Showing  1201 - 1225 of 3478 Records

Showing  1201 - 1225 of 3478 Records
Cave 18
  • Title Translation: ē¬¬åå…«ēŖŸ
  • 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 18
  • Title Translation: ē¬¬åå…«ēŖŸ
  • 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 18
  • Title Translation: ē¬¬åå…«ēŖŸ
  • 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 18
  • Title Translation: ē¬¬åå…«ēŖŸ
  • 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 19
  • Title Translation: ē¬¬åä¹ēŖŸ
  • Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves

Cave 19
  • Title Translation: ē¬¬åä¹ēŖŸ
  • Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves

Cave 21
  • Title Translation: ē¬¬äŗŒåäø€ēŖŸ
  • Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 21 is the largest Tang dynasty cave with the exception of Cave 9. It now has traces of only a single larger than life-sized seated Buddha on the north (back) wall and five standing attendants (Photograph. Li 2003, color pl. 21). The cave is damaged by a large fissure in the stone that cuts across the east and west walls, thus the stone may not have been suitable for sculpting. It is possible that some of the figures formerly made for the cave were not attached to the walls, but carved separately and placed into the cave.

Cave 21
  • Title Translation: ē¬¬äŗŒåäø€ēŖŸ
  • Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 21 is the largest Tang dynasty cave with the exception of Cave 9. It now has traces of only a single larger than life-sized seated Buddha on the north (back) wall and five standing attendants (Photograph. Li 2003, color pl. 21). The cave is damaged by a large fissure in the stone that cuts across the east and west walls, thus the stone may not have been suitable for sculpting. It is possible that some of the figures formerly made for the cave were not attached to the walls, but carved separately and placed into the cave.

Cave 1
  • Title Translation: ē¬¬äø€ēŖŸ
  • 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 1
  • Title Translation: ē¬¬äø€ēŖŸ
  • 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.

Flying Divinity
  • Title Translation: 飞天
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: This heavenly musician from Cave16 plays the sheng, a wind instrument consisting of a cluster of bamboo pipes joined at the bottom.

Tianlongshan Caves
  • Title Translation: 天龙山ēŸ³ēŖŸ
  • Period: Eastern Wei, 534-907 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves

Buddha Head
  • Title Translation: 佛夓
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: This Buddha head was originally belonged to the seated Buddha worshipped as the principal deity in a niche on the right wall of Tianlongshan Cave 1 in Shanxi Province, constructed in the Northern Qi period (550-577 CE). The cave is carved into the rock face of the eastern peak of Mount Tianlongshan. It comprises a front verandah imitating timber-structure architecture, and a main chamber with truncated pyramidal ceiling. The main chamber has niches carved on three sides. The Buddhasā€™ heads enshrined in them are all gone. The large niche with an arched opening on the right wall is carved with the one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas Triad. The statueā€™s body, to which this head belongs, still sits inside this cave. This Buddha head has a slightly domed uį¹£į¹‡Ä«į¹£a, smooth plain hair, an oblong face with fleshy round cheeks, a low forehead, relatively close-set eyes with lifted outer corners and curvilinear upper and lower eyelids, lips with droopy corners hinting no smile, and a dignified and solemn countenance. The statue to which this head belongs, as seen inside the cave, wears a kāį¹£Äya with collars hanging down from both shoulders, over an undergarment (saį¹ƒkakį¹£ikā) held in placed by a girdle knotted in front of the chest. The status is seated with legs locked in ā€˜lotus postureā€™ (padmāsana) on a stepped pedestal. The right elbow is bent, and the right hand, possibly in ā€˜fearless gestureā€™ (abhayamudrā), is gone. The missing left hand was likely to be in ā€˜wish granting gestureā€™ (varadamudrā). The statue has a robust build with thick broad shoulders, a stout flat chest and a slightly protruding belly. Compare with their Eastern Wei (534-550 CE) predecessors, Buddhist statuary of the Northern Qi period have more delicately depicted facial features and more emphasis on portraying the massiveness and bodyā€™s structure, setting a new standard for the new era. This Buddha head of the Northern Qi period from Tianlongshan is a representative example of this trend.

Cave 3
  • Title Translation: ē¬¬äø‰ēŖŸ
  • 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 17
  • Title Translation: ē¬¬åäøƒēŖŸ
  • Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 17 directly adjacent to Cave 16 to the west, is one of the most important Tang dynasty caves and had a stele carved on the east side of the porch whose inscription is now entirely unreadable. The porch formerly had two muscular lishi figures guarding the entrance that are now missing. The interior chamber is about two meters square in plan with a low altar around three walls on which there were thirteen fine sculptural imagesā€”three seated Buddhas, four standing bodhisattvas, and six seated bodhisattvas. The figures are distinctive in their appearance, and they were well preserved a century ago. As a result, they were targeted, and numerous fragments taken from Cave 17 are known in museums outside China. To the west of Cave 17 and slightly below are two small carved relief stupas that were probably made to hold relics of the deceased. The openings in the stupa chamber are now empty.

Cave 21
  • Title Translation: ē¬¬äŗŒåäø€ēŖŸ
  • Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves
  • Work Description: Cave 21 is the largest Tang dynasty cave with the exception of Cave 9. It now has traces of only a single larger than life-sized seated Buddha on the north (back) wall and five standing attendants (Photograph. Li 2003, color pl. 21). The cave is damaged by a large fissure in the stone that cuts across the east and west walls, thus the stone may not have been suitable for sculpting. It is possible that some of the figures formerly made for the cave were not attached to the walls, but carved separately and placed into the cave.

Tianlongshan Caves
  • Title Translation: 天龙山ēŸ³ēŖŸ
  • Period: Eastern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, Tang, 534-907 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves

Tianlongshan Caves
  • Title Translation: 天龙山ēŸ³ēŖŸ
  • Period: Eastern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, Tang, 534-907 C.E.
  • Project: Tianlongshan Caves

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun"), stone reliefs
  • Title Translation: ę˜­é™µå…­éŖ , 굮雕ēŸ³
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun"), stone reliefs
  • Title Translation: ę˜­é™µå…­éŖ , 굮雕ēŸ³
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun")
  • Title Translation: ę˜­é™µå…­éŖ
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun"), digital reconstruction
  • Title Translation: ę˜­é™µå…­éŖ , ę•°å­—é‡å»ŗ
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Bai Ti Wu Steed
  • Title Translation: ē™½č¹„乌
  • Period: Tang, 649 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong

Seated Maitreya
  • Title Translation: 弄勒坐像
  • Period: Northern Wei, Tang, 386ā€“534 C.E., 618ā€“907 C.E.
  • Project: Longmen Other Caves

Fengxian Temple (Fengxiansi), Vairocana Buddha
  • Title Translation: 儉先åÆŗ , ęƗ卢遮那佛
  • Period: Tang, 618ā€“907 C.E.
  • Project: Longmen Other Caves
  • Work Description: This imposing group of nine monumental images carved into the hard, gray limestone of Fengxian Temple at Longmen is a spectacular display of innovative style and iconography. Sponsored by the Emperor Gaozong and his wife, the future Empress Wu, the high relief sculptures are widely spaced in a semi-circle. The central Vairocana Buddha (more than 55 feet high including its pedestal) is flanked on either side by a bodhisattva, a heavenly king, and a thunderbolt holder (vajrapani). Vairocana represents the primordial Buddha who generates and presides over all the Buddhas of the infinite universes that form Buddhist cosmology. This ideaā€”of the power of one supreme deity over all the othersā€”resonated in the vast Tang Empire which was dominated by the Emperor at its summit and supported by his subordinate officials. These monumental sculptures intentionally mirrored the political situation. The dignity and imposing presence of Buddha and the sumptuous appearance of his attendant bodhisattvas is significant in this context. The Buddha, monks and bodhisattvas (above) display new softer and rounder modeling and serene facial expressions. In contrast, the heavenly guardians and the vajrapani are more engaging and animated. Notice the realistic musculature of the heavenly guardians and the forceful poses of the vajrapani.