Cao Zhen

    caozhen0806@126.com

    MORE than 80 finely made Buddhist statues over 1,600 years old are on display at the Shenzhen Museum in Civic Center.

    The white marble statues are carved into different images, including the Buddha and the Goddess of Mercy. The color of the marble is pure and the Buddha statues all wear a dignified expression. With great skill, the sculptors shaped the clothes worn by the Buddhas with the veins of the stones.

    The exhibits were among 2,200 Buddhist statues, partial and complete, that were unearthed in the 1950s from the ruins of Xiude Temple in Quyang County, North China’s Hebei Province. The statues were made between the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-557) and the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and are housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing.

    During Buddhism’s over-2,000-year history in China, the Buddha has been one of the most welcomed divinities among ordinary Chinese people as he is believed to be infinitely merciful and able to ward off calamities, can eliminate difficulties, will grant wishes and can deliver all beings from harm.

    According to Huang Yangxing, an ancient art researcher at the Shenzhen Museum, Xiude Temple has the largest collection of marble Buddhist statues because Quyang abounds in high-quality white marble deposits. By the mid-fourth century, this area had become a center of Buddhism in China.

    Other famous temples that are home to marble statues are Longxing Temple in Qingzhou City, Shandong Province, and Wanfo Temple in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province.

    Most of the statues on display, either standing or sitting cross-legged, have amiable facial expressions. Some of the sculptures unearthed are incomplete, which experts say may be the result of the Huichang Anti-Buddhism Campaign (841-846), in the reign of Emperor Wuzong, when the land was purged of Buddhist influences and Buddhist sculptures were defaced.

    Dates: Until Jan. 18, 2015

    Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed Mondays

    Venue: Shenzhen Museum, Block A, Civic Center, Futian District (福田区市民中心A区深圳博物馆新馆)

    Metro: Shekou or Longhua Line, Civic Center Station (市民中心站), Exit B