Materials about Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes

Mogao Caves (Dunhuang Caves), commonly known as Thousand Buddha Cave, is known as the most valuable cultural discovery in the 20th century and the "Louvre of the East". It is located in Dunhuang at the west end of the Hexi Corridor and is famous for its exquisite murals. and statues are world-famous. It was built in the pre-Qin period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, and has gone through the construction of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Xixia, Yuan and other dynasties, forming a huge scale. There are currently 735 caves and 45,000 square meters of murals. With 2,415 clay colored sculptures, it is the largest and richest Buddhist art shrine in the world. The Buddhist Scripture Cave discovered in modern times contains more than 50,000 ancient cultural relics. From this, Dunhuang studies, a discipline specializing in the study of the classics in the Scripture Cave and Dunhuang art, was derived. In 1961, it was announced as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. In 1987, it was listed as a world cultural heritage.

Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes is the collective name for Mogao Grottoes and West Thousand Buddha Caves in Dunhuang City, Gansu Province. It is one of the four famous grottoes in my country and is the largest and best preserved in the world. A treasure trove of Buddhist art. The Mogao Grottoes are located 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City and are excavated on the cliff at the eastern foot of Mingsha Mountain. It is about 1,600 meters long from north to south, with five floors arranged up and down. The heights are staggered and row upon row. It is shaped like a beehive and dovecote, which is extremely spectacular. It is the largest, best-preserved, and richest treasure house of classical culture and art in my country, and it is also a world-famous Buddhist art center. In the second year of Jianyuan of the former Qin Dynasty (AD 366), the Venerable Samana Le came to this place and saw thousands of golden paths on the Mingsha Mountain, which looked like thousands of Buddhas. He then had the idea of ????excavating. After that, construction continued, and it became a holy place for Buddhism. , named Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, commonly known as Thousand Buddhas Cave. Although the Mogao Grottoes have been invaded by nature and man-made damage over the long years, they still retain the Mogao Grottoes from the Sixteen Kingdoms

, Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song There are 492 caves from ten dynasties including Xixia, Xixia and Yuan, with more than 45,000 square meters of murals and 2,000 colorful statues. It is the greatest treasure house of Buddhist art in the world. If the murals are arranged, they 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 become extremely interested in Dunhuang art and have continued to conduct research on it, forming a specialized discipline "Dunhuang Studies". The Mogao Grottoes are an art palace that combines ancient architecture, sculptures, and murals. It is especially famous for its colorful murals. The richness and content of Dunhuang murals are unmatched by any religious grottoes, temples or palaces in the world today. Looking around the cave and on the top of the cave, there are paintings of Buddha statues, flying apsaras, musicians, fairies, etc. everywhere. There are paintings of Buddhist scriptures, sutras and Buddhist historical sites, as well as paintings of gods and monsters, portraits of donors, and various exquisite decorative patterns. The sculptures of Mogao Grottoes have long been famous. There are 33-meter-high seated statues and small Bodhisattvas of more than ten centimeters. Most of the caves contain statues. There are so many of them that it can be called a large sculpture gallery. Mogao Grottoes is a great palace of art and an encyclopedia of images. The Mogao Grottoes were among the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units listed by the State Council in 1961; they were included in the World Cultural Heritage Protection Project by UNESCO in 1987, and were awarded the "World Cultural Heritage" certificate in 1991. It was included in the ninth volume of the Chinese version of Jiangsu Education, titled "Mogao Grottoes". It is included in the second volume of the standard experimental textbook for Chinese language for grade 6 in the compulsory education curriculum, entitled "Dunhuang Murals". The evaluation of Mogao Grottoes by foreign tourists is: "Seeing Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes is equivalent to seeing ancient civilizations all over the world." Scenery of Mogao Grottoes

"Mogao Grottoes is The longest, largest and richest gallery in the world. "It is the greatest treasury of surviving Buddhist art in the world." The Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang were first built in 366 AD. During the 1,500 years until the Qing Dynasty, more than 480 caves were built densely on the walls of the three-mile-long Mingsha Mountain, covered with colorful sculptures. Buddha statues and murals based on Buddhist stories. There are more than 2,000 colorful Buddha statues, the largest one is 33 meters high. The technique of the murals is superb and the number is astonishing. If the squares are connected, they can form a gallery more than fifty miles long. In addition, a large number of highly valuable ancient scriptures, documents, picture scrolls, etc. were also found in a closed stone chamber. It is about 25 kilometers from the city to the Mogao Grottoes, and it takes about 25 minutes by car. The Mogao Grottoes were called Thousand Buddha Cave in ancient times. This does not mean that there are one thousand Buddhas or a thousand caves. Buddhist language generally refers to many Buddhas and caves. There are four major grottoes in my country, the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi, the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan, the Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui, Gansu, and the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang. The reason why the reputation of the Mogao Grottoes far exceeds that of other grottoes. The first reason is that the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes were excavated earlier, with a history of 1643 years ago; the second reason is that they are large in scale, with 492 well-preserved caves now densely arranged like a honeycomb, scattered and stretching for more than 1,600 meters; The sculptures and murals are very exquisite, with 2,499 existing painted sculptures and 45,000 square meters of murals. Some people call Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes both a sculpture gallery and a Buddhist art gallery.

According to the inscriptions of Mogao Grottoes, in 366 AD, a monk named Lezun wandered to the foot of the eastern foot of Mingsha Mountain. At this time, the sun was setting in the west, and the setting sun shone on the Sanwei Mountain opposite. He raised his eyes to look, and suddenly he Seeing thousands of golden lights on the top of the mountain, it seemed like millions of Buddhas were shining in the golden light, and it was like the gods of incense and music were dancing in the golden light. Le Zun, who devoted himself to spiritual practice, was moved by the wonders of the desert reflected by the sunset. He did not know that this was The optical reaction of minerals under sunlight is believed to be the appearance of Buddha's light, and this place is the holy land of Buddha. So Le Zun paid homage and determined to worship Buddha and practice here, so he invited craftsmen to dig the first cave on the cliff. Since then, people have successively built more than a thousand caves through the Eastern Jin, Pre-Qin, Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Western Xia, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. After more than ten centuries of hard work, more than a thousand caves have been excavated. Since then, Buddhist disciples, nobles of the palace, merchants and common people, as well as devout men and women, have come here to donate money to open caves. During the history of more than a thousand years from the 4th century to the 14th century, there has been an endless stream of pilgrims and incense.

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The Mogao Grottoes face the Danquan River in front, facing east, with a length of 1,680 meters from north to south and a height of 50 meters. The caves are distributed in high and low places, row after row, with up to five floors above and below. It was first built during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. According to the Tang Dynasty's "Li Kerang Rebuilt the Buddhist Shrine Monument of Mogao Grottoes", in the second year of Jianyuan of the former Qin Dynasty (366), the monk Lezun passed by this mountain and suddenly saw golden light shining like ten thousand Buddhas appearing. So the first cave was dug into the rock wall. After that, Zen Master Fa Liang and others continued to build caves here to practice meditation, which were called "Mogao Cave", which means "high place in the desert". Later generations changed its name to "Mogao Grottoes" because "Mo" and "Mo" were interchangeable. Another saying is: Buddhists say that building Buddha caves has immeasurable merit, but Mo Gao Grottoes means that there is no higher cultivation than building Buddha caves. During the Northern Wei, Western Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasties, the rulers believed in Buddhism, and the construction of grottoes was supported by the princes and nobles, and developed rapidly. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with the prosperity of the Silk Road, the Mogao Grottoes became even more prosperous. At the time of Wu Zetian, there were more than a thousand caves. After the Anshi Rebellion, the interior of Mogao Grottoes

Dunhuang was successively occupied by the Tubo and Guiyi armies, but the statue making activities were not greatly affected. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Western Xia Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, the Mogao Grottoes gradually declined, and only the cave chambers of the previous dynasties were mainly renovated, with very few new ones being built. After the Yuan Dynasty, with the abandonment of the Silk Road, the construction of the Mogao Grottoes also stopped and gradually disappeared from the world's sight. It was not until 40 years after the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1701) that people paid attention to this place again. There are 735 caves in the Mogao Grottoes from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, which are divided into northern and southern areas. The southern area is the main body of the Mogao Grottoes. It is a place where monks engage in religious activities. There are 487 caves, all with murals or statues. There are 248 caves in the North District, of which only 5 have murals or statues. The others are places where monks practice, live, and are buried after death. They include earthen kangs, stoves, flues, niches, lamps and other living facilities. A total of 492 caves in the two areas contain murals and statues, including 45,000 square meters of murals, 2,415 clay sculptures, 5 wooden cliff eaves from the Tang and Song Dynasties, and thousands of lotus pillar stones and floor tiles. [1]

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Architectural art

Among the existing more than 500 caves, 492 have preserved paintings and sculptures, including Zen caves, There are palace caves, pagoda temple caves, dome caves, "shadow caves" and other shapes, as well as some pagodas. The largest cave is more than 40 meters high and 30 meters wide, while the smallest is less than a foot tall. The foreign form of the cave shape, the center tower column, preserved from the early grottoes, reflects that ancient artists digested and absorbed foreign art while accepting it, making it a national form in our country. Many of them are masterpieces of existing ancient buildings.

Colored sculpture art

Colored sculptures are the main body of Dunhuang art, including statues of Buddha, Bodhisattva, disciples, kings, kings, strong men, gods, etc. There are various forms of colored sculptures, including round sculptures, relief sculptures, shadow sculptures, good karma sculptures, etc. The highest is 34.5 meters, and the smallest is only about 2 centimeters (the mud, wood and stone statues of Shanye). With its rich themes and superb craftsmanship, it can be called a museum of Buddhist painted sculptures. Cave 17 contains a portrait of Hexi Dushitong from the Tang Dynasty, and a staff-holding attendant painted behind the statue. The statue and the mural are integrated into one. It is one of the earliest realistic portraits of eminent monks in my country and has high historical and artistic value.

Mural Art

The murals in the grottoes are rich and colorful, including various Buddhist stories, mountain scenery, pavilions and pavilions and other architectural paintings, landscape paintings, flower patterns, flying Buddha statues, and the working people of that time. The various scenes of production are an artistic representation of the folk customs and historical changes of more than 1,500 years from the Sixteenth Kingdom to the Qing Dynasty. It can also be found in a large number of mural arts that ancient artists absorbed the strengths of ancient art from Iran, India, Greece and other countries on the basis of nationalization, which is a symbol of the developed civilization of the Chinese nation. The murals of each dynasty show different painting styles, reflecting the political, economic and cultural conditions of my country's feudal society. They are a glorious chapter in the history of ancient Chinese art and provide precious visual historical materials for the study of ancient Chinese history.

Dunhuang Art

In the 26th year of Guangxu (AD 1900), a hidden chamber was found on the north wall of Cave 16 that contained scriptures and scrolls from the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the Northern Song Dynasty. There are about 50,000 pieces of documents, embroidery and portraits. In addition to Chinese manuscripts, about one-sixth of the documents are written in Li Te, Qilin, Huigu, Tubo, Sanskrit, Tibetan and other ethnic languages.

The contents of the documents include religious documents such as Buddhist and Taoist sects and essays, and secular documents such as literary works, contracts, account books, official documents, etc. The discovery of Dunhuang art is well-known at home and abroad. It has extremely important research value for the supplement and collation of ancient Chinese documents. [2] Buddha statues inside the grottoes

The Mogao Grottoes are a large-scale grotto temple that integrates painting, sculpture and architectural art, with murals as the mainstay and statues as the supplement. Its main grotto shapes include Zen Grotto, Central Tower Grotto, Hall Grotto, Central Altar Grotto, Four Walls and Three Niches Grotto, Statue Grotto, Nirvana Grotto, etc. The size of each cave varies greatly. The largest cave 16 is 268 square meters, and the smallest cave 37 is not more than a foot high. There were originally wooden temples outside the cave, connected by corridors and plank roads, but most of them no longer exist. The Mogao Grottoes murals are painted on the four walls of the cave, on the top of the cave and in the niches. The content is extensive and profound. It mainly covers seven categories of themes: Buddha statues, Buddhist stories, Buddhist historical sites, sutras, gods and monsters, donors, and decorative patterns. In addition, there are many expressions Paintings of various aspects of social life such as hunting, farming, textiles, transportation, war, construction, dance, weddings and funerals at that time. Some of these paintings are powerful and broad, some are bright and magnificent, reflecting the artistic styles and characteristics of different periods. Most of China's paintings before the Five Dynasties have been lost. The Mogao Grottoes murals provide important objects for the study of Chinese art history, and also provide extremely valuable images and patterns for the study of ancient Chinese customs. According to calculations, if these murals were arranged at a height of 2 meters, they could line up a gallery of up to 25 kilometers. The soil on the cliff where the Mogao Grottoes are located is relatively soft and is not suitable for making stone sculptures. Therefore, except for the four giant Buddhas, which are stone clay sculptures, the rest of the statues in the Mogao Grottoes are all wood-bone clay sculptures. The statues are all Buddhist figures, arranged in various combinations such as single statues and group statues. The group statues generally have the Buddha in the center, with disciples, Bodhisattvas, etc. standing on both sides, ranging from three to as many as eleven. The forms of colored sculptures include round sculptures, relief sculptures, shadow sculptures, good karma sculptures, etc. These statues are exquisite, lifelike, imaginative and highly accomplished, and they complement and complement the murals. It is a nine-story canopy, also called the "Beida Statue". It is located in the middle of the cliff cave and is as high as the top of the cliff. It is majestic and majestic. Its wooden structure is earthy red, with high eaves and well-proportioned outlines. There are bells attached to the eaves corners that sound in the wind. Among them is the seated Maitreya Buddha, which is 35.6 meters high and made of stone and clay sculptures. It is the third largest seated Buddha in China after the Leshan Giant Buddha and the Rongxian Giant Buddha. The space accommodating the Buddha is large in the lower part and small in the upper part, and the plane is square. There are two passages outside the building, which not only allow you to view the Buddha up close, but also serve as a source of light for the head and waist of the Buddha. The eaves of this cave existed before the first year of Wende in the Tang Dynasty (888). It had five floors at that time. The Buddha statues in the Mogao Grottoes were rebuilt in the fourth year of Qiande in the Northern Song Dynasty (966) and in the Qing Dynasty

built and changed to 4 floors. It was rebuilt again in 1935 to form its current 9-story shape. On the murals of the Mogao Grottoes, beautiful flying apsaras can be seen everywhere - the city sculpture of Dunhuang is also an image of a flying fairy bouncing the pipa. Feitian is a god who serves Buddha and Emperor Shakti and is good at singing and dancing. On the wall, the flying sky is dancing in the boundless universe. Some hold lotus buds in their hands and soar into the sky; some swoop down from the sky like meteors; some pass through the tall buildings and pavilions like swimming dragons; Then follow the wind and feel leisurely and contented. The painter uses his unique long and winding lines, stretching and harmonious meaning to present people with a beautiful and ethereal imaginary world.

With bright colors and flying lines, in the warm and emotional depictions of the ideal paradise by these northwest painters, we seem to feel their inexhaustible passion for riding wildly on the desert wasteland. Perhaps it is this passion that gave birth to Show the power of imagination as flamboyant as in the mural!