The story of Dunhuang Mogao grottoes

Dunhuang Grottoes Mogao Grottoes are national key cultural relics protection units, commonly known as the Thousand Buddha Cave. It is known as the most valuable cultural discovery in the 20th century and the "Louvre in the East". It is located in Dunhuang at the western end of Hexi Corridor and is famous for its exquisite murals and statues. It was founded in the Sixteen Kingdoms period before Qin Dynasty, and has formed a huge scale after the Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Xixia and Yuan Dynasties. There are 735 caves, 45,000 square meters of murals and 24 15 clay sculptures. It is the largest and richest Buddhist art shrine in the world. In modern times, the Tibetan Sutra Cave was discovered, containing more than 50,000 ancient cultural relics, from which the subject of Dunhuang studies was derived, which specialized in studying the classics of the Tibetan Sutra Cave and Dunhuang art. However, in modern times, the Mogao Grottoes were cheated and stolen, a large number of cultural relics were lost, and its treasures were seriously damaged. 196 1 year, Mogao grottoes was announced as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. 1987, Mogao grottoes was listed as a world cultural heritage. It is one of the four largest grottoes in China. The only remaining scrolls are now on display in the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Mo Kao Grotto at Dunhuang

Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes is the general name of Mogao Grottoes and West Thousand Buddha Cave in Dunhuang City, Gansu Province. It is one of the four largest grottoes in China and the largest and best-preserved Buddhist art treasure house in the world.

The Mogao Grottoes are located 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, and are dug on the cliff at the eastern foot of Mingsha Mountain. The length from north to south is about 1.600 meters, and it is arranged in five layers from top to bottom. The height is strewn at random, row upon row, shaped like a honeycomb pigeon house, spectacular and unusual. It is the largest and richest treasure house of classical culture and art in China, and also a world-famous Buddhist art center. 1987 12 is listed as a world cultural heritage by UNESCO.

In the second year of Fujian Jianyuan before Qin Dynasty (AD 366), a shaman believer came here, and when he saw the golden light on Mingsha Mountain and the Thousand Buddha Cave, he sprouted the heart of digging, and later became a Buddhist holy place, named Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, commonly known as Thousand Buddha Cave.

Although the Mogao Grottoes have been invaded by nature and destroyed by human beings in the long years, there are still 492 caves in the Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Xixia and Yuan Dynasties, with more than 45,000 square meters of murals and more than 2,000 colored sculptures, making it the largest treasure house of Buddhist art in the world. If the murals are arranged, it can stretch for more than 30 kilometers, making it the longest, largest and richest gallery in the world. In recent decades, scholars at home and abroad have taken great interest in Dunhuang art and have been studying it continuously, forming a special discipline "Dunhuang Studies".

Mogao Grottoes is an art hall integrating ancient buildings, sculptures and murals, especially colorful murals. The capacity and content of Dunhuang murals are incomparable to any religious grottoes, temples and palaces in the world today. Looking around the cave and the ceiling, Buddha statues, flying clouds, geisha music, fairies and so on are painted everywhere. There are Buddhist story paintings, classic paintings, Buddhist historical paintings, miraculous paintings, portraits of patrons, and various exquisite decorative patterns. The sculptures in Mogao Grottoes have long enjoyed a good reputation. There are sitting statues as high as 33 meters, and there are also small bodhisattvas of more than ten centimeters. Statues are preserved in most caves, which is a large sculpture museum.

Mogao Grottoes is a great art palace and an encyclopedia of images. Mogao Grottoes 196 1 were listed as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council. 1987 was listed as a world cultural heritage protection project by UNESCO, and was awarded the "World Cultural Heritage" certificate on 199 1.

Foreign tourists' evaluation of Mogao Grottoes is:

"Seeing the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang is equivalent to seeing the ancient civilizations all over the world."

"The Mogao Grottoes are the longest, largest and richest galleries in the world."

It is the greatest treasure house of existing Buddhist art in the world.

Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes were built in 366 AD. During the Qing Dynasty 1500, more than 480 caves were built on the upper wall of the three-mile Mingsha Mountain, covered with colorful Buddha statues and murals with Buddhist stories. There are more than 2,000 colorful Buddha statues, the largest of which is 33 meters high. The murals are superb in skill and amazing in number. If one side is connected, it can be arranged as a gallery of more than 50 Li Long. In addition, a large number of ancient scrolls, documents, scrolls and so on with high value were found in a closed stone room.

It is about 25 kilometers from downtown to Mogao Grottoes, and it takes about 25 minutes by car. The Mogao grottoes valley is called a thousand Buddha caves, which does not mean that there are a thousand buddhas and a thousand caves. Buddhist language generally refers to many buddhas and caves. There are four grottoes in China, Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi, Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan, Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui, Gansu and Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang. The fame of Mogao Grottoes far exceeds that of other grottoes. The first reason is that Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes were dug earlier, with a history of 1643 years. Second, there are 492 large-scale and well-preserved caves, which are as dense as honeycombs and strewn at random, stretching for more than 1600 meters; Third, the sculptures and murals are exquisite. There are 2,499 colored sculptures and 45,000 square meters of murals. Some people say that Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes is not only a large sculpture museum, but also a Buddhist art gallery.

According to the inscription in Mogao Grottoes, in 366 AD, a monk named Le Zun swam to the east foot of Mingsha Mountain. At this time, the sun is setting, and the sun is shining on three dangerous mountains opposite him. He looked up and saw the golden light shining on the top of the mountain, as if a thousand buddhas were flashing in the golden light, and as if the incense gods were dancing in the golden light. Le Zun, who devoted himself to practice, was moved by this wonderful scene of Buddha's light and shadow. He thinks this is the manifestation of Buddha's light. So Le Zun bowed his head and made up his mind to worship Buddha and practice here, so he invited craftsmen to dig the first hole on the cliff. Since then, Buddhist disciples, archduke nobles, merchants and people, good men and women have come here to donate money to open a hole. From the 4th century to14th century 1000 years of history, there was an endless stream of worshippers and incense.

[Edit this paragraph] Overview of evolution

The Mogao Grottoes is located on the cliff at the eastern foot of Mingsha Mountain, 25km southeast of Dunhuang City, Gansu Province, China, facing east in front of Dangquan River, with a length of1680m from north to south and a height of 50m. The caves are strewn at random, row upon row, up and down to five floors. It was built in the Sixteen Kingdoms period. According to the Tang Dynasty's "Li Kerang Rebuilding the Monument of Mogao Grottoes", in 366, two years before the founding of the Qin Dynasty, monks passed this mountain and suddenly saw the golden light shining like a million buddhas, so they dug the first cave on the rock wall. Since then, Zen master Fa Liang and others have continued to build caves here to practice, which are called "desert grottoes", meaning "high places in the desert". Later generations renamed it "Mogao Grottoes" because of the common "desert" and "Mo". During the Northern Wei, Western Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasties, the rulers believed in Buddhism, and the construction of grottoes was supported by princes and nobles, which developed rapidly. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with the prosperity of the Silk Road, the Mogao Grottoes flourished, and there were more than a thousand caves in Wu Zetian. After the Anshi Rebellion, Dunhuang was occupied by Tubo and Guiyi Army successively, but the carving activities were not greatly affected. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Xixia and Yuan Dynasty, the Mogao Grottoes gradually declined, and only the caves of the previous dynasties were rebuilt, with few new buildings. After the Yuan Dynasty, with the abandonment of the Silk Road, the construction of the Mogao Grottoes stopped and gradually disappeared into the world's field of vision. It was not until the fortieth year of Kangxi in Qing Dynasty (170 1) that people paid attention to it again.

There are 735 caves in the Mogao Grottoes from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, which are divided into north and south areas. The Southern District is the main body of the Mogao Grottoes, where monks engage in religious activities. There are 487 caves with murals or statues. There are 248 caves in the North District, of which only five have murals or statues, and the rest are places where monks practice, live and bury after death, with living facilities such as heatable adobe sleeping platform, stove kang, flue, niche and desk lamp. There are murals and statues in 492 caves in the two districts, including 45,000 square meters of murals, 24 15 clay sculptures, 5 wooden cornices in Tang and Song Dynasties, and thousands of lotus columns and floor tiles.

◎ World Heritage Committee evaluation

The Mogao Grottoes are located in the strategic location of the Silk Road. It is not only a transit point for East-West trade, but also a meeting point of religion, culture and knowledge. The 492 small grottoes and grotto temples in the Mogao Grottoes are famous for their statues and murals, showing the Buddhist art that has lasted for thousands of years.

◎ Overview The Mogao Grottoes are also called "Thousand Buddha Cave", and "Thousand" means many things. It is located on the cliff of Mingsha Mountain, 25km southeast of Dunhuang City, Gansu Province in the west of China. There is plenty of sunshine, dry and little rain, four distinct seasons and a large temperature difference between day and night. The grottoes are more than 600 meters long from north to south/kloc-0, with five floors up and down and the highest point of 50 meters. There are 492 existing caves, including caves 10, murals of 45,000 square meters, colored sculptures of 24 15, and more than 4,000 flying statues. The Mogao Grottoes are large in scale, rich in content and have a long history. Together with Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi and Longmen Grottoes in Henan, it is also called "Three Treasures of Grottoes Art" in China. The Mogao Grottoes were first excavated in the second year of Jianyuan in the former Qin Dynasty (AD 366) and basically ended in the Yuan Dynasty (AD 127 1 ~ 1368). During this period, after nearly a thousand years of continuous excavation, the Mogao Grottoes have become the largest and richest grottoes in the world, integrating architecture, stone carving, mural painting and colored plastic arts in various periods. These art treasures not only reflect the religious and social life in medieval China, but also show the outstanding wisdom and extraordinary achievements of the working people of all ages. 1900, a "sutra-storing cave" was accidentally discovered in the Mogao grottoes, which contained 50,000 to 60,000 pieces of cultural relics from the 4th century to14th century. This is an important archaeological discovery in China in the early 20th century, which shocked the world. Since then, the famous "Dunhuang studies" have developed. After nearly a hundred years of research, Dunhuang studies not only made remarkable achievements in academic, artistic and cultural aspects, but also showed the world the beauty of Dunhuang art, the richness of cultural connotation and the wisdom of working people in ancient China.

Cultural Heritage Dunhuang Grottoes Art is a three-dimensional art integrating architecture, sculpture and painting. On the basis of inheriting the fine traditions of the Han nationality in the Central Plains and the brotherly nationalities in the Western Regions, ancient artists absorbed and melted foreign expressions, and developed them into Buddhist works of art with local characteristics in Dunhuang, China, which provided valuable materials for the study of ancient China's politics, economy, culture, religion, ethnic relations and friendly exchanges between China and foreign countries, and were the cultural treasures and spiritual wealth of mankind.

There are 492 paintings and colored sculptures in more than 500 caves in architectural art, including Zen caves, palace caves, pagoda caves, dome caves, "shadow caves" and some pagodas. The largest grottoes are more than 40 meters high and 30 meters wide, and the smallest grottoes are less than one foot high. The Central Tower is a foreign grotto form preserved in the early days, which reflects that ancient artists assimilated foreign art while accepting it, making it a national form in China. Many of them are masterpieces of existing ancient buildings.

Colored Sculpture Art Colored Sculpture is the main body of Dunhuang art, including Buddha statue, Bodhisattva statue, disciple statue, heavenly king, King Kong, Lux, God and so on. Colorful plastic forms include round plastic, floating plastic, shadow plastic and good plastic. The maximum height is 34.5 meters, and the minimum is only 2 cm (Shan Ye clay sculpture and wood carving), which is rich in themes and exquisite in craftsmanship, and can be called the Buddhist colored sculpture museum. The portrait sculpture in Cave 17 in the Tang Dynasty is abhorrent to the unification of Hexi Capital, and the statue is painted with staff near the waiter, which integrates the statue with the mural. It is one of the earliest realistic portraits of eminent monks in China and has high historical and artistic value.

Mural art The grotto murals are rich and colorful, and various Buddhist stories, landscapes, pavilions and other architectural paintings, landscape paintings, flower patterns, flying Buddha statues and various scenes made by working people at that time are artistic representations of folk customs and historical changes from the Sixteen Kingdoms to the Qing Dynasty 1500 years. In a large number of mural art, it can also be found that ancient artists absorbed the advantages of ancient art in Iran, India, Greece and other countries on the basis of nationalization, which is a symbol of the developed civilization of the Chinese nation. Murals in different dynasties showed different painting styles, which reflected the political, economic and cultural conditions of China's feudal society. They were a glorious chapter in the ancient art history of China and provided precious graphic historical materials for studying the ancient history of China.

In the 26th year of Guangxu reign of Dunhuang Art (A.D. 1900), about 50,000 scriptures, documents, embroideries, portraits, etc. from Wei Jin to Northern Song Dynasty were found in the northern wall of Cave 16. In addition to written documents in Chinese, written documents in Park Jung Su, Baltic, Huigu, Tubo, Sanskrit, Tibetan and other national languages account for about one-sixth. The contents of documents include religious documents, literary works, contracts, account books, official documents and letters. The discovery of Dunhuang art is famous at home and abroad, and it is of great research value to supplement and sort out the ancient documents in China.

[Edit this paragraph] Artistic features

Mogao Grottoes is a large-scale cave temple with murals as the main part and statues as the auxiliary part, which integrates painting, sculpture and architectural art. Its grottoes mainly include Zen Grottoes, Central Pagoda Grottoes, Palace Grottoes, Central Buddhist Grottoes, Four-walled Three-niche Grottoes, Elephant Grottoes and Nirvana Grottoes. The size of caves varies greatly, with the largest cave 16 reaching 268 square meters and the smallest cave 37 less than one foot high. The original wooden temples outside the grottoes were connected by cloisters and plank roads, but many of them no longer exist.

The murals of Mogao Grottoes are painted on the walls, roofs and shrines of the caves, with profound contents, including seven themes, such as Buddha statues, Buddhist stories, Buddhist historical sites, changes, immortals, patrons and decorative patterns. In addition, there are many paintings that show all aspects of social life at that time, such as hunting, farming, textiles, transportation, war, architecture, dancing, weddings and funerals. Some of these paintings are magnificent and magnificent, reflecting the artistic styles and characteristics of different periods. Most of China's paintings before the Five Dynasties have been lost. The murals in the Mogao Grottoes provide important objects for studying the art history of China and extremely valuable images and patterns for studying the ancient customs of China. According to calculation, if these murals are arranged at a height of 2 meters, they can be arranged for up to 25 kilometers.

The cliff where the Mogao Grottoes are located has soft soil and is not suitable for making stone carvings. Therefore, the statues of Mogao Grottoes are all made of wooden bones except four giant buddhas made of stone tires. Statues are Buddhist gods and Buddhists, and there are many combinations such as single portrait and collective portrait. Group images are generally centered on the Buddha, with disciples and bodhisattvas standing on both sides, ranging from 3 to 1 1. Color plastic forms include round plastic, floating plastic, shadow plastic and fine plastic. These statues are exquisite, vivid, imaginative and highly accomplished, which complement each other with murals.

It is a nine-story canopy, also known as the "North Elephant", which is in the middle of the cliff cave, as high as the cliff top and magnificent. Its wood structure is red, the eaves are high, the outline is patchy, and the eaves ring with the wind. In the meantime, there is a sitting statue of Maitreya Buddha, 35.6 meters high, painted with stone tires and clay sculptures. It is the third largest sitting Buddha in China after Leshan Giant Buddha and Rongxian Giant Buddha. The space for accommodating the giant Buddha is large at the bottom and small at the top, and the plane is square. There are two passages outside the building, which can not only be used to watch the nearby giant Buddha, but also be used as the light source for the head and waist of the giant Buddha. The eaves of this cave existed before the first year of Tang Wende (888), when it was five stories. In the fourth year of Gande in the Northern Song Dynasty (966) and rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty, it was changed to four floors. 1935 was rebuilt again, forming the current 9-story model.

On the murals of Mogao Grottoes, beautiful flying can be seen everywhere-the urban sculpture of Dunhuang is also the image of a flying fairy playing the lute. Tian Fei is a god who serves Buddha and Indra, and he can sing and dance well. On the wall, flying in the vast universe, some holding lotus buds, straight into the sky; Some swooped down from the air like meteors; Some pass through tall buildings, just like Youlong; Others roll with the wind, carefree. The painter presents a beautiful and ethereal imaginary world to people with his unique tortuous long line and harmonious interest.

Gorgeous colors and flying lines, in these northwest painters' passionate and emotional descriptions of the ideal heaven, we seem to feel their inexhaustible passion for galloping in the desert wasteland. Perhaps it is this passion that breeds the imagination advertised in murals!

[Edit this paragraph] Style evolution

There are 492 grottoes with murals and carvings in Mogao Grottoes, which can be roughly divided into four periods: Northern Dynasty, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Five Dynasties and Two Song Dynasties, Xixia and Yuan Dynasty.

There were 36 caves excavated in the Northern Dynasties, among which the earliest caves 268, 272 and 275 were probably built in Beiliang. Grottoes mainly include Zen Grottoes, Central Pagoda Grottoes and Palace Grottoes. There are two kinds of colored sculptures: round sculptures and shadow sculptures. The contents of murals include Buddha statues, Buddhist stories, monsters and patrons. Shadow sculptures in this period were mainly flying in the sky, offering sacrifices to bodhisattvas and thousands of buddhas. At first, most of the round carvings were a combination of one Buddha and two bodhisattvas, and later two disciples were added. The characters in the statue are vigorous, dignified and quiet, with simple and heavy style. Early murals were based on earth red, and then painted with green and white. The colors are warm and heavy, the lines are simple and vigorous, and the figures are tall and straight, which has the characteristics of Buddhism in the western regions. After the Western Wei Dynasty, the background color was mostly white, the tone tended to be elegant, the style was free and easy, and it had the wind of the Central Plains. Typical caves are Cave 249, Cave 259, Cave 285 and Cave 428. For example, in Cave 243, the Buddhist Muny of the Northern Wei Dynasty sits upright, wears an Indian cassock, and has a flat bun on his head, retaining the Gandhara style.

The Sui and Tang Dynasties were the heyday of the development of Mogao Grottoes, with more than 300 existing caves. Zen Grottoes and Central Pagoda Grottoes gradually disappeared during this period, but at the same time, a large number of forms appeared, such as palace grottoes, Buddhist altar grottoes, four-walled three-niche grottoes and elephant grottoes, among which the number of palace grottoes was the largest. Statues are all round plastic, with rich and full shapes and more original styles, and there are tall statues that were not available in the previous generation. Most of the group images consist of seven or nine statues. There were mainly one Buddha, two disciples, two bodhisattvas or four bodhisattvas in the Sui Dynasty. In the Tang dynasty, there were mainly one Buddha, two disciples, two bodhisattvas and two heavenly kings, and some of them added two Lu. The murals of Mogao Grottoes in this period have rich themes, magnificent scenes and magnificent colors, and their artistic skills have reached an unprecedented level. Such as the style of the threatened bodhisattva statue in Cave 79 made in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. Bare upper body, half kneeling posture. The two pieces of spiral bun folded on the head are the hairstyles of ordinary people in the Tang Dynasty. The muscles of the face and limbs are round, pastel, fair-skinned, and the expression is easy-going and gentle. Although there is an Indian red hemorrhoid on his forehead, it is more like a real person in life. And in Cave 159, it is also a mighty bodhisattva. One is naked, tying a knot obliquely, with his right hand raised, his left hand drooping, his head slightly tilted to the right, his upper body slightly tilted to the left, and his crotch protruding to the right, which not only maintained balance, but also showed a female figure. The other bodhisattva is fully clothed, and the inner and outer layers are clearly displayed, revealing the body structure clearly. The clothes have smooth lines, bright colors, coordinated configuration, slender figure and appropriate proportion, which makes people feel that they are two "lifelike statues" and full of vitality.

There were more than 100 caves in the Five Dynasties and the Song Dynasty, most of which were reconstructed and redrawn in the previous dynasty, and their shapes were mainly Buddhist temples and temples. From the late Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties, the Zhang family and Cao Shi family who ruled Dunhuang believed in Buddhism and made great contributions to the Mogao Grottoes. Therefore, a large number of portraits of patrons appeared at this stage, and the content was rich. Statues and murals all followed the style of the late Tang Dynasty, but in the later period, their forms became more formulaic and the level of artistic skills declined. The typical grottoes in this period are 6 1 grottoes and 98 grottoes, among which the largest mural in Mogao grottoes, Wutai Mountain Map 6 1 grottoes, is 5m high and 13.5m long, depicting the mountains and rivers, temples, pavilions and pavilions around Wutai Mountain in Shanxi, with great momentum.

There are 85 caves in Xixia and Yuan Dynasty in Mogao Grottoes. There are 77 caves in Xixia, most of which are caves of the previous dynasty. Cave shapes and mural carvings basically follow the style of the previous dynasty. The image of Uighur king appeared in some caves in the middle period of Xixia, which may be related to Uighur. In the late Xixia period, Tibetan tantric content appeared in murals. There were only eight caves in the Yuan Dynasty, all of which were newly excavated, with the shape of a square cave and a circular altar. Murals and sculptures are basically related to Tibetan tantra. Typical caves are Cave 3, Cave 6 1 and Cave 465.

[Edit this paragraph] Main buildings

Caves: There are 735 caves with murals, painted sculptures and other cultural relics.

Nine floors: Cave 96 had only four floors when it was first built. The last five floors were built later, and there is a giant Buddha in it, which is the "largest indoor giant Buddha" in the world.

Tibetan Sutra Cave Exhibition Hall: displays cultural relics related to Tibetan Sutra Cave.

Exhibition Hall of Mogao Grottoes: Located opposite the ticket office, the cultural relics exported from Mogao Grottoes and several caves rebuilt by experts are displayed at the ratio of 1: 1.

Tibetan Sutra Cave: 1900, in order to transform some abandoned caves into Taoist temples, the Taoist king who lived in Mogao Grottoes carried out a large-scale cleaning. He happened to find a small door on the wall of the tunnel on the north side when he was cleaning the mud for Cave 16 (now numbered). After it was opened, a square cave room (now cave 17) appeared, which spanned from the 4th century to 1 1 century (that is, sixteen countries to sixteen countries).

The inner wall of the Tibetan Sutra Cave is painted with images of bodhi trees and monks and nuns. Among them, there is a Zen-bed-style low altar with a monk sitting on it and a stone tablet, which seems unfinished. Judging from the documents unearthed in the cave, the latest one was written in the Northern Song Dynasty without Xixia characters. Therefore, it can be inferred that the Tibetan Sutra Cave was closed by the monks of Mogao Grottoes in the 20th century to avoid the Xixia army. This is a party, a phone call. It deifies human nature and puts it into modeling, which triggers human nature. Therefore, it has become a colorful dream, a sacred precipitation and a permanent yearning in the hearts of the nation.

This is a carnival, a release. In its embrace, God and man are integrated and soar in time and space, which makes people walk into the neon of myth, fable and universal consciousness. Here, carnival is the order of nature, release is the personality of nature, and the kingdom of art is the palace of freedom.