Stone Sculpture Show
They are some of the most beautiful Buddhist statues I have ever seen," said Professor Ma Shichang, deputy director of the archaeology department of Beijing University.
The "Returned to Light -- Masterpieces of Buddhist Statuary from Qingzhou" exhibition also features another 40 stone carvings, the achievements of a chance archaeological discovery in 1996, in Longxing Temple, Qingzhou, Shandong.
On a construction site to the south of the Museum of Qingzhou, workers discovered some stone arms. The salvage workers of the museum raced to the scene and started to excavate after hearing the news.
The results were stupefying. They unearthed a huge, unique underground vault of Buddhist treasures.
With flat walls and floor, the 8.7 meter-long, 6.8-meter wide, 3.4-meter deep vault featured statues placed in three tiers. The sitting statues are in an erect position.
It was obvious that the majority of limestone figures were broken before burial. Yet no one knows why, nor why such a massive hoard was buried at all.
Two reasons have been proposed: the constant warfare in the area during the Song and Jin periods, or persecution of Buddhism that occurred in the year 1,111 during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, who was a Taoist.
The statuary from Qingzhou, which includes Buddhas, Boddhisattvas, arhats and a large number of elliptical figural stele, offers an interesting contrast in styles.
For enquiries, call 6518-2360, 6518-2370 for Ms. Wei Lijun, Beijing Chinasight Fine Arts Co., Ltd, the organizer of this beautiful exhibition.
