Damagou is the place where Buddhist relics are most widely distributed in Hotan area. The site is collectively known as Damagou. During the Han Dynasty, it was the seat of the small oasis country "Gemo" in the Western Regions, and was later annexed by the Kingdom of Khotan. There is a historical background of using Sanskrit loan words in the place names of Hotan area in the medieval period.
The name "Damako". When Turkic and Chinese and other languages cannot explain the accurate meaning, the possibility of Sanskrit and Hotan Sai should be considered. "Dama" may come from the Sanskrit loan word "Tarma (Buddhism)" in Hotan Sai language, which is derived from the Sanskrit "Dharma" in the ancient Indian language. "ko" may be an affix indicating a place name, so Damako may be Tarmako , meaning the place where Buddhism gathers, and its Chinese transliteration should be changed to "Dharma Valley".
Buddhist temple No. 1 in Topluk Dun may have been built in the 6th-7th century AD, Buddhist temple No. 1 in Kaladun Damagou may have been built in the 7th century AD, and Buddhist temple No. 2 in Topluk Dun may have been built in the 8th century AD. , the three Buddhist temples were probably destroyed in the Islamic Jihad promoted by the Karakhanid Dynasty from the 10th to 11th centuries AD. The three Buddhist temples reflected the development of Buddhist temples in Khotan from the 6th to 9th centuries AD. Topluk Dun No. 2 Buddhist Temple has an east gate, antechamber, an east side hall, a northeast side room, a north gate, a north side hall and a central cloister and statue hall. It has a rigorous and clear layout and is well preserved. It is the largest structure discovered in the Hotan area so far. The complex cloister image hall can be regarded as the representative of the large-scale cloister image hall in this area, filling the gap in the late Khotan Buddhist temple form. A large number of factors in the three Buddhist temples also reflect the highly developed level of Khotan Buddhist art and the close relationship with South Asia, Central Asia and the Central Plains.
The earliest discovered and excavated "Buddhist Temple Site No. 1 at Topluk Dun in Damagou" was discovered in a rather miraculous way.
In March 2000, a young local shepherd dug out tamarisk roots from a huge red willow bag covered with tamarisk and camel thorns in Dama Valley, and accidentally discovered the upper part of a broken Buddha statue. It is said that in the hope of obtaining valuable property, he and several other young people dug here for a day and found only the ruins of the Buddhist temple and a clay sculpture of a seated Buddha, but not the gold or silver they expected. In frustration, one of them kicked the Buddha statue in the leg. The next day, the person who violently attacked the Buddha accidentally fell off his thigh while riding a motorcycle. The theory of the Buddha's apparition spread and the township government reported it to the higher-level cultural department. Afterwards, with the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, from May to June 2002, the Xinjiang Archaeological Team of the Institute of Archeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences rescued and excavated this Buddhist site and named it "Buddhist Temple No. 1 Damagou Topluk Dun". .
"Buddhist Temple No. 1 in Damagou Topluk Dun" faces north and faces south. The building plane is rectangular, 2 meters long from north to south and 1.7 meters wide from east to west. The Buddha statue is close to the north wall. It is the smallest Buddhist temple in the medieval period discovered in China and even the world.
When archaeologists were excavating Buddhist temple No. 1 in Topluk Dun of Dama Valley, they discovered Buddhist temples No. 2 and No. 3 in Topluk Dun of Dama Valley about 70 meters to the west. The layout of Buddhist Temple No. 2 is rigorous and clear. It is the most complex cloister-like temple Buddhist temple ever found in Hotan area.
Along the northwest corner of the Buddhist Temple No. 2, there is a path of more than 10 meters leading to the ruins of the nearby Buddhist Temple No. 3. The ruins of Buddhist temple No. 3 have a courtyard gallery layout, in the shape of a "concave". The Buddhist temple site No. 3 has a rigorous layout and a large scale. It is the first time that similar architectural sites have been discovered on the South Silk Road. It provides the most vivid archaeological material for understanding the daily life of monks.
Experts believe that these three ruins should be part of a large Buddhist temple. Buddhist Temple No. 1 is older and plays an important role in the construction and formation of the entire temple; Buddhist Temple No. 2 ruins are the main building of the temple and are an important place for monks and believers to worship Buddha and hold Buddhist rituals. The Main Hall in modern Buddhist temples; Buddhist temple site No. 3 is a place where the abbot and monks of the temple live, receive guests, study, lecture, store scriptures and hold some important gatherings.
Thousand Buddhas and Riders murals
Thousand Buddhas murals were mainly scattered in the southwest of the main hall of the Buddhist temple when they were unearthed. This is the biggest piece of it. The Buddha statue has a plump face and different expressions. It faces to the right and looks to the right toward the believers who are worshiping in right turns. A horse team is painted below the mural. The rider has a shaved head, a crown, a silk mustache, a long iron red or peacock green dress, a belt, holding the reins in his left hand, and a begging bowl in his right hand, with a black bird painted on the front. The horses are either white or brown, with complete saddles and bridles. This type of equestrian figure has been common in Buddhist sites in Khotan since the 8th century.
Buddha head mural
This mural was unearthed in the front hall of the Buddhist temple. Only the head and neck remain, with a black bun, big earlobes and shoulders, an oval face, a white hair between the forehead, curved eyebrows, deep eye sockets, and slender eyes. , there are bags under the eyes, a straight bridge of the nose, plump lips, and an iron-red cassock is vaguely visible. The face is slightly tilted to the lower right side, and the head is white. The lines are delicate and stretched, and the brushwork is strong and round.
Thinking Bodhisattva head mural
There are two pieces in total, both of which were unearthed in the front hall of the Buddhist temple. Their attire is basically the same, with head and body light. He wears a flower crown on his head, a silk scarf hanging back, long hair shawl, an oval face, a white hair between his forehead, a straight nose bridge, and slightly closed eyes. The face is slightly sideways, but in the opposite direction, looking downward as if thinking. The color is mainly ocher and the lines are graceful and smooth, which are the main characteristics of Khotanese Buddhist paintings.
Half Zhijia Guizi mother couple mural
The man painted on the right side of the mural is sitting cross-legged in the body light. The face is oblong and tilted to the left, with wide eyes staring forward, a beard and buck teeth. Wearing a gray-white round-collar robe, a collar, and a belt, his right hand is placed on his chest, and his left arm is stretched forward, which should be half a branch. The one on the left side is in a standing position, with his right hand on his chest dragging the child's left leg. He is his wife, Guizi Mu. He has black hair shawl and high bun. He wears a flower crown on his head. He has beautiful eyebrows. He is wearing a round-collared iron-red long coat, blue. The colored silk draped from the top of her crown, wrapped around her arms and fluttered in the wind, floating outside her body.
Mural of King Bishamon
This mural was unearthed from the pagoda and can be connected with the residual image of the protector on the south wall. The figure stands frontally, wearing a beaded corolla, a silk scarf hanging down the back, a collar around the neck, earrings, curved eyebrows, a straight nose, deep eye sockets, and slender eyes. The collar and chest are trimmed with green and white curly grass patterns. There are head lights and body lights. The three circles of head lights are , malachite green, , ocher and white. The lines are flexible and graceful, and the pen is smooth.
The Wheel King’s Dharma Picture Mural
This mural was unearthed in the northwest corner of the front hall of the Buddhist Hall. The figure wears a scattered patterned cassock, a collar, and a head and body. Black hair shawl, bun, curved eyebrows, high nose, bags under eyes, mustache. Sit on the stage, place your right hand on your right knee, and stretch your left hand forward, as if you are preaching. Three figures wearing cassocks knelt in front of him, as if listening to his words. The head is white, and the body is malachite green, brown and ocher. The lines are delicate and smooth, and the characters are vivid.
Maiko Picture Mural
This mural is a cultural relic recovered by the Cele County Public Security Bureau. It is a Gandhara-style Jiiletian statue unearthed from a stolen Buddhist temple in the eastern area of Damagou. The mural is mainly iron-red, and the figures have graceful, strong, flexible and stretched lines, which are very characteristic of Khotanese Buddhist paintings. In addition, these murals also often use the sfumato technique, which is also quite common in the Topluk Dun ruins, but it is often difficult to distinguish due to the passage of time. However, in these murals, it is vaguely seen that maiko's body skin often uses this method, using iron red from the outside to the inside, from deep to light, to express the plumpness and softness of the skin.
The mural of donors in Han attire
The portraits of donors painted in the mural are Han people from the Central Plains, wearing black futou and round-neck clothing with black Tuanhua patterns on an iron red ground, with their hands clasped in front of their chests.The eyes are slender, the bridge of the nose is slightly low, the tip of the nose is round, and the face is flat. There is another futou of a donor below, but his face is no longer distinguishable.
Painted clay Buddha head
This clay Buddha head was unearthed in the side hall of the Buddhist temple. It is relatively well preserved, with only two ears missing. Curved eyebrows, high nose bridge, small and plump lips. The bun is iron red, with curled ends and parted in the middle. The front row curls outwards, the back row curls inward, and the third row curls outward again. The left part of the bun is irregular and extremely varied. It reflects the rhythmic and varied characteristics of Khotan Buddhist art.
Sanxian Pipa
During the excavation of the Dama Gou Topluk Dun No. 2 site, this three-stringed Pipa was discovered in the sand dunes nearby. The Pipa has a harmonious and beautiful shape, with a smooth and flat panel and an arched back. The headstock, box body, and upper hand still exist. The six small holes on the headstock for mounting the pegs are accurately positioned and uniform in size, but the pegs are missing. There are two crescent-shaped sound holes on the panel, and there is a sound hole under the hand cover, which can adjust the volume and timbre. It can be seen that the Khotan instrument craftsmen at that time had already mastered the music.
Brown field yellow flower hunting pattern
This weft brocade is about 16.5 cm wide and made of four colors of emerald green, goose yellow, off-white and purple silk threads. The color is composed of off-white, goose yellow and already dim green. The pattern is symmetrical, with a lotus in the middle, boys with lotus feet on both sides, and the rider pulling a bow and shooting an arrow. There are parts of the wings and feet of the big bird on the upper right, indicating that there should be an auspicious bird pattern in the pattern. The cultural relics were confiscated by the Cele County Public Security Bureau for the remains unearthed in the northern area of Damagou.
Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes Avalokitesvara Afterimage
The Bodhisattva has one eye between his eyebrows and multiple arms, which can be seen as Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes Guanyin. The Bodhisattva wears various accessories such as necklaces, Yingluo, and Baozhen. A Buddha emerged from the lotus stem. The most distinctive feature of the sculpture is that the artist uses a line drawing similar to "bending iron and coiling silk" to outline the Bodhisattva. The lines are thin and elastic. The green and ocher colors in the headlight are all smudged to create a gradient halo effect. Avalokitesvara with Thousand Arms and Thousand Eyes is a theme of Esoteric Buddhism. The appearance of this theme in Damagou reflects the popularity of Esoteric Buddhism statues in Khotan.
Thousand Buddhas and Riders murals
Thousand Buddhas murals were mainly scattered in the southwest of the main hall of the Buddhist temple when they were unearthed. This is the biggest piece of it. The Buddha statue has a plump face and different expressions. It faces to the right and looks to the right toward the believers who are worshiping in right turns. A horse team is painted below the mural. The rider has a shaved head, a crown, a silk mustache, a long iron red or peacock green dress, a belt, holding the reins in his left hand, and a begging bowl in his right hand, with a black bird painted on the front. The horses are either white or brown, with complete saddles and bridles. This type of equestrian figure has been common in Buddhist sites in Khotan since the 8th century.
Buddha head mural
This mural was unearthed in the front hall of the Buddhist temple. Only the head and neck remain, with a black bun, big earlobes and shoulders, an oval face, a white hair between the forehead, curved eyebrows, deep eye sockets, and slender eyes. , there are bags under the eyes, a straight bridge of the nose, plump lips, and an iron-red cassock is vaguely visible. The face is slightly tilted to the lower right side, and the head is white. The lines are delicate and stretched, and the brushwork is strong and round.
Thinking Bodhisattva head mural
There are two pieces in total, both of which were unearthed in the front hall of the Buddhist temple. Their attire is basically the same, with head and body light. He wears a flower crown on his head, a silk scarf hanging back, long hair shawl, an oval face, a white hair between his forehead, a straight nose bridge, and slightly closed eyes. The face is slightly sideways, but in the opposite direction, looking downward as if thinking. The color is mainly ocher and the lines are graceful and smooth, which are the main characteristics of Khotanese Buddhist paintings.
Half Zhijia Guizi mother couple mural
The man painted on the right side of the mural is sitting cross-legged in the body light. The face is oblong and tilted to the left, with wide eyes staring forward, a beard and buck teeth. Wearing a gray-white round-collar robe, a collar, and a belt, his right hand is placed on his chest, and his left arm is stretched forward, which should be half a branch. The one on the left side is in a standing position, with his right hand on his chest dragging the child's left leg. He is his wife, Guizi Mu. He has black hair shawl and high bun. He wears a flower crown on his head. He has beautiful eyebrows. He is wearing a round-collared iron-red long coat, blue. The colored silk draped from the top of her crown, wrapped around her arms and fluttered in the wind, floating outside her body.
Mural of King Bishamon
This mural was unearthed from the pagoda and can be connected with the residual image of the protector on the south wall. The figure stands frontally, wearing a beaded corolla, a silk scarf hanging down the back, a collar around the neck, earrings, curved eyebrows, a straight nose, deep eye sockets, and slender eyes. The collar and chest are trimmed with green and white curly grass patterns. There are head lights and body lights. The three circles of head lights are , malachite green, , ocher and white. The lines are flexible and graceful, and the pen is smooth.
The Wheel King’s Dharma Picture Mural
This mural was unearthed in the northwest corner of the front hall of the Buddhist Hall. The figure wears a scattered patterned cassock, a collar, and a head and body. Black hair shawl, bun, curved eyebrows, high nose, bags under eyes, mustache. Sit on the stage, place your right hand on your right knee, and stretch your left hand forward, as if you are preaching. Three figures wearing cassocks knelt in front of him, as if listening to his words. The head is white, and the body is malachite green, brown and ocher. The lines are delicate and smooth, and the characters are vivid.
Maiko Picture Mural
This mural is a cultural relic recovered by the Cele County Public Security Bureau. It is a Gandhara-style Jiiletian statue unearthed from a stolen Buddhist temple in the eastern area of Damagou. The mural is mainly iron-red, and the figures have graceful, strong, flexible and stretched lines, which are very characteristic of Khotanese Buddhist paintings. In addition, these murals also often use the sfumato technique, which is also quite common in the Topluk Dun ruins, but it is often difficult to distinguish due to the passage of time. However, in these murals, it is vaguely seen that maiko's body skin often uses this method, using iron red from the outside to the inside, from deep to light, to express the plumpness and softness of the skin.
The mural of donors in Han attire
The portraits of donors painted in the mural are Han people from the Central Plains, wearing black futou and round-neck clothing with black Tuanhua patterns on an iron red ground, with their hands clasped in front of their chests.The eyes are slender, the bridge of the nose is slightly low, the tip of the nose is round, and the face is flat. There is another futou of a donor below, but his face is no longer distinguishable.
Painted clay Buddha head
This clay Buddha head was unearthed in the side hall of the Buddhist temple. It is relatively well preserved, with only two ears missing. Curved eyebrows, high nose bridge, small and plump lips. The bun is iron red, with curled ends and parted in the middle. The front row curls outwards, the back row curls inward, and the third row curls outward again. The left part of the bun is irregular and extremely varied. It reflects the rhythmic and varied characteristics of Khotan Buddhist art.
Sanxian Pipa
During the excavation of the Dama Gou Topluk Dun No. 2 site, this three-stringed Pipa was discovered in the sand dunes nearby. The Pipa has a harmonious and beautiful shape, with a smooth and flat panel and an arched back. The headstock, box body, and upper hand still exist. The six small holes on the headstock for mounting the pegs are accurately positioned and uniform in size, but the pegs are missing. There are two crescent-shaped sound holes on the panel, and there is a sound hole under the hand cover, which can adjust the volume and timbre. It can be seen that the Khotan instrument craftsmen at that time had already mastered the music.
Brown field yellow flower hunting pattern
This weft brocade is about 16.5 cm wide and made of four colors of emerald green, goose yellow, off-white and purple silk threads. The color is composed of off-white, goose yellow and already dim green. The pattern is symmetrical, with a lotus in the middle, boys with lotus feet on both sides, and the rider pulling a bow and shooting an arrow. There are parts of the wings and feet of the big bird on the upper right, indicating that there should be an auspicious bird pattern in the pattern. The cultural relics were confiscated by the Cele County Public Security Bureau for the remains unearthed in the northern area of Damagou.
Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes Avalokitesvara Afterimage
The Bodhisattva has one eye between his eyebrows and multiple arms, which can be seen as Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes Guanyin. The Bodhisattva wears various accessories such as necklaces, Yingluo, and Baozhen. A Buddha emerged from the lotus stem. The most distinctive feature of the sculpture is that the artist uses a line drawing similar to "bending iron and coiling silk" to outline the Bodhisattva. The lines are thin and elastic. The green and ocher colors in the headlight are all smudged to create a gradient halo effect. Avalokitesvara with Thousand Arms and Thousand Eyes is a theme of Esoteric Buddhism. The appearance of this theme in Damagou reflects the popularity of Esoteric Buddhism statues in Khotan.
