Performing Center in a Vertical Rise: Multilevel Pagodas in China’s Middle Period

An unprecedented number of multilevel pagodas were built in China from the tenth through the thirteenth century. This growing emphasis on verticality, in contrast to the usual horizontal sprawl of China's building tradition, raises questions about what "height" meant in the history of Chinese architecture. This essay argues that the height of the multilevel pagoda was necessarily performativenot so much because the pagoda served as a means of ascending to that height, but because it drew the attention of the faithful. Its levels, centrality, and indeed, height are architectural components that were key to its performativity, through which its religious significance was revealed and its ritual efficacy enacted. Ultimately, we should see the multilevel pagoda as a structured mechanism, or a performing center in a vertical rise, that prompted the faithful to ascend and to circumambulate around the pagoda, from the periphery to the center, if only conceptually.