Ancient Wonders: The Mystical Dazu Rock Carvings

The caves at Dazu in China contain thousands of statues that have been protected for centuries from the wind and the rain. That is why they maintain their bright colors. Carvings such as the Wheel of life continue to mesmerize and delight those who are fortunate enough to visit this amazing place.

The Sichuan region of China is home to many caves in the mountainsides that feature elaborate rock carvings.  Among them are the Dazu caves.  These caves contain thousands of carvings that are a veritable catalog of about fifty thousand images beautifully illustrating the daily life of the Chinese between the ninth and thirteenth centuries.

Within the caves, these carvings and statues have been protected for centuries from the wind and the rain.  That is why they maintain their bright colors.

Carvings such as the Wheel of Life continue to mesmerize and delight those who are fortunate enough to visit this amazing place.

Image Source

The carving called the Wheel of Life represents the various human, animal and divine forms of reincarnation that, according to Buddhist beliefs, are the destiny of departed souls.  How a person is reincarnated depends, of course, upon the merits that they achieve during his or her lifetime.

Image Source

In the carving above, you can see the three levels of existance.  They depict the realms of the Divine, the earthly or physical and the eighteen hells.  There are carvings of workers, chicken farms and even one of a wife berating her drunken husband.  One could even consider them to be a time capsule of sorts.  Walking through the carvings gives one the feeling of stepping back in time.

Image Source

Religious scenes are abundant since a Buddhist monk was responsible for creating the first sculpture.   Most of these scenes describe the life of Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, during various moments of his life. These sculptures served as a guide by which all were to live thier lives.

Image Source

The most famous sculpture, which became the symbolic icon of Dazu, is a giant reclining Buddha that is one hundred and two feet long.  The sheer size of this particular sculpture reminds one of the immenseness of the universe in which we are but a small part.

Elsewhere, the Eighteen Hells show what awaits those who commit sin during their lifetime.  It depicts the hell that one could expect to encounter drunken monks, men who hit their wives and bar owners who, once in hell, get hit repeatedly on the knees.

These sculptures were surely designed to teach moral lessons and provide guidance to the souls of the area in a way they could understand since nearly everyone was unable to read or write and will continue to amaze us and inspire awe.

It is my sincerest hope that we will be able to preserve these colorfully painted treasures that make this fascinating place so unusual.