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Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2133373/Archeologists-unearth-3-000-ancient-Buddhas-China-believed-date-1-500-years.html
Archeologists unearth 3,000 ancient Buddhas in China believed to date back 1,500 years
Archaeologists digging in Handan, China have unearthed nearly 3,000 ancient statues of Buddha.
Researchers in January salvaged artifacts believed to be up to 1,500 years old during an excavation outside of Ye, the ancient capital of the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties.
The discovery is believed to be the largest of its kind since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Ancient: A Buddha statue stands out from amongst the rubble at an excavation site in Handan, in north China's Hebei province
An archaeologist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told reporters in March the Buddha statues could date back to the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties (A.D. 534 to 577).
Newly-published images of the artifacts by National Geographic show several statues in the cross-legged 'contemplative' pose, common in fifth-century China.
Rare: Chinese archaeologists in the northern province of Hebei in January unearthed the statues, many of which show Buddha in a cross-legged 'contemplative' pose
Others feature Buddha with a 'knowing smile', while broken full-length statues show the spiritual teacher wearing a monk-like robe.
Experts believe the statues may have been collected and ritualistically buried after the fall of the Northern Qi dynasty in attempt by later emperors in an attempt to purge the country of Buddhism.
Katherine Tsiang, director of the Center for the Art of East Asia at the University of Chicago, told National Geographic Daily: 'It may have been that some of the ruins and broken sculptures from the past were gathered from old temple sites and buried in a pit.'
Others, Ms Tsiang said, appeared to be 'respectfully buried in an orderly way', suggesting burials were done by Buddhists in times of danger. The statues range from approximately eight inches long to several feet high.
On site: The discovery is believed to be the largest of its kind in the country since the founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949
Most of the artifacts are made of white marble and limestone. Some, like one sculpture of a bodhisattva, or enlightened Buddhist being, appear to have been decorated with ornate designs and high expense.
Buddhism began in India around 500 B.C. and was introduced to China during the Han dynasty, dating hundreds of years before the newly-discovered ruins were created, researchers believe.
As National Geographic reports, while the discovery is rare, it is not unheard of. More than 2,000 artifacts at the site of a temple in Dingxian in China's Hebei Province in the 1950s, Ms Tsiang said.
'Many sculptures from these sites are similar in style to those found recently at Ye,' she said, adding that this 'may be the largest find'.
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WARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its full capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not mean that I agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL" means that I believe it is important for the people of this planet to know about what people think or do, even when what they think or do is completely stupid and against our philosophy. When I selected articles in the past about stupid Christian fundamentalists in America praying for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader was stupid enough to believe that I was supporting praying to change the weather. So, when I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic, anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It just means that it is important for all human beings to know about them. Common sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good enough to understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug decriminalization, it is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed and sad people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is any change to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any drug except for medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be absolute. That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews, antisemites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
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"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history,
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
Rael
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