The
Longmeng Grottoes
 The
Longmen Grottoes, located near Luoyang,
Henan Province, are a treasure house of
ancient Buddhist cave art. The grottos were
hewed and carved during the Northern Wei
Dynasty (386-534), when the rulers relocated
their capital at Luoyang near the end of
the 5th century. At that time Buddhism was
spreading east into China and was venerated
by the imperial court. The Buddhists adopted
the practice of carving rock temples, dedicated
to the Buddha.
The construction of the Longmen
Grottoes began in 493 during the reign of
Emperor Xiaowen and continued through the
successive six dynasties, including Tang
and Song, for a span of over 400 years.
Altogether there are 1,352 caves, 785 niches,
more than 97,000 statues of the Buddha,
Bodhisativas, and Arhats, and 3,680 inscribed
stone tablets along the 1-km-long cliff
of Mt. Longmen on the west and Mt. Xiangshan
on the east of the Yihe River south of Luoyang.
 One
third of these cave sculptures belong to
the Northern Wei Dynasty and two thirds
to the Tang Dynasty. The style of sculpture,
the design of clothing and the facial expression
on statues, as well as carving methods show
little foreign influence, rather they exhibit
the pinnacle of development of Chinese grotto
art. The 11 Buddha statues in the Binyang
Cave, typical Northern Wei carvings, represent
a style in transition from the simple and
compact depictions in the Yungang Grottoes
of Datong, Shanxi Province, to the vigorous
and realistic Tang Dynasty sculptures.
While the cave sculptures of
the Tang Dynasty are of a vigorous, elegant
and realistic style, the stone statues in
Fengxian Cave, carved under the edict of
Empress Wuzetian (reigned 690-705), can
be considered as the most typical of the
period. These are composed of a 17.14-meter-high
statue of Vairocana Buddha, and a series
of pairs of Bodhisattvas, heavenly kings,
protectors and worshippers. The huge statue
of Vairocana Buddha is today praised as
being the quintessence of Buddhist sculpture
in China.
On November 30, 2000, the Longmen
Grottoes were approved by the 24th UN Heritage
Commission to be put on the List of World
Cultural Heritage.
|
