Cliffside Buddhist Statues at Bishui Temple

Cliffside Buddhist Statues at Bishui Temple

The cliffside Buddhist statues at Bishui Temple are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Cliffside Buddhist Statues at Bishui Temple

The Thousand Buddha Cliff Buddhist carvings were originally located on the western cliff of Longxi Weir by the Fu River Bridge at the start of the Baoji-Chengdu Railway double-track line. There were originally more than 1,000 niches, but most were destroyed during the construction of Longxi Weir in 1940, with only about 100 remaining. These carvings are found on an 8.2-meter-long and 2.7-meter-high cliff section, which includes three inscribed records dated to the first year of the Guangming era (880 AD) of the Tang Dynasty. At the upper central part of the carvings is a rectangular niche, 2 meters wide and 0.35 meters high, containing 160 smaller niches arranged in 4–6 layers, each featuring high-relief Buddha statues. In 1985, the then Mianyang County-level People's Government designated it as a cultural relics protection unit. In 1993, due to road widening work for the Mianyang–Jiangyou expressway, the carvings were entirely removed from the cliff and embedded into the cliff face at Bishui Temple for preservation.

The cliff also features 18 niches of Tang Dynasty cliffside Buddhist statues and one stone carving of the Diamond Sutra. Due to age, most of the carvings have suffered severe weathering, although Niches No. 1, 4, 5, 16 and the Diamond Sutra carving remain relatively well-preserved. Inside the temple is a standing stone statue of Guanyin from the Tang Dynasty, standing 5 meters tall. She wears a golden crown adorned with a tiny Buddha, golden earrings, and a necklace of jade beads. Her eyes are gently closed and she wears a serene smile, exuding a tranquil, otherworldly expression. Bare-chested, she dons a close-fitting kasaya robe, a belted waist, and a jade skirt decorated with exquisite ornaments. In her left hand she holds a vase of pure water, while her right hand forms the “Gesture of Granting Infinite Life.” Her full-bodied form, grace, and compassionate expression reflect the refined elegance of the flourish Tang Dynasty. The statue is currently housed in the main hall of Bishui Temple.

In May 2013, the cliffside Buddhist statues at Bishui Temple were listed in the seventh group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units