Thousand Buddha Statues of Qianxiang Temple

Thousand Buddha Statues of Qianxiang Temple

The Qianxiang Temple statues are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Qianxiang Temple stone carvings are located on the northern hillside of Qianxiang Temple at Panshan Mountain in Jixian County. Legend has it that during the Tang Dynasty, an eminent monk arrived here from afar carrying his staff. Suddenly, he saw thousands of monks washing their alms bowls by a clear spring pool beneath the rocks, but when he approached, they vanished in an instant. The monk then built a temple there and carved a thousand Buddha statues into the rocks along the mountain stream based on what he had seen. Today, hundreds of line-engraved Buddha statues remain, divided into two types: standing and seated, in groups of 2 to 4. The standing Buddhas have topknots, plump facial features, and stand on lotus pedestals, measuring 1.5 meters in height and 0.44 to 0.49 meters in width. The seated Buddhas are 1.3 meters tall with lotus bases 1.09 meters wide. They exhibit the style of Tang Dynasty sculpture and are the only surviving cliff carvings in the Tianjin area.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units