Wutaishan Shuxiang Temple Manjusri Hall: Manjusri Bodhisattva

CHINA, Shanxi, Xinzhou; Ming dynasty

Located within the Manjusri Hall, this statue is the tallest Manjusri Bodhisattva on Wutaishan. The Bodhisattva wears a headdress with a Buddha image in front. Seated in the relaxation posture on a lotus throne, the figure is supported on a lion’s back. The lion is predominantly black in color but has decorative tinges of red, blue, white, and gold. The Bodhisattva is gilded and wears a golden breastplate. The blazing mandorla has gold decorations that include the eight auspicious symbols, as well as dragons, a phoenix, and peonies among wandering stalks.
Legend has it that the artist was having trouble completing the statue’s face until Manjusri appeared before him while he was kneading buckwheat. He hurriedly sculpted the Bodhisattva’s features from the flour in a flash of improvisation, and that is how the statue received the nickname “the buckwheat-head” Manjusri.