Ayuwang Pagoda
| Ayuwang Pagoda | |||||||||
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| Chinese | 阿育王塔 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Ashoka Tower Ashoka Pagoda | ||||||||
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The Ayuwang or Ashoka Pagoda is a stupa in Dai County in northeast Xinzhou Prefecture in northern Shanxi, China.
Name
The Ayuwang Pagoda's name honors Ashoka, the Mauryan emperor who converted to Buddhism around 263 BC and subsequently greatly patronized the religion.
History
The Ayuwang Pagoda was first built under the Sui in AD 601. Over the next 600 years, it was destroyed and rebuilt three times. Its present form dates to the Mongolian Yuan dynasty, who favored Tibetan Buddhism and rebuilt the tower in a Tibetan style. This dagoba was heavily damaged by an earthquake during the Qing dynasty and subsequently repaired.[1]
References
Citations
- ^ Zhao (2007), 130.
Bibliography
- Zhao Yu, ed. (2007), Shanxi, Beijing: Chinese Travel Press.