Longmen Grottoes is one of the three famous treasure houses of stone carving art in China, and it is also considered as one of the greatest treasure houses of classical art in the world. Longmen Grottoes, together with Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu, Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi, and Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui, Gansu, are called the four major grottoes in China, and have been listed as world cultural heritage. In addition, Dazu Stone Carving in Chongqing is also a famous grotto in China, which has been listed in the World Cultural Heritage List by UNESCO.
According to Shu Wei, Longmen Grottoes were dug behind Yungang Grottoes. During this period, the Northern Wei Dynasty unified the North, and Buddhism, a foreign religion, became the spiritual pillar of ideological rule. In order to control the Central Plains, Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital Pingcheng to Luoyang in the 18th year of Taihe. Longmen Grottoes were built in the Taihe period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, a few years before they moved to Luoyang. Since then, the Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Northern Song and Ming Dynasties have all been restored and continued, among which the excavation activities in the Northern Wei and Tang Dynasties were the largest, lasting 150 years.
Longmen Grottoes are large in scale, beautifully carved and rich in content and theme. With its own system and unique language of sculpture art, it reveals various laws and rules in the creation of sculpture art. Before it, the grotto art mostly retained the artistic elements of Gandhara and Datura, but Longmen Grottoes inherited the Indian grotto art, followed the style of Yungang Grottoes, and merged the advanced and profound Chinese culture in Wei, Jin and Southern Dynasties. Therefore, the integration of the sculpture art in Longmen Grottoes reflects the aesthetic consciousness of the Han nationality, and the grotto art shows the trend of China and secularization, which is a milestone in the transformation of the grotto art in China.