Xi Jinping's Cultural Footprint | Yungang Grottoes: Millennium Treasure Carving Culture Confidence Yungang Grottoes | Xi Jinping

Taiyuan, August 4th, Xinhua News Agency - Question: Yungang Grottoes: Confidence in Millennium Precious Carving Culture

Xinhua News Agency reporter

The Yungang Grottoes were first built over 1500 years ago and are a cultural and artistic treasure trove that integrates Chinese and foreign cultures, ethnic minority cultures, Central Plains culture, Buddhist art, and stone carving art.

In recent years, Shanxi has strengthened the protection and research of Yungang Grottoes, deeply excavated their historical and cultural heritage, promoted the expansion of cultural influence of Yungang Studies, and allowed people to experience cultural power in the "living" cultural relics, laying a solid foundation for cultural confidence.

Entering Yungang: Experience an Open and Inclusive temperament

The Yungang Grottoes are known as a historical book engraved on stones.

He emphasized, "We need to deeply explore the historical connotations of communication, exchange, and integration among various ethnic groups contained in the Yungang Grottoes, and enhance the sense of community of the Chinese nation."

Both in terms of excavation techniques and content, the Yungang Grottoes are carved with a historical connotation of the blending of Hu and Han, and ethnic blending. The grottoes not only reflect the grandeur of Han style architecture, but also exude the grandeur, delicacy, and beauty of ethnic minority architecture.

There are more than 20 caves in Yungang Grottoes that are carved with musical instrument images, including more than 500 musical instrument carvings. In addition to the Central Plains Han style qin, zheng, xiao, sheng, and Xianbei large horn, there are also Guizi slender waist drum, Persian vertical konghou, etc., which have a Hu style and Han charm, and are inclusive.

"The Yungang Grottoes were excavated in the form of national engineering in the northern region of the Central Plains, which embodies the social consensus of various ethnic groups pursuing peaceful reunification," said Hang Kan, the director of the Yungang Research Institute.

"Behind the grottoes lies a culture of openness and inclusiveness," said Song Zhiqiang, Secretary General of the Datong Ancient City Protection and Restoration Research Association. The Xianbei ethnic group of Northern Wei integrated into the Chinese nation with fearless reform spirit, which directly affected the Sui and Tang dynasties. Lu Xun's statement that "the Tang Dynasty had a great sense of Hu Qi" is exactly what he meant.

In addition to inclusivity, peace, and unity, the Yungang Grottoes also fully reflect the continuity and innovation of Chinese civilization. The excavation style of Yungang Grottoes was introduced from foreign styles in the early stage, developed into Yungang style in the middle stage, and later absorbed the style of Southern Dynasties. At the same time, the style of Yungang continues to expand, crossing the Taihang Mountains to the east and the Yellow River to the west, spreading and influencing more regions.

"Cave excavation is a history, and the preservation and protection of cultural relics is also a period of history," said Lu Jiwen, a member of the Party Committee of Yungang Research Institute and director of the Cultural Heritage Protection and Monitoring Center. Understanding the history of Yungang and inheriting its excellent traditional Chinese culture can help build modern civilization of the Chinese nation at a new historical starting point.

Dong Zifei, a 12-year-old student from Beijing who came to Yungang Grottoes to study during the summer vacation, and her friends watched the cave statues and also experienced cultural relic restoration, mural painting, and building wooden components. Mom Wang Shudan said that this is their sixth summer vacation when they come out to study. From Mogao Grottoes, Maijishan Grottoes, Longmen Grottoes to Yungang Grottoes, they seem to be immersed in a historical tunnel, touching the historical context and rooting cultural confidence in their hearts.

Guarding and Inheriting: Continuing the Millennium Historical Context

Entering the 10th cave, multiple devices on the scaffolding are monitoring the cave body and microenvironment 24 hours a day, and more than 10 craftsmen are busy maintaining the cave. Monitoring data not only serves the maintenance and upkeep of grottoes, but also provides data support for technical research projects related to Yungang Grottoes.

In the past three years, preventive protection work focused on daily maintenance has been comprehensively improved. While completing 5 key protection projects such as reinforcement and drainage of dangerous rock masses in Cave 1 to Cave 3, as well as daily maintenance of 6 caves, Yungang Research Institute has formulated standards for investigating cave diseases and protection, maintenance, and repair.

With the implementation of the "Key Scientific Research Base of the National Cutural Heritage Administration for Yungang Studies", the "Scientific Research Base of the Shanxi Provincial Bureau of Cultural Heritage for the Protection and Research of Stone Relics", and the "Key Laboratory for the Protection and Inheritance of Cave Temples in Shanxi Province", the construction of the Yungang Studies platform has accelerated, which has built a platform for Yungang Research Institute to cooperate with well-known domestic scientific research institutions to carry out basic research and technological breakthrough.

Over the past three years, Yungang Research Institute has been approved for more than 40 national and provincial-level scientific research projects. The excavation report of the Buddhist temple site on the mountaintop of Yungang Grottoes, published at the end of 2021, vividly displays two Buddhist temple sites from the Northern Wei and Liao Jin dynasties that were cleared on the mountaintop of Yungang Grottoes. The site was awarded the "Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in China in 2011".

"This archaeology confirms Li Daoyuan's historical account of 'Shantang Shuidian, Yansi Xiangxiang' recorded in the 'Shui Jing Zhu', which is beneficial for further understanding the original appearance of Yungang Grottoes." said Zhang Qingjie, archaeological excavation leader of the Buddhist temple site on the mountaintop of Yungang Grottoes and researcher at Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology.

Yungang waist tied drum dance, Yungang Lishi dance, Yungang Jileitian dance... Li Li, the director of the Dance Department at the School of Music of Datong University in Shanxi, has increased her research on the image of Yungang Grottoes Jileitian dance, and has written a "Basic Course of Yungang Dance". She continuously creates dance works, and students bring "Yungang Dance" to the stage.

"The dynamic and artistic charm of the Yungang Grottoes' dance troupe 'Le Tian' constitute its unique imprint of the times and aesthetic characteristics, and is a true record and microcosm of the folk dance and Buddhist music and dance of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Li Li Li said that by deeply exploring the cultural connotations contained in cultural heritage, strengthening the activation and utilization of cultural relics, people can draw nourishment from it, and let the excellent traditional Chinese culture shine with new vitality.".

Integrating the Past and Present: Blooming the Glory of Civilization in the Era

At the foot of Wuzhou Mountain, in front of Shifo Temple. Accompanied by delicate and ethereal bells and heavy and solid drumbeats, Shanghai Ethnic Orchestra pipa performer Yu Bing began his performance. In his sometimes passionate and sometimes crisp and melodious pipa sound, dancers of Yungang Music and Dance and models dressed in traditional costumes gradually joined in, leading the audience into that history of ethnic integration and cultural intersection.

This is a scene from a large-scale real-life art show called "Seeing Yungang Again" that was recently held at the Yungang Grottoes. More than 1000 people watched live, with nearly 1 million people watching online. People were moved by the beauty of traditional culture demonstrated through modern art.

"The Yungang Grottoes bear the marks of cultural exchange between China and foreign countries thousands of years ago. The beauty of unity and harmony touched my creative inspiration," said Yu Bing.

Only by comprehensively and deeply understanding the history of Chinese civilization can we more effectively promote the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture, and more effectively promote the construction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics and the construction of modern Chinese civilization.

In the view of Cui Xiaoxia, Director of the Cultural and Tourism Integration Development Center of Yungang Research Institute, the original Yungang music and the restored and innovative Northern Wei costumes are vivid depictions of artists entering history with a contemporary heart, deeply experiencing the traditional culture contained therein, and creating cultural arts with distinct characteristics of the times.

The dissemination of culture starts from being seen. With the help of digital means, the Yungang Grottoes have become touchable, mobile, and closer.

A 3D printed version of the 12th cave of Yungang Grottoes is currently on display at the Ningbo Art Museum, thousands of miles away. The exquisitely carved and grandiose statues are stunning, and the traces of time in the millennium old grottoes are within reach.

The 12th cave records the grand performances of ancient musicians and is known as the "music cave", which has received widespread attention from various sectors at home and abroad. The Yungang Research Institute collaborates with Zhejiang University to use digital scanning and 3D printing technology to accurately replicate proportions, allowing the "music cave" to "move and go out".

Ningbo, Director of the Digital Protection Center of Yungang Research Institute, said, "This measure has pioneered the proportional replication of large-scale cultural relics, taking a solid step for Yungang Grottoes to go out of China and into the world." It is reported that the "Music Grottoes" plan is to "go" to Japan next year, allowing more people to experience the charm of Chinese culture.

"The Yungang Grottoes are a great treasure trove of art that has emerged from cultural exchange, collision, and fusion between China and foreign countries. Behind it lies a profound history of the evolution of Chinese civilization, the development of ethnic integration, and the creation of the working people. On the basis of strengthening protection, we will continuously explore effective ways to activate and utilize cultural relics, so that the excellent traditional Chinese culture can shine with even more vitality and vigor." said Hang Kan.