Wanfotang Grottoes

--Wanfotang grottoes are the earliest and largest Grottoes in Northeast China, with high historical and artistic value. At the same time, it is a scenic spot integrating human landscape and natural landscape.

--The grottoes are carved on precipices, next to the broad Daling River. Across the river, you can see a vast field, with smoke in the distance and green willows nearby.

Wanfotang Grottoes

Wanfotang grottoes, located on the North Bank of Daling River, 9km northwest of Yixian County, Liaoning Province, is the earliest and largest group of Grottoes in Northeast China by 2015. It is also the northernmost and easternmost group of Grottoes in the Northern Dynasties. Wanfotang grottoes were built in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Most of them have been damaged and collapsed due to natural weathering and disrepair, No longer exists. It is known as the art treasure house of Grottoes in northern China. At the same time, wanfotang Grottoes is a scenic spot integrating human landscape and natural landscape. In 1988, it was designated as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Evolution of construction

In the 23rd year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty (499 A.D.), Yuanjing, the governor of Yingzhou, built the west area of Wanfo hall for praying for blessings, which was presided over by master Tan Yao.

In the third year of Wei Jingming, it commemorates the event that Han Zhen, an envoy of Khitan, was sent to Khitan to dig the eastern district.

Since then, due to the influence of war and other factors, the Grottoes have been damaged many times.

In 1474 A.D., Wang Kai, a general of the royal guards, built a small circular tower to celebrate his mother's birthday.

It was rebuilt in the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty and spread to the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.

During the Anti Japanese War, the grottoes were damaged again, and only after three years of renovation from 1994 to 1996 did they shine again

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geographical environment

position

Wanfotang grottoes are located on the North Bank of Daling River, 9 kilometers northwest of Yixian County, Liaoning Province.

climate

The region belongs to the north temperate zone of the middle temperate zone, a continental monsoon climate, four distinct seasons. The annual average temperature is 7.8 ℃, the average precipitation is 530mm, the average sunshine is 2848 hours, and the frost free period is 126-175 days.

hydrology

The grottoes are close to the Daling River, which originates in Pingquan County, Hebei Province. It flows 398 kilometers from the trickle to the magnificent estuary, and flows through Chaoyang and other cities and counties in Liaoning Province. Xihe River is the largest tributary on the left side of the downstream of Daling River. It comes from pailouyingzi village on the north slope of East Camel Mountain in tabenzalan Township, Fuxin Mongolian Autonomous County. Through the urban area of Fuxin, Dongliang Township, yimatu Township, wofenggou township of Fuxin Mongolian Autonomous County, caijiatun township of Qinghemen district and Daling River at fuxingbao, the total length is 113 km.

Main landscape

overview

There are six caves in the lower layer of wanfotang grottoes, which are arranged from east to west. Entering the first cave, the door is engraved with four characters: "Buddha's light shines everywhere". The square shape of the cave is about five meters high, with a flower of about one meter on each side. There is a square stone column in the center, which is connected with the top of the cave. The square stone column is covered with fine carvings on all sides. The Buddha statues on the dust arch, the Buddha statues in the combination of the statue of worshippers and the upper Buddha, the waiters and the arc-shaped huaman, etc Sheng Tong Zi, Fei Tian at the top of the cave, and the thousand Buddha seated Buddha on the wall of the cave inside the gate are all typical statues of the middle period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, with strong sword skills. There are seven caves in the eastern area, built in the third year of Jingming period in the Northern Wei Dynasty. They are private caves built by Wei Yu, Khitan envoy, Han Zhen and others for blessing. There are nine caves in the western area, which are divided into upper and lower layers. There are three small caves on the upper layer. The carved statues in the caves have been weathered and disappeared. The inscriptions on cave 5 were written by general Yuanjing of Pingdong in 499 A.D. when he built the cliff. They are important historical materials and were rated as "the best steles of the yuan and Wei Dynasties" by Kang Youwei of the late Qing Dynasty

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On the top of the Grottoes is a small circular tower built in 1474 a.d. by Wang Kai, a general of pumila, on his mother's birthday. The first cave in the western district is the largest, with three Buddhas carved on the East, West and North walls. The statue of Buddha and the statue of donor on the top of the square tower in the center of the cave. The four Buddha statues in the lower part are carved for future generations. The main statue of cave 6 is Maitreya Jiaojiao. The Yuanjing statue is inscribed on the south wall of cave 5. There are seven caves in the East, most of which have been weathered. The third cave contains the thousand arm Avalokitesvara and the second Bodhisattva. The statue of Han Zhen is inscribed on the south wall of Cave 4.

West Area

According to the inscriptions, the western district was built in the 23rd year of Taihe (AD 499) of the Northern Wei Dynasty by the governor of Yingzhou (now Chaoyang) of Pingdong general, and Yuanjing was built for Huang to pray for blessings. There are 9 caves, which are divided into upper and lower layers. There are 6 caves in the lower layer, 3 caves in the upper layer and some niches. Caves 1 and 6 are well preserved. From east to west, you enter the first cave. The door is engraved with the four characters "Buddha's light". The square shape of the cave is about 5 meters high, and each side is about meters long. There is a square stone column in the center, which connects the top of the cave. The square stone column is covered with fine carvings on all sides. The Buddha statues on the pointed arch, the Buddha statues in the combination of the worshipper and the upper Buddha, the waiting person and the arc-shaped huaman, the Huasheng boy, the flying sky on the top of the cave, and inside the door The Thousand Buddhas on the wall of the cave are all typical statues of the middle period of the Northern Wei Dynasty. They are vigorous and vivid.

East Area

The eastern area is a private cave dug by 74 people, including Han Zhen, the official of Weiyu Khitan, in 502 A.D. The Buddha statues in the grottoes are large in size and small in size. The whole group of statues is well-organized, rich in content, exquisitely engraved, vivid and lifelike. There are few stone sculptures in existence. The most prominent one is a "thousand hands and thousand eyes Avalokitesvara", which was molded by craftsmen in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The clay body of the Buddha sits on the throne. There are 46 hands stretching out from the whole body. Each hand has an eye that twinkles. As for the hand inlaid with thousand eyes, it means that the hand and the eye are in one. It teaches people to be like a Bodhisattva. They should never be arrogant and humble It can be said that the ancient people were warning the world with Buddhist culture.

Cultural value

Wanfotang Grottoes is the only group of cliff Grottoes in Northeast China. The Grottoes have high historical and artistic value. The murals in the grottoes cover a large number of life scenes of ancient ethnic minorities. Professor Yan Wenru and Cao Xun of History Department of Peking University point out that wanfotang Grottoes have great academic value in studying the living habits of ethnic minorities

. In addition, the wanfotang Grottoes originated from Yungang Grottoes and are closely related to Longmen Grottoes. The study of the wanfotang Grottoes is helpful to the study of the grottoes of the same period and to understand the superb skills of the craftsmen of the industrial age

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Cultural relics

West Area

Cave No.1: in front of the cave, there is a corridor style eaves made by later generations, with three wide faces, a door on the front and a gate with seal characters of "ten thousand Buddha Hall" above. The statue of the heavenly king on the east side of the gate has been weathered, but the remnant remains on the west side. In the niche on the west side of the door, there is a statue of one sitting Buddha and two sitting lotus. In the niche on the west wall of the gate, there are seven seated Buddhas, two of which have been weathered. There are inscriptions on both sides of the door. There are three rows of sitting Buddhas carved above the inner door of the cave. There are 37 bodies. In the cave, a square tower core column is chiseled, and the upper part is connected with the patio. Each side is chiseled into two layers of niches. There is no original statue in the niches, except the backlight and the lotus flying relief on the backlight. The existing Buddha statues are carved by later generations. The top of the pointed arch niche on the south side of the pagoda core pillar is horizontally carved with one sitting Buddha and 13 Huasheng child statues, with a lotus in between; the upper niche is carved with a lotus seat, one sitting Buddha and two waishi statues, with two rows of supporting figures on both sides, with six people in each row. Under the niche, there are two deer lying opposite each other, and on the niche, there are arc-shaped flower curtains and triangular patterns. In the middle of the mountain pattern on the upper niche, there are also Huasheng children. The other three sides of the tower core column are roughly the same as those in the south, but the contents and quantity of the carvings are reduced. The four corner carvings of the pagoda core column can be divided into four layers. The lower layer is carved with a standing statue of arhat, only the northwest corner is slightly damaged, and the rest has been weathered; the middle layer is carved with Xumi mountain, Jiaopan Double Dragons, and flying statues holding objects in both hands; the upper layer is carved with a Buddhist niche, on which the eaves are carved with tile surface, the lower layer is carved with stone steps, and the niche is carved with sitting Buddha; the top layer is carved with a large honeysuckle pattern. On the patio around the column, there were three bodies of flying Apsaras in relief. There are three bodies of flying Apsaras in the south, all of them in the north, two in the West and one in the East. Three niches with a height of 2.6 meters and a width of 2.2 meters are carved on the East, West and North inner walls respectively. The form of the niches, the statues in the niches, the Baogai above the niches and the flying Apsaras are all reproductions of later generations. Feitian in the East has one body, while Feitian in the West has one body. Baogai and Feitian in the north have no body.

Cave 2: facing south from the original gate, there are three carved pointed arch niches in the East, West and North. Later, due to the collapse of the rock in the front, the door could not pass, so it was changed into an open window. Only sitting Buddha carved on the top of the original door and Thousand Buddhas on both sides remain in this cave. There is a lotus cover carved in the center of the cave top. One Bodhisattva standing on the lotus seat is carved in each corner. Now there is only one body left. There is only one pair of flying Apsaras in the South and one body in the East.

Cave 3: it is connected with cave 2 with the same structure. The main entrance has been blocked, and two doors have been opened on both sides to form a passage. The top of the cave is engraved with lotus and a treasure cover, but the remains are still visible. In the upper part of the eastern and Western cave walls, the pointed arch of the pointed arch niche can be seen. The north wall was eroded by wind, and almost all the sculptures in the cave fell off.

Cave 4: it is connected with cave 3 and slightly larger than caves 2 and 3. The original gate is south to East and has been blocked. The grottoes are irregular and rectangular, and the statues on the back wall are completely weathered. The top of the cave is engraved with lotus and a treasure cover, but the remains are still visible.

Cave 5: the first half of the cave collapses. In order to prevent further collapse, a dike has been built. The remaining statues on the north wall have been weathered. Only to the west can we see the traces of the sharp arch of the niche and the traces of the Thousand Buddhas sitting on it. Later, three small tile roofed houses with temple style were built on the north wall, and the east side in front of the house was clear