Maitreya statue in Ruiyan

Maitreya statue in Ruiyan

The statue of Maitreya in Ruiyan, located in Fuqing City, Fujian Province, Southeast China, is a national key cultural relic protection unit.

Ruiyan statue

The statue of Maitreya in Ruiyan, located in Fuqing City, Fujian Province in Southeast China, is a national key cultural relic protection unit. It was first excavated in 1341 (the first year of the Yuan Dynasty) and completed in 1368 (the first year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty). It is the largest existing statue of Maitreya in cloth bags in China.

The statue of Maitreya in Ruiyan is carved according to the natural form of granite. It is 9 meters high and 8.9 meters wide. The statue has a round face, a flat nose and high cheekbones. It looks straight at the eyes, opens its mouth and laughs. Its ears are drooping over its shoulders, its legs are twisted, its chest and abdomen are exposed, its right hand is placed on its abdomen, and its left hand holds Buddhist beads. In addition, three small Arhats are carved on the waist and legs of the statue. The whole statue has vivid shape, smooth lines and fine carving, which can be called the excellent work of stone carving art in Yuan Dynasty and has high artistic value.

significance

Maitreya statue in Ruiyan is of great significance to the study of Yuan Dynasty carving technology and Buddhist culture.

The largest Buddhist statue of Yuan Dynasty in Fujian Province, together with the statue of laojunyan of Song Dynasty in Qingyuan mountain of Quanzhou, is known as the two unique stone carvings in Fujian Province.

Fine cutting of rock

During the reign of the Yuan Dynasty (1341-1368), the people of the city carved the huge rocks. The statue of Maitreya is dressed in cassock, beads on his neck, straw sandals on his feet, cross legged meditation, bare chest and abdomen, round head and wide mouth, two ears and shoulders, eyes looking straight, smiling, left hand twisting beads, right hand supporting abdomen, with a kind look. The image is 9 meters high, 8.9 meters wide and 8 meters thick, of which the head is 2.3 meters high, the ear is 1.3 meters long and the mouth is 1.1 meters wide.

There are also three small Arhats 0.6-0.8 meters high carved between the waist and legs.

Address: Haikou Town, Fuqing City, Fujian Province, 350313

Longitude: 119.47023138328

Latitude: 25.698335605298