The supernova Crab Nebula that appeared in 1054; Ursa Major; The
Buddha of Blazing Light; Marici, Queen of Heaven; the new Emperor of the
Liao Dynasty enthroned in 1055; an Empress Dowager, mother of a contender
to the throne: all were major players in a mid-eleventh century power struggle
in North China. Recent discoveries of images of star deities within sealed
cavities in the 1056 Shakyamuni Pagoda in Shanxi, and in the 1049 White
Pagoda in Inner Mongolia, provide new insights into symbolism and function
of pagodas and why Chinese rulers expended such vast resources to build
these magnificent structures.