Brick tower in Jiachen Lane

The brick tower is located at the bridgehead of Jiachen lane, Ganjiang Road, xiangmennei, also known as Jiachen Lane brick tower. It was listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Suzhou in 1982. According to Wu men Biao Yin, there were seven small brick towers in Suzhou, most of which were built by Song Dai. Two of them were destroyed early. Two of them were destroyed during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. The white pagoda was demolished when Lin Dun road was widened in 1928. One of them was demolished when Lian Xi Fang Road was widened in the 1950s. The only remaining one, "Wumen biaoyin" is called the second of the "seven towers in the city", which is "in the east of Mencius hall", which is now known as the brick tower of Jiachen lane.

The tower is a five level eight side pavilion brick structure imitation wooden tower, with a height of 6.82 meters, a base bottom width of 0.51 meters on each side and a diameter of 1.2 meters. The waist eaves and flat seat are carried out alternately with water caltrop teeth and stacked astringent bricks, with corner paving, appendix forehead and column head Fang protruding from the lower wall of the eaves. There are pot doors and concealed mullion windows on eight sides. The orientation of doors and windows on each floor is staggered, and the inner square room is converted 45 degrees layer by layer. The whole tower is built with clear water brick, without pastel, simple and unadorned. In the early years of the Republic of China, the pagoda was surrounded by people's houses, and houses were built around the body of the pagoda, only the top half of which exposed the roof. Due to years of disrepair and man-made destruction in 1966, there were only four floors left and the eaves were incomplete. In 1991, it was included in the cultural relic maintenance project. After one and a half years of preparation for relocation, surveying and mapping, and design, the construction and maintenance started in May 1993. The bottom layer was reinforced, the eaves, wing angles, and flat seats of the towers on each floor were repaired, the bucket arches and other components were supplemented, the fifth floor and the top of the tower were rebuilt, the tower brakes were made and installed, and the tower courtyard was opened up on the foundation of the demolished houses. There is no research on the age of the tower. Because the location of the tower is marked in the picture of Pingjiang in the Song Dynasty, and the shape of the tower structure is similar to that of the wooden imitation brick tower in the Song Dynasty, such as the double tower of Luohan temple and the tower of Lingjia Temple in Shangfangshan, it was considered to be the song tower in the past. However, during the maintenance, the "thermoluminescence" sampling test was carried out on the tower bricks, and the results showed that the production age of the bricks was from the late Tang Dynasty to the end of the Five Dynasties. At the same time, it was found that some parts of the tower and the practices and styles of the components also showed some architectural characteristics of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, the construction time of the tower may be earlier than that of the Song Dynasty, and the exact age remains to be further studied. Jiachenxiang pagoda is small and exquisite, and its structure is standard and simple. It is the only one of the "seven pagodas in the city" in Suzhou, and has high cultural relic research value.

Suzhou brick tower

synonym

Jiachenxiang brick tower generally refers to Suzhou brick tower

The brick pagoda is located at the bridgehead of Jiachen lane, Ganjiang Road, xiangmen, Suzhou, also known as Jiachen Lane brick pagoda. It was listed as a cultural relic protection unit of Suzhou in 1982. There were seven small brick towers in Suzhou, most of which were built in Song Dynasty. Two of them were destroyed early. Two of them were destroyed during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. The white pagoda was demolished when Lin Dun road was widened in 1928. One of them was demolished when Lian Xi Fang Road was widened in the 1950s. The only remaining one, "Wumen biaoyin" is called the second of the "seven towers in the city", which is "in the east of Mencius hall", which is now known as the brick tower of Jiachen lane. It is a famous tourist destination in China

Tower structure

The brick tower is a five level eight side pavilion style brick structure imitation wooden tower, 6.82 meters high, 0.51 meters wide on each side of the base, and 1.2 meters in diameter. The waist eaves and flat seat are carried out alternately with water caltrop teeth and stacked astringent bricks, with corner paving, appendix forehead and column head Fang protruding from the lower wall of the eaves. There are pot doors and concealed mullion windows on eight sides. The orientation of doors and windows on each floor is staggered, and the inner square room is converted 45 degrees layer by layer. The whole tower is built with clear water brick, without pastel, simple and unadorned.

Previous transformation

In the early years of the Republic of China, the pagoda was surrounded by people's houses, and houses were built around the body of the pagoda, only the top half of which exposed the roof. Due to years of disrepair and man-made destruction in 1966, there were only four floors left and the eaves were incomplete. In 1991, it was included in the cultural relic maintenance project. After one and a half years of preparation for relocation, surveying and mapping, and design, the construction and maintenance started in May 1993. The bottom layer was reinforced, the eaves, wing angles, and flat seats of the towers on each floor were repaired, the bucket arches and other components were supplemented, the fifth floor and the top of the tower were rebuilt, the tower brakes were made and installed, and the tower courtyard was opened up on the foundation of the demolished houses.

On the history of brick tower

There is no research on the date of the building of the brick tower. Because there is a mark of the tower on this position in the picture of Pingjiang in the Song Dynasty, and the structural shape of the tower is similar to that of the wooden imitation brick tower in the Song Dynasty, such as the double tower of Luohan temple and the tower of Lingjia temple in Shangfangshan, it was considered to be the song tower in the past. However, during the maintenance, the "thermoluminescence" sampling test was carried out on the tower bricks, and the results showed that the production age of the bricks was from the late Tang Dynasty to the end of the Five Dynasties. At the same time, it was found that some parts of the tower and the practices and styles of the components also showed some architectural characteristics of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, the construction time of the tower may be earlier than that of the Song Dynasty, and the exact age remains to be further studied.

Jiachenxiang pagoda is small and exquisite, and its structure is standard and simple. It is the only one of the "seven pagodas in the city" in Suzhou, and has high cultural relic research value.

Address: Qiaotou, jiachenxiang, Ganjiang East Road, Canglang District, Suzhou

Longitude: 120.63879054233

Latitude: 31.308140666888