Skip to content

Dharma Documentaries

Dharma. Culture. Ecology.

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

Yungang Grottoes (World Heritage China)

Posted on March 2, 2015March 14, 2022 by Dharma Documentaries
A documentary on the Yungang Grottoes, which contain some of the earliest representatives of Buddhist art in China (English with Mandarin subtitles).

Yungang Grottoes (World Heritage China)

The Yungang Grottoes have over 250 caves and 50,000 statues which range from a few centimetres to 17 metres in height, and are a repository of early Buddhist art in China.

They were begun during the Northern Wei dynasty which was established during a turbulent time in China’s history by one of the tribes of Xianbei, an ancient Mongolian nomadic people.

After conquering most of northern China they quickly assimilated to the more advanced Han culture, and played a major part in introducing Buddhism to the country, and making it the state religion.

Despite one short period of persecution during a later Emperor’s reign Buddhism continued to flourish under their short rule, which lasted only around 150 years.

The original capital of the dynasty was at Datong, and it is near there that the caves were excavated; in the latter part of the dynasty, the capital was moved south to Louyang, so that the work on the caves lasted approx. 100 years.

The statues themselves are still quite Indianised in form at the beginning of construction, but started making concessions to Chinese aesthetics later.

 

if the video does not appear on the page, please first try reloading the page, and if that doesn’t work, leave a comment so I can update the page (the comment is not published)

 

to see an album of stills click here

 

TAGS:
Culture, Caves, China, Sculpture

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Comments do not appear straight away, but are moderated before publication

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe to our Feed

Subscribe by Email

Email


Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/31o

Donations

This site has taken more than a dozen years and 1000s of hours to build, and has 800+ documentaries on it. If you would like to help, you can do so here. Even small amounts make a difference.

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Rights

Related Posts

  • The Glory of Dunhuang 10, Dunhuang Majesty
  • The Glory of Dunhuang 9, Calling Dunhuang
  • The Glory of Dunhuang 5, Painted Sculptures
  • The Glory of Dunhuang 4, The Unknown Master
  • The Glory of Dunhuang 3, The Mystery of Dunhaung
  • Luoyang, Longmen Grottoes
  • Dazu Rock Carvings (World Heritage China)
  • Longmen Grottoes (World Heritage China)
  • Mogao Caves (World Heritage China)
  • The Leshan Giant Buddha Statue

Recent Posts

  • Angkor Wat, Ancient Hydraulic City
  • The Magical Mountain of Tibet
  • Lords of Water
  • Radioactive Waste, A Nuclear Nightmare
  • Beyond Boundaries, Buddhist Art of Gandhāra
  • The Story of Sudhana, Gallery, Level 4
  • The Story of Sudhana, Balustrade, Level 4
  • The Story of Sudhana, Balustrade, Level 3
  • The Story of Sudhana, Gallery 3, 45-88
  • The Story of Sudhana, Gallery 3, 1-44

Random Posts

  • Introduction to The Silk Road Series
  • Nikko, Japan (Expoza)
  • Angkor, Land of the Gods: 02 Throne of Power
  • Lost in the Midst of Time
  • They Call it Myanmar: Lifting the Curtain
  • The Flute Player
  • HH 17 Karmapa – from Youth to Mastery 2
  • A Day in the Life of a Sri Lankan Child Monk
  • Somawati Stupa Vandana led by Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thero
  • Fire in the Blood
© 2023 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme