[Sea and River Travel Talk] Why Are There So Many Grottoes in Sichuan and Chongqing?

The Buddha statue on the lintel of the Mahaoya Tomb in Leshan is the earliest relief Buddha statue discovered in China to date. Photographed by Jia Xuan. As a region where grottoes were carved relatively late, the grotto carvings in Anyue can be found not only around the city but also throughout the rural areas. Among them, places such as the Reclining Buddha Temple, Pilu Cave, Thousand Buddha Fortress, Yuanjue Cave, Huayan Cave, Mingshan Temple, Xuanmiao Temple, and Peacock Cave are the largest in scale, richest in content, and most exquisitely artistic. Photographed by Wang Qi. The grottoes in Sichuan and Chongqing are not only numerous but also constitute an important part of the grotto system in southern China. In recent years, influenced by the concept of World Heritage, people have begun to examine the role of the grottoes in Sichuan and Chongqing in the exchange of human civilizations from a completely new perspective.

The Southern grottoes boast a vast number of stone carvings. Grottoes, also known as grotto temples, refer to Buddhist architectural structures carved into steep cliff faces; they represent one of the earliest forms of Buddhist architecture. Originating in India, they were initially created by monks as places to live in seclusion in the mountains for meditation or to conduct Buddhist rituals. Later, as Buddhism spread to China, these grottoes became more common there as well. The carving of grottoes in our country began to flourish during the Wei and Jin dynasties, and reached its peak in the Sui and Tang dynasties. Their architecture, design, sculptures, and murals incorporated traditional Chinese sculptural and pictorial aesthetic techniques on the basis of the Gandhara art style of India, ultimately giving rise to a grotto sculpture art style with distinct Chinese characteristics. The existing grottoes in our country can be classified into northern Central China grottoes, southern grottoes, Xinjiang grottoes, and Tibetan grottoes, based on their architectural style, differences in the main statues, and locations. China’s four major grottoes – the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, the Yungang Grottoes, the Longmen Grottoes, and the Maijishan Grottoes – all belong to the grottoes in northern China. However, in reality, the grotto carvings in the south account for nearly half of the total number of such carvings in the country, with the majority of them located in the Sichuan and Chongqing regions. Among these, the Dazu Rock Carvings and the Leshan Giant Buddha, which are listed as World Heritage Sites, are the most famous.

They can be found in over 50 districts and counties in Sichuan and Chongqing. There are currently more than 8,000 grottoes and stone carvings in this region, mostly located in over 50 districts and counties in Sichuan and Chongqing. These grotto carvings were mainly created during the Tang and Song dynasties. At that time, there was a concentration of eminent monks in the Sichuan and Chongqing regions; Buddhist temples were large-scale, the inscriptions of sacred texts were exquisite, and the statues found in these temples were renowned and ranked among the best in the whole country. The grottoes and stone sculptures in Sichuan and Chongqing can be broadly divided into three regional types based on administrative divisions, as well as the style and development trends of these sculptures: the grottoes in northern Sichuan, those in central Sichuan, and those in eastern Sichuan (including Chongqing).

Why are there so many grottoes concentrated in Sichuan and Chongqing? The Sichuan-Chongqing region is another area in China where stone carving art is highly developed, following the Central Plains and northern regions. The Sichuan Basin, where the Sichuan and Chongqing regions are located, is surrounded by mountains and lies in a secluded area; it has been known since ancient times as the \"Land of Abundance.\" Thanks to its abundant resources and relatively stable and prosperous living conditions, the people in this region have always had a vibrant culture and arts scene, with their cultural traditions being passed down over time. The carving of grottoes in the Sichuan-Chongqing region began during the Northern Wei Dynasty, and reached its peak during the Tang and Song dynasties. This peak was related to the open-minded, enthusiastic, and optimistic mental attitude of society at that time, which stemmed from its open nature, as well as to favorable economic development. Before the Tang dynasty, in the Sichuan and Chongqing regions, it was traditional for the ruling class led by the royal family to be responsible for creating statues, and these statues were mostly located in cities or near important transportation routes ； From the mid-Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, it evolved into a form of participation by the entire population, with local gentry and wealthy individuals playing a key role; cave statues began to appear in rural areas. For this reason, unlike the grottoes in other parts of our country, those in Sichuan and Chongqing possess an air of everyday life in addition to their majestic appearance. In the early Tang Dynasty, many officials in the Sichuan and Chongqing regions came from Chang’an and Luoyang; they brought Buddhist practices to this area at an early stage, influencing the local religious beliefs ； During the reigns of Emperor Gaozong and Wu Zetian, a policy of promoting Buddhism was adopted, leading to a surge in the creation of statues across the country. In addition, the Sichuan Basin is characterized by many hills and mountains, with rock that is generally soft and fine, making it easy to carve caves and statues. The people living in the Sichuan and Chongqing regions have long had a tradition of digging caves, constructing tombs, and building stone archways ； The numerous cliff tombs, stone archways, and pictorial bricks from the Han Dynasty are precisely the foundation and manifestation of this technical tradition. For this reason, since Buddhism became popular in China during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the hilly and mountainous areas of Sichuan and Chongqing became ideal locations for carving grottoes. The activity of carving grottoes reached its peak during the Tang and Song dynasties, and continued until the Republic of China era, leaving behind a large number of exquisite grotto temples and stone carvings.

Northern Sichuan is the region in Sichuan where grottoes were first carved, with Guangyuan and Bazhong as its main centers. Among them, Guangyuan is the region where statues were created earliest and in the largest quantity on the Jinniu Road ； Bazhong is the region with the most statues along the Micang Road, and Buddha-shaped niches are its most distinctive feature. Qianfoya in Guangyuan is located on the banks of the Jialing River in Guangyuan. It belongs to the category of cliff-carved grottoes; its carving work began during the Northern Wei Dynasty, reached its peak in the Tang and Song dynasties, and continued until the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty. The carving activities lasted for over 1,400 years in total. According to the inscriptions on the stone tablets from the fourth year of the Xianfeng era of the Qing dynasty (1854 AD), there were over 17,000 statues in total on the entire cliff. In 1935, more than half of the statues were destroyed during the construction of the Sichuan-Shaanxi highway. The existing stone carvings are spread over a length of more than 200 meters from north to south, with the highest point reaching over 40 meters. After completing the digital preservation project of Qianfoya in Guangyuan, it was found that there are a total of 950 grottoes, making it one of the most important grotto complexes in Sichuan Province and even across the whole country. The Huangze Temple Grottoes are located on the west bank of the Jialing River in Guangyuan City. There are 34 grottoes and cliff carvings from the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties, with over a thousand statues in total. The subject matter and style of the statues in the Tang Dynasty grottoes at Huangze Temple reflect the characteristics of typical grottoes from the Central Plains during the same period, while the sophistication of their designs and decorations as well as the level of carving skill surpass those of the existing grottoes throughout the Central Plains. The Bazhong Nankan Rock Carvings are located on Huacheng Mountain, 1,000 meters south of Bazhong city town. There are currently 133 caves, housing over 2,100 statues. The Shuining Temple Grottoes are located in Shuining Temple Town, Bazhong City, Sichuan Province. A total of 38 niches contain 316 statues, all of which are Buddhist statues and are in good condition.

The grottoes in central Sichuan were carved slightly later than those in northern Sichuan, and are mainly from the Tang and Five Dynasties periods； The grottoes in central Sichuan are mainly found in areas around Chengdu, such as Leshan, Qionglai, and Pujiang, with the Leshan Giant Buddha and the Qionglai Grottoes being representative examples. The Leshan Giant Buddha is located on the steep cliffs of Qiluan Peak on Lingyun Mountain, on the east bank of the Min River, southeast of Leshan City in Sichuan Province. It was carved from the first year of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty to the 19th year of the Zhenyuan era; it is a sitting Buddha statue carved into the mountain. The Giant Buddha is 71 meters tall in total, with a seated height of 59.96 meters; it is the tallest stone-carved Maitreya Buddha in the world and is part of the World Heritage site “Emei Mountain–Leshan Giant Buddha”. The Shisun Mountain Grottoes are located on a sheer cliff to the northwest of Jinggou Village, Datong Township, Qionglai City, and were first carved in the second year of the Dali era of the Tang Dynasty (767 AD). There are 33 Buddha niches and 1,195 statues, mainly depicting figures such as Sakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, the Three Buddhas, Thousand-Handed Guanyin, Vaisravaṇa, scenes from the Pure Land sutras, and scenes from the Guanyin Sutra. The Feixiange cliff carvings are located on the cliffs on both sides of Erlangtan in Zhaoyanghu Town, to the southwest of Pujiang County. There are 92 niches in total, housing 777 statues; the earliest of these statues were carved in the first year of the Yongchang era of the Tang Dynasty (689 AD). The cliff carvings at Feixian Pavilion are located along the ancient Silk Road in the southwest, dating mainly from the Tang Dynasty. They come in various forms, with vivid and lifelike representations.

The carving of grottoes in eastern Sichuan began later than in northern and central Sichuan, mainly during the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty, with the Anyue Grottoes and Dazu Carvings as representative examples. In Anyue County, Sichuan, there are over 200 cliff carvings of considerable scale and cultural value, along with more than 100,000 statues of various sizes (including stone reliefs). There are over 100 statues that are more than 3 meters tall, and they are regarded as \"another great treasure trove of Chinese grotto art.\" The Dazu Rock Carvings are located in Dazu District, Chongqing. They are religious cliff carvings from the late Tang and early Song dynasties, focusing mainly on Buddhist themes, with representations of Confucianism and Taoism as well. They represent an excellent example of stone carving art from China’s later period. Their scale, artistic excellence, and rich content make them comparable to the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, the Yungang Grottoes, and the Longmen Grottoes. In 1999, they were listed as a World Cultural Heritage site.

Integrated into **cultural heritage routes**, the conservation of grottoes and rock carvings in modern and contemporary China began in the early 20th century; in 1939, Liang Sicheng organized an investigation of the grottoes and rock carvings in the Sichuan and Chongqing regions. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the cliff carvings at Qianfoya in Guangyuan and those at Huangze Temple in the Sichuan-Chongqing region ； Four sites of rock carvings, including the North Mountain Grottoes in Dazu and the Baoding Mountain Grottoes, were included in the first batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units, while the Leshan Giant Buddha was included in the second batch. Since then, several more grottoes in Sichuan and Chongqing have been listed as cultural relics protection units at the national, provincial, municipal, and county levels. In recent years, with deeper research into the grottoes in Sichuan and Chongqing and an increasing awareness of cultural heritage protection across society, more and more stone carvings in these grottoes have been protected. In 2015, the protection of grotto temples and stone carvings in Sichuan and Chongqing was included as a key project in the **Culture Heritage Bureau’s 13th Five-Year Plan. In October 2020, the General Office of the State Council issued the \"Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Protection and Utilization of Grotto Temples,\" which specifically called for the protection of smaller grottoes as well as the integration of the grotto temple resources in Sichuan and Chongqing to create **cultural heritage routes** and **site parks**. This is undoubtedly good news for the stone grottoes in Sichuan and Chongqing, which are numerous, widely distributed, and have relatively small individual scales.

There are many Buddhist rock carvings in these places, and this is likely related to the local natural conditions – with many mountains, difficult roads, and a high risk of accidents; carving Buddha statues serves as a way to pray for peace