The Paper's reporter Gao Dan
The World Cultural Heritage Chongqing Dazu Stone Carvings are the largest group of grotto statues in southern China, and are also known as the last monuments in the history of grotto art, with more than 50,000 grotto statues interpreting the re-glory of grotto art after the late Song Dynasty.
The Surging News learned that the "Special Exhibition of Dazu Stone Carvings" opened today at the National Museum of China. The 82 exhibits on display include statues of Guanyin, Buddha, offerings, and drunken people. The exhibition is not only a comprehensive display of the art and history of Dazu rock carvings, but also the achievements of the protection and inheritance of the cultural heritage of Dazu rock carvings over the years.
Exhibition site
It is reported that this exhibition is the first exhibition about the World Cultural Heritage of the Cave Temple held by the National Museum in recent years. The exhibition comprehensively and systematically introduces the discovery process and uniqueness of Dazu rock carvings, as well as the explorations made by cultural and cultural workers in the process of protection and inheritance of Dazu rock carvings. In the exhibition, there is a review of the history of the discovery of Dazu rock carvings, an introduction to the unique statue art of Dazu stone carvings, and a display of the achievements of Dazu stone carvings in the digitization of cultural relics and the protection of cultural relics.
The exhibits mainly include the collection of statues of various cave niches carved in Dazu, and in recent years, archaeological excavations, collections, and transfer of cultural relics in the Dazu area have basically demonstrated the carving style of Dazu stone carvings. For more immovable niches, some key and representative statues were selected, and introduced through pictures, videos and other forms, showing the artistic charm of Dazu stone carvings in an all-round and multi-angle manner.
The 82 exhibits on display, including 66 pieces (sets) of cultural relics collected by the Dazu Institute of Stone Carvings, include the dignified and elegant Guanyin, the compassionate and solemn Buddha, the humble offerings, the drunken people with realistic images, the incense burners with intricate patterns, etc., with exquisite carvings and diverse themes; there are also comprehensive and meticulous panoramic views of grottoes, warp maps and photos of cultural relics restoration, etc., with ingenious composition, exquisite elegance, novelty and uniqueness.
The Dazu stone carving is hailed as the last monument in the history of grotto art, and its discovery extends the history of the prosperity of Chinese grotto art for more than 400 years. As a world cultural heritage, Dazu rock carvings have high historical, artistic and scientific value. Through the combination of cultural relics and pictures, this exhibition highlights the distinctive features of the Dazu stone carvings.
The exhibition is divided into four units, which show the discovery process, basic overview, characteristics of stone carvings, and research and conservation results of Dazu stone carvings.
The first unit, "Journey of Discovery", shows the discovery process of Dazu rock carvings through a large number of pictures. This precious art treasure was long lost in the barren mountains and wild mountains, until the Qing Jiaqing period, the famous examiner, Dazu Zhi County Zhang Shu searched for the ancient, wiped the traces to identify the text, only to lute the blue wisps, the first dazu stone carving research. In the following hundred years, accompanied by one scientific investigation after another, in the commemorative book of the discovery tour of Dazu Rock Carvings, a number of names such as Liang Sicheng, Liu Dunzhen, Yang Jialuo, Ma Heng, Gu Jiegang, Wang Chaowen, Liu Kaiqu, Ye Yushan, etc. were written in the academic circles and literary circles of modern and modern China. The unit helps the audience clarify the history of the discovery and research of Dazu rock carvings through relevant historical photos and Dazu stone carvings, spanning from the Qing Dynasty to the present, with clear context and informative information. This section also exhibits the certificate photos of the successful inscription of The Dazu Rock Carvings on the World Heritage List in 1999, and uses multimedia technology to show the audience the Documentary on the Dazu Rock Carvings, enriching the elements of the exhibition.
Southern Song Dynasty Statue of Shakyamuni 143 cm high, 116 cm wide and 104 cm thick Originally located in the Little Buddha Bay Grottoes on Dazu Baoding Mountain
The second unit, "Shudao Dazu", first shows the general appearance of Dazu to the audience with a large-scale exhibition wall design. Located between Chengdu and Chongqing, Dazu is the main transportation route in the Sichuan-Chongqing region and a must for Dongda Road and Xiaochuan East Road. Dazu rock carvings are the collective name for all grotto statues in Dazu District, and there are as many as 75 grottoes listed as cultural relics protection units so far. Among them, the Beishan, Baodingshan, Nanshan, Shimenshan and Shizhushan grottoes are the most distinctive, representing the highest level of Chinese grotto art in this period.
Southern Song Dynasty Liu Ben statue 125 cm high, 70 cm wide and 50 cm thick Originally located in the Xiaofowan Grottoes on Dazu Baoding Mountain
The statue of Emperor Ming Zhenwu is 88 cm high, 49 cm wide and 37 cm thick Originally located in Dazu Zhong'ao Zhen Shu Chengyan
Secondly, the unit tells the representative figures and deeds of the statues in the Dazu area after the end of the Tang Dynasty, such as Wei Junjing, Yan Xun, Feng Kai, Zhao Zhifeng, who are famous statues in the history of Dazu, and the hosts can find the corresponding statues in the Dazu stone carvings. This exhibition brings together cultural relics such as stone tablet rubbings, photographs, and scriptures related to these figures, which helps the audience to more intuitively understand the origin of Dazu stone carvings. The unit highlights a statue of Shakyamuni of the Southern Song Dynasty originally located in the Xiaofowan Grottoes on Dazu Baoding Mountain. This statue reflects a very high level of carving skills, is a model of the Song Dynasty Buddha statue, and is also a rare round carving in the Dazu area.
Ming Chenghua Seven Years (1471) Incense Burner Height 145 cm, width 125 cm, thickness 125 cm Originally located in Dazu Baoding Mountain Xiaofowan Grottoes
Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) Guanyin seated statue Height 188 cm, width 105 cm, thickness 49 cm originally located in Baoding Mountain Xiaofowan Grottoes
Third, the unit shows the diversity of Dazu stone carving themes through representative cultural relics, highlighting the characteristics of the "three religions in one" statue in the region, as well as the unique narrative image style. The Dazu stone carvings were born later, bringing together the essence of grotto art since the Northern Dynasty, and showing maturity beyond the previous generation in absorbing and transforming foreign cultures and integrating the three doctrines. The theme of the statue is not only the Luohan statue showing the Zen theme, but also the tantric statue of the "Liu Sect" represented by Liu Benzun, and the appearance of the secular portrait has brought more human fireworks, and the "three religions in one" statue of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are gathered together to interpret the popular social trends of the Song Dynasty. The content of the statue pays attention to both pictures and texts, integrates diverse folk ideas, especially integrates filial piety and Zen thought into the disguised phase, and completes the dissemination of the theme ideas with secularized life atmosphere scenes, showing the development of Chinese grotto art styles and folk religious beliefs in the Tang and Song dynasties.
Northern Song Dynasty Xianping to Zhiping period (998-1067) Flower offering bodhisattva statue Height 133 cm, width 43 cm, thickness 43 cm Excavated in 1986 Dazhong Temple site in Dazu Wangu Town (No. 1)
Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) walker statue 80 cm high, 53 cm wide and 29 cm thick Originally located in the Dafowan Grottoes on Dazu Baoding Mountain
At the end of the unit, the "cattle herding map" located in the western section of the south cliff of Dafo Bay on Dazu Baoding Mountain is specially presented in the form of an animated video, which is full of fun. There are twelve groups of cattle herding figures, created during the Southern Song Dynasty according to Yang Cigong's "Ode to Cattle Herding". The figure uses the cow as the heart, the shepherd borrows the practitioner, and through the interaction between the shepherd and the cow, the realist expression technique is used to show the process of Zen practice with a vivid image, so that the viewer can benefit.
Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) Circular Shrine Buddha Statue Height 53 cm, width 54 cm, thickness 13 cm Originally located in Dazu Baoding Mountain Xiaofowan Grottoes
Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) statue of believers 91 cm high, 46 cm wide and 36 cm thick Originally located in the Dafowan Grottoes on Baoding Mountain
The third unit, "The Mysterious Phase of Engraving Rock", shows the characteristics of the five major areas of Dazu North Mountain, Baoding Mountain, Nanshan Mountain, Shizhu Mountain and Shimen Mountain, and specifically analyzes the development context, statue content, and statue expression form of Dazu stone carving. As a representative work of the late stage of Chinese grotto art, the earliest stone carvings in Dazu were built during the Tang Yonghui period (650-655), which reached its peak through the five dynasties to the Southern Song Dynasty, which is a good example of the development of cave statues in the direction of Moya statues, and opens up a new world of grotto art. Stone carvings are famous for their grand scale, exquisite carvings, diverse themes and well-preserved, and are unique in Chinese grotto art with distinct nationalization and living characteristics.
Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) Drunken Sitting Statue 77 cm high, 70 cm wide and 30 cm thick Originally located in the Dafowan Grottoes on Dazu Baoding Mountain
Southern Song Dynasty during the Chunxi to Chunyou period (1174-1252) The head of the bodhisattva is 22 cm high, 18 cm wide and 24 cm thick, originally located on the left wall of Pilu Cave No. 14 of the Dafowan Grottoes on Dazu Baoding Mountain
The unit showcases the beauty of Dazu's stone carvings through colorful pictures and exquisitely shaped statues. Beishan is a stone sculpture gallery where the beauty gods gather, represented by the Immeasurable Life Sutra, the Peacock Ming King Cave, and the Chuanlun Jingzang Grotto, with exquisite carvings and unique ingenuity. Baodingshan Big Buddha Bay is one of the rare large-scale grotto tantric dojos in the world with a total conception and design, full of continuous carvings and huge group portraits, and the scene is extremely magnificent. Stone carvings such as the Parents Grace Sutra in disguise and the Great Convenience Buddha's Reward for Grace Sutra integrate ordinary life scenes into the creation of grottoes, and the pictures are very secular and lifelike, and innovate the expression of Chinese grotto art. There are statues of Confucius, Sanqing, Shakyamuni and other Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist religions in the grottoes of Nanshan, Shizhu Mountain, Shimen Mountain, etc., which have a far-reaching influence on the folk religious beliefs of later generations and are extremely rare in the art of statue-making. These statues are derived from the classics, and they are not limited to the classics, and have a strong inclusiveness and creativity, reflecting the righteous requirements of secular beliefs to punish evil and promote good, subdue the mind and regulate behavior.
The performance techniques of Dazu stone carvings strive to be closely integrated with popular aesthetics, using realistic and exaggerated complementary techniques, imitating difficult to show, conveying difficult feelings, giving different character characteristics to different characters, and seeking to convey the divine portrait. Whether it is Buddha, Bodhisattva, Arhat, Vajra, and various secular figures, they all have distinct personalities and elegant postures, which are quite like the true portrayal of various characters in reality. The unit focuses on an incense burner, which is hollowed out and carved, decorated with dragon patterns, cloud patterns, flowers, double lion play balls and other patterns, exquisite carving, ingenuity, in the territory of Dazu has been found in the incense burner, its carving skills are the most outstanding, is the representative work of the Ming Dynasty incense burner.
The fourth unit, "Inheriting the Past and Renewing the Past", analyzes the protection history and restoration technology of Dazu Rock Carvings to the audience, and displays and promotes the work. The rotation of thousands of years has left a lot of scars on the Dazu stone carvings, and the surface weathering, feng shui erosion, rock mass cracking, and biological erosion have made the appearance of the stone statues more and more mottled and degenerate, and the preservation state is very fragile. Since the 1950s, the Dazu Institute of Stone Carvings has adopted the method of combining traditional engineering and modern technology, and through a series of scientific means such as comprehensive testing, reinforcement and risk removal, weathering and treatment, the Dazu stone carvings that have been weathered by wind and frost have been reborn. This unit focuses on the restoration project of Dazu Senju Kannon. The Statue of Thousand Hands Guanyin is located on Baoding Mountain and was excavated during the Southern Song Dynasty. On the cliff surface of 88 square meters, nearly a thousand hands and eyes are shaped like peacocks opening the screen, which can be called "wonders of the world". Due to the long period of time, the Senju Kannon gradually appeared a variety of diseases such as stone defects, gold leaf warping, and color change. According to the survey, a total of 34 diseases are superimposed on each other, and the disease area reaches about 38% of the total unfolded area. In 2008, the rescue protection project of the Thousand Hands Guanyin Statue was officially launched, which lasted 8 years, and completed the repair from the stone carcass to the painted layer and the gold layer one by one, and finally made the Thousand Hands Guanyin Nirvana reborn. The restoration process, means and materials of Senju Kannon are all reflected in this unit.
At the end of the exhibition, the efforts and achievements made by the relevant departments of Dazu District for the promotion of Dazu Rock Carving, a world tangible cultural heritage, are presented. In recent years, the Dazu Institute of Rock Carvings has actively advocated the digital preservation of stone carvings, gradually completed the scanning of niche statues, and at the same time used 3D printing technology to copy some statues, giving immovable cultural relics the feasibility of going out of the house, and achieving the goal of making cultural relics live in the present and serving the public. The Dazu Institute of Rock Carvings has also made full use of its collections and digital achievements to hold exhibitions in museums in Chengdu, Shenzhen and other places, continuously promoting the art of Dazu rock carvings to go out and giving new vitality to world cultural heritage.
Through the combination of traditional display means and modern technology, the exhibition conveys to the audience the style of Dazu stone carvings; with the help of the power of science and technology and art, let The Dazu stone carvings enter the lives of the people, guide everyone to deeply understand the unique charm of Dazu stone carvings, and better understand the long-standing, broad and profound Chinese civilization.
The exhibition is co-sponsored by the National Museum of China, the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development, and the People's Government of Dazu District of Chongqing Municipality. The organizer hopes that through the exhibition, the audience can understand the Dazu rock carvings, understand the traditional culture contained in the Dazu rock carvings, and the efforts made by cultural and cultural workers to protect and inherit the excellent traditional Chinese culture; hope that this exhibition can become one of the results of the integration of culture and tourism practice, and help Dazu become a world-class tourist attraction with rich cultural heritage.
The exhibition lasts for 2 months.
Editor-in-Charge: Ruoxi Chen
Proofreader: Liu Wei