Longmen Grottoes Selected Location And Northern Wei Dynasty Cave Design

This article chooses Binyang Grotto of Longmen Grottoes, the one which best represents the Northern Wei Dynasty style, as the main object of study. The artistic features and causes of formation of Binyang Grotto are discussed from a historical perspective-mainly the movement of capital from Pingyang to Luoyang by Northern Wei Dynasty Emperor Xiaowen and his cultural reform, i.e. the promotion and spread of Han culture. A systematic analysis of Binyang Grotto draws the following conclusions: Northern Wei Grottoes represent a very important nod both in terms of the development of Buddhist art in China, and in terms of the cultural fusion between the dominating Han culture and other minority cultures in the mediaeval time. For one thing, Northern Wei Grottoes marked the maturity of the art of Buddhism in China; for another thing, they also demonstrate the beginning and advancement of cultural fusion and unification, with the Han culture as the mainstream. The direct drive of the above two changes is just the cultural reform led by Emperor Xiaowen. All in all, the Northern Wei Grottoes in Longmen Grottoes holds an extremely important status in the Chinese art history.