Look at the information and talk about the characteristics of these grottoes in combination with what you have learned.

China Buddhist Grottoes began in the 3rd century and prevailed in the 5th-8th century. /kloc-after the 0/6th century, their numbers were even less. The existing grottoes are mainly distributed in Xinjiang (ancient western regions), western Gansu (ancient Hexi region), the Yellow River basin and the Yangtze River basin, with sporadic distribution in the south. In terms of scale or artistic achievements, Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes, Longmen Grottoes and Maijishan Grottoes are the four largest grottoes in China.

Mogao grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu

Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes is the general name of Mogao Grottoes and Thousand Buddha Caves in Dunhuang City, Gansu Province. Located 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, Gansu Province, it was excavated on the cliff at the eastern foot of Mingsha Mountain. In the second year of Fujian Jianyuan before Qin Dynasty (AD 366), a shaman devotee came here and saw the golden light on Mingsha Mountain and thousands of Buddhas, so he sprouted the heart of digging, and then he continued to build it and became a Buddhist holy place. The art of China Grottoes originated in India, and the traditional statues of Indian Grottoes are mainly stone carvings. Because the rocks in Mogao Grottoes are not suitable for carving, the statues are mainly clay murals. Generally, the whole cave used to be round, and then it gradually faded into high plastic, shadow plastic and wall plastic. Finally, with the mural as the background, the two arts of plastic and painting were combined. There are more than 1000 caves in the Mogao Grottoes in the Tang Dynasty, and there are 492 existing caves. The Sui and Tang Dynasties were the heyday of the Mogao Grottoes, and the largest statues of the Mogao Grottoes were formed in the Tang Dynasty. The Buddha statue in Cave 96 is the largest statue in Mogao Grottoes. The murals in the Tang Dynasty are varied and varied, and the scale is extremely grand, showing a magnificent picture of the kingdom of heaven. Mogao Grottoes is one of the four largest grottoes in China, and it is also the largest and best-preserved treasure house of Buddhist art in the world.

Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi Province

Yungang Grottoes, located in the northern cliff of Wuzhou Mountain in the western suburbs of Datong City, Shanxi Province, are excavated along the mountain, with a length of 1 000 meters from east to west. There are 53 main caves, 252 large and small caves and more than 5 1000 statues, making it one of the largest ancient caves in China. Yungang Grottoes were founded in 450 AD, and Emperor Xiaowen of Wei ordered Samoan Yao Tan to dig five large grottoes (16-20 grottoes), which were later called Tanyao Five Grottoes. The largest cave is Cave 6, which is 20 meters high from the ground to the top of the cave. A large tower column with a width of about 60 square meters stands upright in the center and is connected with the roof of the cave. The whole tower column and cave wall are embedded with shrines and decorations of all sizes. Without carving, there is no space. Most of Yungang Grottoes are works of Emperor Xiaowen Wei before he moved to Luoyang. The shapes of Buddha statues are generally thick lips, high nose, long eyes and wide shoulders, which show the characteristics of ethnic minorities. Fifth, Cave Six and Wuhua Cave are rich and colorful, which are the essence of Yungang art. The sculptures in Yungang Grottoes absorb and draw lessons from the Indian Gandhara Buddhist art, and at the same time organically integrate the traditional artistic style of China, which has a very important position in the history of world sculpture art..