Linzhang Buddhist Statuary Museum

Linzhang Buddhist Statuary Museum

The Linzhang Buddhist Statuary Museum is located on Jinfeng Street in Linzhang County, north of Jinfeng Park, facing the central landscape area of the park. The museum integrates collection, exhibition, research, archaeology, and cultural exchange. Its main building covers an area of 8,720 square meters and stands 22.3 meters high. Drawing inspiration from the construction concepts of Han Dynasty city walls and gate towers, it showcases Han Dynasty characteristics—simple, solemn, and yet modern in style.

In ancient times, Linzhang was called “Ye.” The Ye City Ruins, a national key cultural relics protection unit, once served as the capital of the Cao Wei, Later Zhao, Ran Wei, Former Yan, Eastern Wei, and Northern Qi dynasties, earning fame both in China and abroad as the “land of the Three Kingdoms and capital of six dynasties.” From the introduction of Buddhism to China in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, to its gradual development in Ye during the Han and Jin periods, then its initial flourishing under the Later Zhao, and finally its great prosperity during the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties. Historical records indicate that at the time, there were 30,000 temples and two million monks and nuns nationwide, with around 4,000 temples and 80,000 monks and nuns in Ye alone, making it the national center of Buddhism. A cache of Buddhist statuary was excavated at a rescue site in Beiwuzhuang, eastern part of the Ye City Ruins in Linzhang County, unearthing a total of 2,895 pieces (or fragments) of Buddhist statuary. The quantity and exquisite condition rank first in the country, providing solid evidence for Ye City’s status as the Buddhist capital of China.

The main building of the Linzhang Buddhist Statuary Museum covers a floor area of 8,720 square meters and has five floors: one underground and four above ground. The first and second floors are exhibition areas, comprising six exhibition halls: the “Introductory Hall,” the “Special Exhibition Hall: Archaeological Excavation and Research,” the “First Exhibition Hall: The Eastward Spread of Buddhism,” which is divided into two units—“Buddhism in the Han, Jin, and Sixteen Kingdoms Periods and Ye City” and “Buddhism in the Northern Wei Dynasty and Ye City,” the “Second Exhibition Hall: Buddhism in Ye City During the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi Periods,” which is divided into two units—“The Relocation of the Capital to Ye and the Eastward Shift of the Buddhist Center” and “The Heyday of Buddhism in Ye City,” the “Third Exhibition Hall: The Rise and Fall of Buddhism in Ye City,” which is divided into two units—“The Decline of Buddhism in Ye City Following the Kaide Persecution” and “The Far-Reaching Influence of Ye School Buddhist Thought,” and the “Atrium.”

The external area of the museum covers approximately 17 mu. To the north of the main building is the Visitor Service Center, which houses a ticket office, guard room, ticket checkpoint, gift shop, and more. To the west are facilities meeting three-star standards, including public toilets, a large ecological parking lot, Buddhist statues, landscaped gardens, walking paths, and cultural corridors. Together, they form a leisure space with a Buddhist culture theme that complements the exhibits inside the museum.

Further Reading:

· National Second-Class Museum of China