Today's "Charm of Jiangxi" takes everyone to pay attention to the grotto temple at the southernmost point of the mainland.
Tongtianyan is located in the northwest suburbs of Ganzhou City, about ten kilometers away from the city, and is a Danxia landform of red sand and boulder. Here the ravines are longitudinal, the red cliffs are soaring, and the scenery is beautiful. Known as Danxia style, pleasant ecological scenery, rich historical sites, known as the first grotto in Jiangnan. Because the stone peak surrounds the screen, there is a trick to the sky on the side and it is named Tongtian Rock. Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, it has been chiseled into caves for thousands of years and has become a treasure of mainland grotto art.
The area of Tongtianyan Scenic Area is about five square kilometers, which is divided into two parts: East Rock and West Rock. Dongyan is an ancient Cliff statue, but also the core and essence of the Tongtian Rock Scenic Area, mainly including Tongtian Rock, Cuiwei Rock and other five mountain rocks, of which Tongtian Rock has preserved a total of Moya statues from the end of the Tang Dynasty to the Southern Song Dynasty. 358 moya inscriptions from the Northern Song Dynasty to the Republic of China period 128 items. The Tongtian Grotto was excavated at the end of the Tang Dynasty, when there were frequent wars in the north and art moved with it.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the excavation of the cave temple reached its peak, and the cliff statues of the Tongtian Grotto can be divided into four groups. The first group is the eight bodhisattva statues created at the intersection of Tongtian Rock and Cuiwei Rock at the end of the Tang Dynasty. This also opened the precedent of Tongtian rock molars, of which guanyin bodhisattva phase is the best preserved, the highest historical and artistic value. The second group is a group of 500 arhats excavated in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty on the upper part of the Tongtianyan Mountain Cliff, which is of a large scale. The third group is the 18 Arhat elephants of the late Northern Song Dynasty. The first-line distribution of Wanggui Rock, Dragon Tiger Rock, Tongtian Rock and Cuiwei Rock is the essence of the Tongtian Rock Cliff Statue. The fourth group is the Maitreya Buddha and other statues created in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, and it is the central area of the Tongtianyan Cliff Statue. Looking at the photographic art of the southern and northern grottoes of the Tang Dynasty, there is a common feature, Western Buddha statues and Middle-earth humanoid Buddhist statues are not only sinicized in appearance, but also in various parts of the human body.
The Tongtianyan Scenic Area now preserves the cliff inscription, which has not been interrupted for more than 900 years, and the content involves politics, history, religion, culture and other aspects. It is a valuable material for the study of the art and local history of the mainland calligraphy moment. Among them, the inscriptions of Wang Yangming, Tang Bangzuo and others in the Ming Dynasty are the best works of calligraphy, which can be called the best of calligraphy art, and Wang Yangming is engraved in a five-word poem in Wangguiyan, and there are many tourists who are in harmony, which has a great influence on the inscriptions of later generations.
Tongtian Grottoes is the largest grotto temple in East and South China of the mainland, which can be called the first grotto in Jiangnan, and it is also the southernmost grotto in the geographical location of the mainland. Due to the good vegetation growing in the whole scenic area, it can also be called a grotto temple with the most beautiful natural environment in the mainland. Coupled with the inscriptions of the cliffs that appeared with the grotto temple, it made the Tongtian Rock Grotto a treasure trove of art.
Edit: Yan Tian
Editor: Qiu Lequn
Final Judge: Xu Yang