article_snippet: The letter states: 'In our hearts he is not a cultural display item to be placed in a museum but a living Buddha that is respected and revered by us all. '
article_snippet: This is a tradition that is deeply important to our way of life.
article_snippet: he has looked over our for over 1000 years and is a testament to our historical and cultural heritage.'
article_snippet: Locals say Zhanggong Liuquan did many good things for villagers such as curing illnesses free of charge.
article_snippet: When Zhanggong Liuquan died, people made Zhanggong Liuquan body a statue before his body rotted, and then people placed his body in the memorial hall of the village ever since.
article_snippet: The Buddhist has become a spiritual sustenance for locals.
article_snippet: They found photographs and historical records that supported the claim that it in fact belonged to a temple in the village.
article_snippet: Erik Bruijn, an Buddhism expert, determined the mummy dated back to the 11th or 12th century and was Buddhist master Liuquan.
highlights_snippet: Villagers say relic is Villagers 'ancestral patriarch' who gives spiritual guidance .
  