Xitian Temple: Zhangba Buddhas

CHINA, Shandong, Zibo; Northern Wei dynasty

Zhangba refers to an ancient Chinese length measuring around 5 m. Any statues of that height would be referred to as Zhangba. They are some of the tallest Buddhas in Shandong and have been listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site in 2006.
The monastic robes of the Buddhas are similar in style, covering both shoulders and opened at the front to show an inner robe tied across the chest. Both Buddhas make the same conventional mudras with hands held directly upwards and downwards in abhaya (fearlessness) and varada (wish-granting) mudras. The folds of the clothing cascade down the body and ripple about the feet in an attractively stylized manner. The figure without a usnisa was repaired during the Song dynasty (960–1279) and the facial features are less detailed. The existence of these Buddhas prove that Buddhism was once proliferate in the area.