On October 28, 2014, representatives of the 12th Hangzhou Municipal People’s Congress visited Lingyin Temple and attended the symposium on the weathering of cliff carvings on Feilai Peak. Representative and Venerable Abbot Guangquan gave a speech at the symposium:
“Feilai Peak of Lingyin Temple came into existence in the Song Dynasty with a lot of its cliff carvings produced in the Yuan Dynasty. Half were cliff carvings of Han-Chinese Buddhism while half were cliff carvings of Tibetan Buddhism. It represents the combination of Han-Chinese Buddhist culture and Tibetan Buddhist culture, which makes it very rare in the country. It is not only a display of religious art, but also an integration of Han people and Tibetan people. There exist some problems of Feilai Peak at the moment. For instance, the overly dense vegetation has blocked the sight of narrow sky…”
In February, Venerable Abbot Guangquan submitted a proposal to the 12th Hangzhou Municipal People’s Congress to appeal for preservation of the Buddhist cliff carvings on Feilai Peak for future generations. It is Venerable Abbot Guangquan’s proposal that brought about the symposium.
Experts from the related administrative department of religious affairs, administration of cultural relics protection and gardening, and Lingyin Temple had a site inspection and investigation of the cliff carvings on Feilai Peak. At the symposium, they spoke their minds and offered suggestions to help solve the weathering problem of cliff carvings on Feilai Peak. Four measures were put forward: 1) to moderately reduce the density of vegetation; 2) to closely observe the water leakage points; 3) to monitor the climatic changes and the effects of tree and grass roots on cliff carvings; 4) to strengthen the 24h security supervision system.
Participants at the symposium on the weathering of cliff carvings on Feilai Peak
Representative and Vernable Abbot Guangquan giving a speech at the symposium
An expert giving a speech at the symposium
An expert giving a speech at the symposium
having a site inspection of Feilai Peak
Weathered cliff carvings on Feilai Peak
