Stone Buddha Beach Cliff Carvings

Stone Buddha Beach Cliff Carvings

The Stone Buddha Beach Cliff Carvings are a protected cultural heritage site of Henan Province.

The Stone Buddha Beach Cliff Carvings are located under a cliff at the southern foot of the Taihang Mountains, about 9 kilometers northwest of Bo'ai County. The carvings are distributed along a steep cliff approximately 100 meters long from north to south and around 20 meters high, featuring a total of 59 niches, 82 statues, and 4 inscribed stone tablets. The niches are about 0.2–1 meter in height, with semi-circular arches on top and carved pillars on both sides. Most niches contain one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas. One niche features exceptionally fine carving, with delicate knife work and smooth lines. The Amitabha Buddha has a full, handsome face and a serene expression, while the surrounding Bodhisattvas have flowing ribbons, depicting the image of secular young women. An inscription on one tablet reads "the 21st year of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty," indicating that these are Tang Dynasty works.

In November 1986, they were designated as a protected cultural heritage site of Henan Province.

　Stone Carvings of the Plowing and Weaving Pictures

There are 20 line-engraved pictures in total, carved on four polished stone slabs, each 210 cm long and 30 cm wide. The spaces between the picture slabs are filled with scroll patterns and floral-and-bird designs. The carvings are divided into two groups: the first group depicts plowing scenes — plowing fields, transporting seedlings, transplanting rice, watering, harvesting, transporting rice, threshing, winnowing and bagging, transporting grain home, and celebrating harvests; the second group shows weaving scenes — planting, field management, picking cotton and returning home, spinning and winding thread, starching thread, reeling thread, warping, combing thread, weaving cloth, and measuring new fabric. The weaving scenes are far more complete than the plowing ones, making this the earliest known set of stone engravings depicting the entire process of cotton processing discovered in China to date. Although the carvings do not indicate the author's name or date, the grain sacks used for transporting rice in the plowing scene are inscribed with “the 8th year of the Guangxu era” and “made in early autumn,” suggesting that the carvings were made around this time. Given the creator’s evident familiarity with farming and weaving life in Bo'ai, it is believed that the artist was either a local or someone who had lived in the area for many years. The Stone Carvings of the Plowing and Weaving Pictures vividly portray the labor scene of men plowing and women weaving in northern Henan during the late Qing Dynasty. They hold significant value for the study of agricultural history, technological history, and art history. Originally inlaid on the wall of the horse stable gatehouse at the residence of Du Shengxing, a merchant in Wuzhuang, Bo'ai County, the carvings were moved to the Bo'ai County People’s Cultural Center in July 1984.

In November 1986, they were designated as a protected cultural heritage site of Henan Province.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Henan Province