河北高碑店出土的证圣元年千手观音造像是我国迄今发现纪年最早的千手观音像,既有初唐的时代风格,又具地方造像特色。汉地匠师参照经文,借用既有的多臂观音图像,从本地造像传统出发,以白石为材,背屏、大像为式,并创造性地用浮雕数百只小手来表现“千手”。

The Thousand-armed Avalokitesvara, which was excavated at Gaobeidian of Hebei Province in China and could be dated back to the first year of the Zhengsheng Era of the Tang Dynasty, is the earliest one all over the country until now. It embodies both the stylistic characteristics and distinctive regional features of sculptures from the early Tang Dynasty. By referencing Buddhist scriptures and drawing upon existing images of multi-armed Avalokitesvara, Chinese craftsmen employed local sculptural traditions by utilizing white marble as the medium and adopting the style integrating the primary statue with the back screen. They innovatively depicted the one-thousand-hand through reliefs of hundreds of small hands, creating an iconic representation of great compassion.