Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11.s4.t2.46

v2.c11.s4.t2.46

reached Gandhara, they saw the Great Stupa of Kanishka in the southeast of Gandhara (Peshawar), with “400 chi high”, “iron column on the top, 300 chi high, being 13 floors, so 700 chi high.” “During Buddhist ceremony in the stupa, there are too many treasures to be counted. Under the sunlight, the stupa becomes bright, and under the blow of wind, the bell will sound. Among all stupas, it is the best.” Tang Buddhist Xuanzang has even recorded in ‘*Great Tang Records on the Western Regions*’ that “the stupa is more than 400 chi high, with five layers of base, 150 chi high. 25 layers are on the top.” In Song Yun era, the stupa was preserved well, but in Xuanzang era, it was destroyed several times, and now, only a few footstones are left.