Thousand Buddha Cliff Carvings in Licheng

Thousand Buddha Cliff Carvings in Licheng

The Thousand Buddha Cliff Carvings in Licheng are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Thousand Buddha Cliff Carvings are located at the foot of Baihu Mountain in Liubu Village, Licheng County, Shandong Province.

The Thousand Buddha Cliff Carvings are the main surviving examples of Tang Dynasty cave art in the Shandong region. There are over 210 Buddha statues of various sizes distributed along a 63-meter-long cliff face stretching from north to south. In addition, there are 43 inscriptions, including 10 with clear dates. Most of the caves were carved during the Wude to Wenming eras of the Tang Dynasty (618–684 AD), with sporadic additions made in later Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. There are five larger caves, each housing Buddha statues approximately 2.6 meters tall. The patrons of these carvings were mostly members of the imperial family, nobility, high-ranking officials, and renowned monks. The most famous include the statues commissioned by Princess Nanping of the Tang Dynasty and her husband Liu Xuan Yi, the statue of Prince Zhao of the Tang Dynasty (Fu), and those created by the monk Mingde.

Adjacent to the Thousand Buddha Cliff Carvings is the Longhu Pagoda, a renowned ancient pagoda as famous as the Four Gates Pagoda. It gets its name from the dragon and tiger reliefs carved above its gate. There are no exact records of its construction date, but based on architectural style, it is believed to have been initially built during the Tang Dynasty and renovated in the Song Dynasty. The square-shaped pagoda stands 10.8 meters tall and was constructed with a combination of brick and stone. Its body features intricate relief carvings of dragons, tigers, Buddhas, guardian warriors, musicians, and flying apsaras, all exuding an elegant charm and extraordinary grandeur, with figures distinctly reflecting Tang Dynasty styling. The four sides of the pagoda are adorned with arched gateways carved with flame patterns. The three-tiered stone Sumeru pedestal is decorated with reliefs of lotus petals, musicians, and lions. The pagoda’s top is made of brick, featuring double eaves and bracket arms, crowned with a lotus-shaped finial and a disk-like spire. The interior walls are carved with niches for Buddha statues, with flying apsaras depicted above the niches. At the center is a square pagoda core pillar, each side of which is carved with a Buddha statue—slim-waisted, broad-chested, with delicate facial features, reflecting the stylistic influence of the Song Dynasty. This pagoda is widely celebrated for its exquisite form and ornate carvings. (National Cultural Heritage Administration)

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units