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Prayer Wheel Cave, No. 136, Beishan Rock Carvings (北山石刻) Anderl, Christoph
Description
This cave is located in Beishan Rock Carvings (北山石刻), Fowan (佛灣), Dazu (大足) District, Chongqing. The central pillar of the cave is depicted as a prayer wheel. The base is shaped like a Sumeru mountain with a dragon motif surrounding the waist. Child motifs in various gestures encircle the upper edge of the base. The centre of the prayer wheel is enclosed by eight cylindrical columns. Each is decorated with a dragon in the upper part and a standing female figure at the bottom. Pagoda-like motifs and auspicious clouds encircle the top of the prayer wheel. The central wall depicts a seated Shakyamuni Buddha flanked by two disciples, Mahākāśyapa and Ānanda. A niche containing a standing bodhisattva is placed on either side. The left is Avalokiteśvara (Chinese: Guanyin 觀音), while the right is Mahāsthāmaprāpta (Chinese: Dashizhi pusa 大勢至菩薩). Four donor images are carved in the middle of the central wall right edge. The left side wall has three niches. The inner niche depicts Mañjuśrī (Chinese: Wenshu pusa 文殊菩薩) seated on a lion and accompanied by a young boy and a servant taming the lion. The middle niche has a seated bodhisattva flanked by a male and a female attendant. The outer niche contains a standing bodhisattva. A guardian deity is placed next to the frame of the wall. The setting of the right side wall is similar. However, the bodhisattva in the inner niche rides an elephant, and the bodhisattva in the middle niche is six-armed. The bodhisattva in the outer niche is Avalokiteśvara with prayer beads (Chinese: Dasheng shuzhushou Guanyin pusa 大聖數珠手觀音菩薩). Eight sets of inscriptions dating to the twelfth to sixteenth years of the Shaoxing 紹興 reign (1142-1146 CE) of the Southern Song dynasty are found in the cave. The identities of the Buddha, bodhisattvas and disciples specified above are mentioned in those inscriptions. Source: Dazu shike yanjiuyuan 大足石刻研究院. Dazu shike quanji 大足石刻全集 [Dazu Rock Carvings] Edited by Li Fangyin 黎方銀. 10 vols. Vol. 2-1, Chongqing: Chongqing chubanshe, 2018, pp. 229, 241, 251, 257. Descriptions of the photos: Signboard of the cave [1] Bodhisattva on right side of central wall [2] Bodhisattva on left side of central wall [3] Right side wall of the cave [4] Left side wall of the cave [4] Different angels of prayer wheel [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10] Base of prayer wheel [11, 12, 13, 14] Metadata created by: Sau Ling Wendy Yu.
Item Metadata
| Title |
Prayer Wheel Cave, No. 136, Beishan Rock Carvings (北山石刻)
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| Creator | |
| Contributor | |
| Date Issued |
2016-11-02
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| Description |
This cave is located in Beishan Rock Carvings (北山石刻), Fowan (佛灣), Dazu (大足) District, Chongqing. The central pillar of the cave is depicted as a prayer wheel. The base is shaped like a Sumeru mountain with a dragon motif surrounding the waist. Child motifs in various gestures encircle the upper edge of the base. The centre of the prayer wheel is enclosed by eight cylindrical columns. Each is decorated with a dragon in the upper part and a standing female figure at the bottom. Pagoda-like motifs and auspicious clouds encircle the top of the prayer wheel. The central wall depicts a seated Shakyamuni Buddha flanked by two disciples, Mahākāśyapa and Ānanda. A niche containing a standing bodhisattva is placed on either side. The left is Avalokiteśvara (Chinese: Guanyin 觀音), while the right is Mahāsthāmaprāpta (Chinese: Dashizhi pusa 大勢至菩薩). Four donor images are carved in the middle of the central wall right edge. The left side wall has three niches. The inner niche depicts Mañjuśrī (Chinese: Wenshu pusa 文殊菩薩) seated on a lion and accompanied by a young boy and a servant taming the lion. The middle niche has a seated bodhisattva flanked by a male and a female attendant. The outer niche contains a standing bodhisattva. A guardian deity is placed next to the frame of the wall. The setting of the right side wall is similar. However, the bodhisattva in the inner niche rides an elephant, and the bodhisattva in the middle niche is six-armed. The bodhisattva in the outer niche is Avalokiteśvara with prayer beads (Chinese: Dasheng shuzhushou Guanyin pusa 大聖數珠手觀音菩薩). Eight sets of inscriptions dating to the twelfth to sixteenth years of the Shaoxing 紹興 reign (1142-1146 CE) of the Southern Song dynasty are found in the cave. The identities of the Buddha, bodhisattvas and disciples specified above are mentioned in those inscriptions. Source: Dazu shike yanjiuyuan 大足石刻研究院. Dazu shike quanji 大足石刻全集 [Dazu Rock Carvings] Edited by Li Fangyin 黎方銀. 10 vols. Vol. 2-1, Chongqing: Chongqing chubanshe, 2018, pp. 229, 241, 251, 257. Descriptions of the photos: Signboard of the cave [1] Bodhisattva on right side of central wall [2] Bodhisattva on left side of central wall [3] Right side wall of the cave [4] Left side wall of the cave [4] Different angels of prayer wheel [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10] Base of prayer wheel [11, 12, 13, 14] Metadata created by: Sau Ling Wendy Yu.
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| Subject | |
| Geographic Location | |
| Type | |
| Language |
chi; eng
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| Notes |
Author Affiliations: Ghent University
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| Series | |
| Date Available |
2023-06-13
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| Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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| Rights |
Attribution 4.0 International
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| DOI |
10.14288/1.0433156
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| URI | |
| Affiliation | |
| Peer Review Status |
Unreviewed
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| Scholarly Level |
Faculty
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| Rights URI | |
| Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International