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Cave Temples of Dunhuang Buddhist Art on Chinaã¢ââ¢s Silk Road

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Caves nearly Dunhuang City, Gansu, China

Mogao Caves
Native name
莫高窟
Dunhuang Mogao Ku 2013.12.31 12-30-18.jpg
Location Dunhuang, Gansu, China
Coordinates 40°02′xiv″N 94°48′fifteen″E  /  twoscore.03722°N 94.80417°E  / twoscore.03722; 94.80417 Coordinates: forty°02′xiv″N 94°48′xv″Due east  /  40.03722°N 94.80417°Eastward  / 40.03722; 94.80417

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type Cultural
Criteria i, two, iii, iv, v, 6
Designated 1987 (11th session)
Reference no. 440
Region Asia-Pacific

Mogao Caves is located in Gansu

Mogao Caves

Location of Mogao Caves in Gansu

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Mogao Caves is located in China

Mogao Caves

Mogao Caves (China)

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Mogao Caves
Mogao ku (Chinese characters).svg

"Mogao Caves" in Chinese characters
Chinese 莫高窟

The Mogao Caves, besides known as the Chiliad Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thou Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples[1] 25 km (sixteen mi) southeast of the eye of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Route, in Gansu province, People's republic of china. The caves may also be known as the Dunhuang Caves; however, this term is also used as a collective term to include other Buddhist cave sites in and effectually the Dunhuang area, such equally the Western Thousand Buddha Caves, Eastern G Buddha Caves, Yulin Caves, and Five Temple Caves. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a menses of 1,000 years.[2] The first caves were dug out in AD 366 as places of Buddhist meditation and worship.[2] [3] The Mogao Caves are the all-time known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes and, forth with Longmen Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes, are one of the three famous ancient Buddhist sculptural sites of Communist china.

An important enshroud of documents was discovered in 1900 in the then-chosen "Library Cavern", which had been walled-up in the 11th century. The contents of the library were subsequently dispersed around the world, and the largest collections are now found in Beijing, London, Paris and Berlin, and the International Dunhuang Project exists to coordinate and collect scholarly work on the Dunhuang manuscripts and other fabric. The caves themselves are now a popular tourist destination, with a number open for visiting.[4]

Etymology [edit]

The caves are commonly referred to in Chinese as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas (Chinese: 千佛洞; pinyin: qiānfó dòng ), a name that some scholars have speculated to take come from the legend of its founding, when a monk Yuezun had a vision of a thousand Buddhas at the site. This proper noun, even so, may have come up from the large number of Buddha figures at the site, or the miniatures figures painted on the walls of these caves as these figures are called "thou Buddhas" colloquially.[5] The proper noun Mogao Caves (Chinese: 莫高窟; pinyin: Mògāo kū ) was used in the Tang dynasty, where 'Mogao' refers to an authoritative district at the site during the Tang dynasty.[vi] Mogao may mean "peerless" (literally "none higher", where "mo" means "none", and "gao" ways "high");[7] [8] an culling reading may be "high in the desert" if "mo" is read as a variant of the Chinese term for "desert".[9] Mogao is also used as the proper noun of a modern town that is administered past Dunhuang metropolis: Mogao Town (莫高镇).[x] [11] The Mogao Caves are as well often referred to as the Dunhuang Caves after the nearest urban center Dunhuang, which means "blazing beacon" every bit beacons were used at the frontier outpost to warn of attacks by nomadic tribes.[12] The term Dunhuang Caves notwithstanding is likewise used in a broader sense every bit a collective term for all the caves establish in or effectually the Dunhuang area.[thirteen]

History [edit]

Dunhuang was established as a borderland garrison outpost past the Han Dynasty Emperor Wudi to protect against the Xiongnu in 111 BC. It also became an important gateway to the West, a centre of commerce along the Silk Route, as well as a meeting place of various people and religions such equally Buddhism.

The construction of the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang is generally taken to have begun sometime in the fourth century Advertizing. Co-ordinate to a volume written during the reign of Tang Empress Wu, Fokan Ji ( 佛龕記 , An Account of Buddhist Shrines) past Li Junxiu ( 李君修 ), a Buddhist monk named Lè Zūn ( 樂尊 , which may also be pronounced Yuezun) had a vision of a thousand Buddhas bathed in golden lite at the site in 366 AD, inspiring him to build a cavern hither.[14] The story is besides found in other sources, such every bit in inscriptions on a stele in cavern 332; an before appointment of 353 however was given in some other certificate, Shazhou Tujing ( 沙州土鏡 , Geography of Shazhou).[xv] He was later joined by a second monk Faliang ( 法良 ), and the site gradually grew, past the fourth dimension of the Northern Liang a pocket-size community of monks had formed at the site. The caves initially served but as a place of meditation for hermit monks, but developed to serve the monasteries that sprang up nearby. Members of the ruling family of Northern Wei and Northern Zhou synthetic many caves here, and information technology flourished in the curt-lived Sui Dynasty. By the Tang Dynasty, the number of caves had reached over a thousand.[16]

By the Sui and Tang dynasties, Mogao Caves had go a place of worship and pilgrimage for the public.[17] From the 4th until the 14th century, caves were constructed by monks to serve as shrines with funds from donors. These caves were elaborately painted, the cave paintings and architecture serving every bit aids to meditation, as visual representations of the quest for enlightenment, equally mnemonic devices, and as pedagogy tools to inform those illiterate about Buddhist beliefs and stories. The major caves were sponsored past patrons such as important clergy, local ruling elite, foreign dignitaries, as well as Chinese emperors. Other caves may have been funded past merchants, military officers, and other local people such as women's groups.

During the Tang Dynasty, Dunhuang became the main hub of commerce of the Silk Road and a major religious centre. A large number of the caves were constructed at Mogao during this era, including the two big statues of Buddha at the site, the largest i constructed in 695 following an edict a yr earlier by Tang Empress Wu Zetian to build behemothic statues beyond the state.[18] The site escaped the persecution of Buddhists ordered by Emperor Wuzong in 845 equally it was then under Tibetan control. As a frontier boondocks, Dunhuang had been occupied at diverse times by other non-Han Chinese people. After the Tang Dynasty, the site went into a gradual decline, and construction of new caves ceased entirely after the Yuan Dynasty. By and so Islam had conquered much of Key Asia, and the Silk Road declined in importance when trading via sea-routes began to dominate Chinese merchandise with the outside world. During the Ming Dynasty, the Silk Road was finally officially abandoned, and Dunhuang slowly became depopulated and largely forgotten by the outside globe. Most of the Mogao caves were abandoned; the site, still, was notwithstanding a place of pilgrimage and was used as a place of worship past local people at the beginning of the twentieth century when there was renewed involvement in the site.

Discovery and revival [edit]

Bodhisattva leading a lady donor towards the Pure Lands. Painting on silk (Library Cave), Late Tang.

During late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, Western explorers began to evidence involvement in the ancient Silk Road and the lost cities of Key Asia, and those who passed through Dunhuang noted the murals, sculptures, and artifacts such every bit the Stele of Sulaiman at Mogao. There is an estimated half a one thousand thousand square feet of religious wall murals within the caves.[xix] The biggest discovery, however, came from a Chinese Taoist named Wang Yuanlu who had appointed himself guardian of some of these temples effectually the plough of the century and tried to enhance funds to repair the statues.[20]

Some of the caves had by then been blocked by sand, and Wang prepare virtually clearing away the sand and made an try at restoration of the site. In one such cave, on 25 June 1900, Wang followed the migrate of smoke from a cigarette, and discovered a walled upwardly area behind one side of a corridor leading to a main cave.[21] [22] Behind the wall was a small cave stuffed with an enormous hoard of manuscripts. In the side by side few years, Wang took some manuscripts to bear witness to diverse officials who expressed varying level of interest, merely in 1904 Wang re-sealed the cavern following an gild by the governor of Gansu concerned about the price of transporting these documents.

Abbot Wang Yuanlu, discoverer of the subconscious Library Cave

Words of Wang's discovery drew the attention of a joint British/Indian grouping led by the Hungarian-born British archaeologist Aurel Stein who was on an archaeological expedition in the area in 1907.[23] Stein negotiated with Wang to let him to remove a significant number of manuscripts every bit well as the finest paintings and textiles in exchange for a donation to Wang's restoration effort. He was followed by a French expedition nether Paul Pelliot who acquired many thousands of items in 1908, so past a Japanese expedition nether Otani Kozui in 1911 and a Russian trek under Sergei F. Oldenburg in 1914. A well-known scholar Luo Zhenyu edited some of the manuscripts Pelliot acquired into a volume which was then published in 1909 as "Manuscripts of the Dunhuang Caves" ( 敦煌石室遺書 ).[24]

Stein and Pelliot provoked much interest in the West about the Dunhuang Caves. Scholars in Beijing, afterward seeing samples of the documents in Pelliot's possession, became enlightened of their value. Concerned that the remaining manuscripts might exist lost, Luo Zhenyu and others persuaded the Ministry of Education to recover the rest of the manuscripts to be sent to Peking (Beijing) in 1910. However, not all the remaining manuscripts were taken to Peking, and of those retrieved, some were and so stolen. Rumours of caches of documents taken by local people continued for some time, and a cache of documents hidden by Wang from the government was later establish in the 1940s.[25] Some of the caves were damaged and vandalized by White Russian soldiers when they were used past the local say-so in 1921 to business firm Russian soldiers fleeing the civil war following the Russian Revolution.[26] In 1924, American explorer Langdon Warner removed a number of murals as well equally a statue from some of the caves.[25] [27] [28] In 1939 Kuomintang soldiers stationed at Dunhuang caused some impairment to the murals and statues at the site.[29]

The state of affairs improved in 1941 when, following a visit by Wu Zuoren to the site the previous yr, the painter Zhang Daqian arrived at the caves with a pocket-sized squad of assistants and stayed for 2 and a one-half years to repair and copy the murals. He exhibited and published the copies of the murals in 1943, which helped to publicize and requite much prominence to the art of Dunhuang within China.[xxx] Historian Xiang Da then persuaded Yu Youren, a prominent fellow member of the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Political party), to set an institution, the Research Institute of Dunhuang Art (which later became the Dunhuang University), at Mogao in 1944 to look after the site and its contents. In 1956, the kickoff Premier of the People'south Republic of China, Zhou Enlai, took a personal interest in the caves and sanctioned a grant to repair and protect the site; and in 1961, the Mogao Caves were alleged to be a particularly protected historical monument by the State Council, and large-scale renovation piece of work at Mogao began soon later. The site escaped the widespread impairment caused to many religious sites during the Cultural Revolution.[31]

Today, efforts are continuing to conserve and research the site and its content.[32] [33] The Mogao Caves became one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1987.[two] From 1988 to 1995 a further 248 caves were discovered to the North of the 487 caves known since the early 1900s.[34]

The Library Cave [edit]

Picture of Cave 16, past Aurel Stein in 1907, with manuscripts piled up abreast the archway to Cavern 17, the Library Cave, which is to the right in this picture.

Cave 17 discovered by Wang Yuanlu came to be known as the Library Cave. It is located off the entrance leading to cave xvi and was originally used equally a memorial cave for a local monk Hongbian on his death in 862. Hongbian, from a wealthy Wu family, was responsible for the construction of cave sixteen, and the Library Cave may take been used equally his retreat in his lifetime. The cave originally contained his statue which was moved to another cave when it was used to keep manuscripts, some of which bear Hongbian's seal. A large number of documents dating from 406 to 1002 were institute in the cave, heaped up in closely packed layers of bundles of scrolls. In addition to the 1,100 bundles of scrolls, in that location were also over 15,000 paper books and shorter texts, including a Hebrew penitential prayer (selichah) (see Dunhuang manuscripts). The Library Cave also contained textiles such as banners, numerous damaged figurines of Buddhas, and other Buddhist paraphernalia. According to Stein who was the commencement to describe the cave in its original state:[35]

Heaped up in layers, but without any society, at that place appeared in the dim light of the priest's footling lamp a solid mass of manuscript bundles rising to a height of well-nigh x feet, and filling, as subsequent measurement showed, close on 500 cubic feet. The area left clear inside the room was just sufficient for two people to stand in.

—Aurel Stein, Ruins of Desert Cathay: Vol. II

The Library Cave was walled off old early in the 11th century. A number of theories have been proposed as the reason for sealing the caves. Stein get-go proposed that the cave had get a waste matter repository for venerable, damaged and used manuscripts and hallowed paraphernalia and and so sealed perhaps when the identify came under threat. Post-obit this estimation some suggested that the handwritten manuscripts of the Tripitaka became obsolete when printing became widespread, the older manuscripts were therefore stored away.[36] Another suggestion is that the cave was simply used every bit a book storehouse for documents which accumulated over a century and a one-half, then sealed upwards when it became full.[37] Others, such as Pelliot, suggested an alternative scenario, that the monks hurriedly hid the documents in advance of an attack by invaders, perhaps when Xi Xia invaded in 1035. This theory was proposed in light of the absenteeism of documents from Eleven Xia and the disordered state in which Pelliot found the room (perchance a misinterpretation because unbeknownst to him the room was disturbed by Stein months earlier). Some other theory posits that the items were from a monastic library and hidden due to threats from Muslims who were moving eastward. This theory proposes that the monks of a nearby monastery heard about the autumn of the Buddhist kingdom of Khotan to Karakhanids invaders from Kashgar in 1006 and the devastation it caused, so they sealed their library to avert it being destroyed.[38]

The date of the sealing of the cave connected to exist debated. Rong (2000) provided evidence to support 1002 as the date for sealing the cave,[38] while Huntington (1986) supported a closing around the early to mid-13 century.[39] It is hard to determine the state of the materials plant since the chamber was non opened "under scientific conditions", so critical evidence to support dating the closure was lost.[39] The latest date recorded in the documents plant in the cave is believed to exist 1002, and although some have proposed later dates for some of the documents, the cave was likely to take been sealed non long after that date.[38]

Dunhuang manuscripts [edit]

Paul Pelliot examining manuscripts in the Library Cave, 1908

The manuscripts from the Library Cave engagement from fifth century until early eleventh century when it was sealed. Up to 50,000 manuscripts may have been kept in that location, 1 of the greatest treasure troves of aboriginal documents found. While most of them are in Chinese, a big number of documents are in various other languages such as Tibetan, Uighur, Sanskrit, and Sogdian, including the then little-known Khotanese. They may exist old hemp paper scrolls in Chinese and many other languages, Tibetan pothis, and paintings on hemp, silk or paper. The subject matter of the bully majority of the scrolls is Buddhist in nature, but it also covers a diverse material. Along with the expected Buddhist canonical works are original commentaries, apocryphal works, workbooks, books of prayers, Confucian works, Taoist works, Christian works, works from the Chinese government, administrative documents, anthologies, glossaries, dictionaries, and calligraphic exercises.

Many of the manuscripts were previously unknown or thought lost, and the manuscripts provide a unique insight into the religious and secular matters of Northern China as well as other Central Asian kingdoms from the early on periods upwards to the Tang and early Song Dynasty.[xl] The manuscripts found in the Library Cave include the earliest dated printed book, the Diamond Sutra from 868, which was first translated from Sanskrit into Chinese in the fourth century. These scrolls likewise include manuscripts that ranged from the Christian Jingjiao Documents to the Dunhuang Become Manual and ancient music scores, also as the image of the Chinese astronomy Dunhuang map. These scrolls relate the development of Buddhism in China, record the political and cultural life of the time, and provide documentation of mundane secular matters that gives a rare glimpse into the lives of ordinary people of these eras.

The manuscripts were dispersed all over the world in the aftermath of the discovery. Stein'due south acquisition was separate between United kingdom and India because his expedition was funded by both countries. Stein had the first choice and he was able to collect around 7,000 complete manuscripts and six,000 fragments for which he paid £130, although these include many duplicate copies of the Diamond and Lotus Sutras. Pelliot took almost ten,000 documents for the equivalent of £90, only, different Stein, Pelliot was a trained sinologist literate in Chinese, and he was allowed to examine the manuscripts freely, so he was able to pick a better pick of documents than Stein. Pelliot was interested in the more unusual and exotic of the Dunhuang manuscripts, such as those dealing with the administration and financing of the monastery and associated lay men's groups. Many of these manuscripts survived only because they formed a blazon of palimpsest whereby papers were reused and Buddhist texts were written on the contrary side of the paper. Hundreds more of the manuscripts were sold by Wang to Otani Kozui and Sergei Oldenburg.[41] Efforts are now underway to reconstitute the Library Cavern manuscripts digitally, and they are now available equally office of International Dunhuang Project.

Art [edit]

The art of Dunhuang covers more than 10 major genres, such as architecture, stucco sculpture, wall paintings, silk paintings, calligraphy, woodblock printing, embroidery, literature, music and dance, and popular entertainment.[42]

Architecture [edit]

The caves are examples of rock-cut architecture, only dissimilar Longmen Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes, the local rock is a rather soft gravel conglomerate that is non suitable for either sculpture or elaborate architectural details.[43] Many of the early caves were developed from before Buddhist rock-cut chaitya styles seen in places such equally the Ajanta Caves in India, with a foursquare-sectioned central cavalcade, with sculpture in niches, representing the stupa round which worshippers may circumambulate (parikrama) and proceeds blessings. Others are hall caves influenced by traditional Chinese and Buddhist temple architecture. These caves may have a truncated pyramidal ceiling sometimes painted to resemble a tent, or they may take a flat or gabled ceiling that imitates traditional buildings. Some of the caves used for meditation are adaptations of the Indian vihara (monastery) cave plan and contain side-chambers just large enough for one person to sit down in.

Many of the caves originally had wooden porches or fore-temples built out from the cliff, just nearly of these have rust-covered or been lost in other means, with merely 5 remaining, the two earliest of which are rare surviving examples of Song dynasty wooden architecture. The nigh prominent wooden building at the site, first built during the Tang dynasty, houses the Great Buddha and was originally iv storeys high, but it has been repaired at least five times and is no longer the original construction. A storey was added betwixt 874 and 885, then repaired in the Guiyijun period, and 2 farther storeys were added during a restoration in 1898. 2 farther restorations were carried out in the 20th century, and the building is now a 9-storey structure.[44]

Murals [edit]

The murals in the caves date from a period of over a k years, from the 5th to the 14th century, and many earlier ones were repainted at later points within the period. The murals are extensive, covering an area of 490,000 foursquare feet (46,000 square metres). The most fully painted caves have paintings all over the walls and ceilings, with geometrical or plant decoration filling the spaces not taken by figurative images, which are above all of the Buddha. Sculpture is too brightly painted. The murals are valued for the scale and richness of content as well as their artistry. Buddhist subjects are most mutual, however some have traditional mythical subjects and portraits of patrons. These murals document the changing styles of Buddhist fine art in China for nearly a yard years. The artistry of the murals reached its apogee during the Tang flow, and the quality of the work dropped after the tenth century.

Early mural revealed afterwards later over-painting had been partly removed. The flesh tones of the figure with its pigments protected from oxidation contrast with the darkened tone of buddhas in later painting seen on the right. Cave 253, Northern Wei.

Early murals showed a strong Indian and Key Asian influence in the painting techniques used, the limerick and mode of the paintings as well every bit costumes worn by the figures, but a singled-out Dunhuang style began to emerge during Northern Wei Dynasty.[45] Motifs of Chinese, Central Asian and Indian origin may be found in a single cave, and Chinese elements increased during the Western Wei flow.[45]

A mutual motif in many caves is the areas entirely covered past rows of small seated Buddha figures, after which this and other "One thousand Buddhas Caves" are named. These pocket-size Buddhas were drawn using stencils so that identical figures may be replicated. Flying apsaras, or celestial beings may be depicted in the ceiling or higher up the Buddhas, and figures of donors may be shown along the bottom of the walls. The paintings often draw jataka tales which are stories of the life of Buddha, or avadana which are parables of the doctrine of karma. The murals may also depict religious themes.[46]

Bodhisattvas started appearing during the Northern Zhou menses, with Avalokitesvara (Guanyin), which was originally male but acquired female person characteristics afterward, the well-nigh pop. Well-nigh caves show Mahayana and Sravakayana (Theravada or Hinayana) influences, although Mahayana Buddhism became the ascendant form during the Sui Dynasty. An innovation of the Sui-Tang period is the visual representation of the sutra – Mahayana Buddhist teachings transformed into large complete and detailed narrative paintings.[47] One of the key features of Tang art in Mogao is the representation of the paradise of the Pure Land, indicating the increasing popularity of this school of Mahayana Buddhism in the Tang era. The iconography of Tantric Buddhism, such every bit the eleven-headed or chiliad-armed Avalokitesvara, also started to appear in Mogao wall paintings during the Tang period. It became popular during the Tibetan occupation of Dunhuang and the subsequent periods, especially during the Yuan dynasty.[18]

Figures showing shading technique, and on the left, the effect of darkening of the paint used in shading which changed the appearance of the figure.

While Buddhist art is stylistically distinct from secular art, the fashion of paintings in the caves often reflects that of contemporary secular painting (insofar equally we know of this), especially those depicting secular scenes. Donor figures are generally depicted in secular manner, and may include secular events associated with them. For case, scenes depicting General Zhang Yichao, who ruled over Dunhuang in a quasi-autonomous way during the Tardily Tang period, include a commemoration of his victory over the Tibetans in 848. The portraits of donors increased in size during the period ruled by the Cao family unit who succeeded the Zhang family unit. The Caos formed alliances with the Uyghurs (Uyghur Gansu Kingdom and Kingdom of Qocho) and the Saka Kingdom of Khotan and their portraits are featured prominently in some of the caves.[48]

Many of the figures have darkened due to oxidation of the lead-based pigments from exposure to air and light. Many early figures in the murals in Dunhuang likewise used painting techniques originated from India where shading was applied to achieve a iii-dimensional or chiaroscuro effect.[48] Notwithstanding, the darkening of the pigment used in shading over fourth dimension resulted in heavy outlines which is non what the painters had originally intended. This shading technique is unique to Dunhuang in East Asia at this period every bit such shading on human faces was mostly not done in Chinese paintings until much after when at that place were influences from European paintings. Another deviation from traditional Chinese painting is the presence of figures that are semi-nude, occasionally fully nude, as figures are by and large fully clothed in Chinese paintings. Many of the murals have been repaired or plastered over and repainted over the centuries, and older murals may be seen where sections of later paintings had been removed.

The Getty Conservation Institute has a dedicated page to the conservation of those wall paintings.[49]

Sculptures [edit]

The Great Buddha of cave 96

There are around 2,400 surviving clay sculptures at Mogao. These were first constructed on a wooden frame, padded with reed, then modelled in clay stucco, and finished with pigment. The giant statues however have a stone core. The Buddha is mostly shown equally the key statue, often attended by boddhisattvas, heavenly kings, devas, and apsaras, along with yaksas and other mythical creatures.[47]

Figure of Maitreya Buddha in cavern 275 from Northern Liang (397–439), one of the earliest caves. The crossed talocrural joint effigy with a three-disk crown shows influence from Kushan art.

The early on figures are relatively simple and mainly of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The Buddhas of Northern Wei may have two attendant Bodhisattvas, and two further disciples were added in Northern Zhou, forming a group of 5.[l] Figures from the Sui and Tang periods may exist nowadays equally larger groups of seven or nine, and some showed large-calibration parinirvana scene with groups of mourners. The early on sculptures were based on Indian and Primal Asian prototypes, with some in the Greco-Indian manner of Gandhara. Over time the sculptures showed more Chinese elements and became gradually sinicized.

The two behemothic statues represent Maitreya Buddha. The earlier and larger one in cavern 96, at 35.five m high, was synthetic in 695 under the edicts from Empress Wu Zetian who instructed the constructions of monasteries in 689 and giant statues in 694. The smaller one is 27 grand tall and was constructed in 713–41.[51] The larger northern giant Buddha was damaged in an earthquake and had been repaired and restored multiple times, consequently its clothing, colour and gestures had been inverse and only the head retains its original Early Tang appearance. The southern statue still is largely in its original form autonomously for its right mitt.[52] The larger Buddha is housed in a prominent wooden nine-storey structure.[44]

One type of caves constructed during the Tibetan era is the Nirvana Cave, which features a large reclining Buddha that covers the entire length of the hall.[53] Figures of mourners in murals or in sculptural forms are likewise depicted along the length of the hall behind the Buddha. The Buddha effigy in cave 158 measures 15.half dozen one thousand long.[54]

The original function of the "Library Cave" was as a shrine commemorating Hong Bian, the 9th-century monk. His portrait statue, unusual here and among all surviving works in Communist china, was removed to another spot when the cave was sealed upwardly in the 11th century, simply has been returned now the library has been removed. There is also a rock stele describing his life, and the wall backside the statue is painted with bellboy figure; such blending of painted sculpture and wall paintings into a unmarried composition is very common at the site.[55]

Paintings on silk and paper [edit]

Earlier the discovery in the Library Cave, original paintings on silk and paper from the Tang dynasty, an influential period in Chinese art, were very rare, and nearly of the surviving examples were copies made in later on periods. Over a grand paintings on silk, banners, and embroideries were found in the Library Cave, none evidently dating before the late 7th century.[56] The great majority of the paintings are anonymous, but many are of high quality, particularly from the Tang. Most are sutra paintings, images of Buddha, and narrative paintings. The paintings show something of the contemporary Chinese way of the capital Chang'an, but many besides reverberate Indian, Tibetan and Uighur painting styles.[57]

There are brush paintings in ink alone, some in just two colours, as well equally many in full colour. Most common are unmarried figures, and nigh paintings were probably donated by an individual, who is often portrayed on a diminutive calibration. The donor figures go notably more than elaborate in dress past the tenth century.[58]

Printed images [edit]

The Library Cave is equally important as a source of rare early images and texts produced by woodblock printing, including the famous Diamond Sutra, the primeval printed volume to survive. Other printed images were made to be hung, often with text beneath containing prayers and sometimes a dedication by the pious commissioner; at to the lowest degree two prints were commissioned by Cao Yuanzhong, Imperial Commissioner at Dunhuang in 947. Many of the images have color added by hand to the printed outline. Several sheets contain repeated impressions of the same block with a Buddha prototype. Possibly these reverberate stock for cutting when sold to pilgrims, merely inscriptions in some examples show these were also printed out at dissimilar times by an individual as a devotion to learn merit. It is unclear whether such people owned their own blocks, or visited a monastery to have the images printed.[59]

Detail of embroidered panel from the Library Cave. A small duck is shown in the centre among the flowers. Tang Dynasty.

Textiles [edit]

The textiles found in the Library Cavern include silk banners, chantry hangings, wrappings for manuscripts, and monks' apparel (kāṣāya). The monks usually used fabrics consisting of a patchwork of different scraps of cloth every bit a sign of humility; these therefore provide valuable insights into the diverse type of silk cloth and embroidery available at the time.[lx] Silk banners were used to adorn the cliff-face up at the caves during festivals, and these are painted and may exist embroidered. Valances used to decorate altars and temples had a horizontal strip at the top, from which hung streamers made from strips of different cloths ending in a V that look like a modern male necktie.[61]

Caves [edit]

The caves were cut into the side of a cliff which is shut to two kilometers long. At its height, during the Tang Dynasty, there were more than a thousand caves, but over time many of the caves were lost, including the earliest caves. 735 caves currently be in Mogao; the best-known ones are the 487 caves located in the southern section of the cliff which are places of pilgrimage and worship. 248 caves have too been found to the north which were living quarters, meditation chambers, and burying sites for the monks. The caves at the southern section are decorated, while those at the northern section are more often than not plain.

The caves are clustered together according to their era, with new caves from a new dynasty beingness synthetic in dissimilar parts of the cliff. From the murals, sculptures, and other objects found in the caves, the dates of around five hundred caves have been determined. Following is a list of the caves by era, compiled in the 1980s (more have been identified since):

  • Xvi Kingdoms (366–439) - seven caves, the oldest dated to Northern Liang flow.
  • Northern Wei (439–534) and Western Wei (535-556) - ten from each phase
  • Northern Zhou (557–580) - fifteen caves
  • Sui Dynasty (581–618) - 70 caves
  • Early Tang (618–704) - 44 caves
  • High Tang (705–780) - 80 caves
  • Centre Tang (781–847) - 44 caves (This era in Dunhuang is also known as the Tibetan period considering Dunhuang was then under Tibetan occupation.)
  • Belatedly Tang (848–906) - 60 caves (This and the subsequent periods until the Western Xia period are also known collectively equally the Guiyijun catamenia (歸義軍; 'Return to Righteousness Regular army', 848–1036) when Dunhuang was ruled past the Zhang and Cao families.)
  • The Five Dynasty (907–960) - 32 caves
  • Vocal Dynasty (960–1035)- 43 caves
  • Western Xia (1036–1226) - 82 caves
  • Yuan Dynasty (1227–1368) - 10 caves

Gallery [edit]

  • 10th century mural from Cave 61, showing Tang Buddhist monasteries of Mount Wutai, Shanxi province

  • The travel of Zhang Qian to the West, complete view, c. 700

  • The travel of Zhang Qian to the Westward, details of mural from cave 323, 618–712

  • Vajrapani Painting at Mogao Caves (Library Cave)

  • Bandit attacks

  • Vaishravana riding across the waters. Five Dynasties, mid-tenth century.

  • Worshipping Bodhisattva, cavern 285, Wei Dynasty.

  • An illustration of Sakyamuni'due south temptation past Mara

  • Depiction of the avadana story of V Hundred Robbers. Cave 285, Western Wei.

  • Wife of Dunhuang ruler Cao Yanlu and girl of the King of Khotan, wearing an elaborate jade headdress. Cavern 61, Five Dynasties.

  • King of Khotan

  • Uighur male monarch attended past servants. Cave 409, Western Xia.

  • Figures from cave 409, Western Xia.

  • Sculpture of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara from Mogao Caves, 890–910, Musée Guimet

  • Bang-up Buddha of cave 130

  • Lokapala guardian figure, Musée Guimet

  • Sculptures in a niche in a higher place a main Buddha figure, Mogao cave 27, Loftier Tang

  • Reclining Buddha in cave 148, second largest reclining figure in Mogao. High Tang period.

  • A fresco shows the style of architecture of the Tang dynasty.

  • A fresco shows the Tang fashion architecture in the Buddhist country.

  • Buddhist cave fine art, a dancer spins while the orchestra plays. Grotto 46 Left interior wall, second panel. Also called cave 112.

Encounter also [edit]

  • List of World Heritage Sites in Communist china
  • Bezeklik M Buddha Caves
  • Bhadrakalpikasutra
  • Buddhism in Prc
  • Dunhuang Go Transmission
  • International Dunhuang Project
  • Irk Bitig
  • Kizil Caves
  • Kumtura 1000 Buddha Caves
  • Silk Road transmission of Buddhism
  • Stele of Sulaiman
  • Tang functioning arts in Dunhuang
  • Tianlongshan Grottoes

Footnotes [edit]

  1. ^ Murray, Stuart A. P. (2009). The Library: An Illustrated History. Chicago: Skyhorse Publishing. p. 49. ISBN978-1-61608-453-0.
  2. ^ a b c "Mogao Caves". UNESCO. Retrieved 2007-08-05 .
  3. ^ Zhang Wenbin
  4. ^ Makinen, Julie (September 27, 2014) "Getty Establish helps save People's republic of china'south Mogao Grottoes from tourism'south touch on" Los Angeles Times
  5. ^ Chung 1994, pp. 29–30.
  6. ^ Trudy Band; Noelle Watson; Paul Schellinger, eds. (1996). Asia and Oceania: International Dictionary of Historic Places. Routledge. p. 242. ISBN978-1884964046.
  7. ^ Riefe, Jordan (xiii May 2016). "Artifacts from aboriginal Chinese cave temples head w for California exhibit". The Guardian.
  8. ^ Roderick Whitfield; Susan Whitfield; Neville Agnew (2015). Cavern Temples of Mogao at Dunhuang: Fine art History on the Silk Route: 2nd Edition (2nd ed.). Getty Publications. p. 55. ISBN978-1606064450.
  9. ^ McPherson, Naomi (1998). Frescoes and Fables: Mural Stories from the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang. New World Press. p. 14. ISBN978-7800054006.
  10. ^ 敦煌市历史沿革 [Dunhuang Metropolis Historical Development] (in Chinese). XZQH.org. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2018. 莫高镇
  11. ^ 2016年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码：敦煌市 [2016 Statistical Surface area Numbers and Rural-Urban Expanse Numbers: Duhuang Metropolis] (in Simplified Chinese). National Bureau of Statistics of the China. 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2018. 莫高镇
  12. ^ Agnew, Neville; Reed, Marcia; Brawl, Tevvy (2016). Cavern Temples of Dunhuang. p. 87. ISBN978-1606064894.
  13. ^ Rong, Xinjiang (2013). 18 Lectures on Dunhuang. Brill Academic Publishers. p. 427. ISBN978-9004252332.
  14. ^ Fokan Ji 《佛龕記》 Original text: 莫高窟者厥，秦建元二年，有沙门乐僔，戒行清忠，执心恬静。当杖锡林野，行至此山，忽见金光，状有千佛。□□□□□，造窟一龛。
  15. ^ Le Huu Phuoc (2010). Buddhist Compages. Grafikol. ISBN978-0-9844043-0-8.
  16. ^ "Dunhuang – Mogao Caves". Retrieved 2007-07-23 .
  17. ^ Xiuqing Yang (2007). Dunhuang Sees Cracking Changes Over the Years. China Intercontinental Press. ISBN978-seven-5085-0916-7.
  18. ^ a b Tan, Chung (1994). Dunhuang art: through the optics of Duan Wenjie. Indira Gandhi National Middle for the Arts. ISBN81-7017-313-2.
  19. ^ Murray, Stuart (2009). The Library: An Illustrated History. Skyhorse Publishing. p. 49. ISBN978-1602397064.
  20. ^ "Chinese Exploration and Excavations in Chinese Cardinal Asia". International Dunhuang Project. Archived from the original on 2017-06-10. Retrieved 2007-08-07 .
  21. ^ Wenjie Duan (1994). Dunhuang Fine art: Through the Eyes of Duan Wenjie. Abhinav Publications. p. 52. ISBN978-81-7017-313-7.
  22. ^ Mikanowski, Jacob (October 9, 2013). "A Cloak-and-dagger Library, Digitally Excavated". The New Yorker.
  23. ^ Aurel Stein, Serindia vol. II pp. 801–802
  24. ^ Dunhuang shi shi yi shu (Book, 1909) [WorldCat.org]. publisher not identified. Jan 7, 1909. OCLC 52768538 – via Open WorldCat.
  25. ^ a b Peter Hopkirk (2006). Strange Devils on the Silk Road. John Murray. ISBN978-0-7195-6448-2.
  26. ^ Yang, Xiuqing (杨秀清) (2006). 风雨敦煌话沧桑: 历经劫难的莫高窟. China Intercontinental Press. pp. 158–. ISBN978-7-5085-0916-seven.
  27. ^ "From the Harvard Art Museums' collections Eight Men Ferrying a Statue of the Buddha (from Mogao Cave 323, Dunhuang, Gansu province)".
  28. ^ "Viii Men Ferrying a Statue of the Buddha".
  29. ^ Whitfield, Roderick; Susan Whitfield; Neville Agnew (2000). Cave Temples of Dunhuang: Fine art and History on the Silk Route. The British Library. p. 37. ISBN0-7123-4697-X.
  30. ^ "404 找不到頁面 page not found - 澳門特別行政區政府文化局". www.icm.gov.mo. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011.
  31. ^ Tan, Chung (1994). Dunhuang art: through the eyes of Duan Wenjie. Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. p. 223. ISBN81-7017-313-2.
  32. ^ "The International Dunhuang Project". International Dunhuang Projection. Archived from the original on 2011-07-xx. Retrieved 2007-08-05 .
  33. ^ "Dunhuang Research Academy". en.dha.ac.cn.
  34. ^ "The Allure of Dunhuang: The Mogao Grottoes | Silk Road in Rare Books". dsr.nii.ac.jp.
  35. ^ Opening of the subconscious chapel M. Aurel Stein, Ruins of Desert Cathay: Vol 2
  36. ^ Akira, Fujieda, "The Tun-Huan Manuscripts", in Essays on the sources for Chinese history (1973). edited by Donald D. Leslie, Colin Mackerras, and Wang Gungwu. Australian National Academy, ISBN 0-87249-329-6
  37. ^ "The Provenance and Character of the Dunhuang Documents" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 14, 2012.
  38. ^ a b c Rong, Xinjiang (1999). Translated by Valerie Hansen. "The Nature of the Dunhuang Library Cave and the Reasons for its Sealing". Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie. 11: 247–275. doi:x.3406/asie.1999.1155. JSTOR 44167329.
  39. ^ a b Huntington, John C. (1986). "A Notation on Dunhuang Cavern 17, "The Library," or Hong Bian's Reliquary Sleeping room". Ars Orientalis. 16: 93–101. JSTOR 4629343.
  40. ^ Whitfield, Susan (2004). The Silk Route: Merchandise, Travel, War and Faith . British Library, Serindia Publications. ISBN978-1-932476-13-2.
  41. ^ Trudy Ring; Noelle Watson; Paul Schellinger, eds. (1996). Asia and Oceania: International Dictionary of Celebrated Places. Routledge. p. 244. ISBN978-1884964046.
  42. ^ Whitfield, Roderick, Susan Whitfield, and Neville Agnew. "Cave Temples of Dunhuang: Art and History on the Silk Road" (2000). The British Library. ISBN 0-7123-4697-X
  43. ^ Whitfield and Farrer, pp. xiii–fourteen
  44. ^ a b Fan Jinshi (2010). The Caves of Dunhuang. The Dunhuang Academy. p. 124. ISBN978-1-85759-540-6.
  45. ^ a b Yang Xin; Rihard G. Branhart; Nie Chongzheng; James Cahill; Lang Shaojun; Wu Hung (1997). Three Thousands Years of Chinese Paintings . Yale University Printing. ISBN978-0-300-07013-2.
  46. ^ Modern Chinese Religion I (2 vols.): Song-Liao-Jin-Yuan (960-1368 AD). BRILL. 2014-12-04. ISBN978-ninety-04-27164-7.
  47. ^ a b Fan Jinshi (2010). The Caves of Dunhuang. The Dunhuang Academy. ISBN978-1-85759-540-six.
  48. ^ a b "The Art of Dunhuang". Dunhuang Research Academy.
  49. ^ "Wall Paintings at Mogao Grottoes".
  50. ^ Wenjie Duan (1994). Dunhuang Art: Through the Eyes of Duan Wenjie. Abhinav Publications. p. 95. ISBN978-81-7017-313-7.
  51. ^ Fan Jinshi (2010). The Caves of Dunhuang. The Dunhuang Academy. p. 160. ISBN978-1-85759-540-half-dozen.
  52. ^ Wenjie Duan (1994). Dunhuang Art: Through the Eyes of Duan Wenjie. Abhinav Publications. p. 138. ISBN978-81-7017-313-7.
  53. ^ Wenjie Duan (1994). Dunhuang Art: Through the Eyes of Duan Wenjie. Abhinav Publications. p. 163. ISBN978-81-7017-313-seven.
  54. ^ Fan Jinshi (2010). The Caves of Dunhuang. The Dunhuang University. pp. 170–175. ISBN978-1-85759-540-6.
  55. ^ Whitfield and Farrer, pp. 16–17
  56. ^ Whitfield and Farrer, p. 20
  57. ^ Fan Jinshi (2010). The Caves of Dunhuang. The Dunhuang University. p. 235. ISBN978-1-85759-540-half-dozen.
  58. ^ Whitfield and Farrer, p. 21, and numbers 41 and 42
  59. ^ Whitfield and Farrer, pp. 99–107
  60. ^ Jessica Rawson (1992). The British Museum Book of Chinese Art. British Museum Press. ISBN0-7141-1453-7.
  61. ^ Whitfield and Farrer, p. 116

References [edit]

  • Duan Wenjie (editor-in-main), Mural Paintings of the Dunhuang Mogao Grotto (1994) Kenbun-Sha, Inc. / Prc National Publications Import and Consign Corporation, ISBN 4-906351-04-two
  • Fan Jinshi, The Caves of Dunhuang. (2010) The Dunhuang Academy. ISBN 978-1-85759-540-6
  • Hopkirk, Peter. Foreign Devils on the Silk Road: The Search for the Lost Cities and Treasures of Chinese Central Asia (1980). Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 0-87023-435-8
  • Murray, Stuart A.P. "The Library: An Illustrated History" 2012. Print.
  • Rong Xinjiang, translated by Valerie Hansen, "The Nature of the Dunhuang Library Cavern and the Reasons for Its Sealing," Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie (1999): 247–275.
  • Chung, Tan (1994). Dunhuang art: through the eyes of Duan Wenjie. Indira Gandhi National Center for the Art. ISBN81-7017-313-ii.
  • Whitfield, Roderick and Farrer, Anne, Caves of the Grand Buddhas: Chinese Fine art from the Silk Route (1990), British Museum Publications, ISBN 0714114472
  • Whitfield, Roderick, Susan Whitfield, and Neville Agnew. "Cave Temples of Mogao: Art and History on the Silk Route" (2000). Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute. ISBN 0-89236-585-4
  • Wood, Frances, "The Caves of the One thousand Buddhas: Buddhism on the Silk Route" in "The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Eye of Asia" (2002) past Frances Woods. Berkeley: University of California Printing. ISBN 0-520-23786-2
  • Zhang Wenbin, ed. "Dunhuang: A Centennial Commemoration of the Discovery of the Cave Library" (2000). Beijing: Morning Glory Publishers. ISBN vii-5054-0716-3
  • Suemori Kaoru, "Thousand-Buddha images in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes: Religious spaces created by polychromatic patterns" (2020). Kyoto: Hozokan. ISBN 978-4831877314

Farther reading [edit]

  • Stein, M. Aurel. Ruins of Desert Cathay: Personal Narrative of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost Communist china, volume ii (1912). London: Macmillan.
  • Pelliot, Paul Les grottes de Touen-Houang 1920. Les grottes de Touen-Houang : vol.1 Les grottes de Touen-Houang : vol.2 Les grottes de Touen-Houang : vol.3 Les grottes de Touen-Houang : vol.4 Les grottes de Touen-Houang : vol.v Les grottes de Touen-Houang : vol.half-dozen

External links [edit]

  • Dunhuang Academy
  • A large collections of images of murals and other artifacts from the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang
  • International Dunhuang Project
  • Mogao caves video
  • Harvard Art Museums, some murals and a statue removed from Dunhuang by Langdon Warner
  • British Museum The cavern-temples at Dunhuang
  • Wisdom embodied: Chinese Buddhist and Daoist sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a drove catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains textile on the Mogao Caves
  • New Yorker commodity "A Secret Library, Digitally Excavated

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogao_Caves

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