Arhat statues in Baosheng Temple
The Arhat statues in Baosheng Temple ( Chinese 保 圣 寺 罗汉 塑像 , Pinyin Bǎoshèng sì Luóhàn sùxiàng , English Arhat Statues in Baosheng Temple ) are a group of famous painted clay sculptures from the time of the Northern Song Dynasty .
The Baosheng Temple (保圣寺) the large village Luzhi is located in the West Street (Xijie) of the municipality Wuzhong (in the former county Wu) of Suzhou in the Chinese province of Jiangsu . It was originally built in 503 , according to other sources during the Tang Dynasty . Further construction work took place in the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties.
The temple houses realistic relief sculptures made of painted clay, which stand out against a background of clouds, mountains and lakes. They were formerly assigned to the famous sculptor Yang Huizhi ( 杨惠 之 ) of the Tang Dynasty, and according to recent studies they date from the Northern Song Dynasty . Originally it was a group of eighteen Arhats ( Shiba Luohan ), in 1927 the main hall was destroyed by fire and so today only nine of them are preserved. The Baosheng Temple is now a museum.
The Arhat statues in Baosheng Temple ( Baosheng si Luohan suxiang ) have been on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China (1-135) since 1961 .
