Features Shuanglin Temple

1 features

1.1 hall of devas
1.2 arhat hall
1.3 hall of thousand buddhas
1.4 bodhisattva hall

features

the temple noted colourful sculptures, lifelike in form, patterned on design of artistic traditions of song, jin , yuan periods. themes depicted religious in nature , relate daily life of people. considered among finest examples of chinese coloured sculptures. number of coloured sculptures reported 2,052, out of 1,650 reported extant. height of sculptures varies between 0.3–3.5 metres (1 ft 0 in–11 ft 6 in). formats of bas-relief, high relief , in circular form. there wall sculptures , few suspended. buddha, bodhisattva, warrior guards, arhat, heavenly generals , common people sculptural themes. background scenes depict towers, buildings, mountains, rivers, clouds, rocks, grasses, flowers, forested trees, , woodlands. sculptures displayed behind caged chambers in tableaux form. there statue of husband , wife took care of shrine during chinese revolution. setting of scene behind statues of flowing water cascades or clouds, , result wooden halls appear grottoes. maintenance reported poor many statues seen in bad condition lack of preservation. temple s external surface covered coal dust , looks musty.

bodhisattva carved several arms


hall of devas

sculptures of vajrapani , 4 heavenly kings displayed in hall of devas.

arhat hall

eighteen sculptresses in arhat hall (luohan ting; chinese: 罗汉厅). these sculpted noble figures amicable facial expressions. garments similar cao jiaxiang’s style , have received wide acclaim. carved garments tight fitting shirts on loose robes broad sleeves. striking figure among sculptures in arhat hall of holy guanyin style of sculpting popular during later period of chinese buddhism. gilded sculpted image of bodhisattva of period shown in cross-legged pose seated on lotus. sumeru throne sculpted below image , fixed on figures of mighty men. statue carved in halo.

hall of thousand buddhas

the skanda statue in hall of thousand buddhas, considered masterpieces of sculptural art of buddhist culture of ming dynasty period. hall has sculpted feminine figurines in sitting posture. chief deity shown legs positioned on coiled dragon.

bodhisattva hall

bodhisattva hall, called pusa ting (chinese: 菩萨厅), has thousand-armed guanyin. ceiling in hall contains depictions of guard in form of three-clawed round , bellied figure, , painted green. bodhisattva hall has sculpture of young, attractive looking woman said represent bodhisattva, sculpted many hands. clothing rich , ornaments decorate bodhisattva. twenty or more arms of bodhisattva well-sculpted, of fair skin, hands set behind head , on torso.