Linwang Grottoes

Linwang Grottoes

The Linwang Grottoes are a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

Linwang Grottoes

The Linwang Grottoes are located approximately 500 meters southeast of Linwang Village, Guxin Town, She County. Currently, there is one surviving grotto and one cliff relief stupa with a domed top. The grotto is carved into the rock face on the southern bank of the Qingzhang River, with a path about 2 meters wide in front of it. Inside the grotto, the central and side walls feature a Buddhist altar constructed during the Ming Dynasty's Wanli era using rough stones and adobe. It is now a key cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

The grotto entrance is a rounded rectangle, 1.7 meters high and 1.05 meters wide. The edges of the door are adorned with lotus bud pillars topped with beads. The top of the door is carved with a pointed arch lintel, filled with decorations such as flaming jewels and dragons piercing through the wall. On either side of the door are carved statues of two guardian figures, each with a round bald head, whose heads and hands are damaged; their upper bodies are bare.

Their robes are crossed over the chest, they wear skirts, and stand barefoot on a Sumeru pedestal. On the outer sides of the two guardians, there is one large cliff carving stele each. According to the inscriptions, the grotto was funded and carved by Li Ziliang, an official from the Linshui County during the Northern Qi Dynasty and a clerk under the Yang King's household department, and was completed with further construction in the seventh year of the Sui Dynasty’s Kaihuang era. Above the grotto entrance is a single-story stupa with a domed top, 4.8 meters high. The stupa body is square, with a pointed arch niche carved in the middle, housing three figures: one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas, all severely damaged. The stupa has corbelled eaves, with wind bells at both ends. Above the eaves are carved a dome, flame petals, and banana leaves. At the center above the dome is a finial stupa top with a wheel and jewel, flanked by two jewel-topped pillars, each with a dragon coiled around it—though the left pillar is missing its upper half, and the central pole of the finial is carved with four dragon heads.

The interior of the grotto is square-shaped with a domed ceiling. It is 3.1 meters wide, 3 meters deep, and 3.05 meters high. The central, left, and right walls each have one altar, each 0.38 meters high. The statues on the altars consist of one Buddha, two disciples, and two Bodhisattvas—five figures in total. The main Buddha on the central wall sits 1.34 meters tall, with three rows of 36 small Buddha statues carved above the wall. The main Buddha on the left wall is 1.35 meters tall in total, with a round, scrolling honeysuckle-pattern halo and a square Sumeru pedestal. The attendant figure on the right side is completely damaged. The disciple figure on the left has lost its head, wears a draped shawl-style kasaya, stands barefoot on a lotus base, while the Bodhisattva figure is entirely damaged. Three rows of small Buddha statues, totaling 38, are carved above the left wall. The main Buddha on the right wall is also 1.35 meters tall, with a honeysuckle-patterned bald head and a square Sumeru pedestal. All the attendant figures are damaged, only outlines remaining. Three rows of small Buddha statues, totaling 39, are carved above the right wall, with the nine in the top row being damaged.

Linwang Village: Linwang Village...... More details about Linwang Village++

Further reading:

· Third Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Hebei Province