THE SMALL WILD GOOSE PAGODA

The Small Wild Goose Pagoda is located in(位于) the Jianfu Temple . It’s one kilometer south from the downtown area .

The Small Wild Goose Pagoda was built in Tang Dynasty（朝代 ）(707A.D.). It has fifteen storeys（楼层 ）and it’s about forty-five meters above ground . In 1555 , there was an earthquake（地震） in Huaxian of this province （省份）. As a result , the top two storeys of the pagoda were destroyed（被毁坏 ）. The present（现在的） structure（构造） has only thirteen storeys . There is a story about the small wild goose pagoda . When Yi Jing appealed to(向…请求) the imperial court（朝廷） for funds （资金）to build a pagoda , so as to preserve（保护，保存） the Buddhist scriptures（佛经） , the Emperor（皇帝） Li Xian asked the Empress（皇后） for advice as he often did . When she heard of this, she ordered all the imperial concubines（妃子） and court maids（宫女） to donate（捐赠） money for the construction（建造） of the pagoda .The ladies were so generous（慷慨的） in their donation that there was still money left over even after the project was completed .

Morning Bell Chimes （雁塔晨钟）

Inside the temple , there is a huge iron bell . The sound of the bell is crisp and pleasant , and can be heard as far as five kilometers away . The local natives（当地人） often call it the “Magic Bell”. It is 4.5 meters in height and 10 tons（吨） in weight .It is said that if one missed his beloved relations（亲人） far away from him , the only thing he could do was to write their names and addresses（地址） on a piece of yellow paper , and the sound of the bell would pass the message to them . The Small Wild Goose Pagoda is well-known for its “Morning Bell Chimes”. It used to be one of the Eight Famous Scenic Attractions in the central Shaanxi plain （关中八景）.

The “Magical Healing” （雁塔“神合”）

There is a story about “magical healing” of the pagoda . In 1487, an earthquake of six points （6级地震）happened in Shaanxi Province . As a result , the pagoda was left with a one-foot crack（一尺宽的裂缝） from the top to the bottom .Thirty-four years after the quake , there was another one ! Amazingly（令人惊奇地） , the crack healed(愈合) overnight . The process（过程） was later called the “magical healing”. However , when repair work started after 1949 , it was found that the healing was not “magical”（魔力的） , but “human” .The pagoda has survived（经历…之后还存在） seventy quakes , and it still stands as firm （牢固的）as ever .