 Manshan Pavilion (漫山阁) of the Tianlongshan Grottoes | |
  Tianlongshan Grottoes Shown within China Show map of China Tianlongshan Grottoes Tianlongshan Grottoes (Asia) Show map of Asia | |
| Coordinates | 37°44′10″N112°22′37″E / 37.736°N 112.377°E /37.736; 112.377 |
|---|---|
TheTianlongshan Grottoes (Chinese:天龙山石窟;pinyin:Tiānlóngshān Shíkū,English translation: Mountain of the Heavenly Dragon) arecaves located inTaiyuan,Shanxi Province,China, that are notable for theBuddhist temples located within them. The temple complex spans two mountains: there are eight grottoes on the eastern mountain and 13 on the western mountain. The complex was constructed over a number of centuries, from thenorthern Qi dynasty until theTang dynasty, and contains Buddhist art of high historic importance. The majority of the caves date to the Tang dynasty.[1] The caves have been designated by the government as aMajor Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.
A number of works of Buddhist sculpture survived in the caves, including over 1,500 statues and 1,144 reliefs sculptures.[1] Many of the sculptures are of painted stone.[2] The subject matter includes images ofBuddha andbodhisattvas. The caves' Tang sculptures are noted for their soft modeling, sensuous drapery, andnaturalism.[3] A connection to theGandhara style of Buddhist sculpture has been proposed.[2]
The Buddhist art of Central Asia, particularly the area ofAfghanistan, in the 7th-8th century CE shows a phase using "Sinicized Indian models".[4][5] During this period, the ChineseTang Empire extended its influence and promotion of Buddhism to the Kingdom ofCentral Asia, with a corresponding influx of Chinese monks, while there was conversely a migration of Indian monks from India to Central Asia, precisely looking for this protection.[5] These events gave rise to the hybrid styles ofFondukistan and of the second artistic phase ofTapa Sardar in Afghanistan.[5] This style is part of a cosmopolitan artistic idiom which spread from China to Central Asia at the time, with similarities visible for example in the Tang productions of Tianlongshan.[4]
In the 1920s, a number of the sculptures were removed and sold to collectors abroad.[3] In particular, the publication by Japanese art dealerYamanaka Sadajirō of a book on the caves' contents led to a sharp increase in collector interest.[6] For this reason, many sculptures originating from Tianlongshan are currently housed in foreign museums.[2]
The Tianlongshan Grottoes exist today in a damaged state in Taiyuan with so many of the sculptures now missing, that visitors to the caves cannot imagine how they looked in the past. Many of the sculptures from the caves are now in museums around the world. Researchers at the University of Chicago initiated the Tianlongshan Caves Project in 2013 to pursue research and digital imaging of the caves and their sculptures. The Project seeks to record and archive the sculptures and to compile data that can identify the fragments and their places of origin.[7]
