"Crown of Song Dynasty Sculpture" Yuanjue Bodhisattva of Faxing Temple

The front hall of Faxing Temple, also called Yuanjue Hall, is the largest building in the temple. It was built in the third year of Yuanfeng in the Song Dynasty (1066 AD). The hall is about 8 meters high. The stone door frames, lattice windows and frames are all supported by stone and wooden pillars. The brackets and fat eaves are lifted into the air. The heat is extraordinary, vigorous and solemn. The top is six rafters hanging from the top of the mountain, with five ridges and six animals. The bluestone wall on the front eaves is engraved with animal and lotus patterns, which are detailed, vivid and powerful. 1⃣️Most of the 18 Buddha statues in the hall are clay sculptures from the Song Dynasty. In the hall, there is a stone Buddha platform with the word "concave". The central Buddha platform has the main image of Sakyamuni Buddha on the front. On both sides from the inside to the outside, there are two disciples (Venerable Ananda, Venerable Kassapa), two Bodhisattvas (Manjushri, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva) and the Two Good Gods (commonly known as the "Two Generals of Humha"). 2⃣️There are 12 Yuanjue statues erected against the walls on both sides. The entire set of works was made by "sculptor: Feng Zongben; painter: Chen Daorong, Lu Rong" in the first year of Zhenghe in the Northern Song Dynasty (1111 AD). The whole group of statues inherits the remnants of Tang Dynasty sculptures, and are plump, graceful and elegant. The charm of Song Dynasty sculptures is passed down, restrained and subtle, and the charm is vivid. They are either bare-chested or naked, with round faces, high buns and beautiful eyebrows, solemn and handsome expressions, soft colors of clothing, and smooth and rhythmic clothing lines. In particular, the image of Yuan Jue, who holds his chin in one hand as if thinking, has an expression that overflows from the brows to the corners of the eyes, and the shape is graceful and lifelike. The group of Bodhisattva statues, with their wonderful and solemn appearance, not only shine with the brilliance of Buddha nature, but also are filled with compassionate and kind motherly feelings. They are praised by the art history circle as "the crown of Song sculpture Bodhisattva". faxing temple Ticket: 20 yuan Address: North of Provincial Road 227, Changzi County, Changzhi, Shanxi Province, north of Cilinshan Coal Mine (bus station) is 1.4km, about 17 minutes' walk, you need to drive by yourself.