Xiangtangshan Grottoes

Xiangtangshan Grottoes

Xiangtangshan grottoes, also known as xiangtangsi grottoes, are located in Fengfeng mining area of Handan City, the southernmost part of Hebei Province. It is one of the first batch of key cultural relics protection units in China,

Xiangtangshan grottoes were first excavated in the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577 AD). After that, it was increased in Sui, Tang, song, yuan and Ming Dynasties. There are also 16 grottoes and more than 4000 statues. All the grottoes are carved in the best quality rock of Gushan, which has beautiful scenery and beautiful environment. The grottoes are deep, and people clap their hands and shake their sleeves in the caves, which can give out loud echoes, so it is called "Xiangtang".

Xiangtangshan grottoes are divided into North and south, about 15 kilometers apart. Because the grottoes are on the hillside, people can give out sonorous echoes when they talk, laugh, brush their sleeves and walk around. It is known as Xiangtangshan grottoes. There are 16 grottoes, more than 450 niches of cliff statues, more than 5000 statues of different sizes, and a large number of scriptures and inscriptions. It is the largest grotto discovered in Hebei Province, and the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units announced by the State Council. It is now a national AAAA scenic spot and a four-star forest park. In November 2012, Xiangtang mountain scenic spot was promoted to national scenic spot.

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Xiangtangshan grottoes are divided into North and south, commonly known as the north and South xiangtangsi grottoes. The two temples are 15 kilometers apart, and the two Xiangtang grottoes were built in the Northern Qi Dynasty. At that time, there were two political centers in the Northern Qi Dynasty: ye, the capital of the state (in Handan and Linzhang), and Jinyang, the other capital (in Taiyuan, Shanxi). GUSHAN, which is the east-west traffic pass of Taihang Mountain, is the necessary place for the two capitals to travel. Gao Yang, the emperor of the Northern Qi Dynasty who regarded Buddhism as the national religion, chose this place to dig caves and build temples and official gardens as a place for him to travel between the two capitals in summer, play and worship Buddhism. Since then, the Sui, Tang, song and Ming dynasties have increased chisels here.

Nanxiangtang Grottoes is located in the northwest of Zhifang village, Linshui Town, at the south foot of Gushan Mountain and on the North Bank of Fuyang River. There are 7 Grottoes in the scenic spot, which are divided into two layers: the upper layer has 5 grottoes and the lower layer has 2 grottoes. From bottom to top, there are Huayan cave, Prajna cave, Kongkong cave, amituo cave, Shijia cave, Lishi cave and Qianfo cave. Among them, Huayan cave is the largest, about 4.9 meters high, 6.3 meters wide and 6.3 meters deep. It is inscribed with the Huayan Sutra of Dafang Guangfo, so it is called Huayan cave. In the middle and upper part of the south wall of the cave, there is a large relief of Amitabha's pure land story. In the upper part of the south central column, there are relief of shijiashuo and Buddha Bensheng story. The thousand Buddha cave on the upper floor is small and well preserved. On the top of the outer wall of the cave, a bowl tower is carved. At the end of the tower, a rolling cloud shaped banana leaf is carved. In the middle, a golden winged ebony is carved. On the top of the bowl, a pearl is carved. On both sides of the tower, an octagonal top pillar is carved. Each niche on the three treasure altars in the cave is carved with one Buddha, two disciples and two Bodhisattvas. The original niche on the front is Buddhism. There are 1028 statues on the wall, so it is called Qianfo cave. The top of the cave is slightly raised, the lotus is carved in the center, and the eight flying Apsaras are carved in Zhou Dynasty, which are opposite each other, forming each group of symmetrical singing and dancing fairy paradise. The structure of the cave is rigorous and the carving art is exquisite, especially the large-scale carving on the outer wall and the flying sky carving on the top of the cave.

Beixiangtang grottoes are located on the west slope of Tianshan Temple peak in the east of Hecun village. There are nine grottoes. From left to right are Daye cave, kejing cave, er fo cave, Shiying cave, Jiajing cave, nameless cave, Da fo cave and two nameless caves. Among them, the big Buddha cave has the largest scale and the most gorgeous decoration. The cave is 13.3 meters deep, 13 meters wide and 11.4 meters high. The original statue of Sakyamuni in the front niche is the largest statue in Xiangtang grottoes, with a height of 5 meters. Its back is carved with seven fire dragons, such as flame and honeysuckle pattern. It is exquisitely carved and richly decorated. It is the representative of the superb art of the Northern Qi Dynasty.

There are 11 caves in Xiangtang mountain in the late Northern Dynasty, namely 7 in the South and 4 in the north. Most of the Grottoes in the Northern Qi Dynasty have wood like structures, including caves 3 and 7 of Nanxiangtang and caves 2 and 3 of beixiangtang. Above the four pillars and three Bay Grottoes in front of the grottoes, there are large covered bowls, banana leaves, brake rods and flame beads, forming a distinctive tower shaped Grottoes. The two sides of the cave door are carved with octagonal lotus pillars, the forehead is decorated with delicate pagodas and flying Apsaras, and the side wall of the door is carved with a large honeysuckle pattern. The whole appearance is ornate. The second cave of Nanxiangtang is carved with five pavilions on the eaves of the cave. It is the only example of cave architecture. It is a rare material material for the study of Northern Dynasty architecture.

Xiangtangshan Grottoes mainly represent the Buddhist statue art of the Northern Qi Dynasty, which is the biggest art treasure left by the short Northern Qi Dynasty. The sculpture art of Xiangtang mountain is known as "the model of sculpture in the Northern Qi Dynasty".

Shape type

Central Square Pillar Pagoda Temple Grottoes: there are Nanxiangtang Grottoes 1 and 2, beixiangtang Grottoes 4 and 9 (hereinafter referred to as Nanyi, Naner, Beisi and Beijiu grottoes, others are similar). The grottoes are square in plane and flat in top, with square pillars in the center. There are niches on three sides or one side (front side) (Beisi and Naner). The upper part of the back wall is connected with the mountain behind the grottoes, and the lower part forms a low corridor for the passage of Buddha worship. The four walls of the cave are carved with niches. The front wall is centered on the cave door. There are two bright windows on the door. Between the two bright windows, there are large relief pictures of the emperor and empress worshiping Buddha (North 6) or Amitabha pure land change (South 1 and South 2), which are characterized by grand scenes and spectacular scenes.

The Central Square Pillar Pagoda Temple directly inherits the form of Yungang central pillar cave. It only changes the complicated and trivial form of Yungang central pillar from the pavilion eaves shaped central pillar with three or five floors, three sides on each floor and one niche on each side to the simple, bright and generous form of central square pillar with three (or one) niches on each side, which reflects the transformation of the central pillar cave of Northern Dynasty from complex to complex Jane's development trend.

Three walls and three niches: three in the south, five in the south, seven in the north. The front porch and back room (South 7 and north 3) of the cave are three rooms and four pillars. The cave door is opened in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and large niches are opened in the second room. In the niches, there are statues of taishanlishi. In the upper part of the Ming Dynasty, there are Indian arches, and in the second room, there are three rising arches. The eaves of the grottoes are carved with water dripping, round rafters and tubular tiles in the form of wood like structure. There are eight layers of base on the tile ridge. On the base, large-scale mountain flowers and banana leaves are embossed to cover the top of the grottoes. The banana leaves support the bowl mound. On the mound, double-layer flame beads are carved to symbolize the pagoda. The cave is square and domed, with curtain shaped niches on the front, left and right walls. Three (South five), five (South seven) and seven (North three) statues are carved in the niches. Lotus caisson and Feitian Jiyue are embossed on the top of the cave, and large lotus is embossed on the ground. Boshan furnace (South five) is set in the middle of the lotus. The cave door is carved with large fan Juan grass pattern and Lianzhu pattern on both sides and Feitian pattern on the upper part.

The shape of this kind of grottoes basically follows the form of three wall and three niche Grottoes (such as Longmen Grottoes, Wei Zi cave, etc.) produced by Longmen in the late Northern Wei Dynasty.

There are two kinds of grottoes: the square flat top (south 4) and the square flat top (south 6). The main feature of this kind of Grottoes is that there are ring altars on the four walls and round sculptures on the altars. The front, left and right walls of the cave are a combination of five bodies or seven bodies. On both sides of the door of the cave in the front wall are carved statues of Li Shi.

In the past studies, this kind of cave form was also classified as three wall and three niche caves. This kind of form belongs to a new type in the Northern Dynasty grottoes. The Longmen Grottoes appeared only after the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Buddha style

From the end of Wuding in the Eastern Wei Dynasty to the reign of Gaowei after the Northern Qi Dynasty, although the time was short (about 20 years), Buddhism did not have much development and change, but after all, it belonged to the stage of changing dynasties. In order to express themselves, the ruling class had to change the legacy of the previous generation in all aspects, and reflected in the Buddhist statues without exception. Xiangtang mountain, as a large cave excavated by the royal family of the Northern Qi Dynasty, reflects this point more. For example, the ninth Cave (Big Buddha cave) of beixiangtang, which was first excavated in Xiangtang mountain, can be seen from the records of Zizhitongjian (in the fifth year of Wuding in the Eastern Wei Dynasty), and the carving time of the cave was before the fifth year of Wuding in the Eastern Wei Dynasty (547). Apart from the distance, we can see the similarities and differences when we compare it with the daliusheng Grottoes excavated in the fourth year of Wuding (548) in Shandong Province in Lanfeng, Anyang, which is only 90 kilometers away.

When Gao dug the North cave for tomb collection, his father and son actually controlled the power of the Eastern Wei Dynasty. From this point, it just reflects Gao's ambition to usurp power and change the dynasty. Within three years, the Eastern Wei Dynasty was replaced by the Northern Qi Dynasty.

The statues of Buddha in this period are solid and solid, showing the strong and heroic character of the Northern Qi nationality, with a slightly plump face, a high nose and long eyes. Jieqifu or semi jieqifu sits on the lotus pedestal. The pattern of the clothes is sparse and irregular, which is distributed in the whole body. The lower part of the Buddha's clothes is spread on the pedestal.

It is said that the face shape of the disciple is the same as that of the Bodhisattva. His body is round, and his clothes are simple and bright. His lower body is also similar to that of the Bodhisattva. There is a wind of "Cao Yi comes out of the water". The proportion of the body is slightly longer in the upper part and shorter in the lower part.

The main style of Bodhisattvas lies in their round and solid posture, which gives people a sense of massiness. For example, the Bodhisattvas in the seventh cave of Nanxiangtang have a round face, a strong and full posture, a slightly raised abdomen, gorgeous clothing patterns, silk draped on top, a big skirt under, a close fitting skirt, a water style, a crown on the head, and a band hanging down to the elbow. In addition, the Bodhisattvas in the left niche of cave 9 of beixiangtang and the left niche of cave 1 of Nanxiangtang fully show the characteristics of twisting the body, slanting the crotch and bulging the abdomen, with the center of gravity falling on one foot. The former (the left niche of cave 9 of beixiangtang) is more than the latter, which can not be denied as the opening

Chinese PinYin : Xiang Tang Shan Shi Ku