The picture shows a stone statue of a Taoist deity unearthed in Wei County. Photo by Zhao Guohua
Xingtai, 12 Jan (Zhongxin.com) -- The Wenbao Institute of WeiXian County, Hebei Province, revealed on the 12th that recently, when Maqiao Village in Houguan Town, Weixian County, was carrying out gas construction in the village, 3 stone statues were excavated, of which 2 were complete and 1 was mutilated. Wang Xiaohui, director of the Weixian Institute of Cultural Protection, said that the stone statues found this time belong to the gods of Taoist beliefs from the shape, and have a typical Song and Yuan style from the ornamentation.
Wang Xiaohui said that the excavation site of these three stone statues should be the superimposed remains of the local Three Officials Temple, the Houtu Ancestral Hall and the Dongyue Temple. In the past, people often worshipped the "three officials" (heavenly officials, earth officials and water officials) to pray for the wind and rain to be smooth.
The picture shows a stone statue of a Taoist deity unearthed in Wei County. Photo by Zhao Guohua
According to the Records of Weixian County, during the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Maqiao Village was in the place where the yellow river flowed, and floods occurred frequently, and the local people prayed to the gods, so the construction of the Three Officials Temple was very frequent in the local area.
Wang Xiaohui said that the discovery of the three stone statues of gods has added an important basis for the study of the transmission of Taoism and the art of statue-making in the northern region of the Song and Yuan dynasties, which once again provides physical materials for the study of the development history of Taoism, and its literary and historical value is extremely precious. (End)