Longmen Grottoes Scenic Area

Longmen Grottoes is one of the treasure houses of Chinese stone carving art. It is now a world cultural heritage, a national key cultural relics protection unit and a national AAAAA class tourist attraction. It is located in Longmen Mountain and Xiangshan on both sides of the Yihe River in Luoyang District, Henan Province. Longmen Grottoes, Mogao Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes and Maijishan Grottoes are also known as the four major Grottoes in China.

Longmen Grottoes were excavated during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty. After that, they were constructed on a large scale for more than 400 years in succession through the Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Song Dynasties. The length of Longmen Grottoes is as long as one kilometer in the north and south. There are now 245 caves, more than 100,000 statues and more than 200 inscriptions on tablets. Among them, "Longmen Twenty Pieces" is the essence of Wei stele in calligraphy, while "Yique Buddhist Gong Stele" written by Chu Suiliang is a model of Kaishu art in early Tang Dynasty.

Longmen Grottoes lasted for a long time and spanned many dynasties. With a large number of physical images and written materials, they reflected the development and changes of ancient Chinese politics, economy, religion, culture and many other fields from different aspects, and made great contributions to the innovation and development of Chinese grotto art. In 2000, it was listed as a world cultural heritage by UNESCO.

Main attractions

Longmen Grottoes began to be excavated around the time when Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved to Luoyang (AD 493). Later, after the Eastern and Western Wei, Northern Qi and Northern Zhou Dynasties, the grottoes were continuously constructed on a large scale for more than 400 years in Sui, Tang and Song dynasties. Closely distributed on the cliffs of the eastern and western mountains of Yishui, there are more than 97,000 Buddhist statues in the north and south, with the largest being 17.14 meters and the smallest being only 2 centimeters.

There are more than 50 large and medium-sized caves in the Northern Dynasty and Sui and Tang Dynasties on the cliff wall of Xishan Mountain. Guyang Cave, Binyang Zhongdong, Lianhua Cave, Huangfugong Cave, Wei Zidong, Putai Cave, Fire Burning Cave, Cixiang Cave and Road Cave are representative caves of the Northern Wei Dynasty; Qianxi Temple, Binyang South Cave, Binyang North Cave (the caves and cave top decoration of the above two caves were completed in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Buddha statues were completed in the Sui and early Tang Dynasty), Jingshan Temple and Cliff Three Buddhist niches, Wanfo Cave, Huijian Cave, Fengxian Temple, Pure Land Hall, Longhua Temple and Antarctic Cave are representative caves of the Tang Dynasty. Dongshan is a cave niche of Tang Dynasty. Among them, there are 20 large and medium caves, such as Erlianhua Cave, Guanjing Temple Cave, Dawanwu Buddhist Cave (also known as the three holes of Wugutai), Wang Cave of Gaoping County, etc.

fengxian temple

Fengxian Temple is the largest and most exquisite group of cliff-like sculptures in Longmen Grottoes, because it belongs to Fengxian Temple of the imperial monastery at that time and is commonly known as Fengxian Temple. The cave was excavated at the beginning of Gaozong in Tang Dynasty. Empress Wu Zetian sponsored 20,000 yuan for three years (672 A.D.). In the second year of Shangyuan (675 A.D.), the cave was completed with a length of more than 30 meters and a width of more than 30 meters. The Buddha statues in the cave clearly reflected the artistic characteristics of the Buddha statues in Tang Dynasty. They had a plump face, drooping ears, complete, peaceful, warm and cordial shape. People. The inscription on the north side of the lotus seat of the Lord Buddha is called the "Great Lushna niche". There are nine large statues here. The main Buddha in the middle is the Great Lushna Buddha, and the Buddha is Sakyamuni's incarnation Buddha. According to the Buddhist sutra, Lushna means that light shines all over. The statue is 17.14 metres high, 4 metres high and 1.9 metres long. Its face is plump and round, with wavy hairlines on the top of its head. Its eyebrows are like a crescent moon, attached to a pair of beautiful eyes and gazing slightly below. Straight nose, small mouth, showing a peaceful smile. The ears are long and slightly drooping, and the chin is round and slightly forward. Full and harmonious, peaceful and comfortable, wearing a shoulder-length gown, simple and unadorned patterns, a circle of concentric circles of patterns, the head of the unusually bright and holy. The whole Buddha statue, like a wise and kind middle-aged woman, is respectable and fearless. Some people commented that in shaping this Buddha statue, noble sentiment, rich feelings, open mind and elegant appearance were perfectly combined. Therefore, she has great artistic charm.

The great disciple Gaye, who has experienced vicissitudes of life and is mature and respectful, the meek and wise little disciple Anan, the Bodhisattva with a reserved expression and noble dignity, the mighty and heroic King of Heaven, the aggressive hero and the Lord Buddha Lushe together constitute a group of artistic images with a strong sense of mood and texture.

There are many rectangular niches behind the nine-body statues in Fengxian Temple. This is about the Song and Jin Dynasties. In order to protect the niches, people built wooden roof-style buildings according to the niches. These buildings affected the ventilation of the statues and accelerated the weathering of the statues, so they were later demolished.

With its magnificent scale and exquisite sculpture, Fengxian Temple's large-scale art group stands at the peak of Chinese stone carving art, becoming a model work of Chinese stone carving art and a symbol of this great era of the Tang Dynasty.

Qianxi Temple

Qianxi Temple is the first large cave at the north end of the west mountain of Longmen. It is more than nine meters high and nine meters wide and nearly seven meters deep. It was built in the early Tang Dynasty about 1300 years ago. The algae well at the top of the cave is a shallow lotus flower. The main Buddha, Amitabha, sits on the platform of Xumi, with a plump face, a protruding chest and a sloping clothes. His body is proportionally proportionate and wise. The whole gesture gives a sense of quietness and kindness. The left side of the main Buddha is the great disciple Gaye, and the right side is the little disciple Ananda. Next to the two disciples were Guan Shiyin Bodhisattva and Majesty to Bodhisattva. Especially the southern wall of the trend to the Bodhisattva, full and thick shape, quiet manner, in the Palace Museum 1:1 copy display. Amitabha Buddha and the two Bodhisattvas on both sides are called the three saints of the West, namely the three saints who are in charge of the Western Paradise World. They are the objects of the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism.

Binyang cave

Binyang Zhongdong is a representative cave in the Northern Wei Dynasty. "Binyang" means to greet the born sun. Binyang Sandong was excavated in the Northern Wei Dynasty. It was built by Emperor Xuanwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty for his father Emperor Xiaowen. It started in 500 A.D. and lasted 24 years, employing 800,2366. Later, due to the coup d'etat and the death of Liu Teng, the host, the planned three caves (Binyang Zhongdong, Nandong, Beidong) completed only one, that is, Binyang Zhongdong. Both Nandong and Beidong completed their main statues in the early Tang Dynasty.

The central cave in Binyang is a horseshoe-shaped plane with a dome top and a lotus cover composed of double lotus flowers carved in the center. There are eight happy days and two providers around the lotus. Their belts fluttered, flying in the wind around the lotus cover, graceful and moving posture. Shakya Muni. He was the founder of Buddhism, originally named Gautama Siddhartha, and was the son of the Pure Rice King of ancient India. He lived in the same era as Confucius in China, 12 years older than Confucius. He became a monk at the age of 29. After six years, he became a Buddhist and founded Buddhism. Because the Northern Wei Dynasty advocated thin as the United States, so the main Buddha Sakyamuni cheeks thin, neck slender, slender body. Clothing pattern is dense, and the carving technique is the straight knife method of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Since Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved to Luoyang, he carried out a series of Sinicization policies, so the clothes of the main Buddha in the cave changed from the right shoulder-style gown of the Yungang Grottoes Buddha statue to the wide-sleeved gown. All of Sakyamuni's second disciples and Bodhisattvas served. Two Bodhisattvas are graceful and graceful. The left and right walls have their own statues, one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas, standing on the lotus seat with their robes and robes.

On the north and south sides of the front wall of the cave, there are four exquisite reliefs from top to bottom. The first level is the relief with the theme of the story of Vimalakirti, which is called Vimalakirti. The second level is two stories of Buddha Bensheng. The third level is the famous empress ritual Buddha map. The fourth floor is the relief statue of the Ten God Kings. Especially in the third level, empress ritual Buddhist paintings reflect the Buddhist activities of the court, depict the Buddhist pious, serious and tranquil mood, accurate shape, exquisite production, representing the high level of development of life custom paintings at that time, and have important artistic and historical value. Unfortunately, they were stolen abroad in the 1930s and 1940s. They are displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of New York and the Nelson Museum of Art, Kansas.

Binyang South Cave was excavated during the Northern Wei Dynasty, but the main Buddhist statues in the cave were completed in the early Tang Dynasty. The main Buddha in the cave is Amitabha Buddha, with a full face, broad shoulders and abundant body, which embodies the Tang Dynasty's style of taking fat as beauty. Binyang Nandong is the fourth son of Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty. It was built by Li Tai, king of Wei, on the basis of the abandonment of the Northern Wei Dynasty. It belongs to the works of the transitional period.

Myriad Buddha Hole

Ten thousand Buddha Cave is named for its fifteen thousand small Buddhas carved on both sides of the cave. The cave has a front and rear chamber structure, with two lions and two Buddhas in the front and two Bodhisattvas in the back. It is the most complete cave in Longmen Grottoes. On the top of the cave is a beautiful lotus flower, surrounded by a stele inscription: "On November 30th, the first year of Yonglong in the Tang Dynasty, Yao Shenbiao, the superintendent, Yun Zen Master of the Inner Taoist Court, 15,000 are like niches". It shows that the cave was excavated under the auspices of Yao Shenbiao, a second-grade female official in the palace, and Zen Master Zhiyun of Neidaochang. It was completed in 680 AD, the first year of Yonglong of Gaozong in Tang Dynasty. The main Buddha in the cave is Amitabha Buddha, sitting on a double-decked lotus pedestal, with a plump and round face, broad shoulders and simple and smooth clothing patterns, which used the carving technique of the Tang Dynasty round knife. The "fearless seal" of the Lord Buddha means that there is no fear between heaven and earth, but only self-respect. The main Buddha sits on the lotus throne and carves four vajrayans around his waist. The vigorous posture contrasts sharply with the calmness of the main Buddha, and also reflects the serenity of the main Buddha. There are fifty-two lotus flowers behind the main Buddha. On each lotus there is a Bodhisattva who feeds them. They either sit or side, or hold lotus flowers, or whisper. They have different looks, like groups of different girls. Fifty-two represents the rank of Bodhisattva from the beginning of practice to the final attainment of Buddha, namely, Ten Beliefs, Ten Residences, Ten Lines, Ten Turns, Ten Places, Equal Senses and Delicate Senses.

There are 15,000 statues of Buddhas neatly carved on the north and south walls of the cave, each only four centimeters high. There are six jigsaw musicians carved on the wall foundations of the South and North walls. The jigsaw dances in the melodious music. It is light and graceful.

The whole cave is magnificent, showing people the ideal land of the Western Paradise world, and setting off a warm and joyful atmosphere of Buddhism.

There is also a statue of Bodhisattva on the south side of the cave entrance. She is a beautiful example of many statues of Bodhisattva in the Tang Dynasty in Longmen Grottoes. Bodhisattva is 85 centimeters high, head tilted to the right, body into a "s" shape curve, the whole posture appears very graceful and dignified. Mei Lanfang, a famous Chinese dramatist, was attracted and appreciated by her beautiful image when she visited Longmen in her early years. After that, she was successfully applied to his performance through artistic processing.

Lianhua Cave

The Lianhua Cave is named for the large lotus flower with a high relief on the top of the cave, which was excavated during the Northern Wei Dynasty. Lotus is a Buddhist symbol of the name, meaning out of sludge without dyeing. Therefore, most Buddhist grottoes are decorated with lotus flowers at the top, but such large and exquisite relief lotus flowers as the top of lotus grottoes are rare in Longmen Grottoes. The flying heavens around the lotus flower are lightweight, slender waist and long skirt, with free posture. The lotus roof of the Great Hall of the People is designed on this basis.

In the main wall of the cave, one Buddha, two disciples and two Bodhisattvas were built. The main image is a statue of Sakyamuni, with a bobbin-style robe and a simple and lively pleat. This is Sakyamuni's lobbying image, that is, the image of Sakyamuni when he goes out to speak scriptures. The second disciple was a shallow relief. His left disciple, Jaye, had a deep eye and a high nose. His chest tendons and bones were abrupt. He was holding a tin stick. He looked like a monk ascetic in the Western Regions. Unfortunately, his head was stolen in his early years. Now, there is the Jimei Museum in France. The smallest statue of Buddha in Longmen Grottoes is only 2 centimeters tall. These small thousands of Buddhas are situated above the southern wall of Lotus Cave. They are vivid and delicate.

guyang cave

Guyang Cave, which was excavated in 493 A.D. in the southern part of Longmen Mountain, is the earliest cave in Longmen Grottoes, with the richest Buddhist content and the highest calligraphy art. It is magnificent in scale and momentum. The north wall of the cave is inscribed with the three characters of "Guyangdong" in block letters. During the Guangxu period in the late Qing Dynasty, Taoism rose in Longmen area. When Taoists saw that there was no owner in Guyangdong, they couldn't bear to abandon it, so they changed the image of Sakyamuni into the image of Lao Shang's moral god. It is said that Lao Jun once practiced Buddhism here, so the Guyang Cave is also called Lao Jun Cave.

Guyang Cave was excavated from a natural limestone karst cave. There is no lotus and algae well on the top of the cave, and the ground is horseshoe shaped. The main image is Sakyamuni, who is sitting quietly on the platform with a thin face and smiling eyes in a pendant-style robe with two collars. On the left side of the main Buddha is Guanyin Bodhisattva with a hand-held treasure bottle, and on the right side is Guanyin Bodhisattva with the momentum of holding Mani jewels. Their expressions are quiet and calm.

There are hundreds of large and small niches in the ancient Yangdong, and the sculpture decoration is very gorgeous. Especially in the shape of niches, the design of niches lintels and niches, they are colorful and varied. Some are lotus-like pointed arches, some are roof-shaped buildings, some are curtains and tassels, and there are Buddhist stories carved on the lintels of niches, such as the Ancient Yangdong. On the south wall of the Sakyamuni niche, there are births under trees, step by step lotus, Kowloon canopy and so on. It tells about Siddhartha's birth from his mother Mayer's right axilla. Just after birth, he took seven steps. Every step of his footprint gave birth to a lotus flower, which is called step by step lotus. He stood on the square platform, and nine dragons in the sky showered him with water.

Guyangdong is the most concentrated place where the nobles of the Northern Wei Dynasty vowed to make statues. These dignitaries spared no expense in digging Grottoes in order to cultivate merits, pray for good fortune and avoid disaster, and left behind 20 calligraphy treasures, Longmen. In Guyang Cave, nineteen items are occupied, and the other one is in Cixiang Kiln. Longmen Twenty Artifacts refer to the selection of twenty different statue inscriptions from the Northern Wei Dynasty, which record the time, characters and purposes of the sculpture of Buddhist niches. Twenty articles are characterized by correct and generous typeface, vigorous and simple momentum, combination, and pen use between Han Li and Tang Kai. Kang Youwei, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, strongly advocated that the whole society should use the Wei stele style in writing. The 20 works of Longmen still have infinite artistic charm. Every year, they attract countless overseas friends and sail across the sea in order to witness this rare calligraphy.

Prescription cave

Yaofang Cave is named for many Tang Dynasty prescriptions inscribed on the gate of the cave. It began in the late Northern Wei Dynasty, passed through the Eastern Wei Dynasty and the Northern Qi Dynasty, and still had sculptures in the early Tang Dynasty. Five statues of Buddha in the cave have a rigid body with few curves, a short and thick neck and a strong body. The bands on both sides of the Bodhisattva's crown are long and hang down to the upper part of his arms. All these are the characteristics of the statues of the Northern Qi Dynasty. There are more than 150 prescriptions engraved on both sides of the cave door. Most of the medicines used are plant, animal and mineral medicines. Prescriptions involve internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, facial features, etc. The medicines involved can be found in the folk, which greatly facilitates the people. The prescription of Yaofang is the earliest stone-carved prescription in China and plays an important role in the study of Chinese medicine.

Old Dragon Cave

Old Dragon Cave is excavated from a natural cave with a long horseshoe-shaped plane and a dome-like top. Since the cave was not excavated at the expense of a special person, no major Buddha was created. There are 54 small niches in the grottoes, among which the larger ones are niches 12, 32, 33 and 50, all with the inscriptions of the first year of Yonghui. Laolong Cave, which was excavated by many people, is mainly about praying for good fortune and merit, and has no prominent theme. Therefore, it has a strong flavor of life, which provides a powerful textual research for the study of the folk grotto-building atmosphere and characteristics of the early Tang Dynasty.

Hui Jian Dong

Huijian Cave, located in the south of Wanfo Cave, is an open medium-sized cave with a height of 4.25 meters and a depth of 2.70 meters. Tang Xianheng four years, November 7, Xijing Fahai Temple monk Hui Jian Jing built this cave, so this cave is also known as "Xijing Fahai Temple Hui Jian Cave". The first half of the cave should be the original cave gate, which has collapsed. The inner plane of the cave is approximately horseshoe-shaped, the western wall is circular arc, and slightly concave at both ends of the north and the south,* a semi-circular basement altar is cut out at the lower part of the western wall. In the middle of Xibi, a good sitting Maitreya was chiseled, sitting on a high rectangular seat with a plane and a rectangular platform under his feet. Two disciples and two Bodhisattvas were carved on both sides of Maitreya. They were all standing on the altar and stepping on the round lotus terrace with girdles around their waists. The left assistant disciples no longer exist. The image of Anan on the right side is very similar to that of Anan in Fengxian Temple. Bodhisattva's head has been damaged, leaving only its flaming head light. The Lord Maitreya's face is fat and round, his right hand is on his right knee, his left hand is on his left knee, his palm is up, and his chest is raised. Round head light and back screen are carved with shallow relief at the back of the head. The upper part is triangular, and each end extends out a tap. This kind of back-screen Dawu Buddha Cave and some of the preferred filling Kings also have a similar shape. Flat top with no decoration on the surface. In addition, there are some niches in the grottoes which were repaired in the late Tang Dynasty.

There is a small cave on the south lower side of Huijian Cave, which has statues of several times. On the top of the outer wall of the cave gate, the eaves are carved with golden-winged birds and owls'kisses. The grotto gate is circular arch shaped, and there are sculptures on both sides of the gate. Among them, the North Lishi has been disabled, only retaining the lower rectangular low platform, the South Lishi basically complete, the right leg arched, left leg diagonally supporting the ground, right arm drooping, left arm bending in front of the chest, head-to-door direction, lower body long skirt hanging under the feet. Stepping on a rectangular platform is a typical image in the Northern Wei Dynasty. There are two niches on the north side of the gate, which were excavated during the period of Gaozong in Tang Dynasty. The lower part of the south wall outside the cave is chiseled out with two upper and lower niches. The surface of the upper niche is fragmented. The lower niche is a circular arch niche. Two lions are carved on the surface of the altar foundation, and a fumigation stove is carved in the middle. The central image is a standing Bodhisattva with two disciples and two Bodhisattvas. The Bodhisattva's Zeng sags to the ground, the lower skirt is close to the legs, the abdomen is bony, and the clothes are scarce. The disciple's hands were arched in front of his belly and hidden in his sleeve. The robes were made in water style. These five faces have been damaged, and this style is more like the Northern Qi carving.

In the cave, horseshoe-shaped flat surface and concave shaped shallow altar are chiseled out at the bottom. A Buddha, two disciples and two Bodhisattvas were carved on the main wall. The disciple's robes were made in water style. The clothes were in plaid pattern. The Bodhisattva wore a low crown and a narrow necklace. The shawl was thick and the skirt was drooping. The statue has a wide forehead and a sharp circle at the bottom of the face, because it should be sculptured in the Sui Dynasty. The image of a Buddha, two disciples, two Bodhisattvas and two heroes in the northern niche, the image of a male provider with a cage crown and a waiter with an umbrella cover on the west side of the niche. This image was unique in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Half-knotted Buddha statues were carved in the middle of the South wall, with the two Bodhisattvas in their arms. The Buddha's face was damaged. The spiral buns on the top of the Bodhisattva's head and the shawl were placed on his chest, then rolled up and pressed on his elbow. Two lions stood up before the Buddha sat, and this group of statues were carved in Tang Dynasty. In addition, on the surface of the lintel outside the cave, five square and semi-circular inscriptions on the head of the stele were carved with a negative line. The inscriptions were made in March 31, Ming Dynasty, at Jihiri, for donating money to build roads.

Kanjing Temple

Look at the Jingsi carved by Wu Zetian period, double chamber structure, the front chamber cliff wall has dozens of niches statues, the main chamber into 1170 cm deep, 1116 cm wide, 825 cm high, flat top, square plane, four walls vertical, the lower part of the three walls carved 180 cm high Farohan 29 ancestors (11 body on the main wall, 9 body on two walls), for the Tang Dynasty in China. The most exquisite portraits of Arhats were inscribed by Fei Changfang in Sui Dynasty. This kind of large cave without Buddha statue only carves Luohan, which seems to be a large Zen hall. It may be excavated under the auspices of Zen Buddhism. Kanjing Temple is the largest cave in Dongshan Mountain of Longmen. 29 Farohan Buddhist monks are well preserved.

Xiangshan Temple

Xiangshan Temple is located in Xiangshan Depression, 13 kilometers south of Luoyang City, the ancient capital of the thirteenth Dynasty. It is adjacent to the world cultural heritage, Longmen Grottoes West Grottoes, across the river, and is connected with the Dongshan Grottoes and Baiyuan Grottoes of Longmen Grottoes. It is named because of its abundant Pueraria lobata.

Xiangshan Temple was built in the first year of Xiping in the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 516). In the third year of Tang Chuigong (687 A.D.), the Buddhist temple was rebuilt for the placement of the remains of the Indian monk Maharaja (Rizhao). In the first year of Tianzhu (690 A.D.), Wu Zetian was emperor in Luoyang and established the Wuzhou Dynasty. King Liang Wusansi invited him to call it "Xiangshan Temple" and rebuilt the temple. At that time, the dangerous building of Xiangshan Temple was cut into Han Dynasty, flying pavilion was Lingyun, majestic and magnificent. Wu Zetian often traveled happily and sat in the stone Tower of Royal Xiangshan Temple. Left behind the story of "Xiangshan Fu Poetry Captures Golden Garment". In the sixth year of Tang Dynasty (832 A.D.), Yin Bai Juyi of Henan Province donated 6.7 million yuan to rebuild Xiangshan Temple and compiled the Record of Xiuxiangshan Temple, which is named Dazhen. The first sentence of this article is to praise Xiangshan Temple as "the victory of mountains and waters in the four suburbs of Luodu, Longmen Tour, Longmen Ten Temple, Tour Tour Tour Tour Tour Tour, Xiangshan Tour Tour Tour Tour Tour". Bai Juyi also collected more than 5,000 volumes of Buddhist scriptures and hid them in temples. Bai Juyi, known as "Xiangshan Jushi" and monk Ruman, formed the "Nine Lao Hui of Xiangshan" to chant in the temple's upper hall and under the forest. Bai Juyi died in the sixth year of Huichang (846 A.D.) and was buried beside the tower of Master Ruman in Xiangshan Temple.

In the Song and Jin Dynasties, Xiangshan Temple still existed, abandoned at the end of Yuan Dynasty, and rebuilt in the reign of Kangxi in Qing Dynasty. Emperor Qianlong visited Xiangshan Temple and praised "Longmen Fanshi Temple, the first number of Xiangshan Mountain". This poem was extracted from his poem "Two Xiangshan Temple", which was engraved on the stone tablets. The imperial stele Pavilion of Qianlong, located in Xiangshan Temple, stands on this stone tablet. For more than two hundred years, at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the Xiangshan Temple was gradually deserted. After its reconstruction in 1936, a two-storey small building was built inside the temple to celebrate Chiang Kai-shek's fiftieth birthday. Chiang Kai-shek and Song Meiling have spent many summers here. This small building is located in the southeast side of Xiangshan Temple and is called "Jiang Song Villa". After liberation, Xiangshan Temple was repaired many times. The renovation project was completed from the end of 2002 to the beginning of April 2003. It lasted 100 days and created the fastest Temple speed in China. This is also the fifth restoration in the history of Xiangshan Temple. New Xiangshan Temple, drawing on the style of Tang Dynasty, renovates, preserves and protects Jiang Song Tower, Qianlong Imperial Stele Pavilion and Yibo Pagoda as historical relics. On the original site, the Bell Tower, Drum Tower and Daxiong Palace have been built, and the Temple of Heavenly King, Arhat Palace and Walkway have been renovated.

Bai Yuan

Baiyuan, located on the Biwa Peak in Dongshan, Longmen Scenic Area, Luoyang, is the tomb of Bai Juyi, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. It covers an area of 30,000 square meters. In 1961, Baiyuan was declared as a state key cultural relic protection unit by the State Council.

Bai Juyi lived in Luoyang for 18 years. Although respected as "Shaofu", but a life of poverty, good wine poetry, Xiuxiangshan Temple in Longmen, open eight sections of the beach, the Longmen landscape is very attached to, after death buried here.

The main scenic spots in Baiyuan include Qinggu District, Le Paradise, Poetry Gallery, Tomb Area, Japanese Calligraphy Gallery, Taoist Poetry Bookstore and so on. The Qinggu area is located between the two mountains, with Baichi, Yiting, Shibanqiao, Songzhu and Bailian. Entering the Qinggu area, waterfalls fall, ponds ripple, bamboo forest breeze, white lotus fragrance, make people relaxed and happy; Paradise is near the mountains and rivers, facing the Qinggu Valley, is the poet's poetry meeting place, indoor natural rocks exposed, white jade statue of the Han Dynasty is natural, quiet on the rocks, giving people a sense of thinking about the Ming Dynasty. Standing in front of Happy Paradise, we can deeply recall the connotation of the poet's original work "often running water in front of the door, how tall trees on the wall, bamboo paths around the lotus pond, lingering for more than a hundred steps". 38 stone poems are written by famous domestic writers, with complete lines, grass, seal and li, which can not only appreciate Bai Juyi's masterpieces, but also appreciate the beauty of calligraphy art. The Japanese Calligraphy Gallery was built for the exchange of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy. It was mostly written by famous contemporary Japanese calligraphers and opened to the outside world in March 2000. The tomb is located at the top of Pipa Peak and can be reached from the peony altar. Here are the tombs of Bai Juyi, the bedrock tablets, the Wutoumen and the standing stones of the guests and ethnic groups who admire Bai Juyi at home and abroad. The stone pavement in front of the tomb, the lawn behind the tomb is like a blanket, surrounded by cypress, giving people a solemn and solemn feeling.

Inscription on tablet inscription

"Longmen Twenty Pieces" refers to the inscriptions of twenty statues selected from the Northern Wei Dynasty in Longmen Grottoes, and is the representative of Wei stele calligraphy. The Wei stele inherits the Han Li and opens the Tang Kai, which has the charm of both Li and Kai. Nineteen of them are in Guyang Cave and one is in Cixiang Cave. The title of "Twenty Pins" was first found in Kang Youwei's "Guangyizhou Shuanghuan" and Fang Ruo's "School Stele Essays" in the Qing Dynasty. The content usually expresses the statue maker's prayers for disaster relief. Its calligraphy art is developed and evolved on the basis of Han Li and Jin Kai, thus forming a unique style of dignified and generous, vigorous and plain, both Li style and Kai Shu factor. It is the essence of calligraphy art in the Northern Wei Dynasty and the representative of Wei stele style.

"Twenty products of Longmen" include: Picchu Hui's Statue of the Dead Father, Shiping Gong , "Madame Qiu Muling Liang of Changle King, Statue of the Dead Cow, Statue of the Dead Man, Statue of the Wife and the Wife of Zhang Yuanzu, Buyilang, Statue of the Dead Man, Statue of King Yuanjing of Beihai, Statue of Sima Jieboda, and Statue of Bo Zheng Changyou in Yunyang. The statues of fathers, Cao, Sun, Qiu Sheng, 200 people in Xincheng County, Gaoshu and Weina Xiebe Du, 30 people in Yizhu County, Biqiu Huigan for the deceased parents, Taifei Princess, Grandmother of Guangchuan, Helan Khan for the deceased husband, Ma Zhenbai and Zhangzicheng, 30 people in Yizhu County, are the emperors. Images of Emperors, Grandmother and Princess of Guangchuan, Images of Xiaowen Emperor and Mother and Son of Beihai Kingdom, Images of Princess Gao of Beihai Kingdom, Images of Master and Monk Parents by Biqiu Taoist Craftsmen, Images of Xiaowen Emperor by Yang Daeye of Fu Guo General and Gong of Luhun County The Statues of Cao Wei Lingzang, The Statues of Wang Yuanxie, The Statues of Wang Yuanyou in Qijun, The Statues of Biqiuni Cixiang and Huizheng.

Villa Jiang Song

In 1936, to celebrate Chiang Kai-shek's fiftieth birthday, the local government chose to build a two-storey villa on the southern side of Xiangshan Temple, known as Chiang Song Villa. On October 29, 1936, Chiang Kai-shek arrived at Luoyang (East Station) by train from Xi'an under the name of "avoiding longevity". In fact, he deployed the "Northwest Communist Party suppression" plan. On October 31, Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Luoyang under the name of "avoiding longevity". After celebrating his fiftieth birthday in the villa, Zhang Xueliang and Yan Xishan were among the participants. After that, he visited Luoyang Military Academy and Luoyang Power Plant and inspected heavy artillery units. He and his wife, Song Meiling, went to Luoyang three times to appease Yan Xishan of Taiyuan, Han Fuqu of Jinan and Fu Zuoyi of Suiyuan. In early December, he left Luo to Xi'an and spent 36 days in Luoyang. He basically lived in Jiangsong Villa of Xiangshan Temple.

In 1936, the "luxury villa" became General Yang Chengwu's "prison" 30 years later. At the end of March 1968, General Yang Chengwu, acting Chief of the General Staff of the PLA, was secretly detained in Xiangshan Temple because of persecution by Lin Biao Group. Until leaving in January 1971, General Yang Chengwu was detained for more than two years. He never went downstairs once. The prison suffered a lot.

Three holes in rigu

Before the highway at the foot of Dongshan was opened, there was a platform above the boulder. Legend has it that when Fengxian Temple was completed, Wu Zetian personally led a hundred officials to visit Longmen and presided over the grand opening ceremony. The huge band played drums on this platform to promote the prosperity. Hence, later generations called it the Rolling Drum Platform. The three holes adjacent to the rolling drum platform are called the three holes of the rolling drum platform.

Ronggu Taizhong Cave, also known as Dawanwu Buddha Cave. It is a Wuzhou Zen grotto. Zen in Chinese Buddhism is a sect with Zen as its main focus. "Meditation" means calming down and stopping worrying. The roof of the cave is dome-shaped and decorated with magnificent lotus algae wells. The statue is one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas. The main Buddha is Maitreya Buddha sitting with his knees hanging down. There are 25 high relief figures of Arhats on the base of the cave, from the west of the south wall to the west of the North wall. The statues of Luohan Group form a semi-circular decorative belt. There is a passage beside the statues of Jun Luohan, which is excerpted from Fu Fa Zang Yin Yuan Zhuan, introducing the history and characteristics of the Luohan. There are many new words of Wuzhou in the Scriptures published. This is a cave run by Zen Buddhism in Wuzhou period.

Taipei Cave of Ragu is one of the earliest and largest sect statue caves excavated in Longmen Grottoes. The sect belongs to one of the sects of Chinese Buddhism. It originated in India. It was born in the 7th century AD. The sect of Buddhism was the last sect of Buddhism. It was introduced into China, spread in China, and even spread to Japan and Korea. There are also Tantric leaders and their religious activities, which are closely related to Luoyang and Longmen Grottoes.

Taipei Tunnel is a dome, horseshoe-shaped plane, 4 meters high and 4.9 meters wide. The top of Taipei Tunnel is a well of lotus flowers and algae, surrounded by flying sky. It is not clear because of weathering and denudation. It is said that the main image of Beidong, three Buddha statues of Zhongdong and one Buddha statue of Nandong were all moved in from other places during the period of the Republic of China. The main Buddha on the east wall of the cave is Pilujana Buddha, which means the sun, that is to say, except for darkness and light, so it is also known as "the Great Sun Tathagata". It has a crown on its head, and a Bodhisattva costume with bracelets on its arms. It is 2.45 meters high, and its knots are sitting on a 0.9 meter high Xumai platform.

On the south side of the front wall of Beidong, there is an eight-arm Guanyin statue, which is 1.83 meters high. It sits barefoot on a circular platform. On the north side of the front wall, there are four-arm and eleven-sided Guanyin statues, which are 1.9 meters high and standing barefoot on a circular platform.

Three shrines of cliff

There are seven statues in the three Buddhist niches on the cliffs, including three sitting Buddhas and four standing Buddhas. This combination of statues is extremely rare in Chinese grotto temples. The main Buddha in the middle is Maitreya, sitting on a square pedestal. The top of his head is destroyed, and only the outline is carved without polishing. According to the Buddhist scriptures, Maitreya Buddha is the "future Buddha" and appears as the successor of Buddha Sakyamuni. Wu Zetian made use of Maitreya belief to create public opinions for his ascent to the throne, and later called himself "Cishi" (that is, Maitreya), which promoted the popularity of Maitreya belief. The excavation of the three Buddhist niches on the cliffs came into being under such a historical background. With the collapse of the Wuzhou regime, the construction of the three Buddhist niches on the cliffs also stopped. Although this group of statues is semi-finished, it provides a valuable material for people to understand the excavation process of grotto statues.

Scenic spot value

The art of calligraphy

By 2014, there were 2345 caves and more than 80 pagodas in the East and West Mountains. Longmen Grottoes is one of the largest ancient stele inscriptions in China. It is known as the forest of ancient steles. There are more than 2860 inscriptions. Among them, the 20 famous steles of Longmen and the Yique Buddha Gong steles of Zhu Yuliang are the models of Wei stele and Tang Kai, respectively. They are the best works of Chinese calligraphy art. Longmen Mountain has more than 110,000 statues. The largest statue is the Luxena Buddha, with a height of 17.14 meters, a head height of 4 meters and ear length of 1.9 meters. The smallest statue is in the Lotus Cave, each of which is only 2 centimeters, called the micro-sculpture.

Longmen Grottoes are also a treasure in the history of calligraphy art. Longmen 20, a well-known fine calligraphy product, is the best calligraphy selected from the inscriptions of many stone carvings in Longmen Grottoes by later generations'stone inscribers. These inscriptions not only record the motives and purposes of the voting figures, but also provide a basis for the stages and dynasties of grotto archaeology. Kang Youwei, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, strongly advocated that the whole society should use Wei stele in writing. He also praised Wei stele for its beauty, such as the leap of brushwork, natural structure, rich flesh and blood, etc. Today, Wei stele is also widely used as slogan and decoration words. Thus, twenty works occupy a pivotal position in calligraphy.

Buddhist culture

Longmen Grottoes are the artistic expression of Buddhist culture, but it also reflects the political, economic and cultural fashion at that time. The Grottoes retain a large number of material materials such as religion, art, architecture, calligraphy, music, clothing, medicine and so on. Therefore, it is a large Museum of stone carving art.

cultural meaning

Longmen Grottoes is the most concentrated place where the royal nobles in the Northern Wei and Tang Dynasties vowed to make statues. It is the embodiment of the Royal will and behavior and has a strong national religious color. The statues of the two dynasties reflect quite different styles of the times. The statues of the Northern Wei Dynasty lost the rough, dignified and vigorous features of the Yungang Grottoes statues here, while the breath of life gradually became thicker and tended to be lively, beautiful and mild. These statues of the Northern Wei Dynasty have long and thin faces, thin shoulders, straight chest and plain clothes. They are hard and simple. Among the numerous caves carved in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the ancient Yangdong Cave, Binyang Zhongdong Cave, Lianhua Cave and Cave Temple are the most representative ones. Among them, Guyangdong concentrated a number of statues of royal nobles and court ministers in the early period of the Northern Wei Dynasty's capital relocation to Luoyang, which typically reflected the historical state of worship of Buddha throughout the country in the Northern Wei Dynasty. These exotic and dazzling stone carvings are precious records of the convergence and fusion of Chinese traditional culture and foreign civilization.

In the Northern Wei Dynasty, people advocated the beauty of thin, so Buddha statues also pursued the artistic style of beautiful bones and clear statues. The Tang Dynasty people take fat as beauty, so the Tang Dynasty Buddha statue's face is round, shoulders are wide, chest is bulging, clothing pattern carving using knife method, natural and smooth. The statues of Tang Dynasty in Longmen Grottoes inherited the fine traditions of the Northern Wei Dynasty, absorbed the culture of the Han nationality, created a vigorous, vivid and natural realistic style, and reached the peak of Buddhist carving art. Among the key caves of Longmen Grottoes in the Tang Dynasty, the magnificent and magnificent niches of the Great Lushena are the most famous. This cliff-like niche carved on the basis of the Huayan Sutra, centered on the magnificent and magnificent Luxena Buddha, expresses the ideal artistic conception of the Buddha-American world full of auspiciousness and color with an image of an artistic group full of modality and texture for a week. This group of statues reflects the great material and spiritual strength of the Tang Empire, and shows the highest achievement of the Tang Dynasty sculpture art.

External evaluation

World Heritage Committee evaluation: Grottoes and niches in Longmen area show the largest and best plastic arts from the late Northern Wei Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty (493-907 A.D.). These works of art which describe religion in Buddhism in detail represent the peak of Chinese stone carving art.

Longmen Grottoes meet the following criteria for assessing world cultural heritage:

(i) The outstanding expression of human artistic creativity.

(ii) It is a perfect display of the long history of art forms and plays an important role in the cultural development of the region.

(iii) is a demonstration of the high cultural level and mature society of the Tang Dynasty in China.

Tourism information

Ticket Price

From September 20, 2018, the ticket price of Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang has been reduced from 100 yuan per person to 90 yuan per person.

Visitor Route

General line:

Xishan Grottoes - - Dongshan Grottoes - - Xiangshan Temple - - Baiyuan West Mountain Grottoes: North Gate - - Yuwangchi - - Qianxi Temple - - Binyang Three Caves - - Cliff Three Buddha Niches - - Wanfo Cave - - Lianhua Cave - - Fengxian Temple - - Guyang Cave - - Yaofang Cave - - Nanmen

Dongshan Grottoes:

South Gate - - Three Holes in Wugutai - - Cultural Relics Gallery - - Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes Guanyin Video Niche - - Western Pure Land Change niche - - Watching Jingsi - - Erlian Huadong - - Four Yan Cave - - North Gate

Xiangshan Temple:

Nanbu Tour Road - - Lotus Pool - - Bell Tower, Drum Tower - - Tianwang Hall - - Luohan Hall - - Stone Tower - - Jiulao Hall - - Viewing Platform - - Daxiong Palace - - Qianlong Imperial Stele Pavilion - - Jiangsong Villa - - Collision Bell (Bell, Drum Tower Viewing Platform photo) - - Enter Baiyuan from the back door via Dongshan Hotel.

Bai Yuan:

South Gate Entrance - - South Poetry Gallery - - Pipafeng - - North Poetry Gallery - - Dao Poetry Bookstore - - Paradise - - Qinggu - - Main Gate

Opening Hours

Peak season: 01 April-07 October opening time: 07:30-22:00

October 08-October 31 07:30-18:00

Off-season: 02.01-03.31 Opening Time: 08:00-18:00

November 01-January 31, 2008:00-17:30

Scenic spot traffic

Located 12 kilometers south of Luoyang City, the grottoes can be accessed by No. 81 bus from Luoyang Railway Station, a journey of about 40 minutes.

There are also routes 53, 81 and 60 from other parts of the city. There are also opposite buses between Longmen Grottoes and Shaolin Temple.