Longmen Cave is the biggest attraction among Luoyang China's attractions that you should not miss.
Longmen Cave in China's Henan province is an ancient cave with more than 100,000 statues devoted to Buddhism, mainly sculpted from the fifth to eighth centuries AD. primeval, hidden inside countless caves, in the limestone cliffs jutting over the Yi River.
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Longmen Cave, is the biggest attraction among Luoyang attractions
In 2021, the UNESCO World Heritage Site is the setting for the acrobatic dance TV show Longmen King Kong. The show's special effects combined with the spectacular statues became a craze. But high technology is being used in caves not only for entertainment. Archaeologists are using 3D printing technology to reconstruct damaged carvings, and scientists participating in a collaboration between Xi'an Jiaotong University and the University of Chicago are applying technical scanning numbers to create a 3D map of the place. Let's take a tour of Longmen Cave and learn something special about it!
The carvings in Longmen cave are very splendid.
History of Longmen Cave
Longmen Cave is one of the four famous ancient Chinese caves (Longmen cave, Mogao cave, Yungang cave and Maijishan cave). The splendor of the carvings in the Longmen Caves ranks first among China's caves. Longmen Cave is of great value to the history of world sculpture. UNESCO states that the site is "an outstanding expression of human artistic creativity".
The Longmen Cave, which means 'Dragon's Gate', displays some of the finest examples of Chinese Buddhist art, representing the pinnacle of Chinese rock carving. It was built around 1400 years in AD 493. These caves, along with the carved statues and inscriptions, provide an insight into the politics, culture and art of the late Northern Wei (386-534 AD) and Tang (618-907) dynasties. CN).
Longmen Cave covers an area of 30,000 square meters
The caves, which include more than 1,350 caves, were built between 386-1130 AD and contain some of the finest examples of stone carving in ancient Chinese art, including 100,000 Buddhist images . It is one of the largest and most impressive sites in China, with more than 2,800 inscriptions carved into the cliffs. Most of the inscriptions written during the Northern Wei dynasty, known as Weibeiti calligraphy, are characterized by free, easy, elegant, and vertical forms of various sizes. Lines are arranged artistically, changes are hidden in neatly written characters.
These caves took more than 400 years to build.
In 493 AD, in order to Sinicize the state, emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei dynasty, who supported the carving of the Yungang caves, moved the capital from Ping Cheng (present-day Datong) to Luoyang. Co Duong Cave, known as the state's first cave temple in the Longmen complex, was excavated after moving the capital. More than 1,000 alcoves and 800 inscriptions are contained within the cave, making it one of the richest caves in Longmen, and significantly reflecting the late Northern Wei style for both sculpture and writing. The central statues of Shakyamuni Buddha and bodhisattvas (those on the path to enlightenment), each have a somber appearance with slender silhouettes, contrasting with the earlier broad-shoulder style adopted Found in Yungang.
Exquisite stone carvings
In 618 AD, the Tang Dynasty was established. It is considered the golden age of Chinese art and culture. During this time, Northern Wei's ascetic style gave way to a realistic, dramatic, and complex style, in which about 60% of all caves in Longmen were formed. The largest and most magnificent of these is undoubtedly the Fengxiansi cave.
In 2000, Longmen Cave was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What to see at Longmen cave?
1. Hang Guyang
Guyang Cave is traced back to the reign of Emperor Xiaowen, who carved it in memory of his paternal grandmother, Empress Dowager Feng. More than 1,000 alcoves and 800 inscriptions can be found in the cave, making it one of the most prolific caves in Longmen, and a significant reflection of the late Northern Wei era writing and sculpture styles. The central statues of Shakyamuni Buddha and Bodhisattva and other treasures are the inscriptions attached to the statues. A prominent example is the works of "Longmen Two Seals".
Guyang Cave
2. Activity Prescription
On both walls are inscriptions of more than 140 prescriptions for a variety of medical problems, including common ailments and other serious and difficult illnesses. In the 10th century, a Japanese scholar visited the Longmen cave and copied 95 prescriptions from the Prescription Cave, which he later included in Ishinpo, the Japanese encyclopedia of Chinese medicine. .
3. Binyang Triple Cave (North, Central, South)
Carved shortly after the Northern Wei capital was moved to Luoyang, presented by Emperor Xuanwu in honor of his father, Emperor Xiaowen, and mother, Empress Wenzhao. Unlike the drawings in the Guyang Cave, the drawings in the Binyang Cave are of an earlier Northern Wei style, akin to the style found at Yungang Cave. Work began on Yaofang Cave during the Northern Wei and Tang dynasties and included the engraving of 140 Tang Dynasty medical prescriptions. These treatments, which spread to Japan in the 10th century AD, show the extent of medical science developed during the Tang Dynasty in the Longmen cave in Luoyang.
In 1982, the site was declared one of the first protected tourist areas
4. Ten Thousand Buddhas Cave
Wanfo Cave was completed shortly after the completion of Fengxiansi Cave and was created in honor of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian. It contains 15,000 small, sitting Buddhas, carved in vast grid cells that cover some of the walls. Each of the 15,000 figurines is only 4 cm tall. This is one of the most magnificent caves in the Longmen cave.
The cave system has 2,300 caves and niches, as well as 2,500 carved stones.
5. Fengxiansi Cave
Carved into the center of the back wall of the cave is a colossal statue of Buddha Vairocana. With its quiet elegance and slight smile, the statue has been called the "Mona Lisa of the East." On either side of the Vairocana statue are a group of disciples and bodhisattvas, as well as a group of heavenly kings and guardians carved into the side walls, forming a semicircle. Given that each statue has a distinctly different personality but is equally expressed; Standing at the center of the group, facing the Buddha, is truly an inspiring experience. Completed in 675 AD, the cave was dedicated by Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian to honor their ancestors.
The largest Buddha statue is 17.14 meters high while the smallest Buddha statue is only 2 cm . high
6. Qianxi Temple
This is a typical cave of the Tang Dynasty in the Longmen Cave. Qianxi Temple is famous for the streams that flow around the carvings. This 9 meter wide and 7 meter deep cave was built and carved in the early Tang Dynasty.
The site of Longmen Cave is located in a beautiful natural environment
There are seven statues in this temple. The main Buddha in this cave is Amitabha, about 7.38 meters tall, his face is round and full. The most prominent statue is that of Buddha Mahasthamaprapta. This is the most beautiful Buddha statue built in the Tang Dynasty.
The caves containing tens of thousands of Buddha statues, stone reliefs and tablets are located on the limestone cliffs of Xiangshan Mountain (in the east and known as the East Hill) and Longmen Mountain (in the West and known as the East Hill) West Hills), with the Yi River flowing between them.
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