Why is Mogao Grottoes called the Thousand Buddha Caves? What aspects does Mogao Grottoes introduce?

Mogao Grottoes is a tourist attraction. The Sui and Tang dynasties were the heyday of the development of Mogao Grottoes, and there are more than 300 caves in existence. During this period, the Zen caves and the central tower column caves gradually disappeared, while at the same time, there were a large number of hall caves, altar caves, four-wall three-niche caves, and large statue caves. Among them, the number of hall caves is the largest. So why is Mogao Grottoes called the Thousand Buddha Caves? What aspects of Mogao Grottoes are introduced? Let's take a look at the introduction of Encyclopedia Knowledge Network!

Contents of this article

1. Why is Mogao Grottoes called the Thousand Buddha Caves?

2. What aspects of the Mogao Grottoes are introduced?

3. Where did the Mogao Grottoes come from when it was listed as a World Cultural Heritage?

4. What are the characteristics of the murals in Mogao Grottoes?

Why are Mogao Grottoes called Thousand Buddha Caves?

Mogao Grottoes is called the Thousand Buddha Caves because there are many Buddhas and caves. Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes is located in Dunhuang at the western end of the Hexi Corridor. It is known as the most valuable cultural discovery of the 20th century and is famous for its exquisite murals and statues. There are four major grottoes in my country, the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi, the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan, the Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui, Gansu, and the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang.

What aspects are introduced in Mogao Grottoes?

Mogao Grottoes introduces three aspects: colored sculptures, murals, and scripture caves. Mogao Grottoes, commonly known as the Thousand Buddha Caves, is located in Dunhuang at the western end of the Hexi Corridor. It was first built in the Former Qin period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, and has been built through the Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Western Xia, and Yuan dynasties, forming a huge scale with 735 caves, 45,000 square meters of murals, and 2,415 clay colored sculptures. It is the largest and most content-rich Buddhist art site in the world.

In 1961, the Mogao Grottoes were announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection sites. In 1987, the Mogao Grottoes were listed as a World Cultural Heritage. Mogao Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi, Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan, and Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui, Gansu are known as the four major grottoes in China.

Where did Mogao Grottoes come from when it was listed as a World Cultural Heritage

The Mogao Grottoes in Gansu Province were listed as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1987.

The Mogao Grottoes in Gansu, also known as the "Thousand Buddha Caves", are located 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, on a cliff at the eastern foot of Mingsha Mountain. It is one of the three major cave art treasures in my country.

The caves were first excavated in the second year of Jianyuan in the Former Qin Dynasty (366 AD). After being expanded and renovated throughout the ages, there are now 492 caves, 45,000 square meters of murals and 2,415 colored sculptures. It is the largest and most content-rich treasure house of existing cave art in my country.

The artistic characteristics of Mogao Grottoes are mainly reflected in the organic combination of architecture, sculptures and murals. The cave structures are divided into Zen caves, hall caves, pagoda caves, dome caves, shadow caves and other forms; the colored sculptures are divided into round sculptures, relief sculptures, shadow sculptures, good deeds sculptures and other forms; the murals are divided into statue paintings, sutra paintings, story paintings, Buddhist historical relics paintings, architectural paintings, landscape paintings, offering paintings, animal paintings, decorative paintings and other different contents.

Mogao Grottoes have very important artistic value and are worth a visit.

At present, there are a total of five Buddhist cave art sites in my country that have been included in the "World Cultural Heritage List": Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes (Gansu, December 1987), Mount Emei-Leshan Giant Buddha (Sichuan, December 1996), Dazu Rock Carvings (Chongqing, December 1999), Longmen Grottoes (Henan, November 2000) and Yungang Grottoes (Shanxi, December 2001). Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes is the first cave to be listed as a World Cultural Heritage.

What are the characteristics of the murals in Mogao Grottoes?

The artistic style of the murals concentrates the production techniques and style characteristics of traditional Chinese art. In terms of formal style, it is the product of the organic combination of line drawing, decorative composition, fine brushwork and heavy colors, and depicting the spirit through form.

Line drawing is the main means of modeling in Chinese calligraphy and painting. The Dunhuang murals also inherited this modeling technique, giving the images a high degree of generalization.

For thousands of years, Chinese painting art has been decorative in composition, which is a fine tradition. The early Dunhuang murals made full use of symmetry, balance, repetition, overlap and other techniques in the layout and structure of figures. The density is well-proportioned, the weight is appropriate, and unity is sought in change, while conflict is present in the whole, which shows the superb artistic skills of the mural craftsmen.

To express the spirit through form is the highest criterion for the creation and criticism of ancient Chinese paintings. This is also reflected in the Dunhuang murals. No matter what the subject matter or the characters are, they are all for expressing the inner activities of the subject. Therefore, the line drawing and color application of the Dunhuang murals are all for the ultimate purpose of expressing the spirit through form.