Some 40 pieces of precious relics were uncovered after archaeologists opened up a cellar less than a cubic meter in space in the ruins of Leifeng Pagoda in the east China city of Hangzhou.
Among silk, jade, bronze, leather and coins coming successively out of the cellar, the most important discovery of all was a bronze Buddha statue on a lotus base and an iron box probably containing spiral hair of Buddha, a special sacred trace of the Buddha.
Interestingly enough, along with the statue was a rising dragon alongside the lotus base, which, according to Professor Xu Pingfang, demonstrated the merging of Chinese culture with exotic Buddhism that originated in India.
The Leifeng Pagoda was built over 1,000 years ago by an emperor as a gift to his concubine for delivering a prince.
But few remembering that, most Chinese today know it is because of a widely spread legend recounting the love and marriage between a young man and a woman who was a snake-turned fairy.
The famous scenic city of Hangzhou recently decided to rebuild the Leifeng pagoda, which fell in 1924, and was regarded as one of the 10 best sights in Hangzhou.
So far, all the relics have been sent to the provincial museum for further study.
(People's Daily 03/15/2001)
