The Guyang cave ware caved in the Northern Wei Dynasty is the essence of the art of calligraphy in Longmen Grottoes

Guyang cave was excavated in the 16th year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty, when Luoyang was moved as the capital in 493 ad. More than 90% of the sculptures in the cave are works of the Northern Wei Dynasty. It is the earliest and most abundant one among the Longmen Grottoes. The whole cave is horseshoe-shaped in plane and dome like in roof. Because this cave is the most concentrated cave in the Northern Wei Dynasty. From this, we can see the atmosphere of worshiping Buddhism in the royal family of Northern Wei Dynasty. The two walls of the cave are carved into three rows of niches in an orderly manner. These small niches are very delicate and gorgeous, with delicate and smart decoration and colorful patterns. In Longmen Grottoes, they can be regarded as a great achievement of sculpture, painting, calligraphy, architecture and pattern plastic arts of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

According to its style and characteristics, the statues of guyangdong represent some changes in the later period of Northern Wei Dynasty after the capital moved to Luoyang. In the early period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, it was rough, vigorous and upright, and became beautiful and beautiful. Facial expression depiction has also changed from severe to moderate, giving people a sense of kindness.

What is worth mentioning here is that the four walls of Guyang cave and the top of the cave are engraved with statues of Buddha niches, many of which are inscribed with inscriptions, recording the names of the sculptors at that time, the dates and the reasons for the early statues. These are the most precious materials for the study of calligraphy and sculpture in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Among the well-known “twenty dragon’s gate products” in the art of epigraphy, there are nineteen products in Guyang cave. Longmen twenty grades represents the style of Wei stele. It is a kind of mature and unique font in the transition from official script to regular script. “Longmen twenty products” can be said to be the essence of Longmen Grottoes’s tablet calligraphy art, so it has been praised by calligraphers for thousands of years.