tǎ

  1. Home
  2. top of the aat hierarchies
  3. Objects Facet
  4. Built Environment (hierarchy name)
  5. Single Built Works (hierarchy name)
  6. single built works (built environment)
  7. [single built works by specific type]
  8. [single built works by function]
  9. ceremonial structures
  10. religious structures
  11. religious buildings
  12. pagodas (buildings)
  13. tǎ
Scope note
Usually denoting a towering structure containing objects associated with the Buddha or his teachings, the underlying concept behind the Chinese character ta 塔, as well as the etymology of the term, are still debated. Our earliest textual sources suggest that ta was the abbreviation of a transliterated “foreign term” (“barbarian speech” 胡言, “outer states speech” 外國言, “Sanskrit phrase” 梵之稱), likely something akin to “buddha,” into Chinese characters. As an architectural form, the ta is a structure organized around a vertical axis and/or spire.
tǎ
Accepted term: 18-Nov-2024