Several statues of the Laughing Buddha at a mainland Chinese monastery have become something of a joke among internet users as poor craftsmanship during repairs produced unintended hilarious effects on the sculptures’ faces.

Sculptors hired to do the job created exaggerated curves on the statues’ eyes, prompting netizens to ridicule the restoration work as “destructive repairs.”

The monuments are located in a grotto at Fa Jing monastery in Xihe county of Gansu province. Archaeologists said they dated to the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD386-534), but the finishes done by modern-day workers appeared “vulgar and have no aesthetic value.”

According to a local heritage official, the repairs began after villagers discovered that layers of mud finishes on the statues’ heads had peeled off. Sculptors were hired with charity funds raised by the villagers.

The repairs, however, did little more than to freshen up the paintwork on the faces and failed to restore the statues to their original appearance.

Mainland Chinese media earlier reported that the “restored” faces were not a result of man-made damage, but a product of present-day repairmen who had difficulty taking reference from the early years of the Buddhas.

The Buddhas’ smiling faces are among their key features, as reflected by their name “Han Shan Xiao Shi Fo,” or “Laughing Buddhas on the Cold Mountain."

The grottos, which housed a collection of Buddha statues in Fa Jing monastery, were separated into two sections in the 1950s when a new road was constructed.

Later, many of the monuments were damaged during the Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976. Some of the grottos were emptied and later used as storage houses by local villagers.

---------------------------------
Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app
To know more: https://bit.ly/2yMMfQE
Apple Daily mobile app latest version DOWNLOAD NOW