WHAT MAKES PORCELAIN TOWER OF NANJING AMAZING?

            Do you have an idea about the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing? If no, this short review of mine can help you or can give you an idea about this tower.

Here is the picture of the tower:

PORCELAIN TOWER OF NANJING

      Amazing isn't it? That is the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing. One of the Seven Medieval Wonders of the World. 

      This is my short briefing about the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing. The Porcelain Tower or Porcelain Pagoda of Nanjing, also known as Bao'ensi  which means "Temple of Gratitude", is a historical site located on the south bank of the Yangtze in Nanjing, China. It was a pagoda constructed in the 15th century during the Ming Dynasty, but was mostly destroyed in the 19th century during the course of the Taiping Rebellion. In 2010 Wang Jianlin, a Chinese businessman, donated one billion yuan to the city of Nanjing for its reconstruction. This is reported to be the largest single personal donation ever made in China. And one of the famous monument in China.

     Another information is that, It was built in the early 15th century, the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing was designed by Emperor Yongle of China as a Buddhist pagoda, and was often listed by westerners as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The 260 foot tower was one of the largest buildings in China, and got it's name from the white porecelain bricks it was built with. It was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion. We're not quite sure yet why it is one of the Korean wonders, considering it's location in China. The brilliant white porcelain bricks that faced the tower were what made it so unforgettable. By day, the bricks glittered in the sun, and at night they were illuminated by perhaps as many as 140 lamps hanging around the exterior of the pagoda. Worked into the porcelain panels were colorful stoneware tiles with green, yellow, white, and brown glazes forming images of animals, landscapes, flowers, and bamboo. That is why the people in China were so proud.

   However, Nanjing, or "the southern capital," is the name by which Keang-ning, chief city in the province of Keang-soo, in China, has been popularly known for several centuries. The present city, which stands in 32° 5´ N. lat. and 118° 47´ E. long., dates only from the beginning of the Ming dynasty (1368), although it is built on the site of one which for more than two thousand years has figured under various names in the history of the empire. The more ancient city was originally known as King-ling ; under the Han dynasty (206 B.C. to 25 A.D.) its name was converted into Tan-yang ; by the T’ang emperors (618-907 A.D.) it was styled Keang-nan and Shing Chow ; by the first sovereign of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.) it was created the "southern capital" (Nan-king), and was given the distinctive name of Ying-t’een ; and since the accession to power of the present Manchu rulers it has been officially known as Keang-ning, though still popularly called Nan-King. As a matter of fact it was the seat of the imperial court only during the reigns of the first two emperors of the Ming dynasty, and was deserted for Shunt’een (Peking) by Yung-lo, the third sovereign of that line, who in 1403 captured the town and usurped the crown of his nephew, the reigning emperor. From an octagonal base about 97 feet in diameter, the tower's nine stories rose pyramidally to a height of about 260 feet. According to information obtained by an American missionary who journeyed to Nanjing in 1852, the original plan for the tower had called for 13 stories and a total height of about 330 feet. Although those ambitious dimensions were never realized, the smaller size made little difference, because size was not what made the structure so memorable for visitors.

The tower was octagonal with a base of about 97 feet (30 m) in diameter. When it was built, the tower was one of the largest buildings in China, rising up to a height of 260 feet (79 m) with nine stories and a staircase in the middle of the pagoda, which spiraled upwards for 184 steps. The top of the roof was marked by a golden pineapple. There were original plans to add more stories, according to an American missionary who in 1852 visited Nanjing. There are only a few Chinese pagodas that surpass its height, such as the still existent 275-foot-tall (84 m) 11th-century Liaodi Pagoda in Hebei or the no longer existent 330-foot-tall (100 m) 7th-century wooden pagoda of Chang'an.

The tower was built with white porcelain bricks that were said to reflect the sun's rays during the day, and at night as many as 140 lamps were hung from the building to illuminate the tower. Glazes and stoneware were worked into the porcelain and created a mixture of green, yellow, brown and white designs on the sides of the tower, including animals, flowers and landscapes. The tower was also decorated with numerous Buddhist images because of their beliefs in Buddha.

    

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