The Maijishan Grottoes, located in Gansu, were first excavated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Sixteen Kingdoms, and the Later Qin Dynasty. They went through twelve dynasties, including the Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui and Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, spanning more than 1,600 years. They present the history and evolution of Buddhist statues and are known as the "Oriental Sculpture Exhibition Hall."
On July 21, Shanghai Powerlong Art Museum held a special exhibition entitled "A Gaze Across Time and Space: The Millennium Echo of Maijishan Grottoes Art", presenting a dialogue between the ancient and modern Maijishan Grottoes art using Maijishan mud sculptures, replica caves and works by contemporary artists.
Maiji Mountain, also known as Maiji Cliff, is located in Maiji District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province. It is located at the western end of Qinling Mountains, straddling the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. It is named because its shape resembles a haystack. It is 1,742 meters above sea level and has a vertical height of 142 meters. Whenever it rains or clears up after rain, the mountain is shrouded in mist and rain, and the strange peaks of Maiji appear and disappear from time to time, presenting the "Maiji Misty Rain", the first of the eight scenic spots in Qinzhou.
Exterior view of Maijishan Grottoes
During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, Yao Xing, the second emperor of the Later Qin Dynasty, was particularly fond of Buddhism. He not only invited the Western Regions monk Kumarajiva to Chang'an and honored him as a national teacher, but also built Buddhist temples and grottoes. From then on, the Maijishan Grottoes went through twelve dynasties, including the Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui and Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. After more than 1,600 years of continuous excavation and reconstruction, a total of 221 caves of various sizes, 3,938 sculptures, a total of 10,632 statues of various sizes, and more than 1,000 square meters of murals have been preserved to date, forming a cave wonder. Today, the Maijishan Grottoes are known as the "Four Major Grottoes in China" together with the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, and the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang. Because Maijishan has preserved a large number of exquisite clay sculptures, it is called the "Oriental Sculpture Exhibition Hall."
Exhibition View
Exhibition View
The Paper learned that this Maijishan Grottoes Art Special Exhibition is the annual exhibition of Powerlong Art Museum, presenting 137 exquisite works of Maijishan Grottoes, including clay Buddha statues, cave murals, stone statues, clay sculpture fragments, replica caves, miniature cave models, research documents and other types of exhibits. Among these exhibits, there are 62 precious cultural relics, 12 first-class cultural relics, 75 copies, including 3 replica caves. The exhibition also includes 37 works of art by 33 contemporary artists, forming a dialogue with Maijishan cultural relics.
The exhibition consists of four major sections: "Carving the Mountain into a Realm - The Spiritual Expression of Maijishan Grottoes Art", "Aesthetics of Form - The Evolution and Inheritance of Maijishan Grottoes Art", "Shaping and Carving Traces - The Ingenuity and Wisdom of Maijishan Grottoes Craftsmanship", and "Thousands of Years of Time - The Eternal Mark of Maijishan Grottoes Art".
A live broadcast of the Maijishan Grottoes at the exhibition entrance
Entering the exhibition hall, visitors can see a display screen that broadcasts the local scenes of the Maijishan Grottoes in real time: tourists walk on the plank road, admiring the beauty of the statues in the grottoes; in the exhibition hall behind the screen, Buddhist statues are placed to tell the viewers about the history and artistic evolution of the Maijishan Grottoes statues.
Maiji Mountain is a Danxia landform with loose stone structure, so the sculptures are mostly clay sculptures and stone-based clay sculptures. The styles range from the typical Western style of the Later Qin Dynasty to the Central Plains style of the Northern Wei Dynasty with fine bones and clear images, to the slightly round cheeks of the Western Wei Dynasty, the roundness of the square in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the plumpness of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the realism of the Song Dynasty, and the localized interpretation of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Li Yuling, a staff member of the Maijishan Grottoes Art Research Institute, told reporters that "the development and evolution of the Maijishan Grottoes clay sculptures shows the continuity of culture. At the same time, the clay sculptures exude a strong national and localized characteristics, with a strong tendency towards personalization and secularization."
Exhibition site, Maijishan Grottoes statues
Exhibition site, Maijishan Grottoes statues
In the exhibition hall, a smiling little monk is in the center. Although it is a replica, it is the most famous Buddha statue in Maijishan Grottoes and comes from Cave 133. This cave is also known as the "Ten Thousand Buddha Cave" and the "Stele Cave". It is the key cave with the largest internal space, the richest content and the most exquisite works in Maijishan Grottoes. The little monk stands there quietly in a large adult robe. Perhaps he understands the Western Pure Land described by the Buddha, or perhaps he suddenly thinks of something interesting. His joyful and shy smile is so vividly portrayed by the artist that you will be brought into a peaceful and beautiful vision by his smile unconsciously.
Exhibition view, Smiling Little Monk (replica), Cave 133
Behind the little monk is the "Shakya Meet Son" (a replica) from Cave 133, which is called "Rahula's Prediction" in Buddhism. It depicts the scene of Shakyamuni giving Rahula the prediction of Buddhahood, and is a representative work of Song Dynasty sculpture in Maijishan Grottoes. The scene of the meeting between father and son is frozen at the moment when the Buddha's right hand pauses on Rahula's head. This is the first time that the Buddha Shakyamuni meets his son. The Buddha's expression is extremely complicated, with excitement and joy to see his son, and guilt for not raising his son. At the same time, he has to maintain the majesty of a generation of Buddha. This group of statues shows the complex emotions of Shakya, "both a kind father on earth and a saint in the secular world."
Exhibition view, “Shakya Huizi”, Cave 133
In an independent display case, visitors can see the shadow sculpture of the flying fairy from Cave 133. Although small in size, it is full of elegance and agility. This cultural relic is a shadow sculpture on the lintel of the 11th niche in Cave 133. The head is carved in the round, the body is carved in high relief, and the belt is made in shallow relief. The flying fairy has a fan-shaped high bun, a rectangular face, curved eyebrows and fine eyes, and her eyebrows are stretched, looking forward. She wears a Han-style cross-collared wide-sleeved waisted long gown, a shawl from the shoulders to the elbows, and a flying skirt.
Shadow sculpture of flying apsaras, Cave 133 of the Northern Wei Dynasty
Shadow sculpture of seated Buddha, Cave 164, Northern Wei Dynasty
Clay Buddha Head Northern Wei Cave 17
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, murals were painted in all the caves of Maiji Mountain, representing the highest level of cave murals at that time. Although there are not many existing ones, they are extremely precious. In the exhibition, the "Shanzi's Original Life" mural (replica) is the largest and most eye-catching one. The mural tells the story of the filial son Shanzi who was accidentally shot dead by the king and was resurrected because of his good deeds. This theme conforms to the traditional Chinese filial piety and was widely circulated during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The mural consists of scenes such as the king's trip, hunting, accidental shooting, Shanzi's confession, visiting his blind parents, blind parents crying, and gods saving them. In the form of a comic strip, different plots are continuously presented. The composition and techniques of the mountains, rivers, forests and boulders on the picture are unique in early Chinese landscape paintings and have extremely high artistic appreciation and research value.
Exhibition site, (left) "Shanzi Jataka" mural (replica)
During the exhibition of the murals, the organizers also told the audience the story of the "thin-flesh sculpture" of the flying fairy in Maijishan Grottoes. "Thin-flesh sculpture" is a perfect combination of sculpture and painting to achieve a more three-dimensional visual effect. The exposed parts of the flying fairy's face, hands and feet are all sculpted with a thin layer of clay, protruding on the picture, and the rest of the picture is all painted.
In addition, the replica caves are another highlight of the exhibition. Visitors can see the replica caves of Cave 123, Cave 44, and Cave 62 in the exhibition hall. Among them, Cave 123 was excavated in the Western Wei Dynasty and is located on the top of the western cliff of the grottoes. It is one of the most complete cave niches of Western Wei Dynasty statues in Maiji Mountain, and it has not been disturbed by later artificial repairs. The cave is a flat-top square cave with three walls and three niches. There are nine statues in the cave. In the main niche, Sakyamuni is preaching, and there are two Bodhisattvas on both sides of the niche. In the left niche, Vimalakirti is sculpted, and a disciple and a girl are sculpted outside the niche. In the right niche, Manjusri is sculpted, and a disciple and a boy are sculpted on both sides of the niche. This cave not only truly reproduces the popular Buddhist statue themes and prevalent Buddhist thoughts at that time, but also the costumes of the statues in the caves and niches truly reflect the clothing and cultural characteristics of the daily life of people in Qinzhou and even the northern region at that time. It is of great significance to understand and understand the development and change process and popular characteristics of the costumes of secular people in Qinzhou, Chang'an and Guanzhong during the Western Wei Dynasty.
Exhibition view, Replica Cave No. 123
The main Buddha in Cave 44 is the most typical statue in the Western Wei Dynasty. It is 1.60 meters high, with traces of painted patterns on the top of the head, chest and dress. The folds of the hanging clothes in front of the Buddha seat are all rounded lines. The heavy texture and the flowing lines are integrated into one, which is rich in changes, comfortable and natural, with clear layers and rich decorative interest. This statue is the pinnacle of Western Wei clay sculpture art and is called "Oriental Beauty".
Exhibition view, Cave 44 replica
The main Buddha in Cave 44
Cave No. 62 is located below the west cliff. It is the best preserved cave among the Northern Zhou caves that has not been rebuilt by later generations. It is also the only cave among the Northern Zhou caves that enshrines three Buddhas. In addition, the cave has two chambers in front and back, and the front part has collapsed, leaving a statue of a strong man. It is the only example of the Northern Zhou that still exists in Maiji Mountain.
Regarding the display of the replica caves, Fu Wenwei, deputy secretary of the Maijishan Grottoes Art Research Institute, told The Paper, "Most of the caves in Maijishan are relatively small, unlike the caves in Dunhuang and Yungang, where people can walk inside. Although these caves are small in size, they are particularly exquisite. In recent years, we have tried to restore some caves, which have gradually become an important part of our overseas exhibitions."
Exhibition view, Cave 62 replica
The art carved on the rock walls of Maiji Mountain also provides artistic nourishment for future generations. This exhibition also features 37 works of art created by 33 contemporary artists interwoven in the exhibition hall, forming a dialogue between tradition and modernity. These artists may draw nourishment from the spirit of Maiji Mountain, construct an aesthetic dialogue across time and space, let the ancient wisdom be reborn in the modern context, and arouse resonance in contemporary creation.
Shi Zhiying, “The Smile of Two Buddhas”, oil on canvas, 2023
Shao Yinong, Empty as Tianlong Mountain, oil on canvas, 2025
The exhibition will run until October 26
