The world of 'Suspended Sculpture Masterpieces' in Xiaoxitian is fascinating

🛕 Xiaoxitian, originally named Qianfo An, was founded by Zen Master Dongming in the second year of Chongzhen (1629). Xiaoxitian is built on a solitary peak west of Xixian city, with clear streams flowing from its flanks and earthen hills extending from its wings, resembling a phoenix spreading its wings, hence it was named Fenghuang Mountain. ⛩ The architecture of Xiaoxitian is mainly divided into the lower temple, upper temple, and front temple. The Wuliang Hall is built into the earth as a cave, forming the lower temple in front of it; the Daxiong Baodian is built on top of the Wuliang Hall cave roof, forming the upper temple; on the top of the Gu Tong Peak, there are the Guanyin Pavilion and Kuixing Pavilion, below which is the front temple. The temple covers an area of just over 1100 square meters, and within this extremely limited space, there are more than 20 buildings, with a rigorous layout, staggered and orderly, small and exquisite, which is admirable. 🕋 The Daxiong Baodian originally had 1978 large and small suspended Buddha statues, with 1673 still existing, accounting for 14% of the province's existing Ming and Qing dynasty colored sculptures, which number 11630. The sculptures are vividly shaped and exquisitely crafted. The Daxiong Baodian's colored sculptures come in three forms: round sculpture, relief sculpture, and suspended sculpture, with the large suspended sculptures being hailed as the 'masterpieces' of the history of Chinese sculpture art, enjoying a unique status at home and abroad and a reputation for their enchanting artistry. ✅ The upper part of the north wall and the mountain flower spire of the Daxiong Baodian are adorned with the 'Six Desires Heaven' suspended sculpture group, which is an extremely precious Buddhist ideological history sculpture. The south wall features the 'Glazed Holy Realm' suspended sculpture group, with 'Glazed Holy Realm' referring to the entire paradise. ✨ Between the north and south ends, there is the 'Mingwang Palace' suspended sculpture group, which depicts the ten great Mingwang figures. There are four groups of celestial musician sculptures, located on the first-floor platform of the Amitabha Buddha niche, the Shakyamuni Buddha niche, the Vairocana Buddha niche, and the upper part of the Three Saints image on the west side of the south wall. 🌟 There are more than 1600 of these small suspended sculptures, all arranged above the wall columns and beams, creating scenes and images with meaning, complementing the activities of the figures with heavenly palaces, pavilions, terraces, and waterside pavilions, celestial orchestras, and jeweled canopies, as well as birds and beasts, flying dragons and dancing phoenixes🐉, a dazzling array, each with its own wonderful aspects. They fully demonstrate the ability to float in the air and tread the void, depicting the ethereal paradise of the Western Pure Land of imagination, aptly used. Inside the heavenly Buddha land, with its layered pavilions, exotic flowers and plants, Dragon Flower trees🌲, and a myriad of characters and animals🦅, the solemnity of preaching and the joy of music and dance, it's like a movie scene rolling past you. 💫 These cold objects seem to have turned into flesh-and-blood spirits, each one coming to life: the flying Apsaras soaring freely, the musicians dancing gracefully, the Mingwang patrolling the clouds, and the many officials busily attending to their duties.... Everything appears solemn, austere, harmonious, and joyful.