Bazhong Rock Carvings Southern Niches

CHINA, Sichuan, Bazhong

Scattered among the mountainside of Nankanshan (Southern Niches Mountain), 5 km south of Bazhong, the Southern Niches encompass the largest and best preserved caves in Bazhong. There are a total of 176 numbered caves, the construction of which began during the Early Tang period (618–712). Inscriptions at the site indicating the years of construction include the reigns of Emperor Xuanzong (reigned 712–756), Emperor Wuzong (reigned 840–846), and Emperor Xizong (reigned 873–888). In addition, there are numerous inscriptions of poetry dating to the Tang and Song (960–1279) dynasties. Most of the figure statues at this site are located on the northern end of the east cliff of Shenxian Slope in the Nankanshan range, while on the south are mostly funerary pagodas. The Bazhong Rock Carvings Southern Niches were listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site in 1988.
Notable carvings at this site include: Cintamanicakra Avalokitesvara in Niche 16, the only such depiction found in Bazhong; illustrations of the Western Pure Land in Niches 33 and 62, featuring Amitabha Buddha, Avalokitesvara and Mahastamaprapta Bodhisattvas, along with 50 other Bodhisattvas; carvings of Hariti in Niches 68, 74, and 81, which include the earliest Hariti carving found in Sichuan; a Two-Headed Buddha in Niche 83, unique among all cave carvings in Sichuan; Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva in Niche 86; and Vaisravana in Niches 65 and 94.
In addition, Niches 37 and 103 both contain main figures which were originally identified as Vairocana Buddha; however, once statues bearing a close resemblance with identifying inscriptions were discovered elsewhere in Sichuan, they have since been identified as depictions of the Bodhi Figure. These figures sit cross-legged on raised platforms, wearing a headdress, monastic robes, neck ornaments, and bracelets, while forming the bhumisparsa (earth-touching) mudra with both hands.