Pagoda

A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves, common in Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but sometimes Taoist or Hindu, and were often in or near viharas. The pagoda traces its origins to the stupa, while its design was developed in Nepal's Kathmandu valley. Chinese pagodas (Chinese: 塔; pinyin: Tǎ) are a traditional part of Chinese architecture. In addition to religious use, since ancient times Chinese pagodas have been valued for the spectacular views they offer, and many classical poems attest to the joy of scaling pagodas.

The oldest and tallest pagodas were made of wood, but most that survived were made of brick or stone. Some are solid with no interior. Hollow pagodas have no higher floors or rooms, but the interior often contains an altar or a smaller pagoda, as well as a series of staircases for visitors to climb to see the view from an opening on one side of each tier. Most have between three and 13 tiers (almost always an odd number) and the classic gradual tiered eaves.

In some countries, the term may refer to other religious structures. In Vietnam and Cambodia, due to French translation, the English term pagoda more generically refers to a place of worship, although pagoda is not an accurate word for a Buddhist vihāra. The architectural structure of the stupa has spread across Asia, taking on diverse forms specific to each region. Many Philippine bell towers are highly influenced by pagodas through Chinese workers hired by the Spaniards.

One proposed etymology is from a South Chinese pronunciation of the term for an eight-cornered tower, 八角塔 (bā jiǎo tǎ), and reinforced by the name of a famous pagoda encountered by many early European visitors to China, the "Pázhōu tǎ" (Chinese: 琶洲塔), standing just south of Guangzhou at Whampoa Anchorage. Another proposed etymology is Persian botkada, from bot, "idol" and kada, "temple, dwelling."

Yet another etymology is from the Sinhala word dāgaba, derived from Sanskrit dhātugarbha or Pali dhātugabbha: "relic womb/chamber" or "reliquary shrine", i.e. a stupa, by way of Portuguese.^{[failed verification]}

The origin of the pagoda can be traced to the stupa (3rd century BCE). The stupa, a dome shaped monument, was used as a commemorative monument to house sacred relics and writings. In East Asia, the architecture of Chinese towers and Chinese pavilions blended into pagoda architecture, eventually also spreading to Southeast Asia. Their construction was popularized by the efforts of Buddhist missionaries, pilgrims, rulers, and ordinary devotees to honor Buddhist relics.

Japan has a total of 22 five-storied timber pagodas constructed before 1850.

The earliest styles of Chinese pagodas were square-base and circular-base, with octagonal-base towers emerging in the 5th–10th centuries. The highest Chinese pagoda from the pre-modern age is the Liaodi Pagoda of Kaiyuan Monastery, Dingxian, Hebei, completed in the year 1055 AD under Emperor Renzong of Song and standing at a total height of 84 m (275 ft). Although it no longer stands, the tallest pre-modern pagoda in Chinese history was the 100-metre-tall wooden pagoda (330 ft) of Chang'an, built by Emperor Yang of Sui, and possibly the short-lived 6th century Yongning Pagoda (永宁宝塔) of Luoyang at roughly 137 metres. The tallest pre-modern pagoda still standing is the Liaodi Pagoda. In April 2007 a new wooden pagoda Tianning Temple of Changzhou was opened to the public, the tallest in China, standing 154 m (505 ft).