1,500-year-old statue found at Yungang
Print Edition
A CHINESE archeologist has accidentally discovered a 1,500-year-old mini-statue hidden in a small hole in the Yungang Grottoes in north China’s Shanxi Province.
The small statue, which was seriously eroded, was found on the west side of the No.16 Cave by Wang Yanqing, a researcher with the Yungang Grottoes Research Institute, when he was surveying the caves during routine maintenance last year.
The statue is 20 centimeters high, and the small hole where it was hidden is 11.5 meters above the ground. It depicts a half-length figure with wide shoulders and a muscular chest and abdomen, with two arms outstretched.
The carving style was similar to statues in the No.18 Cave and had a history of 1,500 years, Wang said. “We guess the statue was carved by the craftsmen who cut the hole. Due to its stealthy location, it was concealed when the wooden beams of the protective structures of the statues were plugged into the hole,” he said.
The original beam structures of the No. 14 to No. 20 caves were later burned. The Yungang Grottoes boast more than 51,000 statues with the largest 17 meters high and the smallest 2cm high.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
