Shizhongshan Grottoes, Ancient Buddhist grottoes in Jianchuan County, China.
Shizhongshan Grottoes comprise 17 caves with 233 carvings on Shizhong Mountain in Shaxi, Jianchuan County, Yunnan. The caves are grouped at Shizhong Temple, Shizi Pass and Shadengqing, and depict Buddhas, bodhisattvas, kings and officials in Tang-Song style with local Bai features.
Carving began by 850, the eleventh year of Nanzhao Tianqi, as recorded in the earliest inscription in Cave 12 at Shadengqing. Work continued through the Dali Kingdom until 1179, the fourth year of Shengde, when Caves 8 and 10 were completed. The site was documented by Xu Xiake in the Ming period and entered academic study after Li Lincan's 1939 survey.
The carvings include a rare depiction of the Nanzhao king Yimouxun and his ministers, and a figure labelled "Persian" whose identity remains debated. The site also preserves four Southern Nanzhao murals on open cliff faces, the only surviving paintings from that period in the region.
The sites are located roughly 25 kilometers southwest of Jianchuan County and around 110 kilometers northwest of Dali, making them relatively accessible by road. Visitors should wear sturdy footwear as the paths connecting the various grotto sites are uneven and sometimes steep.
The mountain is named Shizhongshan, "Stone Bell Mountain", for a large rock on it shaped like a giant bell, not for any "Stone Treasure" formation. The earliest dated inscription, in Cave 12 at Shadengqing, records the Nanzhao era Tianqi 11, or 850 AD, and names the donors of a Maitreya and Amitabha Buddha.
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