The Yingxian Timber Pagoda lacks contemporary records, leaving its patron and original intent uncertain. This study offers a comprehensive analysis integrating historical events, geographical context, iconographic programs, governing ideology, and non-religious functions. The findings show that Yingzhou served as a strategic zone where espionage, defense, and religious activities intertwined during the prolonged confrontation between the Liao and Song dynasties. Constructed under Emperor Xingzong, the pagoda followed a pre-conceived sculptural plan: the first, third, and fifth stories represented the Mandalas of the Seven Past Buddhas, the Four Directional Buddhas of the Vajradhātu, and the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, while the second and fourth enshrined Śākyamuni triads. Previous interpretations viewed this scheme as an embodiment of Huayan-Esoteric cosmology, the manifestation of the Lotus Treasury World, or a ritual setting for the Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī; however, these require revision because the Buddha on the first-story pedestal was a later addition. According to the Jip-seo, Emperor Xingzong sought to realize in the human realm the horizontal unfolding of the Lotus Treasury and the vertical expansion of Indra’s Net. The pagoda’s iconographic system thus functioned as a medium materializing this cosmic process—indeed, as Indra’s Net itself. This intention is further supported by the Yanmi-chao compiled under imperial order. Despite the treaty’s ban on fortress construction, the pagoda also served surveillance and defensive roles and was linked to the royal exorcistic rite of shooting whistling arrows. Ultimately, it represents a multidimensional apparatus uniting architecture, religion, military, and diplomacy, embodying Liao Buddhist cosmology and Emperor Xingzong’s governing ideals.

ABSTRACT
1. 서 론
2. 요·송의 접경지역과 응주
    2-1. 요·송 양국의 전략적 요충지
    2-2. 송나라 간첩의 첩보 활동지
3. 응현목탑 건립과 소조상 배치
    3-1. 기존의 논의 검토와 분석
    3-2. 요 흥종과 목탑의 건립 이념
4. 응현목탑의 군사적 기능과 상징성
    4-1. 접경지역의 수루(戍樓)와 목탑
    4-2. 실질적 감시와 상징적 방어
5. 결 론
참고문헌

• 성서영(목원대학교 조형예술연구소 책임연구원, 예술학박사) | Sung Suh-young Corresponding author