Dazu Rock Carvings
大足石刻 · Dazu Stone Carvings · Baoding and Beishan
Tang to Southern Song ~650–1252 CE·Chinese esoteric Buddhist (Tang–Song)·🇨🇳 Chongqing Municipality, China
About
About Dazu Rock Carvings
Late Tang to Southern Song (650–1179) cliff carvings across five hills — Baoding, Beishan, Nanshan, Shimen and Shizhuan — with >50,000 sculptures, largest Esoteric Buddhist cliff site in China. Baoding's 31 m Reclining Buddha nirvana and Wheel of Life mandala are textbook Tantric synthesis of Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism. Begun by Wei Junjing (650), closed under Mongols.
Why it mattersLast great Chinese rock-carving epoch; only Tantric three-teachings synthesis cliff.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why cliff carving closed 1249 before Mongol conquest
- 02Reclining Buddha pillow hollow acoustic
Theories
- 01Tantric cliff as Himalayan tantra terminus
- 02Song carvings as Confucian-acceptable Buddhism
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 650–1179 CE, peak 1177–1252 (Baoding Zhao Zhifeng)
- Period
- Tang to Southern Song ~650–1252 CE
- Culture
- Chinese esoteric Buddhist (Tang–Song)
- Builders
- Wei Junjing then Zhao Zhifeng monk and patrons
- Purpose
- Tantric Buddhist cliff monastery merging three teachings
- Excavation
- Excavated
650–1179 CE, peak 1177–1252 (Baoding Zhao Zhifeng)
Initial construction
c. 1666 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
29.7578° N · 105.7719° E · 490 m · 2 mapped features
Baoding Great Reclining Buddha
rock cut sculpture31 m parinirvana with weeping disciples
29.7540° N · 105.7730° EWheel of Life Panel, Baoding
reliefTantric samsara mandala 7 m diameter
29.7550° N · 105.7725° E
Gallery