Yungang Grottoes

Yungang Grottoes are located at the southern foot of Wuzhou mountain, 17 km away from the western suburb of Datong City, Shanxi Province, northern China. The grottoes are excavated close to the mountain and stretch for 1 km from east to west. There are 45 main caves, 252 large and small niches, and more than 51000 stone sculptures. It is one of the largest ancient Grottoes in China. Together with Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Luoyang Longmen Grottoes and Tianshui Maijishan grottoes, it is known as China's four major Grottoes art treasures. In 1961, it was announced as one of the first batch of key cultural relics protection units in China by the State Council. On December 14, 2001, it was listed in the world heritage list by UNESCO. On May 8, 2007, it was rated as one of the first batch of national 5A scenic spots by the National Tourism Administration.

Construction history

Yungang Grottoes

In the Northern Wei Dynasty, the excavation of Yungang Grottoes began in 460 and lasted for more than 60 years to 524. Since then, in the Eastern Wei Dynasty, Northern Qi Dynasty, Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty, Pingcheng was changed into HengAn town of Yunzhong county.

In the Tang Dynasty, according to the inscription on the restoration of the great grotto temple at Wuzhou mountain in the western capital of Dajin written by Cao Yan in the seventh year of the reign of emperor jinhuangtong (1147), "in the 15th year of Zhenguan (641), the Shouchen was rebuilt"; in the volume of Gu Qingliang Zhuan written by Tang Huixiang (three ancient and modern miracles), there was a Zen master at that time who "every time repaired the image of Xiaowen Grottoes in Heng'an In the fourth year of Xianheng (673), the stone chamber was finally built. After the early Tang Dynasty, Pingcheng was in a depression, and the construction of Yungang Grottoes was affected by many factors.

During the period of emperor Xingzong and Emperor daozong in Liao and Jin Dynasties, the royal family of Liao had carried out large-scale renovation of wuzhoushan Grottoes temple for ten years. Ten temples, including Tongle, Lingyan, Jingchong, Zhenguo, Huguo, Tiangong, Chongfu, Tongzi, Huayan and doubei, were built in front of the grottoes, and more than 1000 Buddha statues were renovated. In 1122, the Jin soldiers captured Datong, "the temple was burned and looted, and the pillars of Lingyan were completely destroyed" (the stele of Huayan Temple rebuilt in the west capital of Dajin). In 1143-1146, master Zhihui rebuilt the "Lingyan Pavilion" (the attic outside today's third cave), "naturally, the scenery of the mountain gate has been restored. "(" the golden stele ").

In the Yuan Dynasty, the temples in wuzhoushan Grottoes still exist.

In the Ming Dynasty, Yungang in Datong was abandoned again. The name of Yungang began in the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. In 1644, Li Zicheng's uprising army passed through Datong. After Zhang Tianlin, the Ministry of foreign affairs, was stationed in Datong, the Qing army entered the pass and captured Datong. Yungang temple was destroyed by war again and became ashes.

In the Qing Dynasty, Yungang temple was rebuilt in 1651. The eaves and temples of the existing caves 5 and 6 were rebuilt at this time. In 1696, Emperor Kangxi came back to visit Yungang temple in winter and wrote a plaque of "solemn Dharma phase". Yungang Grottoes were also repaired during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.

In modern times, when the people's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the main caves and the wooden structures in front of the caves (caves 5, 6 and 7) of Yungang Grottoes were well preserved. In 1952, a special protection agency was set up to properly protect the grottoes and open them to the public.

Development period

The development of Buddhist art in Yungang Grottoes can be divided into three stages: early stage, middle stage and late stage.

Early Grottoes: today's caves 16-20, also known as tanyao grottoes. According to the book of Wei Shi Lao Zhi (volume 114), "at the beginning of peace, the master died. Tan Yao replaced him and changed his name to Salmonella. At the beginning of this period, tanyao was ordered to go to Beijing from Zhongshan next year after the restoration of the Dharma. He went out on duty to the emperor and was seen on the road. He wore Yaoyi in front of the horse. At that time, people thought that the horse knew a good man, and the emperor and his Empress worshipped him as a teacher. Emperor tanyao and Bai built five caves at Wuzhou fortress in the west of Beijing. Each one was carved with a statue of Buddha. The statue was 70 feet high and 60 feet low. The carving was magnificent, and he was crowned the first time. " The five caves mentioned in this paper are the famous monk Tan Yao of that time. He chose Wuzhou mountain where Zhong lingyuxiu lived and excavated the magnificent five caves of Tan Yao, which opened the prelude to the excavation of Yungang Grottoes. Caves 16-20 are the five caves of tanyao, the symbol of the emperor. The plane is horseshoe shaped, with a dome and a Thousand Buddhas carved on the outer wall. The main statue is the third Buddha. The statue is tall, round, high nose, deep eyes, and straight shoulders, showing a vigorous, rich and simple style. Its carving skills inherited and developed the fine traditions of the Han Dynasty, and absorbed and integrated the essence of ancient India's gindalo and hasta art, creating unique artistic styles.

Middle period Grottoes: it is the heyday of Yungang Grottoes carving, mainly including Grottoes 1 and 2, grottoes 5 and 6, grottoes 7 and 8, grottoes 9 and 10, grottoes 11, 12 and 13 and the unfinished Grottoes 3. This period (471-494) was the Xiaowen period before the Northern Wei Dynasty moved to Luoyang. It was the most stable and prosperous period of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Yungang Grottoes concentrated the outstanding talents of the whole country. With its national strength as the guarantee, they carved more prosperous and exquisite statues of Yungang Grottoes. By the time Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital, all the statues in the grottoes managed by the royal family had been completed, which lasted for more than 40 years. In the middle period, most of the caves were square or rectangular in plane. Some of them were carved with central tower columns, or with front and rear chambers. The walls were arranged with upper and lower layers and divided into left and right sections. There were flat caissons at the top of the caves. The various themes of the statues highlight the status of Sakyamuni and Maitreya Buddha. The popular sitting statues of Sakyamuni and Duobao Buddhas, including the God of Dharma protection, jiletian, the ranks of donors, and the stories of Buddha's original line, origin, karma and Vimalakirti, etc. There are many new themes and image combinations, focusing on the image of Dharma protector and various decorations. In the middle period, the grottoes were also active in reform and innovation, which set off the process of Sinicization of Buddhist grottoes art. The combination of these factors resulted in the so-called magnificent Taihe style. The main feature is the rapid development of Sinicization trend. The Sinicization of grottoes art started and completed in this period. This period is the middle Yungang Grottoes. The characteristics of its sculpture art, which is complicated in content and exquisite in carving, are quite different from those of the early grottoes The content and style of the sculpture have obvious Chinese characteristics.

Late Grottoes: after the Northern Wei Dynasty moved to Luoyang (494), the large-scale excavation activities of Yungang Grottoes stopped, but the wind of carving statues spread in the middle and lower classes. The pro noble, middle and lower class officials and believers made full use of the old skills of Pingcheng to dig a large number of small and medium-sized Grottoes in Yungang. The carving of these small grottoes and niches continued until the fifth year of Zhengguang reign of emperor Xiaoming (524) Pingcheng, as the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty, is still an important Buddhist place. At this time, the number of large caves decreased, and small and medium-sized caves and niches covered the cliff from east to west. It is mainly distributed in the west of cave 20, including caves 4, 14, 15 and 11. There are about 200 small and medium-sized caves on the cliff. Most of the caves appear in the form of single caves and are no longer grouped. The themes of the statues are mostly Sakyamuni, Maitreya and Sakyamuni. The statues of Buddha and Bodhisattva are thin, long necked, narrow shouldered and cut down. This kind of statues is a kind of fresh and elegant artistic image of "xiuguqingxiang" in the late Northern Wei Dynasty, which has become a prominent feature of Buddhist statues in the late Northern Wei Dynasty. This feature and style is also reflected in the Longmen Grottoes and the Northern Wei grottoes, which has a profound impact on the development of Chinese Grotto temple art.

Cave 1 and cave 2 are two caves, located at the eastern end of Yungang Grottoes. In the center of cave one, there are two square pagodas with Maitreya standing on the back wall. Most of the Buddha statues on the four walls are weathered and denuded. On both sides of the south wall, vimo and Manjusri are carved. The relief of the story of Buddha Bensheng on the back and lower part of the east wall is well preserved. In the center of cave two, there are three Pavilion style niches carved on four sides of each floor, and five small pagodas carved on the inner wall.

The third grotto is the largest grotto in Yungang. The front wall is about 25 meters high. It is said that it is the tanyao scripture translation building. The grotto is divided into front and back rooms. A Maitreya grotto room is chiseled in the middle of the upper part of the front room, and a pair of three storey square towers are chiseled left and right. On the west side of the south side of the back room, there are three statues with round face, plump muscles, fine corolla and smooth clothing pattern. The Buddha is about 10 meters high, and the two Bodhisattvas are 6.2 meters high. Judging from the style and carving techniques of the three statues, they may have been carved in the early Tang Dynasty (7th century AD).

In the fourth cave, a rectangular column is carved in the center of the cave, six Buddha statues are carved on the north and south sides respectively, and three Buddha statues are carved on the East and west sides respectively. Above the gate of Nanbi grottoes, there is a record of the Zhengguang age of the Northern Wei Dynasty (520-525 A.D.), which is the latest record of Yungang Grottoes.

Cave 5, located in the middle of Yungang Grottoes, is a group of double caves with cave 6. The main statue on the north wall of the back room is the third Buddha. The central sitting statue is 17 meters high, which is the largest Buddha statue in Yungang Grottoes. The four walls of the cave are full of Buddhist niches and statues. On both sides of the arch, there are two Buddhas sitting opposite each other on the top of the bodhi tree, with beautiful lines. There are five four storey pavilions in front of the two caves. The existing building was rebuilt in 1651. The sixth cave is nearly square in plane, with a two-story square tower connecting the top of the cave in the center, about 15 meters high. The pagoda pillar is called a layer of large niches. In the south, the statue of sitting Buddha is carved. In the west, the statue of sitting Buddha is carved. In the north, the statue of yingduobao is carved. In the East, the statue of Maitreya is carved. On both sides of the large niches on the four sides of the pagoda pillar, the East, South and west walls of the cave, and the two sides of the window, 33 relief sculptures depicting Sakyamuni's biography from his birth to his success are carved. This grotto is one of the most representative of Yungang Grottoes, with grand scale, rich carving and refined techniques.

In the seventh cave, there are three wooden eaves in front of the cave and two rooms in front and behind. There is a Bodhisattva sitting on Leo on the top of the main wall of the back room. On the East, West and south walls, there are carved statues of Buddhist niches, and on the arch of the south wall

Chinese PinYin : Yun Gang Shi Ku