View source for White Horse Pagoda, Dunhuang

{{distinguish|text=the [[White Horse Temple]] in Luoyang}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name                  = White Horse Pagoda, Dunhuang
| native_name           = 
| image                 = White Horse Temple, Dunhuang.jpg
| image_size            = 150px
| alt                   = 
| caption               = White Horse Pagoda
| map_type              = 
| map_size              = 
| map_alt               = 
| map_caption           = 
| location              = [[Dunhuang]], [[Gansu Province]], [[China]]
| coordinates           = 
| religious_affiliation = [[Mahayana Buddhism]]
| deity                 = 
| country               = [[China]]
| functional_status     = 
| website               = 
| founded_by            = 
| year_completed        = circa 384 CE
}}

{{coord|40|07|50.85|N|94|38|54.79|E|source:Dunhuang-plwiki|display=title}}

'''The White Horse Pagoda''' ({{zh|s=白马寺|t=白馬寺|p=Báimǎ Sì}}, [[Wade-Giles]]: ''Paima szu''), in [[Dunhuang]], [[Gansu]], [[China]], was built to commemorate Tianliu, the white horse of the Buddhist monk [[Kumārajīva]], which carried Buddhist scriptures all the way from [[Kucha]] to Dunhuang in China c. 384 CE.<ref>Du and Wang (2005), p. 52.</ref>

The pagoda is located about 2 km southwest of the centre of Dunhuang city. It was repaired in the Daoguang era (1821-1851) and again in 1992. It is 12 metres (39 feet) high and 7 metres (23 feet) in diameter and consists of 9 levels in total. The exterior is built of [[adobe]] bricks and is filled with grass and mud mixed with lime. The base is in the form of an eight-spoked wheel, the 1st level has four sides, while levels 2 to 4 have folding corners, the 5th level is decorated with upturned lotuses, the 6th is in the shape of an overturned bowl, the 7th level is wheel-shaped, while the 8th level has a hexagonal plate at the top of the pagoda with big wind-bells hanging on every corner.<ref>Du and Wang (2005), p. 52.</ref> Above that are three metal balls surmounted by a [[trident]]. Local people say the chime of the bells are an echo of the neighing of the horse.

==History==

[[File:Showing construction of White Horse Temple.jpg|thumb|left|Showing construction of pagoda]]
{{Buddhism and China}}
Kumārajīva, a revered monk and translator, was born in the oasis city-state of [[Kucha]], the son of a Kuchean princess and a [[Kashmiri people|Kashmiri]] [[Brahmin]].<ref>Du and Wang (2005), p. 52.</ref> The horse found passages through high mountains, across raging rivers, and water when needed.

[[File:Wall painting and incense brazier.jpg|thumb|left|Wall painting and incense brazier at pagoda]]
[[File:White Horse Pagoda, Duhuang.jpg|thumb|view of pagoda and surrounds|alt=|262x262px]]
According to legend, when Kumārajīva reached the ancient city of Shazhou (Dunhuang) he stopped for several days at Puguang Temple to preach the scriptures. Just before he was due to leave, Tianliu became sick and died shortly after. He was devastated by the death of his faithful companion and built this unique nine-storied pagoda containing relics of the Buddha:<ref>Du and Wang (2005), p. 52.</ref>

<blockquote>"Kumārajīva was very sad. He erected a sacrificial altar for the white horse and performed Buddhist rites at it for nine days. In the courtyard of Puguang Temple he built the White Horse Pagoda."<ref>Quote from a sign at the site of the pagoda.</ref></blockquote>

[[The Diamond Sutra]] (Sanskrit: ''Vajracchdikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra'' or 'Diamond Cutter Perfection of Wisdom Sutra'), one of the scriptures Kumārajīva brought to China, was first translated into Chinese by him in 402.<ref>van Schaik (2011-12), p. 12</ref> It became "the most widely-read, recited and copied version of the [[sutra]] in China, in spite of the fact that later translations were made by several others, including the pilgrim monk [[Xuanzang]]." A printed copy of this sutra, found at the [[Mogao Caves]] near Dunhuang in 1910, is dated in the year 868 CE, making it the world's oldest dated printed book.<ref>Wood and Barnard (2011-12), p. 4</ref> It has recently been restored at the [[British Library]], an exacting process that took seven years.<ref>Wood and Barnard (2011-12), pp. 4-5.</ref><ref>Wood and Barnard (2010)</ref>

==See also==
*[[Horse in Chinese mythology]]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* Du and Wang (2005): ''Dunhuang & Silk Road''. Compiled by: Du Doucheng and Wang Shuqing. Sea Sky Publishing House, Shenzhen, China, p. 52.
* van Schaik (2011–12): "The ''Diamond Sutra'': History and Transmission. Sam van Schaik. ''IDP News'', No. 38, Winter 2011-12. {{ISSN|1354-5914}}, pp. 2-3.
* Wood and Barnard (2010): ''The Diamond Sutra: The Story of the World's Earliest Printed Book''. Francis Wood and Mark Barnard. British Library. {{ISBN|978-0-7123-5090-7}}.
* Wood and Barnard (2011-12): "Restoration of the Diamond Sutra." Francis Wood and Mark Barnard. ''IDP News'', No. 38, Winter 2011-12. {{ISSN|1354-5914}}, pp. 4-5.

{{Commons category|White Horse Pagoda, Dunhuang}}

[[Category:Dunhuang]]
[[Category:Buddhist temples in Gansu]]
[[Category:Chinese architectural history]]
[[Category:Horses in Chinese mythology]]