In China, the Dazu Rock Carvings enjoy the same fame as the Dunhuang Grottoes, with 50,000 statues dating all the way back to the ninth century.

On September 17, an exhibition featuring the valuable rock carvings opened at the National Museum of China. Entitled Remarkable and Graceful: Special Exhibition of Dazu Rock Carvings, it presents a centralized display of 82 of the finest pieces from the Dazu Rock Carvings Museum in Chongqing.

The rock carvings, an outstanding example of China's grotto art in the middle and late periods of ancient China, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on December 1, 1999.

Among the pieces are figurines such as dignified and elegant bodhisattvas, merciful and solemn buddhas, humble-looking almsgivers, and intricately patterned incense burners. Once upon a time, these were all exquisitely carved out, composed and varied in subject matter: the peak of ancient China's stone carving art aesthetics.

Meanwhile, as the two-month exhibition of the carvings also goes digital, the combination of traditional engineering and modern technology allows for the Dazu Rock Carvings to be showcased as close to their original condition as possible.  

(Text and photos by Wei Yao)

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon 

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