Thursday, March 24, 2016


Dazu Rock Carvings


The steep hillsides of the Dazu area contain an exceptional series of rock carvings dating from the 9th to the 13th century. They are remarkable for their aesthetic quality, their rich diversity of subject matter, both secular and religious, and the light that they shed on everyday life in China during this period. They provide outstanding evidence of the harmonious synthesis of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/912



The Rock Carvings in Dazu, southwest China, are highly authentic, have high aesthetic qualities and show the coming together of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. They date from the 9th
to 13th centuries.

These Dazu carvings are considered to be the best representatives of the latest phase of rock art in China. They clearly demonstrate the ingenuity and craftsmanship of their artists with respect to carving techniques and subject matter. In that way, they differ from the other, earlier, Chinese rock art world heritage sites Yungang, Longmen and Mogao.

The designated area consists of five separate sites of cliffside carvings: Beishan, Baodingshan, Nanshan, Shizhuanshan and Shimenshan. Baodingshan is the most prominent site of these. It was here that between 1174 and 1252 the Buddhist monk Zhao Zhifeng ordered the start of work on the elaborate carvings along a 500-meter U-shaped section of Mount Baoding. They show the implementation of Buddhist ideas in daily life as represented by Tantric Buddhism. 


http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/site.php?id=912

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