Qingtianhe Cliff Carvings

Qingtianhe Cliff Carvings

The Qingtianhe Cliff Carvings are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Qingtianhe Cliff Carvings are located in the Danhe Gorge of the Qingtianhe Scenic Area, Zhahe Township, Bo'ai County, Jiaozuo City, Henan Province. They consist of the Northern Wei cliff carvings and the Sui-Tang cliff carvings at Shifo Beach.

The Northern Wei cliff carvings are located on the sheer cliffs halfway up a mountain peak in the Qingtianhe Scenic Area that resembles a giant natural Buddha, facing the Danhe River. The stone carvings were engraved in the second year of the Yongping era of the Northern Wei Dynasty (509 AD). The cliff carvings center around a line-engraved standing statue of Guanyin (the Goddess of Mercy), with inscriptions on both sides totaling 432 characters. The content includes: the first part is an excerpt from the "Universal Gate of the Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva" chapter (Chapter 24) of the Lotus Sutra; the second part describes the time, process, labor force, and reasons for engraving the cliff inscriptions during the construction of the Danhe Road, ending with a list of the military officers who oversaw the road construction.

The Sui-Tang cliff carvings at Shifo Beach are located on the steep cliffs of Shifo Beach at the southern end of the Danhe Gorge, about 30 kilometers from the former site. They were carved between the 11th and 12th years of the Daye era of the Sui Dynasty (615–616 AD). Initially established as the "Tongyi Temple" sanctioned by the Sui imperial court, additional Buddhist niches were carved during the Tang Dynasty. Nearly a batch of them were destroyed during the construction of the Jiaotai Railway in the late 1950s. Currently, there are 59 surviving niches, 78 statues, and 10 inscribed steles. The statues include depictions of Amitabha Buddha, Maitreya Buddha, and Guanyin Bodhisattva.

The Northern Wei line-engraved Guanyin and the "Universal Gate of the Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva" represent the earliest combination of Buddhist scripture and imagery in stone carvings in China. The inscriptions provide an authentic and accurate record of the construction of the ancient Danhe Road, making them important materials for studying transportation in the Northern Wei period. The styles and themes of the Sui-Tang cliff carvings at Shifo Beach reflect transitional characteristics from the Northern and Southern Dynasties through the Sui to the Tang Dynasty, holding significant value for the study of Buddhist art in Henan during the Sui and Tang periods.

In May 2006, the Qingtianhe Cliff Carvings, as cave temples and stone carvings from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Tang period, were approved by the State Council to be included in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units