Stone Carvings of Deities in Jinguang Cave

Stone Carvings of Deities in Jinguang Cave

The stone carvings of deities in Jinguang Cave are a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangyou City.

The stone carvings of deities in Jinguang Cave are located inside Jinguang Cave in Jinguang Village, Hanzeng Town, on Qianyuan Mountain. Also known as Tiance Cave or Taiyi Cave, this is a high-altitude karst cave filled with oddly shaped rocks and offering a warm retreat in winter and a cool one in summer. It houses Taoist statues from the Song to Qing dynasties, as well as inscriptions from the Qing dynasty. Currently, there are 42 Taoist statues within the cave, all missing their heads, distributed within a 400-meter radius of the cave entrance. The statues are either standing or seated, with varied postures. The largest stands 1.3 meters tall, the smallest 0.3 meters, while most are approximately 0.8 meters in height. They feature Taoist knots or tied hair buns atop their heads, many holding ceremonial tablets, some with gold leaf and others with colored paintings. The stone used is relatively hard, and all the carvings are in high relief with fine craftsmanship and ancient techniques. Statue No. 10 depicts a female Taoist holding a tablet, with colored paint, head missing, remaining height 0.48 meters, shoulder width 0.18 meters, and base width 0.24 meters; Statue No. 11 has colored paint, head missing, remaining height 0.61 meters, shoulder width 0.24 meters, and base width 0.30 meters; Statue No. 12 sits on a Sumeru pedestal, head missing, remaining height 0.63 meters, shoulder width 0.25 meters, and base width 0.33 meters. According to experts from the Sichuan Provincial Cultural relics Management Committee, this group of Taoist statues dates back earliest to the Southern Song Dynasty.