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These precursors of Chinese monumental stone sculpture were probably influenced by their forays deep into Central Asia, where they probably encountered cultures using stone statues. [11] Recently, stone statues were discovered at the front of ancient tombs in the Altay and northern Xinjiang, which were probably influential. [11]
Statues of guardian lions have traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces, Imperial tombs, government offices, temples, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy, and were believed to have powerful mythic protective benefits. They are also used in other artistic contexts, for example on door-knockers, and in pottery.
Some are in rock-cut cave shrines, in the usual Chinese Buddhist style, but many others are rock reliefs carved into the open rock faces. Listed as a World Heritage Site in 1999, the Dazu Rock Carvings are made up of 75 protected sites containing some 50,000 statues, with over 100,000 Chinese characters forming inscriptions and epigraphs. [ 2 ]
Guanyin can also be found in Thailand's Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Wat Huay Pla Kang (where the huge statue of her is often mistakenly called the "Big Buddha"), and Myanmar's Shwedagon Pagoda. Statues of Guanyin are a widely depicted subject of Asian art and are found in the Asian art sections of most museums in the world.
It is a gilded bronze monument depicting a manifestation of the Bodhisattva Guanyin known as Shiyimian Qianshou Guanyin (Traditional Chinese: 十一面千手觀音, Simplified Chinese: 十一面千手观音), meaning the "Eleven-headed Thousand-armed Guanyin", which stands at 99 m (325 ft) tall. [1]
The statue has three aspects: one side faces inland and the other two face the South China Sea, to represent blessing and protection by Guanyin of China and the whole world. One aspect depicts Guanyin cradling a sutra in the left hand and gesturing the Vitarka Mudra with the right; the second with her palms crossed, holding a string of prayer ...
Statues of these three gods are found on the facades of folk religion's temples, ancestral shrines, in homes and many Chinese-owned shops, often on small altars with a glass of water, an orange or other auspicious offerings, especially during Chinese New Year.
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