Dazu Stone Carvings in Chongqing 重庆大足石刻

大足石刻位于中国西南部重庆市的大足等县境内，这里素有“石刻之乡”的美誉。大足石刻最初开凿于初唐永徽年间（公元649年），历经晚唐、五代（公元907～959年），盛于两宋（公元960～1278年），明清时期（公元14～19世纪）亦有所增刻，最终形成了一处规模庞大，集中国石刻艺术精华之大成的石刻群，堪称中国晚期石窟艺术的代表，与云岗石窟、龙门石窟和莫高窟相齐名。
The site of Dazu Stone Carvings is right located within the boundary of counties such as Dazu in Chongqing Municipality in the southwest of China. This is an area widely known as The Home of Stone Carvings. First launched during the reign of Emperor Yonghui in early Tang Dynasty (649 AD), Dazu Stone Carvings passed through late Tang Dynasty and Five Ages (907-959 AD), flourished during the two Song Dynasties (960-1278) and had more carvings added to it in Ming and Qing dynasties (14th Century to 19th Century AD). Subsequently, an immensely large cluster of stone carvings came into existence fully revealing the highest level of attainment of the fine stone carvings in China. It can be termed as the symbol of grotto art in late times in China, looming as a match of Yugang Grotto, Longmen Grotto and Dunhuang Grotto.
大足石刻群共包括石刻造像70多处，总计10万余尊，其中以北山、宝顶山、南山、石篆山、石门山五处最为著名和集中。
The Dazu Stone Carvings Cluster is predominantly composed of over 100,000 images standing in 70 places. Most notably, they come in large numbers in North Mountain, Baoding Mountain, Shizhuan Mountain and Shimen Mountain.
北山石刻位于大足县城西北2公里处，始刻于唐景福元年（公元892年），至南宋绍兴年间（公元1162年）结束。北山石刻共有摩崖造像近万尊，主要为世俗祈佛出资雕刻。造像题材共51种，以当时流行的佛教人物故事为主。它是佛教世俗化的产物，不同于中国早期石窟。北山造像以雕刻精细、技艺高超、俊美典雅而著称于世，展示了中国公元8世纪至14世纪时，民间佛教信仰及石刻艺术风格的发展变化。
The Stone Carvings of North Mountain is about 2km away in the northwest of Dazu County. It was first carved in the first year during the reign of Emperor Jingfu in the Tang Dynasty (892 AD) and finished during the reign of Emperor Shaoxing in the South Song Dynasty (1162). There are approximately ten thousand images on facets of the cliff that have been accomplished through donations of common worshippers. The themes of images are 51 in total, mainly focused on the popular Buddhist people and plots. It is a worldly variation of Buddhism that is different from China grottoes in earlier times. The Stone Carvings of North Mountain is noted worldwide for its fine carving, exquisite workmanship, and graceful taste, revealing the development and change of folk Buddhist beliefs and artistic styles of stone carvings in China from the Eighth Century to the 14th Century AD.
宝顶山石刻位于大足县城东北15公里处，始刻于南宋淳熙六年（公元1179年），至南宋淳佑九年（1249年）结束。宝顶山石刻以圣寿寺为中心，包括大佛湾、小佛湾等13处造像群，共有摩崖造像近万尊，题材主要以佛教密宗故事人物为主，整个造像群宛若一处大型的佛教胜地，展现了宋代（公元960～1278年）石刻艺术的精华。
The Stone Carvings of Baoding Mountain is about 15km away in the northeast of Dazu County. It was first carved in the sixth year during the reign of Emperor Chunxi in the South Song Dynasty (1179 AD) and completed in the ninth year during the reign of Emperor Chunyou in the South Song Dynasty (1249 AD). With Shengshou Temple as the center, it comprises 13 clusters of images including Giant Buddha Bay and Little Buddha Bay, with about ten thousand images on facets of the cliff. These images are mainly about people and stories of concealed Buddhist schools and the whole cluster looks as if it were a large sacred land of Buddhist religion, embodying the cream of stone carving works of the Song Dynasty (960-1278 AD).
南山石刻位于大足县城东南，始刻于南宋（公元1127～1278年）时期，明清两代亦稍有增补。南山石刻共有造像15窟，题材主要以道教造像为主，作品刻工细腻，造型丰满，表面多施以彩绘。南山石刻是现存中国道教石刻中造像最为集中，数量最大，反映神系最完整的一处石刻群。
The Stone Carvings of South Mountain lies in the southeast of Dazu County. It was first carved in South Song Dynasty (1127-1278 AD), with slight additions in Ming and Qing dynasties. There are totally 15 grottoes with themes basically focused on Taoist styles. All the pieces are of exquisite workmanship and appear to be massive and sturdy with paintings on the surface. Today, The Stone Carvings of South Mountain is the largest and most densely-populated cluster of China Taoist stone carvings that can reflect the complete system of gods.
石篆山石刻位于大足县城西南25公里处，始刻于北宋元丰五年（公元1082年），至绍圣三年（公元1096年）结束。造像崖面长约130米，高约3～8米，共10窟，是中国石窟中典型的佛、道、儒“三教”结合造像群。
The Stone Carvings of Shizhuan Mountain lies at about 25km in the southwest of Dazu County. It was first built carved in the fifth year during the reign of Emperor Yuanfeng in the North Song Dynasty (1082 AD) and accomplished in the third year during the reign of Emperor Shaosheng (1096 AD). The facet of the image is about 130m long and about 3-8m high, with 10 grottoes altogether. It is an image cluster of three-religion combination of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism typical of China grottoes.
石门山石刻位于大足县城东20公里处，始刻于北宋绍圣元年（公元1094年），至南宋绍兴二十一年（公元1151年）结束。凿刻有造像的崖面全长约72米，崖高3～5米，共16窟，题材主要为佛教和道教的人物故事。此外还包括有造像记、碑碣、题刻等。石门山石刻是大足石刻中规模最大的一处佛、道教结合石刻群，其中尤以道教题材诸窟的造像最具艺术特色。作品造型丰满，神态逼真，将神的威严气质与人的生动神态巧妙结合，在中国石刻艺术中独树一帜。
Located about 20km away in the east of Dazu County, Shimen Mountain Stone Carvings was first carved in the first year during the reign of Emperor Shaoheng in the North Song Dynasty (1094 AD) and accomplished in the 21st year during the reign of Emperor Shaoxing in the South Song Dynasty (1151 AD). The facet of cliff with image carvings is about 72m long in total and 3-5m high, with altogether 16 grottoes. The themes are mainly people and episodes pertaining to Buddhism and Taoism. Besides, there are records of image carving, epitaphs and inscriptions. Looming as the largest stone carvings cluster of Buddhism and Taoism combination among the Dazu Stone Carvings, Shimen Mountain Stone Carvings is best known for the images of Taoist style grottoes. Massive, sturdy and true to life, the stone carvings has proven a perfect combination of stateliness of god and vivid facial expressions of the mortal beings, ranking exclusively in the works of China stone carvings art.
大足石刻以其规模宏大，雕刻精美，题材多样，内涵丰富，保存完整而著称于世。它集中国佛教、道教、儒家“三教”造像艺术的精华，以鲜明的民族化和生活化特色，成为中国石窟艺术中一颗璀璨的明珠。它以大量的实物形象和文字史料，从不同侧面展示了公元9世纪末至13世纪中叶中国石刻艺术的风格和民间宗教信仰的发展变化，对中国石刻艺术的创新与发展做出了重要贡献，具有前代石窟不可替代的历史、艺术和科学价值。
Dazu Stone Carvings is renowned far and wide for its large scale, fine workmanship, varied themes, remarkable abundance, and perfect preservation. It combines the quintessence of image carvings of the three religions of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism and ranks as a glowing pearl of China grotto art with distinct features of ethnic cultures and lifestyles. With a stock of real relics and historical records, it has substantially displayed the development and changes of the style of China stone carvings art and folk religious beliefs from the Ninth Century to Mid-thirteenth Century AD. It has made great contribution to the innovation and development of China stone carvings art and is of irreplaceable value concerning history, art and science.