Pagoda of Fogong Temple

The Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple (simplified Chinese: 佛宫寺释迦塔; traditional Chinese: 佛宮寺釋迦塔; pinyin: Fógōng Sì Shìjiā Tǎ) of Ying County, Shanxi province, China, is a wooden Chinese pagoda built in 1056, during the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty. The pagoda was built by Emperor Daozong of Liao (Hongji) at the site of his grandmother's family home. The pagoda, which has survived several large earthquakes throughout the centuries, reached a level of such fame within China that it was given the generic nickname of the "Muta" (Chinese: 木塔; pinyin: mùtǎ; literally: "Timber Pagoda").

The pagoda stands on a 4 m (13 ft) tall stone platform, has a 10 m (33 ft) tall steeple, and reaches a total height of 67.31 m (220.83 ft) tall; it is the oldest existent fully wooden pagoda still standing in China. Although it is the oldest fully wooden pagoda in China, the oldest existent pagoda is the 6th century Songyue Pagoda (made of brick); the oldest existent wooden buildings in China are the Buddhist temple halls found at Mount Wutai, which date back to the mid Tang Dynasty (618–907).

The Pagoda of Fogong Temple was built 85 km (53 mi) south of the Liao Dynasty capital at Datong. The Gujin Tushu Jicheng encyclopedia published in 1725—written during the reigns of Kangxi and Yongzheng in the Qing—states that a different pagoda built between the years 936–943 stood previously at the site before the present one of 1056 was built. The same statement appears in the Shanxi tongzhi (Record of Shanxi Province) and the Yingzhou xuzhi (Record of Ying Prefecture, Continued). The Yingzhou zhi (Record of Ying Prefecture)—edited by Tian Hui during the reign of the Wanli Emperor (r. 1572–1620) of the Ming Dynasty—states that the pagoda was funded and erected in 1056 by a Buddhist monk named Tian. In compiling a record for Ying County, Tian Hui of the late Ming Dynasty researched the history of the pagoda and recorded the history of its repairs in his Zhongxiu Fogongsi ta zhi. The placard on the third story of the pagoda listed that periodic repairs were conducted in the years 1195 and 1471. While piecing together the history of the pagoda, Tian Hui never came across any information to suggest that the pagoda had a predecessor built from 936 to 943, as other texts suggest.

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