The Shifugou Cliff Sculptures of Wuan comprise 18 extant niches, with inscriptions dated to the 2^nd year of the Xining era in the Northern Song Dynasty. The Baijiazhuang Cliff Sculptures feature 22 extant niches, including inscriptions from the 8^th year of the Jiayou era of the Northern Song Dynasty. The Cejingcun Cliff Sculptures contain 24 extant niches, including inscriptions from the 1^st and the 3^rd year of the Yuanfeng era of the Northern Song dynasty. These three sites show rich contents, including popular theme of the Northern Song Dynasty, such as the Three Sages of Huayan, the Sixteen Arhats, and the Water-Moon Avalokitesvara, which make them typical from the Northern Song period in southern Hebei. At the same time, the emergence of new iconography such as the combination of Water-Moon Avalokitesvara and animal imagery, and the depiction of Shelifu, reflects the secularization of Buddhism.

Previous studies on the construction chronology of the South and the North grotto temples in Longdong, Gansu, have primarily relied on historical documents. Through an in-depth on-site investigation of both grottoes, this study reveals that the South Grotto Temple exhibits significant flaws in geological conditions, design, and construction techniques. In contrast, the North Grotto Temple demonstrates more meticulous site selection and superior engineering execution. Comprehensive analysis suggests that the South Grotto Temple was excavated first. However, due to insufficient experience in construction procedures and project management, irreparable engineering defects emerged. Consequently, the patron opted to carve a new grotto at a more favorable location, leading to the later construction of the North Grotto Temple.

Through the analysis of the statue of Queen Shuming in the Dazu Rock Carvings, this paper argues that a folk belief in Queen Shuming had formed during this period, which was primarily centered on granting children and healing eye diseases. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the cult of Shuming within the Dongyue belief system has further evolved, with child-granting and eyesight restoration becoming one of the main contents of the Dongyue goddess belief.

In the Song and Jin dynasties, a large number of craftsmen signed their names in the inscriptions of grottoes, mainly concentrated in the grottoes complexes in northern Shaanxi, eastern Gansu and eastern Sichuan.According to the current investigation, a total of more than 100 craftsman names have been documented. These historical sources reveal information regarding their organizational structures, professional titles, and social statuses. Through investigation and analysis, it considers that the historical transformation during the early modern period have made great progress and promotion in craftsmen’s status, ideological perspectives, and cultural engagement, which constitute the main reason for the rise of the signature trend.

The Buddha statues and engraved scriptures of the Northern Qi Dynasty represented remarkable accomplishments, featuring distinct originality and transitional characteristics. Unlike the slender and elegant statues of the Northern Wei Dynasty or the mature and complete ones of the Tang Dynasty, the statues of the Northern Qi Dynasty presented a unique style of strength and diversity. For instance, the tower-shaped caves of the Xiangtangshan Grottoes in Yecheng and the Buddha statues unearthed in Qingzhou respectively demonstrated the imperial grandeur and the influence of Indian art. The engraved scriptures of the Northern Qi Dynasty also integrated traditional and foreign cultures, marking the initial appearance of large-scale engraved scriptures. This article, through a comprehensive analysis of grottoes, cliff inscriptions and freestanding statues, for the first time comprehensively classified and zoned the Buddha statues and engraved scriptures of the Northern Qi Dynasty. It not only identified the content and form characteristics of each geographical grouping but also revealed the differences and connections among them. It showcases the diversified achievements of Buddhist art in the Northern Qi Dynasty.

The raised-foot posture, originating from ancient Indian ascetic practices, was integrated into Buddhist art due to its association with Shakyamuni’s pre-enlightenment asceticism. In Gandharan art, raised-foot imagery primarily depicted flower garland bearers’ diligent offerings and ascetics’ earnest begging. Through he Silk Road, this imagery spread to the Westem Regions, directly influencing the creation of flower garland bearer figures in Shanshan Kingdom temple murals, and developing more diverse representations in Kucha Kingdom cave murals. Subsequently, raised-foot imagery entered the northern Central Plains through the Hexi Corridor, influencing some cave sculptures and inspiring the creation of native Chinese raised-foot styles. Although raised-foot imagery did not become widely popular in Chinese Buddhist art, its cultural connotations were absorbed, giving rise to multiple related Buddhist terms. The spread and evolution of raised-foot imagery demonstrate the exchange and interaction of diverse cultures along the Silk Road.

Water leakage has been the primary problem for the protection of Dazu Rock Carvings (DRC) along with its whole lifetime, but the effect of leakage treatment was far inferior to the demand of protection in the past few decades. Based on conventional hydrogeological theories, this study has carried out by focusing on the Grottoes Cliff Hydrogeology and the special hydrogeological conditions of the unloading cliffs in the Dafowan have been clarified basically. The research shows: Both the sandstone and mudstone of the Dafowan cliff can be regarded as relatively impermeable materials in seepage flow. The bedding planes and tectonic fractures affected by unloading forces constitute the main seepage flow channels within the DRC cliff zone. Some fractures with ten centimeters aperture may form by horizontal landsides along the strata except unloading force. The strata formation of Baodingshan is nearly horizontal, but the EW and SN trending wide-flat folds by tectonic movements of Sichuan and North China periods are very important for the seepage of unloading and unsaturated cliff zones. Water sample analysis from the research area reveals: A complex flow system with long-range and short-range seepage are coexisting within the same space. Geological rock-water interaction and human effects combine along the flow path in the particular cultural cliff rockmass. The flow and material inside water indirectly control derived diseases such as dissolution and salt precipitation. Based on the water level distribution analysis, the hill behind the carving cliff affected by unloading force can be divided into three zones. The non-unloading effect zone is greater than 2 times height of the cliff. The unloading influence zone is 1-2 times the height, and the strong unloading zone is within 1 time the height range. The non-unloading effect zone is dominated by pore saturated flow in the loose soil layer and weathered fractured layer, while the strong unloading zone is dominated by unsaturated and multi-layered fissure flows. The role of opening fractures with high penetration ability must be contemplated dialectically, the leakage water diseases can be aggregated inside these fractures and the seepage flow will be alleviated around these fractures at the same time. The main underground stream flow systems, with complicated mutual crossing flow and leakage recharge inside different flow, have been analyzed. Through this study, a theoretical basis is provided for the systematic and minimal intervention of water seepage treatment in Dafowan, and an example is provided for constructing micro hydrogeological condition models under the special terrain, landform, and environment of cliffs with cultural grottoes and carvings.