Message #48026

[Bee Cha]

Origins of the Chinese pagoda, a Han Dynasty era pottery model of a tower, the real version either used as a watchtower or residential tower. At each story of the tower corbel brackets woodwork supporting balconies and roofs can be seen. The typical Chinese ceramic-tile roof shingles with piped-ends are also seen. This tower was found in a tomb at Wangdu in Hebei, and is dated to the 1st or 2nd century AD.

This picture appears on the Plate CCCXVIII page of Joseph Needham's book Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 3, Civil Engineering and Nautics.