Weixian Maitreya Scripture Pillar

Weixian Maitreya Scripture Pillar

The Weixian Maitreya Scripture Pillar is a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

In Weixian County, Xingtai, there is the "Maitreya Bodhisattva Ascends to Tusita Heaven Scripture Pillar" from the second year of the Chunhua era of the Song Dynasty (991 AD), commonly referred to as the Maitreya Scripture Pillar. Since this pillar is inscribed with both the "Maitreya Bodhisattva Ascends to Tusita Heaven Sutra" and the "Usnisa Vijaya Dharani Sutra," it is also called the Weixian Usnisa Vijaya Dharani Scripture Pillar, or simply the Dharani Scripture Pillar. It was listed as a provincial-level key cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province in 1993.

The Maitreya Scripture Pillar (also known as the Dharani Scripture Pillar) was constructed in the second year of the Chunhua era of the Northern Song Dynasty (991 AD). It is entirely built from blue stone and consists of ten tiers, with a total height of 3.28 meters. It was listed as a key protected cultural relic of Hebei Province in 1993.

On August 25, 1985, it was discovered by three local farmers digging soil near a river channel southeast of the county town. The base of the pillar is square, with a surface featuring double-layer lotus petal reliefs. The middle section has a round, drum-like platform. The main body of the pillar is carved from a single piece of blue stone, is octagonal in shape, and consists of 10 sections, with a total height of 3.28 meters. The main shaft is 116 cm high, with a maximum diameter of 29 cm and each face being 10.5 cm wide. It is inscribed with one volume of the "Sutra on the Visualization of Maitreya Bodhisattva Ascending to Tusita Heaven," with 70 characters per line. At the beginning of the sutra are 53 characters reading: "Presented by Chaosan Official Zhao Yongtu, former Palace Attendant and former Prefect of Huazhou Road, for his own old age at 77, preparing an underground chamber in advance, engraving one volume of the Ascension Sutra on this pillar, hoping that all heavenly deities, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas will bear witness." — Written by rural scholar Zhao Yongtu, carved by Li Rong. Above the umbrella cover sits a small scripture pillar on a lotus pedestal. The small pillar is also an octagonal stele, with 16 lines of text per face and 45 characters per line. It features the "Dharani" (also called the "Great Wish-Fulfilling Mantra") in regular script, carved in intaglio. The entire structure is in the shape of a slender gourd with a cinched waist, the upper part resembling a soldier’s helmet, the middle part featuring intaglio-linked concentric circles, and the lower part being an eight-petal double lotus base, giving it a simple and classic design. Between the two main bodies of the pillars are various covers, pedestals, and other elements, all uniquely shaped. The fourth and seventh tiers consist of large and small pillar bodies in the form of octagonal steles, with the bodies inscribed in regular script intaglio with over 6,000 characters from the "Maitreya Bodhisattva Ascends to Tusita Heaven Sutra" and the "Usnisa Vijaya Dharani Sutra." The calligraphy is solemn and vigorous, demonstrating considerable skill. The discovery of the scripture pillar provides valuable physical material for the study of religion, sculpture, and architectural craftsmanship during the Northern Song Dynasty.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Hebei Province