紫金庵罗汉塑像, Buddhist statue site in Suzhou, China.
The Arhat statues of Zijin Temple are clay figures in the temple's main hall at Ximaowu, Dongshan town, Wuzhong district, Suzhou. The hall holds more than fifty statues, including three Buddhas, Guanyin, sixteen Arhats, twenty devas and four Heavenly Kings. The sixteen Arhats stand about 1.13 m tall, each with a different posture and expression.
The sixteen arhat statues in the main hall are recorded as the work of the Southern Song couple Lei Chao and his wife, each about 1.13 m tall. The temple itself is said to have been founded either in the Southern Dynasties or the Tang; the surviving halls, including the main hall, Jingyin Tang, Tingsong Tang, Baiyun Ju and Qingchuan Xuan, were built under the Ming and Qing. The site was listed as a Jiangsu provincial protected unit in 1951 and among the sixth batch of national key cultural relics in 2006.
The sixteen arhats in the main hall are attributed to the Southern Song couple Lei Chao and his wife, each about 1.13 m tall. Their postures and facial expressions differ from figure to figure, so visitors can compare them one by one. The hall also holds three Buddhas, Guanyin, twenty devas and four heavenly kings, more than fifty statues in all.
The temple grounds are accessible during daylight hours and visitors can navigate the site from the main entrance area. Comfortable shoes are recommended since viewing each sculpture in detail takes time.
The sixteen arhats are about 1.13 m tall and were made by the Southern Song couple Lei Chao and his wife, not by monks or court workshops. Look for the figures' differing postures and facial expressions, each modelled separately rather than repeated from a mould.
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