Longmen Grottoes

Map

Longmen Grottoes: A Testament to Chinese Buddhist Artistry

The Longmen Grottoes, situated approximately 12 kilometers south of modern-day Luoyang in Henan Province, China, stand as a remarkable testament to the artistic prowess of the Chinese during the late Northern Wei and Tang Dynasties (316-907). Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, these grottoes and niches house the most extensive and impressive collection of Chinese art dedicated solely to the Buddhist religion.

More to come…

UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

The grottoes and niches of Longmen contain the largest and most impressive collection of Chinese art of the late Northern Wei and Tang Dynasties (316-907). These works, entirely devoted to the Buddhist religion, represent the high point of Chinese stone carving.

UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site

Criterion (i): The sculptures of the Longmen Grottoes are an outstanding manifestation of human artistic creativity.

Criterion (ii): The Longmen Grottoes illustrate the perfection of a long-established art form which was to play a highly significant role in the cultural evolution of this region of Asia.

Criterion (iii): The high cultural level and sophisticated society of Tang Dynasty China is encapsulated in the exceptional stone carvings of the Longmen Grottoes.

Encyclopedia Record: Longmen Grottoes

The Longmen Grottoes or Longmen Caves are some of the finest examples of Chinese Buddhist art. Housing tens of thousands of statues of Shakyamuni Buddha and his disciples, they are located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of present-day Luoyang in Henan province, China. The images, many once painted, were carved as outside rock reliefs and inside artificial caves excavated from the limestone cliffs of the Xiangshan (香山) and Longmenshan, running east and west. The Yi River flows northward between them and the area used to be called Yique. The alternative name of "Dragon's Gate Grottoes" derives from the resemblance of the two hills that check the flow of the Yi River to the typical "Chinese gate towers" that once marked the entrance to Luoyang from the south. There are as many as 100,000 statues within the 2,345 caves, ranging from 1 inch (25 mm) to 57 feet (17 m) in height. The area also contains nearly 2,500 stelae and inscriptions, hence the name "Forest of Ancient Stelae", as well as over sixty Buddhist pagodas. Situated in a scenic natural environment, the caves were dug from a 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) stretch of cliff running along both banks of the river. 30% date from the Northern Wei and 60% from the Tang dynasty, caves from other periods accounting for less than 10% of the total. Starting with the Northern Wei dynasty in 493 AD, patrons and donors included emperors, Wu Zetian, members of the royal family, other rich families, generals, and religious groups.

Read more on Wikipedia