Remain of Buddha’s Feet was Discovered at Subashi Buddhist Temple Ruins

Remain of Buddha’s Feet was Discovered at Subashi Buddhist Temple Ruins

A piece of Buddha’s feet was discovered in the north part of the West Subashi Temple’s main hall, where Professor Wanli Ran from the School of Cultural Relics at the Northwest University, China was conducting the measuring work. This is another discovery of Buddha statue remain in the ruins of Subashi Temple, following the found of the gold statue remain during the archaeological excavation at the same place in 2016. This remain of Buddha’s feet was about 10 centimetres long and 12.5 centimetres in width. If recovered, its original width could reach 15 centimetres, while length 20 centimetres. According to the proportion of the human body, this Buddha statue’s height should be assumed to range from 3 to 5 metres, perfectly corresponding to the height of the West Subashi Temple’s main hall. Professor Ran introduced: it could be concluded from the remain of the Buddha’s feet that the statue was fired as a clay Buddha, on which covered a layer of light-yellow coating. Statues as such could barely be found among the discovered figurines in the Subashi Buddhist Temple Ruins in China. Therefore, discovering this remaining piece of Buddha’s feet has critical importance. It serves as a strong evidence to demonstrate Kucha’s central position of the Buddhism in the Western Regions, showing the fact that in the ancient Kucha “the Buddha’s statues and ornaments may be too exquisite to be made by human”. Ancient money, kernels, and animal bones were also discovered in the main hall of the West Temple.