虎丘塔 (Hŭqiū Tă), Tiger Hill Pagoda, is the main architectural attraction of the spacious Tiger Hill grounds in Suzhou, China. It is alternately called 云岩寺塔 (Yúnyán Sì Tǎ), meaning Yunyan Pagoda.
Visible in the distance, this famous pagoda was built mostly during the Five Dynasties period and completed at the start of the Song Dynasty, over 1,000 years ago!
Tiger Hill is the burial place of King Helü (闔閭 Hélǘ), who reigned the Wu state (吴国 Wú Guó) from 514 – 496 BC during the Spring and Autumn period. His son is believed to have buried him with 3,000 swords. Legend has it that a white tiger appeared the day after the burial, and the hill was named for this majestic new tomb guardian.
In 506 BC, King Helü warred against the Chu state (楚国 Chŭ Guó) alongside The Art of War mastermind Sun Tzu, but was defeated when the Qin state (秦国 Qín Guó) decided to back his enemy. He died at the age of 41 in a war he waged with the Yue state (越国 Yuè Guó) a decade later.
Strange, somehow, for a life so full of war that he was sent into death with 3,000 swords, ever to be grown over with peace. Perhaps T.S. Eliot says it best:
April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land…
The Tiger Hill grounds are expansive, but one of the highlights is 万景山庄 (Wànjǐng Shānzhuāng), Wanjing Villa, famous for its extraordinary bonsai tree collection.
And here is the pagoda up close. You can see why it’s sometimes called the “Leaning Tower of China.”
Visited June 30, 2018