Thousand-year-old culture in Shanxi: Xi County, Linfen - the swan song of hanging sculptures - a stunning work

Xixian Xiaoxi'tian, also known as Qianfo Temple, is located on the top of Fenghuang Mountain west of Xixian County, Linfen City, Shanxi Province. It is a Buddhist Zen temple founded by Zen Master Dongming in the second year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty. It was originally named because there are thousands of Buddha statues in the Main Hall. The value lies in the well-preserved hanging sculpture art in the Main Hall. Most of the hanging sculptures in the Main Hall were painted in the Ming Dynasty and have remained dust-free for more than 300 years. "Before Xiaoxitian, there was no hall full of hanging sculptures. After Xiaoxitian, there is no more hanging sculptures filling the hall." Walking in from the ticket gate, there are many poems inspired by the visit to Xiaoxitian. Reciting one song after another, I walked to the foot of the mountain "It is more important to embark on the journey to obtain scriptures than to reach Lingshan Mountain", Walking up the stone steps to the gate of Xiaoxitian, you will feel far away from the world. It is not far from the county town and the height is not very high, but climbing up the steps can still calm your heart. From the perspective of artistic and cultural value Shuilu Temple has largely retained the style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are more than 2,000 statues of various sizes and shapes placed inside. The colored sculptures of Shuilu Temple are important materials for people to study the Shuilu Temple in Ming Dynasty. The main hall of Shuilu Temple looks majestic, but also friendly. Three of the statues are similar in form and display techniques. For example, there is Buddha light above and Sumeru throne below. Overall, the lines of the Buddha statue are relatively simple, and the entire body is covered in gold. Even the smaller strong man below can embody a sense of power. On the back of the three Buddha statues are statues of Bodhisattvas, the difference is that they are all shaped like males. But there is the kindness and warmth of a female Bodhisattva in her eyes. At the bottom of the gable is the wonderful part of Shuilu Temple These “24 divine generals” have different expressions, each one is majestic, and their facial features and body shapes all reflect traditional sculpture techniques. The Buddhist stories on the gables show that the craftsmen took the viewer's psychology into consideration when depicting the characters, and eliminated the viewer's discomfort through color matching and reasonable layout. Whether in terms of the overall work or the portrayal of individual characters, the creative level of Shuilu Temple is top-notch. It reflects the progress of ancient Chinese sculpture technology while also showing its own artistic charm, such as the reasonable layout of the sculpture positions, the rational use of colors, and the combination of the individual and the whole. These elements constitute the artistic characteristics of Shuilu Temple. Precautions 1️⃣Don't use the flash when taking photos 2️⃣Don’t pay attention to strangers who talk to you near the scenic area, as there may be karma or you may be asked to donate merit. 3️⃣Human explanation is cheaper, it should be 50, you can hire one if you have the conditions, the electronic explanation should be 20, it can be shared by several people, the explanation is relatively shallow 4️⃣The journey is quite long. If you are prone to motion sickness, you can take motion sickness medicine half an hour in advance.