Where is the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang?

Longmen Grottoes is located in the southern suburb of Luoyang City, Henan Province 12.5km, between the east and west cliffs of Longmen Canyon.

Because the east and west mountains are opposite, the Yi water flows through them, which looks like a gate, so it is also called "Yi Que". After the Tang Dynasty, it was often called "Longmen".

Located in the transportation hub, with beautiful scenery and pleasant climate, it is a tourist attraction for literati.

Because the rock mass where Longmen Grottoes are located is excellent in stone and suitable for carving, the ancients chose to dig caves here.

Longmen Grottoes began to be excavated around the time when Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved to Luoyang. After the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties, the Northern Qi Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty, large-scale construction continued for more than 400 years.

Grottoes are densely distributed on the cliffs of the east and west mountains of Yishui, with a total length of 1.030 meters. At present, there are 2345 Buddhist caves and niches, more than 40 pagodas and 65438+ ten thousand Buddha statues.

The largest Buddha statue is as high as 17. 14 meter, and the smallest is only 2 cm.

In addition, more than 3,600 statues and inscriptions in the past dynasties all reflect the high artistic attainments of the working people in ancient China. Longmen Grottoes also retain a large number of religious, artistic, calligraphy, music, clothing, medicine, architecture, Chinese and foreign transportation and other physical historical materials.

Longmen Grottoes are large in scale, magnificent in momentum, exquisitely carved and rich in content and subject matter, and are regarded as one of the greatest treasures of world classical art..

With its own systematic and unique language of sculpture art, it reveals all kinds of laws and regulations of sculpture art creation, and integrates the advanced and profound history and culture of Han nationality in Wei, Jin, Luoyang and Southern Dynasties.

Therefore, from the very beginning, the sculpture art of Longmen Grottoes has been integrated with the understanding and strong pursuit of national aesthetic consciousness and form, which makes the grotto art show the trend of China and secularization, which can be called a "milestone" to show the transformation of China grotto art.

In addition, Longmen Grottoes is also the most concentrated place for the statues of the royal family and nobles in the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty.

Royal aristocrats have abundant manpower and material resources, and the grottoes they presided over must be huge and magnificent, bringing together the essence of grotto art at that time, so Longmen Grottoes are very representative.

The excavation of these caves is the embodiment of the will and behavior of the royal family, which has a strong ethnic and religious color. Therefore, the rise and fall of Longmen Grottoes not only reflects the rise and fall of China royal family's worship of Buddhism from the 5th century to the10th century, but also reflects some political trends and the development of social and economic situation in the history of China. Its significance is unmatched by other grottoes.

Therefore, it can be said that Longmen Grottoes is a large stone carving art museum, which is called "the three treasure houses of stone carving art in China" together with Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in Gansu and Yungang Grottoes in Datong.

Bodhisattva statue in Longmen Grottoes