The unique Song Dynasty sculpture of the Eighteen Arhats

The unique Song Dynasty sculpture of Eighteen Arhats Changzi County - Chongqing Temple ~ 💫Chongqing Temple is located on the waist of Ziyun Mountain, southeast of Ju Village, Setou Town, Changzi County, Shanxi Province. It faces south and is surrounded by mountains on the northeast and west sides. It faces Taoqing River, a tributary of Zhuozhang River, to the south. ～ 💫Chongqing Temple has two groups of buildings, the most exciting one is of course the one at the back. The rear temple is a courtyard. The inscription inside the temple records that "the temple was first built in the ninth year of Dazhong Xiangfu in the Northern Song Dynasty. The Thousand Buddha Hall is located in the north, the Reclining Buddha Hall is located in the east, the Bodhisattva Hall is located in the west, the Heavenly King Hall is located in the south, a gate is built in the southeast, and the Guandi Hall is built to the east of the gate. The Ten Emperors Hall and the Ghost King Hall are built in the northwest, and the Hall of the Elder Ge Gu is built in the southwest. The northeast courtyard is a Zen society." Except for the Ghost King Hall which no longer exists, the shapes and courtyard layouts of the other halls are as described in the stele. ～ 💫Among the existing buildings, except for the main hall, the Thousand Buddha Hall, which was built in the Song Dynasty, and the Heavenly King Hall and Ksitigarbha Hall, which were built in the Ming Dynasty, the rest are all built in the Qing Dynasty. The Thousand Buddha Hall is the main hall of the temple. It was built in the ninth year of Dazhong Xiangfu in the Song Dynasty (1016). The original structure remains the same, and the statues in the hall were also built at the same time. It is three bays wide and three bays deep, with a six-rafter roof and a hip roof, and a square plan. There is a board door in the center room, and lattice windows in the second room. The eaves columns around are tilted inwards to form side feet, and the corner columns are raised and slightly raised. The eaves are equipped with lintels and general beams between the capitals, and only capital brackets are applied on the columns, with no supplementary work, which makes it simple, airy, simple and generous. The dougong head has obvious curled petals and the dou di is deep, and the production technique still follows the Tang Dynasty style. ～ 💫The beams of the Thousand Buddha Hall are exposed from top to bottom, with six rafters, four rafters and three columns for the rear rafters. The beams of the Thousand Buddha Hall have neither empty components nor repeated configurations. The skill and technique are sophisticated, the load is balanced and appropriate, and the structure is reasonable and powerful. It is a representative work among the Song Dynasty temples in my country. ～ 💫The colored sculptures in Chongqing Temple are also very vivid and unique, reflecting the development and evolution of religion in the Song Dynasty.