Yungang Grottoes

 

Buddhism flourish directly brought the movement of large-scale statue creation themed with Buddha and Buddhistic culture. It was originally used for religious belief and spread, but later, it gradually became one part of Chinese Culture, and the masterpiece of worldwide sculpture.

Yungang Grottoes are one of Chinese largest grottoes, equally famous to Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang,  Longmen Grottoes of Luoyang and Grottoes of Maijishan Mountain. They altogether are called Four Grotto Gems of China. Yungang Grottoes are located at the foot of Wuzhou Mountain in the west of Datong city, 16 kilometers away. The grottoes are carved backing on mountains with the total length of 1 kilometer. Currently, there are 45 major grotto sites and more than 51,000 statues, which represent the outstanding grotto art of Chinese Buddhism culture in the 5th or 6th century. The whole layout and design are elaborative. It usually is considered as the classical works of Buddhism art at its peak time. Yungang grottoes are also one of the world-famous stone-carved caves. In 1961, it was ranked the cultural relic site under the national protection. And in 2001, it was written into the List of World Cultural Heritage. In 2007, Datong Yungang Grottoes were approved to be the Five-A scenic area. And currently it has been the hot spot for China tours.

One-kilometer length of the statue complex is comprised of the statues in different sizes. The statues are shown in different style and gestures. Some dancing and singing, some striking the drums and bells, some playing the flutes and some handling the pipa, they vividly show the different expressions and shapes. The statue-carving techniques are also diversified. Some statues are used the techniques of tradition, and some are strongly featured by the exotic styles. Based on Chinese traditional carving arts, the designers and masters absorbed the essence of Indian and Persia artistic styles.

Yungang Grottoes have more than 1500 years of history. Initially established n 460 BC, it was opened by Buddhism master named Tan Yao with the help of Emperor at the time. The whole grottoes are divided into three parts: east part, middle part and west part. These grottoes like beehives lie to the mountainside of Yungan Mountain. The east grottoes are mainly emphasized with the pagodas, so it is also called Pagoda Cave. Each grotto of middle grottoes has back-room and front-room. The major Buddha statues are located in the middle. On the wall and roof of cave, a lot of basso-relievos are filled. The west part was later constructed, and most of the grottoes are small and have many small niches. Most of the masterpieces of west part were created after the capital of North Wei Dynasty was moved to Luoyang in 493. This is a museum of Chinese Buddhism culture and history change.