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Dazu Grottoes - China

Among China's famous grottos the Dazu Grottoes in Chongqing are considered latecomers in Chinese history. Although some Dazu grottoes were originally built during the Tang Dynasty, large-scale development began in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The grotto art of Dazu County incorporates elements of the three major religions: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. All three religions were developing at the same time but the Buddhist influence at Dazu dominates over the other two religions. The Yungang Grotto carvings belong to the speleologist art of the early period and the statuary was distinctly influenced by the art of Gandhara style and Greek. Longman Grotto carvings represent the stereological art of the middle period, and the statuary had embodied much Chinese culture. Dazu rock carvings are products of the stereological art of the late period. This period is about the time of Five Dynasties and Song Dynasty when stereological art declined in northern China. One of the major creators of the Dazu Grottoes was Zhao Zhifeng, a monk of the Esoteric School.

Main Sites at Dazu
Shimenshan (Stone Gate Mountain) Grottoes
This is a group of a dozen cave-shrines that provide shelter to more than 1,000 large and small statues belonging to Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. These include the Emperor Wuxian (a god in Chinese folklore) and Prince Bingling (the God of Fire in Taoism). In the center of Cave No. 6 is a statue of Amitayus, the Buddha of Boundless Life, flanked on either side by a statue of Avalokitesvara in a different image. The two side rock walls of the cave are carved with five Buddhist deities holding ritual objects in their hands. According to their signature inscriptions, these statues date back to the Southern Song (1127-1279).

Shizhuanshan Grottoes
Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism coexist in the Zimu Hall and the Qianfo (Thousand Buddha) Cliff that combine to form the Shizhuanshan Grottoes. The nine shrines in the Zimu Hall contain a mixture of Vairocana, Manjusri, Samantabhadra and Ksitigarbha of Buddhism; Confucius, the father of Confucianism, and other Confucian scholars; and Laozi, the founder of Taoism, and the Queen Mother of the West. All these sculptures renditions date back to the Northern Song (960-1127) and are of high artistic value. The Qianfo (Thousand Buddha) Cliff is a domain of Buddhist statues done during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Northern Mountain Buddhist Sculpture
Northern mountain, known in ancient times as Longgang Mountain, is where the first group of Buddhist statues appeared in 892 in the Tang Dynasty. Dubbed the "Bay of the Buddha" here some 264 cave-shrines are tunneled into the wide surface of a seven-meter-high and 500 meter-wide cliff. The statues inside them belong to both the Five Dynasties (907-960) and the Song Dynasty. Apart from stone sculptures, the place also abounds in stone inscriptions, and boasts an ancient pagoda.

Baodingshan Grottoes
Baodingshan is known for its awesome collection of over 10,000 Buddhist sculptures and cliff carvings in three sections:

Shengshou Temple - First built during the Song Dynasty, the halls as they are today are legacies of the Ming and the Qing. The main structures are the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Hall of the Jade Emperors the Mahavira Hall, the Incantation Hall, the Hall of Dipamkara and the Hall of Vimalakirti. Among the major statues is one of Vimalakirti (said to have been a contemporary of Sakyamuni, and to have visited China). Hollowed into the sides of the platform of this temple are 77 shrines each housing a Buddhist figurine. True to the Chinese religious tradition that a group of grottoes invariably contains a temple, the Shengshou Temple is an essential part of the Baodingshan grottoes and cliff carvings. –

The Lesser Bay of the Buddha - Also known as Dabao Chamber, this is right by the Shengshou Temple. It is said that this was where Zhao Zhifeng conducted experiments before he began large-scale construction of grottoes and cliff carvings at Baodingshan. The Lesser Bay of Buddha used to cover a wide but only 600 or so statues and four sculptures carved into the cliff wails exist today. There is also a three-tiered square stone pagoda with walls engraved with Buddhist portraits and titles of Buddhist scriptures.

The Greater Bay of the Buddha - The largest cluster of the Grottoes and Cliff Carvings are found here in rock walls of a deep ravine carved with Jataka stories of Buddhism and texts of scriptures. A rendition of the Thousand-Hand Guanyin covered some 262 square feet or 88 square meters of the eastern wall of the bay. The statue portrays the Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy) as a study of serenity as she sits on her lotus throne wearing a crown and cupping the palms of one pair of her hands together before her chest. Her other 10,000 hands are chiseled into the cliff wall behind her, and arrayed in neat lines in the shape of a fan that is evocative of a peacock fanning out its tail. Each exquisitely carved hand holds a different ritual object in it. The Greater Bay of Buddha also boasts a sleeping Buddha whose reclining body extends for some 90 feet or 31 meters, with part of his legs extending into the depth of the cliff He is not alone there, as he has the company of his ten major disciples, all carved in busts. The entire group of sculpture is a superb piece of Chinese religious art.

The Yuanjue (Perfect Enlightenment) Cave - Sitting in this cave are three statues of the Buddha with a number of disciples bowing in front of him, and 12 other disciples sitting beside him on lotus thrones. This group of stone carvings is regarded as quintessential art of the Greater Bay of Buddha.