<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><metadata xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"  xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/"><dc:title xml:lang="en">tǎ</dc:title><dc:identifier>http://AATesaurus.cultura.gencat.cat/aat/getty_en?tema=31461001</dc:identifier><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Getty Institute</dc:publisher><dcterms:created>2026-03-30 21:04:04</dcterms:created><dcterms:isPartOf xsi:type="dcterms:URI">http://AATesaurus.cultura.gencat.cat/aat/getty_en</dcterms:isPartOf><dcterms:isPartOf xml:lang="en">Tesaurus d&apos;Art i Arquitectura</dcterms:isPartOf><dc:format>text/html</dc:format> <dcterms:alternative xml:lang="en">ta</dcterms:alternative> <dc:description xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[ 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. ]]></dc:description></metadata>