Sketch Corner: One Pillar Pagoda

Sketch by architect Dang Phuoc Tue

Sketch by artist Dang Viet Loc

According to Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu, King Ly Thai Tong dreamed of Buddha Quan Am sitting on a lotus throne, leading the king up to the throne. In 1049, the king ordered the construction of a pagoda on a stone pillar in the middle of the lake in the shape of a blooming lotus (hence the name Lien Hoa Dai). It was renovated many times during the Tran, Hau Le, and Nguyen dynasties. The One Pillar Pagoda was destroyed by a mine in 1954 by the French before they withdrew from Hanoi . The current pagoda is a version rebuilt by architect Nguyen Ba Lang in 1955, following the architecture left over from the Nguyen Dynasty.

Sketch by Dinh Thi My Tram - student of Danang University of Architecture

Sketch by Architect Bui Hoang Bao

Painting by Nguyen Thu Nga

The One Pillar Pagoda today consists of a stone pillar 1.2 m in diameter and 4 m high supporting a square wooden Lotus platform (each side is 3 m long), inside is a statue of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes. The roof is covered with tiles, with four curved corners (tàu dao), and the top of the roof has two dragons facing the moon (*).

Sketch by Architect Phan Dinh Trung

Sketch by Architect Nguyen Dinh Viet

Sketch by Nguyen Tan Dung - Student of Danang University of Architecture

In 1962, the One Pillar Pagoda complex was recognized as a national historical and architectural relic. In addition, the One Pillar Pagoda was printed on the 20 Dong note (1985), the 5,000 Dong coin, the watermark on the 10,000 Dong note, and appeared on many stamps from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1957), the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1988, 2002, 2012)...

Sketch by Nguyen Van Huu - Student of University of Construction

Sketch by Architect Tran Xuan Hong

Sketch by Architect Tran Xuan Hong

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(*) The dragon is a mascot, a symbol of strength and positive energy. The moon is a symbol of fertility and negative energy. Two dragons facing the moon pray for strength and growth, harmony of yin and yang, favorable weather and wind (Vietnamese farmers in the past relied on the moon to monitor their crops).

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/goc-ky-hoa-chua-mot-cot-185230701210416684.htm