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https://www.britannica.com/technology/pagoda
Pagoda, a towerlike, multistory, solid or hollow structure made of stone, brick, or wood, usually associated with a Buddhist temple complex and
therefore usually found in East and Southeast Asia, where Buddhism was long the prevailing religion.
The pagoda structure derives from that of the stupa, a hemispherical, domed, commemorative monument first constructed in ancient India.
Initially, these structures symbolized sacred mountains, and they were used to house relics or remains of saints and kings. Stupas evolved into
several distinct forms in various parts of Asia. The finial, the decorative crowning ornament of the stupa, likely has roots in Hinduism, which
predates Buddhism, in the symbols of yoni and lingam. Its design gradually became more elongated and cylindrical until the stupa’s upper
portion took on an attenuated towerlike appearance.
This stupa shape was adopted by Buddhism as an appropriate form for a monument enshrining sacred relics. In China this purpose gave birth to
a unique structure, the small underground structure known as the “dragon palace” or “dragon cave,” consisting chiefly of a brick- or stone-lined
room. This enclosure, which was sometimes decorated with murals, held a container in which relics and funerary objects had been placed. The
container holding the sacred objects was usually placed within one or even several larger containers. The outermost container was covered by
the pagoda’s base, and, as the structure type evolved, the base became more elaborate, eventually taking the form of a pedestal. These
pedestals were often decorated and, in later developments, dominated the body of the pagodas they supported.
With the growth and development of commerce and mercantile interests, by both land and sea, came the spread of Buddhist missions as well.
There followed a process known to scholars as the Indianization of other regions of Asia. As the structures and practices of Buddhism came to
dominate these areas, so too were these features absorbed into the various cultures they influenced.
In Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos the pagoda took on a pyramidal or conical shape, and in China, Korea, and Japan it evolved
into the towerlike structure that constitutes the best-known pagoda form. The latter was a tall tower consisting of the vertical repetition of a
basic story unit in regularly diminishing proportions. Particular styles become typical to a region. In Japan, for example, the five-story pagoda is
common, with each story representing one of the five elements: earth, water, fire, wind, and void (sky, heaven). The finial is also divided into
five parts. The shape of the stories varies; they can be circular, square, or polygonal. Each story in an East Asian pagoda has its own prominent
projecting bracketed roof line, and the whole structure is capped by a mast and disks. In general, the pagoda form is intended primarily as a
monument, and often it has very little usable interior space.
One of China’s oldest surviving pagodas is at Songyue Monastery on Mount Song in Henan province. It is a 12-sided stone structure built during
the Bei (Northern) Wei dynasty (386–534/535 CE) of the Six Dynasties period. The Hōryū Temple in Nara prefecture, Japan, rebuilt after a fire in
670, is part of a group of Buddhist monuments in the area that were awarded World Heritage status in 1993. Built of wood, which is more
flexible than stone or brick—an important quality in a region subject to earthquakes—it was also joined without the use of nails, also for
reasons of flexibility. Although many examples exist elsewhere, Korea’s distinctive contribution was its use of stone (usually granite) in pagoda
construction. Among the especially well-known pagodas of Southeast Asia are Shwe Dagon, the Golden Pagoda, in Yangon, Myanmar; the Phra
Pathom Chedi in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand; the Silver Pagoda (officially Wat Preah Keo Morokat, “Temple of the Emerald Buddha”) in Phnom
Penh, Cambodia; and the That Luang (Grand Stupa) in Vientiane, Laos.
Images
Timber pagoda of the Fogong Temple, 1056, Song dynasty; at Yingxian, Shanxi province,
China.
Pagoda at Songyue Monastery on Mount Song in Henan province, China China's oldest surviving pagoda from 386/535CE
Notes from Article "Pagoda" https://www.britannica.com/technology/pagoda


a structure that is
o towerlike,
o multistory,
o solid or hollow
o made of stone, brick, or wood,
usually associated with a Buddhist temple
Began in Ancient Iindia
 developed from the stupa, a domed monument built in ancient India
o symbolized sacred mountains
o used to house relics or remains of saints and kings
o the decorative ornament at the top of stupas gradually got longer and became shaped like a
cylinder
 until the upper part of the stupa looked like a tower
Buddhism began to use
 built stupas to house holy relics
In China

relics were put in small underground structures that were mostly a brick- or stone-lined room
o called “dragon palace” or “dragon cave”
 sometimes decorated with murals
o held a container in with the relics
o this first container was placed in one to several larger containers
 outermost container was covered by the pagoda’s base or pedestal
 these pedestals were often decorated
o the structure over the pedestal became the towerlike structures known as pagodas
Today

found in China, the Koreas and Japan



tower is made-up of a basic story unit repeated one above the last
each one smaller the last as the tower rises
they are monuments
o often with very little usable interior space

Particular styles become typical to a region
 In Japan
 the five-story pagoda is common,
 each story represents one of the five elements: earth, water, fire, wind, and sky/heaven
 the shape of the stories varies - circular, square, or polygonal

In China
 the roof line projects out and dominates the structure
 there are decorative brackets supporting the projecting roof line
One of China’s oldest surviving pagodas
 at Songyue Monastery on Mount Song in Henan province
 a 12-sided stone structure
 built between 386–534/535 CE.