Quick Answer: What Are the Dazu Rock Carvings?
The Dazu Rock Carvings (大足石刻, Dàzú Shíkè) are cliffside sculptures and inscriptions in Chongqing. UNESCO listed five clusters in 1999. Their main period of carving spans the late ninth through the thirteenth century.[1][3]
- Beishan (北山, Běishān): Niches and inscriptions preserve commissions made over centuries.[1][2]
- Baodingshan (宝顶山, Bǎodǐngshān): A curved cliff connects large Buddhist scenes associated with the monk Zhao Zhifeng.[1][2]
- Other cliffs: Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian figures appear in different combinations across the property.[1]
A row of small niches and a continuous carved cliff reflect different ways of building a religious site.
The Dazu Rock Carvings (大足石刻, Dàzú Shíkè) occupy several hills. At one cliff a row of niches carries the record of multiple sponsors. At another, a reclining Buddha and stories about family obligations belong to a larger arrangement of images. These differences help place Dazu in the history of Chinese cave temple art.[1][4][5]
What the Five Listed Cliffs Contain
The World Heritage property includes Beishan (北山, Běishān), Baodingshan (宝顶山, Bǎodǐngshān), Shizhuanshan, Shimenshan and Nanshan. At Shizhuanshan, late eleventh-century carvings place figures associated with Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism along the same cliff. At Nanshan the principal subjects are Daoist. The different sites preserve distinct choices about which traditions to represent.[1]
Beishan: Centuries of Individual Commissions
The official Wei Junjing sponsored early carvings at Beishan in 892. Officials, clergy and lay patrons commissioned later work. An inscription can identify a patron or date a carving, so two neighboring niches can belong to different generations of work.[2]
Baodingshan: A Religious Program Across the Bend
At Baodingshan, the monk Zhao Zhifeng directed work from the late twelfth to the mid-thirteenth century. At the Great Buddha Bend (大佛湾, Dàfówān), a curved rock face links scenes associated with esoteric Buddhism and other subjects. A relief showing the Buddha entering final nirvana extends about 31 meters. Nearby works include a many-armed Thousand-Armed Guanyin.[2][4]
Reliefs at the bend also tell stories about repaying kindness. A parent and child in one of these scenes can make a moral obligation visible, while adjacent inscriptions help a reader place the action in its narrative. The site’s Buddhist teachings address concerns about filial piety familiar in Chinese family life.[5][6]
Repeated text can link distant reliefs. A verse found in the Repayment of Kindness tableau appears elsewhere at the site, including near the reclining Buddha. Reading across the cliff reveals connections beyond the subject of any single carving.[6]
FAQs About the Dazu Rock Carvings
Are all the Dazu carvings at Baodingshan?
Baodingshan is one of the five listed clusters. Beishan, Shizhuanshan, Shimenshan and Nanshan are also part of the property.
What does the reclining Buddha at Baodingshan show?
The relief depicts the Buddha entering final nirvana. Its horizontal form uses a long stretch of the cliff.
Why do the inscriptions matter?
An inscription can identify a donor or date a commission. Other inscriptions quote a text or help connect images that a viewer encounters at different points along the cliff.
Источники
[1] UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Dazu Rock Carvings
[2] ICOMOS, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Dazu Rock Carvings evaluation
[3] Chongqing Municipal Government. Dazu Rock Carvings Museum
[4] Dazu Rock Carvings nomination dossier. Cliffside carvings at Baodingshan
[5] Karil J. Kucera, Baodingshan Digital Project. Cliff Notes: Text and Image at Baodingshan
[6] Karil J. Kucera, Baodingshan Digital Project. Cliff Notes dissertation text