Background

There are over 40 Song-dynasty painted statues of imperial maids in the Goddess Hall of the Jinci Temple at the foot of the Xuanweng Mountain southwest of the city of Taiyuan, Shanxi province. They are in different poses, with various appearances and expressions, full figures and in colourful and elegant dresses. Some are cleaning, some dressing up, and some sing and dancing. These statues reflect people's ordinary life, and represent the realistic style and superb skills of the Song-dynasty artists. The beautiful, vivid, lifelike statues contain the quintessence of sculpture of ancient Chine women. These world-famous masterpieces are among the three superb treasures of the Jinci Temple, the other two being the Nanlao Spring (Never Aging Spring) and the Zhou Cypress.

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