Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    Culture
    Home / Culture / Books

    Towering determination of pagoda chronicler

    Telling the stories of ancient structures is a passionate undertaking for enthusiast, Yang Yang reports.

    By Yang Yang | China Daily | Updated: 2024-01-05 07:47
    Share
    Share - WeChat
    Cover of the book, Youshengzhinian Yidingyao Kande 1,001 Zuo Zhongguo Guta (The 1,001 Chinese Ancient Pagodas You Must See Before You Die), by Wu Kai and Wang Xuebin. [Photo provided to China Daily]

    Initially for Buddhist purposes, pagodas were later built to mark the graves of eminent monks or common people, for auspicious purposes or to enhance the landscape.

    In addition to the wooden structure at the early developmental stage, there are later pagodas made of brick, as well as a mix of brick and wood, even metal. In modern times, people employ reinforced concrete and steel structures to build antique pagodas.

    Apart from wood and bricks, ancient people also used colored glaze, rock, soil, iron, copper, gold and silver in pagoda construction.

    It is estimated that there still exist more than 10,000 ancient pagodas across the country, but nobody knows the exact number, since many are anonymous and in disrepair or even just ruins hiding in obscure corners or in the remote wilderness.

    To visit hilltop or cliff-top pagodas, or those hidden in deep forest requires fortitude, physical strength and even luck, so, few people get to see them in person. For those that do, there is the added difficulty of taking good-quality photos, especially those suitable for print.

    More than a decade ago, blogging was popular in China and many enthusiasts loved to share stories of their visits to ancient pagodas. Through their blogs, they gradually got to know one another.

    Wu's plan was applauded by his fellow enthusiasts, many of whom generously offered their photos of pagodas and related materials they had collected.

    In the last 10 years or so, Wu has also spent a great deal of time traveling around the country to see pagodas and take photos, systematically collecting and organizing the information about these ancient buildings. In that time, many pagodas have been damaged, moved or lost, so that the photos taken by Wu, or those he got from others, have inadvertently become their final portraits.

    After a decade of persistent effort, he has organized firsthand textual and visual materials for nearly 5,000 ancient pagodas.

    In 2019, he published his first book on the subject. In the tome, which exceeds 500 pages, Wu includes more than 300 ancient pagodas in Beijing. In addition to archival information, the book also provides maps and more than 800 recently taken high-definition photos, old photos, rubbings, architectural drawings and paintings, making it, to date, the most comprehensive book about ancient pagodas in the region.

    |<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next   >>|
    Most Popular
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    中文字幕无码不卡免费视频| 97久久精品无码一区二区| 97碰碰碰人妻视频无码| 一区二区三区在线观看中文字幕| 国产∨亚洲V天堂无码久久久| 免费中文字幕视频| 天堂а在线中文在线新版| 成年免费a级毛片免费看无码| 在线天堂中文新版www| 中文字幕乱码人在线视频1区| 久久久久久亚洲Av无码精品专口| 精品多人p群无码| 亚洲AV中文无码字幕色三| 国产精品毛片无码| 日韩午夜福利无码专区a| 极品粉嫩嫩模大尺度无码视频| 国内精品久久久人妻中文字幕| AA区一区二区三无码精片| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区久久| 亚洲午夜无码片在线观看影院猛| 无码国产69精品久久久久网站| 中文字幕无码一区二区免费| 日韩欧美一区二区三区中文精品| 亚洲VA中文字幕无码毛片| 中文字幕无码无码专区| 亚洲高清无码在线观看| 亚洲av无码专区在线观看下载 | 亚洲av无码不卡私人影院| 精品久久久久久无码专区不卡| 亚洲日韩精品无码一区二区三区 | 中文字幕久久亚洲一区| 久久有码中文字幕| 区三区激情福利综合中文字幕在线一区亚洲视频1 | 亚洲国产综合精品中文第一区| 亚洲伊人成无码综合网| 亚洲欧美综合在线中文| 亚洲熟妇无码八V在线播放| 亚洲中文字幕无码中文字在线| 亚洲最大激情中文字幕| 色噜噜综合亚洲av中文无码| 天堂在/线中文在线资源官网|