Shimen Temple stone carvings feature in First Batch of Ancient Famous Stele and Engraved Cultural Relics Catalog
The State Administration of Cultural Heritage recently announced the "First Batch of Ancient Famous Stele and Engraved Cultural Relics Catalog."
The catalog includes a total of 1,658 significant cultural relics such as stone inscriptions and cliff stone carvings, dating from the Warring States period (475-221 BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). They are distributed across all 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. These relics are preserved and collected in 323 cultural heritage protection units and 221 cultural relic collection units.
Among them, a total of 52 cultural relics in Sichuan have been selected, and the stone carvings of Shimen Temple are the only cliff stone carvings to be selected in Bazhong.
Shimen Temple stone carvings [Photo/ Zhangshangbazhong]
The stone carvings of Shimen Temple are located in Denggao community, Yutang street, Bazhou district. It is known that the stone gate of the temple was excavated during the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and was once an essential passageway between Huacheng and Bacheng. The carvings are distributed on the cliff surface of Heshangliang of Shimen Mountain, with a length of 48.1 meters and a height of 4.8 meters. There are currently 19 niches (caves) with 135 statues and 6 stone tablets.
Shimen Temple stone carvings [Photo/ Zhangshangbazhong]
Shimen Temple stone carvings [Photo/ Zhangshangbazhong]
The cliff carvings of Shimen Temple have the same form and sculptural style as the niches in the Nankan Grottoes and Shuining Temple, and they date back to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).
The content of the carvings includes statues of Shakyamuni Buddha, Maitreya Buddha, two Bodhisattvas standing side by side, a standing statue of Guanyin, two Heavenly Lords sitting together, and an auspicious image of Maitreya Bodhisattva, among others.
While Buddhist themes dominate the carvings, there are also Taoist themes present. The configuration of the Taoist figures is not dissimilar from that of the Buddhist pieces, indicating the strong influence of Buddhist sculptural art on Taoist carvings.
The cliff carvings of Shimen Temple are exquisitely crafted and represent a masterpiece of Tang Dynasty cave sculpture in Bazhong.
On October 7, 2019, the cliff carvings of Shimen Temple were included in the eighth batch of nationally protected cultural relics.
