Jade Maiden Spring and Ziyun Pavilion Taoist Statues

Jade Maiden Spring and Ziyun Pavilion Taoist Statues

Jade Maiden Spring and Ziyun Pavilion Taoist Statues are designated as a cultural relic protection unit of Sichuan Province.

Jade Maiden Spring is located at the foot of Xishan Mountain in Fucheng District, Mianyang City. The statues are carved into the bluish-gray sandstone cliff, which is 2.5 meters high, 8 meters wide, and situated 0.8 meters above the water level. They face south. Originally, there were over 50 niches of Taoist statues. In 1953, half of them were destroyed due to quarrying, leaving 25 niches. All the niches are arched, each containing between three to five statues, totaling over 50. These include depictions of Celestial Masters, Laozi, immortals, female Taoists, and guardian warriors. Among them are figures with high topknots, haloed heads, round-collared robes, feather fans, leaning on tea tables; some are seated in the lotus position; others stand wearing open-shoulder Taoist robes; and some are seated on lion thrones or lotus pedestals symmetrically adorned with swirling cloud patterns. Additionally, inscriptions from the first year of the Xianheng era (670) and the second year of the Qianyuan era (759) of the Tang Dynasty are present. This site represents one of the earlier, larger-scale, and finely carved Taoist statue groups in Sichuan, serving as valuable physical material for the study of Tang Dynasty religion and sculpture art.

Approximately 100 meters from Jade Maiden Spring lies the legendary reading platform of Yang Xiong, beside which stands the "Ziyun Pavilion" built in his honor. Ziyun Pavilion gained lasting fame through the line in Liu Yuxi’s “Inscription on a Humble Dwelling” from the Tang Dynasty: “The thatched hut of Zhuge in Nanyang, the Ziyun Pavilion of Xishu.” It had long been lost but has since been reconstructed.

The Taoist statues of Ziyun Pavilion are located on the rock face of the pavilion, consisting of 87 statues in a single niche. The niche is trapezoidal with an inverted top, 0.62 meters high, 2.58 meters wide at the top, and 1.67 meters wide at the bottom. The main figures are the Celestial Master (left) and Laozi (right). Donors are arranged in four layers along the side walls of the main figures, depicted in low relief — 43 on the left and 42 on the right — with their names inscribed on the left side. These carvings date back to the twelfth year of the Xiantong era (871) of the Tang Dynasty.

Protected area: East to Longxibian, South to the line along Chengjiao Township Sanli Village Group 5 and Mianyang Fashion and Art School, West to Chengjiao Township Xinmiao Village Group 1, North to the Xishan Campus of Southwest University of Science and Technology.