• Journal of architectural history
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.35-44
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to identify the aspect of expression about the form of Shwedagon Pagoda as well as to find out its meanings. The aesthetic value of Shwedagon Pagoda appears as the worship and infinite respect to Buddha realizing its beautiful sacred symbol. The meaning of Shwedagon Pagoda is to progress in keeping pace with the specific flexibility of Buddhism in Myanmar developing Buddhistic diversity and accepting its active changes. As time passes, Shwedagon Pagoda has been transformed. It is because that Myanmar's architecture was developed independently being affected by India with the introduction of Buddhism, and accepted it through autonomous reinterpretation. Then, the function of the worship space surrounding Shwedagon was extended and its annexes and statues of the Buddha were built; its scale became larger. This study shows the comparison between Shwezigon Pagoda and Shwedagon Pagoda. This method of investigation reveals that the formal changes of Shwedagon makes it transform to concise composition and develop aesthetical component giving the sense of vertical rise.