Sichuan Dazu Stone Carvings

Dazu Stone Carvings is situated in Dazu County of Chongqing City in Sichuan Province, which is reputed as the Homeland of Stone Carvings. Dazu Stone Carvings was cut originally in 649 during the Yonghui reign of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), flourished in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and expanded in the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). Finally, a large-scale collection of stone carvings came into being. Dazu Stone Carvings is as famous as Yungang Grottoes, Longmen Grottoes, and Mogao Grottoes.

Dazu Stone Carvings include over 100,000 statues in more than 70 sites, especially densely distributed on North Mountain, Baoding Mountain, South Mountain, Sichuan Mountain, Shimen Mountain.

Among Dazu stone carvings, quite a few are related to religious beliefs with more than 50,000 Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian statues. Along with the statues, there are all kinds of sutra, eulogy, inscriptions, event records, totaling more 150,000 characters. These inscriptions and epigraphs are of great academic value and provide plenty of vivid materials for research on politics, economy, religious art, customs, and social life of the Song Dynasty.