscriptions by monk iksananda during Empress Zetian’s 武则 on one end. There are more than 160 types of such 天 reign. A minority of the scriptures are Jingang bricks, with the home town, name and year of birth of the Banruo Poluomijing 金刚般若婆罗蜜经 translated by donator impressed on them, such as“吴甲俞荣,”“沈 Yao Qin 姚秦 and Kumárajiva during the Sixteen States 甲朱福,”“周甲金德,”“官,”“王,”“天下,”“西关,” period. Apart from these, the fragmentary stele with the “辛未”(971), “酉” (973), “壬申” (972) and others. inscribed Huayanjing Ba 华严经跋 composed by King

20 Chinese Archaeology of Wuyue State is also discovered. The N inscription of this stele may be checked with that re- corded in Xianchun Lin’anzhi 咸淳临安志. As for Bud- 北门

dhist artifacts, they are of different textures, such as 柱洞 , , , , stone, and pottery. The un- 塔 心 earthed items include Pagoda A oka made of pure 室 silver, square stone pagoda, small statues made of gold and bronze and statues of Bodhisattva, arhat, guardian

spirit of Buddhist monastery, and monks. Since they 东门 resemble distinctive style of the Tang and Five Dynas- 西门 柱洞 地宫 ties period and were retrieved together with coins such as“Kaiyuan tongbao 开元通宝”and“Qianyuan tongbao 乾元通宝,” they must have been donated at the beginning of the construction of Pagoda Leifeng.

II. The Underground Chamber and Unearthed Artifacts

The underground chamber is just below the core 南门 chamber in the center of the pagoda pedestal and cov-

ered by the pedestal in the beginning of the construction 塔心室 地坪 work. It was never opened afterwards. To be more specific, the underground chamber is located 2.6 m 柱 柱 below the paved bottom of the core chamber and sealed 塔身 with a square limestone slab 0.92 m in side length and 洞 洞 0.13 m in thickness, over which are piled earth 0.3 m in height and a top stone 1 m in side length and 0.2– 0.4 m 夯土

填 顶石 in thickness. The underground chamber is a shaft- 盖板 shaped single square chamber made of brick, 0.6 m in 土 side length and 0.72 m in depth, coated with lime, paved with three layers of brick. From the slit between bricks 地宫

are retrieved a piece of gold-coated silver pin and 20 01 M “Kaiyuan tongbao” bronze coins and one yansheng 厌 胜 coin with the design of dragon and phoenix on both Fig. 2 Plan and elevation of the underground chamber of Pagoda sides (Fig. 2). Leifeng There are 51 pieces or sets of artifacts (numbered up to 77) retrieved from the underground chamber. In the center of the underground chamber is an iron case, Locapatas. On the bottom slab of the iron case are beneath which are thousands of various types of bronze deposited tidily a hollowed-out silver padding coated coins mingled with beads, jade coins, jade tortoises, with gold, a square bronze mirror round in corners, a bronze mirrors, onyx ornaments and silver armlets. In silver box coated with gold circled by a complete silver the crack outside the iron case are bronze coins, bronze girdle coated with gold. Inside the silver box are a mirrors, lacquer bracelets, bronze Buddha coated with gourd-shaped glass bottle in light green and Pagoda gold, silver girdle, jade Avalokite vara, jade boy servant, A oka harboring a gold coffin. wooden seat coated with gold, textiles, and scriptures, The unearthed artifacts may be divided into 10 most of which are placed on the Sumeru Seat inside the categories according to their texture: iron case, gold and iron case. On the wall behind the main Buddha are stuck silver wares, bronze wares coated with gold, jade wares, round hollowed-out ornaments resembling the solem- onyx ornaments, lacquer wooden ware, bronze mirrors, nity of . In the same position on the other three bronze coins, glass bottle and beads, textiles,and walls are stuck small Buddha images, and images of scriptures.

Volume 3 21 1. One iron case. Composed of the iron housing and the bottom panel, the iron housing is square in shape with a box-lid top, double-layered Sumeru seat, 51.2 cm in height. 2. Gold and silver wares. 14 pieces altogether. All are silver wares except a gold coffin. Either the surface of the silver ware is coated with gold all over or only the motif section is gilded with gold. The items include a Pagoda A oka, a box, a pad, girdles, a hairpin, armlets, hollowed-out ornaments, etc. Most items have applied the processing and decorative techniques of hammering, hollowing-out, engravings, and welding. One Pagoda A oka made of pure silver and coated with gold. It consists of four sections: the pedestal, the pagoda body, the mountain flowers, and the plantain- leaf and the tasha 塔刹. On the four sides of the pagoda body are engraved the stories of the Buddhas before their ascension and inside the pagoda body is a gold coffin holding“the Buddha’s combed hair.” The moun- tain flowers and the plantain-leaf on the four corners are carved the stories of the Buddhas after their ascension. Tasha is a five-layered xianglun 相轮. The whole pa- goda is 35.6 cm in height (Figs. 3–5). Two girdles. One is discovered from inside the iron case, with gold-coated surface, composed of 4 square kua , 7 semi-circular kua, 1 round-headed rectangular tuowei 铊尾 and one belt hook. There are oblong holes on the kua decorated with patterns of parrots. On the belt hook are engraved an inscription of 15 Chinese charac- ters“弟子陈承裕敬舍身上腰带入宝塔内”(meaning the follower of Buddhism named Chen Chengyu rever- ently dedicated his own girdle to be deposited inside the pagoda). The other girdle is only gold-coated in the motif section, composed of 8 square kua, 1 round- headed rectangular tuowei and 1 belt hook. The kua and tuowei are all decorated with cloud patterns. One silver box coated with gold. Round, the whole surface being coated with gold. It composed of the box Fig. 3 Profile of gold coated silver Pagoda A oka (Scale: 2/5) lid and the box body. The lid is engraved on the face with interlocking peony patterns and double phoenixes and four Chinese characters“Qianqiu wansui 千秋万岁” ing the sculptures of Buddha Sakyamuni, Avalokite vara, in standard style and interlocking peony patterns on Devaguardians, and small Buddhas. All coated with other sides. It is 20.7 cm in diameter, 13.7 cm in height. gold, but now the gold coat has severely dropped. A silver pad. Shaped like a round hollowed-out One Statue of Sakyamuni. Composed of flame- thin disk. With a“Qianqiu wansui 千秋万岁” like negative light, lotus seat, the dragon column, Sumeru yansheng coin in the center of the pad, the pad is seat, and the triangular pedestal. The Buddha is wearing decorated with joined-bead patterns and designs of love double-collared drooping overcoat, with the right hand birds, lotus leaves and wild gooses, 25.4 cm in diameter. poised in preaching Buddhism and the left hand resting 3. Gold-coated bronze wares. Five pieces, includ- on the knee, sitting cross-legged on the lotus bud. Under

22 Chinese Archaeology Fig. 4 Gold coated silver Pagoda A oka Fig. 5 Part of gold coated silver Pagoda A oka

the lotus seat is a supporting column circled by a light mirror of the , the mirror with designs twisting tri-claw dragon, the Sumeru seat and the oblong of auspicious animals and epigraph, the mirror with pedestal. The whole sculpture is 68 cm in height (Figs. designs of auspicious animals and grapes, and the mirror 6 – 8). with designs of double phoenixes in the shape of a sun 4. Jade wares and onyx ornaments. 8 pieces in total flower (all these three are of the ), the number, including Sudhana boy servant of Budhisattva, “Dusheng tongfang 都省铜坊”mirror of the Five Budhisattva, jade coins, jade turtle, and onyx ornaments Dynasties period, square, round-cornered mirrors and with clouds patterns, flat pendants, and round beads. round simple mirrors. The sculpture of a boy servant made of jade. It is a 7. Bronze coins. More than 3300 pieces altogether. flat sculpture and made of greenish white jade. The The oldest coins are the sizhu banliang 四铢半两 while auspicious clouds and part of the body are hollowed out the latest are“Songyuan tongbao 宋元通宝.”There in reticulation. The front and back sides bear detailed are nearly 30 types in total. As for“ Kaiyuan tongbao,” designs in incised inscription. At the bottom of the they are 3060 such coins, 2–2.6 cm in diameter. Among sculpture is a flat tenon inserted vertically on a triangu- them a small number of such gold-coated coins are made lar pedestal. The whole sculpture is 8.8 cm in height. of bronze, lead or iron, some bearing the names of reign One jade coin imitating“Kaiyuan tongbao” period or place names such as“昌,”“洛,”“越,”“鄂,” bronze coin, 2.5 cm in diameter. “兖,”and“润.”One Japanese“Raoyi shenbao 饶益 5. Lacquered wooden works. 3 items in total 神宝”bronze coin came out in the first year of Zhenguan number. Including a wooden seat overlaid with gold 贞观 reign period (859) when was under the reign leaves, a lacquered bracelet and a handle-like fragmen- of Emperor Qinghe. Still a small quantity of the coins is tary wooden work. yansheng coins for the purpose of expelling evil and 6. 10 pieces of bronze mirrors. Including the sun- draw auspiciousness. A case in point is the“Zhouyuan

Volume 3 23 Fig. 6 Gold coated bronze statue of Buddha (Scale: 1/4)

tongbao 周元通宝”coin with the design of dragons III. Conclusion and phoenixes on the back. 8. One glass bottle. Shaped like a gourd, with Pagoda Leifeng was originally named“the Prin- thin wall, light green in surface. The remaining height cess Pagoda,”built by the king of Wuyue State Qian is 3.2 cm. Chu for the deposition of“ the Buddha’s combed hair.” 9. Textiles. Most in poor condition. The varieties In view of the unearthed fragmentary stele bearing the include gauze, silk polychrome, and woven silk. Now inscribed Huayanjing Ba and Pagoda A oka made of only the traces of the textiles remain. pure gold, Pagoda Leifeng is a Buddhist pagoda con- 10. Scriptures. Two types: the printed and the structed for the deposition of Buddhist relics. Its shape hand-copied. Most of them are now decayed. and structure are the same as the Pagoda in Yunyan

24 Chinese Archaeology Fig. 8 Part of gold coated bronze statue of Buddha

Fig. 7 Gold coated bronze statue of Buddha

Temple 云岩寺, 苏州 and 六合 burial system of Buddhist relics during the Tang and 塔, Hangzhou, belonging to the typical Buddhist pagoda Song Dynasties. Apart from these, the unearthed rare structure in the late Wuyue State period. The unearthed relics are of high rate and well-wrought, and so they bricks bearing the year of construction and the preface represent the art of Wuyue State in the making technique and postscript to the Buddhist scriptures discovered of gold and silver wares, jade wares as well as bronze after the collapse of the pagoda reveals that Pagoda wares. Burying Buddhist relics in gold coffin within a Leifeng was first constructed in Renshen 壬申 year silver outer coffin is a distinctive characteristic of the (972) and completed early in the second year of Taiping burial system of Buddhist relics during the Tang and Xingguo 太平兴国 period during Emperor Taizong 太 Song periods. The unearthed gold coffin and the silver 宗 ’s reign in the Song Dynasty (977). pagoda for King Qian Chu’s deposition of “the The underground structure of Pagoda Leifeng is Buddha’s combed hair”retrieved from the underground the first one receiving scientific excavation among the chamber of Pagoda Leifeng is a good case in point. large quantities of Buddhist built by Wuyue One Pagoda A oka is retrieved respectively from State. Its excavation enables us to gain a rough under- the tiangong 天宫 and the underground chamber of standing of the shape and structure of pagoda under- Pagoda Leifeng. This kind of small pagoda is also called ground chamber in the south during the Five Dynasties Baoqie Yinjingta 宝箧印经塔 Pagoda and Jintuta 金涂 period, the varieties of the dedicated items and their 塔 Pagoda. It is well wrought because it is made under deposition, and provides new material for the research the order of King Qian Chu, who in making such of the structural difference between the pagoda under- pagodas, was deliberately following the example of ground chambers in the south and the north as well as the King A oka of India who had 84,000 pagodas built

Volume 3 25 throughout the country in his reign. Such pagodas were hai 上海, 福建, 安徽, Henan 河南, and discovered early in Zhejiang 浙江, 江苏, Shang- 河北, mostly made of bronze or iron.

Note: This report is originally published in Kaogu 考古 2002.7: 18 –20, with 42 figures and 1 page of plate, written by Li Yuxin 黎毓馨. The present version, an abridgment from the original, is prepared by the author himself, English- translated by Wang Shufang 王淑芳, and revised by Yi Nan 亦囡.

26 Chinese Archaeology