Recently, the water level of the Yutan Reservoir in Dazu District, Chongqing has dropped, revealing six Song dynasty cliffside statues on the riverside cliffs. These statues, with delicate and vivid carvings, reflect the fusion of folk beliefs and social life during the Song dynasty.
These cliffside statues, as reported on the front page, are distributed on a 3-meter high and 6-meter wide cliff, consisting of six niches from left to right, with a total of 27 statues. The second to fourth niches stand out in scale and are well-preserved.
Deng Qibing, a curator at the Dazu Rock Carvings Research Institute, stated that since the beginning of spring this year, Dazu District has experienced below-average rainfall, leading to a continuous drop in the water level of the Yutan Reservoir, allowing the statues to be “revealed as the water recedes.”
Deng Qibing pointed out that the themes of these statues were popular in the Song dynasty Buddhist statues in Dazu Rock Carvings, especially the guardian figure in the third niche, which is similar to the guardian figure in the 7th niche of the Shizhuan Stone Cave. This new discovery not only enriches the artistic themes of Dazu Rock Carvings but also holds significant value for the study of the development and evolution of statues like the Song dynasty Water Moon Guanyin in the Bashu region.
Introduced as a general term for cliffside statues within Dazu District, Chongqing, Dazu Rock Carvings consist of over 50,000 statues and more than 100,000 inscriptions, renowned for their grand scale, exquisite carvings, diverse themes, rich content, and complete preservation. In 1999, Dazu Rock Carvings were listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Recently, due to declining water levels, Buddha statues in reservoirs across mainland China have been emerging, attracting public attention.
In June, more than 20 carved Buddha statues surfaced at the Shufangba Reservoir in Anyue, Sichuan.
Journalists who visited the site of the Shiji Temple cliffside carvings observed that over 20 Buddha statues intricately carved around a stone lion and a giant rock were fully exposed this year. The stone lion holding a embroidered ball sits by the reservoir, seemingly engaged in a dialogue, while the surrounding Buddha statues carved on the giant rock are unique and lifelike. On higher cliffs, some cliffside statues that are usually visible year-round can also be seen.
Local cultural preservation officer (also a resident of the area) Deng Yongfu mentioned that since the reservoir was filled in 1974, the submerged cliffside carvings at Shiji Temple have been revealing Buddha heads almost every year, with over 10 years where even the lower-lying stone lions have been fully exposed, each time lasting for two to three months per year. Since 2020, there have been three years of complete exposure. The cliffside carvings here gained popularity after being widely known in 2020.
Previously, a similar situation was also observed in Hebi City, Henan Province.
At the end of May, the water level of the Dafeng Reservoir in Qixian County, Hebi City dropped, revealing a stone cave. The walls of the cave are covered with Buddha statues, intricately crafted and lifelike, with some accumulation of water within the cave.
Netizens referred to this cave as the Thousand Buddha Cave, with people coming to visit and take photos.
As per the announcement by Qixian County, the Qianzui Stone Cave, carved during the Eastern Wei period, has been hidden on the cliff rarely visited for hundreds of years. In the mid-20th century, it sank underwater due to the construction of the Dafeng Reservoir.