Ancient Chinese stone carvings are a fairly rich cultural treasure. It has a wide variety, a large number, and a wide range of distribution. It can almost be said that since the pre-Qin Dynasty, there has been no stone without carving, and no land has been carved. From the Taishan stone carvings to the Xi'an Forest of Steles, from the stone carvings of ancient residences in Anhui to the tethered horse stones in the weinan countryside of Shaanxi Province, from the Yungang Grottoes to the Dazu stone carvings, the Yangyang Grand View, and so on, although due to a large number of destructions in the past, the stone carvings that have survived so far are still shocking, so that we can feel the rise and fall of stone carvings in various regions of various eras, and grasp the general context of the development and change of stone carvings. Stone carving art is an important part of the treasure house of Chinese national art, or round carving, or relief, or inscription, or image shaping, rich and colorful content, all-encompassing.
Han Dynasty portrait stone carvings
Han Dynasty portrait stone carvings, mostly decorative architectural components on stone ques, stone chambers and mausoleums. The Han Dynasty used stone as paper, knives instead of pens, and a variety of carving techniques to carve out far-reaching and all-encompassing historical pictures. Henan Han Dynasty portrait stones are mainly distributed in Nanyang, Shangqiu, Zhengzhou, Xuchang and Xunxian and other places, with different portrait content and different artistic styles. Its evocative shape, simple and robust lines, and ancient and simple meaning show the beauty of strength, movement and momentum, reflecting the vigorous style of the times during the rise of feudal society.
Kumamai Image Stone
Four-headed divine beast portrait stone
Heber Travel Portrait Stone
Monkey White Tiger Shop First Ring Portrait Stone Gate (left), White Tiger Shop First Ring Double Dog Portrait Stone Door (right)
Mausoleum stone carvings
The ancient tomb stone carvings in Henan are mostly the ceremonial guards in front of the tombs of ancient emperors and nobles, mainly stone to ward off evil spirits, stone sheep, stone horses, stone lions, stone tianlu, stone Wengzhong and Shinto pillars, etc., solemn and solemn, mighty and majestic, and the era is prepared from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Ming and Qing dynasties. In terms of artistic style, the Tang Dynasty was bold, the lines were strong and powerful, the momentum was rough and romantic; the works after the Song Dynasty were delicate and elegant, paying attention to realism and introverted.
Epitaph
The ancients carved inscriptions, and the tradition of flowing through later generations began in the Han Dynasty and was passed down to the Ming and Qing dynasties without fading. Tens of thousands of epitaphs have been unearthed in Henan, with the largest number of epitaphs unearthed from the Northern Wei to Tang Dynasties unearthed in Luoyang, or singing praises and praises, or writing chronicles, providing materials for academic research in various disciplines. Ancient epitaphs are mostly written by celebrities and inkers, and all kinds of books are available in a variety of styles, interpreting the breadth and depth of traditional Chinese calligraphy art.
Sima Yue's epitaph
Su Shi's wife epitaph
Statues of The Heavenly King Bodhisattva (left) and Guanyin Bodhisattva (right).
Ding Lang family statue
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