Dazu Grottoes

Overview
 

The Dazu Rock Carving is a piece of great work of China’s grotto art.  It’s not only rich in content but also carved with marvelous technique. It skillfully combines the scientific principles of mechanics, optics, and clairvoyance with statues themselves and landform. The Dazu Rock Carving is reputed as "Artistic Palace of the Tang and Song Dynasties".

The Dazu Rock Carving was firstly excavated at the beginning of the Yonghui time of the Tang Dynasty. Experiencing the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, it was very popular in the Southern Song and Northern Song Dynasties (A.D.960-1278). In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, more statues were carved. Finally, a large rock-carving group, which gathered the pith of China’s rock carvings, was formed. It’s equally famous with the Yungang Grotto, the Longmen Grotto and the Duhuang Grotto. It’s hailed as the "Magic Pearl of Oriental Art" home and abroad. Dazu is the home of rock carving, with more than 40 rock carvings and over 50,000 statues. Among them, two rock carvings, which are the most famous and on the biggest scale, are Baodingshan and Beishan. There are nearly 10,000 stone statues in Beishan. They mainly gather in Fowan, which is a U-shaped section of about 500 meters long and looks like a new moon. These rock carvings here were excavated in the Jingfu time of the Song Dynasty (A.D.892). They underwent the Five Dynasties, the Southern Song Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty. It has been built for 250 years. These statues are lifelike and excavated elaborately. The most wonderful statues are several statues of Guan Yin, Wen Shu and Pu Xian. The rock carvings in Baoshishan are rare in the grotto art in China.

Features
Buddhist figures,stone art of the indigenous Chinese religion, Taoism, as well as Confucianism