Bazhong Grottoes

Author: Yang Ximing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: The niches in Bazhong are mostly double-niche structures. The outer niche is rectangular with an open mouth and flat top, while the inner niche has three forms: plain circular arched niches, circular arched niches with peach-shaped lintels, and Buddha canopy niches. There are a few triple-niche structures, where the outer layer has an open mouth and flat top, the inner layer has a circular arched facade with peach-shaped lintels, and the middle layer is a Buddha canopy niche. The Buddha canopy niches often feature multi-tiered eaves on top, with hanging canopies, bells, and other items suspended beneath the eaves, forming the niche lintel. The canopy pillars serve as the side pillars of the niche, and the beautifully carved lintels and pillars of the Buddha canopy niche are particularly charming and unique to Bazhong. The three walls of the inner niche often have low platforms, and the top of the niche is decorated with ornate canopies. The main figure is frequently surrounded by shallow reliefs of bodhi trees, the Eight Great Beings of the Buddha, and apsaras. The lintels and pillars are adorned with honeysuckle, scrolling leaves, square lotus flowers, square floral patterns, and pearls. In terms of niche decoration, Bazhong's Buddha canopy niches and the bodhi twin trees inside them are often focal points of attention. (The Buddha canopy niche actually appeared in China very early. In Northern Dynasty grottoes, many niche figures above the hanging canopy patterns depicted the Buddha canopy form, such as the numerous such niche caves found in the Northern Dynasty grottoes of Yungang and Xumi Mountain. A true Buddha canopy resembles a small house. Li Jie, who compiled the Yingzao Fashiyi (Treatise on Architectural Methods) during the Song Dynasty, provided regulations on various architectural systems from the Tang and Song dynasties onwards. One of its sections, Small Woodworking Systems, specifies: "Buddha and Daoist Canopies: The construction of Buddha and Daoist canopies, from the turtle feet at the base to the swallowtail at the top, should be a total height of twenty-nine feet, with an internal and external width of twelve feet and five inches. The upper tier should have celestial palace pavilions, followed by a flat platform, then a waist eave, with the canopy body supported by lotus-shaped overlapping doors and windows on the turtle feet.")