Rock-Carved Statues of Yaoshiyan

Rock-Carved Statues of Yaoshiyan

The rock-carved statues of Yaoshiyan are a cultural relic protection unit of Sichuan Province.

The rock-carved statues of Yaoshiyan were hewn along the mountainside. Most of the existing niches and statues were carved during the Ming and Qing dynasties or were added onto or refurbished based on earlier carvings. Among these, one or two traces of Tang dynasty statues can occasionally be seen. It is possible that the rock surface was once covered entirely with Tang dynasty carvings, but due to damage and natural weathering, when large-scale re-carving and renovation were carried out in the Zhengtong and Jiajing eras of the Ming dynasty, the original Tang dynasty statues were erased. This phenomenon is confirmed by inscriptions from the Ming dynasty carvings, such as:

On the upper right side of the niche of the large Tang dynasty Buddha statue, there is an inscription from the seventh year of the Zhengtong era of the Ming dynasty recording the “topping and renewing of the solemn statue of the ancient Medicine Buddha and the colorful clay statue of a child,” while the lower part has an inscription from the tenth year of the Hongzhi era of the Ming dynasty documenting how “Shizhilang, a monk from Zhongfeng Temple, funded the commissioning of a craftsman to carve a stone sea-curtain Buddhist hall.” There is also an inscription from the fifteenth year of the Jiajing era recording the “casting and adorning of Buddha statues.” Other records include an inscription from the eleventh year of the Jiajing era by Zhang Mansiu and others from Mude Township, Dayi County, who donated family wealth to carve the Amitabha Buddha, Skanda, and two Arhats; an inscription from the twelfth year of the Jiajing era by the devotee Zhou Zhenrong, who funded a craftsman to carve the Dipankara Buddha; an inscription from the eighteenth year of the Jiajing era by the devotee Zhou Wannian, who carved the two Dragon Flag Attendant Children; and a brush-written inscription from the thirty-second year of the Wanli era of the Ming dynasty, documenting devotees casting colored Buddha statues.

Among these Ming dynasty carving inscriptions, there are also remnants of inscriptions from Tang dynasty monks making offerings to the Guanyin Bodhisattva and the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. These carving inscriptions indicate that during the mid-Ming dynasty, religious activities at Yaoshiyan flourished, with many believers and monks coming here to donate wealth and make vows to adorn the Buddha statues. This likely represents the second peak of carving activity at Yaoshiyan since its establishment in the early Tang dynasty. Although the inscriptions also contain numerous remnants of visitor records from the Southern Song dynasty, it remains unclear whether any new carving activities took place at Yaoshiyan during the Five Dynasties and Song periods.

Protected area: within 20 meters outside the distribution range of the statues.

Construction control zone: within 30 meters outside the protected area.