The Paper's comprehensive report
As a world cultural heritage and one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units, the Maijishan Grottoes are one of the important Buddhist relics in northern China in the process of the eastern transmission of Buddhism, with important statues such as the famous Xiao Shami, who is known as the "Smile of the East", the Bodhisattva who "whispered" and the King of Luoji.
The surging news learned that the "Oriental Smile - Maijishan Grotto Art Exhibition", which brings together 15 national first-class cultural relics, was opened on a trial basis at the Changzhou Museum yesterday, bringing together 60 pieces (groups) of statues, murals, documents and other cultural relics from various periods of the Maijishan Grottoes and 59 pieces (groups) of copied works, which can be called the first comprehensive display of Maijishan Grottoes art outside the Maijishan Grottoes.
Cave 133 No. 9 niches inside the Small Shami Northern Wei
Maiji Mountain, also known as Maiji Cliff, is located in the southeast of Maiji District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province, with an altitude of 1671.4 meters and a height of 142 meters, located in the northern foothills of the western section of the Qinling Mountains, named because the shape of the mountain resembles the wheat stacks accumulated by farmers.
Exterior view of Maiji Mountain
Buddhism was introduced to China at the time of the two Han Dynasties, and the spread route in China was complex, the most important of which was the overland Silk Road in the north, which was greatly influenced by the Gandhara and Gupta styles, introduced from Central Asia, with the Buddhist relics in Xinjiang as the source, connecting many northern Buddhist relics such as Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Bingling Temple, Maijishan, Longmen, Yungang Grottoes and so on.
Tianshui is an important node of the overland Silk Road, west of Longyou, east of Tongguanzhong, Nantong Hanzhong into Shu, is the ancient traffic channel. The important geographical location of Maijishan has created conditions for the spread and promotion of Buddhism.
Map of the distribution of major cave temples in China
According to current research, it is generally believed that the excavation history of the Maijishan Grottoes can be traced back to the Post-Qin period of the Sixteen Kingdoms. Later Qin (384-417) was a dynasty established by the Qiang people, with its capital in Chang'an (around present-day Xi'an). The Later Qin Dynasty was very religious of Buddhism, and was the first to set up monks in the government to manage the country's Buddhist affairs, and the monarch Yao Xing also invited the most famous western monk at that time, Kumarosh, from Liangzhou to Chang'an. At that time, Chang'an was full of monks and was an important center of Buddhist activities, and Buddhist ideas spread and spread around, and the development of Buddhism in the Qinzhou (ancient name for Tianshui) area also benefited from this. At the same time, senior monks such as ShuYuan and Zhu Fahu, who were locally propagating the Dharma in Qinzhou, also played an important role in the dissemination of local Buddhist ideas and the choice of statue themes.
At the end of the Later Qin Dynasty, the famous monk Xuan Gao traveled west to Qinzhou, lived in seclusion in Maiji Mountain, and participated in Zen practice with the former Chang'an monk Tan Hong. Many monks, hearing of Xuangao's fame, gathered at MaiJishan to listen to his teachings on Zen. Maijishan became famous for its clusters of famous monks, and thus became a place where Buddhism flourished.
Cave 78 (one of the earliest surviving caves in Maijishan) is a seated Buddha statue on the front wall and the west wall
The Northern Wei Dynasty was the peak of the cave statues in Maijishan, and nearly 90 caves were excavated in Maijishan during this period, nearly half of the total. During the Western Wei Dynasty, due to the attack on the previous system, it was constantly built. During the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the development of Buddhism in Tianshui also flourished, and a large number of cave niches were excavated. During the Sui Dynasty, the emperor worshipped The Buddha, built a pagoda temple and opened a cave statue in Maiji Mountain, and the local gentry followed suit. Buddhism flourished in the Tang Dynasty, but the Maijishan Grottoes entered a period of stagnation due to major earthquakes and political and military instability. The Song Dynasty did not excavate new caves, but added many new sculptures to the original caves and rebuilt many broken statues. During the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the development of the Maijishan Grottoes was in decline, and there were no reopening of the caves, and there were only very few new statues and small-scale reconstruction activities.
Cave 4, also known as The Scattered Flower Building and the Upper Seven Buddha Pavilions, was built in the Northern Zhou Dynasty and rebuilt by the Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties
The Big Buddha of Dongya was built in the Sui Dynasty, and the 13th Cave was rebuilt in the Song Dynasty
After more than 1,600 years of excavation and repair of more than ten dynasties and more than 1,600 years of excavation and repair of more than ten dynasties such as Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing, maijishan has 221 existing cave niches, 10,632 statues of various types, and 979.54 square meters of murals.
In 1961, the Maijishan Grottoes were announced as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. In 2014, as one of the most important cultural heritage along the Silk Road, the Maijishan Grottoes entered the World Heritage List as one of the heritage projects of the "Silk Road: Chang'an - Road Network of the Tianshan Corridor".
The Maijishan Grotto Art Exhibition is divided into three parts: "The World of the Buddha", "The Creation of Faith" and "The Will of the World", showing the art of the Maijishan Grottoes from different angles.
The world of the Buddha
The first part, "The World of the Buddha", takes the clues of time and takes the historical rise and fall of the excavation and repair of the Maijishan Grottoes as the background, and mainly displays the sculptures of various historical periods of the Maijishan Grottoes, reflecting their artistic characteristics and stylistic evolution.
From the simplicity and solemnity of the Later Qin to the early and middle period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, to the qing statues of xiu bones in the late Northern Wei Dynasty, to the pearls and jade run of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, to the plump and rounded of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and finally to the realistic changes of the two Song Dynasties, the evolution of the sculptural art style of the Maijishan Grottoes has a strong continuity, and the vein is clear and can be found.
Shadow sculpture of Buddha seated statue in the early Northern Wei Dynasty
Shadow statue of a bodhisattva in the middle of the Northern Wei Dynasty
Shadow statue of Buddha sitting in the late Northern Wei Dynasty
Clay statue of a bodhisattva in the late Northern Wei Dynasty
Stone carved Buddha head Western Wei
Clay statue of Buddha sitting in Northern Zhou
Clay statue of Buddha sitting in Sui
Clay sculpture of the head of the Bodhisattva Song
On the left side of the main wall of Cave 121, the "whispering" bodhisattva and the Luo ji Fan King of northern Wei
This exhibition also exhibits the imitation exhibits of important statues such as The Little Shami, who is famous for the "Smile of the East", the Bodhisattva who "whispered", and the King of Luoji, which are very famous in the Maijishan Grottoes.
Trick Le Fei Tian "Thin Flesh Sculpture" Northern Zhou Cave 4 Liu Junqi Copy
The "thin flesh sculpture" mural is a unique technique of the Maijishan Grottoes in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and has not been seen in other grottoes in China. "Thin flesh sculpture" means that the exposed parts such as the face, facial features, neck, chest, arms, hands, feet and other exposed parts of the flying sky are expressed by thin plastic, and other parts such as dresses, streamers, arms, collars, yingluo, flowing clouds, smallpox, etc. are expressed by paintings, presenting the unique three-dimensional sense of "thin flesh sculpture" flying.
The creation of faith
The second part, "The Creation of Faith", focuses on the introduction of the cave shape system of Maijishan, the theme and combination of statues in the cave, and explains the Buddhist beliefs reflected in the Maijishan Grottoes through exhibits such as murals with strong storytelling, statues of Buddhist stories, and restored caves.
What types of caves are there in Maijishan? What is the purpose of the different statues in the cave? In the exhibition hall, the entire caves of Cave 123 and Cave 62 will be restored. Cave 123 is the Western Wei Grottoes, and Cave 62 is the Northern Zhou Grottoes, both of which belong to the special caves of Maijishan. This exhibition recreates the appearance of these two key caves in a 1:1 scale. In addition, a pair of virgin boys and girls on the inside of the door of Cave 123, dressed in bearded clothes, with an innocent and cute face, are also the more famous characters of the Maijishan Grottoes.
The inner side of the 123rd Cave Gate virgin statue of Western Wei
Stone carved "Buddhist Story" stele Northern Wei Cave 133 Sun Era Copy
The stele of the 133rd cave "Buddha's Tale" in the picture above is the most valuable for study and ornamentation among all the stone carvings in the Maijishan Grottoes, and the statue stele is divided into three sections from top to bottom, and the left and right are also divided into three sections, and the three large grids in the middle are painted respectively, respectively, painting Shakya Duobao sitting side by side, crossing feet of bodhisattvas, Shakya sayings and other pictures. In the left and right compartments, the stories of burning lamps, multiplying the image into the womb, being born under the tree, persuading to return to the palace, descending into the enlightenment, thinking under the tree, turning the first wheel of the Falun, Manjushri asking questions, Buddha entering nirvana, and Ashoka Shitu are painted respectively, each of which is worth carefully tasting.
Due to the relatively humid climate of Tianshui, where Mai JiShan is located, the cave murals are not easy to preserve, the first part of this exhibition has a small number of original murals displayed, and the second part has several fine mural copies, including "Western Pure Land Change", "Fahua Change", "Sui zi Bunsen", "Prince Sasuke sacrificed himself to feed the tiger", "Eight Kings Contend for Relics" and so on.
"Western Pure Land Change" Mural Western Wei Cave 127 Yang Xiaodong Copy
Mural of "Sui Zi Bunsheng" Western Wei Cave 127 Liu Junqi copied
The will of the world
The third part, "The Will power of the world", from the aspects of the offerings of the grottoes, the monks who practiced, the craftsmen who built them, and the protection and inheritance of the Maijishan Grottoes, combined with the statue stele, wood carvings, rubbings, scriptures, Buddhist utensils and other exhibits, shows the important influence of "people" in the construction of the Maijishan Grottoes and the inheritance of culture and art.
In the Maijishan Grottoes, there are individuals or groups of civilians dressed, without backlighting, or for statues, or for portraits, who are the benefactors or benefactors who have historically believed in Buddhism and funded the opening of cave statues, and are called donors. The following northern Wei dynasty shadow sculpture of the head of the donor, from Cave 127, is the image of a girl.
Shadow sculpture of the head of the donor In the late Northern Wei Dynasty
White porcelain bowl Song from the East Cliff Giant Buddha
The coin is from the West Cliff Buddha
Both of these artifacts were found in the Great Buddha of Moya. A white porcelain bowl in the picture above was found in the White Buddha of dongya, the main Buddha, and was owned by the craftsmen who repaired the dongya buddha during the Song Dynasty. On the outside of the bowl is an ink book inscription, which contains important information such as the origin and name of the craftsman, and the time of the rebuilding of the Buddha.
The coin flag pictured below was found in the 1980s during the restoration of the chest of the West Cliff Buddha, and is made of 287 copper coins woven with cotton thread.
At the beginning of the excavation of the Maijishan Grottoes, there was a temple, which was built because it was attached to the mountain rock, so it was first called Shiyan Temple and Lingyan Temple, and the name of the temple was used until the Sui Dynasty. In the Sui Dynasty, it was renamed Jingnian Temple. In the Tang Dynasty, it was renamed Yingqian Temple. In the first year of the Song Huizong Grand View (1107), it was given the name Ruiying Temple, which has been used to this day. The current temple building was built in the late Ming Dynasty, and some of the buildings were rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. The ancient temple at the foot of the mountain, which has been blowing in the breeze and illuminating the moon for more than a thousand years, is a good place for meditation and meditation. There are several artifacts from Ruiying Temple in this exhibition.
"Qinzhou Tianshui County Maijishan Buddha Shrine Inscription and Preface Monument" Rubbing Ming from Ruiying Temple
The wood-carved version of the "Diamond Sutra" ming is from Ruiying Temple
The blood book "Myo Fa Lotus Sutra" is clearly from Ruiying Temple
According to reports, the exhibition was sponsored by changzhou municipal bureau of culture, radio, television and tourism, Dunhuang research institute, Changzhou museum, Maijishan Grotto art research institute, and successfully selected into the state administration of cultural heritage to the society to promote 100 2020 "carry forward excellent traditional culture, cultivate socialist core values" theme exhibition list.
The exhibition runs until 1 November.
(The graphic and textual information in this article is synthesized from the public number of Changzhou Museum)
Editor-in-Charge: Ruoxi Chen
Proofreader: Zhang Liangliang