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The Longmen Caves are, after [[Dunhuang]], likely the most famous set of Buddhist cave-temples in China. The thirteen hundred caves and niches at the site, stretching along both sides of a river for roughly a kilometer, were carved chiefly in the 5th to 7th centuries.
Longmen is located outside of the former Chinese capital of [[Luoyang]], and straddles the Yi River. The 1300 caves and niches contain a total of over 100,000 Buddhist sculptures; some of the niches are quite small, only a meter or so in height, but others are several stories tall. The so-called "Ancestor Worshiping Cave" is the largest in the complex, and contains a seated sculpture of Vairocana (J: [[Dainichi]]) roughly 55 feet in height. Construction on this particular cave is known to have been completed around [[675]], with patronage from [[Empress Wu]]. Another important cave at the site is known as the Three Buddhas Cave, and stands out as one of the few with Maitreya (J: [[Miroku]]), the Buddha of the Future, as the central figure. This cave was begun under the patronage of Empress Wu (r. [[690]]-[[705]]) but was never completed.
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==References==
*Valerie Hansen, ''The Open Empire'', New York: W.W. Norton & Company (2000), 200-201.
[[Category:Temples]]
[[Category:Asuka Period]]
