| Located
in Dazu County, Chongqing Municipality, the carving of the Dazu
Stone Sculptures started in the early years of the Tang Dynasty,
and continued into the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Buddhist, Taoist
and Confucian figures can all be found here, mainly in the form
of base-reliefs.
The most famous statues are located on North
Mountain, Mount Baoding, South Mountain. Mount Shizhuan and Mount
Shimen. In 1999, the Dazu Stone Sculptures was put on the World
Cultural Heritage list.
They are in Dazu County, where 76 caves house
more than 60,000 statues and more than 100,000 Chinese characters
carved on the stone walls, including those on the Northern and
Baoding mountains, which are the largest in scale, the richest
in concent, the bestpreserved, and most exquisitely carved.
They are to be found on Northern Maintain two
kilometers From the Dazu County seat. Statue carving began in
892 and lasted for nore than 250 years. The statues are concentrated
on precipices that form a gallery of 500 meters long and 4-7 meters
high in the form of a half moon at Fowan. There are altogether
290 caves enshrining almost 10,000 statues. Each cave has a style
of its own, and all the statues are beautifully shaped and exquisitely
carved.
Built on Baoding Mountain 1 5 kilometers forth
of the Dazu County seat, the temple is closely related to ston
sculptures on the mountain. Its main structures include the Tianwang
(Heavenly King) Temple, the Yuhuang (Jade Emperor) Temple, and
the Mahavira Hall. The imposing temple features tiers of eaves
and exquisite carvings. On Nanyan (South Crag) by the temple stands
the Wansui (Longevity) Tower. It is an octagonal structure with
four tiers of eaves and carved figures from ancient stories.
Towering north of the Dazu County seat, the
pagoda was guilt during the reign of Emperor Gao Zong (1131-1162)
of the Southern Song Dynasty. It is a seven-story structure more
than 30 meters high, and the edge is three meters across. A passage
inside leads to the top. The exterior is embellished with carved
bricks forming more than 100 designs. The ' interior is decorated
with statues that ` are exquisitely carved and rare to come by
elsewhere. |