Shuling Tower Introduction
The creation of the Tree Spirit Tower was due to the Japanese development of the Alishan forestry industry, which involved extensive deforestation, including many trees over a thousand years old. The Japanese believed that all things have spirits, and thus they built the Tree Spirit Tower to honor the tree spirits and to stabilize the psychology of the forestry workers. The construction of the Tree Spirit Tower reflects the Japanese reverence for nature, which was quite rare at that time. The design of the Tree Spirit Tower is based on a deformed pagoda, consisting of a base, a tower body, and a tower top. The base is a six-tiered circular structure, where the circular steps represent tree rings; each step represents five hundred years, thus the six tiers symbolize three thousand years of sacred tree spirits. The tower body represents a thick tree trunk, with a robust symbolism. The words "Tree Spirit Tower" are directly inscribed on the tower body without any other inscriptions. The base of the tower features three small pillars of varying heights radiating in different directions, representing the gaps created when trees are cut down, emphasizing the pain of deforestation. The belief that all things have spirits cannot be ignored; thus, it was designated as a county-level historic site.
