Study On The Scattered Buddhist Caves In The Sui And Tang Dynasties In Northeast Sichuan

Buddhist caves in northeastern Sichuan have been carved from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China,but the caves and statues excavated in the Sui and Tang Dynasties are the most splendid.It can also be said that the most exquisite Buddhist statues from the late Northern and Southern Dynasties to the mid-Tang Dynasty present in the northern Sichuan area centered on Guangyuan and Bazhong.The tradition of statues not only continued in northern Sichuan,but also extended to Dazhou,Guang’an and Nanchong.During the long historical period from the middle of Tang Dynasty to the late Tang and Five Dynasties,a large number of small-scale Buddhist caves and statues emerged successively,thus forming the trend of cave-digging throughout the Sui and Tang Dynasties in northeastern Sichuan.In the Sui and Tang Buddhist caves in northeastern Sichuan,the size of each cave is very different,and the grade of each cave is extremely different.As far as the whole northeastern Sichuan is concerned,in the eyes of experts and scholars and in the knowledge horizon of ordinary tourists,the statues of Huangze Temple,Qianfoya Cliff and Nankan Cliff are undoubtedly the most well-known.In addition,the statues of Guanyinyan in Guangyuan,as well as the tatues of the Beikan,Xikan and Dongkan and the Shuining Temple in Bazhong,also entered the scope of research earlier.Because of their large scale and patchy distribution,and some research results have been published.In this paper,the author calls these caves "central caves",which is based on their important position in the transportation network from ancient to the present,and also focuses on their strong radiation effect on the surrounding caves in the historical evolution.Generally speaking,the central cave is often a large group of caves distributed in patches,or a "large group" composed of several "small groups" of caves in close proximity to each other.Most of them have been listed in the list of state-level cultural relics protection units,and many related investigation reports and more research results have been made public.In contrast,this paper calls them scattered caves.Its main feature is that the caves are small in scale,but the total number is large,scattered in the countryside and mountains of northeastern Sichuan.Investigation reports on these caves are either preliminary investigations or have not been measured or numbered at all.Its research results are basically zero,and many basic problems have not yet been solved.Therefore,many materials in this paper are published for the first time,and many textual research work has the significance of filling in the blanks.This paper focuses on the following tasks.Firstly,on the basis of a large number of field surveys carried out in the past few years,combined with the published survey briefings of scattered Buddhist caves in the Sui and Tang dynasties in northeastern Sichuan,the situation of scattered Buddhist caves in the Sui and Tang dynasties in northeastern Sichuan was basically clarified.This paper will first briefly introduce its basic status quo,and then proceed from the aspects of statue inscriptions,detailed comparison of statues,determine the exact time of grotto chiseling(or roughly the chiseling age),and make a textual research on the characteristic grotto shape,statue subject matter,statue layout and the content of the inscriptions,and finally try to solve the following problems: the shape and the title of scattered grottoes.The sources of materials,how the scattered caves interact with the local society,how the scattered caves reflect the belief world of the supporting groups,and how the scattered caves exert influence on the subsequent caves.Secondly,on the basis of the elements of scattered Buddhist caves,the scattered caves and the central caves are placed in the opposite and complementary relationship,identifying similarities and differences,summarizing characteristics,grasping the fundamental and defining nature.It is not only clear that the central caves and scattered caves always "go their own way",but also that the central caves and scattered caves intersect with each other,these two states of existence go hand in hand,which together constitute a true picture of Buddhist caves in the Sui,Tang,Northeast Sichuan and the religious picture of Buddhist believers in this region.Thirdly,aiming at the prominent problems in scattered Sui and Tang Buddhist caves in Northeast Sichuan,such as the special attention for the figurative theme of the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils,such as the special phenomena of "two Buddhas standing side by side" in a large number of small and micro caves,this paper carries out a special discussion with a large number of statue examples.Fourthly,this paper makes a comprehensive study of the scattered Buddhist cavesin the Sui and Tang dynasties in northeastern Sichuan,such as the statues of Langyang Temple in Dazhou and Jinyin Mountain in Guangyuan,which are full of integrity and integrity.It not only shows the successive development process,but also traces back to the source to reveal the origin and development of the caves,and more intentionally excavates the belief theme contained in them.At the same time,some controversial topics,such as whether Chongxiang Temple in Guang’an is a "Dingguang Buddhist prime place",are also discussed.Fifthly,influenced by a large number of images of esoteric religions in Sui and Tang Buddhist caves in Northeast Sichuan,the paper extends and explores the relationship between esoteric religions in Sichuan(especially in West Sichuan)and painting theory in the Song Dynasty.