Longwo Temple Grottoes in Jingxing

Longwo Temple Grottoes in Jingxing

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

The Longwo Temple Grottoes are situated on a cliff about 0.5 km west of Xiaolongwo Village, which is 25 km southwest of Weishui in Jingxing County and 10 km west of the ancient city of Tianchang. The grottoes face the ancient Yan-Jin post road, while today’s National Highway 307 passes by to the southwest. To the northeast of the grottoes is the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan Expressway. As one of the more than ten grottoes preserved in Shijiazhuang City, the Longwo Temple Grottoes were designated as a key cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province in 1993 due to their unique and regionally characteristic Buddha carvings and the numerous ancient inscriptions on the stone walls.

The exact construction date of Longwo Temple is unknown. The "Jingxing County Annals" from the Qing Dynasty's Yongzheng era recorded: “Longwo is located twenty li southwest of the county. The stone cliffs are steep, with ancient cypresses growing from the rock face; the Buddhist halls and towers present a rather impressive sight. Legend has it that a divine dragon blocked the road, and a peddler slew it with his sword. By the time of the Longqing era, heavy rains unearthed a pit of bones weighing around several hundred jin.” Both the Longwo Temple and the nearby villages of Dalongwo to its west and Xiaolongwo to its east derive their names from this legend. Originally, Longwo Temple was quite large, with pavilions built at both the southwestern and northeastern ends in front of the temple, right above the ancient road connecting Yan and Jin. The temple itself was constructed on the west side of the ancient road, adjacent to the cliffs. It once housed a main hall, side halls, monks’ quarters, and other structures, and was one of the scenic highlights of the region in former times.

After the liberation, the temple was demolished during the expansion of the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan Expressway and the Cultural Revolution, leaving only the cliffside cliff inscriptions. These cliff carvings are distributed on the western and northeastern cliffs of the temple site, consisting of two parts: stone-carved Buddha statues and inscribed stone tablets. The Buddha statues are located in the middle section of the cliff, several meters above the current road surface. All the statues are carved into rectangular arched niches on the cliff, totaling 47 in number of varying sizes. There are fourteen niches of different dimensions—the larger ones over a meter high, the smaller ones about 0.30 m high. The Buddha statues were all carved in high relief. In the middle section, there are five relatively large niches arranged vertically, four of which house individual Buddha statues, and one enshrines a bodhisattva statue. The four Buddha statues are all seated in the lotus position (double lotus crossed legs), upon lotus thrones. Their facial expressions are serene and benevolent, and their garments plain. They wear close-fitting thin kasayas, with bare chests and shoulders. Their carving style bears characteristics of the late Tang and early Song periods, though the proportions of the bodies are not entirely accurate, and the craftsmanship is not highly refined. However, the bodhisattva statue in the larger niche in the upper left stands out as the finest among the cliff grotto carvings. It features an ornate crown, a kasaya decorated with beaded tassels, and depicts the figure with the left leg crossed, the left hand resting on the ground, the right leg raised, and the right arm extended and resting on the right knee—depicting a relaxed and carefree bodhisattva.

According to Mr. Wang Ziyun in his book "One Hundred Ancient Chinese Sculptures": “Starting from the Tang Dynasty, bodhisattva statues began to appear independently, apart from the Buddha, and seated with the same dignity as the Buddha. This indicates that worshippers could venerate bodhisattvas, who were closer to everyday human life, and still accumulate merit and pray for blessings. Such seated bodhisattva images became even more common in the Song Dynasty, typically in a half-lotus, half-leaning posture. A new form also emerged in Song Dynasty bodhisattva statues where one leg is raised. The casual, relaxed sitting posture is clearly a more secularized representation.” Therefore, such bodhisattva statues with one leg raised and the hand placed on the knee are mostly considered to have been created in the Song Dynasty. Examples include the Song Dynasty (Xining period) stone-carved bodhisattva statues at Qingliang Mountain in Yan’an, Shaanxi, and those in the Thousand Buddha Cave of Qishi Village in Jingxing—all of this carving style. Based on this, the carving date of the Longwo Temple Grottoes is tentatively set to the early to mid-Song Dynasty (though some scholars believe it dates back to the late Tang Dynasty). After Emperor Zhenzong of Song ascended the throne, he initiated widespread temple construction across the country. Notably, the Xiansheng Temple in Jingxing and the Yufeng Mountain cliff carvings to its north were built and carved during the Dazhong Xiangfu era of Emperor Zhenzong.

Judging from the remaining ruins of Longwo Temple today, the stone cliff where the Buddha statues are located likely had a flush-gable roof structure in front, similar to Yufeng Mountain. The currently visible part of the cliff-carved Buddha statues was originally the inner back wall of the main hall of Longwo Temple. The carved pointed roof traces and circular stone holes used to secure wooden beams can still be seen on the rock face. Based on these remnants, it appears that the grottoes and statues were carved first, followed by the construction of the main hall. When building the hall, circular holes and the shape of the roof were carved above the statues, after which a wooden roof structure was erected to encase the cliff statues within the hall. This approach served a dual purpose: utilizing the stone statues as part of the hall’s Buddha figures, and protecting the statues.

Additionally, on the northwest lower side of the cliff, there is a larger niche containing 32 small shallow-relief seated Buddha statues, which are of average carving quality and are believed to have been carved after the Song Dynasty (likely during the Jin Dynasty). Although the scale and artistic level of the cliff carvings at Longwo Temple Grottoes do not rival those of more famous grottoes, they possess a strong regional style, making them a distinctive small-scale grotto sculpture in Shijiazhuang City. Beyond the grotto statues, a wealth of ancient inscriptions by notable figures constitutes another important cultural heritage of Longwo Temple. Due to its location along the ancient post road, many historical travelers left poetic inscriptions on the cliffs. Today, several Ming and Qing dynasty inscriptions can still be found on the northeastern stone walls of the grottoes. Preserving both ancient Buddhist stone carvings and numerous historic inscriptions, the Longwo Temple Grottoes provide valuable material for the study of ancient carving art, Buddhist art, and the history of the post road in Jingxing and Hebei Province. As a result, it is listed as one of the six provincially protected ancient grotto temples in the Shijiazhuang area.

Transportation Guide

Location: Xiaolongwo Village, Tianchang Town, Jingxing County, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province

Getting There: Take a bus from Jingxing County bound for Pingding County, and get off at Xiaolongwo en route.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Hebei Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units