A Study of the Kaihe Temple Caves in Pingding,Shanxi——Three Northern Dynasties Caves and a Large Cliff Carving of the Buddha with a Sui Dynasty Inscription on a"Statue of the King of Zhenguo and a Pair of Zhangba Statues"
At the Kaihe Temple caves in Shanxi,there are three Northern Dynasties(6th century)caves and one large cliff carving of the Buddha from the early Sui dynasty.The earliest inscriptions in the caves date from 547(5th year of the Wuding era,Eastern Wei dynasty),and the cliff inscriptionis from 581(1st year of the Kaihuang era,Sui dynasty).In addition,the pedestal of a Buddhist sculpture next to the large Buddha statue bears an inscription dated to 510(3rd year of the Yongping era,Northern Wei dynasty).These dates indicate that local Buddhists carved and dedicated sculptures at the site from the Northern Wei to the Sui dynasty.After inspecting the current state of the statue and its inscriptions,the author discovered traces of another cliff Bud-dha,suggesting that the term"statue of the King of Zhenguo"in the inscription refers to Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty,and that the phrase"a pair of Zhangba statues"(shuang zhangba 双丈 八)refers to a pair of large Maitreya Buddha sculptures repre-senting the consecration of Emperor Wen(wendi 文帝)and Empress Dugu(dugu huanghou 独孤皇后).In addition,examination of materials linking Doulu Tong(豆 卢通)and his son Sengnu(僧 奴)indicates a strong possibility that the above inscription was finished sometime after the year 588(8th year of the Kaihuang era,Sui dynasty).
Kaihe Temple cavesEmperor Wen of the Sui dynastyDoulu TongMaitreya Buddhadescent of Maitreya Buddha
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