What is the religious culture of grottoes?

1. A stone chamber carved from rocks. It also refers to caves.

2. A temple building excavated on a mountain with murals of Buddha statues or Buddhist stories. The famous ones are Dunhuang Grottoes, Maijishan Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes and Longmen Grottoes.

Grottoes were originally a form of Indian Buddhist architecture. Buddhism advocates seclusion, so monks choose secluded places with high mountains to dig caves for practice. The pattern of Indian grottoes is generally centered on a square hall, surrounded by a circle of columns, carved on three sides with several small meditation rooms for "practice" and colonnades outside the grottoes. China's grottoes were originally excavated in imitation of the Indian grottoes system, and most of them were built in the Yellow River valley in northern China. The Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) to the Sui Dynasty (58 1-6 18) and the Tang Dynasty (6 18-907) were the heyday of cave-digging, especially in the Tang Dynasty, when many large caves were built, which gradually decreased after the Tang Dynasty. During this period, the Yellow River Basin was the political, cultural and economic center of China. Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu, Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui, Gansu, Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi, and Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan are also called the four major grottoes in China.

Grotto art is a kind of religious culture, based on Buddhist stories, which flourished in Wei and Jin Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties. It absorbs the essence of Indian Gandhara art, integrates the traditional techniques and aesthetic interests of China's painting and sculpture, and embodies the process of Buddhism and its China. It is a valuable material for the study of China's social history, Buddhist history, art history and the history of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.

The main existing grottoes in China are works of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties or early Song Dynasty, among which the four famous grottoes are Yungang in Datong, Longmen in Luoyang, Maijishan in Tianshui and Dazu in Chongqing.

The grotto art is closely related to Buddhism. The grotto art was for those who believed in Buddhism at that time. Because people of different classes and strata believe in Buddhism and belong to different Buddhist sects, the themes of statues and murals should also be based on the classic statues of this sect. Therefore, the development of grotto art varies with time and place. For example, in the caves in Xinjiang, except for the caves opened by the Han people in the Tang Dynasty or later, some Mahayana scriptures were painted, and no statues reflecting the stories in the Mahayana scriptures were found in the caves excavated in the early days. Among these caves, the statues that have survived to this day are mainly individual images such as Sakyamuni and Bodhisattva, followed by story portraits such as Buddha's life and Buddha's deeds (that is, how to be ascetic, endure humiliation and seek liberation). Most of these portraits are based on Tibetan scriptures, which are the same as those recorded in the biography of Hinayana Buddhism by foreign businessman Zhu Pozhu, and are completely consistent with the records of Fa Xian, Xuan Zang and others who believe in Hinayana Buddhism.

Grottoes art is Buddhist art, which reflects the Buddhist thought and its development process. The statues, bodhisattvas, arhats, protectors created by it, as well as various story images of Buddha itself and Buddha itself, are all created through the life images of specific people. So we can't cut off the connection with people's life in historical period. Unlike other arts, it does not directly reflect social life, but reflects the life scenes of people from all walks of life in various historical periods in a tortuous way. This should be a feature of grotto art.

Mogao Grottoes Mogao Grottoes belong to the national key cultural relics protection units, commonly known as the Thousand Buddha Cave, which is known as the most valuable cultural discovery in the 20th century. Dunhuang, located at the western end of Hexi Corridor, is famous for its exquisite murals and statues. It was founded in the Sixteen Kingdoms period before Qin Dynasty, and has formed a huge scale after the Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Xixia and Yuan Dynasties. There are 735 caves, 45,000 square meters of murals and 24 15 clay sculptures. It is the largest and richest Buddhist art shrine in the world. In modern times, the Tibetan Sutra Cave was discovered, containing more than 50,000 ancient cultural relics, from which the subject of Dunhuang studies was derived, which specialized in studying the classics of the Tibetan Sutra Cave and Dunhuang art. However, in modern times, the Mogao Grottoes were cheated and stolen, a large number of cultural relics were lost, and its treasures were seriously damaged. 196 1 year, Mogao grottoes was announced as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. 1987, Mogao grottoes was listed as a world cultural heritage. It is one of the four largest grottoes in China.

Yungang Grottoes were dug along the mountain. Yungang Grottoes belong to the national key cultural relics protection units. Yungang Grottoes are located in Yungang Grottoes in Datong City, Shanxi Province. There are 252 grottoes and more than 565,438+0,000 statues, which represent the excellent Buddhist grottoes art in China from the 5th century to the 6th century. Among them, the Tan Yao Grottoes with strict and unified layout is the classic masterpiece of China's Buddhist art at its first peak.

Yungang Grottoes have a history of 1500 years. It was built in 460 AD and was excavated by Yao Tan, a Buddhist monk at that time. The existing Yungang Grottoes Group is one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units announced by the State Council in 196 1. The whole grotto is divided into three parts: east, middle and west. The niches in the grottoes are as dense as honeycombs, and large, medium and small caves are densely embedded in Yungang. The grottoes in the east are mainly towers, so they are also called tower caves; The central grotto is divided into two rooms, with the main Buddha in the middle and the cave walls and ceiling covered with reliefs; Most of the grottoes in the west are small and medium-sized grottoes and niches, which were built a little later and were mostly works after the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang. The whole grotto is magnificent, solemn in appearance, beautifully carved and prominent in theme. Various religious figures in grotto sculptures have different expressions. In terms of carving techniques, it inherits and develops the fine tradition of Qin and Han art in China, absorbs the beneficial elements of Gandhara art, and creates Yungang's unique artistic style, which is extremely precious and valuable information for the study of sculpture, architecture, music and religion.

It stretches for about one kilometer from east to west. * * There are 53 large and small grottoes and more than 5 1000 Buddha statues, making it one of the largest grottoes in China. Together with Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang and Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, it is also called the three artistic treasures of China Grottoes.

Mount McKee cave

Mackey is located about 45 kilometers southeast of Tianshui City, Gansu Province. It is a strange peak in Xiaolongshan Mountain at the western end of Qinling Mountains in China. The height of the mountain is only 142 meters. However, the shape of the mountain is strange, and the lonely peak is like a wheat pile, so people call it McKee Mountain. The southwest of the mountain peak is a cliff, and the grottoes are dug on the cliff, some twenty or thirty meters away from the foot of the mountain, and some seventy or eighty meters away. It is rare to dig hundreds of caves and Buddha statues on such a steep cliff in China. Yamazaki is surrounded by lush trees, streams and rocks and beautiful scenery. Known as the "Little Jiangnan", it is known as the "crown of nymphs in Qin Dynasty".

"Maijishan, which crosses Wei Qing in the north and gradually moves in two directions in the south, is 500 miles hilly and mountainous. Wheat is in the middle, and a stone is lifted. Wan Li looks at it like a farmer's wheat, so it is named."

The scenery around Maiji Mountain is beautiful, and the mountain is covered with cypress, pine and wild flowers. Climbing to the top of the mountain, you can see lush green hills around you. I can only see Qian Shan with mountains and valleys, pines like the sea, and misty clouds. The distant scenery is intertwined, forming a beautiful picture scroll, known as the "wheat accumulation and misty rain" at the head of the eight scenic spots in Tianshui. Among the famous grottoes in China, Mackey is the best natural scenery.

Maijishan Grottoes belong to the national key cultural relics protection units and were built in 384 AD. Later, after more than ten dynasties of continuous excavation and reconstruction, it became one of the famous large grottoes in China and a world-famous art treasure house. The rocks of Maiji Mountain are all purple-brown water rocks. The mountain suddenly rises from a single mountain, where there were many natural caves at first. Its altitude is 1.742 meters, and the top of the mountain is/.42 meters from the ground. There are currently/.94 caves, including more than 7,200 clay sculptures with murals of 1.300 square meters from the 4th century. Maijishan is a tertiary gravelly rock, and its stone structure is loose, so it is famous for its exquisite clay sculptures, and most of them are fabricated. By sculptor Liu Kaiqu as "Oriental Sculpture Exhibition Hall". Most scholars believe that it began at the end of Qin Dynasty, and has been continuously excavated and restored after the Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. A remarkable feature of Maijishan Grottoes is that the caves are located in extremely thrilling positions, most of which are dug on cliffs, and the caves are accessible by aerial plank roads erected on the cliffs. Visitors can't help but be thrilling when climbing these winding aerial plank roads. The ancients once praised these projects: "Between the cliffs, there are thousands of caves carved into buddhas. It is amazing to break through manpower. " There are also proverbs circulating nearby, such as "South Mountain cuts firewood and builds Mackey Cliff" and "There are thousands of sticks of firewood in front of Mackey Cliff". It can be seen that the construction of caves and plank roads at that time was arduous and grand.

The art of Maijishan Grottoes is famous at home and abroad for its exquisite clay sculptures. Historian Fan Wenlan once praised Maijishan as a "big exhibition hall for displaying statues". If Dunhuang is a big mural museum, Maijishan is a big sculpture museum. The statues here are as big as 15 meters and as small as 20 centimeters, which embodies the characteristics of statues in various eras for more than 1000 years and systematically reflects the development and evolution of clay sculpture art in China. Clay sculptures here can be roughly divided into four categories: high relief sculptures protruding from the wall, circular sculptures completely leaving the wall, molded shadow sculptures and wall sculptures close to the wall. Among them, thousands of life-size circular sculptures are very interesting in life and are regarded as treasures.

Maijishan statue has two obvious characteristics: strong national consciousness and secularization trend. In addition to the early works, judging from the statues of the Northern Wei Dynasty, almost all the Buddha statues bow down and have amiable faces. Although they are gods in the sky, they are like secular people and become the embodiment of people's good wishes. Judging from the figures and costumes of the statue, it is gradually getting rid of the influence of foreign art and embodies the characteristics of the Han nationality.

Many caves in McKee have been built into unique "cliff pavilions". Seven buddha Pavilion, located at15m above the head of the East Cliff Clay Sculpture Buddha, is a typical Chinese cliff pavilion building. It was built on a cliff more than 50 meters above the ground and was excavated in the middle of the 6th century. Although Maijishan Grottoes are mainly clay sculptures, there are also a certain number of stone carvings and murals. Maijishan Grottoes are listed as national key cultural relics protection units, and the1.300m aerial plank road has been newly built and repaired, enabling tourists to board all grottoes smoothly. The highest statue in Maijishan Grottoes is 16 meters, and the smallest is only 10 cm. Among them, the statue in Cave 44 is called "Venus of the East" by the Japanese. Xiqin cave 78

128 The grottoes are painted with patterns. The statue on the 70-meter-high seven buddha Pavilion is handsome, and the remaining murals on the top of the corridor are exquisite. Among them, the map of chariots and horses at the top of the western end is different from any angle, which is a classic of China mural composition.

Longmen Grottos

Longmen Stone is located in the south of Luoyang12km, which is a scenic spot. Two green hills face each other, and a stream slowly flows northward. Seen from a distance, it looks like a natural gate, so it was called "A Que" in ancient times. It has been the first sight of Youlong Gate since ancient times.

Longmen Grottoes began to be excavated around the time when Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved to Luoyang (AD 493). Later, after the Eastern and Western Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties, it was built on a large scale for more than 400 years. Densely distributed on the cliffs of the east and west mountains of Yishui, the length from north to south is 1km. There are 2,345 existing caves, more than 2,680 inscriptions and inscriptions, more than 70 pagodas and more than 654.38+million statues. The largest Buddha statue is as high as 17. 14 meter, and the smallest is only 2 cm. All these reflect the extremely high artistic attainments of the working people in ancient China.

Fengxian Temple is the largest Tang Dynasty grotto in Longmen, with a length and width of more than 30 meters each. According to the inscription, this cave was excavated in Tang Gaozong during the reign of Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, and it was completed in 675 AD. The Buddha statue in the cave clearly embodies the artistic characteristics of the Buddha statue in the Tang Dynasty, with a plump face and drooping ears, and a perfect, peaceful, warm and kind shape, which is extremely moving. The Rushena Buddha statue in the middle of the grottoes is the largest Buddha statue in Longmen Grottoes, with a height of17.14m, a head height of 4m and an ear length of1.9m.. The shape is full, the momentum is magnificent, the clothing lines are smooth, and it has high artistic appeal. This is really a beautiful masterpiece. According to the Buddhist scriptures, Lushe means to shine all the time. This Buddha statue, with rich and beautiful eyes, slightly upturned corners of the mouth, smiling face, slightly lowered head and slightly overlooking, looks like a wise and kind middle-aged woman, which makes people respect and fear. Some people say that when shaping this Buddha statue, noble sentiment, rich feelings, open mind and elegant appearance are perfectly combined, so she has great artistic charm. There are two disciples Ye Jia and Ananda on both sides of the Buddha statue in Lushena. They are docile and pious, and the two bodhisattvas are kind and cheerful. The heavenly king looks strong with a pagoda in his hand. The statue of Lux is even more moving. Only the right hand is akimbo and the left hand is folded, which is magnificent and lifelike.