Investigation And Research On Cave Niches In Bingzhou Area Of Tang Dynasty

There are 486 existing cave niches in Shanxi,of which 94 were occupied by Tang Dynasty cave niches;There are currently 165 cave niches in the Bingzhou area,including32 Tang Dynasty cave niches,accounting for more than one-third of the total number in Shanxi.The archaeological investigation and research of the Tang Dynasty’s cave niches in the Bingzhou area began with the Tianlong Mountain Grottoes.Since then,the scale of the academic investigation has continued to expand,and the basic data has continued to increase.There has been more research on the Tianlong Mountain Tang Grottoes,but insufficient attention has been paid to other small cave niches and cliff statues,and the basic data is relatively scattered.There is less research on the era and regional characteristics of the Tang Dynasty cave niches in this area,facing an increasing amount of basic data,The investigation and research of our predecessors are still not comprehensive and systematic enough.The first chapter of this article defines the scope and object of research on cave niches in the Bingzhou area of the Tang Dynasty,and introduces the academic history of investigation and research in stages;The second chapter divides the 32 cave niches in the Bingzhou area of the Tang Dynasty into five regions: east,west,south,north,and middle for explanation;Chapter 3 uses archaeological typology and other methods to divide cave niches into four groups,representing the four stages of the development and evolution of Tang Dynasty cave niches in the Bingzhou region,based on their shape,composition,and themes;Chapter 4 is the conclusion.After on-site investigation and comprehensive analysis,it was found that the evolution of the cave niches in the Bingzhou area of the Tang Dynasty followed a certain pattern.In addition to being influenced by the two Beijing regions,they had their own unique regional characteristics.From the perspective of time span,the Tang Dynasty cave niches in the Bingzhou region were connected to Yungang on the top and Longmen on the bottom,and once served as the northern capital of the Tang Dynasty.It was the central area for opening cave statues at that time,with its exquisite carving and large quantity and scale,playing an important role in the study of cave temples in Shanxi and even the Central Plains region;From the perspective of geographical location,this area is a major transportation route to Mount Wutai,Datong,Yecheng and Luoyang,which is of great value to the study of the development of Chinese grotto temples and the transmission route of grotto sculpture art.