杭州吳山元代寶成寺救八難摩崖造像考=On the Cliff Sculpture of "Rescuing People from the Eight Difficulties" of the Baocheng Temple of the Yuan Dynasty at Wu Hill in Hangzhou
Hangzhou was the center of the promotion of the Tibetan Buddhism in southern China during the Yuan Dynasty, but the traceable Tibetan Buddhist monastery today is only the Baocheng Temple at Wu Hill in Hangzhou. This paper published for the first time a group of important sculptures on the south section of the cliff of Baocheng Temple, and testified that they are the scenes of the "difficulties" of the "Avalokitesvara(or Tara) Bodhisattva Rescuing People from the Difficulties", eight difficulties in total; moreover, referring to the relevant historic literature and the status quo of the cliff face, this paper estimated that the collapsed sculptures on the south section of the cliff would the most possibly be the scene of the "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Rescuing People from the Eight Difficulties" with the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva as the central figure; then, based on the motifs, arrangement and artistic styles of the cliff sculptures, this paper pointed out that the sculpture of the "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Rescuing People from the Eight Difficulties" is the crystallization of the convergence of the multi-ethnic culture and art of China.
