Chongqing Temple, Changzi, Shanxi

Chongqing Temple was originally built in the ninth year of the Dazhong Xiangfu period of the Northern Song Dynasty (1016) and completed with statues in the second year of the Yuanfeng period (1079). It was expanded and renovated during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The temple faces south and consists of two courtyards. Along the central axis are the Hall of Heavenly Kings and the Hall of a Thousand Buddhas. On the east and west sides are the Reclining Buddha Hall and the Hall of the Three Great Masters. The northwest corner houses the Kṣitigarbha Hall, and the northeast corner contains the Fangshi Courtyard. The Hall of a Thousand Buddhas is the main hall of the temple, with three bays in width and six purlins in depth, nearly square in plan. It features a single-eave hip-and-gable roof covered with gray simple tiles and glazed tile edges. The eave columns are embedded in the walls and prominently raised, with flat purlin blocks placed on the column heads. The bracket sets are of the single bracket arm type with five layers of cantilevered arms, with an additional cantilevered arm above forming a decorative head. The beam structure uses four purlins with three columns supporting the purlins. The front eave has a plank door in the main bay and straight lattice windows in the side bays. Inside the hall, the altar features one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas, with a reverse-facing Guanyin statue behind them, all sculpted in the Song Dynasty style. The Hall of Heavenly Kings contains statues of the Four Heavenly Kings, which are majestic and powerful. The Hall of the Three Great Masters has beams, purlins, and column capitals almost entirely in the Song style. Inside, the altar is low, with statues of the Three Great Masters and the Eighteen Arhats. The Kṣitigarbha Hall houses statues of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva and the Ten Kings, crafted with excellent skill. According to the inscription on the altar, these works date back to the second year of the Yuanfeng period (1079) of the Song Dynasty. The Hall of the Great Masters, also known as the Arhat Hall or the West Side Hall, is a Song Dynasty building rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty. It is three bays wide and four purlins deep, with a gable roof. The beam structure inside is almost entirely Song style, while the exterior shows clear Ming and Qing characteristics due to later repairs. The three-sided altar inside is low, about 0.8 meters high. The altar features statues of the Three Great Masters and the Eighteen Arhats. The central altar is a square platform approximately 3.69 meters long and 3.6 meters wide. The central figure is Guanyin Bodhisattva riding a brocade-covered mythical beast called Maohou. To the left is Manjushri Bodhisattva riding a blue lion, and to the right is Samantabhadra Bodhisattva riding a white elephant. The statues are about 2.4 to 2.6 meters tall. The three mythical beasts lie on the platform, with lotus pedestal thrones behind them. The three Bodhisattvas sit astride them, with legs bent or extended, each stepping on a lotus flower. On the altars along the walls on both sides are nine seated Arhat statues on the north and south sides, about 1.6 to 1.7 meters tall, resembling real people. These polychrome statues were created in the second year of the Yuanfeng period (1079) of the Northern Song Dynasty. Although they have been retouched and painted in later periods, the spirit of Song sculpture remains evident, and the style is preserved. This is the only extant Song Dynasty Arhat group with a definite date in China. The Song Dynasty polychrome sculptures of Chongqing Temple are distinctive in style and exquisite in form. The various statues emphasize spiritual connotation on a realistic basis, featuring deep individual characterization and unique decorative effects. Their images and artistic conception embody profound national characteristics, reflecting the personality and secular sentiments of the East. They hold a significant place in the history of Chinese sculpture. National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.