From Gandhāra to Yungang

Design of a Free-Standing Buddhist Monastery

Abstract

The cave-temple complex at Yungang [云冈石窟] is located about 15 km to the west of Pingcheng [平城, present-day Datong], capital of the Northern Wei dynasty [北魏, 386-534 CE]. The caves were carved out of the cliff of the Wuzhou Hill [武州山], at the northern bank of the Wuzhou River [武州川], which stand side by side for a distance of about 1 km from east to west and comprise twenty large, twenty-five medium, and numerous small caves and countless niches. The cave-temples were initially commissioned to be carved out by the ruling family of the Northern Wei and were designated as the Cave-temple Complex at Wuzhou Hill [武州山石窟寺], showing the splendid workmanship of the dynasty and becoming a model for the rock-cut temples in the whole territory controlled by the Northern Wei.