Original title: East and West Question, Chinese Grottoes|Zhang Ming: Why does the "Oriental Smile" stay forever in the smoke and rain of wheat?
Lanzhou, July 2 (ZXS) -- Why does the "Oriental Smile" stay forever in the smoke and rain of wheat?
——Interview with Zhang Ming, deputy director and research librarian of Maijishan Grotto Art Research Institute
Located in Tianshui City, Gansu Province, the Maijishan Grottoes are located at the crossroads of the Chinese Grotto Corridor, connecting the east and the west, connecting the north and the south, which is not only an artistic reproduction of the exchanges and blending of various ethnic groups in China, but also an important symbol of exchanges and mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations. In 2014, the Maijishan Grottoes were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as part of the "Silk Road: Road Network of the Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor".
The Maijishan Grottoes, which are known as the four major grottoes in China together with the Mogao Grottoes, Longmen Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes in Dunhuang, are known as the "Oriental Sculpture Exhibition Hall"? What are the typical "combination of Chinese and Western" modeling cases in the cave? Why has the "Oriental Smile" become the iconic "emoji" of the Maijishan Grottoes, and what are the similarities and differences between it and the smiling Buddha statues in the grottoes in other countries? Zhang Ming, deputy director and research librarian of the Maijishan Grottoes Art Research Institute, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East and West Question" to explain.
The transcript of the interview is summarized below:
China News Service: Judging from the history of the construction of the Maijishan Grottoes, why is it called the "Oriental Sculpture Exhibition Hall"?
Zhang Ming: Maijishan Grottoes was built in the Sixteen Kingdoms after the Qin period, after the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Western Wei Dynasty, the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Sui, the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties, the Song, the Yuan, the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty and other more than 1600 years of excavation and repair, the existing cave niches 221, 3938 pieces of various statues 10632 bodies, murals nearly 1000 square meters.
The statues of Maijishan Grottoes are mainly clay sculptures, which preserve the complete sequence of Buddhist statues in the Northern Dynasties period, embody the characteristics of statue art in various eras for more than 1,000 years, and are called "Oriental Sculpture Exhibition Hall".
Judging from the distribution area of China's famous cave temples, the Maijishan Grottoes are just at the "crossroads" of the Chinese grotto corridor. Located in such an ancient network of transport routes, the region is more susceptible to the influence of different regional cultures. In the construction history of more than 1,000 years, the integration and absorption, inclusiveness and continuous innovation have created the peak of Maijishan Grottoes in clay sculpture art.
Tianshui, Gansu, tourists visit the Maijishan Grottoes. Photo by Jiumei Danzeng
Maijishan Grottoes are famous for their clay sculptures, which are in line with the culture of Tianshui Dadiwan. Dadiwan culture is the earliest prehistoric culture in China to use painted pottery, and it is also one of the earliest ancient cultures in the world to produce painted pottery. To fire pottery, it is necessary to master the shaping ability and painting skills of clay sculptures. Before Buddhism was introduced to Tianshui, the local people already had mature clay sculpture skills. After the introduction of Buddhism, craftsmen combined clay sculpture skills with Buddhist art, and achieved the Buddhist art masterpieces that have been preserved to this day.
As early as more than 1,000 years ago, in each cave of Maijishan, the buildings, statues, and murals were complete, presenting a complete space of the trinity, and the combination of Buddhist statues was also clearly displayed. However, due to the fact that the Maijishan Grottoes are located in the Xiaolong Mountain forest area, the rainfall is abundant, resulting in some of the murals in the grottoes falling off. But today we can still see many well-preserved clay sculpture relics, which also reflect the high quality of the clay sculpture material and the superb painting and plastic skills of the Maijishan Grottoes, which can resist the erosion of the humid environment.
Aerial photography of Maijishan Grottoes. Photo by Jiumei Danzeng
China News Service: In terms of the shape of the cave niches, statues, costumes, and the content of the murals, how do the Maijishan Grottoes reflect the cultural exchanges between the East and the West? What are the typical cases of "East meets West" modeling?
Zhang Ming: Historically, Tianshui lived in Longyou, known as Qinzhou in ancient times, and was an important town on the Silk Road west of Chang'an. When Buddhism was introduced along the Silk Road, Tianshui became one of the earliest areas in the mainland to carry out Buddhist activities, and the Maijishan Grottoes became an important turning point for the localization and nationalization of China's cave temples, and in fact, it was also an important turning point for the gradual sinicization.
In the Maijishan Grottoes, the imprint of the integration of various ethnic cultures and the exchange and mutual learning of Eastern and Western civilizations can be seen everywhere. Taking Cave 74 and Cave 78 as an example, two niches appear above the left and right sides of the main wall of the cave, and the three bodies of the Bodhisattva are respectively crossed feet and Siwei Bodhisattva. This is a typical combination of stone carvings and statues in the Gandhara region, but the cave shape is modeled after the architectural shape of the ethnic minorities in northern China, which can be said to be an organic combination of foreign culture and local minority culture.
Judging from the costumes of the cave statues, the semi-partial robes of the early Buddha statues of the Northern Wei Dynasty are based on the original partial robes, and the robe with a corner on the right shoulder is added, which not only reflects the Indian Buddhist tradition, but also adds the elements of traditional clothing in the Central Plains. With the gradual advancement of the sinicization of Buddhism, the "praise clothes and belts" have become a typical attire, and the face of the statue has also taken on the Central Plains style of showing bones and clear statues.
The Buddhist statues of Maijishan Grottoes in the past dynasties are the result of multi-ethnic cultural exchanges and blending. From the early "mix-and-match" of "your statue, my architecture", it has gradually transformed into a multicultural integration process of "you have me, I have you".
The 44th cave of Maijishan Grottoes is a clay sculpture of one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas in the Western Wei Dynasty. The main Buddha statue is known as the "Oriental Beauty". Photo by Jiumei Danzeng
China News Service: There are many Buddha shrines and grottoes in the Maijishan Grottoes with smiling expressions, and there are similar smiling Buddha statues in other grottoes in China and abroad. What are the similarities and differences?
Zhang Ming: The smiling statue is not unique to the Maijishan Grottoes. In the history of Buddhism in the Northern Dynasties of China, the smiling statue was very popular, demonstrating the tolerance and closeness of Buddhism, as well as the acceptance and compassion of the believers. This kind of smile is particularly prominent in the Maijishan Grottoes.
For example, the innocent little novice in Cave 133, the touching "Oriental Smile" has attracted countless tourists; The seated Buddha in Cave 44 is known as the "Oriental Beauty". It is these warm oriental smiles that have become the iconic cultural IP of Maijishan Grottoes. The smiling statue through the millennium reflects the calm and open-mindedness of the ancients and a beautiful vision for the future, which can still resonate in the present, which is also the artistic charm of Maijishan Grottoes.
Cave 133 of Maijishan Grottoes was excavated in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the moving "Oriental Smile" made countless tourists stop. Courtesy of Maijishan Grotto Art Research Institute
The smiling expression, in the early stage of the development of Buddhist statues, is universal and international, whether it is in many early grotto statues in China, or in foreign grottoes and Buddhist statues along the Silk Road. On the one hand, in the context of the spread of the Silk Road, Buddhism, as a foreign religion, in the process of its spread, the unity and relevance of the main line run through the east and west, and the artistic language represented by the smile has become a common choice of multiple regions and nationalities, and has become the most representative and inspiring symbol of Buddhist statues. On the other hand, the statues made by different regions and ethnic groups have different visual perceptions of smiles.
Taking the Maijishan Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes in the four major grottoes in China as an example, the statues of the two are most typical of clay sculptures and stone carvings, which have reached the height of their skills in the performance and utilization of material characteristics, and in the expression of smiles, they have both form and spirit, as well as the perfect integration of materials and craftsmanship, but the feeling of smiling is emphasized, and the spiritual emotions generated by the viewer are also different.
The smile of the Maijishan Grotto statue is more intimate, and the smile of the Yungang Grotto statue is more sacred. The smiling expression has a different emphasis and difference in each early grotto, and it needs to be carefully felt and savored. Of course, this also shows that in the "big family" of the grottoes, each grotto is an indispensable member and composition, and it can be beautiful in its own way, and the beauty is infinite.
China News Service: The Silk Road: The Road Network of the Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor, which is jointly inscribed by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan on the World Heritage List, has a total of 33 sites, including four caves, including the Maijishan Grottoes. Why was the grotto selected?
Zhang Ming: The Silk Road is a road of integration, exchange and dialogue between Eastern and Western civilizations and cultures, and has made important contributions to the common prosperity of mankind for 2,000 years. "The Silk Road: The Road Network of the Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor" is an extremely important part of the Silk Road, which contains a rich variety of sites, especially the four grottoes represented by the Maijishan Grottoes, which is an important demonstration of the value of the Silk Road and an important testimony to the continuous and extensive religious and cultural exchange activities between the East and the West.
The remains of these cave temples highlight the diversified characteristics of Chinese culture and the process of historical development, and are outstanding examples of cultural exchanges and dialogues between human civilization and culture. Therefore, it is only natural that the four cave temples represented by the Maijishan Grottoes were selected among them.
China News Service: What are the challenges facing the protection of cultural relics in the exposed Maijishan Grottoes? And what measures will be taken to let the "Oriental Smile" stay in the smoke and rain forever?
Zhang Ming: The rainy and humid forest area of Maiji Mountain has created a beautiful scenery of "Maiji smoke and rain", and also brought "flooding" to the protection of the grottoes, and the statues and murals are prone to diseases such as hollowing, cracking, and decolorization.
In recent decades, after reinforcement, restoration, water seepage control and biological control, the ancient Maijishan Grottoes have turned from danger to safety. The protection of grottoes has also shifted from the initial rescue protection to the comprehensive protection combining rescue and preventive protection, which is a more scientific protection concept.
At present, we are writing the "Archaeological Report of Maijishan Grottoes" in order to permanently preserve the complete information of Maijishan Grottoes. This is equivalent to a "genetic coding" for the Maijishan Grottoes, which is conducive to the protection, research and promotion of the Maijishan Grottoes, and if necessary, the cultural preservation personnel can also try to restore the caves according to the content of the report.
In Tianshui, Gansu Province, staff check digitally scanned statues and murals in the Maijishan Grottoes. Photo by Jiumei Danzeng
The Maijishan Grottoes are the product of the exchange of Eastern and Western civilizations in the context of the ancient Silk Road, and their inclusiveness, inclusiveness, and smiles that convey compassion, kindness, compassion, and contemplative feelings have brought many inspirations to the exchanges between different cultures in the world today. In the future, we will rely on online digital protection, combined with offline in-depth excavation and creative transformation of the artistic value of grottoes, so that the ancient grotto art can be reborn and the "Oriental Smile" will always stay in the smoke and rain. (ENDS)
Interviewee Profile:
Zhang Ming, deputy director and research librarian of the Maijishan Grotto Art Research Institute, was interviewed by China News Service's "East and West Question". Photo by Jiumei Danzeng
Zhang Ming, deputy director of the Maijishan Grottoes Art Research Institute, adjunct professor of the Institute of Dunhuang Studies, Lanzhou University, Ph.D. in history, research librarian. His main research interests are cave temple archaeology and Buddhist art. Outstanding young cultural talent in Gansu Province, presided over 1 national social science project, 5 provincial and ministerial scientific research projects, participated in 3 national social science and Ministry of Education projects as the main member of the project team, and published more than 20 papers.