Northern Mountain Cliff Carvings

Northern Mountain Cliff Carvings

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

The Northern Mountain Cliff Carvings are located about two kilometers north of Dazu County. They were first carved in the first year of the Jingfu era (892 AD) during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang Dynasty. Over the course of the Five Dynasties and the Song Dynasty, nearly ten thousand Buddha statues were created successively at sites such as Fo Wan, Yingpan Slope, Guanyin Slope, North Pagoda Temple, and Fo’er Rock. The Northern Mountain stone carvings are most densely concentrated at Fo Wan, comprising a total of 290 numbered niches. On a cliff face over 300 meters long and 7 meters high, there are six steles, 55 inscriptions and carving records, eight pagodas, and a relief carving depicting “Manjushri Visiting the Sick,” along with 264 niches of stone carvings.

The Buddha statues at Fo Wan are exquisitely carved, with graceful postures and unique styles. The “Samantabhadra Bodhisattva” in the “Heart’s Chariot Cave” is exquisitely crafted and is hailed as the “Venus of the East.” The “Rotating Scripture Repository Cave” is called the “Stone Carving Palace.” The “Wei Junjing Stele,” “Cai Jing Stele,” and “Ancient Text Classic of Filial Piety Stele” are unique survivors—both treasured calligraphy works and invaluable supplements to historical records, making them of extremely high value. The Fo Wan stone carvings are divided into southern and northern sections. The southern section mainly consists of works from the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods, while the northern section mostly features works from the Song Dynasty. The works from the late Tang period feature dignified and plump figures, robust spirit, simple clothing, and smooth lines. The Five Dynasties works are delicate, refined, and richly varied, with clothing gradually becoming more elaborate and less influenced by foreign cultures, representing the transitional phase of stone carving. The Song Dynasty works exhibit distinctly ethnic characteristics.

In 1961, the Northern Mountain Cliff Carvings were listed among the first batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Composition of the Carvings

Northern Mountain was formerly known as “Dragon Hill” and has an elevation of approximately 560 meters.

The stone carvings here began in the first year of the Jingfu era of the Tang Dynasty (892 AD) and continued through the Five Dynasties to the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty, spanning more than 250 years. The initiator of the Northern Mountain stone carvings was Wei Junjing, the military governor of Changzhou and commander-in-chief of the four prefectures of Chang, Pu, Yu, and He during the late Tang Dynasty. There are five to six thousand Northern Mountain stone carvings in total, with two to three thousand still preserved today. They are distributed across locations such as Fo Wan, White Pagoda Temple, Yingpan Slope, Guanyin Slope, and Fo’er Rock, with the highest concentration at Fo Wan.

Fo Wan is shaped like a crescent moon, with cliffs 4 to 7 meters high and stretching about 500 meters in length. The niches are connected and have been assigned a total of 290 numbers. Among them are six steles, including the “Wei Junjing Stele” that documents the origin of the Northern Mountain carvings, the Song Dynasty-carved “Ancient Text Classic of Filial Piety Stele” consisting of twenty-two chapters, and the “Zhao Yijian’s Spirit Way Stele” written by Cai Jing. There are also 55 inscriptions and carving records, eight pagodas, one relief carving depicting “Manjushri Visiting the Sick,” and a total of 254 niches of stone carvings.

Fo Wan is divided into southern and northern sections. The southern section mainly contains works from the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods, while the northern section mostly features works from the Song Dynasty. The carvings from the late Tang period are dignified and plump, with a robust spirit, simple and smooth lines. The Five Dynasties carvings are delicate and full of variety. The Song Dynasty caves feature characters with distinct personalities and ornate attire.

The 136th Rotating Scripture Repository Cave features exquisitely proportioned and graceful statues, each with distinct character. The Manjushri Bodhisattva, seated high atop a fierce blue lion, appears energetic and slightly self-assured. The Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, characterized by Eastern feminine beauty, sits cross-legged on an elephant, appearing gentle, kind, elegant, and serene. The 125th cave is hailed as the “Crown of Northern Mountain Stone Carvings” for its “Rosary Holding Guanyin,” whose expression is full of life-like charm, breaking the boundary between human and divine, leaving a profound impression.

The Wei Junjing Stele, located in Fo Wan of Northern Mountain, documents aspects of late Tang society and the reasons for Wei Junjing building the stronghold and commissioning the carvings—it is an important source for studying the Northern Mountain carvings. The Ancient Text Classic of Filial Piety Stele, also in Fo Wan, includes six panels. The “Classic of Filial Piety” exists in both ancient and modern texts. Since the modern text is more commonly available and the ancient text has been lost, the textual material on the Northern Mountain Ancient Text Classic of Filial Piety Stele is especially precious.

The Multi-Treasure Pagoda, also known as the “North Pagoda,” is located in front of the White Pagoda Temple in Northern Mountain. It was built during the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1131–1162) and underwent renovations during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The brick-built, octagonal, thirteen-story hollow, dense-eave pagoda stands over 30 meters tall, with seven interior levels. A passage inside the central core allows visitors to climb to the top, offering a panoramic view of the Dazu urban and rural landscape. The inner and outer walls of the pagoda are inlaid with over a hundred Song Dynasty carvings. The North Pagoda is closely related to the stone carvings of Northern Mountain.

Cultural Relics Protection

On August 16, 1956, it was announced by the Sichuan Provincial People's Committee as one of the first batch of Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units.

On March 4, 1961, it was announced by the State Council as one of the first batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

On December 4, 1999, it was included in the World Heritage List.

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Further Reading:

· First Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units