One Hundred and Eight Stupas

Last updated April 29, 2019

Coordinates: 37°52′27″N105°58′43″E / 37.87417°N 105.97861°E / 37.87417; 105.97861

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

The One Hundred and Eight Stupas (Chinese :一百零八塔; pinyin :Yībǎilíngbā Tǎ) is an array of one hundred and eight Buddhist stupas (also called dagobas) on a hillside on the west bank of the Yellow River at Qingtongxia in Ningxia, China. The stupas were originally constructed during the Western Xia, but have been renovated and rebuilt several times over the centuries.

Chinese is a group of related, but in many cases not mutually intelligible, language varieties, forming the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese is spoken by the ethnic Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in China. About 1.2 billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language.

Hanyu Pinyin, often abbreviated to pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese in mainland China and to some extent in Taiwan. It is often used to teach Standard Mandarin Chinese, which is normally written using Chinese characters. The system includes four diacritics denoting tones. Pinyin without tone marks is used to spell Chinese names and words in languages written with the Latin alphabet, and also in certain computer input methods to enter Chinese characters.

Tibetan Buddhism is the form of Buddhism named after the lands of Tibet where it is the dominant religion. It is also found in the regions surrounding the Himalayas, much of Chinese Central Asia, the Southern Siberian regions such as Tuva, as well as in Mongolia.

Description

The location of the 108 stupas has been turned into a major tourist site, and a large area of land between the stupas and the Yellow River has been paved over and landscaped with ponds. A number of buildings have been erected on the site, including a tourist reception centre and an exhibition hall. The exhibition hall describes the history of the stupas, and shows photographs of what they looked like when they were investigated and renovated during the 1980s.

The 108 stupas are arrayed in a triangular formation up the side of a hill, facing southeast, overlooking the Yellow River. There is one large stupa at the apex of the triangle, with a Buddhist hall behind it, and below that are eleven rows of one hundred and seven smaller stupas on brick platforms of increasing width running down the hill. The number of stupas on each level is: 1, 3, 3, 5, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19. The reason why there are a 108 stupas is that the number 108 is a sacred number in Buddhism, for example Buddhist rosary beads number 108. Odd numbers are also considered auspicious in Buddhism (so pagodas always have an odd number of storeys), which is why the number of stupas on each row is an odd number.

The first row of nineteen stupas starts slightly up the hillside, so the bottom platform is 5 metres (16 ft) high. The width of the bottom platform is 54 metres (177 ft), and the height from the bottom platform to the top platform with the large stupa is 31.82 metres (104.4 ft).

The stupas have undergone intensive renovation in recent years, and they do not represent their original Western Xia form, although they are in the original position and formation. In 1987 the small stupas were 2.0–2.5 metres (6.6–8.2 ft) in height, with a diameter of 1.9–2.1 metres (6.2–6.9 ft), but after renovation and the addition of a canopy and finial they are now somewhat taller.^[1]

A finial or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture it is a decorative device, typically carved in stone, employed to emphasize the apex of a dome, spire, tower, roof, or gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Where there are several such elements they may be called pinnacles. Smaller finials in materials such as metal or wood are used as a decorative ornament on the tops or ends of poles or rods such as tent-poles or curtain rods or any object such as a piece of furniture. These are frequently seen on top of bed posts or clocks. Decorative finials are also commonly used to fasten lampshades, and as an ornamental element at the end of the handles of souvenir spoons. The charm at the end of a pull chain is also known as a finial.

The stupas are all made of brick, with several different designs. The bottom row (19 stupas) and the large stupa at the top have a zigzag ratha -shaped base, whereas the remaining 88 stupas all have an octagonal base. Rows 1 and 12 (20 stupas), rows 2–6 (23 stupas), row 7 (9 stupas), and rows 8–11 (56 stupas) each have slightly different shapes of hemispherical domed stupa body.^[2] Whole bricks are used for the stupa base, and half-bricks are used for the body of the stupa.^[1]

In Hindu temple architecture, a ratha is a facet or vertical offset projection on the plan of the sanctum and shikhara above, or other structure. It is generally carried up from the bottom of the temple to the superstructure. The corners of each ratha touch notional circles on the plan of the temple, centred on the murti image in the sanctum. The sides are oriented along the main horizontal axis of the temple or at right angles to it, generating a multi-faceted plan that harmonizes the square and the circle, becoming more circular in overall shape as the number of rathas increases.

The original stupa canopies and finials had all been lost by the time the stupas were restored in 1987, but as part of the restoration each stupa is now capped by a lead canopy of several designs (round or octagonal, with one or two balls on the finial).

In 1987 the large stupa was 5.04 metres (16.5 ft) high, with a diameter of 3.08 metres (10.1 ft), but after renovation it is now somewhat taller.^[1] Unlike the small stupas, which are all solid, the large stupa has a small opening on the east side, with a small room in the centre. This is currently occupied by a Buddhist statue and an offering box.

History

The 108 stupas are believed to have been originally constructed during the period of the Western Xia kingdom (1038–1227), as part of a Buddhist temple complex.^[2] The remains of a temple and two small stupas were originally located in front of the 108 stupas, but due to the construction of a dam nearby (which for some years caused the area in front of the stupas to be flooded), in 1958 the two stupas were demolished. Two Western Xia period silk Buddhist paintings were found inside the two stupas, and fragments of Tangut Buddhist texts, miniature terracota stupa models, and clay tsha-tsha (small tablets made of stamped clay) were also found in the vicinity of the temple.^[2]^[4] Further evidence that the temple complex dates back to the Western Xia comes from an octagonal brick platform (on which a stupa would originally have stood) which is located on the hillside just north of the 108 stupas. In 1987 fragments of Buddhist sutras written in the Tangut script were discovered in this platform, together with about a dozen clay stupa models. Artefacts discovered during the renovation of the 108 stupas included four painted clay Buddhist statues and over a hundred plain and painted clay stupa models (between 5 and 12.5 cm in height) from the large stupa, seven tsha-tsha from two of the small stupas (nos. 17 and 85), a painted clay Buddhist statue from stupa no. 41, and three pottery stupa finials (between 13 and 17.5 cm in height) from stupa no. 101.^[1]^[4]

During renovation in 1987 it was possible to reconstruct the architectural history of the stupas. The original stupas were made of sun-dried mud bricks surrounding a central wooden supporting pillar. The mud core was coated in white plaster, with lotus flower designs or Sanskrit text painted in red around the base. Later the stupa bases were strengthened, and additional mud was applied to reinforce the stupa body.^[2] The stupas were replastered twice during the Yuan and Ming dynasties.^[1]

During the early Qing dynasty the stupas underwent a major renovation, and the dilapidated mud stupas were encased in brick to protect them. The brick casing was thinly coated with white plaster several times up to the 1980s.^[1]

By 1987, most of the stupas were in a very poor state of repair, with missing brickwork exposing the mud and plaster core. None of the stupas preserved the top part, and in some cases only the stupa base remained. During 1987–1988 the outer brickwork of the stupas (dating to the early Qing dynasty) was repaired and rebuilt using the few relatively complete stupas as models. The white plaster that still covered the brickwork of most of stupas at that time was removed, and the stupas assumed their current form.^[1]

Gallery of artefacts discovered at the 108 stupas

Five clay tsha-tsha and one miniature stupa model
Miniature clay stupa models
Pottery stupa finial found in Stupa no. 101
Clay sculpture of an elephant (possibly the base for a statue of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra)
Fragments of a Tangut Buddhist sutra

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lei, Runze 雷润泽; Yu, Cunhai 于存海 (1991). "宁夏青铜峡市一百零八塔清理维修简报" [Report on the tidying and renovation of the 108 stupas at Qingtongxia in Ningxia]. Wenwu (8): 27–35.
1 2 3 4 Lei, Runze (1996). "The Structural Character and Tradition of Ningxia's Stupas". Orientations (4): 55–62.
↑ Du, Jianlu 杜建录 (2012). 中国藏西夏文献研究[Study of Tangut documents held in China]. Shanghai guji chubanshe. p. 68.
1 2 Han, Xiaomang 韓小忙; Sun, Changsheng 孙昌盛; Chen, Yuexin 陈悦新 (2001). 西夏美术史[History of Western Xia Art]. Wenwu chubanshe. pp. 45, 127, 133, 146.

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[lei-1991-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lei, Runze 雷润泽; Yu, Cunhai 于存海 (1991). "宁夏青铜峡市一百零八塔清理维修简报" [Report on the tidying and renovation of the 108 stupas at Qingtongxia in Ningxia]. Wenwu (8): 27–35.

[lei-1996-2] 1 2 3 4 Lei, Runze (1996). "The Structural Character and Tradition of Ningxia's Stupas". Orientations (4): 55–62.

[du-2012-3] Du, Jianlu 杜建录 (2012). 中国藏西夏文献研究[Study of Tangut documents held in China]. Shanghai guji chubanshe. p. 68.

[han-2001-4] 1 2 Han, Xiaomang 韓小忙; Sun, Changsheng 孙昌盛; Chen, Yuexin 陈悦新 (2001). 西夏美术史[History of Western Xia Art]. Wenwu chubanshe. pp. 45, 127, 133, 146.