Wanfo Temple: Heavenly King
Sandstone
Wanfo Temple: Heavenly King
CHINA, Sichuan, Chengdu; Tang dynasty
This Heavenly King statue was excavated from the site of Wanfo Temple. The figure is dressed like a Chinese general and wears a crown-like helmet. The face has a full beard, staring eyes and an agape mouth. A cape is tied over a padded surcoat that is belted in the middle. Wide sleeves hang down the arms but reveal damaged wrists. Since Heavenly Kings are Dharma protectors, they are usually depicted with a fierce countenance and a foreboding demeanor, but secularization of Buddhism during the Tang dynasty (618–907) has resulted in a figure that is filled with grace and dignity.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z, page 1311.
Cite this article:
Hsingyun, et al. "Wanfo Temple: Heavenly King." Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z, vol. 13, 2016, pp. 1311.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Yann Lovelock, Yuan Chou, Susan Huntington, Gary Edson, and Robert Neather. 2016. "Wanfo Temple: Heavenly King" In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z, 13:1311.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Lovelock, Y., Chou, Y., Huntington, S., Edson, G., & Neather, R.. (2016). Wanfo Temple: Heavenly King. In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z (Vol. 13, pp. 1311).
@misc{Hsingyun2016,
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z},
pages = 1311,
title = {{Wanfo Temple: Heavenly King}},
volume = 13,
year = {2016}}
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z},
pages = 1311,
title = {{Wanfo Temple: Heavenly King}},
volume = 13,
year = {2016}}