Five Tan Yao cave

Tanyao grottoes, or Yungang Grottoes 16-20, is located in the middle of Yungang Grottoes. It was built by tanyao governor, who was in charge of Buddhist affairs when Emperor Wencheng was in charge. Therefore, it is named "tanyao Grottoes". It is the earliest cave excavated in Yungang Grottoes. It is the beginning of the construction of Yungang Royal grottoes. It is also the largest and most influential cultural project in the Northern Wei Dynasty. The statue is grand in scale, majestic and majestic, with a rich and simple western region sentiment.

The main statues of the five Grottoes have different postures. The 16th and 18th are standing Buddhas, the 19th and 20th are sitting Buddhas, and the 17th are Jiaojiao Buddhas.

Five Tan Yao cave

"Tanyao five Grottoes": excavated in 460-465, it is the first phase of Yungang Grottoes. In the center of the five grottoes, huge Buddha statues are carved, symbolizing the five emperors of the Northern Wei and Five Dynasties.

Yungang Grottoes, formerly known as Wuzhou mountain (Wuzhou mountain) grottoes, is a royal temple built by the royal family of the Northern Wei Dynasty. It is located at the southern foot of Wuzhou mountain, 16 kilometers away from the western suburb of Datong City. It is the main road from Inner Mongolia to Shanxi, that is, the only way from Shengle to Pingcheng.

introduce

The significance of digging a grotto temple here is extraordinary. At present, Yungang Grottoes are protected, studied and managed by Yungang Grottoes Research Institute. There are more than 40 caves, mainly from cave 1 to cave 20.

The beginning of digging

Yungang Grottoes was founded in 460 ad. emperor Wencheng of the Northern Wei Dynasty ordered tanyao (yintanyao) to dig five large Grottoes (caves 16-20), which later were called tanyao five grottoes.

"Tanyao five Grottoes": excavated in 460-465, it is the first phase of Yungang Grottoes. It is said that it is to show the boundless power of the emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty; and in the center of the five grottoes, huge Buddha statues are carved, symbolizing the emperors of the Five Dynasties of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Characteristics of caves

Tanyao Grottoes (Grottoes 16-20) are the earliest and most magnificent caves in Yungang. The six grottoes of the five caves are linked to a group of double grottoes, which are magnificent in scale, magnificent in carving, and skillful in techniques, and are the cream of Yungang art.

The grottoes are oval in shape and have a spacious interior. The main statues take up most of the area.

Among them, cave 16 is a cave famous for its music. The Giant Buddha in the middle stands on the lotus pillar with his head held high and his spirit extraordinary. He is praised as a "beautiful man" by Western tourists. He is either handsome and elegant, or solemn and dignified, or he stands in a thousand Buddha cassock, or he sits together. There are thousands of Buddhas and niches around the wall. These statues, with vivid expression and wonderful posture, play flute or pipa, which is amazing.

Cave 20 is the symbol of Yungang Stone carving. The Buddha statue is a sitting statue of Sakyamuni, 13.7 meters high. The stone above the chest is hard and well preserved. The shape is simple and huge, with broad shoulders, right side cassock, round face, thin lips and high nose, and solemn expression. The large flame pattern in the backlight and the relief sculptures of sitting Buddha and flying sky are very beautiful, which set off the main Buddha more forcefully and forcefully. They are the representative works of Yungang Grottoes.

In front of the grottoes are five four story wooden pavilions built in the eighth year of Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty, with glazed tile roofs, which are quite spectacular.

history

In history, Datong was once the political, economic and even cultural center of North China. In the fourth century, northern China was still in the chaos of the Sixteen Kingdoms of Wuhu. At this time, tuobafen, the leader of Tuoba family of Xianbei nationality, who rose in the northern grassland, moved the capital city from Shengle in Inner Mongolia to Pingcheng, which is now Datong, thus turning an important page in the development history of Datong City.

In the early days of the founding of the people's Republic of China, the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) frequently carried out large-scale migration activities. As the Northern Wei Dynasty unified the whole northern region, countless people came to Pingcheng from North China, Guanzhong and Hexi. Many of them are Buddhist believers. For example, the Taoist Tongfa Guo who served emperor Daowu and emperor yuan of Ming Dynasty was born in Zhaojun of Hebei Province. The Taoist Tongshi Xian and the Taoist Tongtan Yao who served emperor Wencheng came from Liangzhou. Under the guidance of these eminent monks, the emperors of the Northern Wei Dynasty believed in Buddhism, and Faguo put forward the idea that "the emperor is the present Tathagata". Under the mutual dependence between the ruling class and the Buddhist group, Buddhism was protected by the royal family of the Northern Wei Dynasty. During this period, although Taiwu emperor exterminated Buddhism, Emperor Wencheng restored Buddhism immediately after he ascended the throne, and its development trend immediately exceeded that before the extermination of Buddhism. In this context, Tan Yao of Salmonella series presided over the excavation of Yungang Grottoes.

Introduction to scenic spots

Tanyao grottoes are now caves 16 to 20.

The main statues of each cave are as follows: cave 16 is the standing Buddha statue of Shi Wuwei seal, cave 17 is the Buddha statue of Jiaojiao Bodhisattva, cave 18 is also the standing Buddha statue, cave 19 is the sitting Buddha statue of Shi Wuwei seal, and cave 20 is the sitting Buddha statue of Shi Zen seal.

The master of cave 20 is the most famous Buddha in Yungang Grottoes, commonly known as the open-air Buddha. Because of the collapse of the front wall and the top of the cave, the statue of the Lord hidden in the cave was completely exposed. The statue is about 14 meters high. Its legs are seriously weathered. It has a high bun. Its head is plain and its face is round. It has big eyes, high nose, two ears and shoulders. It has eight character whiskers on its lips, slightly upturned corners of its mouth and wide shoulders. It has hands in front of its abdomen to tie Zen seal. It is wearing a cassock covering the right shoulder and the corner of its garment. The lower face of the cassock is wearing a monk's branch (underwear) and the hem is decorated with beads. There is a flame backlight behind, and there are sitting Buddha and flying Apsaras inside. The Buddha sitting in cave 20 fully reflects the grand momentum of Buddhist statues in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

When we visit the Buddha from the side, we can find that its back is connected with the mountain, not a round sculpture, but from the front, the Buddha is an independent and perfect statue. However, the face from the front and from the side view, give a different feeling. The position of the ear is too far back, and the eye socket is too long, which makes the Buddha's face full of depth. This also shows that if we move our viewpoint, it will destroy the balance of the shape of the Buddha. Originally, the Buddha was hidden in the cave, and people had no condition to view the Buddha's face from the side. There is no need to consider the possibility of visiting the Buddha from all angles. The relationship between the Buddha and worshippers is unequal. Worshippers are only allowed to look up at the Buddha from the front, while the Buddha quietly looks down on the worshippers.

It is common in Liangzhou area to wear a cassock with the right shoulder covering the corner of the garment, so it is also called "Liangzhou cassock". Tan Yao himself was born in Liangzhou, we think that this may have something to do with the choice of Buddha's clothing.

The 19th cave is the largest of the five tanyao caves. There are two side holes on the left and right of the main cave. The facade of the cave is seriously weathered. The main cave is oval in plane, with dome, door and window. This is the common form of tanyao grottoes. The main statue is about 17 meters high, occupying the main space in the cave. It has a high bun, a plain face, a round face, and a collapsed jaw. Its appearance is very similar to that of the Great Buddha in cave 20. The Buddha sits directly on the ground of the grottoes without a pedestal. Wearing the same cassock with right shoulder covering and right shoulder covering as the Great Buddha in cave 20, he holds his right hand in front of his chest with five fingers extended and his left hand holding the corner of his robe in front of his abdomen. The pattern of his robe is the same as that in cave 20. The walls of the cave are full of thousands of Buddhas. In the two corners of the front wall, there are larger standing Buddhas. There is a child under the knee of the standing Buddhas. The Buddha touches the child's head. It is said that this is Sakyamuni and his son Luoluo.

Because the statue is too large, whether inside or outside the cave, it is impossible to grasp the whole picture of the Buddha. Worshippers must stand outside the cave and look at the Buddha through the window. The Buddha and the grottoes limit the perspective of visitors, that is to say, the Buddha refuses the rude eyes of visitors and only allows them to communicate with them within its prescribed scope.

The left and right side caves are opened about 5 meters above the surface. The front wall of the West cave has collapsed, and the statue of Buddha leaning on the seal of fearless Shi is the main statue.

The appearance of cave 18 is basically the same as that of cave 19, with a door and a window. At the same time, there are groups of images of Bodhisattvas, Buddhas and bhikkhu. The master is 15.5 meters high, standing on a very low lotus seat. He has a plain face, a high bun, a round face, big eyes, high nose, drooping ears, a smile, wide shoulders, a drooping right arm, a broken hand, and a cassock on his left hand. Wearing a close fitting right shoulder cassock, along the cassock pattern covered with sitting Buddha. Each side of the master Buddha has a flank to serve the Bodhisattva. On the Bodhisattva's head, there are five statues of bhikkhu, a total of ten statues. Some hold their hands together, some hold lotus flowers or water bottles, etc. they have different postures. They may be the top ten disciples of Sakyamuni.

There is a standing Buddha statue on the left and right side walls, about 9 meters high. Its appearance is very similar to that of the main Buddha. It has a round head, a short body, a shoulder length cassock, a right hand raised in front of the chest, five fingers extended (the east wall Buddha pinches the thumb and index finger together), palm forward, left hand hanging on the side of the body, holding the cassock Cape.

The form of the 17th cave is special, and the ground of the cave is lower than that outside the cave. The main statue is also different from the previous caves. It is Jiaojiao Bodhisattva, 15.5 meters high. Most of the face, arms and backlight have collapsed, and the leg carving has not yet been completed. Dai Baoguan was decorated with Yingluo and bangchuan on his body and a snake belt on his chest. When digging the cave, it should be carved from top to bottom, or because the original construction plan of the 17th cave was not perfect or other reasons, the main statue was too large, and when carving the legs, it was found that the height of the cave was not enough. The craftsmen did not hesitate to dig down the ground of the cave, and finally accepted Jiaojiao Bodhisattva into the cave successfully.

Cave 16 is located in the easternmost part of tanyao cave 5. Its basic shape is the same as the other four caves. The main statue is a Buddha statue, 13.5 meters high, which is quite different from the other four cave statues. The head is engraved with wavy hair, the face is long and round, and the body is not covered

Chinese PinYin : Tan Yao Wu Ku