Sculptures And Statues Codexery

Leshan Giant Buddha

The largest and tallest stone Buddha statue in the world, carved into a cliff face at the confluence of three rivers.

Last updated

The Leshan Giant Buddha is a 71 m tall stone statue carved out of a cliff face of Cretaceous red bed sandstones at the confluence of the Min River and Dadu River in Sichuan Province, China.[1][2] No other stone Buddha statue in the world surpasses the Leshan Giant Buddha in size or height, and it also holds the record for the tallest statue built before modern times.[3][2] The rivers that flow at the statue's base are the Min and Dadu, and the sculpture looks out toward Mount Emei.[1]

Key facts and history

The massive construction removed so much stone from the cliff that it altered the river currents, making the water safer for ships.[4] Construction of the statue occurred during the Tang dynasty, spanning the years 712 to 804 AD.[1] The carving is situated on Qifeng Peak of Lingyun Mountain, where the Minjiang, Qingyi, and Dadu rivers converge.[5] Haitong died after the carving had only reached the shoulder level.[6]

The head, which is 14.7 m tall and 10 m wide, contains 1,021 spiral curls.[5] The figure's symmetrical pose and body part proportions follow the standards set by Buddharupa.[7] A drainage system, featuring concealed gutters and channels behind the head and between the ears, has protected the statue from erosion for 1,200 years.[8]

What the cited sources add

A contemporary account of the creation is preserved on an inscribed tablet.[2] The statue is located about 140 km from Chengdu downtown and 45 km from Mount Emei.[6] The scenic area covers 15,400 ha for Mount Emei and 17.88 ha for the Leshan Giant Buddha.[2] The Wuyou Temple, over 4 km from the Buddha, is within the same scenic area and requires the same entrance ticket.[9][10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Leshan Giant Buddha" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rajarajan, "'Religious Art and Culture in 2019' Thousand Faces of the Buddha.", Indian Journal of History of Science, 2020, p. 194–201 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. "Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area". facts only, no text reused. whc.unesco.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Leshan Giant Buddha" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area", UNESCO (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Leshan Giant Buddha" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Leshan Giant Buddha - A UNESCO World Natural & Cultural Heritage Site_Hi Leshan international website", www.hi-leshan.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Leshan Giant Buddha" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lu, "The Leshan Giant Buddha Fun Facts and History – Trippest's Chengdu Travel Guide", Trippest, February 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. "Leshan Giant Buddha History & Buddhism Facts", China Discovery. facts only, no text reused. chinadiscovery.com
  7. Wikipedia, "Leshan Giant Buddha" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Leshan Giant Buddha History & Buddhism Facts", China Discovery (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Leshan Giant Buddha" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "立体看四川 洪水泡脚仍无恙 探秘乐山大佛沿用千年的排水系统_四川在线", sichuan.scol.com.cn; "【史海】歷經千年風雨 樂山大佛流淚為哪般？ 懸空寺 大紀元", 大紀元 www.epochtimes.com, 2017-11-28 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Leshan Giant Buddha" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Wuyou Temple - exquisite Chinese Buddhist Temple in Leshan", 2020-10-07 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. "Wuyou Temple - exquisite Chinese Buddhist Temple in Leshan", 2020-10-07. facts only, no text reused. wendyweitours.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Leshan Giant Buddha (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Named in this entry

Leshan

More in Sculptures And Statues

Lion-manLion MonumentLittle Dancer of Fourteen YearsMadonna of BrugesManneken PisMoses (Michelangelo)Olmec colossal headsPietà (Michelangelo)Rabbit (Koons)ReliefShigir IdolSleeping Hermaphroditus

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →