Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Stone Carvings and Grottoes——Two Types of Stone Carving Art

In ancient my country, the activities of carving various works of art using stone as materials were very popular, with a long history and high achievements.As far as we know today, the earliest stone carvings in my country are probably a group of small stone carvings unearthed from the Houwa site in Donggou County, Dandong, Liaoning.The small ones are about one centimeter high, and the big ones are about six centimeters high.Carved with human heads, pigs, tigers, fish, birds, insects, etc.The discovery of these stone carvings pushed the history of stone carvings in my country back to about 5,000 years ago.The second is the little stone pig in Yinjiacheng, Sishui County, Shandong Province. It is also one of the earliest works of art in the history of stone carvings in my country, about 4,000 years ago.The back is raised and the head is small. The pig's eyes, mouth and limbs are carved with hair-thin Yin lines.The abdomen is fat and drags the floor, and the legs are thin and short, which are all characteristics of domestic pigs; the breasts are hypertrophy, which is still the shape of a sow.It can be seen that the author who carved the small stone pig knew the characteristics of the domestic pig very well.

In the Shang and Yin Dynasties, the largest number of stone carvings were still animal statues, including beasts, birds, insects, fish, frogs, etc. , Stone Bear, Stone Tiger, Stone Turtle, etc.The two stone figures among them are probably the most typical representatives of the stone sculptures unearthed from the tomb of "Fu Hao".Of these two stone figures, one is white and the other is green; one lowers his head slightly, and the other raises his head slightly.All in a kneeling position, with hands on knees.One of them has a long and thin face with protruding forehead, thick eyebrows and big eyes, bulbous nose, big mouth slightly opened, big ears, hair combed back, pasted behind the head, twisted into braids, and coiled around the head, The tip of the braid is tucked under the root of the braid, and a round hoop is worn on the head to tie the hair; a rectangular cloth hangs from the abdomen.These two stone men have no clothing patterns, and their identities may be civilians or slaves.

By the time of the Han Dynasty, there were not only single pieces of stone carvings in our country, but also groups of them.Among them, the earliest group portraits can be represented by the stone carvings in front of Huo Qubing's tomb.Huo Qubing was a famous patriotic general during the period of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. In the fight against the Xiongnu, he went out six times and defeated the Xiongnu. He killed, captured, and forced to land more than 100,000 people, including dozens of princes. Since then, he has opened up the Hexi Corridor. He made great contributions. died at the age of illness.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was so sad that when he was in funeral, he ordered a large number of armored soldiers to line up the 55-kilometer road from Chang'an to Xingping Cemetery to mourn him.Among the 16 stone carvings that are still preserved today, the most representative one is the stone statue of "Horse Stepping on the Huns".The horse in this portrait stands tall, with plump muscles, a long tail dragging the ground, and a quiet posture.The person under the horse's belly is lying on his back, with a high nose bridge and a beard, and is struggling vigorously with a bow in his right hand.This stone is recognized as commemorating the achievements of Huo Qubing.The stone carvings of the Confucian Temple in Qufu are also a group of stone carvings, which include two stone figures in the stone figure pavilion of the Han Dynasty.The two statues are dignified and simple, with majestic appearance.The carving of Dacheng Hall has reached a very high level.In the hall, there are 18 water-milled octagonal stone pillars under the eaves of the two mountains and the back eaves, which are low-relief dragons and clouds;The stone carved chi heads laid out under the stage and the double-layered white marble railings built around them are also of high artistic value.

During the 800 years from the Three Kingdoms to the Five Dynasties, my country's stone carving art has made great progress.The stone carving works of this period occupy an important position in the art circles of China and the world.Its specific manifestation, in addition to secular stone carvings, the most prominent representative is the cave temple carving art that appeared on the land of China. Among the secular stone carvings, the stone carvings of mausoleums of past dynasties can be its representative.The stone carvings in front of the tombs of the Han Dynasty are generally que, beast and Huabiao.The stone carvings in front of the mausoleums of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties can be seen from the mausoleums of the Six Dynasties near Nanjing, Jiangsu.The stone carvings in front of the tombs of the Six Dynasties can generally be divided into two categories: one is steles with characters and Huabiao with a few inscriptions; the other is stone carvings without characters (mostly animal carvings), and the images are mainly hornless evil spirits, a one-horned unicorn, Tianlu with two horns.The Huabiao Column of this period replaced the Que of the Han Dynasty, and played the dual role of the Shinto stone pillar and the gate of the Que.The Huabiao Column is the continuation of the Qin and Han Stone Columns. There are similarities between the two, but there are also certain differences. What Hanzhu did not have, the appearance of lotus flower decoration was obviously influenced by the Buddhist art of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.Although there are three types of stone beasts in the Six Dynasties, they are all lion-shaped in appearance, showing a commonality.In fact, if traced back to the Han Dynasty, it is a kind of beast.The stone carvings in front of the Mausoleum of the Six Dynasties are vivid, delicate and exquisite, and have high artistic value.During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the stone carvings of mausoleums changed again. Taizong Zhaoling Mausoleum, Gaozong Qianling Mausoleum, and Ruizong Qiaoling Mausoleum were all built on mountains, with large scales. Underground palaces were built in the belly of the mountain, and cities were built around the mountain on the ground.There are gates, corners and a large number of stone carvings on all sides of the city.Among the stone inscriptions, there are not only inscriptions with inscriptions, but also various stone carvings without inscriptions.Although the types of stone carvings in Qiaoling are the same as those of the other Erling, they are more mature, taller, more exquisite, and more realistic, and can be representative of the heyday of Tang Dynasty.All kinds of stone carvings are arranged on both sides of the Shinto. The first is Shihuabiao, also known as Wangzhu or Tongtianzhu; The treacherous unicorn beast; the third is the ostrich, which originated in Africa and was introduced to my country from the ancient Central Asian country Tocharo (now Afghanistan) in the early Tang Dynasty. It has long legs and short tail, and is active. It is said that it has a guard function; There are many pairs of stone men and stone horses; the last is a giant stone lion, with its head held high, its giant protruding eyes, its nose and sharp teeth, fully showing the fierce image of the king of beasts.They are arranged in an orderly manner, with realistic shapes, novel shapes, exquisite techniques, and both form and spirit, which are beyond the reach of the previous generation.It not only inherits the stone carving art of the Six Dynasties, but also shows the artistic style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty and the appearance of the country's prosperity.A special book here is the sculpture of "Six Horses of Zhaoling".

"Six Steeds of Zhaoling" is the mount used by Tang Taizong Li Shimin in various battles when he founded the Tang Dynasty.In the tenth year of Zhenguan (636 A.D.), the world was settled, and Li Shimin ordered Yan Liben, the great painter at that time, to draw a picture of the horse he was riding, and engrave it on six stone screens.The name of the horse is engraved on the upper right corner of each screen, indicating that Li Shimin used this horse when he fought against whom, and also engraved with Li Shimin's comments on it.These stone carvings were all kept in Zhaoling. In 1914, two of the steeds, namely "Saluzi" and "Fist Hairy [gua Melon]" were stolen to the United States and are now in the Museum of Philadelphia University.There are only four steeds preserved in the Shaanxi Provincial Museum in China, and their names are "Qingzhao (zhui chasing)", "Shifachi", "Telepiu" and "Baihowu".Among them, "Saluzi" is annotated as "Pingdongdu Shicheng".This is the horse that Li Shimin rode when he pacified Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang in Shanxi, and then turned to pacify Luoyang, the eastern capital.It was the summer of the third year of Wude (AD 620). It reflected that after Li Shimin's army entered Henan, many states and counties surrendered to Tang Dynasty one after another. Luoyang, which Wang Shichong occupied, was surrounded by Tang army regiments and soon became an isolated city.Therefore, Li Shimin's comment on "Sa Lu Zi" is: "The purple bird of prey (with the swallow) leaps, the bones are soaring, the mountains and rivers are majestic [zhe folds], and the eight formations are majestic." The annotation of "Shifachi" is: "Ping Shichong Jiande Time Rides".In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the key battle to create the great cause of reunification was the battle between Li Shimin and Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande. The winner was the king, and the loser was the "bandit".Li Shimin attached great importance to this. In this war, Li Shimin captured 50,000 people, Dou Jiande himself was injured and captured, and Wang Shichong surrendered himself to the Tang Dynasty, thus completing the great cause of reunification.Therefore, Li Shimin's praise for the horse "Shifachi" in this battle is: "The stream is not quiet, the ax and ax stretch out, Zhu Han gallops his feet, and the green Jing returns triumphantly."

In the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, although the stone carvings in each mausoleum have their own characteristics, they are generally similar with minor differences.But the art of single piece stone carving has developed.For example, in the north of the Baohe Hall in the Forbidden City of the Qing Dynasty, the rectangular stone sculpture Danbi lying on the three-story white marble steps is an example.It is called "Yunlong Step Stone", 16.7 meters long, 3.07 meters wide, 1.7 meters thick and weighs about 200 tons.The stone carvings are engraved with curly grass patterns on all sides, the seawater river cliffs below, and the floating clouds protruding from the middle, and nine giant dragons haunting the river, sea and clouds.It is one of the largest stone carvings in my country, a rare treasure in ancient stone carving art, and one of the important scenery in the Forbidden City in Beijing.This Yunlong step stone was originally a relic of the Ming Dynasty. It was carved from the relics of the previous dynasty during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty.The raw material of the stone is Aiye Qingshi, which was produced in Dashiwo, Fangshan District, Beijing. When it was transported to Beijing, it is said that 20,000 people and more than 1,000 mules and horses were used.There is another story about this stone entering Beijing.It is said that on the way from Fangshan to Beijing, all the people have to beat gongs and drums together and shout loudly, so that they can roll step by step on the ice road dry boat.After it arrived in the city, it couldn't enter the Meridian Gate because of its size.Therefore, the eunuch Yunshi played a book about the matter in front of the emperor, saying that "the stone" did not want to enter the palace. royal stick.After complying with the decree, the boulder was transported into the Meridian Gate.Of course, this is just a legend, because stones cannot enter the door.It was able to be transported into the Meridian Gate because of the wisdom of the working people.

After Buddhism was introduced into China from the Western Han Dynasty, it spread quickly and combined with Chinese traditional culture to form Buddhism with Chinese characteristics.This is clearly reflected in the construction of temples, the translation and compilation of Buddhist classics, and the rise of Buddhist art.In particular, the art of stone carving and grotto carving art, which emerged from the combination of Buddhist art and Chinese stone carving art, is more distinctive. The Buddhist stone carving art we are talking about includes two parts: stone statues and cave temple carvings.Buddhist stone statues, since the prosperity of Buddhism in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, have various shapes, including cliff statues, single statues, columnar statues, niche statues and so on.Quite a few of the statues were carved with written inscriptions, which greatly increased the historical value of these statues.Among the stone statues in our country, the earliest one is the Kongwangshan stone statue discovered in Xinpu District, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, and its carving time may be the Han Dynasty.The coexistence of Buddhism and vulgarity in its themes reflects the characteristics of Buddhism in the early days of its introduction to China. "Juqu Anzhou Statue Stele" is a representative work of single statues.It was unearthed in Xinjiang at the end of the Qing Dynasty. It was discontinued at that time and was acquired by the Germans. It was later heard that it was destroyed in World War II.The stele was inscribed in the third year of Taiping in Beiliang (AD 445). Xiahou Ji wrote an essay with more than a thousand characters and few rubbings. In 1906, Duanfang was ordered to Berlin, Germany, and returned with a hand-extended copy and a half, which is called "the only copy in the universe".Its collection study was also named "Beiliang Monument Hall" because of this, and it became famous for a while.Regarding written records such as portraits, "Longmen Sipin" (namely "Shi Pinggong", "Yang Dayan", "Sun Qiusheng", "Wei Lingzang", etc.) is a well-known masterpiece.It has both historical value and calligraphy art work.

The carving art of cave temples is generally referred to as "grotto art". The caves we are talking about actually refer to Buddhist temples dug out of riverside cliffs and other places. Chinese grotto art includes stone carvings, clay sculptures and murals, and is an integral part of Chinese Buddhist art.It originated from India.Judging from the remaining cave groups today, the cave groups in Kizil, Baicheng, Xinjiang, Kumutula, Senmusim, Kizil Duoha and other cave groups in Kuqa are the stories of Buddha's Jataka painted on the top of the caves. In the diamond-shaped square, the enshrined Buddha, Bodhisattva and other images are drawn around it.The Mogao Grottoes and other grottoes in Dunhuang in western Gansu are roughly the same shape as the early Eastern Han grottoes in Xinjiang. The banners on the two walls depict the stories of Buddha Jataka in the same form as the Han Dynasty stone reliefs.This type of early works clearly preserves the style of the combination of ancient western grotto art and Central Plains art.From Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang to Bingling Temple in Yongjing, and then south to Maiji Mountain in Tianshui, the themes and styles of the early statues and murals are exactly the same.After Emperor Taiwu Tuobatao of the Northern Wei Dynasty unified Hexi in the fifth year of Taiyan (439 A.D.), many monks and believers moved east to Pingcheng (now Datong, Shanxi).Therefore, in the Yungang Grottoes excavated in the west of Pingcheng, the themes and styles of the statues in the early caves (such as No. 16-20, No. 7-8, etc.) are also the same as those of the early grottoes in Hexi and Tianshui.These phenomena fully demonstrate that the development of grotto art is carried out along the route from west to east.

From the 10th year to the 23rd year of Emperor Xiaowen Taihe of the Northern Wei Dynasty (486-499 AD), the Xianbei ruling group actively promoted the Sinicization policy in order to accelerate the feudalization process of the Northern Wei Dynasty regime.Reflected in grotto art, there is a reverse change from the early transmission route, forming a tendency to spread around Yungang and Longmen Grottoes.At this time, no matter what kind of clothing and accessories the statues in the grottoes adopted to varying degrees, the Han costumes were adopted.The largest group of grottoes in the country, such as Mogao, Maijishan, Bingling Temple, Sigou and other grottoes, the statues after the middle period of the Northern Dynasty were all influenced by the statues of Yungang and Longmen.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Buddhism became one of the main religions that people believed in at that time, and the excavation of grottoes reached a climax.The art of grottoes in the Five Dynasties and Song Dynasties was not as prosperous as before, and the excavation of grottoes was less.However, some places, such as the statues in Fowan, Longgang Mountain, Dazu, Sichuan, are more full of folk flavor, which is incomparable to the statues in the grottoes of previous generations. Looking at the above situation, we can know that the grotto art in my country has a long history and a vast distribution area.As far as we know, the ancient grottoes in our country are distributed in a vast area from Kunlun in the west, to the East China Sea in the east, to Wuyue in the south, and to Youyan in the north.According to the differences in cave shapes and main statues, the national grottoes can be divided into three major regions: Xinjiang, the northern part of the Central Plains and the southern part.

(1) Xinjiang area, mainly distributed along the north route of the Tarim Basin from Kashgar to the east, and its concentrated locations can be attributed to three small areas: the ancient Qiuci area, in the area of ​​today's Kuqa and Baicheng, the main grottoes are Baicheng The Kizil Grottoes in the territory, the Kizil Duoha, Kumutula and Senmusham Grottoes in the Kuqa territory; the ancient Yanqi District, in the Qigexing area of ​​​​now Yanqi Hui Autonomous County; the ancient Gaochang District, in the present-day Turpan area, The main grottoes are Tuyugou and Bezeklik Grottoes. (2) The northern part of the Central Plains, that is, the east of Xinjiang, the north of the Yellow River Basin, and the vast area inside and outside the Great Wall.There are many grottoes in this area with various contents, which are the main components of Chinese grottoes.The following can be subdivided into four districts: Hexi District, referring to the grottoes in the counties west of the Yellow River in Gansu, such as Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Yulin Grottoes in Anxi, Changma Grottoes in Yumen, Wenshu Mountain Grottoes in Jiuquan and Tianti Mountain Grottoes in Wuwei; Yellow River Grottoes in Gansu To the east, there are mainly Yongjing Bingling Temple Grottoes, Tianshui Maijishan Grottoes, Guyuan Sumeru Mountain Grottoes, Qingyang Pingdingchuan Grottoes and Qingyang North and South Grottoes; in Shaanxi, there are mainly Binxian Dafo Temple Grottoes, Yaoxian Medicine Wangdong Grottoes, Shihong Temple Grottoes in Fuxian County, Huangling Wanfosi Grottoes, Yan'an Wanfo Cave Grottoes and Chengtai Grottoes in Zhidan County, Shaanxi is the place where the late grottoes are concentrated in the northern part of the Central Plains; Including Datong Yungang Grottoes, Luoyang Longmen Grottoes, Gongxian Grottoes, Handan Xiangtangshan Grottoes, Taiyuan Tianlongshan Grottoes, Yixian Wanfotang Grottoes, Mianchi Hongqing Temple Grottoes, Jinan Huanghua Rock Grottoes, Anyang Baoshan Grottoes, Yidu Yunmen Mountain and Tuoshan Grottoes, Dongshan Grottoes in Bahrain Zuo Banner, Inner Mongolia, Front and Back Zhaomiao Grottoes, Baiyan Grottoes in Otuoke Banner, Baoding Temple Grottoes in Pingshun, etc. (3) The southern region, namely the Yangtze River Basin and the regions south of it.There are not many grottoes in this area, and the distribution is relatively scattered. Except for a few places, there are more statues in cliff niches than in caves.There are mainly Qianfo Rock Grottoes in Qixia Mountain, Nanjing, caves and niches near West Lake in Hangzhou, statues of Baoxiang Temple in Xinchang, Huangze Temple in Guangyuan, Qianfo Cliff Grottoes, Longgang Mountain Grottoes in Dazu, Fowan Grottoes, Shizhongshan Grottoes in Jianchuan, Dali Wait. The grottoes in the above three major regions can be divided into seven categories if analyzed based on the shape and structure of the cave excavations: (1) Pagoda temple caves with a central tower pillar in the cave; (2) Buddhist temple caves without central tower pillars; (3) The monastery grottoes, which are mainly used for monks’ daily life and meditation practice; (4) Great statue caves with large Buddha statues in the pagoda temple caves and Buddha hall caves; (5) Buddhist altar caves with altars and statues in the Buddhist hall caves; (6) A small meditation cave (Arhat cave) specially designed for meditation in the monk's room cave; (7) A group of meditation caves composed of small meditation caves. Although the grottoes in the three regions have their own characteristics, they also influence each other.For example, the Daxiang Grotto (Tanyao Five Grottoes), which was first excavated in Yungang, Shanxi in the 5th century and 60s, has a certain relationship with the ancient Kucha Grottoes in Xinjiang;The belief in the Buddha of Immortality in the south of the Yangtze River spread to the western part of the Central Plains probably earlier. After the middle of the 6th century, the statues in the grottoes and niches in the western part of the Central Plains also affected the northern part of Sichuan.During the heyday of the Sui and Tang Dynasties in the 7th and 8th centuries, the typical shape of caves and niches in the Central Plains had been spread to Sichuan in the south and Xinjiang in the west. After the 11th century, group portraits of Arhats became popular not only in the northern part of the Central Plains, but also in the area south of the Yangtze River. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Tibetan Buddhist caves and niches appeared not only in the north of the Central Plains, but also in the south.From the mutual influence of the above regions, it can be seen that before the late 5th century, the grotto art in the north of the Central Plains was influenced by Xinjiang; after the late 5th century, the grottoes in various places were all influenced by the main political centers or cultural centers of the country.