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the reason why yungang is ranked among the four major grottoes is that it enjoys a high reputation

not only is it the earliest large-scale grotto group in the east of xinjiang,

it is also the first royal grotto excavated in the capital.

what’s more, because of its large and small buddha statues showing

centralization of northern nomadic peoples and sinicization of western iconography

the evolution process of

there is a small hillside to the east of the first cave of yungang grottoes. most of the time, there are few tourists and it is quite quiet. there is now a rock that looks like a mountain peak. in front of the rock is a black tombstone with two lines of words engraved on it: "the creeks in the mountains are always noisy, and the vast sea is never noisy."

this is the tomb of the famous archaeologist su bai. he died in beijing in 2018 and his ashes were buried here three years later. hang kan, dean of yungang research institute, was a student of su bai. he told china news weekly: "at that time (after his death), many places where mr. su had worked wanted to be buried there. later, his children decided to be buried in yungang because his research on grotto temples began in yungang. several of his masterpieces were about yungang. it was also in yungang that he held his first national training course for grotto temple archaeologists. ”

panoramic view of yungang grottoes. picture/visual china

in 1942, su bai, who was still studying in college, was deeply attracted by the magnificent cliff-carved buddha in yungang during a vacation trip. in 1947, while working part-time as a cataloguer at the peking university library, he accidentally discovered "the stele of the great grotto temple rebuilt in wuzhou mountain, xijing, jin dynasty" when sorting out rare books - this was a text written and inscribed in 1147 during the reign of the emperor of the jin dynasty. the history and reconstruction of the yungang grottoes are unknown. the original stele has been destroyed long ago, and the rubbings no longer exist. this inscription was copied in "analysis of jinzhi" in the late yuan dynasty, but was not published. in the early ming dynasty, it was copied from "yongle dadian" when compiling "yongle dadian". the text of "analysis of jin zhi" was later destroyed in the gengzi war. fortunately, miao quansun's manuscript during the guangxu period preserved this part.

in 1950, following the footsteps of the yanbei cultural relics survey group, su bai went to yungang grottoes for on-site investigation. the following year, combined with existing archaeological results, he wrote the first draft of "college notes", which was later revised repeatedly and published in the first issue of "journal of peking university·humanities" in 1956. this article reconstructs the chronological system and later construction history of the yungang grottoes.

in the following decades, su bai always maintained his attention and research on the yungang grottoes, and successively published articles such as "a preliminary study of the phases of the yungang grottoes" and "the gathering of pingcheng's strength and the formation and development of the "yungang model"". not only it comprehensively elaborated on the artistic characteristics and historical background of yungang grottoes, and delineated the stages of the caves based on the shape, content and style of the statues. at the same time, it also proposed the "yungang model" theory, establishing in one fell swoop the role of yungang in the key significance in the history of chinese cave temples.

at a deeper level, su bai's research also opened a new stage for the study of yungang grottoes. as hang kan said: "in the past, research was more inclined to art history and art history. after that, mr. su mainly conducted research from the perspective of archeology."

in 1955, su bai (fifth from left in the front row) and his class of 1952 students majoring in archeology in the history department of peking university were interning at the yungang grottoes.

the true appearance is huge and strong, the law of the world hopes

in the history of chinese cave temples, yungang is actually not the earliest one.

since king ashoka of the mauryan dynasty in ancient india adopted buddhism as the state religion in the third century bc, buddhist statues emerged in the first century ad, and then the cave temples developed. during the han dynasty, buddhism was introduced to china via the silk road, and the art of grotto sculpture also spread eastward with the constant sound of camel bells, and first took root in today's xinjiang region. the kizil grottoes, excavated around the third century, are the earliest large-scale grottoes in china.

after kizil, the grottoes entered the hinterland of the central plains along the hexi corridor. during the tang dynasty, the emperor went to shu twice to avoid disaster, and the political and economic center of gravity moved south for a time. the fire from the grottoes was introduced to bashu and even tibet. "we generally divide (china's) grottoes into four major regions, the xinjiang region, the northern region of the central plains, and the southern region - mainly the current chongqing, sichuan, jiangsu, zhejiang, and tibet regions." hang kan said.

according to statistics from a special nationwide survey on grotto temples carried out in 2021, there are nearly 6,000 grotto temples and cliff statues preserved in the country. on such a huge scale, the reason why yungang ranks among the four major grottoes and enjoys a high reputation is not only that it is the earliest large-scale grotto group east of xinjiang and the first royal grotto excavated in the capital, but also because it is the first royal grotto to be excavated in the capital. its large and small buddha statues show the evolution process of the northern nomads becoming central plains and the western iconography becoming sinicized. the emergence of the yungang grottoes has brought chinese cave temples into a new stage. therefore, su bai pointed out in the article "the gathering of strength in pingcheng and the formation and development of the "yungang model"" that "from the wanfotang grottoes in liaoning in the east, the northern wei dynasty grottoes from the west to shaanxi, gansu and ningxia all have traces of the yungang model. even the yungang mogao grottoes in dunhuang at the far western end of the hexi corridor, which has a history of grottoes earlier than yungang, is no exception. its influence lasts for a long time, which is unmatched by any other grotto.”

in 398 ad, tuoba gui defeated hou yan and took control of the central plains. he established his capital in pingcheng (now datong, shanxi) and officially proclaimed himself emperor. he was fond of huang lao and also read buddhist scriptures. he once issued an edict to build pagodas, buddhist halls, lecture halls and zen rooms for ascetics in the capital. he also brought the dharma fruits of the ascetics from zhao county to the capital, "thinking that the taoists are the rulers of the taoist people, and he tied up the monks." after emperor tuoba si of the ming and yuan dynasties came to the throne, he still worshiped both taoism and buddhism. buddhist statues were widely installed from the capital to various places, and he also ordered monks to "guide the folk customs." when emperor taiwu tuoba tao came to power, he destroyed northern liang, which had developed buddhism, had many pagodas and temples, and countless monks and craftsmen, allowing liangzhou buddhism to spread eastward, and buddhism in the northern wei ushered in a period of prosperity.

although after tuoba tao unified the north, the first incident of abolishing buddhism in chinese history occurred, as soon as emperor wencheng tuoba junfu came to the throne, he issued an edict to restore buddhism, and buddhism developed with greater momentum. "'the prohibitions that help the king's government are beneficial to the kindness of benevolence and wisdom'. he saw the side of buddhism that is conducive to governance." hang kan said that since the northern wei dynasty was a political power established by the xianbei people, using religion to rule the central plains was to a certain extent a kind of inevitable.

during the period when emperor taiwu abolished buddhism, monks were either brutally killed or returned to secular life to save their lives. however, a monk named tan yao always wore robes close to his body and adhered to his faith. after the restoration of the law, tan yao was appointed as the shamen leader. he immediately proposed to emperor wencheng that he should dig caves and carve buddhas. after receiving the permission, in 460 ad, he led a group of stoneworkers to smash the stone in wuzhou mountain, more than 30 miles west of pingcheng. took the first step in digging the grotto.

"book of wei·shi lao zhi" records that tan yao "opened five caves and built one buddha statue each. the first one was seventy feet high and the second one was sixty feet high. the carvings and decorations were magnificent and crowned the first generation." this is what later generations called tan. yao wu cave. today, academic circles classify these five caves as cave 16 to cave 20. they are located on the east side of the west area of ​​the entire grotto. the natural cliffs here are high and the workload of mountain cutting is small, making it the most conducive area for excavation.

the overall concept and design of the wusuo caves came from tan yao himself. he came from liangzhou and was familiar with the shapes of the buddha shadow cave in the western regions, so he used the old examples as a reference and integrated them into his own imagination. despite this, the tan yao five caves still retain an obvious exotic style, and the shadow of gandhara art can be seen: for example, the iconic "open-air buddha" in cave 20, with a tall bun, long eyebrows and thin eyes, a high nose and deep eyes. , upturned corners of the mouth, and a mustache, full of western racial characteristics, reflecting the traces of greece retained in indian buddhist art; the clothing is also similar to the style of indian buddhist clothing, with a monk's branch inside, and beads and honeysuckle patterns on the edges of the armpits. , wearing a cassock, bare right shoulder, with thick clothing patterns carved on it, like imitation wool clothing. for another example, the ten disciples on the east side of the main buddha in cave 18 have high noses, deep eyes, curly hair, receding foreheads, protruding cheekbones, and pronounced jaws. they all have typical western faces. in terms of cave shape, these five caves are all large statue caves, with a semicircular horseshoe shape and a dome top, which are obviously influenced by the indian worship caves.

buddha statues in gandhara culture. picture/visual china

after tan yao, the excavation did not stop. from 465 to 494, five groups of double caves and several small caves were excavated in the central and eastern parts. most of the grottoes in this period were square in plan, with a front room, and some had tower pillars in the center. there are many flat carved ceilings on the top of the cave, and the niches include upper and lower double niches, left and right symmetrical niches, and house-shaped niches. the themes of the statues were diverse, the number of large statues decreased, and secular donors began to appear.

this was the most prosperous period of the yungang grottoes, showing a magnificent momentum described by li daoyuan in "shui jing zhu": "the rock was cut into the mountain. because of the rock structure, it was really huge and powerful, and it was expected by world law. the mountain hall water palace, yan temple facing each other. "this was also the period when the localization trend began to be reflected in the grotto statues with the gradual sinicization of the northern wei dynasty: for example, the bodhisattva statue on the west side of the open window on the south wall of the back room of cave 8 began to appear. the facial features of the han people include small and round noses, flat eye sockets, and plump faces; cave 12, known as the "music cave", among the many musical instruments held by musicians, there are five-stringed instruments from qiuci and vertical instruments from west asia and persia. konghou, fanbei from tianzhu, qiang flute, jiegu, hujia, pipa, etc. from xianbei, as well as zheng, panpipe, transverse flute, harp, etc. from the central plains. moreover, these dancing and flying musical instruments basically have no obvious gender characteristics, which is different from the indian male and female double flying. the image of the sky is very different; the clothing is also gradually chineseized. the buddha statue in cave 5 is already wearing a buddhist robe with a belt, while the buddha statue in cave 6 has created a new costume imitating the han-style royal nobles gunmian. the outer garment is a wide-sleeved han-style robe. the sleeves are wide and long and hang down to the knees. the placket is on the left side. the neckline is open to the chest and is decorated with straps. the bottom is a long skirt. the hem is loose and elegant, hanging down to the ankles, with overlapping pleats. the shape of the grotto begins to absorb han-style architecture. characteristics, such as the exterior facade of cave 9 and 10 of the "six-bay wooden building on the front", were the first to have imitation wood structure cave eaves and house-shaped niches. in addition, according to hang kan’s explanation to china news weekly, “the layout including buddhist stories and decorative patterns is (also) very reminiscent of the composition of han stone sculptures.”

in 494 ad, emperor xiaowen tuoba hong moved the capital to luoyang, and the yungang grottoes, which had been excavated for 34 years, came to an end as a royal project. however, folk are still carving on the western cliffs and adding many ungrouped small and medium-sized caves. the carvings in these grottoes are more exquisite, the lintels and tent decorations are becoming increasingly complex, and the pleats on the lower parts of the statues' clothes are becoming more and more overlapping; the dharma statues are more delicate and refined, with the buddha's thin neck and shoulders, his expression ethereal, and the bodhisattva's delicate, handsome, aloof and refined appearance. it is completely in line with the chinese people's imagination of gods. at this point, the historical process of converting sanskrit to xia in early chinese buddhist art has also been completed.

however, with the relocation of the capital, the yungang grottoes gradually fell into decline. after the northern wei dynasty, all dynasties only focused on repairs. in the tang dynasty, due to the influence of many factors, there were no major projects in yungang; in the liao and jin dynasties, major projects were limited to large-scale renovations; by the ming dynasty, the grottoes were almost abandoned and temple buildings were burned; in 1998, the wooden eaves of the cave and the temple were rebuilt. emperor kangxi also wrote a plaque "solemn dharma" for the yungang temple. during the qianlong period, the grottoes were also repaired.

cave 20 of yungang grottoes, open-air buddha (detail). picture/visual china

"datong is located in the interlacing zone of agriculture and animal husbandry. its ecology is fragile and cannot withstand heavy consumption. after the capital was moved, it was naturally no longer so prosperous. to open a cave, especially a large grotto, there must be an economic foundation. "hang kan said that there are multiple factors behind the decline of yungang grottoes: "on the other hand, beliefs in different periods will have different forms. after the song dynasty, buddhism became more folk and secular, and the state no longer restricted the creation of caves to create statues. it was used as a means to build social consensus. in addition, by the liao dynasty, there was no room to open caves, so the liao dynasty statues like those in cave 11 could only use the unfinished walls.”

rediscovery in modern times

by the beginning of the 20th century, yungang, which had experienced thousands of years of vicissitudes, was already desolate and dilapidated. the one-kilometer-long cave complex was separated from the east and west by the ruins of the military fortress of the previous generation. the eastern caves collapsed and were decadent, while the western caves were occupied by residential buildings and stables. , the ancient stone buddha temple that stands alone in the central part of the country has only a few pilgrims, and is no longer a tourist resort for good people. it was not until 1902, when a japanese engineering doctor named ito chuta accidentally set foot, that yungang was rediscovered in the modern sense.

the previous year, ito chuta led a japanese delegation to conduct a two-month inspection and surveying of the forbidden city in beijing. this time he returned to china and traveled to datong. at the same time, he learned from the local magistrate that there was a cave temple in the suburbs more than 30 miles west of the city, so he immediately borrowed the county annals to look for relevant records. before dawn the next day, he set out for yungang. when the magnificent ruins were displayed in front of him, he immediately "jumped for joy, danced and was at a loss". returning to beijing, he wrote the journey "yungang travel notes", and a few years later published the "investigation report on the architecture of the northern qing dynasty" and "yungang grottoes temple in shanxi, china", which promoted yungang's historical sites to overseas academic circles. in the field of vision.

after ito chuta, batch after batch of japanese scholars such as omura nishiya, matsumoto bunzaburo, kinoshita taro, kimura hachi, tokiwa dadada, sekiyoshi and so on came straight to yungang. french sinologist chavan and swedish scholar xi longren also visited yungang and left the earliest inspection and photographic data on the grottoes. the yungang grottoes have become famous since then and have become a major tourist destination in the fields of architecture and art.

from 1938 to 1944, scholars nagahiro toshio, mizuno seiichi and others from the institute of oriental culture in japan (the predecessor of the institute of humanities of kyoto university) conducted a comprehensive survey, record and actual measurement of the yungang grottoes, and excavated the some architectural ruins in front of and around the cave. over the past seven years, they have acquired a large amount of precious first-hand information, including photos, rubbings and hand-drawn actual measurements. after 1945, nagano and others terminated their investigation of the yungang grottoes and began to compile data and write reports. from 1951 to 1956, they successively published 16 volumes and 32 volumes of "yungang grottoes: an archaeological investigation report on the buddhist grottoes and temples in northern china in the fifth century ad", which became the most comprehensive and systematic investigation of the yungang grottoes in a long time. report.

of course, in the process of yungang grottoes gradually becoming a prominent discipline, there are also chinese scholars. in 1919, historian chen yuan published an article titled "remembering the wuzhoushan grottoes temple in datong", which examined the history of the yungang grottoes. 11 years later, he published "the translation of the yungang grottoes temple" and liu xiaobiao", which discussed the bible translation activities in yungang for the first time; in 1926, chen wanli wrote "a brief chronicle of the yungang grottoes"; in 1929, ye gongchuo wrote "a note on the destruction of the yungang stone carvings in datong", calling for the protection of the grottoes in 1933, liang sicheng, lin huiyin, and liu dunzhen visited yungang and wrote "northern wei dynasty architecture revealed in yungang grottoes", explaining the value of yungang grottoes from an architectural professional perspective. in the same year, gu jiegang also edited "yungang grottoes" "historical materials on statues"; in 1936, yi liang published "a brief note on the yungang stone buddha", and the university scholar bai zhixuan published "a note on the yungang grottoes temple in datong"... due to various reasons, although the research of these chinese scholars was somewhat pioneering, however, a sufficiently comprehensive and sophisticated theoretical system could not be constructed. therefore, similar to the research on many ancient monuments, yungang is in china, but yungang research is overseas.

there are 12 buddha statues in cave 5 of the yungang grottoes. they have slender eyebrows and upturned corners of the mouth. they are elegant and subtle. they are exquisite works of carving art in the yungang grottoes. photo courtesy/yungang research institute

therefore, when subai overturned the periodization and methodology of japanese scholars in 1978 with an article "on the periodization of yungang grottoes", he redefined the three periods of yungang grottoes and the corresponding shape and sculpture characteristics. fundamentally, when the foundation of yungang research was rewritten, the japanese academic community was naturally unable to hold back. in 1980 and 1981, toshio nagahiro published two articles, "refuting su bai's yungang periodization theory" and "the mystery of yungang grottoes", which fiercely refuted su bai's research and even questioned the literature he used. authenticity.

therefore, su bai specially published the article "discovery and research of the yungang grottoes - discussing certain issues concerning the yungang grottoes with professor nagahiro toshio of japan" in 1982 to answer nagahiro's doubts and to discuss the "reconstruction of wuzhou mountain in dajin xijing". explain the authenticity of the great stone cave temple monument. in the face of rigorous argumentation, nagahiro toshio finally admitted: "from a philological perspective, professor subai's inference is correct, so the periodization theory is also logical. as the 'subai theory', i now admit this periodization theory. "

at this point, chinese cave temple archeology represented by su bai has become an important force that cannot be ignored and cannot be bypassed in the field of yungang research in the world. archaeologist xu pingfang has a saying to evaluate su bai's pioneering significance: "spring has passed when flowers fall and water flows. the era of chinese cave temple research represented by professor chang guang has come to an end. chinese historical archaeologists represented by mr. su bai have the founding of chinese cave temple archeology has been established."

exploration, rescue and preventive protection

after years of accumulation, china has now become an important center for yungang studies. in 2019, the twenty-volume "complete collection of yungang grottoes" was published, becoming the most complete and authoritative image genealogy of yungang grottoes to date.

in this complete collection, in addition to the panoramic display of the carvings of all the grottoes, what is particularly valuable is the disclosure and sorting out of previous archaeological results. many of these achievements come from excavation and research in just fifty years. wang yanqing, director of the history and ethnic integration research center of yungang research institute, told china news weekly that in addition to the archaeological surveys conducted by toshio nagahiro and seiichi mizuno in the 1930s and 1940s, the larger-scale excavations surrounding the yungang grottoes four more times in total.

the south wall of cave 6 of yungang grottoes. photo courtesy/yungang research institute

from 1972 to 1973, in conjunction with the reinforcement and repair of the grottoes, the vestibules and platforms above the front chambers of cave 9 and 10 were cleaned.

in 1987, during the maintenance and reinforcement project, archaeological excavations were conducted in front of some auxiliary small caves on the east side of the mountain top of cave 5 and on the west side of the small valley, and the ruins of a liao dynasty hall were unearthed, including the ruins of the earth stove, the kang, the monk's room and the remains of the pool. .

from 1992 to 1993, in conjunction with the "eighth five-year plan" project, the ground in front of the cave underwent a comprehensive cleanup. among them, cave 3, which is the largest cave in yungang and one of the large caves that was suspended midway, discovered the unfinished rock foundation floor left over from the grottoes excavated since the northern wei dynasty, the ground in front of the cave and the platform built in the tang dynasty. , the rammed earth pillar foundations of palace buildings built in the jin dynasty and other relics were rated as "the top ten new archaeological discoveries in the country in 1993".

in 2008, the first excavation of the cave roof was carried out simultaneously with the anti-seepage project. excavated for the second time in 2010. in 2011, another liao and jin pagoda-style temple ruins from the northern wei dynasty were discovered on the top of cave 5-6, as well as a liao and jin foundry including the remains of a casting well platform and an iron furnace. this is the most complete foundry of the liao and jin dynasties in china. it is of great value to the study of "tiangong kaiwu" and the history of metallurgical casting, as well as the "lost wax casting method" of the song, liao and jin dynasties. therefore, it was rated as one of the "top ten archaeological sites in the country in 2011". new discoveries”.

it is not difficult to see from these processes that every archaeological event is accompanied by the protection work of the grottoes. this is a major feature of grotto archeology, because excavation is inevitably destructive to a certain extent. the caves that have lasted for thousands of years are very fragile and can only be protected by some work.

this situation may change slightly in the future. on the one hand, archaeological and conservation technologies will continue to be updated, and more importantly, the awareness of grotto heritage is undergoing a fundamental change. in february 2021, the "yungang research institute", which is responsible for the protection, research and management of the yungang grottoes, was established. dean hang kan said: "in the past, protection was the most important function, so many places were called cultural management institutes. , institute of cultural preservation. a big change in the establishment of the institute is that both protection and research should be given equal emphasis, and research should even be placed in a very prominent position.”

different from underground sites such as tombs, cave archeology needs to take into account both field archeology and cave archeology. all archaeological discoveries are related to the cave itself. therefore, hang kan also emphasized: "in the past, we basically focused on the cave itself. now we need to combine excavation and consider the landscape of the yungang grottoes in different periods."

three-dimensional data collection operation of yungang grottoes. photo courtesy/yungang research institute

"we are working hard to restore all the activity tracks of people from different eras here and further explore the mysteries of the yungang grottoes." but opportunities and challenges coexist, wang yanqing told china news weekly, because the yungang grottoes have always been it is in the midst of frequent activities, so the strata are seriously damaged. compared with the buddhist temple ruins on the top of the yungang grottoes, which are slightly better preserved, the ruins in front of the cave are seriously damaged, making it very difficult to compile an archaeological report.

although all cultural relics have a life cycle, compared to small cultural relics that can create a microenvironment for protection, grottoes exposed to the natural environment face more threats and are more difficult to resist. sun bo, a staff member of the stone cultural relics protection center of the yungang research institute, told china news weekly that in addition to man-made destruction, the instability factors affecting the grottoes mainly involve three categories: "one is physical. originally, the mountain was a whole. later, the craftsmen hollowed it out and it became structurally unstable; one was chemical, such as atmospheric dust and precipitation; the other was biological, such as some animals building nests in caves, and some small animals building nests on buddha statues. climbing, and root-hacking of some trees.”

among them, water damage is the most severe test. atmospheric precipitation will cause direct erosion of the outer walls of the grottoes and penetrate through the mountains over time, and may also cause groundwater to rise; the alternation of dry and wet conditions caused by temperature changes inside and outside the grottoes will cause a large amount of condensed water; salt and alkali and other components in the water will also accelerate the weathering of the grotto. moreover, the destructive power of water damage does not only stay on the surface of the buddha statue, but will affect the entire rock mass.

therefore, since the state council announced the yungang grottoes as a national key cultural relic protection unit in 1961, the relevant maintenance and repair work has always been highly valued. in the 1960s, in response to common problems such as cracks, collapse, and stone carving peeling in caves, we took the lead in experimenting with anchor pulling, epoxy resin grouting, and traditional reinforcement techniques in cave 1 and cave 2. in 1973, zhou enlai proposed a three-year plan the goal of repairing the grottoes was followed by a large-scale rescue and reinforcement project, which basically solved the stability problem of the grottoes and preserved the original appearance of the grottoes to the maximum extent; in the 1990s, the "eighth five-year plan" protection project reduced and hardened the ground in front of the grottoes, and built the 7th comprehensive measures such as the protective eaves of cave 8 and waterproof and drainage facilities on the top of the mountain have achieved initial results in controlling water damage. the waterproofing project was launched in 2002, and it took five years to solve the serious water seepage problem in the western cave group. since 2012, the dangerous rock in wuhua cave has been reinforcement, restoration of painted sculptures and murals, display of ground carving sites, and construction of protective cave eaves have been completed one after another.

during this process, protection work has also been gradually deepened, shifting from rescue to preventive. in 1999, the yungang grottoes started to apply for world heritage, and the following year they began to demolish the buildings in front of the mountain gate and construct the square. with the successful application as a world heritage site in 2001, the comprehensive management of the surrounding environment was carried out more comprehensively. not only did one town and six nearby villages be relocated, but more than 50,000 square meters of supporting buildings and facilities were built, creating a new enclosed scenic area.

staff members conducted digital collection of yungang grottoes. photo courtesy/yungang research institute

the most representative one is the rerouting of national highway 109. national highway 109 was once the only road leading from datong city to yungang. as the famous "coal capital", coal transport vehicles also continued to drive out of the province through this road. this road is only 350 meters away from the grottoes. a large amount of coal ash and dust adheres to the grottoes, covering the buddha statues with "black cassocks". the vibrations caused by the trucks filled with coal also affect the rock mass. stability took its toll. in 1998, the 26-kilometer-long yungang section of national highway 109 was rerouted and the problem was eradicated with an investment of 230 million.

small-scale diseases on grotto statues and surrounding decorative carvings are also key to affecting the value of cultural relics. however, due to their small size, they are not easily noticed in large-scale projects. since 2015, yungang has successively completed the daily maintenance of the outer walls of the 5th, 7th, 8th, 11th, 12th, 13th and tanyao 5th caves and the western cave, curbing the development of small diseases.

in the past two decades, conservation and research have also boarded the technological express. since 2003, yungang has been digitally collecting and modeling the grottoes through a collection method that combines close-range photogrammetry, handheld 3d laser scanning, and stationary 3d laser scanning. it plans to achieve full digital coverage by 2030, and half of it is currently completed. .

he yong, a staff member of the digital conservation center of yungang research institute, told china news weekly that as early as the 1980s and 1990s, some photogrammetry experiments of the ministry of housing and urban-rural development had been tried in yungang, but they were subject to various reasons. the effect was not satisfactory. "(digital collection) really started in 2003, when laser scanning technology was officially introduced into the cultural relics industry. by 2005, the first elevation of the chinese grotto temple was completed. in 2017, we completed the west rear of cave 3 this is the world's first successful replication of a large-scale immovable cultural relic; in 2018, the movable and disassembled replicas of cave 12 and cave 18 were completed. in 2020, we built the first grotto temple in china. an advanced computing center.”

protection and restoration of qing dynasty murals in yungang grottoes. photo courtesy/yungang research institute

he yong said that their next goal is to "build a digital yungang and provide informatization, networked, and intelligent support for the protection and governance, construction and development of yungang", including sharing cultural relics with archaeologists and providing cultural protection personnel with monitoring data. sun bo also said that for the protection of large-scale heritage sites such as the yungang grottoes, digitization can help to understand the diseases in the caves more three-dimensionally and provide a scientific evaluation basis for the treatment effect: "the ideal protection of the grottoes is divided into four parts. the first stage is rescue, the second stage is scientific, the third stage is simulation, and the fourth stage is artistic. we are now in the second stage, hoping for more fields and more. disciplines and more people involved.”

however, around the world, the protection of cultural relics is still a difficult problem that has yet to find the best answer. all attempts and efforts only try to extend the life cycle of cultural relics, but cannot completely stop their demise. this is especially true for grottoes that are already fragile and will still face wind and rain all the time. "but this is the charm of protection." sun bo said: "in many cases, we compare cultural relics to an old man, it is alive, and compare ourselves to a doctor, all we can do is extend its life. "