Tiger Hill Temple in Suzhou China Tiger Hill Temple 9. The Tilting Pagoda

Midway up the hill beside the Qianren (Thousand Men) Rock, there is the rectangular crystal-clear Sword pond flanked by sheer cliffs. It is said that both Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.), and Sun Quan of the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280), had sent people to search the swords by digging into the hill but no avail. The Sword Pond is believed to result from the digging. According to records, the door of He Lu's tomb was revealed once when the pond went dry. Archaeologists speculated that the tomb is right below the Tiger Hill Pagoda. This pagoda, first built in the Five Dynasties Period, is an octagonal seven-story structure. Since the Ming Dynasty, it started tilting northwards, which has been supposed to be caused by the tomb's structure.

⇦ Back to Page 8    On to Page 10 ⇨

Hi-Res Pic (220K)

Return to Tiger Hill Temple Page 2