A Study Of The Buddhist Grottoes In The Northern Dynasties Of Shaanxi

Through the field investigation,the Northern Dynasty Buddhist grottoes and the cliff sculptures are found in 57 places in Shaanxi,which are concentrated in the vicinity of the two ancient roads in Northern Shaanxi and the northwestern straight to the northwest and through Luoyang and Changan to the north of Shaanxi and Gansu.In this paper,the method of archaeological typology is used to classify the Grottoes in Shaanxi,to find out the relationship between the development and evolution of the temple,and then to explore the staging and age of the grottoes.It is divided into seven stages,including the Northern Wei Dynasty,the Western Wei Dynasty,the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the early Sui Dynasty.The number of the first,second Grottoes is small,the scale is small,the theme of the statue is single,the shape of the grottoes,the theme and style of the statue show the radiation expansion of Yungang model to this place.At the same time,the tradition of tribal statues in this area is preserved,and the style of the statue is more honest and short.The third period is the continuation of the early statues,represented by the big cliff statue and the large Buddhist niche.In the period of Yungang Taihe’s vigorous style,the statues were slightly beautiful and slender,and opened the late Northern Wei Dynasty.The fourth and fifth periods are the dramatic changes of the Northern Dynasties’ Grottoes in Shaanxi.The number of grottoes has increased sharply,but its scale is still small,and its niche is hard to distinguish.The shapes and figures of the caves are diverse,and a large number of new themes emerge.Weakened by the influence of Yungang,Heluo Xinfeng represented by Longmen and the local statues of Changan and Yao county are blending.The statues changed the first three periods of the tribal strong mode,turned to show the bones of the Qing Dynasty,the ribbon.But wider parallel lines are still the tradition of local tribal statues.The sixth period is mostly cliff shaped shrines.The features of the statue are the square face,the broad shoulders,the short body,the thick chest and the belly.In the seventh period,the number of caves and cliff niches decreased sharply and declined gradually due to the destruction of Buddhism by Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.The characteristics of the statue are wide shoulder and thick arms.The body is slender,the clothing patterns and the hem clothes are simple.At the same time,the themes and contents of the grottoes conformed to the national unity of the general Buddhist thought in the Northern Wei Dynasty,which was deeply influenced by the thought of the Northern Dynasty.It can be said that the Buddhist grottoes of the Northern Dynasties in the Shaanxi region,although influenced by the central region in large features,showed the obvious regional characteristics of the region:the fusion of Buddhism and Taoism,the blending of Hu and Han,the coexistence of traditional and folk art.Although most grottoes and cliff niches are located in remote mountainous areas,they can still reflect the belief of Buddhism in various remote villages in the Northern Dynasties.A small number of tribes living here(including the Han nationality),like the people in the developed areas,are enthusiastic about Buddhism and dig out niches to express their wishes.