What are the characteristics of Longmen Grottoes?

Longmen Grottoes is one of the three largest grottoes in China. It is located in Longmen Mountain and Xiangshan Mountain on both sides of the Yi River in the southern suburb of Luoyang, Henan Province. It was excavated when Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved to Luoyang in 493, and then after more than 400 years of construction in the Eastern Wei Dynasty, the Western Wei Dynasty, the Northern Qi Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and the Song Dynasty, many grottoes were formed.

Longmen is listed as the first of the eight scenic spots in Luoyang because of its beautiful scenery, quiet environment and pleasant climate. Bai Juyi, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, once said, "Luodu has four suburbs, mountains and rivers win, and Longmen is the head."

Because of its excellent stone quality and suitable for carving, the ancients chose to build grottoes here. Here, the green mountains and green waters shine brightly, and the caves on the cliffs of the east and west mountains on both sides of the Yi River are dotted like honeycombs.

Of all the caves in Longmen, the caves in the Northern Wei Dynasty account for about 30%, those in the Tang Dynasty account for 60%, and those in other dynasties only account for 10%. The largest Buddha statue in Longmen Grottoes is Rushena Buddha, which is17.438+04m high. The smallest Buddha statue is in the Lotus Cave, and each statue is only 0.02 meters, which is called micro-sculpture.

Longmen Grottoes is the most concentrated place of statues in the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, and the statues in the two dynasties reflect completely different times.

Statue of the Northern Wei Dynasty, with a slender face, thin shoulders and straight chest, carved with a straight knife, is vigorous and simple.

During the Northern Wei Dynasty, people advocated thinness as beauty, so the Buddha sculpture also pursued the artistic style of showing bones and clearing images. However, in the Tang Dynasty, fat was the beauty, so the face of the Buddha statue in the Tang Dynasty was round, the shoulders were wide, and the chest stood out. The carving of clothing patterns was made by using the round knife method, which was natural and smooth.

Among the key caves in Longmen Grottoes in Tang Dynasty, the grand and magnificent statue of Dalushana is the most famous. This group of statues, with the elegant and extraordinary Lushenafo as the core and an artistic group image full of modal texture, vividly expresses the ideal artistic conception of the Buddhist world full of peaceful colors and shows the highest achievement of carving art in the Tang Dynasty.

Longmen Grottoes lasted for a long time, spanning many dynasties, and reflected the development and changes of politics, economy, religion, culture and other fields in ancient China from different aspects with a large number of physical images and written materials, which made great contributions to the innovative development of China Grottoes.