Buddha flanked by attendants, Niche 71, the southern cliff (南岩), Yuanjue Cave (圓覺洞)

Niche 71 is located in the southern cliff (南岩) of Yuanjue Cave Cliff Sculpture Scenic Area (圓覺洞摩崖造像風景區), Yujishan (雲居山), situated in the northeast of Anyue County (安岳縣), Ziyang City (資陽巿), Sichuan. The southern cliff contains fifty-eight niches (Niches 15 to 72) of rock carvings, mostly dating from the Tang Dynasty 唐 (618-907) to the Five Dynasties 五代 (907-960). The niche is collapsed; only part of the middle wall and the left side wall are left standing. Five statues remain with a seated Buddha image in the middle flanked by three standing figures, two on the left and one on the right. In addition to these figures, a guardian deity is depicted outside the left side wall. The Buddha is seated on an octagonal throne with crossed legs. The inner head halo is circular, and the outer halo is peach-shaped and decorated with floral patterns. The three standing figures, whose faces are damaged, are dressed as laypersons. However, they have oval head halos. The guardian deity, depicted with a naked upper body, also has an oval halo. The pigments on the haloes of these figures were probably painted in later periods. The niche contains a frame with a floral motif outside the left side wall. In addition, five verical lines of inscriptions are found on the wall outside the left side wall. It indicates that this niche was donated by an official named Li Lingbin (黎令賓) with the title “Qianzhou cangdu Anyue xian lushiqi duwei xunguan wu pin (前州倉督安岳縣錄事騎都尉勳官五品) in 736 CE (開元廿四年). The inscriptions were written by a monk called Xuanying (玄應) of the Qiyan Monasty (栖巖寺). The original inscriptions are: 大唐開元廿四年歲次丙子三（五？）/ 月十五日前倉督安岳縣錄/ 事騎都尉勳官五品黎令賓願/ 平安敬造天尊像一龕永為供/ 養栖巖寺上座釋沙門玄應書 Source: Lei Yuhua 雷玉華, Wang Jianping 王劍平, Lu Yinke 盧引科, Fu Chengjin 付成金, Liu Jian 劉健, and Li Chongfeng 李崇峰. " Sichuan Anyue xian Yuanjuedong moya shike zaoxiang diaocha baogao 四川安岳縣圓覺洞摩崖石刻造像調查報告 [The Investigation Report of Yuanjue Cave Cliff Sculptures, Anyue, Sichuan]." Nanfang minzu kaogu 南方民族考古 (2013): 439-41. Descriptions of the photos: Close-up of the images [Image 01, Image 02]. Close-up of the inscriptions [Image 03, Image 04, Image 05, Image 06]. Metadata created by: Sau Ling Wendy Yu.Non UBCUnreviewedAuthor Affiliation: Ghent UniversityFacult