The Buddha Statue of Xuankong Temple

The Buddha statues in Xuankong Temple had the distinctive features of people from the Western Regions, retaining the solemn demeanor and style of the early Buddha statues. The characteristics of the Buddha statue were extremely rare in the domestic temple statues. In addition, the Three Religious Halls of Xuankong Temple worshipped Buddha Shakyamuni of Buddhism, Laozi of Taoism, and Confucius of Confucianism. It was very rare for the three founders to live in the same room. The Buddha statues had different expressions, which made people laugh.

The Buddha statues in Xuankong Temple were made with the method of making statues, which was a rather rare method of making statues in northern temples. The carving process was very complicated. First, the statue was molded with mud, then a wooden frame was added, covered with hemp, and heated. After drying and solidifying, the clay sculpture inside was removed. Although this kind of statue was time-consuming and laborious to build, it was sturdy, light, beautiful, and easy to preserve after it was formed. The Buddha statues in Xuankong Temple were regarded as exquisite and had precious cultural relic value.

Why did the small Buddha statue in Xuankong Temple not have a head? The current search results did not provide relevant information and could not answer this question.

The art of the Buddha statues in Xuankong Temple had a very high artistic value. The temple preserved a variety of copper, iron, clay, stone statues, these Buddha statues style and style have the characteristics of early Chinese Buddha statues. The Buddha statues were of different shapes, showing the prosperity of Buddhist art at that time. The murals and sculptures not only reflected Buddhist culture, but also the customs and aesthetics of the society at that time. The Buddha statues in Xuankong Temple not only have high artistic value, but also provide valuable information for us to understand ancient culture. These Buddha statues had witnessed the vicissitudes of Xuankong Temple over the past thousand years and made people deeply feel the profoundness of ancient Chinese civilization. The art of Buddha statues in Xuankong Temple was one of the precious heritages of traditional Chinese architecture.

The Buddha statues in Xuankong Temple were Amitabha, Shakyamuni, and Vairocana.

The Three Pure Buddhas were not symbols of Buddhism, but the highest gods of Taoism. The Three Pure Ones referred to the three gods in Taoism, namely Heavenly Lord Yuanshi, Heavenly Lord Lingbao, and Heavenly Lord Dao De. These statues were usually worshiped in the Three Pristines Hall of the Taoist temple. The Heavenly Lord Yuanshi held a spiritual pearl, which symbolized the state before the world was opened; the Heavenly Lord Lingbao held a jade light Ruyi, which represented the supreme virtue of the Jade Emperor; the Heavenly Lord Dao De held a fan of the Yin and Yang Mirror, which symbolized the evolution of the world and the division of Yin and Yang. The order in which these statues were placed was fixed. Heavenly Lord Yuanshi was in the center, while Heavenly Lord Lingbao and Heavenly Lord Dao De were on the left and right. The image of the Three Pure Buddhas was different from the Buddha in Buddhism. The Buddha was usually depicted wearing a golden kasaya and holding golden Buddha beads. This reflected the different interpretation and expression of gods in Taoism and Buddhism.

There were 15 Buddha statues in the Xuankong Temple in Mianshan, Shanxi Province. These Buddha statues had been appraised by experts and confirmed to be real. Each Buddha statue had retained its original condition when it passed away. Some of the bones of the fingers, toes, and skulls could even be seen. The existence of these fleshly Buddha statues was very rare in Buddhism, because Buddhism believed that only monks who had reached the ultimate realm of cultivation could reach the realm of uncorrupted flesh. The number of Buddha statues in the Xuankong Temple on Mount Mian was so large that it was considered the largest in the world. The existence of these physical Buddha statues was unbelievable, and it also aroused people's curiosity and amazement. There was no definite answer as to why there were so many Buddha statues on Mount Mian and why these bodies could survive for thousands of years without decaying.

Xuankong Temple was a wooden structure built on a cliff. The entire temple was suspended in the air, about 50 meters above the ground, equivalent to a 20-story building. It consisted of 40 houses, all supported by a wooden frame structure, and only 27 wooden beams were inserted into the rock wall to fix it. The architectural features of Xuankong Temple could be summarized as " strange, mysterious, and ingenious." Its architectural style was unique, combining the cultural elements of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Inside the temple were statues of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. It was a rare temple in China that combined the three religions. From a distance, Xuankong Temple looked very unreal. It looked like an exquisite embossed embedded in a cliff. The structural design of the entire temple was ingenious. It not only made full use of the bearing capacity of the rock mass, but also avoided excessive damage to the natural landscape. Xuan Kong Temple was a world-renowned architectural wonder, and was known as one of the world's top ten most dangerous buildings.

Xuankong Temple was located between the cliffs of Cuiping Peak on the west side of Jinlong Gorge, Hengshan Mountain, Hunyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi Province.

Xuankong Temple was located between the cliffs of Cuiping Peak on the west side of Jinlong Gorge, Hengshan Mountain, Hunyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi Province.