How to get to Xiangtangshan Grottoes?

Traffic Guide for Xiangtangshan Grottoes: Local transportation: You can take bus No.5 or Hong Xiao from Handan to Fengfeng, or take the train to Xiangtangshan Grottoes. Now the local tourism department is ready to open the No.3 tourist bus.

China Buddhist Cave Temple from the Late Northern Dynasties to the Ming Dynasty. Located at the south end and west foot of the middle section of Gushan Mountain in Handan City, Hebei Province, they are called Nanxiangtangshan Grottoes and Beixiangtangshan Grottoes respectively, with a distance of 7.5 kilometers. It was carved in the late Northern Dynasty and built in the Sui, Tang and Ming Dynasties. There are 17 grottoes, more than 450 niches and more than 4,300 statues of different sizes. Grottoes have long been damaged, and many statues have lost their heads, and some are still living abroad. 1935, the Archaeological Group of Beiping Research Institute, Liu Dunzhen of China Architectural Society, Mizuno Kiyoshi I and Chang Guang Min Hsiung of Imperial University in Kyoto, Japan, successively conducted investigations, and published the Catalogue of Stone Carvings in Xiangtang Temple and Its Nearby, the Investigation Diary of Ancient Buildings in Hebei and Xiangtangshan Grottoes respectively. During the period of 1957, the archaeological practice team of Peking University carried out investigation and measurement. Gushan area is a Buddhist resort in the Northern Qi Dynasty, and Tangshan Grottoes are closely related to the royal family in the Northern Qi Dynasty, which is the most concentrated and representative grottoes in the late Northern Dynasty. 196 1 year, People's Republic of China (PRC) * * * and the State Council were declared as national key cultural relics protection units.

There were 1 1 caves in Xiangtang Mountain in the late Northern Dynasty, including 7 in Nanxiangtang and 4 in Beixiangtang. There were many wood-like grottoes in the Northern Qi Dynasty, including caves 3 and 7 in Nanxiangtang and caves 2 and 3 in Beixiangtang. There are four pillars and three bays in front of the grottoes, with large bowls, banana leaves, brake rods and flame balls, forming a very distinctive tower-shaped grottoes. There are octagonal lotus styles carved on both sides of the portal, exquisite pagodas and flying clouds are decorated on the forehead of the portal, and the beautiful honeysuckle pattern is lightly carved on the side wall of the portal, so the whole appearance is luxurious. Carved on the forehead of the corridor of the second cave of Nanxiangtang, it is the only example of grotto architecture and a rare material for studying the architecture of the Northern Dynasties.

Xiangtangshan Grottoes mainly represent the Buddhist sculpture art of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and it is the largest art treasure house left by the short-lived Northern Qi Dynasty. In recent years, the sculpture art of Xiangtangshan has been praised by academic circles as "a model of sculpture in the Northern Qi Dynasty". To sum up, we summarize the Beiqi style of Beixiangtang from the aspects of cave modeling, sculpture style and carving techniques as follows:

1, cave morphology Xiangtangshan Beiqi caves can be divided into the following types:

Tashi Cave with a square column in the center: there are the first and second caves in Nanxiangtang and the fourth and ninth caves in Beixiangtang (hereinafter referred to as Nanyi, Naner, Beisi and Beijiu caves). ). The cave is square and flat-topped, with a square column in the center, niches on three sides or one side (North 4 and South 2), and the upper part of the back wall is connected with the mountain behind the cave. There are carved niches on all four walls of the cave, a cave door in the middle of the front wall and a second bright window on the door. The large-scale statue of Empress Buddha (North Six) or the Pure Land Change of Amitabha Buddha (South One and South Two) are all grand and spectacular.

The central Fangta Temple directly inherited the form of Yungang central tower cave, but changed the complicated and tedious form of Yungang's "three-or five-story pavilion-eaves-shaped central tower with a niche on each side" into a simple and elegant form of "three sides (or one side) with a niche on each side", thus reflecting the development trend of the central pillar cave in the Northern Dynasties from complexity to simplicity.

Three caves with three walls: there are three caves in the south and five, seven and three caves in the north. Grottoes are divided into front porch and back room (seven rooms in the south and three rooms in the north), with three rooms and four columns. There is a grotto door in the middle of the Ming room, a large niche in the second room, a statue of Shanlix carved in the niche, an Indian arch in the upper part of the Ming room and a three-liter arch on the forehead of the second room. There are dripping water, round rafters and pipe tiles carved on the eaves of the cave. The form of imitation wood structure. There are eight layers of uneven bases on the tile ridge, on which are embossed plantain leaves covering the ceiling of the cave, and the bowl mound is covered with plantain leaves, and the bowl mound is carved with double-layer flame balls symbolizing the stupa. The cave is square in plane, with a dome at the top, and curtain niches on the front, left and right walls respectively. There are three statues (South Five), five statues (South Seven) and seven statues (North Three) carved in the niche. The ceiling is embossed with lotus algae wells and flying geisha music, and the ground is embossed with big lotus flowers. In the middle of the lotus, the two sides of the gate of Boshan Furnace (Nanwu) are carved with the patterns of Dajuan grass and Julian.

The shape of this cave basically follows the form of three-walled and three-niche caves (such as the Cave Temple in Longmen and Weizi Cave) produced in the late Northern Wei Dynasty.

There are two kinds of four-walled grottoes: square flat roof (south four walls) and square flat roof (south six walls). The main feature of this grotto is that there is a circular altar with statues carved on it. The front, left and right walls are a combination of five or seven bodies, and the altars on both sides of the front wall portal are carved with statues of Lux.

In the past research, this cave shape was also classified as a cave with three walls and three niches, which is a new style in the northern dynasties grottoes. Longmen Grottoes only appeared after Sui and Tang Dynasties.

2. The sculpture style from the end of Wuding in the Eastern Wei Dynasty to the high latitude period after the Northern Qi Dynasty, although the time is short (about 20 years) and Buddhism has not changed much, it belongs to the stage of regime change after all. In order to express themselves, the ruling class has to change the legacy of the previous generation in all aspects, and it is no exception to reflect on Buddhist statues. Xiangtang Mountain, as a big hole excavated by the royal family in the Northern Qi Dynasty, further embodies this point. For example, the ninth cave (Giant Buddha Cave) in Beixiangtang, which was first excavated in Xiangtang Mountain, can be known from the records of Zi Tongzhi Jian (five years after Wuding in the Eastern Wei Dynasty, grottoes and Buddhist temples were "blocked"). The time of grottoes excavation was before Wuding in the Eastern Wei Dynasty (547), but it was quite different from many statues of the same period (or earlier) in style. From a distance, we can see the similarities and differences between it and the Great Willow Cave dug by Wuding in the Eastern Wei Dynasty in Lanfeng Mountain, Anyang, which is only 90 kilometers away. (See Volume XIII of The Complete Works of China's Fine Arts). When Gaobei Cave was dug as a mausoleum, Gao and his son actually held the political power of the Eastern Wei Dynasty. From this point of view, it just reflects Gao's ambition to usurp power and change the dynasty. (Within three years, the Eastern Wei Dynasty was replaced by the Northern Qi Dynasty)

The Buddha statues in this period are thick and solid, showing the strength and heroism of the Northern Qi nationality, with slightly plump faces, high noses and long eyes. Sitting on the lotus seat in a knotted or semi-knotted way, the patterns of clothes are sparsely covered with irregular steps, and the hem of Buddha clothes is spread on the seat surface.

The main style of Bodhisattva is shown in its round and stocky figure, and its shape gives people a heavy feeling. For example, the bodhisattva in the seventh cave of Nanxiangtang has a round face, a strong and full figure, a slightly bulging abdomen, and gorgeous clothing patterns. It is covered with silk and a big skirt. The skirt fits together in the shape of water and wears a crown on its head and hangs down to its elbow. In addition, the bodhisattva in the ninth cave of Beixiangtang and the first cave of Nanxiangtang fully showed the characteristics of twisting hips and bulging belly, and the center of gravity fell on one foot, especially the former (the left niche of the ninth cave of Beixiangtang), which could not but be recognized as the first in Sui and Tang Dynasties.

It is said that the disciple has the same face as a bodhisattva, a round figure, simple and bright clothes, and a lower body similar to a bodhisattva, which has the wind of "Cao clothes coming out of the water". The body is slightly longer and the proportion is slightly shorter.

3. Carving Techniques The carving techniques of Xiangtangshan Northern Qi sculpture, on the one hand, inherited the style of the Northern Wei Dynasty, on the other hand, created new patterns. Statues in the Northern Wei Dynasty were mostly made with straight knives, and the lines of costumes were stepped, giving people a feeling of simplicity, roughness and rigidity. While absorbing this technique, Xiangtangshan adopted the circular knife method for mixing treatment, especially at the turning point of clothing patterns, which made the sculpted clothing tend to be rounded and realistic, while the circular knife method was more used on the sculpted body (such as the left bodhisattva in the north of Jiunan, barefoot, bent over, bare chest and bulging belly), which was strong and easy to carve.

In addition, Xiangtang Mountain also has the relief form of foreign object images. The representative of this form is in the ninth cave of Beixiangtang, which surrounds the foot of the cave. The carving themes are donor and Boshan furnace. The image is not carved, and its details should be drawn. In addition, this method is also used in the "Emperor's Ritual Buddha Map" on both sides of the front wall of the cave. The combination of grotto sculpture and murals has also become a style of Xiangtang Mountain. The relief form outside the object image inherits the tradition of stone relief and brick relief in the Han tomb, which should be related to the fact that this cave is planned to be Gao Huanling.

Beiqi grottoes are square and flat-topped, divided into two types: central tower and three-walled and three-niche. The middle tower has caves Nanxiangtang 1 and 2, and caves 3 and 6 of Beixiangtang. Nanxiangtang has caves 5 and 7, and Beixiangtang has cave 2. The tower column of Xiangtang Mountain is capped on three sides only, and the back is cut into a low tunnel. Three-wall and Three-niche Grottoes are carved into large niches on the back wall and the left and right walls, and the foot of the wall is carved with a treasure altar. The sixth cave (Giant Buddha Cave) in xiang tang, north of the Central Tower Cave, is the largest and most beautifully carved, with a width of 13m, a depth of 13.3m and a height of1.4m (see figure). The Buddha sitting on the central pillar is 3.5 meters high and is the largest statue in Xiangtangshan Grottoes. There are 16 pagodas on each wall of the grottoes, decorated with draperies and flame orbs, which are richly carved. Sitting on the bluestone in the grottoes was added in the early years of the Republic of China.

The seventh cave (Thousand Buddha Cave) in xiang tang, south of Sanbi Sankan Cave, is well preserved, with a depth of 5.2 meters, a width of 4.6 meters and a height of 3.75 meters. Two niches on both sides outside the gate are each carved with a lux, and three niches in the cave are each carved with a Buddha, two disciples and two bodhisattvas. The front wall is covered with thousands of buddhas, and a big lotus is carved in the center of the cave ceiling, flying around the octahedral pearls, which is the top carving of Xiangtang Cave. The statue of the Northern Qi Dynasty in Xiangtangshan Grottoes has a round face and a strong figure. It stands like a cylinder with a big top and a small bottom, and its clothes are light and simple, close to the body. They gradually changed from the line shape in the Northern Wei Dynasty to a new style with strong texture, which became the transitional stage between the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Sui and Tang Dynasties and played an important role in connecting the past with the future. From the grottoes to the details such as the pagoda, lotus flower and backlight, all caves are carved with various complicated and changeable patterns of deep and shallow floats, which are arranged properly, dense and not chaotic, producing a strong decorative effect and forming the characteristics of Xiangtangshan Beiqi Grottoes.

Xiangtang Mountain has preserved a large number of cliff-carved scriptures, which is one of the most important places for carving scriptures in the Northern Qi Dynasty. From the fourth year of Tiantong in the second cave of Beixiangtang (568) to the third year of Wuping (572), Tang Yong, the founder of Jinchang County, carved the Vimalakīrti Sutra, and Maitreya Buddha became the Buddhist Sutra, Man Jing Sutra and Sheng □ Sutra, and there is a Tang Yong Scripture Monument which records the engraving process. The monument has been preserved to this day.

After the Northern Qi Dynasty, six caves were dug in Sui, Tang and Ming Dynasties, all of which were small in scale and simple in carving. In addition, many statue shrines were excavated by using the rock walls inside and outside the Beiqi Cave, including nearly 50 in Sui Dynasty, the earliest being in the fourth year (584), and about 300 in Tang Dynasty, mostly in Wu and Zhou Dynasties.

Both grottoes have ancillary buildings. The Chorakuji Temple site under the Beixiangtang Grottoes covers an area of 7,000 square meters, including the Song Pagoda, the Jingfu and the stone tablets and statues from the Song Dynasty to the Republic of China. There are Song pagodas, pavilions and temples near Nanxiangtang Grottoes. 1986, the outer eaves of Nanxiangtang Grottoes were cleared, and the memorial of Lushan Grottoes in Sui Dynasty was exposed outside the second grottoes, which described the important events such as the creation of grottoes and the extinction of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, which was an important discovery about the history of Xiangtangshan Grottoes.

1957, Xiangtang Temple Cultural Relics Preservation Institute was established. 198 1 ~ 1982 Handan cooperated with Fengfeng mining area to conduct a comprehensive survey and measurement of the grottoes, set up data files, and successively maintained the enclosure walls and temples of the grottoes. 1989 began to repair Nanxiangtang Grottoes.

Xiangtangshan Grottoes, Buddha statues and flowers are exquisitely carved, and their carving art is a link between the past and the future. It is an important symbol of the transition from Yungang in Datong to Longmen in Luoyang in the history of grotto art development in China, and it is also one of the important treasure houses for studying Buddhism, architecture, sculpture, calligraphy and painting in China.