In December 1989, a group of Southern Dynasty Buddhist stone sculptures were excavated at Wenchuan-xian, in Sichuan province. Their excavation site was Renshou-si, a Tang dynasty temple, and it is thought that the sculptures were originally dedicated to that temple. In 1921, Buddhist sculptures dating to the Southern Dynasties Qi Yongming eras (483-93) were excavated in Mao-xian, Sichuan province. The excavation of a group of Southern Dynasty Buddhist sculptures at Wenchuan followed the Mao-xian discovery, and their scholarly importance was immense. These Buddhist sculptures contribute important new material for use in research on such questions as the content and composition of Buddhist central image figures in the Sichuan region during the Southern Dynasties, and issues related to the paths of transmission of Buddhist sculpture style. This article presents a full-scale material report on four works in the collection of the Wenchuan Cultural Relic Preservation Center, and from that material, discusses the above issues. None of these sculptures excavated in Wenchuan County have an incised date inscription. However, Southern Dynasties Buddhist sculptures with confirmed date inscriptions that were excavated from the Chengdu district can be used as comparison works for a consideration of the type of deity, composition, and style of these four works. From this comparison a general dating can be surmised for the four works. One Buddha with Two Bodhisattvas (acc. no. 1200) dates to the Qi period of the Southern Dynasties; One Buddha with Two Bodhisattvas (acc. no. 1198) dates to the Wudi early period to the Putong era of the Liang dynasty (502-526); Three Buddhas (acc. no. 1199) dates to the Putong era (520-526) or slightly later period of the Liang dynasty, while the Pair of Avalokitesvaras (acc. no. 1197), dates to the late Liang dynasty or later. The variation in terms of subject matter and styles of the Southern Dynasties Buddhist sculptures excavated in Wenchuan has meant that there is an increased number of variations of Southern Dynasties Buddhist sculptures excavated from the Chengdu region. Among the works, the one identified as Three Buddhas, does not have a corresponding example amongst the images excavated in Chengdu. Further, the two outer figures of the three are seated with both legs pendant, and such a seated Buddhist figural image with pendant legs cannot be found in Sichuan Southern Dynasties Buddhist sculpture. Because the seated figures can be identified as Maitreya, this triad can be identified as combination of one image of Sakyamuni and two images of Maitreya. Further, the Pair of Avalokitesvaras show the figures crowned with crowns adorned with small Buddha, and holding a small branch of willow. These features indicate that the figures are Avalokitesvara, and suggest that the worship of Avalokitesvara was a trend popular in the late Liang dynasty. In terms of Buddhist figural style, the most noteworthy element lies in the Pair of Avalokitesvaras. A particularly gently curving beauty characterizes their bodies. As is well known, this kind of western style, movement-filled figural expression can be frequently found in the Tang dynasty figures of the Chang'an region. However, the fact that it appears here in these Wenchuan Avalokitesvara figures suggests the possibility that the figural source of Tang dynasty bodhisattvas must be sought back in the Late Southern Dynasties period. Another important point is that these Southern Dynasty Buddhist figures were excavated in Wenchuan, located on the upper reaches of the Minchiang River, an important crossroads in antiquity between Jiangnan to Chengdu and on to the western districts. During the Six Dynasties period, the route from Jiangnan to the west often traveled north to the Changjiang River, then through Chengdu to the west. The route from Chengdu to the west was known as the Henan-dao, literally road south of the river, and it went through Qingha
