Tang Dynasty Statues in Baoqing Temple, Xi'an (3)

Important Cultural Property

1

limestone

Overall height 108.5 Overall width 29.8 Overall depth 13.8 Image height 85.8

Tang Dynasty 8th century

From Baoqing Temple in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, donated by Hosokawa Huli

Tokyo National Museum

TC-719

The Stone Buddha Group of Baoqing Temple was originally placed on the Qibaotai of Guangzhai Temple built by Wu Zetian, the only female emperor of China (Queen Zetian Wu), in Chang'an City. There are two kinds of Buddhist altars in total in the world. In addition to the eleven-sided Guanyin statue similar to this collection, there are also three Buddhist altars with Amitabha Nyorai, Maitreya Nyorai, and Jiyue Moyin Nyorai as the middle statues. There are more than 30 Buddhist shrines in total. Because there are works marked with the chronology of the 3rd and 4th years of Chang'an (703, 704), it is generally believed that this work is also a work of this period.

The one displayed today is the eleven-faced Avalokitesvara statue, which is the theme of Tang Mi belief and is extremely beautiful in shape. The eleven-faced Guanyin of Baoqing Temple now preserved has seven faces, all of which are overseas, four in Japan and three in the United States.

Finally, there is a rubbing of the Eleven-faced Guanyin statue preserved by Kyoto University. (Speaking of the Japanese's full-scale rubbing technology is really good, compared to the Baoqing Temple rubbings collected by the Fu Sinian Library of the Institute of History and Philosophy, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, it is really not as good as others...)