Leshan Grand*

Leshan Da *, also known as Lingyun Da *, is located on the eastern bank of the Nanmin River in Leshan City, Sichuan Province, adjacent to the confluence of the Dadu River, Qingyi River, and Min River. The seated statue of Maitreya, standing at a height of 71 meters, is the largest cliff carved statue in China

The excavation of the Leshan Grand Canal was carried out in the first year of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (713 AD) and completed in the nineteenth year of the Zhenyuan era (803 AD), lasting about ninety years@The Leshan Giant Buddha, also known as Lingyun Giant Buddha, is a national 5A level tourist attraction consisting of attractions such as Lingyun Mountain, Wuyou Mountain, and Juxingwo Mountain. It is a part of the world cultural and natural heritage site of Emei Mountain Leshan Giant Buddha and is located on the east bank of the South Minjiang River in Leshan City, Sichuan Province. It is adjacent to the confluence of the Dadu River, Qingyi River, and Minjiang River. The seated statue of Maitreya, standing at a height of 71 meters, is the largest cliff carved statue in China. The Leshan Grand Canal was excavated in the first year of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (713 AD) and completed in the nineteenth year of the Zhenyuan era (803 AD), lasting about ninety years

The Leshan Grand Wall is at the same height as the mountain, with a head height of 14.7 meters and a width of 10 meters. It has 1051 hair buns and 7 meters long ears. It is carved into a dangerous seat facing the river along the mountain, with a solemn and majestic aura. On the cliffs along the river on both sides of the Great Wall, there are two statues of the Guardian Heavenly Kings, each over 16 meters tall. On the right side of the Great Wall, there is a nine curved ancient plank road, which was left behind during the Tang Dynasty's excavation of the Great Wall. It was excavated along the cliff, winding nine times and extremely steep. After the completion of the large-scale carving, there were seven stories of pavilions covering the area (there are also nine or thirteen stories), which were called the "Grand Pavilion" and "Grand Statue Pavilion" at that time. But the pavilion has been repeatedly built and destroyed. The Leshan Grand Prix is the crystallization of the wisdom of ancient Chinese laboring people and a miracle in the history of world culture@On August 16, 1956, the Leshan Grand Prix was announced by the Sichuan Provincial People's Committee as a cultural relic protection unit in Sichuan Province. On February 23, 1982, Leshan Grand Prix was announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as the second batch of national key cultural relics protection units

Historical evolution

Origin of name

When it was first built in the Tang Dynasty, Leshan Giant was known as the "Jiazhou Lingyun Big Maitreya Stone Statue"@During the Song Dynasty, some people referred to it as the "Lingyun Statue" and the "Nine Top Statue"

Some people in the Ming Dynasty called it "Lingyun Da *"

During the Republic of China, some people referred to it as "Jiading Da *", while 33#

is now collectively known as "Leshan Da *"

Ancient Architecture

In the early years of Tang Kaiyuan (713 AD), the Leshan Grand Canal was officially excavated, initiated by the monk Haitong. After Haitong passed away, the project was temporarily interrupted

In the 27th year of the Kaiyuan reign of the Tang Dynasty (739 AD), Zhang Qiu and Qiong were appointed as the military governor of Xichuan in Jiannan Province. Seeing that Da * had already stopped working, he donated 200000 yuan in salary. The massive project is still unsustainable with only these 200000 yuan. The story of Da * eventually reached the ears of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who issued an edict to grant the "tax on hemp salt" for Da * excavation@In May of the fifth year of the Tianbao reign of the Tang Dynasty (746 AD), Zhang Qiu and Qiong were appointed as the Minister of Revenue and hurriedly returned to Chang'an. With his departure, the construction funds for the Great Wall were once again exhausted, and the project was forced to be suspended

In the fifth year of the Tang Dynasty's Zhenyuan era (789 AD), the third major construction project was interrupted for about half a century

In the nineteenth year of the Zhenyuan reign of the Tang Dynasty (803 AD), Da * was finally completed

Main Buildings

Main * Structure

Leshan Grand * Head is level with the mountain, with a height of 14.7 meters, a width of 10 meters, a bun on the head, and ears of 7 meters long. It is carved into a dangerous seat facing the river along the mountain, with a solemn and majestic aura

• Stone curls
• There are a total of 1051 screw buns on the top of the large *, which were numbered with chalk during maintenance in 1962. From a distance, the bun and head appear seamlessly integrated, but in reality, they are embedded one by one with stones. The exposed root of a single screw bun has obvious interlocking cracks and no mortar bonding. The surface of the spiral bun is plastered in two layers, with the inner layer made of lime and a thickness of 5-15 millimeters each. In 1991, during maintenance, three pieces of residual spiral shaped stones were found in the concave part of the right leg of the statue, two of which were relatively intact, 78 centimeters long, with a top of 31.5 × 31.5 centimeters and a root of 24 × 24 centimeters
• Wooden Double Ears
• On the inner side of the base of the right earlobe, there is a hole about 25 centimeters deep. The repairman took out many broken pieces from it, and upon closer inspection, they were rotten wood mud. This confirms the record by Fan Chengda of the Southern Song Dynasty in his book "Wu Chuanlu" that "the image of the world is so great that even two ears are made of wood". From this, it can be seen that three pieces of wood are exposed on the inner side, forming a finished shape. The raised nose bridge is also lined with wood and decorated with hammer ash. However, it is uncertain whether this was completed in the 19th year of the Zhenyuan reign of the Tang Dynasty or if later generations used this technique for repairs during maintenance

Affiliated * Statue

The left and right sides of the Leshan Giant * * Statue are two stone carvings of the Protector Heavenly Kings, both exceeding 16 meters in height, with hundreds of niches and thousands of stone carvings@On the cliffs along the river on both sides of the 85#

boardwalk and * pavilion

, there are also two statues of the Guardian Heavenly Kings, each over 16 meters tall. On the right side of the Great Wall, there is a nine curved ancient plank road, which was left behind during the Tang Dynasty's excavation of the Great Wall. It was excavated along the cliff, winding nine times and extremely steep. After the completion of the large-scale carving, there were seven stories of pavilions covering the area (there are also nine or thirteen stories), which were called the "Grand Pavilion" and "Grand Statue Pavilion" at that time. But the pavilion has been repeatedly built and destroyed

Drainage System

Leshan Grand * has a very clever drainage system. The two ears and the back of the head of the Leshan Giant have a cleverly designed and hidden drainage system, which plays an important role in protecting the giant. To prevent rainwater erosion. In the 18 layers of spiral buns on the top of the building, there is a horizontal drainage ditch on each of the 4th, 9th, and 18th layers, which is decorated with hammer ash and cannot be seen from a distance. The collar and clothing folds also have drainage channels, and the chest has a drainage channel that splits to the left and connects to the drainage channel on the back of the right arm. Behind the two ears, there is a cave connected by a mountain cliff that is 9.15 meters long, 1.26 meters wide, and 3.38 meters high; There are two holes on the back of the chest, which are not drilled through each other. The right hole is 16.5 meters deep, 0.95 meters wide, and 1.35 meters high, and the left hole is 8.1 meters deep, 0.95 meters wide, and 1.1 meters high. These clever ditches and caves form a scientific drainage, moisture insulation, and ventilation system that has played an important role in protecting the environment and preventing erosive weathering for thousands of years. The two interconnected caves on both sides, due to the convergence of mountain springs, have solidified limestone compounds about 5-10 centimeters thick on the inner cliff wall, while the cliff wall on one side of the body is still red sandstone and relatively dry. The two caves, which are not connected on either side, have wet walls and accumulated water at the bottom. Water constantly flows out of the cave entrance, resulting in a 2-meter-wide immersion of the large chest

Chest Remnants

In 1962, during a major repair, the then responsible person Huang Gaobin and Rob Heng discovered a closed dirty hole in the chest. Inside, there are scrap iron, worn-out lead sheets, bricks, etc., and the sealing stone is a remnant monument of the reconstruction of the Tianning Pavilion in the Song Dynasty. The repairman moved the remaining monument to Haitong Cave for preservation, and in 1966, the monument was destroyed

Cultural Relics Value

The Leshan Giant is the crystallization of the wisdom of ancient Chinese laboring people and a miracle in the history of world culture

Cultural Relics Protection

On August 16, 1956, the Leshan Giant was announced by the Sichuan Provincial People's Committee as a cultural relic protection unit in Sichuan Province@On February 23, 1982, Leshan Giant was announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as the second batch of national key cultural relics protection units@On December 6, 1996, the 20th National Committee of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in the historic and cultural city of Merida, Mexico, unanimously approved the inclusion of Mount Emei Leshan in the World Cultural and Natural Heritage List

Historical Culture

• * Statue Builder
• * The initiator of statue construction is Master Haitong. Haitong is a native of Guizhou and practices at Jiemao in Lingyun Mountain. He saw the raging waters of the Three Rivers, often causing tragedies such as shipwrecks and fatalities, so he aspired to excavate the Great Wall, hoping to rely on the magic to reduce the negative force of the water and permanently suppress the wind and waves. So Haitong traveled across the north and south of the Yangtze River, the two lakes, Huaihai and other places, raising manpower and financial resources. In 713 AD, construction began. At that time, the Maitreya statue, as a representative of the widely circulated statues during the Wu Zhou period, naturally became the first choice for creating statues in Haitong. When Da *'s head and chest began to take shape, Haitong passed away and the Da * project stopped for the first time

Tourism Information

Address

Leshan Grand * is located at 2435 Lingyun Road Middle Section, Shizhong District, Leshan City, Sichuan Province

Leshan Grand * Scenic Area

2435 Lingyun Road Middle Section, Shizhong District, Leshan City, Sichuan Province

Leshan Grand * Scenic Area

Ticket

80 yuan/person (including Leshan Grand *, Wuyou *, and Mahao Cliff Tomb)

Opening hours

Transportation

Take bus 601 (or 302) in Leshan City and get off at Jiadingfang Station. Walk 500 meters to get there