Eastern Han (25-220) to the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589) -- Domination of Wooden Pagodas
Historical records indicate that the oldest pagodas in China were mostly wooden. This is not strange, since most ancient buildings were made of wood; pagodas were no exception. The first Buddhist pagoda--White Horse Pagoda--built during the Eastern Hah Dynasty, and Futuci Pagoda in Xuzhou, built during the Three Kingdoms Period (220-265), both made of wood. Many pagodas described in the book Stories About Buddhist Temples in Luoyang were also wooden structures. The pagoda at Yongning Temple is regarded as representative of the highest level of wooden pagodas in China. A great poet of the Tang Dynasty, Du Mu, wrote in one of his poems: "Four hundred eighty Buddhist temples of the Southern Dynasties, countless towers and pagodas stand in the misty rain." The pagodas in those temples that inspired the sentimental lines were also made of wood, but the good times of wooden pagodas did not last long--most soon disappeared from the scene.
