Longxing Monastery, Pilu (Vairocana) Hall  隆興寺毘盧殿

Building Information

Pilu Hall at Longxing Monastery was originally the main hall of Chongyan Monastery, and the timber structure dates to the Ming Wanli reign period (1573-1620). In 1959 the hall was moved to its present location at the end of the central axis north of Amitabha Hall. The plan of this building is 5 bays wide and 5 bays deep, with both sides measuring 17.2 meters. A “moon terrace” (yuetai 月臺) on the hall's south side is 14.2 meters east-west and 5.4 meters north-south.

The Piludian has a double eaves (chongyan 重檐) hip-gable (xieshan 歇山) roof, with grey and green glazed tiles covering it. The overall height of the building is 18.3 meters. The structural frame is considered to be a typical example of the tailiang 擡梁 system common in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The upper and lower eaves are supported by a circuit of bracket-block clusters (dougong 枓栱). The inner and outer pillars of the column grid (zhuwang 柱網) are connected by a large tie beams (fang 枋), which may have been used to reduce the number of individual pillars in the hall (Hebeisheng Zhengdingxian wenwu baoguansuo 2000, 18).

The design of the cast bronze sculpture of Vairocana in the hall is unique and beautifully rendered. The sculpture consists of three layers. Each layer is composed of a multi-petaled lotus seat supporting a four-sided image of Vairocana. The four bodies on lotus seats are arranged to face the four cardinal directions. The scale of the lotus seats and bodies of the figures decreases with each level from the bottom to the top. The sculpture reaches a total height of 6.42 meters (Hebeisheng Zhengdingxian wenwu baoguansuo 2000, 18).1

毘盧殿（也称毗盧殿）於1959年建於隆興寺彌陀殿北面，位於中軸線的末端。此殿平面為正方形，面闊、進深各五間，通面闊與通進深都為17.2米。 前出月臺，東西寬14.2米，南北長5.4米。毘盧殿為重檐歇山頂，青瓦與綠琉璃覆蓋。自室外地平至大吻上皮高18.3米。大木構架為明、清常見的擡梁式做法。上下檐均為一圈枓栱。柱網的布 局為減柱造，內外柱之間用斷面尺寸極大的枋子連接，柱枋相比看起來有頭重腳輕之感。（河北省正定縣文物保管所 2000，18）

殿內所供的銅鑄佛像，設計極為獨特和優美。佛像由三層四身相連，面向四方的坐式毗盧佛像和各層下面的蓮座疊置而成，自下而上依 次縮小，高6.42米（河北省正定縣文物保管所 2000，18）。1