.jpg/1920px-Leshan_Giant_Buddha_(1).jpg 1920w)
Leshan Giant Buddha
Also known asGiant Buddha of Leshan
Datedc. 712–804 CE
Photo xiquinhosilva · CC BY 2.0Source file on Wikimedia Commons
Overview
About this site
Overview
The Leshan Giant Buddha is a 71-meter (233 ft) tall stone statue near the city of Leshan in the southern part of Sichuan Province, China, built between 712 and 804 AD during the Tang dynasty. It is carved out of a cliff face of Cretaceous red bed sandstones at the confluence of the Min River and Dadu River, facing Mount Emei.
It is the largest and tallest stone Buddha statue in the world. The Mount Emei Scenic Area, including the Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area, has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.
Read on Wikipedia3 min readCC BY-SA 4.0
Age sources
How old this site is, and who says so.
Range across all claimsc. 712–804 CE
MeasuredWhat this badge means
A physical measurement of this site: a radiocarbon date, a tree-ring count, a luminescence date, or a record that can itself be dated.
- 712–804 CEHistorical recordThe construction dates are given directly for the statue.Source: en.wikipedia.org
- 803 CEWikidata inceptionSource: wikidata.org
Where it sits in time
The site's dated range, placed against world reference points.
The scale is logarithmic: each step to the left is about ten times older than the last.
Article
Leshan Giant Buddha
The whole figure is stone, except for the ears, which were made of wood covered with mud to form clay and attached to the head.
DescriptionSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Leshan Giant BuddhaCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Leshan Giant BuddhaCC BY-SA 4.0
The statue depicts a seated Buddha with the hands resting on the knees. Its hair is composed of 1,021 spiralled curls. The whole figure is stone, except for the ears, which were made of wood covered with mud to form clay and attached to the head. The proportions of the body follow the requirements for a Buddharupa, and the calm form conforms to the style of Tang dynasty statues.
A drainage system was incorporated when the statue was built and is still in working order. Hidden gutters and channels in the hair, collar and chest, with holes behind the ears and in the chest, carry rainwater away to keep the interior dry.
SettingSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Leshan Giant BuddhaCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Leshan Giant BuddhaCC BY-SA 4.0
The statue stands at Qifeng Peak of Lingyun Mountain, at the junction of the Minjiang, Qingyi and Dadu Rivers. The Mahao Cliff Tombs in the same scenic area date from the Han dynasty.
HistorySources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Leshan Giant BuddhaCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Leshan Giant BuddhaCC BY-SA 4.0
Construction started in 722 AD under a Chinese Buddhist monk named Hai Tong, who believed that Maitreya Buddha would calm the turbulent waters that constantly endangered shipping on the river. When funding for the project was threatened, he is said to have gouged out his own eyes to show his piety and sincerity.
After his death work stopped for lack of funds, with the statue completed only from the shoulders up. His disciples later continued the work with the support of a local official, Zhangchou Jianxiong, until the knees, when it halted again because the official was called to the court in Chang'an. About 70 years later the Jiedushi Wei Gao funded the project, and the disciples of Hai Tong finally completed it in 803.
A thirteen-story wooden structure was built to shelter the statue from rain and sunshine. It was destroyed by the Mongols during the wars at the end of the Yuan dynasty, and the stone has been exposed to the elements since.
Later historySources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Leshan Giant BuddhaCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Leshan Giant BuddhaCC BY-SA 4.0
By the beginning of the Northern Song dynasty the statue had been damaged, and the wooden pavilion had collapsed. During the reign of Song Renzong the statue was repaired once on a large scale and the pavilion was rebuilt.
ConservationSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Leshan Giant BuddhaCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Leshan Giant BuddhaCC BY-SA 4.0
The statue was designated a cultural relic and placed under protection by the Sichuan Provincial People's Committee in 1956, and in 1996 the UNESCO World Heritage Committee included it in the World Cultural and Natural Heritage List.
The body is now covered by lichen, ferns and other bryophytes, and by various shrubs and grasses, and weathering, air pollution and tourism have caused degradation. The first phase of a World Bank repair project began on 24 March 2002 and included renovating the statue from the chest up to the head and strengthening the rock wall. The second phase began on 23 June 2002 and repaired the rocks at the feet and the eroded rock below water level.
Tradition and region
About this kind of monument
Great Buddhas and giant statues of East and South Asia
Most of the Atlas's "statue monoliths" in Japan, China and nearby countries are giant Buddha statues, which are not prehistoric. The Japanese term daibutsu means "giant Buddha" and is used informally for large statues of Buddha. The oldest is that at Asuka-dera, from 609 CE, and the best known is at Tōdai-ji in Nara, from 752, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara" and a National Treasure. At Kamakura the temple of Kōtoku-in is renowned for the Great Buddha of Kamakura, a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amitābha and one of the most famous icons of Japan; it is also a National Treasure.
The largest stone Buddha is in China. The Leshan Giant Buddha in Sichuan Province is 71 metres tall and was built between 712 and 804 CE, in the Tang dynasty. It is carved out of a cliff face of Cretaceous red sandstone at the confluence of the Min and Dadu rivers, and it faces Mount Emei, with the rivers flowing below its feet. It is the largest and tallest stone Buddha in the world, and by far the tallest pre-modern statue.
The Atlas includes these colossal figures under "statue monolith" although they have no relation to megaliths: they are carved or cast Buddhist images, dated by their dedication.
When visiting, look at the temple setting, and remember that many are active places of worship.
Paraphrased from Wikipedia: Daibutsu, Wikipedia: Great Buddha of Kamakura, Wikipedia: Leshan Giant Buddha · CC BY-SA 4.0
From the article
Dated moments in the story
- 722 CE
Construction started in 722 AD, led by a Chinese Buddhist monk named Hai Tong.
Source - 803 CE
About 70 years later, Jiedushi Wei Gao continued to support and funded the project and the construction was finally completed by Hai Tong's disciples in 803. By the beginning of the Northern Song dynasty, the Leshan Giant Buddha had been damaged—the body was covered in moss, and the wooden pavilion had collapsed.
Source - 804 CE
The Leshan Giant Buddha is a 71-meter (233 ft) tall stone statue, built between 712 and 804 AD (during the Tang dynasty).
Source - 1956
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Leshan Giant Buddha was designated as a cultural relic and put under protection by the Sichuan Provincial People's Committee in 1956. In 1996, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee included the Leshan Giant Buddha in the World Cultural and Natural Heritage List.
Source - 1996
The Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area, has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.
Source - 1998
In 1998, the Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area Management Committee was formally established.
Source - 2001
From 2001 to 2003, it was ranked the second most popular attraction amongst the provincial heritage sites with 1.4 to 1.5 million visitors per year.
Source - 2002
On 24 March 2002, the first phase of the Leshan Giant Buddha repair project by the World Bank officially started.
Source - 2002
On 23 June 2002, the second phase of the Leshan Giant Buddha Maintenance Project started.
Source - 2004
In 2004, there was a breakthrough which led the numbers to drastically go up to 2.1 million visitors.
Source - 2005
From 2005 to 2007, it had around 2.3 to 2.8 million visitors per year, which was more than all the other sites.
Source - 2008
In 2008, the Mount Emei - Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area Management Committee was formally established, with the main task of developing tourism resources for Mount Emei and the Leshan Giant Buddha.
Source
Photographs
8 photographs, each with its author and licence
More photographs
Lore
Evidence & Lore
What the sources actually support — and, kept apart, what has been claimed.
What the evidence supports
Dates
712–804 CEHow this date was established: Historical sourcesThe construction dates are given directly for the statue.Source for this date
Measured facts
- Mainstream position
- The statue was built between 712 and 804 AD during the Tang dynasty by successive groups of workers under the leadership of Hai Tong and his disciples.Source: Mainstream position
- Height
- 71 meter (233 ft)Source: Height
- Material
- stone carved from Cretaceous red bed sandstoneSource: Material
- Location
- at the confluence of the Min River and Dadu River in Sichuan Province, ChinaSource: Location
- Orientation
- faces Mount EmeiSource: Orientation
- Initial construction leader
- the Chinese Buddhist monk Hai TongSource: Initial construction leader
- Drainage
- a system of drainage pipes carved into the body that remains in working orderSource: Drainage
- Inception
- 800s CESource: Inception
- Heritage designation
- Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level, part of UNESCO World Heritage SiteSource: Heritage designation
Alternative claims
Alternative claims about this site, kept in their own block and labelled with where they stand.
Hai Tong gouged out his own eyes to demonstrate his piety and sincerity when the project's funding was threatened.
Removing stone for the statue altered the river currents and made the waters safe for passing ships.
Where it stands
People's Republic of China
The pin marks the monument itself — its exact point.
- Coordinates
- 29°32′49″ N, 103°46′09″ EFor a GPS or map app: 29.54694, 103.76925
Access is as our sources describe it; we have not visited the site to check.
Nearby
The closest sites in the Atlas, by straight line.
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Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
2 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q205131wikidata.org
- 02Wikipedia (en)en.wikipedia.org
Image files
- Leshan Giant Buddha (1).jpgxiquinhosilvaCC BY 2.0
- 20250514 Leshan Giant Buddha.jpgYumetoCC BY-SA 4.0
- Ancient rock carvings at Leshan, beside the giant Buddha.jpgDudvaCC0
- China (14127715686).jpgJoe Hart from Southampton, United KingdomCC BY 2.0
- Around Leshan Giant Buddha.jpgrdutaCC BY 2.0
- 36135-Leshan (49068368082).jpgxiquinhosilvaCC BY 2.0
- Leshan Giant Buddha, 20161102.jpg王计CC BY 2.5
- Leshan Giant Buddha head.jpgBrightRavenCC BY-SA 3.0
Report a correctionWrong date, name, photograph or source? Tell us and it will be put right.
Lore, kept apart
Legends and claims
These are stories and claims reported by the sources. They are not evidence, and they never stand in for the dating above.
Around this place
The ten nearest sites, by compass
Credit
Text, licence and sources
Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Leshan Giant Buddha" (English), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; authors are listed in the page history. Reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikipedia · Edit history and authors
- Wikipedia (English): Leshan Giant BuddhaCC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q205131CC0