乐生活Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes (4)
Cishi Pagoda, originally located in the abandoned temple on the top of Sanwei Mountain about 15 kilometers away from Mogao Grottoes, was moved to Mogao Grottoes as a whole in 1981.
Civil structure octagonal small single-storey, base inlaid with dragon and Phoenix brick, notice 5 meters. The tower body is built of adobe, with one Heavenly King painted on the three sides of the octagon (both of them are disabled), and one Heavenly King statue on the four slopes. The front of the tower wall opens a square door, with two sculptured Double Dragons on both sides of the door, one side of the square plaque painted on the door, and the four characters of "Cishi Pagoda" written in ink. In the middle is a square chamber with Maitreya Bodhisattva painted on the front and Manjusri and Sages painted on the left and right sides. Outside the tower, there is a wooden eaves for a week. There are eight octagonal eaves pillars, with bucket arches on the pillars and rafters under the eaves. The top part is the top of the octagonal steeple and the vase-shaped tower brake.
Some scholars believe that the construction period of this pagoda was from the latest year of the eaves of the caves to the year before the occupation of Dunhuang by the Western Xia Dynasty, that is, from 1980 to 1035. The specific age may depend on the upper limit, which belongs to the early Northern Song Dynasty. If so, it is the earliest known example of the construction time of wooden towers in China.
