Vol. 5 No. 3 J Univ.-Eng. Ed. September 2006

Article ID: 1671-8224(2006)03- 0181-06

Connotations of architectural culture transmitted in cliff carvings in the Bashu region ∗

LIN Cong-hua 1,2,a, ZHANG Xing-guo 1, LIU Zhi-yong 1 1Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, P.R. China 2The Research Institute of City and Architecture, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350007, P.R. China Received 5 June 2006; revised 9 July 2006

Abstract: Based on site studies, historical literature investigation and academic communication, this work aims to dig out the cultural significance in architectural and religious aspects conveyed in cliff carvings in the Bashu region. After casting a glance at the origin and evolution of Bashu culture and religion mainly involving Daoism and Buddhism recorded in forms of cliff carvings, we concentrated on discovering the national, regional and folk architectural characters implicated in cliff carvings at different sites within the Bashu region. The cliff carvings in this region vividly depicted the evolution of the architectural culture hereof. The essence of their religious and architectural connotations can be good stuff to be input in today’s architectural design philosophy. Keywords: cliff carvings; architectural culture ; Bashu; Daoism; Buddhism CLC number: K879.2 Document code: A

1 The cultural background of cliff carvings ∗ district, while the native deity culture which mainly refers to Min Mountain God and God, The name “Bashu” appeared first as a writing style produced positive influence on the Qin-Han culture, on the Shang Dynasty bone- inscriptions. According i.e., the Central Plains culture. There was a long-time to Huayang State History- History, ancient Bashu split and chaos period, lasted from the Three domain covered today’s Shichuan and Chongqing Kingdoms Period to the Eastern Jin and Western Jin district, and part of Hubei, , , Shaanxi, Dynasties, and even to the Southern and Northern Shanxi and Ganshu provinces. As a formal science Dynasties in the Chinese history. During this concept put forwards in the 1940s, the Bashu culture turbulent period, Bashu was famous for its unique mainly refers to the culture within Bashu region from religious culture. As the birthplace of Tianshi Daoism the past to today. combined with the Zen Buddhism, Bashu made a In the Shang Dynasty, the Bashu culture appeared great impact on . When it came to the mainly as a deity culture, and then it developed into Tang Dynasty and the period of the Five Dynasties, the Confucian ethical culture from the Western Zhou the political and economic center shifted to southern Dynasty to the Warring States Period. When the Qin China and many famous scholars or masters led by united China at the end of the Warring States Period, Emperor Xuan Zong and Emperor Xi Zong the Bashu culture began to evolve into a regional sub- immigrated to Shu (mainly today’s Province) culture of the Qin-Han culture. From then on the area, which promoted cultural exchange between Central Plains culture became popular within Bashu Bashu and the Central Plains. As a great achievement of cultural exchange, cliff carvings witnessed this cultural transfer. During the Southern Song Dynasty a LIN Cong-hua (林从华): Male; Born 1962; Postdoctor; Asso. and the Northern Dynasty, the combined Buddhist Prof.; Research interests: architecture history and theory; and Daoist and Confucian thinking came into being urban theory; E-mail: [email protected]. and was embodied in cliff carvings. In this period, * Funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. Buddhist architecture had not only finished its last 2005037548).

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phase of merging into the Chinese architecture, but they sit and face a Buddha. In a chaitya, the central also had a strong regional cultural feature [1]. pillar (often in a Buddhist pagoda form) is the main Reading the Buddhist sutras, drilling Buddhist idol for Buddhist monks and followers to worship. grotto and building a temple for Buddha were the key The central pillar is the key part in the grotto style of ways to propagate Buddhism. Carving stone ancient India. sculptures on natural riverside cliffs was the common With the spread of Buddhism in China, grotto custom of all religious groups in ancient India. With temples began to adapt to the native culture and bear the spread of Buddhism in China, which lasted for some national architectural characters. The grotto about 1600 years, many grotto temples appeared temple built in Qiuci was the earliest typical Chinese across the country. The “thousand-buddha caves”, grotto temple mainly used for the Buddhist religious actually a grotto temple, appeared earliest in Xinjiang service. It evolved into three new forms: chaitya, area. Many other important grotto temples appeared image grottoes, and lecture grottoes. Later on in one after another in Ganshu, Shanxi, Sanxi, Henan, Dunhuang, more kinds appeared: central pillar grotto, Hebei, Shandong, Liaoning, Jiangshu, Sichuan, and vihara, Buddha grotto, nirvana grotto, upside-down Yunnan areas. Cliff carving mainly has two forms: the funnellike ceiling grotto, and Buddha grotto with back cliff sculpture and the cliff temple. The cliff sculpture screen. Among these types, the upside-down was the transitional form before the grotto temple. funnellike ceiling grotto is of great significance, for it Buddhism became more secularized in China than in replaced the Indian chaitya and became the key type India. There were so many followers and Buddhists of the Chinese grotto temple. In an upside-down that many grottoes did not have enough space to funnellike ceiling grotto, not pagoda but Buddha was accommodate them all. To meet the urgent need of the idol, which marked the final evolution of the space for the fast growing Buddhist population, a new, Buddhist grotto from the Indian style to the Chinese much more spatial Buddhist ceremony place came style. Under the influence of the Chinese native into being, which was a big terrace before the Buddha culture and customs, Buddha grottoes with serene statues carved or the shallow grottoes chiseled on a backgrounds became more popular than those with natural cliff. The cliff Buddhist temple complex was a upside-down funnellike ceilings. Inside a grotto of the later form after the grotto temple. It was a complex of former kind, the symbolized Sumeru Mountain is on a giant stone Buddha or group Buddhist sculpture on a the back screen at the back of Buddha that is on an cliff and a big building to protect the carving and also altar, not in a niche as in an upside-down funnellike to provide ample space for religious ceremonies. This ceiling grotto; in that way, the idol of Buddha is better kind of cliff temple having a Buddha hall as the main displayed than in a niche. In the Chinese culture, building was the last typical form of the grotto temple, Sumeru Mountain is a paradise for supernatural gods and there were usually obvious national, regional, and and common people. So the Buddha (bearing back folk characteristics in it [2]. screen) grotto is the place for worship of supernatural beings and Buddha, which is the most obvious 2 The national architectural characters in Chinese national character [3]. cliff carving Bashu cliff carvings, which first appeared in the Southern and the Northern Dynasties, flourished in Being a special type of the Buddhist architecture, the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and up to Ming and Qing grotto temples have mainly two forms. One is called Dynasties. The Huangze Grotto Temple dedicated to vihara, a Buddhist monastery usually used by monks Empress Wu Zetian (the first female sovereign in the for living and meditation. Another is chaitya, a history of China) and the Thousand-Buddha Cliff Buddhist church used for religious service. In a vihara, located on the Jinniu Roadway on the Qin-Shu there stands a central niche, which contains a Buddha passageway connecting ancient China’s Qin, the statue. Many small niches surrounding the central are current Shanxi Province, to Shu, the nowadays used for monks’ meditation and worship in which Sichuan Province, is the earliest grotto temple. Its

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construction began in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and late period of the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties, went through the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Sui the Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, Dynasty and the early Tang Dynasty. It reached its lasting about 400 years with great vigor. The themes zenith during Emperor Gao Zong and Empress Wu include the Pascime digbhage Sect and Tantric Sect of Zetian’s reign, which is shown in many sculptures. Buddhist schools, the figures of sitting Maitreya and Today there still remains 52 grottos and more than Avalokitesvara popular at that time in the Min River 1 200 sculptures, including the Central Pillar Grotto basin and the basin, and rare Confucian and the Big Buddha Hall (see Fig. 1) Cave with the Buddhist Scripture Pavilion built for Empress Wu Zetian to worship. The shape of Huangze Grotto Temple in County is a typical, popular style of the Tang Dynasty; the Heming Mountain cliff carving on the main section of Jinniu Roadway in Jiange County is another important group grottoes, which served as a ritual place for Daoism in Tang Dynasty. There remain 18 grottos and 75 sculptures. Among these sculptures, “the Distribution Map of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect” is of great importance, because it presented the scene of the beginning of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect founded by Zhang Ling, -the pioneer Daoist in history (see Fig.2). The Huangze grotto and the Heming Mountain cliff group grottos are the most famous cliff carvings with strong Fig. 2 No.2 The Distribution Map of the Five Pecks of Rice national character in Tang Dynasty (see Fig. 3). Sect, the Heming Grotto Temple, Jiange County

Fig. 1 No.28 the Big Buddha Grotto, the Huangze Grotto Fig. 3 No.2, Buddha Sakyamuni in the niche, the Shuining Temple, Guangyuan City Grotto Temple, City

3 The regional architectural character in cliff figures, Buddhist figures sharing a niche with Taoist carvings figures, and also trinity niches for figures of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. This shows the Starting with the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, merger of the basic Buddhist doctrines, the Chinese grotto carvings gradually took on a scene of decline in Confucian ethics, the School of Principles (an the northern area called the “Central Plains”. Whereas, Confucian school of idealist philosophical thought in the Bashu cliff carvings began flourishing in the area the Song and Ming Dynasties), and Taoist teaching. of current central Sichuan Province, through the mid- This phenomenon also incarnates Chinese people’s

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thoughts of trinity that “Confucianism, Buddhism and native Buddhist named Liu Benzun, the Tantric Sect Taoism are equally holy”, and that the three different of Buddha in the Bashu region is also called the Liu teachings should be circulated and respected. Clan Buddhist school which has strong features of the Meanwhile, various carving inscriptions such as local culture of this region. The cliff carving religious classics, subordinate notes, eulogies, and sculptures in Anyue are mainly Buddhas of the Liu descriptions of events also have great values in Clan Buddhist school which bear native regional history, science and arts. cultural characters (see Fig. 6). There are 217 Anyue “Too many giant Buddha in Shu region” is an old cliff carvings and more than 100 000 sculptures saying demonstrating a strong regional character of remain today; all manifest excellent handicraft and Bashu cliff carvings. Around a stone Buddha on the none resembles others. They are really rare treasure in natural cliff, group Buddhist sculptures were carved, China’s grotto art history. which provided much more open space for Buddhist religious ceremonies than in old grotto temples. Above all, the cliff carvings are in harmony with mountains and rivers around (see Fig. 4). At the same time, multi-storied buildings were built as the shelters to protect the cliff carvings from damages. The multi- storied buildings are tall and graceful. They form a significant part of the cliff architecture group and have a strong regional architectural character of Bashu region (see Fig. 5) [4].

Fig. 5 The Buddha Temple, Rongxian County

Fig. 4 The Big Buddha, Pingshan County Among the cliff carvings in Bashu region, there is an important cliff carving type with strong regional Fig. 6 No.8 Grotto of Svadeva Liu undergoing the ten characters, that is, Anyue cliff carving. During the sufferings in Bilu (Vairocana) Cave, Anyue County Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty, Anyue became a centre of the Tantric 4 The folk architectural character in cliff Sect of Buddha with the spread of Buddha in Bashu carvings region which promoted the flourishing of cliff carving and grotto temple in the Anyue county. Because the There were 4 kinds of Bashu cliff carvings in Tantric Sect of Buddha in Anyue was set up by a regard to their constructors: the official, the Buddhist

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monk, the community, and the family. The first three pregnant, giving birth to the baby, and bringing it up kinds seldom had their constructors’ names carved. (see Fig. 7). With Chinese ethics and the thickest However, family management meant that one single richness of life, it genuinely and vividly reflects the family built a stone inscription or a grotto for worship, parents’ sincere dearness toward their offspring and and that the names of the workmen and donators were represents the filial philosophy. Niche Number 30 is generally inscribed into the preface. Song Dynasty’s designated “Cow herding”(see Fig. 8). It is a cliff Bashu cliff carvings, taking Buddhism, Taoism and carving work that originated from folk life. It reflects Confucianism as their subject matters for cliff the cowboy’s life in the Song Dynasty. It narrated the sculpture, embody the folk architectural features, process of a tiger’s threat that forced the cattle to run which reflect China’s ancient social phenomena and randomly in rage, how the cowboy took 10 secular lives in the paradigm of god-man unity. These procedures to tame the cattle, and how human beings carvings are characteristic of heavy religious color and cattle came to cohabitate together, quietly lying and simple but honest folk lifestyle. on the grassland. This metaphorizes herding into The cliff sculptures in Dazu county as a whole are cultivating and refining one’s soul. This kind of entitled as Dazu cliff carvings. They can be dated subject matter with educational meaning, ranging back to 650 AD, the first year of the Tang Dynasty. from secular life to religion, reflected the social They went through the Tang Dynasty and the Five scenery at time of the carving, and illustrates the dynasties, and boomed in the Northern Song Dynasty situation of that period when Buddhism, Taoism, and and the Southern Song Dynasty. Among the currently Confucianism existed in harmony with each other. preserved cliff carvings, there are over 70 rock carvings, 1 030 grottoes, more than 50 000 stone figures, epigraphs of more than 100 000 Chinese characters, all categorized into “cliff sculptures praying for blessings” and “cliff sculptures for religious rites”. The construction of rock carvings at Mount Baoding were supervised by ZHAO Zhi-feng, a famous monk who lived in current Sichuan Province in the Song Dynasty and enjoyed great fame for his owning the secret seal, a seal symbolizing religious power handed down from the sixth guru of a Buddhist school. It took more than 70 years to accomplish the Fig. 7 No.15 Niche, Illustration of Parental Kindness Sutra, precious large-sized Buddhist grottoes about the rites Mount Baoding, Dazu County of the Tantric Sect in Chinese. Among these grottoes, the Small Buddhist Bay served as a big interior yard for the disciples to receive ordination, to practice Buddhism and to follow the tenets piously, while the Big Buddhist Bay formed an outer place for Buddhist rites to preach the dogmas for secular souls. The contents of the sculpture and its carving techniques were most possibly personalized, and thus manifesting distinct folk features of architectural culture [5] in this area. At Mount Baoding there is a niche (Niche Number 15), named “Illustration of parental kindness sutra”. It is a typical cliff carving portraying typical Chinese Fig. 8 No.30 Niche, Cow Herding, Mount Baoding, life through the process of praying for a baby, getting Dazu County

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5 Summary References

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Edited by LUO Min

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