Emperor Wendi’s distribution of Buddha’s relics for the purpose of constructing pagodas in various parts of China has always been taken as contributing unprecedentedly to the restoration of Buddhism following the banning of the religion and the destruction of all Buddhist temples by Emperor Wudi of Zhou.The paper investigates the whole procedure of the relics distribution and pagoda construction,the contribution of other relics from various sources,the major figures involved,and the historical documents,particularly More Lives of the Great Monks,for evidences of the restorative purpose of Emperor Wendi.
