Yungang Grottoes were excavated in the middle of Northern Wei Dynasty. The Northern Wei Dynasty experienced "too martial to destroy Buddha" and "restoration method". Yungang Grottoes began to be built on a large scale in Wen Chengdi in peacetime (460-465), and it was completed in the fifth year of Xiaoming Zheng Guang (524), counting more than 60 years. At first, it was presided over by Yao Tan, a famous monk. "In Saiwu County, the capital city, five caves were built, and stone walls were chiseled." Now caves 16 to 20 are the "Five Great Caves in Tan Yao". Most of the existing caves were carved before they moved to Luo in the 18th year of Taihe (494). According to the "Notes on Water Classics", at that time, "the stone was chiseled into a mountain, and it was really huge and powerful because of the rock structure, which was expected by the world. The mountain hall is opposite to the water hall, and Lin Yuanjin's mirror is decorated with a new look. "
Among the three major grottoes in China, Yungang Grottoes are famous for their magnificent sculptures and colorful contents. The smallest Buddha statue is 2 cm. The largest is as high as 17 meters, mostly religious figures with different expressions. There are all kinds of wood-like buildings in the grottoes, including Buddhist reliefs with prominent themes, finely carved decorative patterns and lifelike music and dance carvings, which are vivid and dazzling. Its carving art inherits and develops the tradition of carving art in Qin and Han dynasties, absorbs and blends the essence of Buddhist art, and has a unique artistic style. It had a far-reaching influence on the later development of the Sui and Tang Dynasties art, occupied an important position in the art history of China, and also witnessed the friendly exchanges and cultural exchanges between China and Asian countries.
The fifth and sixth caves in Yungang, located in the middle of Yungang Grottoes, were a group of double caves excavated about 465-494 before Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to Luobo. There are five four-story wooden pavilions, vermilion columns and glazed tile roofs built in the eighth year of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty (165 1), which are quite spectacular. The fifth cave is an oval thatched cottage, which is divided into a front room and a back room. On the north wall of the back room, the original statue was Sakyamuni, with a height of 17 meters, which is the largest Buddha statue in Yungang, and the exterior was rebuilt by clay sculpture in the Tang Dynasty. There are Buddhist shrines everywhere in the grottoes. There are two Buddha pairs sitting under the bodhi tree on the west side of the cave, with the top embossed and beautiful lines flying. The sixth cave is nearly square in plane, with a two-story square tower in the center, which connects the ceiling and is about 14 meters high. There are four-faced buddhas carved on the tower column, and there are nine small towers with eaves at each corner, which are carried on the elephant's back. The cave walls are covered with statues of Buddha, Bodhisattva, Lohan and Tian Fei. Thirty-three days at the top of the cave, all kinds of amusement facilities are dizzying. Around the tower and in the middle and lower part of the southeast and west walls, there are 33 reliefs depicting the Buddhist stories of Sakyamuni from birth to enlightenment, with coherent content and exquisite composition. This cave is magnificent in scale, rich in sculpture, rich in content and exquisite in technology. It is a representative cave in Yungang Grottoes and a major review of the sculpture art collection in the middle period.
The seventh and eighth caves in Yungang are located in the middle of Yungang Grottoes, which are a group of double caves and were excavated earlier for the second phase of Yungang Grottoes. The existing wooden building in front of Qidong was built in the eighth year of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty (165 1). The planes of Caves 7 and 8 are all rectangular, and the layout in the Caves is layered up and down, divided into left and right sections. In the middle of the canopy niche on the upper floor of the northern wall of the seven-hole back room, there is a statue of Maitreya, sitting on a Leo, lying on the left and right, with two threats to serve the Buddha. The content is still the third Buddha and the combination of idols. The next niche is where Sakyamuni and Duobao Buddha sit side by side. At the junction of the wall and the ceiling, a row of portraits of geisha musicians are carved, and each instrument is playing. The east and west walls are symmetrically excavated, and a row of thousands of buddhas are carved at the junction of the wall and the top. There are eight different niches carved in four layers. The south wall has doors and windows, and four niches are carved on the left and right. Between the doors and windows, there are six portraits of the provider and the actress. Carve a bodhisattva and a Zen monk in the bright window. The inner arch is carved with the power to protect the heavenly king and flying. Carved a flat chess at the top and a lotus ball in the middle, Zhou carved in the air and decorated the whole cave ceiling with flowers. Compared with the previous caves, the seventh and eighth caves have undergone many changes in shape, content, sculpture composition and theme, reflecting the torrent of social changes in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Tan Yao GrottoesNo. 16-20 are the first grottoes excavated by monks in Yao Tan and one of the most striking parts of Yungang Grottoes. According to "Shu Wei Shi Lao Zhi", "At the beginning of peace, ... Bai Di, Yao Tan, Saiwu County, the capital, carved five holes and carved one Buddha each, with the highest height of 70 feet and the second height of 60 feet. The sculptor was wonderful and ranked first in the world." Taking Daofu, Mingyuan, Wu Tai, Mu Jing and Wen as models, five statues were carved. These five caves are large in scale and magnificent in spirit. In form, the same feature is that the outer wall is covered with thousands of buddhas, which generally imitates the oval thatched cottage form and has no back room. The statue is dominated by the third Buddha (past, future and present). The main Buddha is tall and occupies a major position in the cave.
Cave 16 siddhattha gotama is13.5m high, handsome and handsome. In the middle of Cave 17, there is a statue of Maitreya, which is installed by a bodhisattva and is 15.6 meters high. This cave is very big and aggressive.
Cave 18 is a statue of Sakyamuni wearing a thousand buddhas, which is15.5m high and magnificent. The disciple statues on the upper floor of the East Wall are unique in shape and skillful in technique. Cave 19 is the statue of Sakyamuni, with a height of16.8m, making it the second largest statue in Yungang. Cave 20 is an open-air statue with a sitting statue of Sakyamuni in the middle, with a height of 13.75 meters. It is the representative work of Yungang Grottoes, with a semi-round face, deep eyes, high nose, big eyes and thin lips. Big earlobe shoulders, straight shoulders, magnificent shape and vigorous momentum.
Wuhua Cave in Yungang is located in Cave 9- 13 in the middle of Yungang Grottoes. These five caves were painted in mud on behalf of others, hence their names. Cave 9 and 10 are a group of double caves with a front chamber and a back chamber. They were built in the eighth year of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (484) and completed in the thirteenth year of Taihe. Chongfu Temple was built here in Liao Dynasty. The planes of these two caves are almost square. The south wall of Ding Qian is chiseled into an octagonal column, three niches for visiting wooden buildings are carved on the upper parts of the east and west walls, and the rest of the walls are carved Buddha statues and flying sky. There is a bright window carved on the door of the back room cave, and the main Buddha on the north wall is Sakyamuni Buddha. The main statue of Cave 10 is Maitreya Buddha. There are carved patterns inside and outside the back door arch, which are rigorous in structure and rich in changes. Caves 1 1- 13 as a group, caves with the front and back caves as the center 12. The cube tower in Cave 1 1 has niches on all sides, except Maitreya in the south, all of which are statues of Sakyamuni. There is an inscription on the statue of the seventh year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty (483) on the east wall, which is an important material for studying the excavation history of Yungang. On the northeast side of the grottoes, there is a tablet niche in the 20th year of Taihe (496) and a statue of seven buddha. In front of the main hall of Cave 12 and the upper part of the east and west walls, there are three architectural shrines imitating wood carving, with two rows in the front row and three openings. At the top of the cave is carved a geisha Lotte, playing flute, pipa, flute and waist drum, which is an important material for studying the history of music. The statue in Cave 13 is Jiao Jiao Maitreya, which is about 13 meters high. A lux bracket is carved on the right arm, which has both mechanical and decorative effects. The seven Buddha statues in the upper part of the south wall and the offerings of heaven and man in the lower part of the east wall are all fine works in the cave. The niches on the east wall have different shapes. Wuhua Cave is exquisitely carved and colorful, which is a precious material for studying the history, art, music, dance, calligraphy and architecture of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and also an important part of Yungang Grottoes.
The cave group in the east of Yungang refers to 1-4 at the eastern end of Yungang Grottoes, all of which are tower-shaped caves. Caves 1 and 2 are a group that opened at the same time. They were carved before Emperor Xiaowen moved to Luodu, with a square tower in the middle and niches on all sides. The main statue of the first cave is Maitreya Buddha, and the lower layer of the South Tower is carved with the statue of Sakyamuni, while the upper layer is carved with the statue of Sakyamuni. The five-story small tower relief is the image data for studying the architecture of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The second cave is the statue of Sakyamuni, the lower floor of the tower is carved with the statue of Sakyamuni, and the upper floor is carved with the statue of Buddha III. On both sides of the south wall of the two caves are carved Vimo and Manjusri. The third cave is the largest cave in Yungang Grottoes, with a vertical front wall about 25 meters high. It is said to be the translation building of Yao Tan. This cave is divided into two rooms. A tower is carved on the left and right sides of the upper part of the front room, and a square cave is carved in the middle. The main statue is Maitreya Buddha, and the wall is covered with thousands of Buddha pictures. On the south side of the back room, there are carved one Buddha and three bodhisattvas with round face, plump muscles and smooth agricultural lines. The sitting statue is about 10 meter high, and the two bodhisattvas are 6.2 meters high. Judging from the style and carving techniques, it is probably a work in the early Tang Dynasty. The weathering and water erosion of the fourth cave is serious. There is an inscription of the Northern Wei Dynasty just above the cave entrance in the south wall, which is the latest inscription in Yungang Grottoes.
The caves in the west of Yungang include caves 2 1 to 45 in the west of Yungang Grottoes, as well as some small caves and shrines without numbers. Most of them belong to the works after the eighteenth year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty (494). It is characterized by many grottoes in groups, many small and medium-sized grottoes, and many small niches as supplementary carvings. Most of the sculptures are thin and distinct, with overlapping pleats at the lower part of the clothing lines. They are elegant and beautiful, flying freely in algae wells, with a strong Chinese style, which is very close to the "Longmen Period" sculptures. Among them, the relief on the north wall of Cave 38 is the image data to study the mixed words of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
There are five towers in the center of Cave 39, with five towers and six columns on each side. The arch at the top of the column supports the eaves and scales, and the width and height of each floor are smaller than those of the lower floor, which is an important data for studying early tower buildings. The overall layout of Cave 40 skillfully uses decorative art, which makes the cave shape and composition rules changeable and improves the artistic style of the cave.