From Jinyang to Yecheng
We embarked on a study tour through history
It's not just a geographical route
It's a tunnel of time
Lead us to appreciate the magnificence and changes of the cave art of the Northern Dynasties
▲ Source: Tianlongshan Grottoes Museum
The Northern Wei Dynasty, the Eastern Wei Dynasty, the Western Wei Dynasty, and the Northern Qi Dynasty each period left a unique artistic imprint, and the grottoes, as a witness of this era, silently tell the evolution of the style
▲ Source: Yushe County Fossil Museum
This study tour is suitable for students who already have a certain understanding of grotto art. We will observe, compare, and discuss the carving techniques, modeling characteristics, and aesthetic orientations of each period. This is not only a feast for the eyes, but also a dialogue between history and art that goes deep into the soul.
Let's go, let's pursue the memories of the Northern Dynasties scattered in the grottoes between Jinyang and Yecheng.
▲ Beixiangtangshan Grottoes / Source: Hebei Cultural Tourism
Expert presentation
Jin Xingji invited expert Chang Qing
Buddhist art historian, Ph.D. in Art History at the University of Kansas in United States, B.A. and M.A. in Archaeology at Peking University, and currently a professor and doctoral supervisor at Sichuan University. He has published more than 10 monographs, such as "Chang'an and Luoyang: A Study of Buddhist Art in Beijing from the Fifth to the Ninth Centuries" (Volume I and II) (Cultural Relics Publishing House, 2020), "The Body of Gold and Stone Contains Compassion: Chinese Buddhist Sculpture in the Freer Museum of Art in United States" (two volumes, research and bibliographies) (Cultural Relics Publishing House, 2016), and published more than 100 academic papers in Chinese and English.
Itinerary
| date | Event content | Meals | lodging |
| August 19 (Monday) | Taiyuan set | Nope | Taiyuan |
| August 20 (Tuesday) | Shanxi Museum Tianlong Mountain Grottoes | Morning, noon and evening | Taigu |
| August 21 (Wednesday) | Zihong Grottoes Lianghoudian Grottoes Yushe Fossil Museum | Morning, noon and evening | Elm Society |
| August 22 (Thursday) | Gao Huan Cloud Cave Shexian Zhonghuang Mountain cliff carving | Morning, noon and evening | Handan |
| August 23 (Friday) | South Xiangtang Mountain Grottoes North Xiangtang Mountain Grottoes | Morning, noon and evening | Handan |
| August 24 (Saturday) | Yecheng Archaeological Museum Yecheng Museum | Morning, noon and evening | Anyang |
| August 25 (Sunday) | Little South Sea Grottoes Lingquan Temple Grottoes | Morning and midday | Handan Return |
Pre-trip introduction
Meeting point: Taiyuan, Shanxi
Taiyuan City is located in the Taiyuan Basin in the north-central part of Shanxi Province, Taiyuan City is surrounded by mountains on three sides, the second largest tributary of the Yellow River, the Fen River flows from north to south, since ancient times, it has the reputation of "Splendid Taiyuan City", and is an important military and cultural town in northern China.
▲ Source: People's Daily Shanxi
Taiyuan has become the capital 11 times in history, and many ancient buildings have been built in the more than 2,000 years since the Zhou Dynasty. Taiyuan was once the capital of Zhao State, the capital of the early Han Dynasty, the capital of Taiyuan in the Western Jin Dynasty, the capital of the former Qin Dynasty, the northern capital of Wu Zhou, the northern capital of the Tang Dynasty, the capital of the former Jin Dynasty, the capital of Xijing and Beijing in the Later Tang Dynasty, the Beijing of the Later Jin Dynasty, and the Beijing of the Later Han Dynasty.
Shanxi Museum
Shanxi Museum is one of the first national first-class museums, a national museum jointly built by the central and local governments, and the largest cultural relics collection, collection, protection, research and display center in Shanxi. In 1953, it was renamed Shanxi Provincial Museum. In 2004, the new museum was completed and named Shanxi Museum.
▲Source: Shanxi Museum
The exhibition area of Shanxi Museum is 13,000 square meters, the cultural relics library area is 12,000 square meters, with a total collection of more than 50 million pieces, with bronze, porcelain, stone carvings, Buddhist statues, murals, calligraphy and paintings, etc., including 40,282 precious cultural relics (groups), including 2,129 first-class cultural relics (groups), and more than 110,000 books and ancient books.
▲Source: Shanxi Museum
Tianlong Mountain Grottoes
There are 8 caves in the east peak and 13 caves in the west peak in the Tianlong Mountain grottoes, a total of 21 caves. There are 500 large and small Buddha statues, including 1,644 relief images. On June 25, 2001, Tianlongshan Grottoes was listed as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
▲ Source: Tianlongshan Grottoes Museum
The excavation of Tianlongshan Grottoes has gone through the Eastern Wei Dynasty, the Northern Qi Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty and the Later Jin Dynasty, for a total of more than 400 years, reflecting the different styles of cave art from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Five Dynasties in the mainland. The grotto is known for being "small and fine", which reflects the unique style of Tianlong Mountain sculpture art that is different from other grotto art, so it is known as "Tianlong Mountain style".
▲ Source: Tianlongshan Grottoes Museum
Zihong Grottoes
Zihong Grottoes, also called "Stone Buddha Cliff Cliff Statue". Excavated in the Sui Dynasty, it is the largest existing cliff statue in Qi County, there are 16 remaining cave niches, and there are more than 50 statues of large and small statues.
▲Zihong Grottoes / Source: Journal of the Palace Museum
Zihong Grottoes now have about 20 remaining niches of various kinds, more than 100 statues of size and size, two inscriptions of the Ming Dynasty, two stone tablets. In the recess behind the grotto is the ruins of Shengjue Temple, the temple has no tiles, only the Ming Dynasty built a Ma-style relics pagoda.
Lianghoudian Grottoes
There is 1 early cave in Lianghoudian Grottoes and 9 small niches in the late period. The cave sits east and faces west, and is large in scale. The main cave is 3 meters square, carved inside