Thursday, September 04, 2025

the Dazu Rock cave temple carving "Hell of Iron Wheel (round saw blade) ", 10th century AD, from the panorama of the courts of hell at Baodingshan, that religious zealots had carved to promote abstaining from getting drunk and enjoying life

 https://www.christravelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/baodingshan-niche-nether-world-detail-china-dazu-rock-carvings-must-do-day-trip-from-chongqing-IMG_8224.jpg


Situated in Fohui Village, Sanqu Town, Shizhuanshan Cliff Sculptures are made between 1082 and 1096. 





 Uniformly seated in a row, the hell kings preside over torture as sinners are beaten, boiled, crushed and dissected. 

The inscribed texts warn the viewer to embrace virtue and study the dharma lest this nightmare become realized for them.

Machinery such as the treadle-operated tilt hammer and the wheeled saw were commonly used in Sichuan.

 The explicitness of their behavior (becoming drunk, being tempted by the flesh) formed part of the existential experience of viewers.

The internationally religious emphasis placed on abstinence, portrayed at eye level, suggests the clergy's prioritizing sex as the most religiously abhorrent sin

1 comment:

  1. I guess that my drinking days are over.

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