Qianxun Pagoda was built during the period of Nanzhao King Quan Fengyou (824-859 AD) and was the first among the three pagodas in Chongsheng Temple. In addition to the Buddha's teachings about becoming a Buddha, there is another important reason for the construction. Dali was known as "a land full of floods" in ancient times. The ancient book "Jinshi Cuibian" records: "It is said that the dragon nature respects the pagoda and fears the peng. Dali used to be Longze, so it was built here." It is said that in ancient times, when Qianxun Pagoda was built, a layer of soil was used to build a layer of pagoda. , after the pagoda was repaired, the earth was dug out layer by layer to reveal the pagoda. Therefore, there are sayings of "piling earth to build a pagoda" and "excavating earth to reveal the pagoda". The bridge built when the tower was built was as high as a hill and more than 10 miles long. When the pagoda was built, there was insufficient transportation capacity, so goats were used to carry bricks. Yinqiao Village in Dali, which is now Dali, was called "Pagoda Bridge Village" in ancient times. After the construction of the three pagodas, the large-scale Chongsheng Temple was built.
The construction date of Qianxun Pagoda has always been recorded differently. Generally speaking, it is as follows: ① It was built by Yuchi Jingde in Zhenguan of Tang Dynasty (627-649); ② It was built by Gong Tao and Hui Hui in the first year of Kaiyuan of Tang Dynasty (713). Made by Yi; ③ From the tenth year of Baohe to the first year of Tianqi (from the seventh year of Taihe to the fifth year of Kaicheng, 833 to 840) by the holy monk Li Xianzhe and others; ④ From the tenth year of Baohe to the ninth year of Tianqi It was made by Dr. Xu Zheng and others from 833 to 848 (the seventh year of Taihe in the Tang Dynasty to the second year of Dazhong in the Tang Dynasty). According to the construction age of similar ancient pagodas in Mainland China, Yunnan should be later. Furthermore, combined with the relevant cultural relics and records in the original Chongsheng Temple and the Central Pagoda, Qianxun Pagoda seems to have been built in 824 when King Nanzhao persuaded Fengyou. Reigned until 859) is most likely.
During the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Yuan Dynasty, there was an "imperial edict" to confer Shi Juexing as the abbot monk, protect the temple property, and exempt him from food taxes. It was also repaired in the Yuan Dynasty, so that "the palace verandas were revived, with three towers standing upright, golden and green, and as beautiful as the mountains (equal)".
In the Ming Dynasty, Li Yuanyang rebuilt it and it also had "three pavilions, seven floors, nine halls and one hundred buildings". At that time, there were five treasures in the temple: three pagodas, a giant bell, a bronze Guanyin, a stele of songs for enlightenment, and a plaque of the Buddha's capital.
When Xu Xiake arrived in Dali, he still saw "three towers standing in front of Chongsheng Temple, with towering pines on all sides. Entering from the mountain gate to the west, there is a bell tower facing the three towers, which is extremely majestic." Behind the tower It is the main hall, and behind the main hall is the "Yuzhu Guanyin Hall, which is a standing statue made of bronze and three feet high" ("Xu Xiake's Travels in Yunnan Travel Diary 8"). It is said that the bell in the temple was built in the "twelfth year of Jianji" (AD 871). "It is more than ten feet in diameter and as thick as a foot" and "its sound can be heard for eighty miles."
In the ninth year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1514), there was a major earthquake. The Qianxun Tower "cracked about two feet and looked like a broken bamboo", and then "reconstructed in ten days".
In the 1925 earthquake, the top of the tower fell and became more damaged. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the government attached great importance to the protection of the Three Towers and carried out large-scale repairs in 1978.