Fengxian monastery, (near) Luoyang, Henan, CN

Raw data

Fengxian Monastery 奉先寺 with the Longmen Grottoes 龍門石窟 near Luoyang 洛陽/Henan.
http://www.numerals.de/Art/Pagodas/pagodas.html

The core of Longmen Caves is the Fengxian Monastery 奉先寺. It is marked by a large terrace facing the Luo River.
http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Art/Grottoes/grottoes.html

"Fengxian Monastery at the Buddhist grottoes of Longmen, […] was completed in the year 676 under the sponsorship of Empress Wu. …"
www.international.ucla.edu/china/papers/mcnair_paper.pdf
Input by: tmciolek, Dec 16, 2009

"The Longmen Grottoes (龙门石窟, lóngmén shíkū; lit. Dragon's Gate Grottoes) or Longmen Caves are located 12 km south of present day Luòyáng in Hénán province, China. The grottoes, which overwhelmingly depict Buddhist subjects, are densely dotted along the two mountains: Xiangshan (to the east) and Longmenshan (to the west). The Yi River flows northward between them. For this reason, the area used to be called Yique (The Gate of the Yi River). From north to south, the distance covered by grottoes is about one km. Along with the Mogao Caves and Yungang Grottoes, the Longmen Grottoes are one of the three most famous ancient sculptural sites in China. There are over 2100 niches, more than 100,000 statues, some 40 pagodas and 3600 tablets and steles in the caves of Guyang, Binyang and Lianhua.
According to the Longmen Caves Research Institute, there are 2345 caves and niches, 2800 inscriptions, 43 pagodas and over 100,000 Buddhist images at the site. 30% of the caves date from the Northern Wei Dynasty, 60% from the Tang Dynasty, and caves from other periods less than 10%. It is the most impressive collection of Chinese art from these dynasties, and, dating from 316 to 907 CE, represents the zenith of stone carving in China."
http://scenery.cultural-china.com/en/172Scenery5586.html
Input by: tmciolek, Jul 26, 2011

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 07 Aug 2014

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 200 m from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Fengxian monastery, CN.

General location of the Fengxian monastery, CN.
Lat 34.5521 Long 112.4735
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2009.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.5521+112.4735+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Fengxian%20monastery,%20CN)&ll=34.5521,112.4735&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en


Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name


2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • China:Henan Sheng

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names


4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Approx., Lat 34.5521 Long 112.4735 - visual identification of the grottoes' site in maps.google.com - tmciolek, 30 Dec 2009.

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries


6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village


7. The settlement's alternative/historical names


8. The settlement's coordinates


9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

  • Mahayana

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

  • [missing data]

11. Date-early

  • Est. 676 CE - www.international.ucla.edu/china/papers/mcnair_paper.pdf
  • MBM chrono-tag 0667-99c - tmciolek 14 Feb 2013
  • 0667-99c 0700-32c 0733-66c 0767-99c 0800-32c 0833-66c 0867-99c 0900-32c 0933-66c 0967-99c 1000-32c 1033-66c 1067-99c 1100-32c 1133-66c 1167-99c 1200=> dated-el

12. Date-intermediate

  • [missing data]

13. Date-late

  • “During the period of 1368 to 1912, when two dynasties ruled in China, namely the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644, and the Qing Dynasty from 1644 to 1912, there was cultural revival and the Longmen Grottoes received recognition both at the national and international level.” - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longmen_Grottoes
  • MBM chrono-tag 1200=> - tmciolek 14 Feb 2013

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • [missing data]

16. Additional notes

  • [missing data] (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

  • [missing data]

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