Buddhist Art and Architectures of Datong
(大同的佛教艺术与建筑)
4 min read
Because of its long history, the city of Datong (大同), in Shanxi Province (山西省), is rich in remarkable historical sites. The city was formally established as Pingcheng (平城) during the Han Dynasty (c. 200 BCE) as a frontier outpost to defend against northern nomadic tribes. After the fall of the Han Empire, it became the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty (北魏, 386–535 CE) for nearly a century under the nomadic Tuoba Xianbei (拓跋鲜卑) people, evolving into a major political, economic, and cultural center in northern China. During the Liao, Jin, and Yuan (辽, 金, 元) dynasties (1048–1368 CE), all ruled by nomadic peoples, the city was renamed Datong in 1048 and served as the Western Capital (西京), maintaining its regional importance.
Datong’s identity is etched in stone and wood through its Buddhist heritage. The Northern Wei adopted Buddhism as a state religion, leading to the creation of some of China’s most iconic Buddhist art and architecture. This was Datong’s golden age, during which the Yungang Grottoes (云冈石窟) were constructed, becoming a major center of Buddhist art. Even after the Northern Wei capital moved to Luoyang (洛阳) in 494 CE, Datong remained an important Buddhist center. Its prominence continued through the Liao (907–1125) and Jin (1115–1234) dynasties, when magnificent wooden temples were added to the city’s Buddhist landscape.
Yingxiang Sakyamuni Pagoda (应县木塔)
About an hour’s drive south of Datong in Yingxian stands the nine-story, 67-meter-tall Sakyamuni Pagoda (opening image)—the oldest and tallest surviving wooden tower in the world. It was first built in 1056 during the Liao Dynasty (辽朝), contemporaneous with the Northern Song (宋朝). Constructed without nails, the tower relies on hundreds of interlocking wooden brackets called dougong (斗拱) and mortise-and-tenon joints, creating a flexible and earthquake-resistant structure that has survived nearly a millennium of natural and human-made upheavals, including earthquakes, storms, and wars.
Internally, the tower has nine levels, while externally it appears to have five stories, each with a single eave (left image below). Each interior level houses a statue of the Buddha, surrounded by two rings of columns—24 in the outer ring and eight in the inner ring. On the ground floor stands an eleven-meter-tall, exquisitely molded statue of Sakyamuni (right image below), from which the pagoda derives its name. The interior also contains many colorful murals depicting vajras, deities, and Buddhist disciples. The statues, murals, and paintings within the pagoda possess great artistic value and have attracted artists, scholars, and visitors for centuries.
Hanging Temple (悬空寺)
The Hanging Temple, about 65 kilometers southeast of Datong, is a gem of ancient Chinese architecture and remains a popular tourist attraction today. From a distance, the temple appears to hang from a steep cliff 60 to 90 meters above the ground.
Built during the late Northern Wei dynasty, the temple’s cliffside location was carefully chosen so that the structure would be protected from rain and sunlight by an overhanging peak above it and so that the monks could hear “neither the cock’s crow nor the dog’s bark.”
The builders first chiseled holes into the cliff face and inserted thick wooden beams into them. The temple’s foundation rests entirely on these beams, which are partially embedded in the rock. Forty rooms and pavilions of varying sizes—housing more than 80 well-preserved statues made of metal, stone, or clay—stand on this structure, with pillars and posts supporting the floors and roofs. The exterior steel poles visible in the photographs below were added in the last century to help support the aging structure.
Huayan Temple (华严寺)
Huayan Temple—a complex of temples, shrines, and halls—was first established in 1038 during the Liao Dynasty (辽朝). The name “Huayan” derives from the Avatamsaka Sutra (华严经). Unlike most Chinese temples, which face south, Huayan Temple faces east, reflecting the Khitan (契丹) people’s tradition of sun worship during the Liao Dynasty.
The complex preserves one of the largest collections of Liao–Jin Buddhist architecture (first row of images below), as well as a remarkable collection of Buddhist sculptures (second row) and murals (third row) dating from the 11th century onward. The temple also houses artifacts from later dynasties—the Yuan, Ming, and Qing (元, 明, 清)—and preserves about 18,000 volumes of Buddhist scriptures from the Ming and Qing periods. Together, these works make Huayan Temple one of the most important surviving centers of Buddhist art and architecture from medieval China.
Yungang Grottoes (云冈石窟)
The Yungang cave complex, commissioned by the royal court, was first developed during the Northern Wei dynasty, when the nomadic Xianbei people unified northern China, ending the prolonged turmoil of the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Between the mid-5th and early 6th centuries, artisans carved 51,000 statues across 252 caves into a sandstone cliff approximately 800 meters long and 10–20 meters high.
Yungang’s most iconic sculpture is the 17-meter-tall seated Maitreya Buddha (image below). Many figures display physical features such as flat noses and broad shoulders, reflecting the Xianbei patrons and sculptors. Exposed for centuries to wind and sand from the nearby Gobi Desert, the sandstone statues have suffered significant erosion. Yet traces of red, blue, and gold pigments reveal that the sculptures were once vividly painted.
One of the most impressive caves, Cave No. 6 (images below), honors the Buddha Sakyamuni. Its scale and artistic richness make it the most spectacular and elaborately decorated cave I visited. At its center stands a massive square pillar rising to the ceiling, intricately carved to resemble a multi-story pagoda, with Buddha figures enshrined on each level. The pillar serves both as structural support and as a narrative device for Buddhist teachings. The surrounding walls and ceiling are covered with carved panels depicting episodes from the life of Sakyamuni. The Vatican’s Sistine Chapel—created nearly a millennium later—may be the closest parallel to this cave in artistic ambition and narrative power.
Besides the Buddhist art and architecture described above, the city also offers many other attractions, including Shanhua Temple (善化寺), the Ming Dynasty city wall, and the Nine-Dragon Wall (九龙壁).
Photo credit: Baidu.com; Stories of Ancient Chinese Architecture (Shanghai Translation Publishing House)