Shuiquan Grottoes

Shuiquan Grottoes

Shuiquan Grottoes is located in Shuiquan village, Koudian Township, Yanshi City, on the cliff east of Dagu pass, the South Gate of the ancient capital Luoyang. The grottoes are in an arch shape, facing west and East, with mountains on their backs and water on their faces. It is 11 meters deep, 6.30 meters wide and 7 meters high. There are more than 400 Buddhist niches. The excavation dates from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Northern Song Dynasty, mainly from the Northern Wei Dynasty. In the middle of the cave, there are two main Buddhas. The left Buddha is 5 meters high and the right Buddha is 3 meters high

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Historical characteristics

On the north wall outside the cave, there is a niche of a statue in 713 A.D., which is a Buddha, two disciples and two Bodhisattvas. It has a plump face and powerful body, which is the artistic style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. On the south wall outside the grottoes, there are a lot of inscriptions, which are carved according to the mountain. Among them, there are records about the history of the grottoes, most of which have been eroded.

There are more than 400 large and small niches carved on the walls of the cave, in which one Buddha, two Bodhisattvas, two disciples or Maitreya Jiaojiao are carved. The niche lintels and their near sides are mostly engraved with flying Apsaras, Huasheng, lotus, curtain, Yingluo, etc. Under the Buddha's seat are the King Kong and the vivid crouching lions and beasts. The carving technique is simple, which is the style of the Northern Wei Dynasty. There are Tang Dynasty niches carved on the north wall outside the cave. Inside, there are one Buddha, two disciples and two Bodhisattvas with a full face. There are also inscriptions of statues in the second year of Putai in the Northern Wei Dynasty (532) and the second year of Xianxian in the Tang Dynasty (713).

internal structure

There is a large niche on the upper part of the south wall, 1.42 meters high and 0.95 meters wide, with 1 Buddha and 2 Bodhisattvas carved inside. The main Buddha sits on the high platform, two Bodhisattvas stand on the left and right, and a pair of male lions are carved on both sides. There is a small niche on the left, carved with one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas, and two lions on both sides of the Buddha seat. In the center of the Buddha's seat, there is a hand-held fumigation stove, and the left and right are the donors. There are five small niches on the top of the niche, and one Buddha in each niche; two small niches are carved on both sides of the niche door, with two sitting Buddhas in the upper niche and two standing Buddhas in the lower niche.

In the middle of the second floor of the south wall, there is a niche 1.94 meters high and 1.6 meters wide. Inside, there is the main Buddha, 1.25 meters high, sitting in a knot, backlit by a lotus flower and surrounded by a lotus boy. There are two disciples on both sides of the main Buddha and a pair of Dharma protecting lions under it. On the right side of the niche, there are two layers of small niches, 0.6 meters high and 0.5 meters wide, with 2 Buddhas and 2 Bodhisattvas carved inside. There is a pair of Dharma protecting lions on the left and right sides of the Buddha seat, and a fumigation furnace and two donors in the middle.

On the second floor of the south wall, small niches of different sizes, heights and shapes are carved on the left and right sides of the large niches. In the niches, there are statues of Buddha in different shapes, and under the Buddha's seat, there are statues of King Kong and crouching lion.

There is a large niche on the East lower level of the north wall, with a main Buddha engraved inside. It sits on a high platform with a lotus backlight and a lotus boy around it. There are two Bodhisattvas on both sides, and a pair of male lions on both sides of the Buddha seat. Three to five small niches were carved on both sides of the niches, one of which was carved with a small standing Buddha, and the other was carved with a sitting Buddha.

On the north wall of the cave gate, there are about 100 large and small niches. Most of the niches are one Buddha and two disciples or one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas. Most of the six niches are Maitreya. Under these niches, there are 9 layers of niches, 27 niches in each row, one in the lower right corner and three in the lower left corner. Each niche is 0.8 meters high and 0.7 meters wide, with one sitting Buddha carved inside.

On the north side of the grottoes, there is a delicate carved niche with two disciples and two Bodhisattvas. Its face is plump and its body is vigorous. It is a work of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. On the south side of the grottoes, there are cliff inscriptions, which record the construction history of the grottoes. It is of great value to understand the distribution of the grottoes, the statues and the prosperity of Buddhism. Shuiquan grottoes are characterized by concentrated statues and exquisite carving techniques. Some of them are comparable to Longmen Grottoes. They are valuable materials for the study of ancient sculpture, painting, architecture and the development of Buddhism. In 1963, it was listed as the first batch of key cultural relics protection units in Henan Province.

There are more than 400 large and small niches carved on both sides of Shuiquan grottoes. Most of the statues in the niches are one Buddha, two disciples, two Bodhisattvas, as well as many cross legged Maitreya statues. The lintel and near side of the niches are carved with flying sky, Huasheng, lotus, curtain curtain and tassels. Under the Buddha's seat are King Kong, crouching lion and crouching beast. The carving is simple, hard and straight, which reflects the characteristics of stone carving art in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Address: Shuiquan village, Koudian Town, Yanshi City, Luoyang City

Longitude: 112.658129

Latitude: 34.524046