Longmen Grottoes

Brief Description

Longmen Grottoes © OUR PLACE THE WORLD HERITAGE COLLECTION

Justification for Inscription

Criterion (i): The sculptures of the Longmen Grottoes are an outstanding manifestation of human artistic creativity.

Criterion (ii): The Longmen Grottoes illustrate the perfection of a long-established art form which was to play a highly significant role in the cultural evolution of this region of Asia.

Criterion (iii): The high cultural level and sophisticated society of Tang Dynasty China is encapsulated in the exceptional stone carvings of the Longmen Grottoes.

Long Description

The high cultural level and sophisticated society of Tang dynasty China is encapsulated in the exceptional stone carvings of the Longmen Grottoes, which illustrate the perfection of a long-established art form which was to play a highly significant role in the cultural evolution of this region of Asia.

Work began on the Longmen Grottoes in 493, when Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei dynasty moved his capital to Luoyang. Over the next four centuries this work continued; it can be divided into four distinct phases. The period between 493 and 534 was the first phase of intensive cutting of grottoes: the first cave to be carved was Guyangdong (also known as the Shiku Temple). This phase of intense activity was followed by a period between 524 and 626 when very few caves, and those all relatively small, were cut. This is attributable principally to the civil strife between different regions of China that persisted throughout the Sui dynasty (581-618) and the early part of the Tang dynasty (618-907).

It was not until 626 that the third phase began, during the height of the Tang dynasty, when Chinese Buddhism had begun to flourish again. This was once again a period of intensive cutting of grottoes; it was the highpoint artistically of Longmen, especially during the reigns of Emperor Gaozang and Empress Wuzetian, who lived permanently at Luoyang. The group of giant statues in Fengxiansi Cave is most fully representative of this phase of Chinese art at Longmen; they are generally acknowledged to be artistic masterpieces of truly global significance.

The final phase, from 755 to 1127, during the later Tang through to the Northern Song dynasty, saw a steep decline in the carving of grottoes at Longmen. This began with the capture of Luoyang in the mid-8th century during a rebellion, an event from which the area never recovered. It was the outbreak of warfare during the Jin and Yuan dynasties that brought grotto carving to an end.

The Longmen Grottoes lie 12 km south of the historic Chinese city of Luoyang. Two hills flank the Yishui River at a place that combines considerable strategic importance and great natural beauty. The slopes of the West and East Hills become very steep and cliff-like as they approach the river valley, and it is here that the easily worked limestone was carved to produce the Longmen Caves. In total 2,345 niches or grottoes have been recorded on the two sides of the river. They house more than 100,000 Buddhist statues, about 2,500 stelae and inscriptions, and over 60 Buddhist pagodas. On the West Hill cliffs there are more than 50 large and medium-sized caves cut in the Northern, Sui and Tang dynasties (316-907); the caves on the East Hill cliffs are exclusively from the Tang dynasty (618-907).

The oldest and largest of the Longmen Caves is Guyangdong, in the middle of the southern floor of the West Hill. The work of Emperor Xiaowen, it attracted carvings sponsored by many of his nobles and officials and religious dignitaries, who approved of his reforming policies. On the main wall there are three over-life-sized statues erected by the emperor. In the centre is the Buddhist patriarch Sakyamuni, flanked by two bodhisattvas.

Huangfugong (also known as Shikusi), one of the best preserved of the major caves at Longmen, is located to the south of the West Hill. An inscription shows it to have been completed in 527. In front of the cave a roof has been carved imitating wooden construction, with seven Buddhas inside the lintel. The main wall is decorated with seven larger than life-size statues.

Li Zhi of the Tang dynasty cut Fengxiansi Cave, on the southern floor of the West Hill. Completed in 675, it is the largest and most typical example of Tang stone sculpture at Longmen. There are nine colossal statues in the cave, dominated by that of Buddha Vairocana, with plump features and a compassionate expression. This form of naturalistic representation is shared by the other large statues, the expression of each being clearly differentiated according to the characteristics of the subjects.

Historical Description

Work began on the Longmen Grottoes in 493, when Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved his capital to Luoyang. Over the next four centuries this work continued; it can be divided into four distinct phases.

The period between 493 and 534 was the first phase of intensive cutting of grottoes. The first cave to be carved was Guyangdong (also known as the Shiku Temple); records show that more than two hundred people were involved in the work. This marked the beginning of a major programme of grotto carving by the Northern Wei rulers. Emperor Xuanwu cut three, two in memory of his father, Xiaowen and one for his mother, Wenzhao. These are the three caves now known as the Three Binyang Caves (Binyangsandong), and the work took more than 24 years to complete. A number of other caves of all sizes were cut during this period on the West Hill: they account for some 30% of the total.

This phase of intense activity was followed by a period between 524 and 626 when very few caves, and those all relatively small, were cut. This is attributable principally to the civil strife between different regions of China that persisted through the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and the early part of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

It was not until 626 that the third phase began, during the height of the Tang Dynasty, when Chinese Buddhism had begun to flourish again. This was once again a period of intensive cutting of grottoes; it was the highpoint artistically of Longmen, especially during the reigns of Emperor Gaozang and Empress Wuzetian, who lived permanently at Luoyang. The group of giant statues in Fengxiansi Cave are most fully representative of this phase of Chinese art at Longmen; they are generally acknowledged to be artistic masterpieces of truly global significance.

Many other grottoes of all sizes were cut at this period on both the West Hill and the East Hill. They make up some 60% of the grottoes at Longmen. In addition, a number of fine Buddhist temples were built there during the Tang Dynasty against the magnificent natural landscape. Most of these only exist now in the form of ruins, but they are still an important component of the overall Longmen cultural complex.

The final phase, from 755 to 1127, during the later Tang through to the Northern Song Dynasty, saw a steep decline in the carving of grottoes at Longmen. This began with the capture of Luoyang in the mid-8th century during a rebellion, an event from which the area never recovered. It was the outbreak of warfare during the Jin and Yuan Dynasties that brought grotto carving to an end.

In the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) Dynasties, the great artistic and cultural achievement represented by the Longmen grottoes gradually received national and then international recognition, and were the subject of much scholarly study. During the 1940s some of the stone carvings were stolen and sold abroad, but since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 they have been protected and conserved.