The Mogao Grottoes can be said to be born of the Buddha, and its name means "boundless merits, nothing is higher than this". The more famous stories in the murals include The Nine-colored Deer, which was later adapted into a cartoon, and the story of Prince Samoudi laying down his life to feed the tiger. Legend has it that in a kingdom in ancient India, the king had three sons, each of whom was charitable and kind, especially the third prince Samoudi. One day, three princes went out hunting together. On the way, they met a tigress who had just given birth to three cubs. They are starving to death. The three princes searched around for a long time, but found nothing to feed the tigress. Satsuma couldn't bear to watch the tigress and her cubs starve to death, so she jumped off the cliff while her two brothers were not paying attention and made herself a life-saving food for the tigress. Samadha is Sakyamuni's past life, because Sakyamuni did all kinds of good deeds in his past life and finally got results. This story typically embodies Buddhist ideas, so it appears in many caves.
The most famous image in the murals of Mogao Grottoes is Feitian. Flying is an eye-catching aspect of murals in the Tang Dynasty. She always conforms to the Buddha's statement. Some fly, some prance, some scatter flowers, some look at each other, giving people a happy scene of traveling in space. Flying has become a world-famous symbol of Dunhuang murals. Tian Fei is the protector of the Buddha in Indian Buddhism. After it was introduced into Middle Earth, people confused it with Taoist fairies or goddesses, so Tian Fei gradually became a fairy who scattered flowers or played music around the Buddha to create an atmosphere. Reflected in murals, Tian Fei is rarely depicted as the main body, but mostly appears in the surrounding parts, which are numerous but usually small. Because of different ages, Feitian in murals of different dynasties also presents different postures and images. The flying in the Northern Wei Dynasty was V-shaped, giving people the feeling of falling heavily. The flying in the Tang Dynasty was light, elegant and natural, with more vivid colors, which made people yearn for that free and unrestrained era.
The themes of the early murals in Mogao Grottoes are mostly Buddhist stories, as well as realistic scenes, such as farmland and fighting, and popular mythological themes, such as Fuxi and Nu Wa. These traditional themes of China are intertwined with Indian myths such as Sula Wong, indicating the integration of early Buddhist murals with Taoism and Confucianism. Murals in grottoes are mainly large-scale paintings and simple change paintings. The largest statues in the Mogao Grottoes were made in the Tang Dynasty, and the giant Buddha in Cave 96 is the largest statue in the Mogao Grottoes. The main statue of Nirvana in Cave 148 is the largest painted sculpture group in Mogao Grottoes. The murals in the Tang Dynasty are varied and varied, and the scale is extremely grand, showing a magnificent picture of the kingdom of heaven. Grottoes lost their vitality in the Five Dynasties and began to decline in the Song Dynasty.
The works of this period are not mature in image-building, showing a childlike spirit and reflecting the characteristics of the same strain as Han paintings. Characterization does not pay attention to facial expressions, but emphasizes dynamic description; In art, it takes the form of continuous painting, full of legend and literariness; The plot is full of ups and downs and fascinating.
After entering the Tang Dynasty, with the overall prosperity of culture and art, the creation of Dunhuang Grottoes reached a climax. Buddhist classics in the Tang Dynasty have been translated and widely circulated, and a large number of Buddhist classics have been transformed into images. The scale of Jingbian dialect in this period is very grand. Almost as soon as I entered the cave, except for the statue, the other three walls were huge paintings, with many people and bright colors. The appearance of this mural is an important feature of Dunhuang murals in Tang Dynasty.
Decorative patterns are also an indispensable part of murals in the Tang Dynasty. Whether it is a decorative niche, a Buddhist altar or an algae well on the whole ceiling, dragons, phoenixes, turtles, snakes, lion-shaped flowers and trees, as well as patterns of clouds, air and water, are lifelike. Some of them are decorated with different modes of flight, which are more mobile and lively. Dunhuang murals flourished in the Tang Dynasty, and then went from bad to worse. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, it had become blank. The treasure of Dunhuang in the late Qing Dynasty was stolen and bought by western invaders, which caused a great outflow and destruction of this national art treasure, and became a great regret in the history of China art.