Visit Yungang Grottoes

Author Wen Kuo(Shanxi)

TranslatorJin Zi(Beijing)

The construction of China is affected by the civil and structural structure. It cannot withstand the harassment of natural disasters and man-made disasters and the erosion of years. It is rare to have several temples in the Tang Dynasty. Relatively speaking, the construction of stone structures is more realistic, so we can still see the ancient Egyptian pyramids and the ancient Colosseum.

The grottoes in China are the light of the stone, so the age will be a long time. The Yungang Grottoes, which I visited today, went back to 1500 years ago.

As the first batch of key cultural relics in China, Yungang Grottoes,together with Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Luoyang Longmen Grottoes,and Tianshui Maijishan Grottoes, are known as the “Four Great Grottoes”in China. Their reputation as “the treasure house of classical carving art”is well-known at home and abroad.In 2001, it was included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO, and its historical and cultural connotations and the beauty of the natural and humanistic environment are evident.

Yungang Grottoes are located 16 kilometers away from the western suburbs of Datong City, in the south of Wuzhou and the north bank of Wuzhou. The grottoes are excavated by mountains. The existing grottoes include 45 caves, 209 affiliated caves, and more than 51,000 stone statues. The carving area is as high as 18,000 square meters. The largest Buddha statue is 17 meters high and the smallest is only 2 centimeters. The entire grotto is large in scale, rich in imagery, colorful in content,exquisite in carving techniques, and vivid in image creation.

The Yungang Grottoes were built in the early years of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Wencheng Emperor (AD 460), and continued until the Xiaoming Emperor Zhengguang five years (AD 524). It lasted for more than sixty years and almost penetrated the middle and late period of the Northern Wei Dynasty.It not only represents the highest level of stone carving art in northern China in the 5th century, but is also called "the Northern Wei Dynasty carved on the stone".

As a royal temple of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Yungang Grottoes were known as the Wuzhou Mountain Grotto Temple or Lingyan Temple during the Northern Wei Dynasty, and it was already famous in the process of construction.

Before coming to Yungang Grottoes, I flipped some information to see how the predecessors evaluated it:

In the contemporary Northern Wei Dynasty famous geographer and geographer Qi Daoyuan wrote, "Shui Jing Zhuo-Shui Shui" once wrote:"Wuzhou Chuan Shui is still southeast,and there are stone shacks and caves on the water side. Bicuny is also home.Its water is turned eastward, and it is rocky and rocky. It is rocky and rocky.Because of its rock structure, it is really strong and strong, and the world is thin. The mountain hall water temple,the smoke temple, the Lin Yuanjing mirror, the new eyes Hey." The beauty of the Yungang Grottoes is beautiful,and this is the first time that Yungang Grottoes have gone down in history.When Ruo Daoyuan wrote "Shui Jing Zhu", the early "Five Caves" had been completed, and more than ten grottoes in the mid-term were still under intense excavation... In the modern 1933 September, famous architecture After studying the Yungang Grottoes, Liang Liangcheng and Lin Huiyin and Liu Dunyi and others, in their work "The Northern Wei Architecture in Yungang Grottoes", lamented: "This spiritual rock cave is the essence of post-Wei art, China. In the history of art, it is rare to have a large physical evidence." In his article, he first studied the value of Yungang Grottoes from the perspective of architecture. Later, in modern times,the famous cultural scholar Mr. Yu Qiuyu also visited Yungang Grottoes many times and formed an indissoluble bond with the Yungang Grottoes. On November 7, 2006, Mr. Yu Qiuyu wrote the inscription in the Yungang Grottoes:"The Northern Wei Dynasty is still in the wind, and the Wanli Iron Horse is returned to Foshan"； later, the inscription"Xi Tian Fanyin"； in 2008, "Where to Go from the Datang" It is said: "The most symbolic thing is the Yungang Grottoes and the Longmen Grottoes." After three years, Mr. Yu revisited the Yungang Grottoes, and issued a "Wan Juan reading the Northern Wei, this life." Only for the praise of Yungang.

Of course, you can also find a lot of words that praise the praise, which is exactly what I always wanted to visit the Yungang Grottoes.

It is a high-rise building that is placed on both sides of the gates of palaces, cities, tombs, and temples in ancient China. It is also called the highrise building, so it is also called the door or the threshold. The entrance to the Yungang Grottoes is a form of Tuen Mun. Its body is in the shape of a side foot. The bucket is made of a three-lifted cymbal and a herringbone with the characteristics of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The dome is a large roof structure, stretched like a wing, and the top kisses the spirits to fly and dance.The overall structure is magnificent and vigorous. It is straight and straight, with the main shackles and the shackles on both sides. The two are connected by the imitation of the Weiwei wood structure. Combining the architectural style of the Northern Wei Dynasty with the cultural elements of the Yungang Grottoes, it forms a group of majestic and magnificent buildings. It can also be seen from this that the Yungang Grottoes area has indeed made a lot of effort, which is worthy of praise!

Entering the Tuen Mun and looking around, the most striking thing is the statue of "tan yao". According to the tour guide, the statue of "tan yao" was carved by Mr. Wu Weishan, the director of the Fine Arts Institute of the China Academy of Art and the president of the Chinese Sculpture Institute. Its statue has a high nose and deep eyes, showing the characteristics of the Western Regions,deep-eyed, wise, flamboyant, widesleeve clouds, extraordinary and refined.On the pedestal, there is also a written record of the monk monk in "Wei Shu·Zi Lao Zhi", which gives people a basic understanding of the excavation of the Yungang Grottoes.

Sakamoto is a high school in the Western Region. He is a native of Liangzhou and is a young man. He is known as the “Zen Industry”. In the five years of Taiyan (AD 439), the Northern Wei Dynasty wiped out the northern Liang State of Liangzhou,and moved a large number of local aristocrats and monks to the then Northern Weidu City Pingcheng (now Datong, Shanxi), and the other monks will cool together. The flourishing Buddhism of the state was brought into Pingcheng and received the courtesy of the prince of Buddhism.

In the seventh year of Taiping Zhenjun (AD 446), the first "destroyed Buddha" movement in Chinese history broke out - "The Northern Wei Dynasty Emperor Taiwu destroyed the Buddha."The reason is that in the six years of Taiping Zhenjun, Taiwu Emperor Tuoba suppressed the Shaanxi Gaiwu uprising process and found that a temple in Chang'an had a large amount of weapons and possessions in his temple. He suspected that he colluded with Gaiwu and others. Under the enthusiasm of Taoist minister Cui Hao and others, Taiwu Emperor was furious,ordered the killing of the temple monks,and destroyed temples, burned Buddhist scriptures, and killed monks nationwide,which caused the vigorous development of Buddhism in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

The Northern Wei Dynasty Taiwu Emperor Tuoba abandoned Buddhism,so that the northern part of China was broken, the Buddha's things were broken, and the monks were more sorrowful. In this critical moment of ruining the sect's survival, swearing to keep the faith, and convinced to live together with the Dharma, there is no fear of disaster. The prince Tuo, who has always had a good relationship with the shackles, is very worried about his safety. On the other hand, he repeatedly urged the emperor to postpone the essays. On the other hand, he constantly persuaded him to leave Pingcheng to save his life.

Under the efforts of the Prince, the abolition of the Buddhist scriptures was deferred, allowing some monks to avoid disasters, and a large number of Buddha statues and theories were sealed. From then on, he was able to escape from the dead and hold the law to avoid the Zhongshan. However, the monk is a determined and extremely ethical deaf person. Even in the days when the persecution of the culprits is the most powerful, he still wears a vestment and does not leave for a moment.

"Taiwu Emperor destroyed the Buddha" until the death of Taiwu Emperor Tuoyu came to an end, but at this time the monk's good friend,the Crown Prince Tuo Qiang has been framed by repeated attacks by the traitor, and he died of sorrow. The son of the text is the emperor Tuo.

There is also a short story here.After Emperor Wencheng took the throne, he ordered the revival of Buddhism and ordered the monks to return to Pingcheng. In the second year,after numerous innumerable shackles,I returned to Pingcheng. At this time,it happened that Wencheng Emperor traveled. A horse in the team bite the ripples in the front line, causing people to exclaim. The team also stopped.This is because there was a legend at the time that Ma could identify a good person. Since Yuma bit the master's shackles, the master was a good person and a good person. Wen Chengdi heard the sound and got off the bus. It turned out to be a friend of the deceased father,a monk, and the emperor who had seen the old man was very happy. He was appointed as Zhao Xuan, who was responsible for managing the Shamen monks. After he was ordered, he sang the monks and rebuilt the temples.The reputation was high, and Wen Chengdi was treated with courtesy.With the consent and support of the Emperor Wen, the Emperor agreed to open a cave in Wuzhou Mountain, thus uncovering the great historical chapter of the construction of the Yungang Grottoes. This is the story of "Ma knows good people."

"Farewell" to Gao Song, continue to move forward, through the long "Fo Guang Avenue", you can see a sevenhole stone bridge in the distance, the stone bridge is a small island. If you look at it from a height, the island is like a turtle swimming in the water, and it is alive. On this small island, there is another group of imitation Northern Wei architecture, which is called "Lingyan Temple". The reason for this is related to the name of the Yungang Grottoes.In fact, in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the name of Yungang Grottoes was Wuzhou Mountain Grotto Temple or Lingyan Temple. It was not until the middle and late Ming Dynasty that Yungangbao was built on the mountain, so it was customary to rename the cave temple under the mountain into the Yungang Grottoes.

At that time, Datong was a battleground for the military, and the fire was still frequent. Lingyan Temple was also repeatedly destroyed. The Lingyan Temple we saw today is actually looking for clues from the descriptions of the ancients and repairing them one by one. According to the records of the"Shui Jing Zhu", there used to be "the mountain hall water temple, the smoke temple, the Lin Yuan Jin mirror, and the new eyes."

It can be imagined that in the Northern Wei Dynasty more than 1,500 years ago, the Wuzhou Mountain,once silent and uninhabited, was full of people, and countless talented craftsmen gathered here. The rock was opened, the Buddha statue was carved,the temple was beautiful, the stupa was towering, and the temple of the Buddha and the water in the mountains Against each other, a Buddhist temple,the Yungang Grottoes, was born. The scenes of history and reality are slowly overlapping. Perhaps this is what Jing Daoyuan saw when he built the Yungang Grottoes!

Today's "Lingyan Temple" is imitation, but it also tries to restore the grandeur described in "Shui Jing Zhu".The whole group of buildings is quite ingenious. The seven-hole stone bridge becomes the head of the turtle, and the four small corner buildings around the spirit are spiritual. The tortoise's four claws and the turtle's tail are designed as another ornamental bridge,which leads directly to the first cave of Yungang. Therefore, this group of buildings has the reputation of “spiritual turtles and waters”. It can also be seen from here that the designers of the scenic spots are really well-intentioned!

After enjoying the Lingyan Temple,continue from the "Gumi" stone bridge,pass a white marble archway, and then climb up to the east entrance of the Yungang Grottoes, then turn left to see a Northern Wei style. Mountain gate. After entering the mountain gate, it is the first and second caves of Yungang Grottoes.

Since the introduction of Buddhism into the Middle Kingdom, the Yungang Grottoes have been the first large-scale cave temples under the auspices of the state, which has greatly promoted the spread of Buddhism. Now according to the order of the excavation time and the style of the sculpture, the Yungang Grottoes can be roughly divided into three stages: early, middle and late.

The early grottoes were also known as the "Five Caves". The excavation time was 460-465 AD, which was presided over by the monk monk, now the 16th-20th cave.

The mid-term grotto was excavated in 471-494 AD. The grottoes of this period were mainly hosted by the royal family, including the current 1st and 2nd caves, the third cave, the 5th and 6th caves, the 7th and 8th caves, the 9th. , 10 caves, the 11th, 12th, and 13th caves.

The excavation time of the late grottoes was 494-524 AD. The main caves in this period were the middle and lower bureaucrats and the general public. At that time, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved to Luoyang in the 18th year of Taihe(AD 494), so the grottoes of this period were mostly small and medium-sized grottoes, including the 4th, 11th, 14th and 15th caves and 21st. - 45 caves.

Built in the middle of the first cave is located at the eastern end of the Yungang Grottoes, and the right hand side of the gate is. The first cave is adjacent to the second cave and is a group of double caves. It is a pity that both of them are weathered quite seriously. They are surrounded by wooden fences and can only be seen from a distance. However, the square towers in the center of the caves and the reliefs of the four-walled weathered and detached Buddha statues can still distinguish their past styles.

After browsing the first and second caves, I went to the third cave, also known as the "Lingyan Temple" Cave.The front wall of Cave 3 is about 25 meters high and 50 meters wide from east to west. It is divided into front and rear rooms and is the largest grotto in Yungang. According to legend, this was once the translation of the building.When the upper platform was cleared in 1975, a row of beams and troughs and some architectural relics were discovered, indicating that large-scale wooden structures were built before the caves. According to experts, this is Most likely it was the Lingyan Temple.At the same time, there are two square pagodas in the cave. At present, we can clearly see the surviving characters of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the threestory scorpion.

The cave is also engraved with a group of "Western Sansheng" statues.The main image is Amitabha. The two sides are Guanyin and the general trend to Bodhisattva. These three statues are round and full of muscles, full of corollas,and smooth lines. A rare statue in the grotto.

After visiting the third cave, I came to the fourth cave, which was extremely weathered. The fourth cave was built in the late stage. Above the cave door,there is the words of the Northern Weizheng Guangnian (AD 520-525),which is the latest in Yungang Grottoes.Bearing in mind, this imprint is an important basis for the lower limit of the Yungang Grottoes.

Walking into the pavilion of the front room of the 5th cave, you can see the murals on both sides of the east and west. It is the work of the early Qing Dynasty, and the content is 18 Arhats. The east wall mural was partially damaged； the west wall was well preserved, the painting was fine, the pen was smooth, and the characters were vivid, which was the finest in the temple murals of the Qing Dynasty.

Cave 5, also known as the Great Buddha Cave, is the main Buddha statue of the Three Buddhas. The statue of Sakyamuni is 17 meters high and is the largest Buddha statue in the Yungang Grottoes. Legend has it that the Great Buddha Cave at Cave 5 was built by the well-known Northern Wei Emperor Xiaowen to commemorate his father Tuo Hong. Although Emperor Xiaowen was said to have been brought up by his grandmother Feng Taihou, the various contradictions between the grandparents and grandchildren gradually emerged as the age of Xiaowendi grew. The father's violent death is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the young Emperor Xiaowen,but it can only be seen in the eyes and in mind. In the 14th year of Taihe (AD 490), the death of Prince Feng, the love of his father in Xiaowen’s heart broke out at this time. For the father to make a statue, to pray for the national transport,Xiaowen Emperor is determined to create the tallest Buddha statue here to recall his father. The Buddha is sitting in the middle of the cave. The headpiece is snailed and the face is serene. There seems to be endless compassion in his eyes.

In addition to the Big Buddha in the 5th Cave, the walls of the back chamber cave are also carved with Buddha statues and Buddha statues.The various relief styles are unique,beautifully decorated and unique.

Cave 6 is also known as the Sakyamuni Cave, which forms a double cave with Cave 5, and is also excavated during the period of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty.The entire cave is magnificent and beautifully carved, and it is the most famous of Yungang Grottoes. Some scholars believe that Cave 6 was built by Emperor Xiaowen of the Empress Dowager Empress. Its appearance is a four-storey five-wood attic, which is basically the same as the fifth cave.

The biggest attraction in this cave is the Buddhist story map carved in the back room of the cave. It is like a long narrative poem, telling about all the troubles that Sakyamuni encountered from birth to real life. Under the guidance of the wise man, he decided to go out to practice. He experienced many hardships during the practice and finally reached the whole of Nirvana.process. This is the earliest stone carving "comic strip" of the religious theme. The story is complete, the composition is rigorous, the concept is clear, and the technique is skillful. It shows that Buddha Sakyamuni gave up the superior life to reach Nirvana and the other side, fearing hardship and diligent thinking. The ultimate achievement of the Dharma merits. The carving of Cave 6 is a superb work of Yungang Grottoes.It is the total explosion of the years of carving experience of Northern Wei artisans!

Caves 7 and 8 are a group of double caves, both of which are excavated in the middle of the Yungang Grottoes. There are wooden holes in front of the cave, but it is regrettable that it is difficult to enter due to renovation.

The 9th-13th cave is commonly known as the “Wuhua Cave” and is famous for its unusually beautiful mud painting. This group of caves was excavated in the period of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty.The statues turned into a strong Han Dynasty and have distinctive characteristics of Chineseization and nationalization. Since the 11th - 13th caves are "maintened and not open for the time being", you can only visit the 9th and 10th caves to see the "Five Huadong" style.

In the caves of the 9th and 10th caves, there are 7 huge load-bearing towers, which are quite powerful in the Han and Tang Dynasties. The craftsmen will be in the traditional Chinese architecture.