The Dazu Rock Carvings () are a series of Chinese religious sculptures and carvings and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

located in Dazu District,

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The carvings date back as far as the 7th century AD, depicting and influenced by

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

and

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

beliefs. Some are in rock-cut cave shrines, in the usual Chinese Buddhist style, but many others are

rock reliefs A rock relief or rock-cut relief is a relief sculpture carved on solid or "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. They are a category of rock art, and sometimes found as part of, or in conjunction with, ro ...

carved into the open rock faces. Listed as a

in 1999, the Dazu Rock Carvings are made up of 75 protected sites containing some 50,000 statues, with over 100,000 Chinese characters forming inscriptions and epigraphs. The sites are located in

Chongqing Municipality Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Counc ...

within the steep hillsides throughout Dazu District, located about 165 kilometers west of the urban area of Chongqing. The highlights of the rock grotto are found on Mount Baoding and Mount Beishan.

Description

The Dazu Rock Carvings comprise 5 locations in Chongqing Municipality: Beishan, Baodingshan, Nanshan, Shizhuanshan, and Shimenshan. *'Beishan' contains two groups of rock carvings and sculptures along a cliff face stretching for 300 meters. These date from the 9th to the 12th century and portray

Tantric Buddhist Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

and

themes. *'Boadingshan' includes carvings in a U-shaped valley near the Longevity Pavilion, dating from the 12th and 13th centuries. Stretching for 500 meters, the carved figures depict themes from Tantric Buddhism in addition to secular life. *At 'Nanshan', the rock art dates from the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

during the rule of the Emperor Shao Xing, depicting Taoist themes and symbols. In addition, there is a

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

recording the history of

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

after a Mongol invasion in the 13th century. *'Shizhuanshan' carvings are dated from the early 12th century, uniquely integrating rock-hewn sculptures and carvings depicting Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism together. The most prominent of the grotto sculptures are thought to have been sculpted by Wen Wijian, a famous sculptor of the time. *'Shimenshan' contains carvings that date from the 12th century, including statues of the Jade Emperor and several gods.

History

The technique for rock carvings may have originated in ancient India. The earliest carvings were begun in 650 AD during the early

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, but the main period of their creation began in the late 9th century, when Wei Junjing,

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of Changzhou, pioneered the carvings on Mount Beishan, and his example was followed after the collapse of the Tang dynasty by local and gentry, monks and nuns, and ordinary people during the

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

(907-65). In the 12th century, during the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

, a Buddhist monk named Zhao Zhifeng began work on the elaborate sculptures and carvings on Mount Baoding, dedicating 70 years of his life to the project. Unlike most collections of rock carvings, the Dazu rock carvings include statues representing all three major religions: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Off limits to visitors for many years, the carvings were opened to Chinese travelers in 1961 and foreign visitors in 1980. Until 1975, there was only a muddy path between the town of Dazu and the main cluster of carvings. The carvings were listed as a World Heritage Site in 1999, citing "''…their aesthetic quality, their rich diversity of subject matter, both secular and religious, and the light that they shed on everyday life in China during this period. They provide outstanding evidence of the harmonious synthesis of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.''"

Panorama

Gallery

File:Dazu Stone Carving.jpg, Dazu rock carving at Baodingshan File:Bao Ding Mountain grotto1.JPG, Dazu rock carvings at Baodingshan File:Dazu rock carvings 1.JPG, Statues of various

Buddhas In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out ...

at Baodingshan File:Dazu rock carvings 2 baoding.JPG, A Bhavacakra depicting the realms of samsara at Baodingshan File:Dazu rock carvings golden hands buddha.JPG, The Thousand-armed manifestation of

Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

at Baodingshan File:Dazu rock carvings baoding buddhas.JPG, Baodingshan Buddha statues File:Dazu rock carvings baoding 18 layers of hell.JPG, Baodingshan panorama of the eighteen layers of hell File:Dazu rock carvings baoding demons 2.JPG, Statues of demons and officials of hell File:Dazu rock carvings beishan 1.JPG, Statue of the bodhisattva Guanyin at Beishan File:Dazu rock carvings beishan 2.JPG, The Wisdom King Mahamayuri riding on her peacock mount File:Dazu rock carvings beishan 3.JPG, Various Buddhas at Beishan File:Bao Ding Mountain Entering Nirvana.jpg, Statue depicting

Sakyamuni Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

entering Nirvana at Beishan

References

External links