The Greatest Buddha in the South

The Greatest Buddha in the South

The "Greatest Buddha in the South" is the highlight of the cultural attractions within the Great Buddha Temple. Carved during the Qi and Liang dynasties of the Southern Dynasties period (486–516), it was created through the successive efforts of three generations of monks—Senghu, Sengchu, and Sengyou—over a period of thirty years.

The stone Maitreya Buddha of the "Greatest Buddha in the South" features a pedestal 1.91 meters high, a body height of 13.74 meters, a head height of 4.87 meters, ear length of 2.8 meters, mouth width of 1.28 meters, and a knee span of 10.6 meters. The Buddha has a slender and serene appearance, with a broad forehead, a high nose bridge, long and narrow eyebrows and eyes, square-shaped cheeks, thin lips, and ears that reach down to the shoulders. The carving is exquisitely detailed, with smooth and flowing lines, and an elegant demeanor that conveys the Buddha’s tranquil, wise, resolute, and transcendent inner world. A close look can inspire awe, calm the mind, and evoke a deep sense of contemplation.

The proportions of various parts of the Buddha’s body apply the principle of perspective, with the head deliberately enlarged so that worshippers looking up at the Buddha’s face can receive enlightenment and spiritual cleansing. Yet the scale is perfectly judged, avoiding any sense of disproportion. Achieving such refinement 1,500 years ago is an extraordinary accomplishment.

The Great Buddha represents a magnificent achievement in art and religion of its time, embodying the highest level of craftsmanship of the era. Its creation date and cultural value can be compared to those of the Yungang Grottoes and Longmen Grottoes, making it the only surviving masterpiece of early cave sculpture in southern China. Liu Xie, a renowned literary theorist of the Southern Dynasties, composed the "Stele of the Stone Statue of Shancheng Temple on Mount Shan Built by Prince Jian’an of Liang," praising it as a "priceless treasure and unmatched feat." Esteemed Chinese scholars such as Fan Wenlan and Jian Bozan, in their works "A Concise History of China" and "An Outline of Chinese History," both recorded the carving of the Great Buddha in Xinchang as a significant historical event. Today, the Great Buddha enjoys outstanding renown both within China and across East and Southeast Asia.

Background: According to records, in 486 AD, Monk Senghu arrived at Shicheng and saw the towering cliffs of Xianji Rock, with water flowing beneath them, producing sounds like a zither. Deeply moved, he chanted the name of the Buddha, bowed to the ground, and made a grand vow: “I vow to carve a Maitreya Buddha here, aspiring to create one a thousand feet tall.”

Afterward, he traveled far and wide to raise funds and carefully prepared for the project. Ten years later, construction officially began. However, after just one year of hard work, he had only managed to roughly carve the facial outline in bas-relief before falling seriously ill. On his deathbed, he instructed his disciple Sengchu: “What I have started was never expected to be completed in my lifetime. In my next life, I will fulfill this ambition.”

After Senghu’s passing, Sengchu continued the carving. Though he worked tirelessly day and night, the project was hindered by its immense difficulty and lack of funding, making it difficult to continue.

It wasn’t until the sixth year of the Tianjian era (507) that Emperor Wu of Liang and Prince Jian’an Xiao Wei provided substantial support, and assigned the eminent monk Sengyou to design and oversee the construction. Sengyou was a leading monk of the time, a master in architecture and statue carving. With guaranteed funding and expertise, the Great Buddha was finally completed. This project came to be known as the “Sacred Legacy of Three Lifetimes.”