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Original title: Video | Tianlong Mountain lost the Buddha’s head on a spring afternoon, and the way back home was so tortuous
On the night of February 11, Lunar New Year’s Eve, the head of the main Buddha on the north wall of Cave 8 of the Tianlongshan Grottoes, which has been lost for nearly a century abroad, will appear as the hundredth lost cultural relic to return to. the motherland in 2020 and will appear at the China Central Radio and Television Spring Festival Gala. At the party, we will welcome the New Year and reunion with people from all over the country.
Watch the news The Knews reporter learned from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage that the Tianlongshan Grottoes lost the head of Buddha and returned to the homeland, and they went through a torturous and exciting process. On September 14, 2020, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage found that Japan’s Toying International Auction Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the Auction House) intends to auction a “Mountain Stone Buddha Head Tang Tianlong “in Tokyo. The Tianlong Mountain Grottoes in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province are suspected to be in history. After an organized identification and investigation, it was determined that the stolen Buddha head (Sui dynasty), which belonged to the main Buddha statue on the north wall of the Buddhist niche in Cave 8 of the Tianlongshan Grottoes, was stolen and transported illegally out of the country around 1924. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage put in place a recourse mechanism to determine the labor goal of “stopping auctions and fighting for return.” On October 15, he wrote to the auction house requesting the termination of the auctions and the advertising and exhibition activities related to the head of Buddha. and withdrawal from the auction. On October 16, the auction house actively cooperated and made the decision to withdraw the auction and terminate the relevant advertising. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage contacted Zhang Rong, Chairman of the Auction House (Overseas Chinese in Japan, from Hangzhou, Zhejiang) to encourage the return of cultural relics.
On October 31, Zhang Rong negotiated with the Japanese cultural relic holders to complete the purchase. After full communication with the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, it was decided to donate the Buddha’s head to the Chinese government. On November 17, the Chinese Embassy in Japan held a ceremony for the handover of cultural relics. Zhang Rong donated the head of the Tianlongshan Grottoes to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China for free and transferred it to the embassy for safekeeping. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage organized the China Cultural Relic Exchange Center, the Luxun Museum in Beijing and other related units, with the full support of the Chinese Embassy in Japan and Beijing Customs, to obtain the exit permit. relics from the Japan Cultural Relics Agency. and at 12:00 on December 12, Buddha’s head was safely transported to Beijing, delivered to the warehouse on the same day, Buddha’s head returned to the embrace of the motherland.
On December 14, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage organized experts from the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the School of Archeology, Arts and Sciences of Peking University and the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University to conduct physical identification examinations, and arranged for the China Cultural Heritage Research Institute to carry out testing and analysis of cultural relics and health assessments. After investigation, compared with the original image of the Buddha image on the north wall of the eighth cave on the north wall of the Buddha niche in plate 35 “Tianlongshan Grottoes” taken in March 1922 and plate 41 “Grottoes Tianlongshan “taken in October 1923, the Buddha’s face, facial features, shape and spirit are very consistent, especially the speckled marks on the right cheek, which extend from the right eyelid to the right ear, exactly the same as the real. Some subtle features of the face of the Buddha’s head, such as the small spot on the right cheek and the worn edge of the neck, are also the same. According to current historical images of the remains of the caves, after the theft of the Buddha’s head, the back and nose were repaired.
The head of the Buddha is 13 inches long, 12 inches wide, 17 inches high, and weighs 55.5 kg. Scientific and technological testing and analysis results show that the Buddha head stone is mainly composed of quartz and calcite, conforming to the characteristics of the Tianlongshan rock mass, with good internal consistency and no cracks significant. Painted footprints were found on the top and ears, which infers that the original state of the Buddha should be painted. There are organic materials in the wing and bridge of the nose, it is inferred that there is a repair experience, which coincides with the state of the wing.
After physical identification, scientific and technological testing and comparison with historical photos, the experts agreed that the Buddha’s head originated from the Buddha statue in the Buddhist niche on the north wall of cave number 8 of Tianlong Mountain. , and should have been stolen around 1924. Cave 8 is the only cave with a clear excavation date in the Tianlongshan Grottoes (the fourth year of Emperor Kaihuang in the Sui dynasty, AD 584) and the largest grotto. The head of the Buddha is lowered in a bun, with a round face and a smile. He is an expert in carving techniques and expressive techniques. It is delicate and distinctive with its distinctive features from the late Northern Dynasty to the early Sui Dynasty. It is a precious physical specimen to study the art of the Tianlongshan Grottoes and even the ancient Chinese Grottoes. It has significant historical, artistic and scientific value and is provisionally designated as a first-class national cultural relic.
The Tianlongshan Grottoes in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, is a national unit for the protection of key cultural relics. It was excavated from the late northern dynasty to the Sui and Tang dynasties. It is a representative Buddhist grotto in the central plains and has an important position in art. history of the development of Chinese grotto sculpture. In the 1920s, promoted by the Japanese antiquarian “Yamaka Chamber of Commerce”, the Tianlongshan Grottoes were robbed on a grand scale. More than 240 statues were stolen. Almost all the heads and even the complete statues were stolen abroad and are now stored in Japanese, European and American museums, and in private hands, the level of destruction is the most tragic among Chinese cave temples. The Return to the Head of the Buddha is the first sculpture of the Buddha to be lost from the Tianlongshan Grottoes that returned home from Japan in the last 100 years and is of great significance.
Watch the news. The Knews reporter learned that after meeting with people from all over the country at the China Central Radio and Television 2021 Spring Festival Gala, the Buddha will be held at the Lu Xun Museum in Beijing from February 12 (New Year’s Day). Fu-Tianlongshan Grottoes National Treasure Return and Digital Restoration Special Exhibition “in the exhibition. The special exhibition will continue until March 14.
(Look at Knews reporter: Mao Rui, editor: Zhu Wenhao)
Copyright Statement: This article is an exclusive Knews article and may not be reproduced without permission.
