Mo Kao Grotto at Dunhuang

Dunhuang Grottoes, commonly known as Thousand Buddha Cave, are 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. There are more than 50,000 ancient cultural relics found in the Tibetan Sutra Cave in modern times, from which a discipline specializing in the study of Tibetan Sutra Cave classics and Dunhuang art-Dunhuang studies. 196 1 was announced as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. 1987, listed as a world cultural heritage.

In front of the Mogao Grottoes, it faces the Dangquan River, which is1680m long from north to south and 50m high. 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 book Li Kerang Rebuilds the Monument to the Mogao Grottoes in the Tang Dynasty, in 366 BC, two years after the founding of the Qin Dynasty, the monk Lezun passed by this mountain and suddenly saw the golden light shining like Buddha, so he dug the first grotto 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". There is another saying: Buddhists say that it is impossible and impossible to build a Buddha cave because of its infinite merits. Mogao Grottoes means that there is no higher cultivation than building Buddha Grottoes. 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. Mogao Grottoes after An Shi Rebellion

Dunhuang was occupied by Tubo and Guiyi Army successively, and the sculpture 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 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 looks like a mural in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes.

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.