Stone carvings in the Scripture Cave

Stone carvings in the Scripture Cave

The stone carvings in the Scripture Cave are a cultural relic protection unit of Sichuan Province.

The Scripture Cave is located in Lingyan Mountain, Group 9, Lingyan Village, Guankou Town. The stone-carved sutra tablets in the cave are made of bluish sandstone. The Upper Scripture Cave is situated in a steep cliff behind Lingyan Temple, featuring a vertical brick-lined cellar measuring 1.8 meters in both length and width, and 2.5 meters in depth. It was discovered in 1971. The Lower Scripture Cave is located behind Zhulin Temple, in front of Lingyan Temple, as a natural cave, measuring 2.9 meters in length, 2.65 meters in width, and 5.9 meters in depth. The Lower Scripture Cave was discovered in the early years of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty. In 1931, Pu Chunwei, a local resident, cleared out a large number of Buddhist scriptures from the original site. The scriptures were stacked along the cave walls, with several Tang Dynasty Kaiyuan coins placed between each tablet. The Upper Scripture Cave was discovered in 1995. After its discovery, cultural heritage authorities conducted a cleanup and found approximately 160 remaining sutra tablets, each measuring 0.8 meters in length, 0.4 meters in width, and 0.04 meters in thickness. Both sides of the tablets were carved with text, while the edges featured the sutra name, volume number, and tablet number. Several well-preserved “Kaiyuan Tongbao” coins were also unearthed near the tablets. Due to long-term compression and severe weathering, the tablets could not be removed, so they were reburied in situ. These findings provide physical evidence for the development of religion in the region during the Tang and Qing Dynasties.

Address: Group 9, Lingyan Village, Guankou Town