The Cliff Carvings of Tongnan Giant Buddha Temple

　　The Tongnan Giant Buddha Temple was initially constructed during the Xiantong era of the Tang Dynasty (860–874 AD), originally named “Dingming Temple,” also known as “Nanchan Temple.” Later, in the Song Dynasty, a large Buddha was carved into the mountain within the temple, leading to its renaming as “Giant Buddha Temple.” The temple stands dramatically on the cliffs, reaching a height of 33 meters in a terraced formation, with a seven-story Buddha pavilion adorned with upturned eaves covered in glazed tiles. In the Ming Dynasty, a seven-tiered flying roof was added above the great statue to protect it from wind and rain, structures that remain well-preserved to this day. Historically, the Giant Buddha Temple has been rebuilt three times, with the last reconstruction taking place in the 11th year of the Republic of China (1922). The site now preserves four ancient wooden structures: the Great Buddha Pavilion, Guanyin Hall, Jade Emperor Hall, and Jian Pavilion, most of which date back to the late Qing Dynasty. The Jade Emperor Hall was built in the 11th year of the Republic of China (1922), reportedly constructed by local residents to pray for rain. Between the Jade Emperor Hall and the Great Buddha Hall lies the Guanyin Hall, originally built during the Song and Yuan dynasties and reconstructed in 1946, housing a thousand-armed Guanyin statue. It is said that the placement of Guanyin on the right side of the Buddha distinguishes Tongnan Giant Buddha Temple from other Buddhist temples.

　　Inside the Great Buddha Hall is a seated statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, carved directly into the cliff. The Buddha features a spiral topknot, a square face, large ears, kind and serene eyebrows and eyes, and a plump cheek. Facing the river and backed by the mountain, the Buddha sits barefoot, its entire body gilded, radiating brilliant splendor. Hence, it is commonly known as the “Eight-Zhang Golden Immortal.” It is the largest golden Buddha in China and the seventh largest in the world. The seated Sakyamuni statue is 18.43 meters tall, with an 8.35-meter chest circumference. In the lotus position, the Buddha’s chest is exposed, draped in a double-layered robe, with the left hand resting on the knee and the right hand held at chest level, bestowing the Fearless Mudra. The proportions of the Buddha’s body parts are well-balanced, the drapery lines are smooth, the form is lifelike, the posture solemn and dignified, and the gaze vividly expressive, giving the figure an especially majestic presence. According to inscriptions, the head and body of the Tongnan Giant Buddha were carved in vastly different time periods. The head was carved in the first year of the Xiantong era of the Tang Dynasty (860) and completed in the first year of the Guangming era (880). Meanwhile, the carving of the body spanned more than 250 years across the Five Dynasties and into the Northern Song Dynasty, only being largely completed in the first year of the Jingkang era of the Song Dynasty (1126).

　　Afterward, it took another 26 years to scale the body proportionally to the head, finally completing the carving in the 21st year of the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1151). In total, the entire Buddha statue took over 290 years to carve. After its completion, in the Ren Shen year of the Shaoxing era (1152), further refinement and polishing were carried out to gild the statue. A monk from the temple, Fahsiu, traveled to Luzhou to seek funding from the Luzhou prefect Feng ?, a devout Buddhist layman who generously donated his salary for the gilding and even personally composed and inscribed a stele to document the event. In February of the 22nd year of Shaoxing (1152), the gilding of the Great Buddha was completed, and the statue was fully covered in gold. Later, the Buddha was regilded four more times—in the 7th year of the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty (1802), the 9th year of the Tongzhi era (1870), the 3rd year of the Republic of China (1914), and the 10th year of the Republic of China (1921).

　　The Tongnan Giant Buddha is a rare masterpiece among stone carvings and was once known as one of the “Four Great Buddhas of Shu.” In August 1956, it was designated by the People’s Government of Sichuan Province as one of the first batch of key cultural relics under protection. Centered around the Giant Buddha, the surrounding cliff faces stretching over a mile to the east and west feature 83 historical inscriptions, poems, steles, and carvings left by literati throughout the ages, 20 gilded couplets, 5 hydrological inscriptions, 104 niches, and over 700 Buddha statues. Other scenic spots such as the “Stone Staircase Musical Sound,” “Heaven-Reaching Buddha,” “Jian Pavilion,” and “Autumn Moon over Emerald Screen” are collectively known as the Eighteen Scenic Spots along with the “Eight-Zhang Golden Immortal.”

　　To the left of the Seven Emotions Terrace lies a riverside cliff of red stone, where, along a cliff face stretching about a mile, numerous inscriptions, poems, steles, and carvings from various dynasties are found. The most eye-catching is a massive carved character of “Buddha.” This “Buddha” character, carved on a steep and upright rock face, is 8.85 meters high, 6.78 meters wide, covering 60 square meters of the rock surface. It was inscribed by Yunyan Fucheng in the 10th year of the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1870) and is the largest stone-carved Buddha character in China. The character is simple yet powerful, vigorous and upright, with a forceful brushstroke that seems to press down on the riverbank and reach the sky, hence it is also called the “Heaven-Reaching Buddha Character,” or “Becoming Buddha While Standing Firm.”

　　In 2006, the Cliff Carvings of Tongnan Giant Buddha Temple were approved by the State Council to be included in the sixth group of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level.

　　The following content was added in March 2015:

　　The Cliff Carvings of Qianfo Temple

　　Time Period: Tang to Yuan and Ming Dynasties

　　Location: At the northern foot of Zhangjia Bay, Group 1, Xuejiawan, Chongkan Town, Tongnan County, Chongqing

　　The Cliff Carvings of Qianfo Temple were buried due to quarrying for dam construction in the 1950s. They were rediscovered in August 2011 during the excavation of crushed stone. From September to November 2011, the Chongqing Cultural Heritage Research Institute (formerly the Chongqing Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute) conducted rescue archaeological excavations, rubbing material extraction, iconographic descriptions, tracing drawings, and high-resolution photography of the carvings and nearby cliffs. Together with the School of History and Culture at Sichuan University, they performed a 3D scan of the carvings, achieving significant preliminary results.

　　The excavated and cleared cliff carvings of Qianfo Temple run east to west, measuring 30 meters in length and a remaining height of 4 meters, with the lowest point 1.5 meters from the surface. Ming and Qing architectural remains were discovered in front of the cliff base during the excavation, but they were heavily damaged, with an unclear layout. There are a total of 43 exposed niches on the cliff face, categorized by type into square niches, outer-square inner-round arch niches, arched niches, and house-shaped niches, etc. Approximately 283 individual carvings were found, along with 27 textual inscriptions. Judging from the subject matter, artistic style, and dated inscriptions, it is preliminarily inferred that the Qianfo Temple Cliff Carvings date as early as the mid-Tang Dynasty and as late as the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, with the majority from the late Tang and Northern Song periods. As these cultural treasures, cradled in the aesthetics of the Tang and Song styles, are unveiled, their exquisite craftsmanship is truly breathtaking.

　　The Qianfo Temple Cliff Carvings are large in scale, early in period, and well-preserved, featuring a rich variety of subjects and exquisitely detailed carvings. They hold significant artistic and Buddhist archaeological value. Notably, niche 39 contains an inscription reading “11th Year of the Tianbao Era,” providing crucial data for the study of mid-Tang Buddhist archaeology in the Chongqing area. The late Tang carvings at Qianfo Temple also demonstrate an increasingly diverse range of themes. Beyond common Buddhist combinations, there are also carvings combining elements of both Buddhism and Daoism within single niches, reflecting the pluralistic worship trends and the de-classicization of carving styles in the Sichuan-Chongqing region from the late Tang to Song periods. The repeated appearance of bodhi twin trees, anthropomorphic Heavenly Kings, and bodhi auspicious images indicates tantric Buddhist elements. Such motifs underwent a process from exoteric to esoteric in the early Tang Buddhist art systems of the two capitals, and based on Mr. Long Xianzhao’s theory of “Chang’an Buddhism Reflecting in Ba Chuan,” the twin-tree and eight-division motifs appearing in the late Tang Sichuan-Chongqing carving systems can also be seen as influenced by the artistic styles of the two capital regions.