At the foot of the xuanweng Mountain to the south west of Taiyuan,Shanxi Province, lies the famous JinTemplewith its great cypress tree dating from theZhou Dynasty, the Never Old Spring that has run for thousands of years, the Goddess Hall built in theNorthern Song Dynastyand the XianTempleconstructed in the Jin Dynasty. But it is the colored sculptures in the Goddess Temple that brought great fame to the Jin Temple.
There are now 43 colored sculptures in the Goddess Hall. Except the small ones on each side of the Goddess, which were added later, the sculptures were all created in the Song Dynasty The statue of the Goddess sits in the middle of the hall inside a canopy. Wearing a phoenix crown on her head, she sits cross-legged on a square wooden seat. One hand is held in front of her chest, the other one on her leg. Her fingers are hidden inside the sleeves of her long gown, which drape down to the seat. The expression on her face is quiet and kind, and the entire statue looks poised and dignified.
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