Basic Archaeological Information of China Cave Temple

A Buddhist temple dug on a cliff by the river is called a grotto for short. Many cave temples have dense caves, so they are often called thousand Buddha caves. Buddhist grottoes originated in India. The excavation of China Grottoes began in the 3rd century, flourished in the 5th and 8th centuries, and reached16th century at the latest. The remains of cave temples distributed all over China are mostly recorded in local chronicles and travel notes of Ming and Qing Dynasties.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, the Yungang investigation class held by Imperial University of Kyoto conducted compulsory investigation, photography and mapping of Yungang Grottoes for six years (194 1 ~ 1946). The organized investigation in China began in 1930s. The Northwest Scientific Investigation Team visited Xinjiang Grottoes at 1930 ~ 1933, and Xiangtangshan Grottoes were recorded by Beiping Research Institute at 1935. These are two important entries. In the 1940s, many scholars and art institutions paid attention to the grottoes in Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan and Xinjiang, especially the investigation, measurement and copying of Dunhuang grottoes, and achieved gratifying results. After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), the remains of grottoes have been paid due attention, and the existing grottoes have been investigated and recorded in various places, and many important grottoes that have been forgotten for a long time have been rediscovered. Since 1950s, the archaeological research of cave temples has been gradually developed: some caves are arranged in stages according to archaeological typology; Excavated the forecave sites of important grottoes, adding new materials to restore the historical features of some grottoes; The exploration of the combination relationship of grottoes has also begun to be put on the agenda.