Overview
The Leshan Giant Buddha is a 71-metre seated Maitreya Buddha carved during the Tang dynasty into the cliff face at the confluence of the Min, Dadu and Qingyi rivers at Leshan, Sichuan. Begun in 713, it is the largest premodern stone Buddha in the world.
Description
The seated figure is hewn directly from the cliff and gazes down over the meeting of the three rivers. A hidden drainage system carved into the figure has helped preserve it over the centuries.
History and legacy
Work was begun in 713 by the monk Haitong, who hoped the Buddha’s presence would calm the treacherous waters that wrecked shipping at the confluence; according to tradition, he gouged out his own eyes to prove his sincerity when funding was threatened. After Haitong’s death the project stalled, and it was completed in 803 with funding from the regional military governor Wei Gao; in 1996 it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with Mount Emei.