Grotto art originated in ancient India around the middle of the 3rd century BC. It is a architectural community built in response to the needs of religious activities during the process of religious dissemination and development. It is mainly composed of architecture, sculpture a

2025/06/0412:22:41 buddhism 1685

preface

Foreword

About the middle of the 3rd century BC Grotto art originated in ancient India. It is a architectural community built in response to the needs of religious activities in the process of religious dissemination and development. It is mainly composed of architecture, sculpture and mural art. In ancient India, not only did Buddhism dig caves, but other religions such as Jain , Hindu , and other religions also had the habit of digging caves for practice and worship.

About the 1st century AD, as Buddhism spread to the east, it gradually spread to China through Central Asia and the Western Regions. It first arrived at the Kucha region, entered a period of prosperity and development after the 3rd century AD, and set off a climax of carving stones to open cave statues. Then it spread along the Hexi Corridor to the hinterland of the Central Plains.

During the process of Buddhism’s eastern spread, the form and function of Grottoes temples have undergone tremendous changes. The most important expression of cave buildings is the design and structure of different cave types to meet the needs of different sculpture settings and mural paintings. Therefore, cave shape has become the basis for the appreciation and research of cave art.

To understand a group of caves, you need to understand a cave first; and to understand a cave, you need to understand it from the shape of the cave. So let’s take a few minutes today to learn about what types of grottoes are there in China? The excavation of the cave originated in ancient India and was originally designed for practice and contains two functions: life and religion. In terms of architectural form, it is divided into vihara (general refers to monk's house) and caitya (general refers to Buddhist temples), also known as pagoda temple caves and pagoda hall caves. The two are not completely separated. Often, one branch must be equipped with the corresponding monk's cave. Where the monk's cave is located, it should also be close to the water source for easy life.

Typical Viagra Caves are square in shape and flat top. In addition to the entrance wall, small branch caves were carved on the three walls of the main room for monks to live in, and some could only accommodate one person.

▲Floor plan of Ajanta Cave 1 Vihara Cave 1 Picture Source: Guangbi Yuanji

▲Ajanta Cave 1 Vihara Cave 1 Vihara Cave 6th century Picture Source: Guangbi Yuanji

The original Buddhist caves were almost mechanically imitated by grass huts, such as a cave located in the Gongtapali Cave in Andhra Pradesh . Its main room is round, with a tower in the middle, and a rectangular foyer outside the main room. But soon, Buddhists made improvements to this primitive form, which appeared in large numbers in the western and Mumbai areas of the Ghats.

▲Ajanta Cave Type Distribution Map Picture Source: Visual Art

This new type of cave for Buddhist worship has certain commonalities in the plan layout: a long horseshoe-shaped plane, made into a semicircular shape at the innermost part, and a bowl-shaped (hemispherical top) tower in the middle, with columns arranged around the inside of the tower and next to the side walls for believers to worship from the outside of the columns.

▲Floor view of the 19th Cave of Ajanta Caves Zhiti Cave Picture Source: Guangbi Yuanji

Early Indian caves did not have Buddha statues, but were centered on the pagoda, symbolizing Nirvana. After the appearance of the Buddha statue, it did not replace the structure of the grotto system with the tower as the center, but was presented in a way that is like a tower, that is, a Buddha niche is opened on the main body of the tower, and the Buddha statue is carved in the niche.

The most important type of cave in the history of the development of cave temples, also called Tatang Cave. It is represented by the Karle Grottoes in the 2nd century BC, including the largest and most perfect pagoda cave.

▲Tatang Cave in Karla Grottoes, India About the 2nd century BC Picture source: Baidu

▲Elora Grottoes Cave 10·Zhiti Cave 7th century ~ 11th century Source: Baidu

Indian Buddhist grottoes was introduced to China along the Silk Road through Central Asia, and then the Western Regions grottoes group centered on ancient Kucha, namely Kucha Grottoes . It then spread eastward, and a large number of grottoes formed along the Silk Road and in the north and south. The excavation of Chinese grottoes began in the 3rd century AD, flourished in the 5th to 8th centuries, and at the latest to the 16th century. Most of the grottoes that have been preserved to this day were built in , the Southern and Northern Dynasties , and flourished and improved in , the Sui and Tang dynasties . According to the differences in cave shape and main statues, it can be divided into four major regions: Xinjiang, northern Central Plains, southern and Tibet.

▲Schematic diagram of the East-West China of Buddhism Picture source: Baidu

Grotto temples are generally close to major transportation routes and keep a certain distance from the city. They are often built on the cliffs by the riverside with beautiful environments, facing the mountains and facing the water, away from the hustle and bustle. This not only provides convenience for the spread of Buddhism and worship of believers, but also provides monks who are dedicated to practicing meditation and life.

Chinese grotto temples are not only large in number and in many types, but the shape of the cave has changed according to the different times and the content of the statue. Due to the unbalanced development of Buddhist grottoes in various regions, the excavation and development of grottoes are mostly concentrated in one or several historical stages. It is rare to see continuous chiseling and construction in different historical periods. However, Gansu Dunhuang Grottoes is a relatively special example. It is not only a large scale in excavation but also lasts for a long time, providing us with a rare physical specimen for the development and evolution of Buddhist grottoes in northwest China. In a sense, Mogao Grottoes can be said to be a microcosm of the development of China's grottoes. Therefore, taking the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang as an example, it is to illustrate that the form and characteristics of the Cave Space in the Cave of Prayer are with typical significance.

▲Mogao Grottoes Cave Digging Schematic

According to the different functions of the grottoes, they can be divided into seven types: worship caves, monk's caves, Zen caves, shadow caves, burning caves, storage caves and lecture hall caves.

Cave of Worship

In Buddhist caves in various regions of China, puberty caves are the main cave shape. In the cave, Buddhist statues are either sculpted or carved, or murals are painted, which are places for monks and nuns and secular believers to offer sacrifices and worship activities. The space forms of the puja cave have many different shapes, including the central pillar cave, the Buddha palace cave (square cave), the Buddha altar cave, the great statue cave, and the Nirvana cave.

is now briefly described according to its shape characteristics.

puja cave, shape and characteristics

central pillar cave

central pillar cave, also known as tower pillar cave and tower temple cave, is one of the main forms of caves, mainly used for religious activities such as worship and offering. This type of cave was popular during the Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern Dynasties. It was still excavated until , Tang Dynasty , and it is the most numerous, distinctive and typical cave among the puja caves. This type of cave is found in many grotto temples in Xinjiang, northern Central Plains, southern and Tibet.

The main feature of the central column is that a square column stands in the center of the cave, connecting the top of the cave with the ground. The space in front of the column is relatively large and is the main chamber part of the cave. A passage that can pass through and right around worship is formed between the other three side walls of the cylinder and the side walls of the cave. The column in the middle of the cave is a symbol of the tower.

▲Floor plan of the Thousand Buddha Cave in Manjushri Mountain, Jiuquan Source: "A Brief History of Chinese Grottoes"

▲Central pillar cave model Source: Network

Central pillar cave is developed and changed by the Indochi Cave. The main feature of the Zhiti Cave in India is a pagoda carved in the cave. After this cave shape was introduced to China, its shape had different characteristics in different regions, and the shape of the central pillar cave also showed many regional characteristics. There are significant differences in shape between the central pillar caves in the Kucha area and the central pillar caves in the Central Plains area. The central column cave in the Central Plains region has relatively regular central columns, most of which have a base at the lower part of the column, and a row or series of small niches are carved out on the four walls of the column. The column is closer to the tower in terms of image, and the corridor around the column is relatively tall, almost equal to the height of the cave.

▲Mogao Grottoes Cave 248·Central Column Cave Northern Wei Source: Dunhuang Research Institute

The central column cave in Kucha area, most of the columns have no base, small niches are mostly chiseled on the main wall of the column, most of the other walls are not chiseled, the corridor is relatively low, and the top is mostly in a voucher shape. Some caves have raised and expanded the rear corridor to form a rear chamber. Even so, the back room is lower than the main room and has a strong regional characteristics.

▲Kizil Cave 8 6th-7th Century Source: "A Brief History of Chinese Grottoes"

and Dunhuang and the central pillar caves in the Central Plains have evolved the pagoda in the cave into a square pavilion. The top of the tower is connected to the top of the cave, and evolved into a square column. A niche is opened on all sides of the column, and Buddhist statues are placed in the niche. The changes in the spatial form of the central column cave are mainly reflected in the niche form on the column, the style of the cave roof, and the details of the decoration.

▲Mogao Grottoes Cave 428·Central pillar cave Northern Zhou Source: Dunhuang Research Institute

▲Mogao Grottoes Cave 254·Central pillar cave Northern Wei Source: Dunhuang Art Institute

Buddha Hall Cave

Buddha Hall Cave is the same as that of temples and Buddhist temples, and is a place for worship and preaching, so it is named. At the same time, because its planes are mostly square, researchers call it a square cave.

▲Putai Cave Plan, Longmen Grottoes, Luoyang Source: "A Brief History of Chinese Grottoes"

This type of cave usually creates niches on the main wall of the cave, and the other walls are decorated with murals. The top is generally covered or dome-shaped, and it is popular in the late Northern Tang Dynasty and the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The evolution of Buddhist grottoes developed to the Buddha Hall Cave. The image of the pagoda has completely disappeared, and the corridor space that is circling no longer exists. Therefore, the transformation from the central pillar cave to the Buddha Hall Cave can be said to be an important symbol of the transformation of Buddhist grottoes from Indian culture to Han culture.

▲Buddha Cave Model Photo by Gao Ziqi

Buddha Cave is the most typical cave type among Chinese grottoes, scattered in various places, and it has been popular and used for the longest time. Among the Kucha Grottoes, the number of Buddhist temple caves is second only to the central pillar cave.

▲Mogao Grottoes Cave 45·Buddhist Cave The prosperous Tang Dynasty Picture source: Baidu

Buddha altar cave

Buddha altar cave is generally seen from the prosperous Tang Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty. It is a variant form of Buddha altar, which refers to a square or rectangular Buddha altar set at the center of the cave, and the statues are concentrated on the Buddha altar.

▲Floor plan of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes Source: "A Brief History of Chinese Grottoes"

The late Buddhist altar cave was added to the back of the Buddhist altar, which connected the top of the cave and the altar, which played a role in dividing the cave space and was similar to the function of the fan wall in the temple. This type of Buddhist altar cave is also found in the Guangyuan Grottoes in Sichuan and Longmen Grottoes in Henan during the Tang and Song dynasties.

▲Fu Tan Cave Model Photo by Gao Ziqi

▲Structure diagram of the late Tang Buddhist Cave of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu

Source: "A Brief History of Chinese Grottoes"

▲Mogao Grottoes Cave 55, Buddha Cave Cave Song Source: Baidu

▲The back screen of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes Song Photo source: Baidu

The evolution process from the Buddhist temple cave to the Buddha altar , it can be seen that the space of the cave is closer to the spatial distribution shape of Chinese Buddhist temple buildings, and the main statue of the cave is changed from a niche to an altar. There is a certain distance between the Buddha altar and the four walls, forming a corridor that can be orbited.

▲Mogao Grottoes Cave 61·Futan Cave th Generation Source: Digital Dunhuang

Horizon Cave

Horizon Cave, generally has a tall back room with a depth of 5 to 6 meters or more, and at most the back room is horizontally shaped. A tall Nirvana platform was carved out at the lower part of the rear wall of the rear room, and small niches were carved out on the front wall of the rear room and the inner walls of the left and right corridors. Some of the back chambers of the Great Solid Cave disappeared with only one rear corridor, while others even omitted the formed left and right corridors. These may all be simplified forms of the Great Solid Cave.

▲Baicheng Kizil Grottoes Profile of

The large statue cave is very close in shape to the central pillar cave, and can be classified into the same type, mainly worshiping Buddha statues, and have been discovered from the Sixteen Kingdoms to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Because a tall Buddha statue is shaped in front of the main wall of the main chamber of such caves, the height is generally more than 5 meters, and the largest one can reach more than ten meters. The height of the main chamber is therefore very different from that of the back chamber. Since the large statue cave has its own characteristics, its shape is similar to that of the central column cave, but it is still listed in the same category.

▲The Great Elephant Cave Model Source: Internet

In the existing data, the Great Elephant Cave may have appeared in the Kucha area earlier, and then developed into the surrounding areas, affecting and driving the construction of the Great Elephant Cave in other areas. According to grotto survey and chronological testing data, among the giant statue caves in China, the 47th and 48th Caves in Xinjiang were the earliest. The remains of the giant statue caves built later include the East and West Big Buddha Caves of Bamiyang Grottoes in Afghanistan, the Tanyao Fifth Caves in Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi, China, the Tanyao Fifth Caves in the early Tang Dynasty and the 130th Caves of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the 6th Caves in the Yulin Grottoes in Shaanxi, the Maijishan Grottoes in Gansu, the Bingling Temple Grottoes in Gansu, the Tianlongshan Grottoes in Shanxi, and the Sumi Mountain Grottoes in Ningxia.

▲Interior view of the 6th Cave of Yulin Cave and the Big Buddha Tang Source: Internet

Documents record that the earliest large Buddha statue in China is the Liuxiao stone statue made by King Juqu Mengxun for his mother. In the first year of Heping of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the "Five Caves of Tanyao" (caves 16 to 20) dug in Wuzhou Mountain in the capital Pingcheng (now Datong City ), the main figure of each cave was a giant statue.

▲Yungang Grottoes Cave 20 Main Buddha statue Northern Wei Picture source: Baidu

Nirvana Cave

The so-called Nirvana Cave refers to a cave dug for the placement of Nirvana statues, commonly known as "Sleeping Buddha Cave". It is also a variant form of Buddhist temple cave. This cave uses the Nirvana statue as the main body of expression and is placed on the Nirvana platform on the main wall. It is not blocked in front of it. The statue of the lying Buddha is clearly placed in front of the viewer at a glance. Therefore, the Nirvana cave is generally arranged in a rectangular horizontal layout.

▲Nirvana Cave Model Photo by Gao Ziqi

During the Northern Dynasties, statues with the theme of Nirvana appeared in northwest China and the Central Plains, but most of them were not the main images. After the Tang Dynasty, large caves specializing in offering Buddha Nirvana statues began to appear.

Nirvana images in the Kucha Grottoes in Xinjiang appeared earlier in the Chinese grottoes. Usually, there are or are images of Nirvana in the back chambers of the Maximus Cave and the central pillar cave.

▲Nirvana picture of the back wall of the back corridor of the Kizil Cave 38, 4th to 5th century

Source: Sandalwood Temple

"Nirvana statue" Mogao Grottoes 225 North Wall of the prosperous Tang Dynasty Source: Visual Planet

In Mogao Grottoes, only Cave 148 and Cave 158, which were excavated in the Tang Dynasty, are Nirvana Caves. Among them, the Buddha statue in Cave 148 is 14.4 meters long, the top of the cave is a cylindrical arch, and an open niche is opened on both sides of the north and south. The Buddha statue in Cave 158 is 15.8 meters long, with no niches on the north and south sides of the cave. The top of the cave is a cylindrical top, and its four-panel cross-section is a concave curve.

▲The Buddha altar in the west wall of the Mogao Grottoes, the Buddha altar in the west wall of the Mogao Grottoes, part of the statue of the Nirvana of the Buddha's altar in the west Middle Tang

Monk's Cave

This type of cave is mainly used for monks to live and live, and is more common in the Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern Dynasties. Its shape and internal facilities take into account the needs of daily life. A typical monk's cave is generally composed of three parts: a living room, a corridor and a small room. The corridor is the passage to enter the cave, located on the left or right side of the living room, and the length of the corridor is roughly equal to the depth of the hall. At the end of the corridor, fold to the left or right, and you can enter the living room through the doorway. The plane of the living room is mostly horizontally rectangular. Near the door of the living room, a heating stove pit is chiseled or built. The upper wall of the stove pit is formed in the concave wall, and columnar masonry is also decorated on both sides.

In the middle of the front wall of the living room, a bright window that is nearly rectangular. The inner opening of the bright window is greater than the outer opening. This design is to increase the amount of sunlight entering the room through the bright window. On the opposite side of the door, a low strip-shaped meditation bed is carved or built for monks to rest or sit in meditation. On the top of the corridor or living room, it is mostly made of vertical or horizontal. In addition, the roof of the corridor also has a flat roof or close to the flat roof. There are dome or roof roofs on the roof of the living room, but there are only a few.

▲Floor plan of the North District of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang,

Source: "A Brief History of Chinese Grottoes"

▲Decoration of the stove pit fire chamber in the 15th Kizil Grottoes

Source: "Archaeology of Buddhist Grottoes"

Monk's Cave with a small room is mostly placed in the main wall at the end of the corridor or next to the end of the corridor. Some people carve small niches on the corridor or the walls of the living room to place small objects such as lamps. There are many relatively regular grooves and holes at the outer entrances of corridors, doorways, small rooms and light windows. These parts are used to inlaid and place wooden door frames or window frames. In the monk's cave, the walls are mostly covered with grass mud for decoration. Some apply white ash or gypsum on the walls, and most of the floors have also been carefully renovated. Most walls do not have any decorative murals, and the monk's caves with murals are just some simple decorative colorful lines. This situation should be related to the monk's precepts that the monk's room shall not be painted in the image of sentient beings. The changes in the shape of the monk's cave are mainly reflected in the fact that there are small rooms at the end of the corridor, the form of corridors and the top of the living room, and the shape of the joint part of the top of the living room and the wall.

▲Kizil Grottoes Cave 10th Monk's Cave Around the 7th century Picture source: Internet

Some monk's Caves were later transformed into other types of caves. Just as several monk's caves in the Kizil Grottoes were transformed into central pillar caves or square Buddhist temple caves in the middle and late stages. This phenomenon shows that the original functions of these caves were greatly weakened and abandoned at that time. This change means that the religious lifestyle of monks and nuns at that time changed, and their dependence and demand for monks' caves decreased sharply. In addition, monks' caves where monks live are also found in the Yaer Lake Grottoes in Turpan area, the Caves in the North District of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, and the Sumi Mountain Grottoes in Guyuan, Ningxia. They have many characteristics in the shape of the monk's cave. Most of them have kangs, stove pits and flue ducts that emit smoke.

Zen Cave

Zen Cave is a cave for monks and nuns to meditate. Its nature is the same as the Zen Room of the temple, and there are two types: a combination Zen Cave and a single Zen Cave.

▲Zen Cave Model Gao Ziqi

▲Multi-cha Zen Cave Model Gao Ziqi

House Zen Cave Relics are mainly found in Baicheng, Xinjiang in northwest China, Kucha Grottoes in Kucha Grottoes, Turpan Grottoes, Gansu Dunhuang Grottoes, and Guyuan Sumi Mountain Grottoes in Ningxia.

▲Mogao Grottoes Cave 268·Zen Cave Beiliang Picture source: Chinese-style construction

Combination Zen Cave refers to the excavation of multiple small Zen rooms in a cave. There are four fewer, and there are more than ten small meditation rooms. This type of combined meditation cave seems to be a place for monks to sit in meditation together.

▲Combination Zen Cave·Floor Plan of Cave B113, North District, Mogao District, Dunhuang,

Source: "A Brief History of Chinese Grottoes"

According to the current knowledge, the distribution location of the combined Zen Cave is no higher than that of Hexi, Gansu. During the cleaning and excavation of the caves in the northern area of Mogao Grottoes, a number of Zen caves were found. Among them are single-body Zen Caves, and there are also combination Zen Caves, and there are many styles on the top of the cave.

▲Mogao Grottoes Cave 285·Combined Zen Cave Western Wei Source: Baidu

▲North wall of Mogao Grottoes Cave 285 Western Wei Source: Baidu

The most complex example of a combined Zen Cave 285 is seen in the ruins of Kuqa Subashi Buddhist Temple in Xinjiang. In front of the cave, the front room is located in front of the cave. The main room is cross-shaped and the top of the cave is in a vault shape. The small Zen room is arranged on both sides of the main room.

▲Kuche Subashi Zen Cave Plan Source: Internet

This type of combination Zen Cave is also found in the Tuyugou Grottoes near Turpan , the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and the Manjushri Mountain Grottoes near Jiuquan . Caves 268, Caves 487 and Caves 285 of Mogao Grottoes are all attached to four or eight small Zen rooms. Except for Cave 268, it was originally a Zen cave, but was later transformed into a puberty cave. Caves 487 and Caves 285 both attach small Zen rooms to the Cave of Prayer. The cave plane becomes square, and the top of the cave is covered with bucket roofs or flat roofs, which has more characteristics of Cave of Prayer.

The combination of the Zen Cave of Manjushri Mountain is located near the ancient Buddha Cave in Houshan District and adjacent to the Cave of Worship. The main chamber of the cave is long, the small Zen room is symmetrical on the left and right, and the shape is closer to the combined Zen cave in Kucha area.

▲Menju Mountain Grottoes Zen Cave Picture Source: Wenshu Temple Scenic Area

Single Zen Cave. The examples of the Kizil Grottoes in Xinjiang are all small in space, and are actually a large round arched niche. The single Zen caves in the northern area of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu and the Sumi Mountain Grottoes in Ningxia are mostly made of square square rooms. There is a low platform in front of the main wall. The building space is slightly larger, but it can only accommodate one person. There are no murals or other decorations in the cave. In the caves in the northern area of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, some Zen caves were also found, which were changed to cave . Perhaps it was the meditation cave where monks meditated before their lifetime, and after their death, they changed the cave where they meditated into a cave where they buried their ashes or corpses.

Shadow Cave

Shadow Cave is a cave used to commemorate monks and nuns and secular believers. The nature of this type of cave is similar to the movie hall in the temple, similar to the current memorial hall. According to the survey, the scale of such shadow caves in Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu is not very large. Generally, shadow caves are placed on the left side of the main cave corridor of a certain large cave, and their relative position relationship with the main cave is relatively fixed. Generally, images of the commemorated people are placed in shadow caves, and some are also painted murals related to their lives, or other monumental objects are placed.A typical example is Cave 17 of Mogao Grottoes (Cavala Cave). A colorful statue of Master Hongbian is placed on the low altar in front of the main wall of the cave. The main wall is painted with lush branches and leaves. A shoulder bag and a clean bottle are hung on the trees. A female believer holding a fan on each side serves the left and right. The side niche is embedded with a monument of Master Hongbian. Such caves are also found in the Sumi Mountain Grottoes in Ningxia.

Shadow towers with similar nature to the shadow hall and the shadow cave. This type of tower is mostly niches on the body of the tower, and images of the commemorated people are placed in the niche. Shadow towers are mostly built in temples. In addition, there is a relief shadow tower carved on the cliff, the famous representative is the Baoshan Grottoes in Anyang, Henan. There are a large number of cliff relief shadow towers in Baoshan Grottoes, with images of monks and nuns engraved in the shadow tower niche, and inscriptions on the title are engraved next to the shadow tower. From the inscription, we can see that the Shadow Tower is also called the Gray Body Tower or the Burning Tower.

▲Mogao Grottoes Cave No. 17, Late Tang Dynasty Picture source: Internet

▲Mogao Grottoes Cave No. 17, Late Tang Dynasty Source: Digital Dunhuang

小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小The cave has the functions of admiration, commemoration and memorialization. The famous representatives include the cave of the Queen Yifu of the Western Wei Dynasty. It is generally believed that Maijishan Cave 43 is the burial cave of the deposed Hou Yifu of the Western Wei Dynasty. There is a cliff pavilion in front of the cave, and the back room is rectangular (record dishes) top. The cave is relatively low and suitable for placing coffins. Huideng Cave and Lingjue Cave in Longmen Grottoes are both caves where the nuns are buried. The cave is engraved with a long inscription, describing the life of the deceased and the date of the burial. A number of caves were found during the cave cleaning in the northern area of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, including caves of secular believers (burial objects are placed in the cave). This shows that Buddhist beliefs have influenced traditional funeral concepts and customs in some ways.

▲Profile of Maijishan Grottoes Cave 43 Source: Chanlin.com

▲Embroidery room of Maijishan Grottoes Cave 43 Western Wei Picture source: Chanlin.com

Storage Cave

Storage Cave storing food, daily necessities, water and other items. For example, the Kizil Grottoes in the Kucha Grottoes in Xinjiang and the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang in Gansu were found in the caves for storing grain; specially excavated water cellar caves were found in the Sumi Mountain Grottoes in Ningxia, connecting the drainage ditches in front of the caves with the water ditches, so that the discharged rainwater enters the water cellar and stores them for daily use. Among the caves in Kucha, there are a few storage caves. This type of grotto is generally dug on the rock wall. First, a large hole is dug into it to leave enough space for people to enter and exit freely. Then dig downwards to dig a large hole, the large one is more than two meters deep. Storage caves are generally close to monk's caves, making it easier to use daily necessities, etc.

Lecture Cave

In China, the only few lecture caves that have been seen are all in Kucha Grottoes. This type of cave has square planes and huge space. Their common characteristics are: low platforms are carved out at the bottom of the three or four walls of the cave for people to live in; some even add stove pits in one corner of the cave; the cave door is opened on one or both sides of the cave; each cave group generally has only one such cave. Such large cave remains of the Kizil Grottoes in Xinjiang, Kizil Gaha Grottoes in Xinjiang, Kumutula Grottoes in Xinjiang and Senmusem Grottoes in Xinjiang. Its main function is to preach.

From the above analysis of the shape of the cave, we can see that: First of all, although the cave has its own characteristics, it is just like temple buildings, and is excavated to meet the needs of religious beliefs and religious worship activities. As the cave shape of the Buddhist culture phenomenon, it is a representation of cave architecture and a basic paradigm of Buddhist art. Its development and evolution are closely related to Buddhism itself and the cultural traditions and atmosphere of the times of different ethnic groups.Secondly, the grottoes in different eras and regions have both inheritance and unity, as well as differences and variability. The grottoes provide important empirical materials for the relationship between grottoes and temples, the development and evolution of Buddhism and Buddhist art, and the exchange of Chinese and foreign cultures.

Source: Clever and Good Doctor