Cliff Carvings on Guajia Mountain

Cliff Carvings on Guajia Mountain

The cliff carvings on Guajia Mountain are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

(Including Xiesikunru Holy Mother Temple)

Cliff Carvings on Guajia Mountain (including Xiesikunru Holy Mother Temple)

Period: Sui, Tang, and Yuan dynasties

Location: 0.5 km south of Ji County, on Guajia Mountain

The cliff carvings were first carved in the second year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty (582 AD), with many additions during the Tang, Song, and Jin periods. The existing cliff carvings are predominantly in Sui and Tang styles, with individual niches in the Jin Dynasty style. No physical Song Dynasty cliff carvings remain, only stone inscriptions.

The carvings were chiseled at the lower part of a mountain cliff facing north, divided into five sections from west to east, each containing two to three niches, mostly in flame or pointed arch shapes. The carving technique mainly combines relief and line engraving, giving it a distinctive style compared to the round sculptures found in other grottoes.

The Xiesikunru Holy Mother Temple was originally built in the first year of the Tian Sheng era of the Song Dynasty (1023 AD), renovated in the seventh year of the Yuan Dynasty's Yan period (1320 AD), and partially reconstructed in the fourth year of the Ming Dynasty's Longqing era (1570 AD). Only the Holy Mother Hall remains today, which is a remnant of the Yuan Dynasty. The hall is three bays wide and three bays deep, with a single-eave hip-and-gable roof. It features reduced-column construction, with two layers of large beams on the front eaves.

On October 7, 2019, the cliff carvings on Guajia Mountain were included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units