Mogao Caves

Mogao Caves

Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list)

Country China

Type Cultural

Criteria i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi

Reference 440

(http://whc.unesco.org

/en/list/440)

UNESCO region (http://whc.unesco.org

/en/list/?search=&search_by_country=&

type=&media=&region=&order=region)

Asia-Pacific

Inscription history

Inscription 1987 (11th Session)

Location in China

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Mogao CavesFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Mogao Caves or Mogao

Grottoes (Chinese: ; pinyin:Mgo k), also known as the Caves

of the Thousand Buddhas

(Chinese: ; pinyin: qin fdng), form a system of 492 temples

25 km (16 mi) southeast of the center

of Dunhuang, an oasis strategically

located at a religious and cultural

crossroads on the Silk Road, in

Gansu province, China. The caves

may also be known as the

Dunhuang Caves, however, this

term is also used to include other

Buddhist cave sites in the Dunhuang

area, such as the Western Thousand

Buddha Caves, and the Yulin Caves

farther away. The caves contain

some of the finest examples of

Buddhist art spanning a period of

1,000 years.[1]

The first caves were

dug out in 366 CE as places of

Buddhist meditation and worship.[2]

The Mogao Caves are the best

known of the Chinese Buddhist

grottoes and, along with Longmen

Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes, are

one of the three famous ancient

Buddhist sculptural sites of China.

An important cache of documents

was discovered in 1900 in the

so-called "Library Cave," which had

been walled-up in the 11th century.

The content of the library was

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 material. The

caves themselves are now a popular

tourist destination, with a number

open for visiting.

Contents

Coordinates: 400214N 944815E

Mogao Caves - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogao_Caves

1 of 14 2013-09-23 9:56

Details of painting of the meeting

of Manjusri and Vimalakirti. Cave

159.

1 History

2 Discovery and revival

3 The Library Cave

3.1 Dunhuang manuscripts

4 Art

4.1 Architecture

4.2 Murals

4.3 Sculptures

4.4 Paintings on silk and paper

4.5 Printed images

4.6 Textiles

5 Caves

6 Gallery

7 See also

8 Footnotes

9 References

10 External links

History

Dunhuang was established as a frontier garrison outpost by

the Han Dynasty Emperor Wudi to protect against the Xiongnu

in 111 BCE. It also became an important gateway to the West,

a centre of commerce along the Silk Road, as well as a

meeting place of various people and religions such as

Buddhism.

The construction of the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang is

generally taken to have begun sometime in the fourth century

CE. According to a book written during the reign of Tang

Empress Wu, Fokan Ji ( , An Account of BuddhistShrines) by Li Junxiu ( ), a Buddhist monk named LZn ( , which may also be pronounced Yuezun) had a

vision of a thousand Buddhas bathed in golden light at the site

in 366 CE, inspiring him to build a cave here.[3]

The story is

also found in other sources, such as in inscriptions on a stele

in cave 332, an earlier date of 353 CE however was given in

another document, Shazhou Tujing ( , Geography of

Shazhou).[4]

He was later joined by a second monk Faliang (

), and the site gradually grew, by the time of the Northern

Liang a small community of monks had formed at the site.

Members of the ruling family of Northern Wei and Northern

Zhou constructed many caves here, and it flourished in the short-lived Sui Dynasty. By the Tang

Dynasty, the number of caves had reached over a thousand.[5]

The caves initially served only as a place of meditation for hermit monks, but developed to serve

the monasteries that sprung up nearby in the early periods, and by the Sui and Tang dynasties,

Mogao Caves had become a place of worship and pilgrimage for the public.[6]

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 served as aids to


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Bodhisattva leading a lady donor

towards the Pure Lands. Painting

on silk (Library Cave), Late Tang.

meditation, as visual representations of the quest for enlightenment, as mnemonic devices, and as

teaching tools to inform those illiterate about Buddhist beliefs and stories. The major caves were

sponsored by patrons such as important clergy, local ruling elite, foreign dignitaries, as well as

Chinese emperors. Other caves may be funded by 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 large statues of Buddha at the site, the largest one constructed in 695 following

an edict a year earlier by Tang Empress Wu Zetian to build giant statues across the country.[7]

The

site escaped the persecution of Buddhists ordered by Emperor Wuzong in 845 as it was then

under Tibetan control. As a frontier town, Dunhuang had been occupied at various 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. Islam had conquered much of

Central Asia, and the Silk Road declined in importance when trading via sea-routes began to

dominate Chinese trade 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 world. Most of the Mogao caves were abandoned, the site however was still a place of

pilgrimage and used as a place of worship by local people at the beginning of the twentieth

century when there was renewed interest in the site.

Discovery and revival

During late nineteenth century and early twentieth century,

Western explorers began to show interest in the ancient Silk

Road and the lost cities of Central Asia, and those who passed

through Dunhuang noted the murals and artifacts such as the

Stele of Sulaiman at Mogao. The biggest discovery however

came from a Chinese Taoist named Wang Yuanlu who

appointed himself guardian of some of these temples around

the turn of the century.

Some of the caves had by then been blocked by sand, and

Wang set about clearing away the sand and made an attempt

at repairing the site. In one such cave, on 25 June 1900, Wang

discovered a walled up area behind one side of a corridor

leading to a main cave.[8][9]

Behind the wall was a small cave

stuffed with an enormous hoard of manuscripts. In the next few

years, Wang took some manuscripts to show to various

officials who expressed varying level of interest, but in 1904

Wang re-sealed the cave following an order by the governor of

Gansu.

Words of Wang's discovery drew the attention of a joint

British/Indian group led by Hungarian archaeologist Aurel

Stein who was on an archaeological expedition in the area in

1907.[10]

Stein negotiated with Wang to allow him to remove a significant number of manuscripts

as well as the finest paintings and textiles for a fee. He was followed by a French expedition under

Paul Pelliot who acquired many thousands of items in 1908, and then by a Japanese expedition

under Otani Kozui in 1911 and a Russian expedition 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" ( ).[11]


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The travel of Zhang Qian to the West,

mural from cave 323, 618-712 AD. Detail

view.

Stein and Pelliot provoked much interest in the West about the Dunhuang Caves, however, there

were initially little interest in official circles in China. Concerned that the remaining manuscripts

might be 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 then stolen. Some of the caves were

damaged when the caves were used by the local authority in 1921 to house Russian soldiers

fleeing the civil war following the Russian Revolution. In 1924, American explorer Langdon Warner

removed a number of murals as well as a statue from some of the caves.[12]

The situation improved in 1941, when the painter

Zhang Daqian arrived at the caves with a small team of

assistants and stayed for two and a half years to repair

and copy the murals. He then exhibited and published

the copies of the murals, which helped to publicize and

give much prominence to the art of Dunhuang within

China.[13]

Historian Xiang Da then persuaded Yu

Youren, a prominent member of the Kuomintang

(Chinese Nationalist Party), to set up an institution,

Research Institute of Dunhuang Art (which later

became the Dunhuang Academy), at Mogao in 1944 to

look after the site and its contents. In 1956, the first

Premier of the People's 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 declared to be a specially

protected historical monument by the State Council, and large-scale renovation work at Mogao

began soon afterwards. The site escaped the widespread damage caused during the Cultural

Revolution.[7]

Today, the site is the subject of an ongoing archaeological project.[14]

The Mogao Caves became

one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1987.[1]

From 1988 to 1995 a further 248 caves were

discovered to the North of the 487 caves known since the early 1900s.[15]

The Library Cave

The cave no. 17 discovered by Wang Yuanlu came to be known as the Library Cave. It is sited off

the entrance leading to cave no.16, and was originally used as a memorial cave for a local monk

Hongbian on his death in 862 CE. Hongbian, from a wealthy Wu family, was responsible for the

construction of cave 16, and the Library Cave may have been used as 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. Large number of documents dating from

406 to 1002 CE were found in the cave, heaped up in closely packed layers of bundles of scrolls.

The Library Cave also contained textiles such as banners, numerous damaged figurines of

Buddhas, and other Buddhist paraphernalia. According to Stein who was the first to describe the

cave in its original state:[16]

Heaped up in layers, but without any order, there appeared in the dim light of the

priest's little lamp a solid mass of manuscript bundles rising to a height of nearly ten

feet, and filling, as subsequent measurement showed, close on 500 cubic feet. The

area left clear within the room was just sufficient for two people to stand in.

Aurel Stein, Ruins of Desert Cathay: Vol. II


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Abbot Wang Yuanlu in 1900.

Paul Pelliot examining

manuscripts in the Library Cave,

1908

The Library Cave was walled off sometime early in the 11th

century. A number of theories have been proposed as the

reason for sealing the caves. Stein first proposed that the cave

had become a waste repository for venerable, damaged and

used manuscripts and hallowed paraphernalia and then sealed

perhaps when the place came under threat. Following this

interpretation some suggested that the handwritten

manuscripts of the Tripitaka became obsolete when printing

became widespread, the older manuscripts were therefore

stored away.[17]

Another suggestion is that the cave was

simply used as a book storehouse for documents which

accumulated over a century and a half, then sealed up when it

became full.[18]

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 absence of documents from Xi Xia

and the disordered state Pelliot found the room in (perhaps a

misinterpretation because the room was disturbed by Stein the

year before). Another 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 that the

monks of a nearby monastery heard about the fall of the

Buddhist kingdom of Khotan to Karakhanids invaders from

Kashgar in 1006 and the destruction it caused, so they sealed

their library to avoid them being destroyed.[19]

The latest date

recorded in the documents found in the cave is generally

accepted to be 1002, and although other dates have been

suggested, the cave was likely to have been sealed not long

after that date.

Dunhuang manuscripts

Main article: Dunhuang manuscripts

The manuscripts from the Library Cave date from fifth century

until early eleventh century when it was sealed. Up to 50,000

manuscripts may have been kept there, one of the greatest

treasure troves of ancient documents found. While most of

them are in Chinese, a large number of documents are in

various other languages such as Tibetan, Uigur, Sanskrit, and

Sogdian, including the then little-known Khotanese. They may be old hemp paper scrolls in

Chinese and many other languages, Tibetan pothis, and paintings on hemp, silk or paper. The

subject matter of the great 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, Nestorian 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 religious and secular matters of Northern China as well as other Central Asian


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Mural of Avalokitevara

(Guanyin), Worshipping

Bodhisattvas and Mendicant in

cave 57. Figures originally

adorned with gold leaf. Early

Tang.

kingdoms from the early periods, through to Tang and early Song Dynasty.[20]

The manuscripts

found in the Library Cave include the earliest dated printed book, the Diamond Sutra from 868 CE

which was first translated from Sanskrit into Chinese in the fourth century. These scrolls also

include manuscripts that ranged from the Nestorian Jesus Sutras to Dunhuang Go Manual and

ancient music scores, as well as the image of the Chinese astronomy Dunhuang map. These

scrolls chronicle the development of Buddhism in China, record the political and cultural life of the

time, as well as providing documents of mundane secular matters that give 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's

acquisition was split between Britain and India because his expedition was funded by both

countries. Stein had the first pick and he was able to collect around 7,000 complete manuscripts

and 6,000 fragments for which he paid 130, although these include many duplicate copies of the

Diamond and Lotus Sutras. Pelliot took almost 10,000 documents for the equivalent of 90, but

unlike Stein, Pelliot was a trained sinologist literate in Chinese, and he was allowed to examine

the manuscripts freely, he was therefore able to pick a better selection 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 type of palimpsest whereby

papers were reused and Buddhist texts were written on the opposite side of the paper. Hundreds

more of the manuscripts were sold by Wang to Otani Kozui and Sergei Oldenburg. Efforts are now

underway to reconstitute the Library Cave manuscripts digitally, and they are now available as part

of International Dunhuang Project.

Art

The art of Dunhuang covers more than ten major genres, such

as architecture, stucco sculpture, wall paintings, silk paintings,

calligraphy, woodblock printing, embroidery, literature, music

and dance, and popular entertainment.[21]

Architecture

The caves are examples of rock-cut architecture, but unlike

Longmen Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes, the local rock is a

rather soft gravel conglomerate that is not suitable for either

sculpture or elaborate architectural details.[22]

Many of the

early caves developed earlier Buddhist rock-cut chaitya styles

seen in places such as the Ajanta Caves in India, with a

square-sectioned central column, with sculpture in niches,

representing the stupa round which worshippers may

circumambulate (parikrama) and gain 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 have 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

in.

Many of the caves originally had wooden porches or fore-temples built out from the cliff, but most


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Detail of mural commemorating

the victory of General Zhang

Yichao over the Tibetans. Cave

156, Late Tang Dynasty.

of these have decayed or been lost in other ways, with only five remaining, the two earliest of

which are rare surviving examples of Song dynasty wooden architecture.

Murals

The most fully painted caves have painting 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 also brightly painted. The murals on

the caves date from a period of over a thousand years, from

the 5th to the 14th century; many were repainted at later points

within the period. The murals are extensive, covering an area

of 490,000 square feet (45,000 m). They are valued for the

scale and richness of content as well as their artistry. Buddhist

subjects are most common, however some have traditional

mythical subjects and portraits of patrons. These murals

document the changing styles of Buddhist art in China for

nearly a thousand years. The artistry of the murals reached its

apogee during the Tang period, and the quality of the work

dropped after the tenth century.

Early murals showed a strong Indian and Central Asian

influence in the painting techniques used, the composition and

style of the paintings as well as costumes worn by the figures,

but a distinct Dunhuang style began to emerge during

Northern Wei Dynasty.[23]

Motifs of Chinese, Central Asian and

Indian origin may be found in a single cave, and Chinese

elements increased during the Western Wei period.[23]

A common motif in many caves is the areas entirely covered by rows of small seated Buddha

figures, after which this and other "Thousand Buddhas Caves" are named. These small Buddhas

were drawn using stencils so that identical figures may be replicated. Flying apsaras, or celestial

beings may be depicted in the ceiling or above the Buddhas, and figures of donors may be shown

along the bottom of the walls. The paintings often depict jataka tales which are stories of the life of

Buddha, or avadana which are parables of the doctrine of karma.

Bodhisattvas started appearing during the Northern Zhou period, with Avalokitesvara (Guanyin),

which was originally male but acquired female characteristics later, the most popular. Most caves

show Mahayana and Sravakayana (Theravada or Hinayana) influences, although Mahayana

Buddhism became the dominant form during the Sui Dyansty. 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.[24]

One of the central 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 as the

eleven-headed or thousand-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.[7]

While Buddhist art is stylistically distinct from secular art, the style of paintings in the caves often

reflects that of contemporary secular painting (insofar as we know of this), especially those

depicting secular scenes. Donor figures are generally depicted in secular style, and may include

secular events associated with them, for example scenes depicting General Zhang Yichao, who

ruled over Dunhuang in a quasi-autonomous manner during the Late Tang period, include a


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Early mural revealed after 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.

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.

commemoration of his victory over the Tibetans in 848. The

portraits of donors increased in size during the period ruled by

the Cao family who succeeded the Zhang family. The Caos

formed alliances with the Uyghurs and the Kingdom of Khotan

and their portraits are featured prominently in some of the

caves.[25]

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

also used painting

techniques originated from

India where shading was

applied to achieve a

3-dimensional or

chiaroscuro effect.[26]

However, the darkening of

the paint used in shading

over time resulted in heavy

outlines which is not what the painters had originally intended.

This shading technique is unique to Dunhuang in East Asia at

this period as such shading on human faces was generally not

done in Chinese paintings until much later when there were

influences from European paintings. Another difference from traditional Chinese painting is the

presence of figures that are semi-nude, occasionally fully nude, as figures are generally 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.

Sculptures

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 paint. The giant

statues however have a stone core. The Buddha is generally shown as the central statue, often

attended by boddhisattvas, heavenly kings, devas, apsaras, along with yaksas and other mythical

creatures.[24]

Figures from the Sui and Tang periods may be present as larger groups of seven or

nine, and some showed large-scale parinirvana scene with groups of mourners. The early

sculptures were based on Indian and Central Asian prototypes, with some in Greco-Indian style of

Gandhara. Over time the sculptures showed more Chinese elements and became gradually

sinicized.

The original function of the "Library Cave" was as a shrine commemorating Hong Bian, a

9th-century abbot (not at Dunhuang). His portrait statue, unusual here and among all surviving

works in China, was removed to another spot when the cave was sealed up in the 11th century,

but has been returned now the library has been removed. There is also a stone stele describing

his life, and the wall behind the statue is painted with attendant figure; such blending of painted

sculpture and wall paintings into a single composition is very common at the site.[27]

Paintings on silk and paper


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The Chinese Diamond Stra, the oldest

known dated printed book in the world,

British Library Or.8210/P.2 (http://idp.bl.uk

/database

/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210%2FP.2).

Detail of embroidered panel from

the Library Cave. Tang Dynasty.

Before the discovery in the Library Cave, original paintings from the Tang dynasty, a formative

period in Chinese art, were very rare, and most of the surviving evidence was from copies made in

later periods. Over a thousand paintings on silk, banners, and embroideries were found in the

Library Cave, none apparently dating before the late 7th century.[28]

The great majority of the

paintings are anonymous, but many are of high quality, especially from the Tang. Most are sutra

paintings, images of Buddha, and narrative paintings. The paintings show something of the

contemporary Chinese style of the capital Chang'an, but many also reflect Indian, Tibetan and

Uighur painting styles.[29]

There are brush paintings in ink alone, some in just two colours, as well as many in full colour.

Most common are single figures, and most paintings were probably donated by an individual, who

is often portrayed on a diminutive scale. The donor figures become notably more elaborate in

dress by the 10th century (see example illustrated).[30]

Printed images

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

earliest printed book to survive. Other printed images

were made to be hung, often with text below

containing prayers and sometimes a dedication by the

pious commissioner; at least two prints were

commissioned by Cao Yuanzhong, Imperial

Commissioner at Dunhuang in 947. Many of the

images have colour added by hand to the printed

outline. Several sheets contain repeated impressions

of the same block with a Buddha image. Possibly

these reflect stock for cutting when sold to pilgrims,

but inscriptions in some examples show these were

also printed out at different times by an individual as a

devotion to acquire merit. It is unclear whether such

people owned their own blocks, or visited a monastery

to have the images printed.[31]

Textiles

The textiles found in the Library Cave include silk banners,

altar hangings, wrappings for manuscripts, and monks' apparel

(kya). The monks normally used fabrics consisting of a

patchwork of different scraps of cloth as a sign of humility,

these therefore provide valuable insights into the various type

of silk cloth and embroidery available at the time.[32]

Silk

banners were used to adorn the cliff-face at the caves during

festivals, and these are painted and may be 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.[33]

Caves


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Flying apsaras, or celestial

beings. Caves 285, 538-539 AD,

Western Wei Dynasty

The caves were cut into the side of a cliff which is close to two

kilometers long. At its height during the Tang Dynasty, there

were more than a thousands caves, but over time, many of the

caves were lost, including the earliest caves. 735 caves

currently exist 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 also been

found to the north which were living quarters, meditation

chambers and burial sites for the monks. The caves at the

southern section are decorated, while those at the northern

section are mostly plain.

The caves are clustered together according to their era, with

new caves from a new dynasty being constructed in different

part of the cliff. From the murals, sculptures and other objects

found in the caves, around five hundred caves were

determined to be built in the following era (list from the 1980s,

more have been identified since):

Sixteen Kingdoms (366-439) - 7 caves, the oldest dated to Northern Liang period.

Northern Wei (439-534) and Western Wei (535-556) - 10 from each phase

Northern Zhou (557-580) - 15 caves

Sui Dynasty (581-618) - 70 caves

Early Tang (618- 704) - 44 caves

High Tang (705-780) - 80 caves

Middle Tang (781-847) - 44 caves (This era in Dunhuang is also known as the Tibetan period

because Dunhuang was then under Tibetan occupation.)

Late Tang (848-906) - 60 caves (This and the subsequent periods until the Western Xia

period are also known collectively as the Guiyijun period ( , Return to RighteousnessArmy, 848-1036) when Dunhuang was ruled by the Zhang and Cao families.)

The Five Dynasty (907-960) - 32 caves

Song Dynasty (960-1035)- 43 caves

Western Xia (10361226) - 82 caves

Yuan Dynasty (12271368) - 10 caves

Gallery

A painting of

Xuanzang performing

ceremonies for the

Buddha.

Another figure of

Xuanzang

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

CE


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The travel of Zhang

Qian to the West,

close-up view of

Emperor Han Wudi

(156 87 BCE)

worshipping two

statues of the Buddha

A Tang Chinese silk

landscape painting

depicting a young

Sakyamuni cutting his

hair

Vajrapani Painting at

Mogao Caves

(Library Cave)

Bandit attacks

Mural of bodhisattvas

Vaishravana riding

across the waters.

Five Dynasties,

mid-10th century CE.

Worshipping

Bodhisattva, cave

285, Wei Dynasty.

An illustration of

Sakyamuni's

temptation by Mara

Dancer, cave 220,

early Tang Dynasty.

Section of mural

commemorating

victory of Zhang

Yichao over the

Tibetans. Cave 156,

Late Tang.

Wife of Dunhuang

ruler Cao Yanlu who

was the daughter of

the King of Khotan

wearing elaborate

headdress decorated

with jade pieces.

Cave 61, Five

Dynasties.

Khotanese donor

figures, cave 61.


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Depiction of the

avadana story of Five

Hundred Robbers.

Cave 285, Western

Wei.

Uighur king attended

by servants. Cave

409, Western Xia.

Figures from cave

409, Western Xia.

See also

List of World Heritage Sites in China

Buddhism in China

International Dunhuang Project

Silk Road transmission of Buddhism

Stele of Sulaiman

Irk Bitig

Dunhuang Go Manual

Silk Road

Three hares

Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves

Kizil Caves

Kumtura Thousand Buddha Caves

Footnotes

^ a b "Mogao Caves" (http://whc.unesco.org

/en/list/440). UNESCO. Retrieved 2007-08-05.

1.

^ Zhang Wengin2.

^ Fokan Ji Original text:

3.

^ Le Huu Phuoc (2010). Buddhist Architecture

(http://books.google.co.uk

/books?id=9jb364g4BvoC&

printsec=frontcover&

source=gbs_ge_summary_r&

cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false). Grafikol.

ISBN 978-0-9844043-0-8.

4.

^ "Dunhuang -- Mogao Caves --"

(http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction

/gansu/dunhuang/mogao_grottoes/index.htm).

Retrieved 2007-07-23.

5.

^ Xiuqing Yang (2007). Dunhuang Sees Great

Changes Over the Years. China

Intercontinental Press. ISBN 7-5085-0916-1.

6.

^ a b c Tan, Chung (1994). Dunhuang art:

through the eyes of Duan Wenjie

(http://books.google.co.uk

/books?id=0SdXEVaFTJ0C&

printsec=frontcover&

source=gbs_ge_summary_r&

cad=0#v=onepage&q=daqin&f=false). Indira

Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.

ISBN 81-7017-313-2.

7.

^ Wenjie Duan (1 January 1994). Dunhuang

Art: Through the Eyes of Duan Wenjie.

Abhinav Publications. p. 52.

ISBN 978-81-7017-313-7.

8.

^ "Chinese Exploration and Excavations in

Chinese Central Asia" (http://idp.bl.uk/pages

/collections_ch.a4d). International Dunhuang

Project. Retrieved 2007-08-07.

9.

^ Aurel Stein, Serindia vol. II (http://dsr.nii.ac.jp

/toyobunko/VIII-5-B2-9/V-2/page/0283.html.en)

pg. 801-802

10.

^ Dunhuang shi shi yi shu11.


12 of 14 2013-09-23 9:56

(http://www.worldcat.org/title/dunhuang-shi-shi-

yi-shu/oclc/52768538)

^ Peter Hopkirk (2006). Foreign Devils on the

Silk Road (http://books.google.co.uk

/books?id=DoxsQDBQHYEC&

printsec=frontcover&f=false#v=onepage&

q&f=false). John Murray.

ISBN 978-0-7195-6448-2.

12.

^ The Epochal Significance in Zhang Daqian's

Copies of Dunhuang Fresco

(http://www.icm.gov.mo/exhibition/daqian

/significanceE.asp)

13.

^ "The International Dunhuang Project"

(http://idp.bl.uk/). International Dunhuang

Project. Retrieved 2007-08-05.

14.

^ Brief report on the both the southern and

northern caves (http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/rarebook

/05/index.html.en)

15.

^ Opening of the hidden chapel

(http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/VIII-5-B2-8

/V-2/page/0246.html.en) M. Aurel Stein, Ruins

of Desert Cathay: Vol II

16.

^ 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 University, ISBN 0-87249-329-6

17.

^ The Provenance and Character of the

Dunhuang Documents (http://www.toyo-

bunko.or.jp/newresearch/upload

/2010011510422259.pdf)

18.

^ The Nature of the Dunhuang Library Cave

and the Reasons for its Sealing

(http://www.persee.fr/web/revues

/home/prescript/article

19.

/asie_0766-1177_1999_num_11_1_1155)

^ Whitfield, Susan (2004). The Silk Road:

Trade, Travel, War and Faith. British Library,

Serindia Publications.

ISBN 978-1-932476-13-2.

20.

^ 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

21.

^ Whitfield and Farrer, pp 13-1422.

^ a b Yang Xin, Rihard M. Branhart, Nie

Chongzheng, James Cahill, Lang Shaojun, Wu

Hung. Three Thousands Years of Chinese

Paintings. Yale University Press.

ISBN 978-0-300-07013-2.

23.

^ a b Fan Jinshi (2010). The Caves of

Dunhuang. The Dunhuang Academy.

ISBN 978-1-85759-540-6.

24.

^ Dunhuang Academy - Portraits of Donors

(http://enweb.dha.ac.cn/003E/index.htm)

25.

^ Yun-ran ( ) a painting technique(http://enweb.dha.ac.cn/003F/index.htm)

26.


^ Whitfield and Farrer, p 2028.

^ Fan Jinshi (2010). The Caves of Dunhuang.

The Dunhuang Academy. p. 235.

ISBN 978-1-85759-540-6.

29.

^ Whitfield and Farrer, pp 21, and numbers 41

and 42

30.


^ Jessica Rawson (1992). The British Museum

Book of Chinese Art. British Museum Press.

ISBN 0-7141-1453-7.

32.

^ Whitfield and Farrer, p. 11633.

References

Duan Wenjie [editor-in-chief], Mural Paintings of the Dunhuang Mogao Grotto (1994)

Kenbun-Sha, Inc. / China National Publications Import and Export Corporation, ISBN

4-906351-04-2

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

Stein, M. Aurel. Ruins of Desert Cathay: Personal Narrative of Explorations in Central Asia

and Westernmost China, volume 2 (1912). London: Macmillan.

Tan Chung, Dunhuang art: through the eyes of Duan Wenjie (http://books.google.co.uk

/books?id=0SdXEVaFTJ0C&printsec=frontcover) (1994). Indira Gandhi National Centre for

the Art. ISBN 81-7017-313-2

Whitfield, Roderick and Farrer, Anne, Caves of the Thousand Buddhas: Chinese 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 Road" (2000). Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute. ISBN

0-89236-585-4


13 of 14 2013-09-23 9:56

Wood, Frances, "The Caves of the Thousand Buddhas: Buddhism on the Silk Road" in "The

Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia" (2002) by Frances Wood. Berkeley:

University of California Press. 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 7-5054-0716-3

External links

Dunhuang Academy (http://enweb.dha.ac.cn/index.htm)

A large collections of images of murals and other artifacts from the Mogao Caves in

Dunhuang (http://schiller.dartmouth.edu/chinese/MogaoCaves/index.php)

International Dunhuang Project (http://idp.bl.uk/)

Mogao caves video (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xeg3xd_paul-pelliot-et-le-tresor-

national_travel)

Harvard Art Museums, some murals and a statue removed from Dunhuang by Langdon

Warner (http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/art/search?search_api_aggregation_1=mogao)

British Museum The cave-temples at Dunhuang (http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore

/online_tours/asia/caves_of_the_1000_buddhas/caves_of_the_thousand_buddhas.aspx)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mogao_Caves&oldid=571913926"

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