Entity
Zhongxiang Bao'en Monastery
Jingmen, Hubei, China
In 880 AD, the rebel leader Huang Chao arrived at Longshan ridge and demanded the submission of a resident monk. When the monk refused, Huang struck him, and from the wound flowed a milk-white fluid—a sign, in Buddhist tradition, of his attained virtue. Moved by his steadfastness, locals piled earth over his grave, creating the White Milk Eminent Monk Stupa. In 1390, builders replaced the earth mound with solid brick and stone, later adding an iron pen at its summit to symbolise scholarly flourishing, renaming it Wenfeng Stupa. In 1540, the Jiajing Emperor issued an imperial decree to expand the Bao'en Monastery, anchoring the white tower at its northern edge.
The structure stands twenty-six meters tall, a white-washed Lamaist stupa rising from an octagonal base. This base tapers into a brick dome shaped like an inverted alms bowl. Above this bowl, twenty-one layers of phase wheels stack toward the sky, decorated with carved brick brackets. Three circular copper canopies crown the summit, where hanging bells catch the wind. At the very top, a single-pillar finial holds three spheres representing success in the imperial examinations. Deep beneath the brickwork lies a silent underground palace, guarding a Buddha statue, twenty-two sacred sarira relics, and the spiritual bone of Master Bifeng.
Wars repeatedly leveled the surrounding halls, leaving only this white stupa standing by the late Qing dynasty. Today, the reconstructed monastery remains active, bordered by the waters of Qingni Bay, Mochou Lake, and Jingyue Lake. Visitors walk past the modern wishing pool to touch the cool, rough brickwork. The wind still rings the copper bells, carrying the memory of a monk's quiet sacrifice into the modern city.