What did Yingxian Timber Pagoda look like?

An octagonal nine-story (five visible stories plus four hidden mezzanine levels) timber pagoda. Double-cylinder structure: the outer and inner cylinders are connected by dougong bracket layers. Entirely mortise-and-tenon joinery — no nails or rivets.

How did Yingxian Timber Pagoda work?

Double-cylinder → hidden levels between inner and outer cylinders feature diagonal bracing and dougong → forms a spatial truss system → during earthquakes, the inner and outer cylinders undergo micro-displacement → dougong deformation dissipates energy → enormous overall rigidity resists overturning.

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应县佛宫寺木塔

Yingxian Timber Pagoda

The world's tallest and oldest surviving timber pagoda (67.31m). Features a double-cylinder structure with 54 types of dougong bracket sets. Has withstood multiple major earthquakes over nearly a millennium.

应县佛宫

Scientific Principle

Double-tube structure: inner and outer cylinders synergistically resist lateral loads. Spatial truss levels (hidden-floor diagonal bracing): provide lateral stiffness and energy dissipation. The principle is identical to the core-tube + outer frame of modern super-tall buildings.