Leshan Giant Buddha, a stone statue of 71m height, is carved out of a cliff face that lies at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers in the southern part of Sichuan province in China, near the city of Leshan. According to records, the carving of this giant Buddha was begun in the first year of the reign of the Tang Emperor Tang Xuanzong (713 AD), and completed in the 19th year of Emperor Dezong (803 AD), with a total of 90 years. It is now the largest stone-carved Buddha in the world.
This is my one-day tour experience in Leshan Giant Buddha spot.
Before we visited the great work, our guide gave us a brief introduction that the solemn Buddha is 71 meters high and its head itself is 14.7 meters high. Its ear is 6.2 meters long, eye 3.3 meters wide, and shoulder 34 meters wide. Its middle finger is 8.3 meters long and the smallest toenail is large enough to accommodate a seated person.
Taller by 17 meters than the standing Buddha in Afghanistan, Leshan Giant Buddha was added to the World Natural and Cultural Heritage List. The stone sculpture faces the Holy peak Mount E抦ei, with the rivers flowing below his feet. The statue depicts a seated Buddha with his hands resting on his knees, his head reaching the hilltop and his feet the river, occupying the entire hillside. There is a local saying: ” The mountain is a Buddha and the Buddha is a mountain”. It was a monk called Hai Tong who initiated the project. Master Haitong, a Buddhist abbot of the Lingyun Monastery, raised the necessary funds and commenced the construction of the Giant Buddha in order to subdue the waters and save lives. After 20 years’ begging alms, he finally accumulated enough money for the plan. When some local government officials had designs on tempting this amount of money, Hai Tong said that they could get his eyeball but not the money raised for the Buddha. After Hai Tong dug out his eyeball, these officials ran away scared. The project was half done when Hai Tong passed away, and two of his disciples continued the work. After a total of 90 years’ hard work, the project was finally completed. I was totally moved by the story.
Though it was designed to withstand harsh weather conditions, over the past 1,000 years, erosion did become a major threat to the statue. Strong winds, heavy rains, acid rain and visitors have left their marks. Water detained at the stomach of the Buddha has lowered the strength of the rock, and as a result, plants and fungi have sprung up from the upper part of the body.
We chose to visit the Giant Buddha by a walk. We stepped onto the breathtaking plank road alongside the cliff, climbed around the statue and got a good sense of proportion, it was really worth looking at the Grand Buddha from several angles. The total walking takes about 2 hours. After 40 minutes, we went to the top, opposite the head. The charm of the Buddha lies not only in its size but also in its architectural artistry. The head of the Leshan Buddha is covered with 1,021 buns of curly hair. Seen from afar, they seem to be a whole while in fact they are made of rocks and each of which is large enough to support a big round table. But stone coils of hair on the head of the statue have fallen down.
We then reached it抯 huge nose, has turned black and the face has become speckled because of acid rain. What looks like tear stains can be found at the corner of the Buddha’s eyes, and part of the body surface has begun to peel off. During the way, I felt a little dizzy.
We descend a short stairway to the feet for a Lilliputian perspective at last. Each of the feet is 11 meters long and 8.5 meters wide, large enough to accommodate more than 100 people sitting on it.
Leshan statue is a work of art as well as a work of creativity. We looked carefully and found an internal drainage system was incorporated into the sculpture that is still in working order. My guide told us, the drainage pipes were carved in various places on the body, that scattered on the head and arms, behind the ears and in the clothes to carry away the water after the rains so as to reduce weathering, and they play an important part in the protection of the Buddha.
There is another interesting thing, according to the experts involved in the maintenance in 1962, there is a cave in the chest of the Buddha. On entering the cave they found scrap iron and bricks. The stele covering the entrance of the cave dates from the Song Dynasty. The reason for this stele in the chest of the Buddha remains a mystery.
The huge statue not only represents the brilliant civilization of ancient China but also the largest ancient sculpture in the world.
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