Dunhuang Mogao Caves: Magical Silk Road Ruins in the Desert

Author: Xu Jiayuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: The Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, Gansu, refer to the Mogao Caves and Western Thousand Buddha Caves in the Dunhuang City area. They are one of China's four famous grottoes and the world's largest and best-preserved treasury of Buddhist art. Located 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, the Mogao Caves are carved into the cliffs on the eastern slope of Mingsha Mountain. In the second year of the Jianyuan era of the Former Qin dynasty, the monk Le Zhen visited this place and saw golden light radiating from Mingsha Mountain, resembling thousands of Buddhas. Inspired by this, he decided to carve the caves, which were later continuously expanded, becoming a sacred Buddhist site known as the Mogao Caves, commonly referred to as the Thousand Buddha Caves. They are China's largest and most famous Buddhist art grottoes. Distributed across three to four layers on the cliffs of Mingsha Mountain, they span 1.6 kilometers in length. There are currently 492 caves, with a total wall painting area of approximately 45,000 square meters and over 2,100 painted sculptures. The caves vary in size, with sculptures of different heights—some grand and robust, others delicate and exquisite. The craftsmanship is astonishingly refined, and the imagination is rich. The wall paintings primarily depict Buddhist stories, such as the life of Sakyamuni and tales of his past lives where he performed selfless acts. They also include portraits of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, heavenly kings, warriors, and lesser Buddhas, as well as depictions of celestial beings, flying figures, flowers, birds, and animals. Despite millennia of wind and sand erosion, the wall paintings remain vibrant in color and clear in line, leaving one in awe of the exceptional artistry and creative spirit of ancient craftsmen.
Chinese grotto art originated from India, where traditional Indian grotto sculptures were primarily stone-carved. However, due to unsuitable rock quality, the Mogao Caves primarily used clay sculptures and wall paintings. In most caves, the front features round sculptures, gradually transitioning to high-relief, shadow-relief, and wall sculptures, with wall paintings eventually serving as the background, blending sculpture and painting into a unified art form. During the Northern Dynasties period, the main figures in the caves were usually Sakyamuni or Maitreya, flanked by two attendant Bodhisattvas or a combination of one Buddha, two disciples, and two Bodhisattvas. The backs of the sculptures were often connected to the wall paintings. The ceilings and walls inside the caves were fully adorned with murals. The upper parts depicted celestial musicians, while the lower parts featured demons or decorative patterns. The middle sections primarily showed thousands of Buddhas, as well as stories of the Buddha's life, past lives, and causal connections. Among these, past-life stories included tales like "cutting flesh to feed a pigeon," "giving up one's life to feed a tiger," and "the nine-colored deer sacrificing itself to save others."
The Sui and Tang dynasties marked the golden age of the Mogao Caves. During the Sui dynasty, the style of the hundred-cave pagodas shifted from the central design of the Northern Dynasties to a central Buddha platform, with grouped sculptures similar to the earlier style. In the Tang dynasty, combinations of one Buddha, two disciples, and two heavenly kings or warriors appeared. The sculptures also transitioned from the early "slender and refined" style back to the "full and robust" form. The murals in the Tang caves primarily featured grand scenes of preaching and simple Buddhist transformation scenes. The largest sculptures in the Mogao Caves were created during the Tang dynasty, with the giant Buddha in Cave 96 being the largest. Tang dynasty murals depicted various Buddhist transformation scenes, with an extremely grand scale, showcasing the magnificent landscapes of the heavens. By the Five Dynasties period, the sculptures in the caves had lost their vitality, and the Song dynasty marked the beginning of their decline.