Where is the Cao An Stone Carving (Quanzhou Cao An)?

Cao An Stone Carving (Quanzhou Cao An) is a national key cultural relic protection unit.

Cao An Stone Carving is located in Jinjiang City, Fujian Province, southeast of China. Stone carvings were mainly carved in the Yuan Dynasty (A.D. 127 1 ~ 1368). This is the best surviving site of Manichaeism in the world.

Cao An was founded in Song Dynasty and rebuilt in Yuan Dynasty. It is three rooms wide and is located on the top of the mountain with only one roof. In the temple, a circular niche is carved according to the cliff wall, and the Mani Light Buddha is embossed by the natural color of the rock. The Buddha statue is about 1.5 meters high and 0.8 meters wide. It sits on the lotus seat, with solemn appearance and four-body decorative patterns of Buddha's light engraved around it. Exquisite and unique carving. This light mani Buddha is the only complete stone statue of mani Buddha in China and the only one in the world.

The discovery of Cao An stone carvings is of great significance to the study of the emergence, development and spread of Manichaeism in China. (National Cultural Heritage Administration)

As the last extinct place of Manichaeism (Zoroastrianism) in the world, Cao An in Jinjiang still retains the most complete Zoroastrianism site in the world-Jinjiang Cao An. It is an important exhibition of the Maritime Silk Road. 199 1 February, 2008, the UNESCO Maritime Silk Road Comprehensive Investigation Team inspected it, and considered that the Manichaean Temple in Cao An was the "biggest discovery" in their 15 national inspection activities.

Cao An is located in Sunai Village, Jinshan Town, Quanzhou. It was built in the late Song Dynasty. Formerly known as Caolou, it was changed to Shilou in the early Yuan Dynasty.

Cao An Temple was built on a high platform with huge stones as the wall. On the natural stone of the main wall of the temple, a circular Buddha statue, including the statue of Mani Light Buddha, was carved in A.D. 1339. Light Buddha height1.52m, width 0.83m.. Its stone is white granite, the Buddha's face is green, his hands are pink, and his clothes are gray, which is simply made in heaven. The Buddha has a long hair shawl, a curved face, big ears, drooping shoulders and two long beards hanging down from his chin. Wearing a dress with wide sleeves, no buttons, bow hanging like a butterfly, hands crossed on legs, palms up. The background of the statue is carved with a linear Buddha light, which is called "Mani Light Buddha" internationally.

1923, Yi Rui monks and Master Guangkong raised funds to repair the Monastery Mani Light Buddha Hall. 1932, the Italian empty building was built in the east of the palace. According to the regulations in the Monastery Instrument of Manichaeism Buddhism, Manichaeism monasteries can only be built with a prayer hall 1, a fasting lecture hall 1, an auditorium 1, a professor hall 1 and a sick monk hall 1. These five halls are the homes of all legal people, who are good at doing good deeds. French scholar Buriott believes that the five halls are used to store classics and images, to fast and preach, to repent, to teach religion and to accommodate sick monks.

1938, on the stone pillar of the rebuilt gate of Cao 'an Hall, Master Guangkong wrote a couplet: "The wonderful methods are pure and wide as a bridge." The title of the sentence in Hua Yan Jing, collected by Hongyi, a master of modern monks, is: "The vast and quiet samadhi, clean and bright everywhere."

On the date of Cao An's capital, Master Hongyi wrote a book "Reviving Cao An": "Cao An flourished and was built in the Song Dynasty, and it was beautiful in the early Ming Dynasty." Master Hongyi believes that Cao An originated in the Song Dynasty and should be based on it. In recent years, a number of Zoroastrianism porcelain bowls have been unearthed in Cao An, which can prove that Master Hongyi's judgment is correct.

Twenty meters in front of Cao An site, a complete black glazed bowl of Song Dynasty was unearthed, and the word "Zoroastrianism" was engraved in the bowl, which was an important discovery of Zoroastrianism activities in Quanzhou at that time. This black glazed bowl was fired at the end of Song Dynasty and the beginning of Yuan Dynasty, which shows that the written records of the Manichaeism site in Cao An, Luoshan are consistent with the Zoroastrian black glazed porcelain bowl. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Manichaeism activities in Quanzhou were relatively open and very active. It is reported that Manichaeism was also called Zoroastrianism when it was introduced into China. Manichaeism was founded in Persia in the middle of the 3rd century. It was introduced to China in 694 AD. In the early Ming Dynasty, Ming Taizu dismissed his congregation and destroyed the palace because he suspected that his teachings forced him to be the country name. Since then, Manichaeism has been devastated and gradually integrated by other religions. Therefore, the Manichaeism Temple in Cao An, Quanzhou has become the only precious historical site.

Address: at the foot of Huabiao Mountain in Jinjiang, Quanzhou

Type: Monument Temple

Play time: 2-3 hours is recommended.

Tel: 0595-88 124388

Opening hours:

9:00- 13:30; 14:20- 17:00

Ticket information:

It's free.