Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Da Ci'en Temple

Contexto cultural

Da Ci'en Temple was built in 648, the 22nd year of the Tang Zhenguan reign, by Li Zhi — then crown prince, later Emperor Gaozong — in memory of his mother, Empress Wende. When the monk Xuanzang returned from his journey to India for the scriptures, he spent nineteen years translating here and founded the Yogācāra (Weishi) school, making Da Ci'en the ancestral temple of the Faxiang school. In 652, the third year of the Tang Yonghui reign, Xuanzang built a five-storey brick pagoda in Central Asian style to house the Sanskrit scriptures he had brought from India — the Da Ci'en Temple Pagoda; it later became known as the 'Big Wild Goose Pagoda' from a legend about burying a goose, and was rebuilt with seven storeys in Wu Zetian's Chang'an era, as it stands today.

Costumbres locales

• New Tang jinshi graduates had the custom of writing their names beneath the Ci'en pagoda — Bai Juyi wrote, 'Where names are inscribed beneath the Ci'en Pagoda, of seventeen men I was the youngest' — and 'signing beneath the Wild Goose Pagoda' became a byword for passing the exams. Visitors today still love to take photos beneath the pagoda for good luck
• dress neatly and behave respectfully in the temple.

Religión y creencias

• A Buddhist temple. Don't step on thresholds when entering halls
• you may put your palms together before the Buddha, but don't point at images or laugh loudly
• photography is usually banned in the Mahavira Hall, so watch for signs. There are more worshippers on the 1st and 15th of the lunar month, so keep quiet and give way.

Normas que se aplican aquí

Consejos de viaje

• Climbing the pagoda needs a separate ticket and numbers are capped, so go in the morning
• Datang Everbright City at night is extremely crowded, so avoid peak times and watch your belongings
• the north-square fountain plays several times a day — check the site's announcements. Check tickets and opening hours on the official website.