"Xiantong Sfu - The Return of the National Treasures of Tianlongshan Grottoes and Digital Restoration Special Exhibition" opened
The head of the Buddha in the north wall of the 8th Cave of Tianlongshan Grottoes. Photo by Huang Wei, People's Daily reporter
People's Daily, Beijing, February 12 (Huang Wei, Liu Yingying) On February 12, the first day of the first lunar month of the Year of the Ox, "Xiantong Sfu - The Return of the Tianlongshan Grottoes National Treasures and Digital Restoration Special Exhibition" was held at the Luxun Museum in Beijing. The head of the Buddha in the north wall of the Tianlong Mountain Grottoes, which met with audiences across the country for the first time on New Year's Eve, appeared in the center of the exhibition hall.
Liu Yuzhu, director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, pointed out that the Buddha's head is the 100th lost cultural relic to return to China in 2020 through many efforts. It is also the first lost Buddhist carving in the Tianlongshan Grottoes that returned from Japan in the past century, which is of great milestone significance. The Chinese government will closely track the news of lost overseas cultural relics and reserve the right to recover historically stolen or illegally export cultural relics. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage will work with relevant parties in Shanxi to actively create conditions to promote the Buddha's return to the Tianlong Mountain Grottoes as soon as possible.
It is understood that the 27 Rubbers of the Northern Dynasties and other documents collected by the Lu Xun Museum in Beijing, especially a group of 8 Rubbers of the statues from Caves 2 and 3 of the Tianlongshan Grottoes were displayed for the first time. The exhibition also presents the basic situation of Tianlongshan Grottoes, the overview and artistic style of Cave 8, the introduction of stone carving Buddha's head, the loss of cultural relics and digital restoration results of Tianlongshan Grottoes. Audiences can also scan the QR code to enter the restoration exhibition online exhibition hall .
exhibition is guided by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and hosted by the Beijing Luxun Museum and Taiyuan Tianlongshan Grottoes Museum in Shanxi. The extension will be until March 14, 2021.
It is reported that the Tianlongshan Grottoes were first carved from the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Eastern Wei Dynasty. Later, after being excavated by the Northern Qi Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, 25 caves were formed and more than 500 statues were created. The grottoes are distributed from east to west on the edge of the east and west peaks of Tianlong Mountain, about 500 meters long from east to west, East Peak 12 Caves and 13 Caves in the west Peak, and most of the grottoes face north and south. In 2001, the Tianlongshan Grottoes were announced by the State Council as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
Tianlongshan Grottoes are famous for their skillful carving skills, delicate expression techniques, distinctive characteristics of the times and rich lifestyle. They are a typical example of the gradual localization of Buddhist grottoes in China, reflecting the outstanding achievements of Chinese grotto art from the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Among them, the statues of the Tang Dynasty are the most exquisite stone sculptures in the same period in my country. They are known as the "Tianlong Mountain Style" and are known as "a shining pearl in the treasure house of oriental sculpture art." Tianlong Mountain is the most abundant and complete area in Taiyuan that preserves the richest and most complete ground cultural relics from the Eastern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui and Tang Dynasties. It is also an important physical carrier that reflects the precious and precious cultural heritage of the Eastern Wei Bafu, Northern Qi Bidu, and Northern Qi Beidu in the Tang Dynasty.
"Xiantong Sfu - The Return of the National Treasures of Tianlongshan Grottoes and Digital Restoration Special Exhibition" opened
left is the album collection of "Tianlongshan Grottoes" 35, and the right is the status of the main Buddha statue in the north wall of Cave 8 of Tianlongshan Grottoes. Photo provided by the State Administration of Cultural Relics
The head of the Buddha on the north wall of the Tianlongshan Grottoes. Photo provided by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. Photo by Luo Zheng,
, Cave 8, Tianlong Mountain. Photo provided by the State Administration of Cultural Relics
On November 17, 2020, our embassy in Japan held a cultural relic handover ceremony. Photo provided by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage
At 12:00 on December 12, 2020, the Buddha's head arrived in Beijing safely on an international freight flight. Photo provided by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage
Tianlong Mountain Exterior View. Photo provided by Tianlongshan Grottoes Museum in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province
expert identification work photo. Photo provided by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage
Source: People's Daily-Cultural Channel
