Maijishan Grottoes

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Huge bodhisattva sculptures on the Maijishan
General view of the Maiji mountain

The Maijishan Grottoes ( Chinese  麥積山 石窟  /  麦积山 石窟 , Pinyin Màijīshān shíkū , English Maijishan Grottoes / Grottoes on Maiji Mountain ) are Buddhist cave temples from the time of the Northern Wei to Qing Dynasty 45 km southeast of the city of Tianshui in the chinese province of Gansu . They are 30-80 m high in the rock faces of the 142 m high Maijishan Mountain.

history

The beginnings go back to the late period of the Sixteen Kingdoms and probably earlier. In the time of the Northern Wei Dynasty , a major phase of work began, later additions range from the Sui - through the Tang to the Qing period .

The cave temples have been on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China in Gansu (1-38) since 1961 and have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site with the title Silk Roads: the road network of the Chang'an-Tianshan corridor since 2014 .

description

There are 194 caves with over 7000 statues from the Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui and Tang Dynasties, from the Five Dynasties and from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties get most of clay.

The grottos house wall paintings on an area of ​​over 1000 square meters. Thousands of sculptures are depicted lifelike.

The figures are of great importance for the history of Buddhism, archeology and folklore.

literature

  • Michael Sullivan: The cave temples of Maichishan. Photogr. by Dominique Darbois. With an account of the expedition 1958 to Maichishan by Anil de Silva. London: Faber and Faber, 1969
  • Zhongguo da baike quanshu : Kaoguxue (Great Chinese Encyclopedia: Volume Archeology). Beijing: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe, 1986
  • Dong Yuxiang (Ed.): Maijishan deng shiku bihua [Wall paintings in the rock caves of Maijishan a. a.] . Beijing: Renmin Meishu Chubanshe, 1988 ( Zhongguo meishu quanji : Bihua bian 17)
  • Sun Jiyuan (Ed.): Maijishan shiku diaosu [sculptures from the Maijishan caves]. Beijing: Renmin Meishu Chubanshe, 1988 ( Zhongguo meishu quanji : Diaosu bian 8)

Web links

Commons : Maijishan  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed February 7, 2019 .

Coordinates: 34 ° 24 '22 "  N , 105 ° 8' 4"  E