Transcript Baodingshan Grotto - Dazu, China

Baodingshan Grotto
Dazu, China
The carved statues at Baodingshan
reflect the 3 religious traditions found in
China at the time they were created;
Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism.
The statues survived the Cultural
Revolution because of isolation and the
involvement of Chou Enlai,a native of
the area.
The images carved in stone across the
Dazu area amount to 60,000 different
statues. Most were started in the Song
dynasty and it took over 70 years to
complete them. Their remote locations
protected them from Red Guards
during the Cultural Revolution. A road
in was not completed until the 1990’s.
Countryside
Road to Baodingshan
• What did you notice about the road you
just saw that struck you as unusual ?
• Notice the fire works for sale at the
roadside stands in the next slide. You can
also buy your incense there before you
enter the Grotto.
Stands near the grotto
Baoding, China
Three religions
• To make things clearer for viewers, I will
color code images.
• Buddhist will have yellow borders
• Daoism will have green borders
• Confucian images will have blue borders
• Some images have more than one so they
will be left white.
World Heritage Site
Buddhism
• In China the guides referred to Sakymuni
instead of to Buddha. We had to ask him
who he talking about since none of us
were familiar with this Chinese name for
the Buddha.
Showing a son carrying his parents.
Confucian ideas
• Baodingshan reflects all three religious
traditions favored in China. The son
carrying his parents is an excellent
example of the Confucian ideal of
• Filial Piety.
• Elderly parents are carried once they can
no longer walk by themselves.
Confucius ( on the right )
Daoist/ Taoist
• The interaction between the natural world
and the world of man is shown by these
figures.
• People should be able to simply “ go with
the natural flow “ around them, never fight
against events . Accept life and what
comes your way.
Our guide Jeff explaining .
Portrayal of Buddha
• Please notice the very Chinese looking
mother and sisters who are watching the
Buddha reach enlightenment.
Bodhisattva
• This beautiful figure represents the
traditional Chinese goddess of mercy,
Guan Yin. The face is so serene and the
carving is so skilled that her face almost
looks soft even though it is carved out of
stone.
Buddhism
• Here the demon, Annica is trying to stop
the wheel of life from moving by holding on
to it. Inside are all kinds of people. Anica is
unable to stop life no matter what he does.
This scene shows Buddhist and Confucian
images together. In China, you do not
practice one religion but can practice all 3 of
the main ones simultaneously. This idea
was and is very hard for westerners to
understand.
Prayer Wheels
A Scholar-official
Three demons
Demons from Hell
More STEPS in China
An interesting animal
Baodingshan Grotto contained dynamic art
from the Tang dynasty. Our guide Jeff,
explained that for the artists creating these
statues was an act of worship. Chinese
religious practice is very different from
western tradition but the beauty of the
images crosses cultural lines. These statues
are priceless partly because so much of
China’s history was destroyed in the Cultural
Revolution. They value what is left and work
to protect it.