Longmen Grottoes — Royal Stone Carving Caves on Cliff and Buddhist Art Wonders

Longmen Grottoes, also known as Longmen Caves, is an invaluable artistic wonder of Buddhist stone carving. It consists of many ancient royal caves constructed mainly during the Northern Wei (386 — 534) and Tang (618 — 907) dynasties.

As a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, Longmen Grottoes holds great religious, artistic, historical, and cultural values.

Stone Carving Statues of Longmen Grottoes

Stone Carving Statues of Longmen, Photo by wwbb1961.

History and Development of Longmen Grottoes

Longmen Grottoes Facts and Important Data

Longmen Grottoes and Their Royal Connection

Longmen Location: Mystical, Historical, and Cultural Charms

Cultural Aspects Present in the Art of Longmen Grottoes

Destruction and Protection of Longmen Grottoes

Panoramic of Longmen Grottoes on West Hill, Photo from Official Site of Longmen Caves.

History and Development of Longmen Grottoes

In 493, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty migrated his capital to Luoyang city and built the first Buddhist cave there to pray for blessing to the departed Empress Dowager Feng.

Since then, more royals and nobles followed his steps and opened more caves.

During the early to mid-Tang Dynasty (618 — 907), the construction of grottoes in Longmen reached its peak, especially during Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu Zetian's reign (649 — 705).

Afterward, the grottoes were constructed on and off in the next 1400 years but also suffered significant losses several times in history by manual and natural causes.

In 1953, an agency was formed to preserve the Longmen Grottoes, which received national-level conservations since then and was listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 2000.

Stone Carving Statues and Inscriptions of Longmen Grottoes

Stone Carving Statues and Inscriptions of Longmen, Photo by Yunfei.

Longmen Grottoes Facts and Important Data

It is located in Luoyang City, Henan Province of China.

Over 2300 caves and niches of the Longmen Grottoes are scattered on cliffs on two sides of the Yi River and stretch for about 1000 meters long.

There are over 110,000 Buddhist stone statues, varying from 17.14 meters to 2 centimeters tall, and 2,800 carved stele inscriptions in those caves and niches.

A Prescription Cave, or Yaofangdong, carved over 150 medical prescriptions with easily reachable herbs to cure common diseases.

These are the earliest existing stone-carved prescriptions, and many of them are still in use today.

Carved Prescriptions in Prescription Cave or Yaofangdong.

How Did the Longmen Grottoes Connect to Royals?

Besides being a wonder of Buddhist stone carving, the Longmen Grottoes also had close connections to royals.

Guyang Cave

Guyang Cave, the first cave of the Longmen, was constructed in 493 under the command of Emperor Xiaowen to pray for blessing to the departed Empress Dowager Feng.

Stone Carving Statues, Inscriptions, and Reliefs of Guyang Cave.

Central Binyang Cave

Central Binyang Cave was built from 500 to 523 by Emperor Xuanwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty to pray for blessing to the departed Emperor Xiaowen and Empress Wenzhao.

Reliefs of Empress Wenzhao Worshiping Buddha Used to in Central Binyang Cave — Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Northern Binyang Cave

Northern Binyang Cave started in the year 500 by Emperor Xuanwu but was forced to pause after the Northern Wei Dynasty was ended in 534.

Later, this cave was completed in the early Tang Dynasty (618 — 907).

Buddha Statues in Northern Binyang Cave of Longmen Grottoes.

Buddha Statues in Northern Binyang Cave, Photo from Official Site of Longmen Caves.

Southern Binyang Cave

Southern Binyang Cave was first constructed in 500 by Emperor Xuanwu and later completed by Prince Li Tai (620 — 652) to pray for Empress Zhangsun, the beloved queen of Emperor Taizong of Tang.

Buddha Statue of Longmen Grottoes, Photo from Official Site of Longmen Caves.

Buddha Statue of Longmen Caves, Photo from Official Site of Longmen Caves.

Vairocana Buddha

The 17.14 meters Vairocana Buddha, or Lushena Dafo, built from 672 to 675, was supported and modeled by Wu Zetian when she was the queen.

A few years later, in the year 690, she enthroned and became the only female emperor in the history of China.

Vairocana Buddha in Fengxian Temple, Photo by Wuye.

Longmen Stele

Longmen Stele was written by Emperor Zhenzong of Song (968 — 1022) when he visited Longmen.

Part of the Longmen Stele Written by Emperor Zhenzong of Song.

Wanfo Cave

Wanfo Cave, or Ten Thousand Buddhas Cave, finished in 680 and supported by a female court official of the Tang Dynasty, has over 15,000 Buddha figures, each around 4 centimeters tall.

Wanfo Cave, Photo by Wuye.

Longmen Location: Mystical, Historical, and Cultural Charms

Longmen Grottoes are carved in the Longmen Mountains next to the Yi River in Luoyang City.

Longmen Mountains were cut into two parts to dredge the Great Flood by Yu the Great, founder of the Xia Dynasty (2070 BC — 1600 BC).

Afterward, in local legends, a carp that could leap over the turbulent current there will incarnate into a Chinese Dragon or Loong.

Therefore, it was named Longmen, which means the gate of dragons.

In Chinese culture, fish leaping over Longmen is a famous phrase that symbolizes achieving great success after intense competition and diligent work.

Picture of Fish Leaping Over Longmen (Yuyue Longmen), Designed by Quejiao.

The Longmen Mountains and Yi River area had been an ancient battlefield where General Bai Qi won a big war in 293 BC, which opened up the chapter of State Qin's annexing of other kingdoms and establishing the unified Qin Dynasty (221 BC — 207 BC).

Luoyang city had been the capital city of many dynasties in history, including Xia (2070 BC — 1600 BC), Shang (1600 BC — 1046 BC), Zhou (1046 BC — 256 BC), Eastern Han (25 AD — 220 AD), Sui (589 — 619), and so on.

This city's political, cultural, and geographical importance were significant reasons for Emperor Xiaowen, the first cave builder, to migrate his capital city to Luoyang.

Wu Zetian, one of the most important patrons of the Longmen Grottoes and the only female emperor in Chinese history, set Luoyang as the capital city during her reign (690 — 705) for more complex reasons.

Xiangshan Temple next to Longmen Grottoes, Firstly Constructed During Wu Zetian's Reign.

Cultural Aspects Present in the Art of Longmen Grottoes

As an exceptional Buddhist wonder in the important ancient capital city of Luoyang, the artworks of the Longmen Caves show many cultural aspects of China, mainly from the 4th to the 10th century.

Destruction and Protection of Longmen Grottoes

Throughout history, besides natural weathering, the Longmen Caves had suffered many destructions caused by man forces.

During Emperor Wuzong of Tang's reign (840 — 846), he implemented a Persecution of Buddhism that caused extensive destruction. Meanwhile, for political concerns, those royal-related caves and statues were preserved.

In 1932, many caves were blown up to construct roads for the government of The Republic of China.

From the late Qing Dynasty (1636 — 1912) to the 1930s, some statues, reliefs, and stone inscriptions were cut off, sold for money, and dispersed abroad, during the chaos of endless wars.

Stone Guardian Lion Used to be in Wanfo Cave of Longmen Grottoes

Stone Guardian Lion Used to be in Wanfo Cave — Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Photo by Dongmaiying)

In 1953, an agency to preserve the grottoes was constructed.

Since then, it has received national-level conservation and was listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 2000.

Nowadays, more efforts are being made to preserve and recover the Longmen Grottoes, including returning a statue of Arhat by the National Gallery of Canada in 2001 and restoring damaged relics using modern technologies.

Restored Colors of the Vairocana Buddha using Modern Light and Shadow Technology.