|
Five Temple Caves
The Five Temple Caves () is a series of rock cut Buddhist caves in Subei Mongol Autonomous County, Gansu, northwest China. The complex once numbered twenty-two caves but over the centuries the number was reduced to five, of which four remain today, in a gorge on the left bank of the Danghe River ( 党河). On the basis of their structure and iconography, one of the caves is dated to the Northern Wei, the other three to the Five Dynasties and Song. The complex lies some to the south of the Mogao Caves, and together with these, the Western Thousand Buddha Caves, Eastern Thousand Buddha Caves, and Yulin Caves, is one of the five grotto sites in the vicinity of Dunhuang managed by the Dunhuang Academy. In 2013, in recognition of their significance to China , the Five Temple Caves were designated by SACH a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level. Caves There are four caves with murals: One Temple Cave A further five kilometres to the south, on the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock Cut Architecture
Rock-cut architecture is the creation of structures, buildings, and sculptures by excavating solid rock where it naturally occurs. Intensely laborious when using ancient tools and methods, rock-cut architecture was presumably combined with quarrying the rock for use elsewhere. Though, in India and China, the terms ''cave'' and ''cavern'' are often applied to this form of man-made architecture, caves and caverns that began in natural form are not considered to be rock-cut architecture even if extensively modified. Although rock-cut structures differ from traditionally built structures in many ways, many rock-cut structures are made to replicate the facade or interior of traditional architectural forms. Interiors were usually carved out by starting at the roof of the planned space and then working downward. This technique prevents stones falling on workers below. The three main uses of rock-cut architecture were temples (like those in India), tombs, and cave dwellings (like those in C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Values (heritage)
The values embodied in cultural heritage are identified in order to assess significance, prioritize resources, and inform conservation decision-making. It is recognised that values may compete and change over time, and that heritage may have different meanings for different stakeholders. Origins Alois Riegl is credited with developing Ruskin's concept of 'voicefulness' into a systematic categorization of the different values of a monument. In his 1908 essay ''Der moderne Denkmalkultus'' (The modern cult of monuments) he describes historical value, artistic value, age value, commemorative value, use value, and newness value. Riegl demonstrates that some of these values conflict and argues that they may be culturally contingent. Charters and Conventions The UNESCO World Heritage Convention addresses cultural sites of outstanding universal value, from a historical, aesthetic, scientific, ethnological or anthropological perspective, and highlights the need for authenticity. Discuss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Principles For The Conservation Of Heritage Sites In China
The Principles for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in China () is a conservation charter promulgated in 2000 by China ICOMOS with the approval of National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA ). It provides a methodological approach to the conservation of cultural heritage sites in China. Background While sustained debate on approaches to conservation dates from the nineteenth century, only in the mid-twentieth century were the first international and national conservation charters drawn up. In China, the development of modern conservation concepts and practice began in the 1930s. In 1950, the People's Republic of China began a national inventory and assessment of the significance of its cultural sites. As of 2004, over 400,000 heritage sites had been identified nationwide, with over 1,230 listed as being of national importance. In 1982, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics, consolidating previous legislation, entrusted primary respon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major National Historical And Cultural Sites (Gansu) ...
This list is of Major Sites Protected for their Historical and Cultural Value at the National Level in the Province of Gansu, People's Republic of China. See also * Principles for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in China * International Dunhuang Project References {{National Heritage Sites in China, state=expanded Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva)
Samantabhadra (lit. "Universal Worthy", "All Good") is a great bodhisattva in Buddhism associated with practice and meditation. Together with Shakyamuni Buddha and the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, he forms the Shakyamuni Triad in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the patron of the ''Lotus Sutra'' and, according to the '' Avatamsaka Sutra'', made the ten great vows which are the basis of a bodhisattva. In Chinese Buddhism, Samantabhadra is known as Pǔxián and is associated with action, whereas Mañjuśrī is associated with '' prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom). In Japan, this bodhisattva is known as Fugen, and is often venerated in Tendai and Shingon Buddhism. In the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, Samantabhadra is also the name of the Adi-Buddha, often portrayed in indivisible union ('' yab-yum'') with his consort, Samantabhadrī. In wrathful form he is one of the Eight Herukas of the Nyingma Mahayoga and he is known as Vajramrtra, But this Samantabhadra buddha and Samantabhadra bodhisa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avalokiteśvara
In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, IPA: ) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmapāṇi (lotus bearer). He is variably depicted, described, and portrayed in different cultures as either male or female. In East Asian Buddhism, he has evolved into a female form called Guanyin. Etymology The name ''Avalokiteśvara'' combines the verbal prefix ''ava'' "down", ''lokita'', a past participle of the verb ''lok'' "to notice, behold, observe", here used in an active sense; and finally '' īśvara'', "lord", "ruler", "sovereign" or "master". In accordance with sandhi (Sanskrit rules of sound combination), ''a''+''īśvara'' becomes ''eśvara''. Combined, the parts mean "lord who gazes down (at the world)". The word ''loka'' ("world") is absent from the name, but the phrase is implied. It does appear in the Cambodian form of the name, ''Lokesvarak''. The earliest translation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mañjuśrī
Mañjuśrī (Sanskrit: मञ्जुश्री) is a ''bodhisattva'' associated with '' prajñā'' (wisdom) in Mahāyāna Buddhism. His name means "Gentle Glory" in Sanskrit. Mañjuśrī is also known by the fuller name of Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta (),Keown, Damien (editor) with Hodge, Stephen; Jones, Charles; Tinti, Paola (2003). ''A Dictionary of Buddhism.'' Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p.172. literally "Mañjuśrī, Still a Youth" or, less literally, "Prince Mañjuśrī". Another name of Mañjuśrī is Mañjughoṣa. It is claimed that Nurhaci, the founder of what would become the Qing dynasty of China, named his tribe Man (满) after Manjushri. In Mahāyāna Buddhism Scholars have identified Mañjuśrī as the oldest and most significant bodhisattva in Mahāyāna literature. Mañjuśrī is first referred to in early Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Prajñāpāramitā ''sūtra''s and through this association, very early in the tradition he came to symbolize the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vimalakīrti
Vimalakīrti ( sa, विमल ' "stainless, undefiled" + ' "fame, glory, reputation") is the central figure in the ', which presents him as the ideal Mahayana Buddhism, Buddhist Upāsaka and Upāsikā, upāsaka ("lay practitioner") and a contemporary of Gautama Buddha (6th to 5th century BCE). There is no mention of him in Buddhist texts until after (1st century BCE to 2nd century CE) revived Mahayana Buddhism in India. The Mahayana Vimalakirti Sutra also spoke of the city of Vaishali (ancient city), Vaisali as where the laity, lay Licchavi (kingdom), Licchavi bodhisattva Vimalakirti was residing. As a Zen Patriarch The Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra characterizes Vimalakīrti as a wealthy patron of Gautama Buddha. Unlike many other figures of the Mahayana literature, such as , he is generally taken to be a historical figure like Gautama Buddha, rather than mythic or legendary, and as such Vimalakīrti is not commonly venerated on altars or in Vajrayana, tantric rituals, but as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Zodiac
The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain popular in many East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Nepal, Bhutan and Thailand. Identifying this scheme using the generic term "''zodiac''" reflects several superficial similarities to the Western zodiac: both have time cycles divided into twelve parts, each labels at least the majority of those parts with names of animals, and each is widely associated with a culture of ascribing a person's personality or events in their life to the supposed influence of the person's particular relationship to the cycle. Nevertheless, there are major differences between the two: the animals of the Chinese zodiac are not associated with constellations spanned by the ecliptic plane. The Chinese twelve- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire from the Borjigin clan, and lasted from 1271 to 1368. In orthodox Chinese historiography, the Yuan dynasty followed the Song dynasty and preceded the Ming dynasty. Although Genghis Khan had been enthroned with the Han-style title of Emperor in 1206 and the Mongol Empire had ruled territories including modern-day northern China for decades, it was not until 1271 that Kublai Khan officially proclaimed the dynasty in the traditional Han style, and the conquest was not complete until 1279 when the Southern Song dynasty was defeated in the Battle of Yamen. His realm was, by this point, isolated from the other Mongol-led khanates and controlled most of modern-day China and its surrounding areas, including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Xia
The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China that existed from 1038 to 1227. At its peak, the dynasty ruled over the modern-day northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, and southwest Inner Mongolia, and southernmost Outer Mongolia, measuring about . Its capital was Xingqing (modern Yinchuan), until its destruction by the Mongols in 1227. Most of its written records and architecture were destroyed, so the founders and history of the empire remained obscure until 20th-century research in China and the West. The Western Xia occupied the area around the Hexi Corridor, a stretch of the Silk Road, the most important trade route between northern China and Central Asia. They made significant achievements in literature, art, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
