World Mixed Cultural and Natural Heritage: Mt. Emei and Leshan Giant Buddha (6)

The Leshan Giant Buddha is characterized by the organic combination of human heritage quintessence and natural heritage, integrating the mountain with water. There is one historical relic under first-grade national protection and four that are under second-grade national protection within 2.5 square kilometers in the scenic spot, which is across Leshan City, a well-known historical and cultural city in China. Centered on Buddha statues, the bas-reliefs on precipices from the Tang Dynasty, is a museum with 2,000 years of history, preserving the meander core dug by Li Bing, an official from the Qin Dynasty, the cliff tombs of the Han Dynasty, the Buddha statues, pagodas and temples of the Tang Dynasty, and the architectural complexes of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The cultural relics related to China's famous historical figures are very rich and unique. It is an abundant museum and has 7,226 collections, among which, many are rare collections from home and abroad.

Cultural heritage

Buddhist culture

The splendid and fantastic Mt. Emei attracted a large number of followers, pilgrims, literatus, scholars and Buddhists throughout the ages. They all marveled at the beauty of Mt. Emei and left a lot of works and created the excellent Mt. Emei culture, which is famous around the world.

In the middle of the first century, Buddhism was introduced to Mt. Emei from India through the southern Silk Road and Pu Gong. An herbalist established the Puguang Hall in today’s Jinxiang. In the third century, the theory of the Samantabhadra belief spread in the mountain and Huichi, a Chinese monk, established the Puxian Temple (today’s Wannian Temple) below the Guanxinpo. In the middle of the sixth century, the world Buddhist focus began to shift from India to China, and Sichuan became the center of Chinese Buddhism and temples began to appear everywhere. It is said that there are more than 100 temples in the history and in the eight century, the Chan sect was the most flourishing sect of Buddhists and unified the mountain. In the middle of the ninth century, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin sent a group of monks, which was led by Sheng Jiye, to visit India. When they returned, Jiye went to Mt. Emei to built temples, and translated and spread Buddhist scripture. At the same time, a 62 ton and 7.85 meters giant copper Samantabhadra Buddha statue was constructed and enshrined in today’s Wannian Temple, which has become an excellent piece of work among the Buddha statues on Mt. Emei, and has a great cultural and artistic value. For thousands of years, Mt. Emei, the Buddhist holy site, is as famous as the “Samantabhadra Taoist Rites” and Mt. Wutai in Shanxi Province, Mt. Putuo in Zhejiang Province, and Mt. Jiuhua in Anhui Province, which are known as the four mountains of Chinese Buddhism.

Throughout its long, Mt. Emei not only collected abundant Buddhist cultural treasures, but left many precious cultural relics. There are 30 temples that exist in the scenic spot, with an area of 100,000 square meters. They all have a variety of features and characteristics. The Feilai Hall of the 30 temples and the Wuliangzhuan Hall in the Wannian Temple are under the first and second grade state protection. There are many kinds of Buddhist cultural relics, for instance, the six meter high and seven square and 14 floors, and the inside and outside, casted the Avatamsaka Sutra and the copper Huanyan Tower, which has 4,700 Buddha statues, the copper-casted Buddha statues in the Ming Dynasty in the Wannian Temple as well as the Palmleaf Manuscript presented by the king of the Siam in the Ming Dynasty are all treasures. There are 164 cultural relics and historic sites on Mt. Emei, and the collections of the temples and museums have reached over 6,890, including more than 890 under state grade protection. They all have a different historical, cultural and artistic value.