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Grottoes prove to be inspiring
August 7, 2011, Sunday
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THE culture and sophistication of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) is encapsulated in the exceptional stone carvings of the Longmen Grottoes, which 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.
Work began on the Longmen Grottoes in AD 493, when Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386-534) moved his capital to Luoyang, Henan Province. Over the next four centuries this work continued; it can be divided into four distinct phases.
The Longmen Grottoes lie 12 kilometers south of the historic city of Luoyang. Two hills flank the Yishui River at a place that combines considerable strategic importance and great natural beauty. The slopes of the West and East Hills become very steep and cliff-like as they approach the river valley, and it is here that the easily worked limestone was carved to produce the Longmen Grottoes. In total 2,345 niches or grottoes have been recorded on the two sides of the river. They house more than 100,000 Buddhist statues, about 2,500 stelae and inscriptions, and over 60 Buddhist pagodas. On the West Hill cliffs there are more than 50 large and medium-sized caves cut in the Northern, Sui and Tang dynasties (AD 316-907); the caves on the East Hill cliffs are exclusively from the Tang Dynasty.
The Longmen Grottoes is inscribed in UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2000.
Work began on the Longmen Grottoes in AD 493, when Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386-534) moved his capital to Luoyang, Henan Province. Over the next four centuries this work continued; it can be divided into four distinct phases.
The Longmen Grottoes lie 12 kilometers south of the historic city of Luoyang. Two hills flank the Yishui River at a place that combines considerable strategic importance and great natural beauty. The slopes of the West and East Hills become very steep and cliff-like as they approach the river valley, and it is here that the easily worked limestone was carved to produce the Longmen Grottoes. In total 2,345 niches or grottoes have been recorded on the two sides of the river. They house more than 100,000 Buddhist statues, about 2,500 stelae and inscriptions, and over 60 Buddhist pagodas. On the West Hill cliffs there are more than 50 large and medium-sized caves cut in the Northern, Sui and Tang dynasties (AD 316-907); the caves on the East Hill cliffs are exclusively from the Tang Dynasty.
The Longmen Grottoes is inscribed in UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2000.
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