Longmen Grottoes: Treasures of History, Splendor of Art Longmen Grottoes Located in Luoyang City, Henan Province, China, the Longmen Grottoes are one of the most important treasures of Buddhist art in the world and a treasure of the history and culture of the Central Plains. This ancient grotto, which began in the period of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty and has gone through many dynasties and has been carved intermittently for 400 years, is still shining and shining brightly.
Longmen Grottoes is located in Longmen Mountain, 13 kilometers south of Luoyang City, there are 2,345 large and small caves in the whole scenic area, more than 10 Buddha statues, more than 2,840 inscriptions, and more than 60 stone carved pagodas. Here, every cave records a piece of history, and every Buddha statue witnesses a legend.
Approaching the Longmen Grottoes, the first thing that catches your eye is an ancient stone gate marked with the word "Longmen". Across the Longmen Bridge, slowly approaching, a hill in the distance is covered with dense black holes like a hornet's nest. Take a closer look, in this size no.
First, there are all kinds of Buddha statues hidden in the black holes of different depths, the Buddha statues are vivid, the carvings are exquisite, especially the big Buddhas are amazing.
In the Longmen Grottoes, the most famous Buddha statue is none other than the Lushena Buddha in Fengxian Temple. This big Buddha is the reincarnation Buddha of Shakyamuni, and it is said that Lushena means light in Buddhist scriptures. The Buddha statue is 17 meters high14 meters, head height 4 meters, ears up to 19 meters, it is said to be built according to Wu Zetian's appearance. The Buddha statue is draped in a robe, and the clothes on the robe are simple and unpretentious, and the soothing folds of the clothes are elegantly dusty. The wavy hair lines on the top of the Buddha's head, the face is relatively plump, and under the eyebrows curved like a crescent moon are a pair of bright eyes, quietly staring into the distance, calm and calm. The smiling corners of the lips, the long inward-cut and drooping earlobes, and the round and slightly protruding chin make it thick and solemn, revealing a beautiful quiet, quiet and peaceful.
At the southern end of Longmen Mountain, there is a cave carved out of a natural limestone cave - Guyang Cave. The cave was excavated in 493 and is the earliest excavated in the Longmen Grottoes. The scale of Guyang Cave is very grand, the small cave in the cave is exquisite and magnificent, the inscription calligraphy art is superb, and it is shocking to look at. The main image of the interior is Shakyamuni, wearing a robe with smooth lines, sitting peacefully on the square platform, with a thin face and a smile in his eyes, standing on the left and right sides are the Guanyin Bodhisattva holding the treasure bottle and the Dashi Zhi Bodhisattva holding the Mani orb. In the hundreds of Buddha shrines of all sizes in Guyang Cave, the shape design is beautiful, rich and colorful, and the carving decoration is very gorgeous. In Guyang Cave, there are also the "Twenty Products of Longmen", which is known as a calligraphy treasure. In this 20 inscriptions from the Northern Wei Dynasty, the font is dignified, strong and powerful, and majestic, and is known as "the crown of Wei tablets".
In short, as one of the important heritages of Chinese history and culture, the Longmen Grottoes are not only a treasure of Chinese Buddhist art, but also a witness of Chinese history and culture. Here you can feel the profundity and infinite charm of ancient Chinese culture, and appreciate the brilliant achievements of human art.