Photo: screenshot

A cliffside Buddhist carving dating back to the Northern Qi (550-577) to Sui Dynasty (581-618) was recently discovered in Taiyuan, North China's Shanxi Province, during a field investigation by the Buddhist archaeology team from the School of Archaeology and Museology at Shanxi University, according to CCTV News.

The new finding provides important evidence for the early transmission of Buddhism along north-south routes in ancient China, Wang Wei, the leader of the team as well as an associate professor of the School of Archaeology and Museology at Shanxi University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Located near a rock shelter, north of Shicao village in Yangxing county, the carving is a single Buddha statue sculpted into a vertical cliff face.

The Buddha is depicted with a low ushnisha (the oval-shaped protrusion on the top of the head of a Buddha), a robust body, and wearing a double-collared, draping robe with a knotted sash across the chest. The figure makes a gesture of fearlessness with one hand and a wish-granting gesture with the other, while its right leg rests over the left. A short pleated cloth hangs in front of the pedestal, adding to the stylistic elements that help date the sculpture.

Below the niche lies a smoothed rectangular section of rock, which may have been prepared for an inscription that was ultimately left unfinished. Square holes flanking both sides of the carving suggest the former presence of a protective architectural structure such as an eave or canopy, according to CCTV News.

"This carving exhibits several defining characteristics of the Northern Qi period," Wang told the Global Times. 

"The low ushnisha closely aligned with the curvature of the head, the knotted sash over the chest, and the distinctive arc-shaped hem of the robe are all features typical of Buddhist statuary from that era. By contrast, Tang Dynasty sculptures tend to show more pronounced head shapes and triangular or 'mountain-peak' hems."

Within the adjacent rock shelter near the carving site, archaeologists also identified the ruins of a temple. Based on remnants of a stele found at the site, the temple was dedicated to Jiutian Shengmu, or the Nine Heaven Saintly Mother, and likely dates to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) or Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). 

Neither the rock carving nor the temple ruins were previously registered in any official cultural heritage surveys, making them new contributions to the ongoing fourth national cultural heritage survey.

Geographically, Yangqu county is a key location connecting the Xinding and Jinzhong basins, which historically served as vital corridors for north-south cultural exchange in ancient China. Given its strategic location, this discovery reinforces Yangqu's role in early Buddhist transmission and offers valuable archaeological evidence of the region's significance, Wang said.

He also added that the newly discovered site lies in the northeastern part of Yangqu county, near a historic route linking the counties of Yuxian and Dingxiang. 

"The Yangxing River, which runs through this area, has yielded several Northern Qi and Tang Dynasty Buddhist steles in previous surveys, including major finds on Qiyan Mountain. These sites collectively point to a key Buddhist route that aligned with ancient transportation networks."

Shanxi Province, long regarded as a cradle of Chinese Buddhism, boasts one of the country's richest collections of Buddhist sites. From the Northern Wei capital of Pingcheng (modern-day Datong) to the UNESCO-listed Yungang Grottoes and numerous temples dotting the Taihang and Lüliang mountains, the region played a pivotal role in the introduction and flourishing of Buddhism in China from the 5th century onward.

Though modest in scale, the newly discovered carving may now stand as the earliest known Buddhist rock carving in Yangqu county, offering new material for the study of Buddhist art and religious transmission in the region, Wang noted.