Pagoda, Weichow

Pagoda, Weichow
1936, by Pickens Jr., Rev. Claude L.

Weichow - Weizhou（韦州）, Ningxia Huizu Zizhiqu （宁夏回族自治区） , China.
The tower is the Kang-ji-Si Ta(康济寺塔), 42 meters, 13 tiers, and 8 eaves. Kang-ji-Si(康济寺) was built during Xi Xia (西夏） , and the tower initially had 9 tiers. Two stone tablets (石碑） behind the tower records its history.

In his diary dated May 25th, 1936, he wrote:

We went for a walk out to visit the pagoda. It stood in a great
open space outside the West wall of the city in an enclosure that
looked as though at one time it had been part of the city wall. There
were no temples or other buildings about. Two tablets dating from the
Ming period stood close by, but they were of soft sandstone so badly
defaced that it was impossible to make out many characters. One tablet
had the characters first year telling of repairs to the pagoda.
It is extraordinary to find in a 100% Moslem town such a thing. I
wonder if this dates from the Hsi Hsia or Tangut Dynasty? This country
was depopulated by Geengis Khan and later under the Mings the Moslems
came. Certainly Persian and Arab faces are very common.

Weizhou （韦州）


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