The Arts
Complete Works of Yungang Grottoes
by Zhang Zhuo
The Complete Works of Yungang Grottoes is a collection of photographic materials reflecting different periods, different caves, different artistic styles and artistic characteristics of Yungang Grottoes. It contains 20 volumes, each presenting a single Yungang cave with more than 400 pictures and several professional academic papers on the cultural and artistic characteristics of caves. As a royal art project symbolizing the imperial power of Tuoba in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Yungang Grottoes are large in scale, rich in content, exquisite in carving, and vivid in appearance. They absorb and integrate the diverse cultures of ancient nationalities, and represent the highest level of carving in the world in the 5th century. In 2001, the Yungang Grottoes were listed on the World Heritage List. The Complete Works of Yungang Grottoes displays the treasures of the Yungang Grottoes in an unprecedented scale, high-definition, and panoramic view, which is regarded as a recording and preserving archive of great values. For more than 1500 years, the statues of the Yungang Grottoes have been weathered and ruined by wind and rain. In the past, most of the photography focused on the contemporarily perfect Buddha statues, but the remaining statues, even the best-preserved ones, are disappearing year by year from people's sight. The Complete Works of Yungang Grottoes collects image data of them, makes the documentary files, and has them published to the public, in this way retaining the perfect art in changes.
