A typical statue of Buddha in China
Ruins of an ancient Buddhist temple have been found in the largest Chinese desert, Taklimakan Desert, dating back to 1,500 years ago. The new finding has brought greater research material to historians who study the spread of Buddhism from India to China.
In the autonomous region of Xinjiang Uygur, now a mainly muslim area, the temples main hall along with a rare structure surrounded by three square-shaped corridors as well as evidence of a huge Buddha statue that existed years ago have been uncovered after 2 months of excavation.
Dr. Wu Xinhua, head of the Xinjiang archaeological team of the Chinese Academy of Social Science and the leading archaeologist of the excavation project said, “The hall is the largest of its kind found in the Taklimakan Desert since the first archaeologist came to work in the area in the 20th century (usa.chinadaily.com).” The ruins were found and are located south of the Taklimakan Desert, in the Tarim Basin, known as the Damago Oasis. The ruins are located in the ancient kingdom of Khotan, which is a Buddhist civilization believed to date back to the third century BC.
One key connection that has been made to India is that temple corridors in India were square-shaped like the ones found in the Buddhist site. They gradually disappeared after the Southern and Northern Dynasties (AD 420-581).
To date, it is considered the best site to determine and research how the religion traveled from India to China.
Based on the size of the pedestal, the missing Buddha statue is said to have been at least 3 meters tall. Altogether, the hall walls, surround an area of 256 square meters.
Mural paintings of Buddha’s feet and some auspicious animals are still visible on the corridor walls. They are painted in a Greco-Buddhist artistic style.
Since 1901, over 10 Buddhist sites have been discovered by archaeologists from China, and excavations throughout China are presently going on to discover more sites which can add to the history of Buddhism in the country.