Historical Description
Datong, known as Pingcheng in ancient times, became the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty between 398 and 494 CE, and thus the political, economic, and cultural centre of their kingdom. It kept its importance up to 523, when it was deserted following a revolt. The statues of the Yungang Grottoes were completed in sixty years (460-525 CE); this period marks the peak of development in Buddhist cave art of the Northern Wei Dynasty. When the first emperor assumed the throne, Buddhism flourished and in 460 the monk Tan Yao started the carving of the Five Caves; since then, these grottoes have become the centre of Buddhist art in North China. Between 471 and 494 the worship of Buddha was diffused among the imperial members and nobles. Thus, as many as twelve large caves and as many as 70% of the total number of the big caves were dug and Chongfu Temple was built. By 525 CE the initial project, sponsored by the court, was mostly completed, but lowranking officials and monks continued to dig more caves and carve statues. These caves number more than 200; although they are relatively small, some are of excellent quality. During the Liao Dynasty, wooden shelter structures were built in front of the caves, turning the grottoes into temple buildings, such as the Ten Famous Temples. In 1122 CE, these temples were destroyed in a war. Four-storeyed wooden-structured garrets, each with five rooms, were constructed in front of Caves 5 and 6, and three-storeyed structures with three rooms each were in front of Cave 7 in1651 CE. Since the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the major caves and the wooden structures in front of them (caves 5, 6, and 7) have all been conserved. The grottoes are protected and are open to the public.