Dazu Rock Carvings - The Last Monumental Works in the History of World Grotto Art

With a history spanning over 1,300 years, the Dazu Rock Carvings represents the pinnacle of grotto art worldwide from the ninth to the thirteenth century. The exquisite and varied cliff-side sculptures at Dazu caves provide outstanding proof of the harmonious fusion of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism in civil. In 1999, the Dazu Rock Carvings was inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

Why Visit Dazu Rock Carvings Chongqing?

Enjoying a comparable reputation with the top four grottoes in China (Mogao Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes, Longmen Grottoes, and Maijishan Grottoes) and being rated as one of the eight grottoes in the world, the Dazu Rock Carvings (“大足石刻” in Chinese), also known as Dazu Caves or Dazu Grottoes, located 167km from the city center of Chongqing. It is the one and only UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in Chongqing municipality. The Dazu Rock Carvings consists of 75 cave temple sites, including more than 50,000 statues, being protected for their historical, artistic, and scientific values at different levels, representing the pinnacle of Chinese cave temple art between the 9th and 13th centuries. Among them, rock carvings of Baodingshan (宝顶山), Beishan (北山), Nanshan (南山), Shimenshan (石门山), and Shizhuanshan (石篆山) are exquisitely sculpted with the most distinctive style.

The Dazu Rock Carvings started in the early Tang Dynasty, went through the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, and then experienced its golden time in the Northern and Southern Song Dynasty. At the time when cave art in northern China fell into decay, the Dazu Rock Carvings undoubtedly created another peak in the history of Chinese cave art, extending the history of Chinese cave art for more than 400 years. Since then, there have been no such large-scale rock carving events in China or even in the world. Therefore, the Dazu Rock Carvings are also known as the last monument and swan song in the history of the world’s grotto art.

What Distinguishes the Dazu Rock Carvings from the Top Four Grottoes in China?

Differing from famous royal grottoes in the north, the religious cliff inscriptions in Dazu show distinctive features of nationalization, secularization, and everyday life, reflecting the remarkable development and changes in folk religious beliefs. Thus, the Dazu caves have the irreplaceable historical, artistic, scientific, and connoisseurship values of grottoes of the previous generations. Another highlight that has to be mentioned is that the statues there provide outstanding evidence of the harmonious synthesis of Tantric Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Visitors can see separate stone carvings as well as the unity caves reflecting the three religions’ confluence and ruling together. Moreover, thanks to the southern hinterland location of the Dazu Rock Carvings, this cultural heritage stays far away from man-made sabotage, retaining the integrity of the statues, the original characteristics and values of the period when the carvings were created.

Interesting History Background and Important Figures to Dazu Rock Carvings

After the An-shi Rebellion (775-763 A.D.) in the Tang Dynasty, the national economic center moved southward, leading to the gradual economic development in the Bashu Region. Following this, a favorable social environment for the flourishing of culture, art, and religion was created in this area. In the late Tang Dynasty, there was political unrest. The prefect of Changzhou and military commander of four districts (Changzhou, Puzhou, Yuzhou, and Hezhou), Wei Junjing, took advantage of the chaos to occupy Dazu. Wei Junjing was influenced by Buddhist beliefs and feared that he would go to hell after his death for his conquering killings, so he recruited a group of painters and craftsmen to excavate statues of Buddha on Beishan Mountain. Coordinating with the civilians’ desire to keep peace at that time, Dazu County had witnessed a surge of Buddhist cliff carving activities since then.

Then, in the Southern Song Dynasty, a second significant figure entered the historical stage. Zhao Zhifeng, reputed to be the “Sixth Grandmaster of Tantric Buddhism,” preached the teachings of the Late Tang Buddhist monk Liu Benzun and propagated the Dharma in the Dazu area. In view of the strong Buddhist atmosphere here, Zhao Zhifeng was determined to build a large-scale Tantric ashram in the form of stone carvings in the area. After conducting dozens of field investigations, he finally chose Baodingshan (Baoding Mountain) with his keen intuition. Using a systematic approach to layout design, he completed a unified planning for the Baodingshan Rock Carvings’ construction. After around 70 years, the Baodingshan Rock Carvings (宝顶山石刻群) was built, elevating the Dazu rock carvings to the highest point.