Beyond Expectations: Liang Sicheng's Findings in Jizhou's White Pagoda

In 1932, when Liang Sicheng arrived in Tianjin's Jixian County for his first field survey of ancient Chinese architecture, he observed from the attic of the Guanyin Pavilion at Dule Temple that to the south, less than a mile away, stood a uniquely shaped white pagoda-the Guanyin Temple Pagoda.
He immediately deduced that this white pagoda was originally constructed as part of Dule Temple, a temple that underwent reconstruction during the Liao Dynasty. The octagonal white pagoda itself was also a product of Liao Dynasty architecture, as before the Tang Dynasty, Buddhist pagodas were mostly square-shaped and lacked the octagonal form. However, the appearance of this white pagoda was rather peculiar. Its lower half exhibited typical Liao Dynasty characteristics, with densely eaved brick layers, while the upper half resembled the style of a Lamaist pagoda, with a bell-shaped top.
As it is widely known, this rounded bell-shaped style of pagoda emerged only after the Yuan Dynasty, following the Mongol conquest of China. Therefore, Liang Sicheng concluded that the mismatched appearance of the white pagoda in Jixian County must have resulted from alterations made during the Ming Dynasty. It is speculated that prior to these alterations, the upper half of the pagoda had already collapsed, leaving only the lower portion intact. Whether the alterations were due to cost-cutting measures or insufficient funds for proper restoration remains uncertain. Similar anomalies in pagoda architecture, such as the North Pagoda of Beijing's Yunju Temple, may also be attributed to financial constraints during reconstruction efforts.