Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing City

重庆大足石刻

Natural Features

自然概况

Dazu is a county at the southeast corner of Sichuan Basin，271 km east of Chengdu，the provincial capital. In the county are scattered in over 20 sites several ten thousand of rock sculptures carved in Tang and Song Dynasties，those of Song Dynasty especially large in number，which are generally referred to as Dazu rock carvings.

大足县位于四川盆地东南部，西距成都271公里，东距重庆70公里。大足县境内有几力一尊唐宋时期的石刻像，尤以宋刻为多，分布在20多处石刻区内，大足石刻是大足县境内所有石窟造像的总称。

The carving began in 650，the first year of Yonghui Period of Tang Dynasty，went on through the Five Dynasties Period and prospered in North and South Song Dynasties. The rock carvings are mainly clustered in Dazu County，at North Hill，Banding Mountain .South Hill，Rock Gate Hill，and Shizhuan Mountain，which are the representation of the later and mature grotto art in China，renowned for their large scale，refined carving and varied motifs. Altogether there are as many as 75 sites of grottoes with over 50 000 statues and inscriptions of more than 100 000 Chinese characters.

大足石刻始创于唐永徽元年(650),历经五代而盛于两宋。大足石刻含大足县境内北山、宝顶山、南山、石门山、石篆山等五处摩崖造像，以规模宏大、雕刻精美、题材多样而著称，是我国晚期石窟艺术的代表。石窟多达75处有造像5万余躯，石刻铭文10万余字。

As the representative of Chinese grotto art of its later stage，Dazu rock carvings advanced further in diversity of subject matters，artistic forms，modeling techniques，and aesthetic interests. With their distinctive features of Chinese nationality and real life，they are rated with the grottoes in Dunhuang，Yungang，and Longmen to form a complete history of Chinese grotto art. Moreover，Dazu rock carvings are the best preserved of all those in China，and most of the caves and statues have hardly suffered any serious damage.

作为晚期石刻艺术代表作的大足石刻在题材选择、艺术形式、造型技巧、审美情趣诸方面都较之前代有所突破，以鲜明的民族化、生活化特色，与敦煌、云冈、龙门等石窟一起构成了一部完整的中国石窟艺术史。同时，大足石刻也是中国石窟艺术群中保存最完好的石窟，完窟与造像绝大多数末遭受过大的破坏。

With a great wealth of visual images and written data，Dazu rock carvings reveal from all aspects the vital development of the art style of Chinese grottoes and the folks religious believes from the 9th century to the 13th century. They bear a historical，artistic，scientific，and aesthetic value that none of the earlier grottoes could possibly have.

大足石刻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世纪中叶问中国石窟艺术风格及民问宗教信仰的重大发展和变化，具有前期各代石窟不可替代的历史、艺术、科学和鉴赏价值。

“Pilgrimage to Mt Emei in Emei City if going up，or to Banding Mountain in Dazu County if going down"，this folk saying proves Dazu as a site of interest since ancient times，especially its North Hill and Banding Mountain which are always crowded with tourists，pilgrims，and preaching monks. Every year on the 19th of the 2nd lunar month(believed to be the birthday of Avalookitesvara)，tens of thousands of visitors would rush in to Banding Mountain，the“Holy mountain on paradise land".

“上朝峨嵋，下朝宝顶”。大足自古以来就是名胜之地。其中北山、宝顶山更是游客揽胜、信徒进香、僧侣说法的集中地以“天府灵山”著称的宝项山，每年的农历二月十九(传为观音菩萨的生日）前后，游客如云，数以万计。

In December of 1999，UNESCO inscribed Dazu rock carvings on the World Heritage List as a cultural heritage.

1999年12月，大足石刻被联合国教科文组织作为文化遗产列入《世界遗产名录》。