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There are also more subtle homophones that might have retained his command but in 1425 was also appointed
appealed to concerns amongst the educated elite regarding Defender of Nanjing with responsibilities for domestic order
the parentage and accession of the incumbent emperor: and civil administration, and it was in this rôle that in 1428
he took over the Da Baoen Monastery project, presumably
報as in bao xiao 報曉 (herald the dawn), with xiao 曉 (dawn)
4

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itself a homophone of xiao 孝 (filial piety), rekindling his former skills as superintendant of palace
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construction.
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and finally (and perhaps also subtly suggestive): Second, Zheng He was a Muslim descendant of a former
Yuan dynasty Governor of Yunnan (an expatriate appointed
胞as in bao xiong, bao di 胞兄,胞弟 (twin brothers, literally ‘born

1
from the same womb’). by Qubilai Khan from a distinguished family in Bukhara)
and very possibly retained contacts with the Muslim
Various texts including the stele inscriptions record that community in Nanjing and other nearby cities. However, it
repairs to the temple were largely complete by 1424 and it was is most unlikely that in these final three years of construction
dedicated in 1428, though its pagoda was not completed he could have influenced the design of the pagoda and its
until 1431, after 19 years. exotic Central Asian or Middle Eastern features. The
Why the project took so long is unclear. It seems that detailed design, including these features, would have been
‘100,000 soldiers, skilled craftsmen and miscellaneous agreed between architects and patrons at the very start of
labourers’ were allocated to the task, under the supervision such a monumental project. 34
of the Directorate of Palace Servants and a Vice Minister of There are a number of possible reasons for the delay in
Works, an administrative structure which was then typical completing the pagoda. The structure was new and unique
for military organisation in Nanjing. Whether this in design, and it was located beside the city moat on a site
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manpower number is accurate, or simply a figurative with high ground water. Similar waterlogged sites in
indication for ‘many’, or indeed whether this effort was even Nanjing had already necessitated special foundations under
maintained is unclear, and it is difficult to relate it to the parts of the city wall, and the pagoda’s monolithic design
reported cost of the project. There are references by the late made it a heavy structure. For these wet soil conditions, the
Ming or early Qing to a project cost of 2.5 million taels choice of impervious stoneware for important supports such
(ounces) of silver, and by the 1840s both Allom and Loch as arch surrounds was sensible, and designing them as
refer to a surprisingly accurate figure of 2,485,484 ounces, structurally strong ogees with lateral bracing gave the
but there seems to be no earlier recorded figure, nor is it building great strength. The penalty was that the design
clear whether this sum was for the whole temple or only for necessitated innovative kiln techniques and also long-
the pagoda. distance transport of special clays, rather than the use of
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If ‘100,000 men’ can be taken to approximate a real locally sourced clays as would have been customary for
figure, labour costs might be guessed from early- to mid- ordinary glazework. The height of the pagoda was not itself
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Ming pay rates for agricultural labour of about 5–6 taels per a new challenge, but a major complication was the design
man-year. On this basis, wages would have cost 500,000– requirement for its apparent height to be accentuated by
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600,000 taels per year, at which rate 2.5 million taels would adjusting the dimensions of ornament and applied
not have lasted more than five of the 13 years of the project. decoration on successively higher storeys. This meant that
It is possible of course that the labour force fluctuated, or each of the nine storeys required parts (such as arch
that some (the soldiers?) were paid from other funds or were surrounds) that were specially designed to scale, then fired at
even corvée labour, or a combination of all these factors. It high temperature and then glazed. Each of these
has been suggested that some 1,700 specialist artisans who components would have been a craft masterpiece in its own
were assigned to the dedicated kilns at Mount Jubao may right, with little opportunity for division of labour.
have been reassigned to Beijing for the palace building This organisational complication was exacerbated by the
projects there. 32 white porcelain bricks with which much of the structure was
Whatever happened, work on the pagoda was well clad (internally also, we are told by Allom). Each storey
behind plan by March 1428 when the Xuande emperor would have required cladding parts with tailored
ordered Zheng He to take command of the project. The dimensions and, with no means in those times for post-
Yongle emperor had meanwhile died in 1424 on campaign forming, each piece needed to be delivered ready for use.
in Mongolia, to be followed in rapid succession by his son the Numerous different parts were required, including spacers,
Hongxi 洪熙 (r. 1425) emperor, who expired suddenly and half-bricks, corbels, squinches and external corners (with
was in turn succeeded in 1425 by his son the Xuande re-entrant angles for internal corners), all made to close
emperor. tolerances in different component sizes for each of the nine
Zheng He 鄭和 (1371–1433) in his role as commander of storeys. Furthermore, with these parts coming by a tortuous
the imperial maritime expeditions is discussed elsewhere in route overland and by water from Jingdezhen, the delivery
this volume but there are elements from his background to Nanjing of damaged or ill-fitting parts would have been
which are pertinent to his role in this project. First, he had unwelcome. Even with mass production and division of
previously served with distinction under Yongle as Director labour, logistics and production control must have been
of the Palace Household in which position he was daunting.
responsible for all palace construction. This was before his Behind the difficulties of construction, there were almost
appointment in 1404 as Commander of the Imperial Fleet. certainly serious additional ‘centrally inspired’ interruptions
After the fleet was eventually laid up in 1424, Zheng He of resources. Da Baoen Monastery was a state project and

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