During the late Tang Dynasty, an indigenous Chinese Bodhisattva known as the Path-Guiding 
Bodhisattva emerged in Buddhist art, holding a soul-summoning banner to lead the deceased through the 
intermediate state (bardo) towards rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Apart from Dunhuang, the Bashu region is an important area for the development of Path-Guiding Bodhisattva statues. Currently, 15 related statues have been discovered, distributed in Zizhong, Neijiang, Anyue, Dazu and Rongchang. The notable elements of the Path-Guiding Bodhisattva statues are the soul-summoning banner and the deceased. The former can be traced back to the banner with the function of guiding and summoning the soul in the local funeral rituals during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The latter is the symbol of the deceased’s intermediate existence (bardo). Unlike the single-figure presentation of the Path-Guiding Bodhisattva in Dunhuang murals, the Path-Guiding Bodhisattvas statues in the Bashu region are often shown in combination with figures such as Avalokitesvara and Ksitigarbha. This configuration shows a clear temporal logic of salvific functions: Avalokitesvara’s salvation in the present world, Ksitigarbha’s redemption in the underworld, and the Path-Guiding Bodhisattva’s leading to the Pure Land, thus satisfying the dual devotional needs of the faithful—seeking both peace in the present life and liberation in the next.