Information and Introduction of Mogao Grottoes

Problem description:

! ! 1111/sky

Analysis:

Mo Kao Grotto at Dunhuang

Dun is great, brilliant and prosperous, and Dunhuang's reputation comes from the Mogao Grottoes. Mogao Grottoes is the largest grottoes in China, commonly known as Thousand Buddha Cave. Located on the cliff of Dongsha Mountain, 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, it is about 1.600 meters long from north to south. The Mogao Grottoes are surrounded by the Gobi Desert and are shaded by trees. Passing a big archway, there is a flying statue on the left. Flying in Dunhuang is the business card of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and the symbol of Dunhuang art. As long as you see the beautiful flying, people will think of the art of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. Among the 492 caves in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, almost all of them are painted with flying sky, totaling more than 4,500. Its number can be said to be the best preserved grottoes among Buddhist grottoes and temples in the world and China.

During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the Central Plains competed with each other, and wars continued in various places, and people were displaced, while Hexi became a relatively stable area. A large number of scholars, Confucianism, scholars and ordinary people in the Central Plains left their homes and fled to Hexi for refuge, bringing advanced culture and production technology. In particular, Buddhism introduced from Han and Wei dynasties flourished in Dunhuang. Dunhuang is the gateway and gateway of Buddhism spreading to the east, and also the center of Buddhism in Hexi area. Many Buddhist disciples from all over Hexi come here to study. In the second year of Jian Yuan in the former Qin Dynasty (AD 366), Monk Le Zun opened the first Buddhist cave in Daquan Valley at the foot of Sanwei Mountain, and the Mogao Grottoes were born. After that, the practice of making Buddha by opening holes continued for thousands of years, creating the world-famous Dunhuang art.

The Northern Wei Dynasty destroyed the northern cool, unified the north and occupied Hexi. During this period, Dunhuang was relatively stable, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and Buddhism prevailed. The Northern Wei Dynasty excavated 13 caves in the Mogao Grottoes.

The establishment of the Sui Dynasty ended the 300-year-long division since the Western Jin Dynasty and completed the great cause of unifying China. When Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty recovered Hexi, he put down the invasions of Turks and Tuguhun successively, and ensured the smooth and prosperous Silk Road. After Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty settled the separatist regime in the south, he moved a group of nobles and their tribes in the Southern Dynasty to Dunhuang to fill the border and brought southern culture and customs to Dunhuang. In this way, Dunhuang combines the cultures of the North and South Han Dynasties, making the local culture of Dunhuang more distinctive. Emperor Wendi of Sui believed in Buddhism, and ordered several states to build pagodas. The imperial edict reached Dunhuang. Under the advocacy of the supreme ruler, although the Sui Dynasty existed for just 37 years, there were 77 caves in Mogao Grottoes, which were large in scale, with exquisite murals and colored sculptures, and there were two completely different artistic styles in the north and south.

In the early Tang Dynasty, Suzhou, melon and sand were established in Hexi. Hexi all belongs to Tang Dynasty. In the 14th year of Zhenguan (A.D. 640), Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, eliminated the obstacles dominated by western Turks on the East-West Avenue in one fell swoop and ensured the smooth flow of the Silk Road. Dunhuang in the Tang Dynasty, like the whole country, was highly prosperous in economy and culture, and Buddhism was very prosperous. The number of caves opened in Mogao Grottoes is as high as 1000, and 232 caves have been preserved so far. Murals and statues have reached an unusually high artistic level.

With the rise of the Tang Dynasty, the Tubo dynasty in southwest China became stronger and stronger. After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty began to decline from its peak and never recovered. Tubo attacked Hexi and captured Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Suzhou and Shazhou. Since then, Tubo has ruled the whole Hexi for more than 70 years. Tubo also believes in Buddhism. The cave of the Tang Dynasty in the Mogao Grottoes preserved a large number of mural art in the Tubo period, and the cave of Tibetan scriptures preserved a large number of Tibetan scriptures.

165438+At the beginning of the 20th century, the Northwest Tangut began to rise and become stronger. In 1028, he defeated Uighur in Gansu, then captured Guazhou and Shazhou and dominated Hexi. Xixia dynasty was founded in 1038. During the 100 years when Xixia ruled Dunhuang, Dunhuang maintained the level of wealth of people and property since the Han Dynasty, which was different from that in the Central Plains. Xixia rulers believed in Buddhism, did not exclude Han culture, and made great progress in culture and art. Up to now, Mogao Grottoes and Yulin Grottoes have preserved a large number of rich and unique Xixia Buddhist arts. The world-famous Dunhuang suicide note was sealed in Cave 17 of Mogao Grottoes during the reign of Xixia (A.D. 1036).

1227, the Mongolian army destroyed Xixia and conquered Shazhou, and Hexi area was owned by the Yuan Dynasty. The Western Expedition of Yuan Dynasty must pass through Dunhuang. At that time, there were many garrisons in Guazhou and Shazhou, with numerous camps and farmers and soldiers all over Danghe and Shule River basins. Dunhuang once showed a scene of economic and cultural prosperity, and its trade with the western regions was more frequent. The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty also believed in Buddhism. The Mogao Grottoes remain open. There are about 10 existing caves in the Yuan Dynasty. Since the Yuan Dynasty, Hexi Qianli has gradually lost its former glory.

After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he built Jiayuguan Ming Great Wall and rebuilt Suzhou City. In the third year of Jiajing (A.D. 1524), the Ming Dynasty ordered the closure of Jiayuguan, moved Kansai civilians into the pass, and abandoned Gua and Sha states. In the next 200 years, Dunhuang was not built, and it became a desert land of "the wind spreads thousands of miles, and the moon shines on quicksand another day". Closing the country to the outside world is doomed to failure.

By the Tang Dynasty, Tian Fei in Dunhuang had completed the process of absorbing and integrating Chinese and foreign countries, completely formed its own unique style, and reached the peak of art. The four murals in the Tang Dynasty caves were all large-scale paintings. "Flying" is not only painted in algae wells, Buddhist niches and four curtains, but also mostly painted in paintings. Buddha said in Elysium that the sky flies around, and some land slowly on colorful clouds; Some hold their heads high, swing their arms and soar upwards; Some hold flowers and go straight into the sky; Some hold flower trays and float across the sky. Skirts swaying in the wind and colored ribbons rolled up make the sky fly so lightly, skillfully and freely.

It is a very accidental thing that the Dunhuang Tibetan Sutra Cave was discovered. Taoist king, in the cave 143 where he lives, makes a living by traveling. Taoist Wang came across a door sealed with adobe. He opened it hard. It is a small hole more than ten feet wide. There are countless white packages in the cave, arranged very neatly. He opened it and found ten volumes of Buddhist scriptures in each bag. Other Buddhist photo frames, Xiu Xiang, were laid flat under the white bag. This happened in the 26th year of Guangxu (1900) on April 27th. A Taoist lived in a Buddhist cave, thus tearing apart Dunhuang's century-long painful history. I don't know if this is what Buddhism calls fate.

Wang Daochang is good at deceiving people. He wants to change these scrolls into money. So, in private, he transported several boxes of scriptures to Jiuquan and offered them to the Taiping Building on An Su Road. Tingdong doesn't know the value of these scrolls either. The Taoist king was very depressed. He threw a box of scrolls in Jiuquan and had to take the rest back.

Later, an English explorer Mark Orestam (1862- 1943) was originally from Hungary and immigrated to Britain. He was sent to Xinjiang by the governor of India to inspect the northwest geography. After listening to this, he quietly took the translator to Dunhuang in the name of investigating geography.

When Stein met Taoist Wang, he said sweetly, "As long as you promise to come down, I will give you three hundred and twenty pieces of silver." The Taoist king didn't dare to agree at first. When he saw the silver, he agreed There are about three kinds of treasures that Stein saw. The first is the China Buddhist scriptures written on hard paper. The second one is written in Tibetan. The third kind, which Stein is most satisfied with, is some ancient paintings. The paintings on silk books are all beautiful Buddha statues, with harmonious colors and bright colors as new.

They are afraid that outsiders will know that the work of stealing treasures is carried out every night. They stole for seven nights in a row. Twenty-four boxes have nearly 10,000 volumes, and five boxes of intact silk paintings and books have nearly 500 volumes. Stan hired more than forty camels to carry them away. Seven years later, Stein mixed into Dunhuang again and cheated Taoist Wang out of 570 volumes of Dunhuang cultural relics. Stan divided these scrolls into two parts. Some of them stayed in India to set up the Western Regions Museum, and the fine works went to the British Museum in London. This incident caused a sensation abroad, and other foreign thieves and China bureaucrats followed suit. I have searched all the relics in the Tibetan Sutra Cave and selected them carefully. A large number of exquisite documents, Buddhist paintings and silk products in the Tibetan Sutra Cave were defrauded at low prices, totaling more than 10,000 pieces, which are now in the National Library of France and the Jimei Museum in Paris. Pelliot was once a senior scholar in French China, Sha Ying. Although he was only 27 years old at that time, he already knew Chinese, Russian, Tibetan, Turkic and other languages 13. Although the number of stolen treasures is not as much as Stan's, it is the most valuable. The suicide note carefully selected and stolen by him is the most essential part, among which there are many orphans.

19110 In June, Koichiro Yoshikawa and Lihua Zuchuan of Otani Expedition Team illegally exchanged 469 writing books and two exquisite colored sculptures of the Tang Dynasty at a low price.

19 1 1 year, Russia's Odenburg led a delegation to the Mogao grottoes and stole a batch of scriptures.

Among the many treasure hunters in Dunhuang, one came late. He is Werner, director of the Oriental Department of Fogg Art Museum of Harvard University. He arrived at the Mogao Grottoes on 1923, but by this time, the Buddhist scriptures were empty and there were no more documents to take, so he shifted his goal to immovable statues and murals. 26 squares of murals in caves 320, 32 1, 328, 329, 33 1, 335 and 372 were stripped off with adhesive tape, accounting for 32,060 square centimeters. In the paintings of the early Tang Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Bo Wanghou Zhang Qian to the Western Regions to welcome the Golden Buddha. There were many murals telling important stories about the history of the nation and the history of Buddhism in China, and the most beautiful half-kneeling Guanyin colored sculpture in the Tang Dynasty was the highest in 328 caves 120cm. These precious works of art are now in the Fogg Museum of Harvard University.

Don't think that stolen murals can be well preserved in the world. When they were demolished, many of them were destroyed, as well as transportation, war, theft and other damage. The loss is more serious and devastating than the theft. The irretrievable broken arm of Venus statue makes the whole world feel sorry, but there are dozens of beautiful murals here, but we will never know their true colors.

There are only 19 original documents on display in the exhibition hall of the Tibetan Sutra Cave. The other 43 works of art are computer-sprayed replicas, and there are 49 pictures of overseas literature collections, because the originals have been lost overseas for nearly 100 years.

"There are so many murals in the Mogao Grottoes. During a maintenance, I accidentally found murals inside. After all, there used to be limited places in the Mogao Grottoes, and later generations could not find a place to build caves, so they covered the murals painted by their predecessors with mud and painted new murals, which made quite a few caves form the wonders of several layers of murals. At present, there is no 100% method to remove the surface layer without damaging any layer, so don't touch it, hoping to see the truth inside when the technology is advanced in the future. "

These imitation caves are really lifelike. The soil quality of the wall, the brushwork of the mural and the damaged place are all the same. There are no flaws at all, and there are headlights here, so visitors can enjoy them carefully.