It is located in the southeast of Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China. It was dug about 366 AD. It is also the largest and best-preserved treasure house of Chinese Buddhist art in the world. 1. History of Mogao Grottoes The Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, also known as the "Thousand Budd

It is located in the southeast of Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China. It was dug about 366 AD. It is also the largest and best-preserved treasure house of Chinese Buddhist art in the world.

1.History of Mogao Grottoes

Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes , also known as "Thousand Buddha Cave", is located at the eastern foot of Mingsha Mountain , 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, Gansu Province. It is not only a transit station for East-West trade, but also a convergence of religion, culture and knowledge. The four major civilization systems in human history: China, India, Islamic and European and American cultural systems are all dramatically exchanged and integrated here. Mogao Grottoes were excavated from Northern Liang, and have gone through 10 dynasties including Northern Wei , Western Wei , Northern Zhou , Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties , Song, Western Xia , Yuan, etc., and lasted for more than 1,000 years. Over the long years, the caves have been eroded, buried and destroyed by natural wind and sand and man-made destruction. More than 800 caves have been preserved, and 492 have been sorted and numbered, including more than 2,400 colored sculptures, 25,000 square meters of murals, and five wooden buildings in the Tang and Song dynasties. The name of Mogao Grottoes was first seen in the "Mogao Grottoes Records" in Cave 423 excavated by in the Sui Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty manuscript of the Shishi suicide note, the names of "Mogao Township" and "Han Gaoli" in Dunhuang, Shazhou were mentioned many times. In addition, in "The Merits of the Dunhuang Yinchushi" written in , the fourth year of the Tang Dynasty Wenzong , Mingsha Mountain is called "Han Gaoshan". The ancient words "mo" and "mo" are connected. It can be seen that the name "Mogao Grottoes" appeared as soon as , Sui and Tang . According to Li Huairang's "Repair of the Buddha's Singing Stele of the Mogao Grottoes" in the early Tang Dynasty, the excavation of the Mogao Grottoes began in the second year of Jianyuan in the Former Qin . At that time, a monk Le Fu traveled west to the foot of Sanwei Mountain in Dunhuang. Suddenly, he saw thousands of golden lights on the mountain, as if thousands of Buddhas appeared. He was deeply moved, so he began to raise funds and ask someone to dig a cave on the mountain. Shortly afterwards, another Zen Master Faliang also built a cave here. In the past 1,000 years, emperors, high-ranking officials and wealthy people took to mow caves and statues on the cliffs of Mogao Grottoes, and Mogao Grottoes gradually became a Buddhist holy land. Until , the Ming Dynasty, the Han people moved their families to the pass. In the past 300 years, Mogao Grottoes gradually declined because there was no donor to offer incense and no monks and abbots.

2. Art treasure trove

Mogao Grottoes, also known as the "Thousand Buddha Cave", is Currently, the largest and most famous Buddhist art cave resort in my country, . It is 1.6 kilometers long and is distributed on the cliff walls of Mingsha Mountain. According to statistics, there are 492 grottoes in it, with more than 2,400 colored sculptures and a total area of ​​murals reaching 45,000 square meters. Mogao Grottoes are a three-dimensional art treasure house integrating architecture, sculptures and murals. The sizes of the caves are different and the styles are very different; the heights of the statues vary, and they are varied. The big one is vigorous and honest, and the small one is exquisite and meticulous; the essence of attainments, the depth of art, the rich imagination, and the variety of techniques are shocking. Most of the contents of the murals are stories in Buddhist scriptures, including the stories of Buddha Shakyamuni accumulating virtue and doing good deeds, bravely sacrificing and his whole life. There are also exquisite portraits of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Heavenly Kings, Little Thousand Buddhas, and vivid images of flying sky, flowers and animals. When you are in the cave, the most attractive thing is the large number, numerous contents and bright colors of mural art. The Bodhisattva with a smile and the flying sky are realistic in their expressions, with different images, and graceful and beautiful figures abound, as if they have brought people into the distant heaven! Dunhuang murals, although eroded by wind and sand for thousands of years, are still bright in color, clear lines, and radiant. All viewers admire the exquisite skills and outstanding creative spirit of ancient craftsmen.

3. Mogao Grottoes Colorful Sculpture

Mogao Grottoes statue art is a Chinese Buddhist art based on national traditional painted sculptures and absorbs Indian statue making skills. According to rough estimates, the entire grotto colored sculptures, including tens of thousands of small Buddha statues, are more than 2,400 intact, including 30 meters tall and small statues of more than ten centimeters. Among them, the images of Buddha, Bodhisattva, Buddhist disciple, and strongman are ever-changing, none of which are similar, presenting different characteristics and styles.

Mogao Grottoes can be roughly divided into three periods according to the style of the color sculpture. The early stage was from Northern Liang, Northern Wei, Western Wei to Northern Zhou Dynasty. From about the 5th to the second half of the 6th century, because the Buddhist heritage during this period focused on the development of its movements, devout monks or believers made many vows to open grottoes and build temples, and regarded as the key point of practice of meditation as the Buddhist's practice. Therefore, the early excavation and statues of Mogao Grottoes were closely related to this trend. The meditation cave was the most common cave shape, and the statues of Buddha , Bodhisattvas, etc. were not only for good men and women to admire and worship, but also for monks to practice and observe. The middle period was the heyday of the Sui and Tang dynasties, including the Sui and Tang dynasties. It was around the end of the 6th century to the beginning of the 10th century. Since this time was an era of great unity, politics, society and economy tended to be stable and vigorous, Dunhuang art also achieved unprecedented development on this basis. The total number of early caves was only 36. By the Sui Dynasty, although the country existed for only 38 years, more than 100 caves were built. In addition to the amazing progress in the number of cave buildings in this period, the cave shape also evolved into a solemn and magnificent palace form, and the statues also evolved from the early walled semi-floating plastic to three-dimensional round plastic. The statues in the prosperous Tang Dynasty changed from the thin, beautiful, elegant and simple in the early Tang Dynasty to the rich and beautiful muscles and bones of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, which reflected the transformation of social aesthetic concepts. Its characteristics are moderate proportions, round and plump body, egg-shaped face, curved eyebrows and eyes, gentle face, calm expression, and fluent pleats in the clothes like paintings. Especially the Bodhisattva in the image of a female, with a beautiful figure, elegant demeanor and very moving shape. The late period was a period of decline, including the Five Dynasties, Northern Song Dynasty, Western Xia and Yuan dynasties. From the beginning of the 10th century to the middle of the 14th century, various characteristics basically inherited the Tang Dynasty. Without innovation and personality, it was difficult to reproduce the style of Tang sculpture. Since then, the Dunhuang color sculpture has become more and more declining.

4.Music

Music Music . There are many types. If expanded and arranged, it can be as long as 30 kilometers, and it is known as the world's largest art gallery. It not only reflects the development and changes of Buddhist culture and art, but also displays the historical style of ancient Chinese society in the 4th to 14th centuries, providing future generations with a large amount of rich information on politics, economy, culture, history, religion, art, music, dance, acrobatics, architecture, customs, clothing, as well as Sino-foreign communication exchanges.

The content of murals is all-encompassing and can be roughly divided into five categories: The first category is the Sutra Change Painting . It is a giant story painting imagined according to the text of Buddhist scriptures. There are 24 different themes, most of which are famous stories in Buddhist scriptures, such as " Vimalakirti Sutra Change ", "Lotus Sutra Change", etc. The second category is the story painting , mainly the life story of Sakyamuni, including the stories of life, causes and conditions, stories of Buddha's biography, and precepts, as well as the traditional Chinese mythological stories such as Queen Mother of the West, Nuwa ; The third category is the statue paintings of gods and Buddhas in Buddhism , such as Buddha, Bodhisattva, Buddhist disciples, Heavenly Kings, Wisdom, Arhat , Feitian, etc. These characters appear in almost every cave, but their appearance and shape are not the same, but show their unique characteristics according to the artistic aesthetics of different dynasties; The fourth category is the portrait of the donor , which records those who invested in the creation of caves and their family members, and they were accompanied by names, status, official positions and other titles. These records of real people and facts at that time have become precious materials for the research of Dunhuang studies; The fifth category is the decorative pattern , which is mainly to strengthen the decorative effect of buildings and sculptures such as Pingqi, caisson , Buddha niche , and rosette, and put colors on the crown, clothing, head, body light, etc. on the Buddha statues. In addition, there is no blank space in the murals of Mogao Grottoes, so the decorative pattern has the function of filling the space. The inductive patterns include plants, animals, astronomical phenomena, honeysuckle, geometric figures, etc., with very exquisite shapes and dazzling colors.

The most worth mentioning among the Mogao Grottoes murals is Feitian. Flying was originally a musical genius, which is the so-called Leshen . Her hometown was originally in India. It is said that the God of Le was originally named "Ganda Po". Because the fragrance radiates all over his body, he is also called "Scented God". Her mission is to offer flowers, treasures and praises to the Buddha and Bodhisattva in the Buddha's kingdom. She played musical instruments, sang and danced; she lived in the flowers with a smile, and flew lightly among the sky. In Indian Buddhism, the gods who can fly in the air are usually called "Flying Heaven", and "Flying Heaven" are mostly painted in murals of Buddhist cave tombs; in Chinese Taoism, it is called "Flying Immortal", and "Flying Immortal" are mostly painted in murals of grottombs. Coincidentally, whether it is the "Flying Sky" in Indian Buddhism or the "Flying Fairy" in Chinese Taoism , the similarity is that we hope that the "god" and "immortal" will fly, and we hope that the soul of the owner of the tomb will be able to ascend to heaven after his death. The flying sky in Dunhuang murals appeared at the same time as the creation of the cave. It started from the Sixteen Kingdoms, went through ten dynasties, and lasted for more than a thousand years. In this long history of more than a thousand years, due to the changes in historical situations such as the change of dynasties, the transfer of regimes, the development and prosperity of the economy, the frequent exchanges of Chinese and Western cultures, Feitian's artistic image, posture, artistic conception, style and interest are constantly changing. The Tang Dynasty murals are the best art among the Mogao Grottoes murals. They combine the expression techniques of various ethnic groups and foreign arts in . From the content to the form, they are completely renewed. In addition to the rich colors, rich and powerful forms, realistic and realistic, the description of artistic conception, the detailed and smooth lines outlined and the beautiful and flexible, all reach an unprecedented situation.

5. The Cave of the Sutra

On May 26, the 26th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, Wang Yuanlu of the Mogao Grottoes Taoist priest was supervising the workers to clear the corridor of the 16th Cave. Suddenly, "the wall cracked a hole, as if there was light." . After chiseling, it was found that there was a 18-meter-high and about 0.8-0.9 meters wide on the north wall. It stored the collection from the first year of Ganlu of the Former Qin Dynasty to the second year of Qingyuan. Based on this, the closure of the stone chamber was in the early 13th century, when the Western Xia king Yuanhao attacked Dunhuang. The monks in Mogao Grottoes hid these precious Buddhist scriptures, documents and artworks in the stone chamber during the war. These collections include scriptures, poetry, songs and other folk literature, geography and household registration documents from various Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian schools, as well as more than 50,000 important cultural relics such as embroidery paintings and ritual tools. The contents cover religion, politics and military, economy, culture, literature, art, and daily life. In addition to Chinese materials, there are also a large amount of materials written in the texts of Tibetan, Brahma, Khotan , Kucha , Uighurs and Turks, which have become an indispensable source of information for the study of Dunhuang studies.The discovery of the Sutra Cave attracted the attention of foreign archaeologists with the word of mouth of Silk Road merchants. Since the Qing government had not yet realized its importance and neglected its maintenance, since 1907, the British Stein, the French Phe and , the Japanese Yoshikawa Koichiro and Kiri Suichao, the Russian , the Russian , and the Crescent Spring , which had been lost to the Mogao Grottoes silk painting "Extradition of Guanyin" abroad. Feitian in the mid-Tang Dynasty was playing the cressic calves. Cave 96 of Mogao Grottoes contains Maitreya Buddha sitting statue. The Asian caves either bribed the greedy and ignorant Taoist priests with small profits, or directly robbed them and plundered them tens of thousands of rare treasures. Most of the cultural relics discovered in the Mogao Grottoes Caves were now scattered in libraries in Britain, France, Russia, Japan and other countries. In March 1943, at the call of Yu Youren, the then Supervisory Director, the Dunhuang Art Institute was established to carry out preliminary repairs and sorting of cultural relics and caves. In 1951, the Dunhuang Cultural Relics Research Institute was reorganized and established. The Mogao Grottoes Construction Committee also conducted a detailed survey of the grottoes. In 1961, Mogao Grottoes were included in a key cultural relics protection unit and began to carry out comprehensive maintenance, strengthening the 4-kilometer plank road in the north and south areas, building sand protection walls, installing hole doors and power lighting equipment. New discoveries have been made about the collation and research of Mogao Grottoes cultural relics, and domestic experts have successively published important works. Today, Mogao Grottoes have gradually become known and become a tourist attraction, and Dunhuang studies have also become an internationally recognized obvious learning .

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