Erling Pagoda, Stone pagoda in Ningbo, China.
Erling Pagoda stands on a ridge of Erling Mountain on the Shexing peninsula, southeast of Dongqian Lake in Ningbo's Yinzhou District. The stone pagoda imitates a timber pavilion tower: a 7.5 by 6.5 m stone platform, a 1.78 m Xumizuo base entered by a square door on the north, a seven-storey body 7.4 m tall and a simple square-column finial. It is hollow and cannot be climbed.
Erling Pagoda was built during the Zhenghe era of the Northern Song dynasty (1111–1118), as recorded by an inscription reading "Zhenghe ... year" on the east wall of its base. Local gazetteers disagree on its origin: the Minguo-era Dongqianhu Zhi credits Chen He with building the temple and pagoda, while the Yinxian Tongzhi attributes it to Master Shao in the early Northern Song. In 1681 the Tiantong Temple monk Dejie directed a restoration, and in 1986 the pagoda was dismantled and rebuilt after its northwest corners had collapsed.
The name comes from Erling Temple below the pagoda, which in turn gave the name to the mountain; the temple and pagoda together form the 'Erling Sunset' scene, one of the Ten Scenes of Qiantou Lake. A local legend says a giant python once haunted the mountain in mist and harmed farmers and boats, until a monk built the pagoda to subdue the snake. The first storey bears the inscriptions 'Fuyan Shengshou' and 'Baoguo Aimin'.
The pagoda stands on a ridge on the northwest slope of Erling Mountain, on a snake-shaped peninsula southeast of Dongqian Lake, with Erling Temple below by the lakeshore. The hollow interior cannot be climbed, and the only entry is a square door on the north side of the 1.78-metre base. The site is reached on foot; since 2014 a 24-hour surveillance camera has watched over the monument.
The pagoda's base has a square door on its north side, and the east wall of the lowest storey bears an inscription reading "Zhenghe ... year", placing the build in the Northern Song reign period of 1111–1118. The hollow interior cannot be climbed.
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