During reign of Yang Jian, Emperor Wendi (581–604 AD) of Sui dynasty (581–618), the Buddhist relics were spread to prefectures across the country for three times, and 110 plus pagodas were built to enshrine them. According to records of later dynasties, there was a pagoda possessing relics of Zhixian, “the Divine Nun,” in Lingyin Temple of Hangzhou. However, as a matter of fact, this pagoda was the one treasuring relics of Śākyamuni Buddha in the Southern Tianzhu Temple (also called Lower Tianzhu Temple) built in 602 when Emperor Wendi ruled the Sui dynasty. Tracking the course of the misperception on the pagoda, it is found that the first misperception emerged in the Lin’an Annals made during the Xianchun Period (1265–1274) and the Past Memories of Hangzhou written by Zhou Mi in the final phase of Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279), it was further developed in the Travelogue of West Lake written in later period of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), and was finally entrenched in the Annals of Lingyin Temple and the Zhejiang General Annals respectively written during the Kangxi (1661–1722) and Yongzheng (1723–1735) periods of Qing dynasty (1644–1912). As a result, the pagoda is mistakenly known to hold relics of Zhixian “the Divine Nun”; the truth hence has been long veiled.
