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Cave 15
  • Title Translation: 第十五窟
  • Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 15 is a small Tang dynasty cave formerly with muscular guardian figures standing at the entrance. Very few sculptural traces remain inside the cave.

Cave 18
  • Title Translation: 第十八窟
  • Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 18 is one of the most important Tang dynasty caves. Its remaining sculptures are better preserved than the sculptures in many other caves. Though they are damaged and a few completely removed, they still show the excellent quality of the carving as well as the arrangements and poses of the figures to a large extent. In recent years the cave was sealed to protect its contents.

Cave 2
  • Title Translation: 第二窟
  • Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 2 and 3, the paired caves, are believed to be from the Eastern Wei period and are the earliest caves at Tianlongshan. They are located on the eastern side of the Tianlongshan caves site and below the upper level caves. Cave 2 is on the right. The caves are distinctive for the many relief carvings on the walls and ceiling, most of which have been removed.

Cave 3
  • Title Translation: 第三窟
  • Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Like Cave 2, Cave 3 has a square plan with Buddha and bodhisattva images with relief carvings on three walls.

Northern Xiangtangshan, South Cave, north wall
  • Title Translation: 北响堂山南洞 , 北壁
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: The South Cave at Northern Xiangtangshan, like the Middle Cave, preserves its original stupa-form with domed roof and a porch in front. An additional small cave is carved into the dome. The main chamber is an open chamber space with images set around three walls. Each altar has a central Buddha surrounded by six standing figures including bodhisattvas, disciples and pratyekabuddhas. Smaller Buddhas appear in rows on the upper level of the cave. On the ceiling a large lotus blossom is carved in relief. The work on the cave appears to have been begun, then interrupted, and resumed later by different craftsmen. The main sculpted images show signs of having been created in two stages, with the later mode of carving evident in the group of images on the back wall. The stylistic difference is also evident in the appearance of the heads of figures taken from the cave and now located in museums and private collections outside China. In addition to its sculptural art, the South Cave is very important for its extensive engravings of Buddhist scriptures in stone. These are located inside the cave on the entrance wall, inside the porch, on the exterior wall of the porch, and extending onto the north wall of the courtyard. At the end of the sutra texts, the dedicatory stele of Tang Yong records that the engravings were carried out in the years from 568-572.

Northern Xiangtangshan, South Cave, lotus ceiling
  • Title Translation: 北响堂山南洞 , 莲花藻井
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: The South Cave at Northern Xiangtangshan, like the Middle Cave, preserves its original stupa-form with domed roof and a porch in front. An additional small cave is carved into the dome. The main chamber is an open chamber space with images set around three walls. Each altar has a central Buddha surrounded by six standing figures including bodhisattvas, disciples and pratyekabuddhas. Smaller Buddhas appear in rows on the upper level of the cave. On the ceiling a large lotus blossom is carved in relief. The work on the cave appears to have been begun, then interrupted, and resumed later by different craftsmen. The main sculpted images show signs of having been created in two stages, with the later mode of carving evident in the group of images on the back wall. The stylistic difference is also evident in the appearance of the heads of figures taken from the cave and now located in museums and private collections outside China. In addition to its sculptural art, the South Cave is very important for its extensive engravings of Buddhist scriptures in stone. These are located inside the cave on the entrance wall, inside the porch, on the exterior wall of the porch, and extending onto the north wall of the courtyard. At the end of the sutra texts, the dedicatory stele of Tang Yong records that the engravings were carried out in the years from 568-572.

Southern Xiangtangshan, Cave 1, ceiling
  • Title Translation: 南响堂山第1窟 , 天花板
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 1, on the lower level southeast side, has dragons entwined around the columns of the entrance and a Buddha niche above the doorway between the two windows. The interior has a central pillar with a large niche on the front where the principal Buddha image sits, still largely intact. Behind his head is a large halo surrounded by flying divinities carved in relief. The Buddha has two of the original attendant figures, disciples dressed in monks’ robes, still standing beside him. The other figures currently on the altar are clay figures made as replacements for those that were removed in the early twentieth century. Above the main image niche in the central pillar there is a relief scene with Buddhas and bodhisattvas gathered in a teaching assembly. Another relief scene with a central seated Buddha appears just opposite, above doorway of the cave. It depicts the Western Paradise of Amitabha Buddha, a pure fragrant land with jeweled trees and lotus ponds where the Buddhist faithful could be reborn in the next life. On the upper level of the cave walls there is a row of niches, each with a seated Buddha and standing bodhisattvas. The lower level is largely filled with engraved passages of the Avatamsaka sutra or “Flower Garland Sutra." The engraved text does not extend onto the right or south wall and appears not to have been completed as originally planned.

Southern Xiangtangshan, Cave 1, ceiling
  • Title Translation: 南响堂山第1窟 , 天花板
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 1, on the lower level southeast side, has dragons entwined around the columns of the entrance and a Buddha niche above the doorway between the two windows. The interior has a central pillar with a large niche on the front where the principal Buddha image sits, still largely intact. Behind his head is a large halo surrounded by flying divinities carved in relief. The Buddha has two of the original attendant figures, disciples dressed in monks’ robes, still standing beside him. The other figures currently on the altar are clay figures made as replacements for those that were removed in the early twentieth century. Above the main image niche in the central pillar there is a relief scene with Buddhas and bodhisattvas gathered in a teaching assembly. Another relief scene with a central seated Buddha appears just opposite, above doorway of the cave. It depicts the Western Paradise of Amitabha Buddha, a pure fragrant land with jeweled trees and lotus ponds where the Buddhist faithful could be reborn in the next life. On the upper level of the cave walls there is a row of niches, each with a seated Buddha and standing bodhisattvas. The lower level is largely filled with engraved passages of the Avatamsaka sutra or “Flower Garland Sutra." The engraved text does not extend onto the right or south wall and appears not to have been completed as originally planned.

Southern Xiangtangshan, Cave 5, ceiling
  • Title Translation: 南响堂山第5窟 , 天花板
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: Outside the entrance to Cave 5, there are traces of columns supported formerly on the backs of lions. In addition, a row of post holes in front of Caves 4-6 suggest that there was formerly a wooden porch that extended in front of these caves. The interior of Cave 5 has niches cut into three walls, each with a seated Buddha and enough space for a pair of standing attendant figures. The Buddhas are largely intact though missing their heads. However, the freestanding attendant figures have been removed. Small relief sculptures on the upper part of the cave refer to scenes of the life of the Buddha. The parinirvana or death of the Buddha appears above the door. On the ceiling, a lotus flower appears in relief around which small flying divinities; most of them have been cut away.

Cave 2
  • Title Translation: 第二窟
  • Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 2 and 3, the paired caves, are believed to be from the Eastern Wei period and are the earliest caves at Tianlongshan. They are located on the eastern side of the Tianlongshan caves site and below the upper level caves. Cave 2 is on the right. The caves are distinctive for the many relief carvings on the walls and ceiling, most of which have been removed.

Cave 18
  • Title Translation: 第十八窟
  • Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 18 is one of the most important Tang dynasty caves. Its remaining sculptures are better preserved than the sculptures in many other caves. Though they are damaged and a few completely removed, they still show the excellent quality of the carving as well as the arrangements and poses of the figures to a large extent. In recent years the cave was sealed to protect its contents.

Cave 1
  • Title Translation: 第一窟
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 1 is located at the far eastern end of the Tianlongshan caves site more than thirty meters from the the next cave, Cave 2. It is one of the larger caves, believed to be of the Northern Qi period. The facade still has part of the eave over the entrance porch showing architectural elements of posts and brackets and tiled roof carved in stone. The porch is about 3.5 meters wide and has an old stele carved on the right side. There was a dedicatory inscription carved on it, but only a few characters are now legible. The interior is a square chamber with niches on the back and side walls, each formerly containing a seated Buddha and two bodhisattvas.

Cave 8
  • Title Translation: 第八窟
  • Period: Sui, 581-618 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 8 is the largest of the caves at Tianlongshan with the exception of Cave 9, the colossal Buddha cave. It is the only central pillar cave at the site and the only cave known to be of the Sui dynasty (581-618). It has a porch three bays wide that is largely preserved. The traces of two guardian figures standing at the sides of the entrance can still be seen. At the right side of the porch there is a stele with a long inscription dated to the fourth year of the kaihuang reign period, or 584. It records the persecution of Buddhism in the preceding Northern Zhou period after the conquest of Northern Qi, and its restoration with the rise of the Sui dynasty. The cave is dedicated by a Sui official to the well-being of the Sui emperor Wen (r. 581-604) and his son Yang Guang, the prince of Jin. The main chamber of Cave 8 is square in plan with a large square central pillar. It has three niches around the back and side walls and four niches on the central pillar, each with a central seated Buddha and standing attendants.

Cave 2
  • Title Translation: 第二窟
  • Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 2 and 3, the paired caves, are believed to be from the Eastern Wei period and are the earliest caves at Tianlongshan. They are located on the eastern side of the Tianlongshan caves site and below the upper level caves. Cave 2 is on the right. The caves are distinctive for the many relief carvings on the walls and ceiling, most of which have been removed.

Cave 2
  • Title Translation: 第二窟
  • Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 2 and 3, the paired caves, are believed to be from the Eastern Wei period and are the earliest caves at Tianlongshan. They are located on the eastern side of the Tianlongshan caves site and below the upper level caves. Cave 2 is on the right. The caves are distinctive for the many relief carvings on the walls and ceiling, most of which have been removed.

Southern Xiangtangshan, Cave 2, ceiling
  • Title Translation: 南响堂山第2窟 , 天花板
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 2 was severely damaged in the last century and the front wall repaired. Now little remains of the fine sculptures. Several of the greatest sculptural works from Xiangtangshan now in museums outside China are believed to have been from Cave 2. Looters damaged the façade of the cave as part of the removal of the sculptures. They also took the free-standing figures from the main altar on the front of the central pillar. The missing Buddhist figures were initially repaired with clay figures, so that religious observances could continue, but in the middle decades of the century, when the religion was discouraged, the cave site was used for manufacturing and storage. The central pillar of Cave 2 and its remaining images were blasted with dynamite. Only the halo of the Buddha and the flying divinities around it still remain, showing the former position of the principle image. Some of the rows of small relief Buddha figures on the sides of the central pillar still remain along with inscriptions recording donors’ sponsorship the work. Historic photographs indicate that the altar was much like that of Cave 1 with a seated Buddha and six attendant figures. As in Cave 1, there was a carved relief panel of the Western Paradise of Amitabha located on the front wall above the entrance, an important early representation of this popular Buddhist theme in Chinese art. The niches around the walls once had seated Buddha images but are now largely empty.

Southern Xiangtangshan, Cave 6, ceiling
  • Title Translation: 南响堂山第6窟 , 天花板
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: The entrance to Cave 6 has a large niche of the Sui dynasty carved on both sides. Other smaller carvings of later periods appear on the façade and on the front of the altar inside. The altar extends around three walls of Cave 6 still has most of the original thrones and pedestals of the sculptural figures remaining. These preserve the positions of the sculpted images in the cave and show that many were free-standing figures. Unlike the principle images at Northern Xiangtangshan, many of the sculptures at this site were carved outside of the caves perhaps in workshops and the finished sculptures placed into the caves. Historic photographs provide evidence of the appearance of some of the original groups of sculptures, though some were repaired by that time already. Fragments of the seated Buddhas and bodhisattvas still remain at the site though their heads have been taken.

Southern Xiangtangshan, Cave 7, ceiling
  • Title Translation: 南响堂山第7窟 , 天花板
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 7 is the best preserved of the caves at the Southern Xiangtangshan site, with the exterior displaying architectural features based on wood post and lintel architecture rendered in stone. The porch in front has a stone eave and tiled roof supported on columns and brackets. At the top is a domed roof. Two muscular lishi-type guardian figures stand in the porch on either side of the entrance to the cave. The principal sculpted figures inside the cave, five in each of the three niches, are still largely in place, though most are missing their heads. The seated Buddhas, standing bodhisattvas, and disciples were carved in one piece with the cave walls and thrones (with the exception of one of the Buddhas), and thus were not easily removed. Carvings on the front of the altars include incense burners, lions and nature spirits known as Spirit Kings, as seen at Northern Xiangtangshan. In addition many rows of small “thousand Buddhas” appear on the walls behind the main images and from the front wall around the entrance. On the ceiling, heavenly musicians encircle a central lotus blossom carved in relief.

Longmen Binyang Central Cave, lotus ceiling with celestial deities
  • Title Translation: 龙门宾阳中洞 , 莲花天花板与天神
  • Period: Northern Wei, 386–534 C.E.
  • Project: Longmen Binyang Central Cave
  • Work Description: The Longmen Caves are located outside the city of Luoyang, China, about 500 miles southeast of the modern-day capital in Beijing. Established in the late fifth century, the site consists of 2,345 caves, and over 100,000 individual Buddhist statues, ranging in height from a few inches to over 56 feet. For more than 250 years, Chinese Buddhists from all walks of life sponsored the addition of Buddhist statues and inscriptions to the site, most significantly from the late Northern Wei (386-534) through the Tang dynasty (618-907). Binyang Central Cave is one of the earliest at Longmen and a major monument of Chinese Buddhism. Begun around the year 501, it was commissioned by the youthful Emperor Xuanwu (483-515) and dedicated to his father, Emperor Xiaowen, who died in 499 at age thirty-three. The cave is one of the major monuments of Chinese Buddhism. MEasuring roughly 30 feet in each dimension, its principal image is 28-foot-high seated Buddha largly filling the back of the cave and accompanied by smaller standing figures—disciples, Buddhas, and bodhisattva—on either side. The exit wall contained some of the finest stone relief carvings of the era, including depictions of two imperial processions, and a number of stories from Buddhist scriptures. After cave-making was discontinued for nearly a thousand years, the Longmen site was "discovered" by foreign scholars in the late 1800s. The publication of their studies with photos attracted international attention to the artistic quality of the sculptures. The publications ultimately led to the looting of much of the site in the early part of the twentieth century. In response to demand from art dealers, collectors, and museums around the globe, local stonecutters removed countless works from the caves, often breaking them into numerous fragments in the process. Pieces from the greater Longmen complex can now be found scattered throughout the world. In Binyang Central Cave, several heads and large portions of the relief carvings were cut or burned out of the walls. Fragments from Binyang Central Cave now reside in museums in the US and Japan, as well as in storage at the Longmen Research Institute in China. Many shattered pieces are identifiable today with the evidence of historical photographs and rubbings taken of the reliefs before their removal.

Cave 3
  • Title Translation: 第三窟
  • Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Like Cave 2, Cave 3 has a square plan with Buddha and bodhisattva images with relief carvings on three walls.

Cave 3
  • Title Translation: 第三窟
  • Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Like Cave 2, Cave 3 has a square plan with Buddha and bodhisattva images with relief carvings on three walls.

Cave 4
  • Title Translation: 第四窟
  • Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 4 is a small cave of the Tang dynasty. The existing porch in front of the entrance is about 1.5 meters wide. There were originally seven sculpted figures in the cave, a seated Buddha on the back wall, two seated bodhisattvas in the corners on the east and west side, and four standing figures. Most have been cut away.

Cave 8
  • Title Translation: 第八窟
  • Period: Sui, 581-618 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 8 is the largest of the caves at Tianlongshan with the exception of Cave 9, the colossal Buddha cave. It is the only central pillar cave at the site and the only cave known to be of the Sui dynasty (581-618). It has a porch three bays wide that is largely preserved. The traces of two guardian figures standing at the sides of the entrance can still be seen. At the right side of the porch there is a stele with a long inscription dated to the fourth year of the kaihuang reign period, or 584. It records the persecution of Buddhism in the preceding Northern Zhou period after the conquest of Northern Qi, and its restoration with the rise of the Sui dynasty. The cave is dedicated by a Sui official to the well-being of the Sui emperor Wen (r. 581-604) and his son Yang Guang, the prince of Jin. The main chamber of Cave 8 is square in plan with a large square central pillar. It has three niches around the back and side walls and four niches on the central pillar, each with a central seated Buddha and standing attendants.

Cave 6
  • Title Translation: 第六窟
  • Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 6 is a small square cave of the Tang period that had nine sculpted images on the interior, with a central seated Buddha on the back and side walls accompanied by bodhisattvas and disciples. On the exterior the traces of two guardian figures appear at the sides of the entrance. The exterior still has a small porch in front.

Cave 2
  • Title Translation: 第二窟
  • Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 2 and 3, the paired caves, are believed to be from the Eastern Wei period and are the earliest caves at Tianlongshan. They are located on the eastern side of the Tianlongshan caves site and below the upper level caves. Cave 2 is on the right. The caves are distinctive for the many relief carvings on the walls and ceiling, most of which have been removed.