Dazu county, located in the southeast of
the Sichuan province, is 271 kilometers
away from Chengdu and 163 kilometers
away from Chongqing. "Dazu" here means
"harvest and abundance (Dafeng, Dazu)".
The work of Dazu Rock Carvings began in
the first year of Yonghui in Tang
dynasty (650A.D.), and continued until
Ming and Qing dynasties. Now, it enjoys
equal popularity with Yungang and
Longmen Grottoes. The general term of "Dazu
Rock Carvings" refers to all the
cliffside carvings in Dazu county, which
includes the carvings in Beishan
(including Beita), Baodingshan, Nanshan,
Shizhuanshan and Shimenshan. Baoding
Grotto, 15 kilometers northeast of the
county seat, is the largest and best
preserved one and is a key cultural
relic site under state protection.
There are more than 50,000 Buddhist
Taoist and Confucian rock carvings and
100,000 characters of inscriptions
dotted around Dazu. The carvings not
only include the statues of Buddha and
Bodhisattva, but also include that of
monarchs, ministers, military officers,
high and low-ranking officials, jailers,
executioners, monks, rich and poor
people, and folk art performers. The
earliest grotto was caved in the early
Tang dynasty, and most of them have a
history over 1000 years.
Many of the carvings in Baoding Grotto
reflect religious doctrines, and another
set of carvings reflects Confucianism,
specifically filial piety. What the
caving offers to visitors is not only
the wonderful enjoy of the magnificent
art but a Buddhist teaching like this:
One can free himself from earthly
worries by self-cultivation and does not
need to go beyond his own inner world to
find the truth of Buddhism. There are
also many other carvings at the site
that tell Buddhist doctrines through the
lives of ordinary people.
With rich images as well as
inscriptions, the Dazu Grottoes is
regarded as an art treasure house which
fully reflected the society, philosophy,
religion and folklore of that time. In
1999, Dazu Stone Carvings were listed as
a world cultural heritage site by
UNESCO. And one point have to be pointed
that the Dazu Grottoes are the only ones
that were implemented according to an
overall design among over 100 grottoes
in China. |