MY 4TH DAY IN CHINA - LEIFENG PAGODA

Dear loving readers,







The above photo is taken at Leifeng Tower, Hangzhou and a very significant and inspiring revelation which I like to share with all of you. I hope it will inspire you, the same way as it inspired me.


Originally constructed in the year AD 975, it collapsed in 1924 but was rebuilt in 2002. Thereafter, it has been a popular tourist attraction. From the above photo, you may notice that there are elevators to bring its visitors to the foot of the pagoda. Here, i realized that is even more glory than its past glory before it collapsed. The reconstruction with modern features such as autonomous elevator and lift, air conditioners, televisions and speakers, make it better in serving its visitors.


Similarly, this principle may apply to life. When we are disappointed in life, it may be a good beginning for us, the same way as this pagoda, we may bounce back and stand up a higher level than the level you were before the fall.


Therefore, we should treat the ups and downs in our life as part of life processes, which make us even stronger to face new challenges. It is not material how many times you fall, what is more important is that you are able to bounce back and climb up to a higher level than you were before the fall. You should not be distracted by a fall, but rather treat it as an adversary, which is meant for good - to make you even stronger than before. A good new chapter is beginning rather than the ending of the beautiful story.


Trust you too have learned a good lesson from the series of events this tower had gone through.


The information below, extracted from Wikipedia is for your further reading pleasure.


Leifeng Pagoda (traditional Chinese: 雷峰塔; pinyin: Léi Fēng Tǎ) is a five story tall tower with eight sides, located on Sunset Hill south of the West Lake in Hangzhou. Originally constructed in the year AD 975, it collapsed in 1924 but was rebuilt in 2002, since when it has been a popular tourist attraction.


Original


The original pagoda was built in 975 AD, during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, at the order of King Qian Chu (born Qian Hongchu) of Wuyue. It was built to celebrate the birth of Qian Chu's son, born to Huang Fei, one of his favorite concubines. The Leifeng Pagoda was an octagonal, five-story structure built of brick and wood and with a base built out of bricks.


During the Ming dynasty, Japanese pirates attacked Hangzhou. Suspecting the pagoda contained weapons, they burned its wooden elements, leaving only the brick skeleton, as can be seen from Ming paintings of the West Lake.


Leifeng Pagoda was one of the ten sights of the West Lake because of the Legend of the White Snake.


Later, due to a superstition that bricks from the tower could repel illness or prevent miscarriage, many people stole bricks from the tower to grind into powder. On the afternoon of September 25, 1924, the pagoda finally collapsed due to disrepair.


As for whether there was a mausoleum below, this was debated for years until finally radar was used to investigate. On March 11, 2001 the mausoleum was excavated and many treasures were found, most notably a gold and silver coated hair of the Buddha.


Reconstruction


In October 1999, the provincial and municipal governments decided to rebuild Leifeng Pagoda over the ruins of the old one. The new pagoda opened on 25 October 2002. It is composed of a 1400 tonne steel structure with 200 tonnes of copper parts. It contains four sightseeing elevators, and modern features including air conditioners, televisions and speakers. At the entrance of the pagoda there are two autonomous elevators to carry visitors to the pagoda's foot.


The original base of the pagoda is kept in good condition as well as the treasures discovered in an underground chamber.

To read other related article, please click at the title of the post.


I shall download the photos taken around this area later on as I have some difficulties in doing so.


Thanks for your time and look forward to hearing from you,




James Oh