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Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an, China. Photo by Maros M r a z. Wikimedia Commons.

10 Unbelievable Facts about Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

Also called Dayan Pagoda, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is a Buddhist pagoda located in southern Xi’an, Shaanxi in China. Pagodas were structures originally built to house relics of historical Buddha or other important holy persons. The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was erected in 652 to commemorate the return of the Temple of Mercy’s abbot.

The pagoda is monumental to Buddhist culture and architecture. The building currently stands at 64 meters being 7 stories high. It is square in shape as is most Tang-style architecture. Giant Wild Goose Pagoda has an immense history dating back close to a thousand years ago. Many people visit the area to catch a glimpse of this monumental building.

It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. Buddhists still practice their faith therein to date. Let us now look at 10 Unbelievable Facts about Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.

1. The name is derived from a folk story about Buddhist history

It is believed that originally, there were two factions of Buddhism. One permitted eating meat while the other faction did not. On a given occasion, the faction of Buddhists who ate meat could not find any meat to buy or eat. A flock of geese flew above them but they were too high out of their reach.

One of the monks prayed that Buddha provides them with meat and at that moment the leading goose broke its wings and fell. The monks believed that this was a warning from Buddha prompting them to be more pious and less fixated on worldly pleasures. The eating of meat among Buddhists was thereby banned. Supposedly, the pagoda was built where the goose fell.

2. After its construction, the pagoda collapsed at the end 600s

Xuanzang was a widely traveled Buddhist scholar. He planned to build a huge stone pagoda to house the Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures he had brought back from India. This plan however fell through since it was difficult to acquire the stones he needed and he was short of money.

Therefore, a mud pagoda reinforced with bricks was constructed. The mud pagoda was not strong and the construction was not properly done. Because of this, the pagoda collapsed a few years after it was constructed. It was rebuilt between 701 and 704 under the order of Empress Wu Ze Tian.

3. The pagoda was built during the Tang Dynasty

Statue of Xuanzang in the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi’an. Photo by John Hill. Wikimedia Commons.

The Tang dynasty gave orders for the building of the pagoda for the study of Buddhist scriptures. During the construction, a chamber was incorporated for the translation of Buddhist scripture. This was in a bid to persuade the widely renowned Master Xuanzang to accept to be the head of the temple.

Xuanzang was a Buddhist monk who traveled widely. He translated Sanskrit scripture and developed theories of consciousness, karma, and rebirth that were adopted by schools of Buddhism.

4. The building utilized Chinese traditional architecture

The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda of Xi’an, built in the year 652 AD during the Tang Dynasty, when the city was named Chang’an. Photo by Bobak. .

The pagoda was built using layers of bricks without any cement. The bricks imitate wood and the structure has a base, the body, and the final top. The bracket-style utilized in the building has seams between each layer of bricks and the ‘prisms’ on each side of the pagoda are visible. The pagoda remains to be one of the few traditional Chinese architectural designs that still stands.

5. There is a music fountain at the Wild Goose Pagoda Square

This is the biggest music fountain in Asia covering 110,000 square meters. The Fountain and Music Show has the most benches, the longest light belt, and the largest-scale acoustic complex in the world. It has 1360 sets of pumps, 1124 sets of transducers, 3,300 sets of lampion, and more than 2,000 sets of nozzles.

It is highly equipped with a technological lighting system and professional audio systems. The sound, the light, the water, and the color of the fountain are harmoniously combined.

6. Many precious relics are found inside the pagoda

Sarira Casket from Subashi. Photo by Unknown. .

The Wild Goose Pagoda has the Sarira and the pattra-leaf. The Sarira is a special object for worshipping in the Buddhist culture. There are two Sariras preserved inside the pagoda. They were presented by the Shiwuqian a master from India.

The pattra-leaf on the hand is a Buddhist text written on the pattra leaves. This is because there was no writing paper back in the day. The thickly dotted Sanskrit is very rare because less than 10 people understand it.

7. The Wild Goose Pagoda has an underground palace

The palace is located on the West Side of Da Ci’en Temple. The passageways are over 1,500 meters on each side, and 2 meters deep. Inside the palace, visitors can explore murals and religious artifacts collected by Xuazang.

An exhibition of Xuanzang’s voyage to India is also displayed. The underground palace of the pagoda was recently discovered.

8. The pagoda was once destroyed by an earthquake

There was a massive earthquake in 1556 that heavily damaged the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. The earthquake reduced the pagoda by 3 stories to the current 7 stories.

The pagoda was extensively repaired during the Ming Dynasty between 1368 and 1644. The structure leans to the west by several degrees currently.

9. It is located inside a temple

Daci’en Temple, Xi’an, China. Photo by Aaron Zhu. Wikimedia Commons.

The Giant Wild Goose pagoda is built inside Daci’en Temple. The temple was built in 648AD because prince Lizhi wanted to pray for his deceased mother and payback for her kindness.

Ci’en means mercy and kindness to the virtuous queen. In front of the temple stands the statute of Xuanzang the famous scholar who translated Sanskrit.

10. The walls of the pagoda are lined with statues of Buddha

The walls of the Giant Wild Goose pagoda are finely engraved with the statute of Buddha. This was done by the famous artist Yan Liben. There are many inscriptions also which have been done by noted Chinese calligraphers like Chu Suiliang.

The pagoda is part of the World Heritage List along with other sites along the Silk Road as part of the ‘Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor’ in 2014.