Buddhist grottoes

Location: Dunhuang, Gansu Province

Period: 4th century-14th century AD

Excavated in 1963

Significance: It has provided abundant material objects for the study of the history of ancient Chinese culture and Buddhism.

 Introduction

The Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, also known as the One-Thousand-Buddha Grottoes, are located on the eastern, rocky side of Singing Sand Mountain, near Dunhang City, Gansu Province. According to historical records, the carving of them was started in 366 AD and continued for about 1,000 years. Now, there are 492 grottoes in existence, with some 45,000 square meters of murals and 2,415 painted clay figures. The grottoes in the Mogao Caves are the world's largest and oldest treasure house of Buddhist art. 

A set of painted statues of Buddha from cave No. 244: (up, height 4.5 m); Buddha statue of Sui Dynasty from cave No. 412: (left-bottom, height 3.5 m); Bodhisattva statue of the prosperous period of Tang Dynasty, cave No. 144: (right-bottom, height 1.85 m)

In 1900, about 60,000 historical documents were found in the Cang Jing Cave. These articles included Buddhist sutras, documents, embroidery works and paintings from the 4th to the 14th centuries. Apart from ancient Chinese documents, there were also documents in other ancient languages, including Tibetan, Sanskrit and Uygur. These art works are treasures of human civilization, providing valuable material for studies of the politics, economy, culture, religion, ethnic relations and foreign exchanges of China in olden times.

 Cultural Heritage

The Mogao Grottoes show examples of various types of art, such as architecture, painting and statuary. By inheriting the artistic traditions of the central and western regions of China and absorbing the merits of ancient arts from India, Greece and Iran, ancient Chinese artists created Buddhist art works with strong local features.

1.Grottoes

So far there are 492 grottoes, with murals and painted clay figures. There are meditation grottoes, Buddha hall grottoes, temple grottoes, vault-roofed grottoes and shadow grottoes. The largest grotto is 40 meters high and 30 meters wide, whereas the smallest is less than one foot high.

2.  Painted Clay Figures

These are the main treasures of the Dunhuang Grottoes. The figures are in different forms, including round figures and relief figures. The tallest is 34.5 meters high, while the smallest is only 2 centimeters. These painted clay figures show such a great variety of themes and subject matter, as well as advanced techniques, that the Mogao Grottoes are generally regarded as the world's leading museum of Buddhist painted clay figures.

3.Murals

The murals in the Mogao Grottoes display Buddhist sutras, natural scenery, buildings, mountain and water paintings, flower patterns, flying Apsaras (Buddhist fairies) and ancient farming and production scenes. There are 1,045 murals extant, with a total area of 45,000 square meters. They are artistic records of historical changes and customs and traditions from the 4th to the 18th centuries.