The Missing Heads of The Longmen Grottoes

August 25th, 2009 | 12 comments


IMG_2681

How would you feel if someone came into your temple, yeshiva, church, synagogue – you get idea – and chopped off the heads of your religious idols? What if they desecrated the work of your ancestors? What if they encased these pieces of history in their museums and called it a treasure they acquired. No, I’m not talking about the Louvre.

I’m talking about the missing statute heads in the Longmen Grottoes. That’s exactly what the Japanese did during their invasion of China. It’s not written on any pamphlets and, surprisingly, not mention on the Internet (as far as I know).  It only appears in a single sentence on a board a few yards from the entrance gate. The Japanese chopped off the heads of many stone statues of Buddha and his disciples and are now probably sitting in Japanese museums.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site located near Luoyang, the Longmen Grottoes is populated from top to bottom in carvings, engravings and sculptures of Buddha and his disciples. It sits on the sides of two mountains – the Xiangshan (to the east) and the Longmenshan (to the west) – with the Yi River flowing between them. To get to the other side of the mountain, you have to cross a bridge.

Some of these stone statutes are massive. Some of them…not so much. It’s hard to imagine the painstaking work involved in carving these masterpieces by hand. What’s more astonishing is that these sculptures were made before the use of modern tools. In 493 the people of Henan Province began sculpting them with only a chisel and a religious soul. The carvings are meticulously detailed. The precision is jaw dropping. I cannot begin to comprehend the amount of devotion and dedication involved.

Now imagine how you’d feel if someone invaded your home and destroyed it.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
  • Share

Tags: , , ,

Related Posts

My 7 Links: A Look Back At A Pair of Panties & Boxers

July 19th, 2011

I’ve watched and read many bloggers in the travel community highlight their 7 links these past few days. It was a game of tag I was eager but uninvited to [...]

Exploring New York City: The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA)

March 30th, 2011

You’d think that as a Chinese-American and a New Yorker I would know my way around the city pretty well. Nope. I spent an entire HOUR wandering the fishy streets [...]

How To Celebrate Chinese New Year

February 9th, 2011

Guest post by @fienuts
I am not Chinese even though I have a fair skin but I’m often mistaken for one. I live in a country where diversity & multicultural races [...]

Have You Failed To Seize An Opportunity In Your Travels?

January 11th, 2011

Guest post by @Kantankkerous

The best aspects of travel involve the reflections and tale-telling of the amazing highlights of your holiday. People love to depict the finest details of [...]

«
»
  • http://jmarvin.multiply.com/ Mr Whattaworld

    In my weekend travels the past two weeks, I saw plenty of decapitated Buddha statues… :(

    Most of these are probably in the museums or in the homes of antique collectors.

  • http://jmarvin.multiply.com Mr Whattaworld

    In my weekend travels the past two weeks, I saw plenty of decapitated Buddha statues… :(

    Most of these are probably in the museums or in the homes of antique collectors.

  • hearthiseatthatravelthere

    I am enjoying all your shots of these beautiful places in China. They are indeed surreal. It is a goal of mine one day to traveling throughout the depths of China and capture the historical essence of the country and land. For now, I will continue to read and awe at your travels.
    - Sunday

  • hearthiseatthatravelthere

    I am enjoying all your shots of these beautiful places in China. They are indeed surreal. It is a goal of mine one day to traveling throughout the depths of China and capture the historical essence of the country and land. For now, I will continue to read and awe at your travels.
    - Sunday

  • http://apairofpantiesandboxers.wordpress.com/ Monica

    Sad…I wouldn’t be surprised if some were even sold in the black market.

  • http://apairofpantiesandboxers.wordpress.com/ Monica

    Sad…I wouldn’t be surprised if some were even sold in the black market.

  • http://apairofpantiesandboxers.wordpress.com/ Monica

    Hi Sunday! Thanks for stopping by. I have only scrapped the surface in China. I’m looking to go back again. But it seems like you do your fair share of traveling too. I’m very jealous.

  • http://apairofpantiesandboxers.wordpress.com/ Monica

    Hi Sunday! Thanks for stopping by. I have only scrapped the surface in China. I’m looking to go back again. But it seems like you do your fair share of traveling too. I’m very jealous.

  • http://pinaybackpacker.com/blog/ Pinaybackpacker

    This is such a moving piece, Monica. I felt angry and sad that those Longmen Grottoes were “beheaded”. Which kinda reminds me of what happened here in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation (World War 2). The atrocities of the Japanese army – how they used their bayonets to behead Filipino civilians as well as soldier, how they raped Filipina women and treated them as sex slaves – these are not written on most history books, too.

    May your journeys continue to bring you to other interesting places and open your eyes and your heart to what others don’t always see and feel.

  • http://pinaybackpacker.com/blog/ Pinaybackpacker

    This is such a moving piece, Monica. I felt angry and sad that those Longmen Grottoes were “beheaded”. Which kinda reminds me of what happened here in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation (World War 2). The atrocities of the Japanese army – how they used their bayonets to behead Filipino civilians as well as soldier, how they raped Filipina women and treated them as sex slaves – these are not written on most history books, too.

    May your journeys continue to bring you to other interesting places and open your eyes and your heart to what others don’t always see and feel.

  • http://apairofpantiesandboxers.wordpress.com/ Monica

    That sounds very similar to The Rape of Nanjing – the rape, the murder, the beheading contests, etc. The Japanese tried to imperialize Asia but they failed.

    Thanks for kind wishes. I look forward to learning everything that the educational instutition fails to teach us.

  • http://apairofpantiesandboxers.wordpress.com/ Monica

    That sounds very similar to The Rape of Nanjing – the rape, the murder, the beheading contests, etc. The Japanese tried to imperialize Asia but they failed.

    Thanks for kind wishes. I look forward to learning everything that the educational instutition fails to teach us.

  • Pingback: Photo Friday: The Longmen Grottoes « A Pair of Panties & Boxers

  • Pingback: Photo Friday: The Longmen Grottoes « A Pair of Panties and Boxers

  • Pingback: Photo Friday: The Longmen Grottoes | A Pair of Panties and Boxers