Lingchuan Baoying Temple Grottoes are located on the mountain behind Shahe Village, between Lingchuan and Gaoping
Shahe Village is very big. After seven turns and eight turns, we finally passed through the village. We could see the temple on the mountain behind the village. There is still a long way to go. We walked along the mountain road and finally arrived at Baoying Temple. The grottoes are on the mountain behind the temple, commanding the whole temple
![Baoying Temple Grottoes in Lingchuan, Shanxi [Visit the Grottoes on Pingluo Ancient Road]](//simg.sinajs.cn/blog7style/images/common/sg_trans.gif "Baoying Temple Grottoes in Lingchuan, Shanxi [Visit the Grottoes on Pingluo Ancient Road]")
[Baoying Temple at the foot of the mountain, most buildings are rebuilt]
There are five caves in Baoying Temple Grottoes, which are arranged on a cliff about 50 meters from east to west. Among them, there are statues in four caves, and a few cliff carvings, all of which are in the style of the Northern Dynasty. Most of the heads of the statues have disappeared, and the heads are now repaired by the contemporary era
Number 1 to 5 from east to west
Cave 1
The flame shaped cave door is flanked by the King of Heaven, and the inside is carved on three sides. The main statue is sitting, with two layers of hanging clothes carved, and standing Buddha statues on both sides
[Cave 1]
[Cave 1]
[Master of Cave One]
[Statue on the left]
[Statue on the right]
Cave 2
It is also a flame shaped cave door. On both sides are highly dynamic statues of the Heavenly King. There are no statues in the cave
[The King of Heaven at the entrance of Cave 2]
[Gate of Cave 2]
Between Cave 2 and Cave 3, there are several statues of Buddha and Bodhisattva, which are small in size and heavily weathered. It can be seen from the few remaining details that they are also in the style of the Northern Dynasty
[Some cliff statues]
[Some cliff statues]
[Some cliff statues]
Cave 3
There are cave eaves and flame doors in front of the cave. The two sides of the cave are full of movement. The cave top is made of a cusp. The three sides of the interior are carved statues, all of which are one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas. The Buddha hanging clothes are wide and complex, and the backlight is long and thin, leading to the cave top
[Cave 3]
[Gate of Cave 3]
[Tianwang of Cave 3]
[Front Lord]
[Statue on the left]
[Right Statue]
There is a section of artificial stone wall between Cave 1 and Cave 2, which is inlaid with a rebuilt inscription. The time is Guisi, the State of the Yuan Dynasty, which should be the 30th year of the Zhiyuan era (1293). The stone slab on the top of the cave eaves is built on this section of artificial wall, and the stone columns are common four edged internal arc stone columns in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties in southeast Shanxi. The cave eaves should be built when the Yuan Dynasty was rebuilt
[Renovation of steles in the Yuan Dynasty]
Cave 4
The grottoes are large and square, but there are no statues in them
Cave 4
[Inside Cave 4]
Cave V
It is located at the westernmost end, cut on a large stone, and has a clear tilt. The Flame Gate, with the King of Heaven on both sides, has carved statues on three sides of the interior. Two Buddhas sit on the front, with their niches. On the left side are one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas. The main Buddha is seated with legs down, which is rare in the statues of the Northern Dynasties; From the clothes and hair ornaments, the right head of the main statue is a statue of Bodhisattva, which is also a sitting posture. The sitting posture of Bodhisattva in the Northern Dynasties is also rare
[Cave 5]
[Front Lord]
[Statue on the left]
[Right Statue]
The fifth cave is flanked by Buddha and Bodhisattva, which is also rare
The Baoying Temple Grottoes have Gaoping Jiannan Statue Stele, Shitanghui Grottoes, Dafoshan Statue, etc. within 10 kilometers to the southwest, and more than 10 kilometers to the north have Beishan Village Grottoes in Shangdang District, Changzhi, which are all stone carvings of the Northern Dynasty. Although they are not large in scale, such dense statues of the Northern Dynasty may have been an important traffic route at that time
[Distribution of statues of the Northern Dynasties nearby]
March 27, 2021, visit the Baoying Temple Grottoes
