Longmen Grottoes

Longmen Grottoes is the third largest complex of temple caves in China (after the ensembles in Dunhuang and Datong) dating back to the 5th century. It is located at the “dragon gate” (Lunmen) on the bank of the Yihe River, 12 km south of Luoyang.

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The first customers of the grottoes were the same individuals who commissioned them at Datong: pious emperors from the Northern Wei dynasty. But perhaps the most significant monument to the flowering of Chinese Buddhism in the Tang era – and the lust for glory of some emperors – is here, 12 kilometers south of Luoyang (bus 81 from the train station). Monks, nuns, amateur associations and officials also contributed as founders; inscriptions indicate that they were either emphasizing their quest for enlightenment in this way, asking for healing, prosperity and high social standing, or thanking the Buddha or accruing good karma in anticipation of the coming reincarnation.

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Structure and iconographic scheme

Most of the cave temples of Lunmen, including the most significant ones, are on the west bank of the river, i.e., carved on the eastern slope, and therefore, in sunlight, they are best viewed in the morning. Some caves were laid out on the opposite slope. Most caves are based on a simple iconographic scheme, which varies in some cases: on the rectangular main area opposite the entrance sits a supernatural-sized Buddha, the ideal of the Teaching. To the right and left stand two bodhisattva helpers, facing people and approximating the size of real people. Between these three figures usually stand Ananda and Kashyapa, disciples of the Buddha – thus the sculptural group includes five statues. The entrance is often guarded by two angry guards: anyone who wishes to enter must pass by their fiercely inquisitive gaze. The lotus flower motif is often repeated: Buddhas and bodhisattvas sit or stand on it, and it often adorns the ceiling of the cave.

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Condition of the monument

In the literature, one can often find fantastic figures meant to illustrate the size of the Lunmen complex. However, the real situation is much worse: for all the caves have been subjected to barbaric looting by treasure hunters. Many Chinese Buddhas that are now in museums around the world and are traded by antique dealers were stolen from here. Therefore, most of the niches and caves are empty, or there are statues without heads. Only the large cavities have been preserved in their original state – but you are not allowed to enter them. Because they can only be seen through the entrance hole, the visitor is not able to directly experience the good religious message, which is read, in particular, on the good-naturedly smiling faces of the bodhisattvas.

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Qiansisa Grotto

Qiansisi Grotto is the first great grotto of Lunmen, a temple pa the west bank. It originated in 627-649 and includes the “three saints of the West”: the Buddha Amitabha with his bodhisattva assistants Mahastamaprapta and Avalokiteshvara, and Ananda and Kashyapa.

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Binyang Grottoes

Soon after, three more caves can be seen: the northern, central and southern caves are the Binyang Grottoes. The central one is among the richest. It emerged in 505-523 at the command of the Wei emperors. Here, eleven statues – the Buddha of the sin of time, six bodhisattvas and two disciples of the Buddha – smile at guests so welcomingly that it lightens the heart. There is a legend about this grotto, how much labor was spent on it: 802,366 man-days. But to get a glimpse of the bas-relief depicting the grotto’s founder, a Wei emperor and his entourage, you have to go to the… New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Wanfodong Grotto

Further 350 meters upriver, a short staircase leads to the “Cave of Ten Thousand Buddhas”, created in 680 AD. In it, the side walls are covered with about 15 thousand relief figures. The group of five statues here is the same as in the Cave of Qiansisa; but they (especially Amitabha in the center) are distinguished by a full, even thick figure, which corresponded to the ideal of beauty of the Tang era.

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Lianhuadong Grotto

Another staircase leads to the “Cave of Lotus Flowers”, so named for the extremely magnificent ceiling decoration, a relief protruding lotus flower with a seed pod in the center. Although the faces of the statues here are badly damaged, one can still recognize very fine workmanship. Note the flaming mandorla of the central Buddha figure and the apsaras floating in a heavenly roundelay around the lotus flower. This is one of the earliest caves: it emerged between 516 and 528 A.D.

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Fengxiansa Grotto

And here comes the single climax: at the top end of a steep, wide staircase, you reach a cavity with an area of 40×35 meters, 15-20 times larger than all the others. Since the ceiling of the cave collapsed, it was first covered with a wooden roof, but now the roof is long gone and the statues stand in the open air: the 17-meter-high Buddha of Lokana is in the center of the usual group of five statues, in front on the right and left one guard, and behind them one heavenly king, each trampling a demon. While monumental, the sculptor’s work is characterized by extreme refinement – attention should be paid, for example, to the bodhisattvas’ bodily decoration. The clients of this cave, completed in 675 after incomplete 20 years of construction, were the Tang Emperor Gao Zong and his ambitious wife Wu Zetian. It is said that it is her features that are conveyed in the appearance of the Lokana Buddha. This grotto is considered not only a grandiose witness to the flowering of Chinese Buddhism, but also a document of the religiously colored ambition of the woman who later became empress. The grotto’s name “Buddhist Temple of Ancestor Veneration” was influenced by Confucianism and reflects the idea that the honor of erecting a temple can affect the fate of ancestors as additional positive karma.

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Yaofandong Grotto

Much more in keeping with the spirit of Buddhism is the small “Cave of Medicine Prescriptions” (7th century) that follows. On either side of the entrance are inscriptions representing prescriptions for curing various ailments, a testament to Buddhist humanity.

Guyandong Grotto

The closest and last of Lunmen’s caves to visit is at the same time the oldest. With its many niches where cross-legged Maitreya Buddhas sit, Guyandong is similar in style to the later Yungang (Datup) cave temples.

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View from the east bank

The reason to go to the east bank of the Yi River is not so much to see the remains of the grotto temples, but to enjoy the magnificent panorama across the river. The view of the southern end with the monumental figures of Fengxiangsa is particularly good.