UNESCO World Heritage in China: Ice Tiara of the Mountains - Frame for mortal face only.

Cave monasteries and temples of Mogao Caves

Mogao (Chinese: 莫高窟, pinyin: mò gāo kū, “Cave not for the tall”) is the largest cave of the early Buddhist cave temple complex Qianfodong (“Cave of a Thousand Buddhas”), erected in 353-366. n. e. 25 km from Dunhuang Oasis, Gansu Province, China. Qianfodong, more often called Mogao after the main cave, unites 492 sanctuaries, which were decorated with frescoes and sculptures over a whole millennium (IV-XIV centuries)
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Mogao, along with the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas in Bezeklik, is one of the earliest Buddhist temples in China. Its appearance on the eastern edge of the Taklamakan Desert is no coincidence: caravans with silk passed here, along with which Buddhist teachings seeped into China
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Unlike later cave temples like Longmenyai Yungang, the decoration of Mogao is dominated not by sculpture, but by fresco painting. Its area is estimated at 42,000 square meters. meters. Multi-figure frieze-like paintings are made with variegated adhesive paints on dry ground. Many of them cover the entire cave wall, characterized by dynamism and vitality.






At the turn of the 20th century, a huge warehouse of manuscripts (approximately 20,000 objects) was discovered in one of the caves. Apparently, they were stored here in the 11th century, when manuscripts began to be replaced by printed books.



The Mogao manuscript collection is very diverse in content and dating - these include Buddhist, Taoist, Nestorian and Manichaean religious texts, treatises on philosophy, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, history and geography, dictionaries, recordings of folk songs and classical Chinese poetry, official documents

. Among the handwritten monuments of Mogao there is the “Book of Fortune-telling” - a unique text written in Turkic runic writing not on stone, but on paper. The range of languages ​​of the studied manuscripts is also very diverse - these are classical and colloquial (Baihua) Chinese, Tibetan, Sanskrit, Pali, Tangut, Khotanese, Sogdian, Tocharian.

The news of the discovery excited the scientific world of Europe, and in 1907 the most valuable manuscripts, including the world's oldest printed book, The Diamond Sutra (c. 868), were taken by Orel Stein to the British Museum. Following Stein, the temple complex was visited by representative scientific expeditions from France (Paul Pelliot) and Russia (Sergei Oldenburg), who also returned to Europe not empty-handed. The remaining part of the manuscripts was transferred to the Beijing Library.
Frescoes
Mogao fresco painting represents a thousand-year-old layer of Chinese fine art. According to the style of images, it is divided into four periods:


Northern Dynasties and Sui Dynasties;
Tang Dynasty (the most magnificent wall paintings);
the era of the Ten Kingdoms and the Song Empire;
Western Xia and Yuan Dynasty.
Most of the frescoes are dedicated to the Buddha, his sermons and jatakas, as well as bodhisattvas, apsaras (fairies), monks, and pious believers. Probably in ancient times these images served to visually represent the canons of Buddhism to illiterate people. Many paintings reproduce authentic events from the history of the spread of Buddhism.



Almost all 492 caves contain images of beautiful flying apsaras (feitian 飛天). They sing, dance beautifully, play kiba lutes and other musical instruments, scatter flowers, accompanying the Buddha as he reads a sermon. They have no wings and only long multi-colored ribbons help fairies soar in the air.



Other paintings are dedicated to events from everyday life: the ceremonial departure of the emperor, foreign ambassadors at a feast, a meeting of Chinese and Western merchants, warrior tournaments, musician performances, a wedding ceremony, scenes of hunting, fishing, and agricultural work. The frescoes depict people of different nationalities and social classes, their customs and clothing
Complex of ancient buildings in the Wudang Mountains


Wudang Mountain (Chinese: 武当山, pinyin: Wǔdāng Shān, Pal.: Wudang Shan), Wudang Mountain is a small mountain range in Hubei Province, which is located near the industrial city of Shiyan and about 120 km from the city of Xiangfan.


The Wudang Mountains are famous for their Taoist monasteries and temples; there was a Taoist university here, which studied medicine, pharmacology, nutrition, meditation and martial arts. Even during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), the mountain began to receive special attention from the emperor. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the first temple was opened -
Temple of the Five Dragons.


Significant construction was undertaken on the mountain in the 15th century, when the Yongle Emperor summoned 300,000 troops and equipped the mountain, building numerous temple complexes. In the Wudangshan Mountains, 9 temples, 9 monasteries, 36 hermitages and 72 shrines, many gazebos, bridges and multi-tiered towers were built, forming 33 architectural ensembles. Construction in the mountains lasted 12 years from 1412.

Emperor Yongle, who forcibly overthrew his nephew from the throne, did not have the right of inheritance, and the construction was started in order to appease the spirits and gain the support of the masses, proving his chosenness and the support of higher powers. Despite the large volume of construction, the Yongle Emperor never visited the temple complex.


The complex of structures covered the main peak and the 72 small peaks surrounding it; the structures stretched for 80 km.


During the Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1976), the temples were destroyed, but then restored, the mountain is actively visited by Chinese tourists and foreigners.


In 1994, the entire complex of temples and monasteries on the mountain received UNESCO World Heritage status.


The architecture of the complex combines the best achievements of Chinese traditional architecture over the past one and a half thousand years.
The most significant buildings:








The Forbidden City, built at the very top of Tianzhu Mountain (the column supporting the Sky). The city was built at the same time as the Forbidden City in Beijing, it is surrounded by a thick stone wall and has four entrances. Behind the wall are several temples and at the very top is the Golden Pavilion.
Nanyang Temple
Temple of Purple Cloud
Temple of the Son of Heaven
There are several martial arts schools on the mountain, in particular Kung Fu.










Wudangshan and popular culture
Legend has it that Wudang Mountain is the birthplace of martial arts, and Tai Chi in particular, although critical scholarship has cast doubt on this.
A wave of popular culture is associated with the monastery - wushu films and martial arts literature. In terms of popularity in popular culture, Wudangshan ranks second after Shaolin






Mount Emeishan and the Big Buddha statue in Leshan


Emeishan (Chinese: 峨嵋山, pinyin: Éméi Shān) are mountains in Sichuan province. The name of the mountain is sometimes written in characters as 峨眉山 ("High Eyebrow"), as well as 峩嵋山 and 峩眉山, but they are all pronounced the same. Emeishan, along with Putuoshan, Wutaishan and Jiuhuashan, is one of the four sacred sites of Chinese Buddhists. In 1996, UNESCO awarded the area World Cultural Heritage status.


The area around the mountain is covered with lava rocks formed as a result of volcanic eruptions of the Permian period.

The Bodhisattva of this mountain is Samantabhadra, called Puxian-pusa (普贤菩萨) in Chinese. According to legend, he flew away from the top of Emeishan on his white three-headed elephant. Since then, the mountain has been considered as his eternal residence.




In the first century AD, China's first Buddhist temple was built on the mountain.
At Wanniansi (Chinese: 万年寺, pinyin: wànniánsì, literally: "Temple of Ten Thousand Years"), the oldest temple still extant on the mountain (reconstructed in the ninth century), there is a statue of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra on his elephant, also approximately IX-X centuries.




By the middle of the 20th century, there were more than a hundred temples on the top of the mountain, most of which were badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution. Currently, more than 20 temples have been reopened, most of which are in deplorable condition.




Jindingsi Temple (Chinese: 金顶寺, pinyin: jīndǐngsì, literally: “Temple of the Golden Peak”), located at the very top at an altitude of 3077 meters, has been completely reconstructed.




Since the 6th century, the mountain has been a destination of pilgrimage for Chinese Buddhists. In recent years, the number of both tourists and pilgrims has increased sharply.




Some temples earn money for reconstruction by renting out rooms and offering food to tourists. There is a cable car and two trails leading to the top, which often turn into a continuous stream of tourists and pilgrims. Climbing the mountain on foot takes two to three days.




Not far from Emeishan is the so-called Big Buddha of Leshan, a World Heritage Site that has remained the tallest statue in the world for a millennium.


Longmen Cave Temples






Longmen (Chinese tr. 龍門石窟, exemplar 龙门石窟, pinyin: lóngmén shíkū, literally: “Stone Caves at the Dragon Gate”) is a complex of Buddhist cave temples in the Chinese province of Henan, 12 km south of Luoyang. Along with Mogao and Yungang, it is considered one of the three most significant cave temple complexes in China.




Included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Carved in 495-898 into limestone rocks along the banks of the Yihe River (15 km south of the city of Luoyang)






The caves stretch for a kilometer along the slopes of the Xianshan and Longmenshan mountains, between which there is a river. The exact number of works of art hidden in the rock is unknown.






According to official estimates, there are 2,345 grottoes and recesses with 43 temples, which contain approx. 2800 inscriptions and about 100,000 religious images. The construction of temples began in 493 during the Northern Wei Dynasty, but approximately 60% of the statues date back to the Tang Dynasty (VII-IX centuries).





Consists of several hundred caves, the main ones (Binyan, 500-523, Guyang, 495-575, and Fengxian, 627-675) include statues of Buddhist deities (including Buddha Vairocana, 672-676, height about 15 m), reliefs depicting monks, heavenly dancers, solemn processions. The monumentally majestic sculpture of L. is characterized by graceful proportions and graphic clarity in the depiction of details, combined with a plastically soft interpretation of forms.



Yungang Cave Temples





Yungang Cave Grottoes (Chinese: 云冈石窟, pinyin: Yúngāng Shíkū, Pal.: Yungang Shiku) is a complex of 252 man-made caves 16 km southeast of the Chinese city of Datong, Shanxi Province. Contains up to 51,000 Buddha images, some of which reach 17 meters in height.








Yungang represents the most complete monument of art of the Northern Wei dynasty, of which Datong was the capital. Most of the cave temples were created between 460 and 525 AD. n. BC, when Chinese Buddhism experienced its first flowering. Similar temple complexes have survived near Luoyang (Longmen) and Dunhuang (Qianfodong).


The Yungang caves with sculptures of stone Buddhas are located in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi and are the 28th world monument of cultural and historical heritage in China. Construction of the cave-temple complex, located at the southern foot of Mount Wuzhoushan, 16 kilometers from the city of Datong, began in 460 and was completed in 494, during the Northern Wei Dynasty. The cliffs, which are about one kilometer long, contain a total of 45 caves and 50,000 stone sculptures, on which not only the most skilled Chinese craftsmen worked, but also invited artisans and artists from India and Central Asia.

The Mogao Caves (or, as they are also called, the Thousand Buddha Caves) are located on the slope of the Singing Sands Mountain in Dunhuang, Gansu Province.

Mogao is the largest cave of the early Buddhist cave temple complex of Qianfodong, erected in 353-366. n. e. Qianfodong, more often called Mogao after the main cave, unites 492 sanctuaries, which were decorated with frescoes and sculptures over a whole millennium (IV-XIV centuries).

Mogao, along with the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas in Bezeklik, is one of the earliest Buddhist temples in China. Historical documents state that the first caves were made in the rock in 366. The Chinese monk Le Tzu-niu once had a vision of a thousand golden Buddhas, after which he was sure that it was worth making a cave on this holy land. His idea was supported and actively began to be implemented.

The carved caves were painted with colorful frescoes, decorated with clay sculptures, and various valuables were stored in them. Each fresco is an illustration of one of the Buddhist sutras and jatakas or depicts monks, the emperor and ordinary believers. Some of the frescoes illustrate the events of the spread of Buddhism in China. In some of the caves, frescoes cover the entire wall. Despite thousands of years of erosion caused by wind and drifting sand, the frescoes still retain their vibrant colors and clear images. The frescoes in these grottoes are marked by the influence of Western schools of Buddhism. In addition to frescoes and sculptures, the caves contain about 50 thousand Buddhist manuscripts and other valuables, including silk drawings, engravings, embroidery and calligraphy samples.

The total area of ​​the caves is 45 thousand square meters. Mogao Caves consists of many small and large caves. Their length is 1680 meters. The size of the caves varies. In total there are 37 smallest caves and 16 largest ones, and the height of 96 of all caves is 40 meters. During the late Sixteen Kingdoms period, the first 275 grottoes were carved.

Mogao Caves are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Opposite the Mogao Caves is the Dunhang Art Museum, where some of the destroyed and looted caves have been recreated.

Mogao- the largest cave of the early Buddhist cave temple complex of Qianfodong, erected in 353-366. n. e. in Gansu Province, China. Qianfodong, more commonly called Mogao, unites more than 700 caves, the total length of which is 1680 meters.

Magao's 492 caves contain painted statues and murals. In addition, there are about 50 thousand Buddhist manuscripts and other valuables found here by a monk named Wang in the Cangjingdong Cave, which served as a repository for sacred Buddhist sutras. Among them are about 1000 drawings on silk, prints, embroideries and calligraphy samples. These historical works contain information about the history, geography, politics, national composition, military art, knowledge of philology, calligraphy, religion, art, medicine, science and technology of China, South and Central Asia, as well as Europe.

Mogao is one of the earliest Buddhist temples in China. Its appearance in the east of the Taklamakan desert is not accidental: caravans with silk passed through here, along with which Buddhist teachings seeped into China. Unlike later cave temples like Longmeng and Yungang, the decoration of Mogao is dominated not by sculpture, but by fresco painting. Its area is estimated at 42,000 square meters. meters. Many paintings cover entire cave walls.

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In the photo, the stone guards of the city of Mogao temple caves are Buddhist stupas. Approaching the sacred site, pilgrims bowed their heads in front of the stupas, asking permission from higher powers to bring gifts and offer prayers in the skillfully carved grottoes.

Qianfodong Temple Complex

The Qianfodong temple complex includes hundreds of sanctuaries, but is most often named after its largest cave, Mogao. Monuments of Buddhist art, created over a whole millennium, were discovered here. In 1987, the Mogao cave temples were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as an example of a harmonious combination of architectural, sculptural and fresco art.

Mogao Caves are located on the eastern slope of Mingshashan Mountain, near the county town of Dunhuang in the northwest of the province.

Mogao is a collection of the earliest Buddhist temples in China. They were created on the eastern border of the desert, along which the Great Silk Road stretched. Caravans not only carried goods, but also spread the teachings of Buddha.

Before Buddhism entered China, Taoist and Confucian temples were built of wood. The tradition of cave temples came along with Buddhism from India, where poverty and lack of building materials forced them to resort to similar construction methods.

Mogao temples began to be created in 353-366. At that time, the old monk Lezun (according to other sources - Yuezun, Li Zun or Lo Chun) wandered in these places. Stopping under the mountainside, he experienced an incredible sensation when he saw a vision of a thousand sparkling Buddhas. Considering this a sign from above, Lezun decided to carve a cave into the mountainside and turn it into a temple. He collected donations for construction from traders traveling with caravans. Gradually, as Buddhism spread, the caves became a place of pilgrimage.

In the future, the construction of caves did not stop: this was done both by wandering monks and by workers specially hired by local rulers, dignitaries and rich people - traders and landowners.

More and more temples appeared in the caves, and by the 7th century, during the Tang Dynasty, a grandiose complex of more than a thousand caves was created here. Hence its name: translated from Chinese, Qianfodong means “Cave of a Thousand Buddhas,” and Mogao means “Cave for Little Ones.” It was required to enter with a respectful bow.

By the 14th century The Great Silk Road is losing its importance as a trade route between East and West, Islamization is increasing, and Buddhism is losing its primacy in the area. The Mogao Caves were abandoned and almost forgotten.

The caves are carved into the mountain slope, in 3-4 tiers, for more than 1.5 km. Early rock-cut temples have a central column supporting the ceiling. From the 6th century the ceilings become pyramidal, the need for columns disappears, and the free floor area increases.

About 2.5 thousand clay statues of Buddha and bodhisattvas have been preserved in the caves. Among the sculptures there are very tiny ones, the size of a palm, and there are also gigantic ones over 30 m high.

To date, out of a thousand temples, several hundred have been restored, only about 30 are available for viewing. Others are closed either because they are not of significant interest to tourists, or restoration work in them has not yet been completed.

Cave temples are located in an oasis, which in ancient times was located at the intersection of trade routes. Trade caravans stopped here before a grueling journey through the desert, beyond which, already on the mountain paths, robbers were waiting for them. The appearance of temples in this place was caused by the need for a sanctuary in which one could turn to higher powers with a prayer for protection.

Manuscripts and cave frescoes

The main treasure of the caves is the tens of thousands of Buddhist manuscripts, silk paintings, engravings, embroideries and calligraphy samples stored in them.

In later cave temples in China, such as Longmen and Yungang, the main element of the interior decoration is sculpture, while in Mogao it is fresco painting with a total area of ​​over 40 thousand m 2.

The painting technique is the same almost everywhere: frescoes painted with multi-colored adhesive paints are applied to dry soil.

The paintings include images of many characters and are made both in the form of a frieze and cover the entire wall of the cave, including the vaults.

The themes of the frescoes range from illustrations of Buddha's teachings to intricate floral designs. The goal is the same for all: to instruct and inspire illiterate believers in much the same way as the stained glass windows of medieval cathedrals and the icons of Orthodox churches.

And after many centuries, the images, full of internal dynamism, amaze with their liveliness.

In 1900, Taoist hermit Wang was clearing wind-blown sand from one of the caves when part of the side wall collapsed, revealing another cave with a mountain of old written scrolls more than 3 m high.

As it later turned out, the manuscripts represent an encyclopedic collection of works on the history, geography, politics, demography, strategy and tactics of military operations, philology, calligraphy, religion, art, medicine, science and technology of China, South and Central Asia, as well as Europe.

The provincial governor ordered Wang to keep the scrolls under lock and key, but seven years later British archaeologist Aurel Stein learned about the find. By deception, he managed to bring thousands of scrolls to London. Then the library of scrolls was dismantled almost completely to European and Russian museums.

The authorities of the Qing dynasty did nothing to stop the massive looting of national treasures. When they came to their senses, most of the scrolls - the most valuable - were already outside the country. About 40 thousand sacred Buddhist canons, countless fragments of wall paintings and sculptures “leaked” abroad.

It is now known that the treasure of manuscripts in Dunhuang was a priceless monastic library. The oldest manuscripts date back to the 5th century. Around 1035, enemies appeared, the scrolls were walled up, and later forgotten. Among the most valuable is the text of the Diamond Sutra of 868: the oldest printed book in the world.

After the discovery of caves containing Buddhist relics, Chinese scientists began to study them. In 1910, the first books dedicated to Dunhuang were published.

In 1949, the Chinese government sent an archaeological expedition here, whose work continues today. In 1950, the Mogao Caves were included in the list of particularly important sites under state protection.

The entrances to the Mogao caves themselves are closed with steel doors, and there is no lighting in them. All caves are numbered; they do not have any specific names, except for one. Cave No. 96 is the largest and is the actual Mogao Cave, created in 695 during the Tang Dynasty. Since it is higher than the rock wall, it is covered with a wooden roof and looks like a pagoda from the outside. The 34.5 m tall image of Maitreya is considered the largest indoor Buddha figure in the world.

For those who find it difficult to explore the caves themselves, the Temple Caves Art Museum has been created, located at the foot of Sanweishan Mountain, opposite Mogao. The museum has recreated the interior decoration of the temples.

General information

Location : northwest China.

Administrative affiliation : Gansu Province.

Nearest city county: Dunhuang - 187,578 people. (2010).

Creation: IV-XIV centuries.

Languages: Chinese and dialects.

Ethnic composition : Han, Huizu.

Religions: Buddhism, Islam.

Currency : CNY.

Airport: Lanzhou (international).

Numbers

Caves: number - 735, location - length of the cliff in which the caves are carved - 1680 m from south to north, height of the arch of the largest - 40 m, the smallest - less than 1 m.

Manuscripts: quantity - about 60 thousand.

Frescoes: total area - 45 thousand m2.

Statues: total number - 2415, height - from 10 cm to 33 m.

Altitude : 1330 m.

Distance: 25 km southeast of Dunhuang Oasis.

Climate and weather

Temperate, sharply continental, desert.

Long cold winter, hot and dry summer.

Average January temperature : -8.5°C.

Average temperature in July : +24.5°C.

Average annual precipitation : 50 mm.

Average annual relative humidity : 45%.

Attractions

Natural

Singing sand dunes of the Taklamakan Desert

Yueyquan Lake

Historical

Yumen Passage (Jade Gate of the Great Wall of China) and ruins of watchtowers from the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220)

Temple caves of Mogao (frescoes, statues, manuscripts, IV-XIV centuries)

White Horse Pagoda (384)

Cultural

Temple Caves Art Museum

Curious facts

Only five wooden buildings remain in the caves.

At the early stage of construction of temple caves, the Buddhism preached in them called for self-denial, even self-sacrifice. The canonical expression of this position can be traced in the Jatakas - ancient Indian legends about the previous reincarnations of Buddha Gautama. The temple depiction of the events of a particular legend is a series of paintings, partly in the shape of the letter S, starting at the top right. And the style of the early images in the Mogao caves has distinctly Indian features: people wear seamless skirts or loincloths, the torso is bare, the skin is dark, and the facial features are typically Indian. But from the end of the 6th century. and with the coming to power of the Sui dynasty, which conquered Dunhuang, as Chinese Mahayana Buddhism spread, promising salvation not only for monks, but also for laymen, images are increasingly dominated not by abstract nirvana, but by a completely visual paradise. It is presented in the form of many beautiful ponds, where in the center, on lotus flowers, Buddhas sit, musicians play, dancers are frozen in erotic poses. Moreover, most of the participants in these scenes have pronounced Chinese facial features.

In 1920, a large group of Russian military - white emigrants used the caves as barracks, which led to damage to the frescoes.

In cave No. 323 of the beginning of the 7th century. depicts the early history of the Silk Road: Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Zhang Qian, who traveled at his command to the “western lands” - as far as present-day Uzbekistan and compiled reports that served as the basis for plans for conquest that expanded the territory of China.

Currently, the cultural treasures of Dunhuang are kept in museums and private collections in Great Britain, France, Russia, India, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the Republic of Korea, Finland and the USA. According to some estimates, the total auction value of the stolen relics is 2/3 of the value of all cultural property of the early Buddhist era remaining in China.

Cave No. 16 is very large, with a thousand picturesque images of Buddha from the Western Xia era. Cave No. 61 contains full-length images of the founders of the temple, including a princess from Khotan who married the ruler of Dunhuang. In cave No. 130, dug in 713-741. during the Tang Dynasty, there is also an image of a monumental Maitreya 26 m high. In cave No. 148 775 there is a reclining Buddha 15.6 m long, mourned by seventy-two disciples, bodhisattvas and other beings. In Cave No. 158 there are images of mourning bodhisattvas numbing the pain by inflicting wounds on themselves with a dagger.


During the exploration of the caves, unique scrolls were discovered not only of Buddhist content, but also Manichaean, Christian and Zoroastrian texts. Among others, the oldest text of Zoroastrian prayer and the so-called “Jesus Sutras” were kept here, which are supposedly proof of the journey of Jesus Christ to the East.

There are many illustrations of Indian Jataka legends in the caves. In cave No. 257 you can see the famous Jataka about the wonderful nine-colored antelope: she saves a drowning man, in return asks not to give away her habitat, but the rescued one betrays her, for which he is punished. Cave No. 428 contains images of several jatakas at once, where the death demon Mara orders his beautiful daughter to dance in front of Gautama in order to arouse worldly passions in him and thereby deprive him of his final victory; about the generous prince of Sudan, who gave the enemy neighboring country, gripped by drought, a magical elephant that could conjure rain; the story of Prince Sattva, who sacrificed himself to a tigress dying of hunger.

At the very beginning of the new era, a new religion began to penetrate into China - Buddhism. The growth of its popularity was greatly facilitated by the fact that in China the Buddhist canons were supplemented by many provisions of the cults and beliefs that existed here. The Chinese goddess Guang-yin became the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, and Confucius and Lao Tzu were included among the deities of the Buddhist pantheon. At the same time, Buddhism became a stimulus for the development of Chinese monumental art, since before that neither Confucianism nor Taoism needed to create any majestic structures.

Numerous rock monasteries founded in this era are real cities. Architecture, sculpture, and painting merge here into one whole with the surrounding wild nature. and Mogao, and - these magnificent cave monasteries are still bright, the glory of which has passed through many centuries of the history of this amazing country.

China, sights of Gansu province

Ensemble of Buddhist cave temples Mogao is located in a desert area in the west of Gansu Province. Here, 14 km southeast of the ancient city of Dunhuang, which stood on the Great Silk Road, is an ensemble of cave Buddhist monasteries known as Mogao.

The first Buddhist grotto sanctuaries appeared here in 353–366, on the spot where, according to legend, the monk Luo Tsun had a vision of a thousand Buddhas. Over the course of ten centuries, in the 4th–14th centuries, about a thousand cave temples were carved here.

492 caves have survived to this day, the largest of which - Mogao (366) - gave its name to the entire complex. The surviving 2415 sculptures and 45 thousand square meters. m of wall paintings make these caves a real treasure trove of Buddhist art.

Qianfodong Rock Monastery in Mogao

The Qianfodong rock monastery (“Caves of a Thousand Buddhas”) is the center of the entire ensemble. Its cave temples, carved into the loess slopes, are decorated with numerous sculptures and wall paintings painted with glue paints on dry soil. Their authors were artists of different nations.

The caves are filled with hundreds of painted clay statues of Buddhist saints. Their addition and continuation are the images of the paintings, which serve as a kind of flat decoration from which three-dimensional figures of Buddhas protrude.

Paintings of the 4th–6th centuries. are multi-figure scenes-illustrations for the Tripitaka, telling about the previous lives and spiritual exploits of the Buddha. Along with this, spirits and deities personifying the heavenly worlds are represented here.

The art of Mogao during its heyday (VI–IX centuries) is united by plot (sutras, everyday and historical scenes, landscapes, images of heavenly palaces). Many compositions were created based on jatakas - stories about the reincarnations of Buddha.

Real historical characters are also depicted here - for example, the famous Chinese traveler Zhang Qian, who knelt before Emperor Wudi before heading to the distant “Western lands”.

Murals often cover an entire wall and stand out for their realism and dynamic images. Later temple art of the 10th–14th centuries. created by artists who were in public service, so it has a more strict style.

In 1899, thousands of manuscripts in the languages ​​of the peoples of Asian countries, scrolls with works of ancient Buddhist iconography, as well as early examples of Chinese printing were found in one of the caves. All these artifacts allowed UNESCO to include the ensemble of Mogao cave temples in