This period is the formation and development of China's artistic procedures, schools, categories and theories, as well as the establishment and development of China's Buddhist theories and sects after Buddhism and Buddhist art were introduced. Buddhist art became an important category of China art, and finally completed the China period.
In 366, two years before Jian Yuan of Qin Dynasty, Monk Le Zun passed by this mountain and suddenly saw the golden light shining like Buddha, so he dug the first hole in the rock wall. Since then, Zen master Fa Liang and others have continued to build caves here to practice, which are called "desert grottoes", meaning "high places in the desert". Later generations renamed it "Mogao Grottoes" because of the common "desert" and "Mo".
There is another saying: Buddhists say that it is impossible and impossible to build a Buddha cave because of its infinite merits. Mogao Grottoes means that there is no higher cultivation than building Buddha Grottoes.
Extended data:
Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, commonly known as the Thousand Buddha Cave, is located on the cliff beside the Dangquan River at the eastern foot of Mingsha Mountain, 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, with a length of about 1600 meters from north to south. It was built in the second year of Jian Yuan in the former Qin Dynasty (AD 366), and it has been built for thousands of years after the Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Zhou, Five Dynasties, Song Xixia and Yuan Dynasties.
At present, there are 492 caves, including more than 45,000 square meters of murals, more than 2,400 painted sculptures, more than 4,000 flying objects, 5 wooden structures in Tang and Song Dynasties, and thousands of lotus columns and floor tiles.
It is a profound comprehensive art hall composed of architecture, painting and sculpture. It is the largest and best-preserved treasure house of Buddhist art in the world and is known as the "Pearl of Oriental Art".
The colored sculptures in Mogao Grottoes are mostly Buddhist figures and their deeds of practicing nirvana. Because the rocks in Mogao Grottoes are loose and cannot be carved, craftsmen use clay sculptures. Clay sculptures before the Tang Dynasty are rarely preserved in other places, so a large number of colored sculptures in Mogao Grottoes are even more precious and rare.
In addition, there are traditional national myths and various decorative patterns. From the murals, we can see various social activities of all ethnic groups and classes, such as emperor trips, farming, fishing and hunting, smelting iron and making wine, weddings and funerals, business trips, emissaries meeting, playing the piano, singing and dancing, and so on.
In the murals of the Mogao Grottoes in different periods, there are pictures reflecting some scenes of production and labor, social life, clothing system, ancient architecture modeling, music, dance, acrobatics, etc., and they also record the historical issues of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, which provide valuable information for the study of ancient China society from the 4th century to14th century.
The Mogao Grottoes were listed as national key cultural relics protection units in the State Council on 196 1, listed as world cultural heritage protection projects by UNESCO on 1987, and awarded the "World Cultural Heritage" certificate on 19 1.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Mogao Grottoes (Dunhuang Scenic Area, Gansu)