Grottoes

The hot Mongolian dust storms were sweeping across the grottos as we traversed the parking area. It was approximately an hour's drive from Datong and the low desert humidity had us reaching constantly for our bottled water. Begun around 460 A.D., we had come to ogle at the Yungang Grottoes, the earliest Buddhist carvings in China. We were not disappointed!

The site not only has the grottoes, but you can see on the hilltop a piece of the Great Wall as it snakes through this area. Like many parts of the Great Wall, this one is devoid of any brick covering, likely the victim of barracks building.

The site was also a victim of vandalism during the Cultural Revolution. The main thing that saved the place was the sheer number of Buddhas to destroy, which seemed to fatigue the young zealots in the Red Guards. The entrance here is festooned with hawkers selling faux-Maoist objet-de-commies as well as pornographic 'ivory' carvings. Stucky's hasn't made it here but kitsch is universal.

The cliffs aren't too impressive at first glance. Like many of the rocks in this part of China, the loess-derived stone is easily carved. The method used in creating these works was to build a ramp up to the top, cut holes, then carve downward. Most of the work you'll see was done during the 5th Century.

The result is stunning. What is most amazing is considering how they managed to plan the scope of digging and sculpture on this scale. Being a model for this photo puts the magnitude of such sculptures in perspective!

The grottoes originally had a protective facade, like the example above, which was built during the much later Ming Dynasty. If you look closely, you'll see our guide Miller, in the lower right hand corner wearing the red shirt.

A detail of one of the feng shui critters. Would make a fantastic door knocker. Anyone with a castle out there?

Without the protection, the elements are as destructive as the Red Guards. This ghostly entity does not mock the ideology. Nothing is permanent.

This is a commemorative stele, one of many you will see in ensuing pages. They record the donors' contributions, down to the last ox or pig.

The art in the Grottoes exhibits influences one might expect from a hub of the old Silk Road. Here we see an elephant, which we assure you is not found near Mongolia, at least not since the last Ice Age.

A small detail of a doorway, showing an Indian influence. The Hindu artistry permeates the grottos.

This one shows Greek influence in the Ionic columns and other bas-relief details. One of the few places in China where so many philosophies are combined in such incredible reliefs.

Perhaps by now you can see why there are over 50,000 images here, most carved and painted over 1,500 years ago. The oriental colors of cinnabar turquoise and orange grace these magnificent works of art.

Mosaic of a doorway, just a small detail. History buffs and art lovers can spend hours studying these unbelievable caves.

Remember, these lintels just frame the entrance to a much larger grotto with a huge Buddha inside.

If you look carefully, you'll see a ceiling filled with celestial musicians, making celestial music. If you're wondering why things are so crowded, it's because these are anterooms, very small and dark. Notice all the lotus flowers.

From cave 5 through 13 there is some extremely fine art dedicated to celestial musicians and heavenly maidens (Asparas or Gandharva Devas) that decorate the surrounding Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. As usual the vibrant east Asian influence is present represented in bold colors. This small detail displayed in photo actually covers the entire cave walls.

The gate at the bottom provides a scale for the size of this Maitreya or Future Buddha, maybe 15m (50') high. For all those Oriental studies connoisseurs who understand the nuances of the many sects of Buddhist thought, we can only give a tiny glimpse into the symbolism expressed here. There are six different hand attitudes as well as position of feet.

Just a detail of Vajra doing the practical work of supporting the Maitreya's arm. ( We have concluded you'd need to become a monk just to learn the iconography of Buddhism ).

This is the Buddha inside Cave 11, carved during the Liao and Wei Dynasties 470-493. This is a mosaic of 4 pictures. The space in the caves is often very small and it's very dark. Like all the images, this is done as a pillar as the faithful would circle the images (CW) as part of their devotion.

The omnipresent Buddha. Most of these ancient all seeing relics were 14 to 18 meters high. Here we have the central Asian palette of cobalt cinnabar and burnt orange. Ommmm.....

A standing Sakyamuni Buddha in one of the earlier caves, ca 460, about 14m (46') high.

This image is from Cave 18 (ca 460) and is 15.5m (50') high. If you look at the folds of the clothing, you will see more Buddhas. We don't recall just what the holes were for, but suspect it was used to hold the plaster outer covering of the images.

Just for scale and perspective, Cave 18 with the Admiral and our guide.

They get even bigger...

Our last Big Buddha. The Bodhisattva on the left is missing, due to earthquakes over the years, along with much of the facade. The holes above the head were used to hold beams of a temple built over the images.

In case the images look small, note the size of the person in the background. The stuff in the left foreground are incense burners with giant joss-sticks.

This smallish image is maybe 10m (33') high. The pattern on the right consists of hundreds of Buddhas.

In case you have Buddha fatigue, here's a stone pagoda, carved from the living rock. If you don't, please note the many Buddhas in different poses as well has the hundreds more in the cave surrounding the structure.

In case you wondered about the surrounding landscape, it looks like West Texas. Much of what's seen in the distance at left is a giant coal mine.

What's this? A Ming Dynasty theater. Our guide, the intrepid "Miller" seen in the red shirt at left w/the admiral, explained that it was rare to get the peasants together except during religious festivals and staging plays was a way of fostering community interaction.

You're thinking, gosh, this is nice but I sure wish I could see some more Buddhas. We can help! Please join us as we visit a variety of spectacular monasteries!