Broken Statues at Shabaozhai Temple

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Title: Broken Statues at Shabaozhai Temple See all items with this value
Caption: Hell Razed by Revolution, Shi Bao Chaia Temple See all items with this value
Identifier: SEFA_063
Alternative Identifier: Simpson Album p14
Description: The camera looks down a cavity behind a tall wooden fence with open slats. There are numerous broken statues on the ground in the cavity. In the foreground, one statue is standing, but its head has been broken off. The caption implies that it was revolutionary rebels who perpetrated this damage. See all items with this value
Commentary: Shabaozhai Buddhist Temple is at the top of a pagoda that is famously carved into the mountainside. The pagoda was built in the Qing Dynasty to facilitate access to the temple on top. The temple was also expanded then to honor Manjusri, one of Buddhism's most important deities. In 2008, the Three Gorges Dam raised the water level so it now sits upon an island, but not so in 1913. See all items with this value
Date Created: 1913
Location: Shabaozhai, Chongqing See all items with this value
Geonames: https://www.geonames.org/12522718/shabaozhai.html
Event: 1913 Dr. E. Kyle Simpson's First Yangtze River Voyage
Original Format: Photographic print
Relation: Precious Stone Buddhist Temple on the Yangtze
Is Part Of: Simpson-Estabrook Photo Album
Source: Courtesy of Kyle Jolliffe
Provenance: E. Kyle Simpson photos curated by Alice Estabrook Simpson - captions written by her. In the care of Kyle Jolliffe. See all items with this value
Access Rights: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.en
Publisher: SIUE
Record Date: 2026-09-29
Contributor: Cory Willmott; Kyle Jolliffe
Type: Still Image
Published In: "At the Shi Bao Chai temple we saw dozens of idols knocked down and the place practically demolished. At the time of the Revolution, in the craze for new things, they destroyed even their old idols. This means missionary opportunity never before known to us even in our fondest hopes and dreams. Wellington held the best soldiers in reserve all day to bring them into action in the decisive hour. This is the decisive hour, yes, the decisive moment in China. Let us call out the reserve."; 1913 Letter from Dr. E. Kyle Simpson, Chungking, West China

Media: SEFA_063_Simpson Album p14 Hell Razed by Revolution Shi Bao Chain Temple.jpg

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Items with "Relation: Broken Statues at Shabaozhai Temple"
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Precious Stone Buddhist Temple on the Yangtze	Image

Resource class: Image