We traveled 5 hours to get to Dunhuang from Zhangye. Dunhuang is a city oasis which just pops out of the Gobi desert sand.
The next morning we took a short trip to the Modao Caves. I am glad to have been okay if a tour as the number of types of tickets are restricted. Mogao means high up in the desert.
According to Tang Dynasty (618 – 907) records, a wandering monk in 366 AD had witnessed a vision of thousand Buddhas under showers of golden rays. Inspired, he started the caves construction work that spanned ten dynasties. Mogao Caves are also known as the Caves of a Thousand Buddhas.
This is the largest treasure of Buddhist art in the world. The earlier caves are more of the Indian style of Buddhist depiction with more Chinese style in later works. Each dynasty can be distinguished by the colors and cultural depictions in the paintings. It also have a glimpse of culture, politics, religion, and the arts. There are 492 caves from the 4th to the 14th centuries. They were actually forgotten for 500 years with some vandalism. Only 20 of the caves can be visited. No pictures are allowed and groups can only enter certain caves as long as temperature and humidity are stable there.
Caves 23 of the Tang dynasty show workers in the fields.
The unique artistic style of Dunhuang art is not only a blend of Han Chinese artistic styles assimilated from ancient Indian and Gandharan customs, but also an integration of the arts of the Turks, ancient Tibetans and other Chinese ethnic minorities.
The discovery of the Library Cave at the Mogao Caves in 1990, together with the tens of thousands of manuscripts and relics it contained, has been acclaimed as the world’s greatest discovery of ancient Oriental culture. This significant heritage provides invaluable reference for studying the complex history of ancient China and Central Asia.
Cave 61 is the largest. You can view it here: https://www.e-dunhuang.com/cave/10.0001/0001.0001.0061
It depicts Mount Wutai with a large scale map that depicts daily life. The Grand Buddha sculpture is from the Tang Dynasty which shows elegant architecture.
Cave 329 shows oxidation of the paint used for the faces where lead paint was used and turned black over the years. The art can be found here: https://www.e-dunhuang.com/cave/10.0001/0001.0001.0329
Caves 16-17 are 3 stories restored in 1906. They found sanskrit manuscripts of medicine, astronomy, and geology. Only 8000 exist in Gansu and Beijing; the rest being taken by explorers to other countries. They were held in cave 16 a non-descript monks cave off of 17, which can be seen here: https://www.e-dunhuang.com/cave/10.0001/0001.0001.0017
Monks living area today are caves with no murals.
Song dynasty preserved the murals on the outside facade of these caves.
In cave 259 you can see architecture from the Wei dynasty. There is an influence from India and gabled ceilings. The sculpture is 5th century. It boasts alot of blue from Afghanistan (Lapis lazuli) and the sculpture is the Pensive bodhisivata.
Cave 257 is also the 5th century and in the same style. It can be seen here: https://www.e-dunhuang.com/cave/10.0001/0001.0001.0257
The 9 stories pagoda was built in the Tang Dynasty but only colors have been restored. The Buddha is 35 m high. It was the 5th largest Buddha in the world but 2 in Afghanistan were bombed by the Taliban so now it is the 3rd largest. It is the future Buddha known as Maitreya. This is the bodhisattva who will appear on Earth in the future, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma.
Paintings found around it were destroyed when the roof collapsed.
Cave 23
OMG. I am blown away by all you are seeing. You could teach a Chinese history class when (if) you ever return to the states.
Slowly I am starting to piece all the history and dynasties together. This is a really amazing country and through this summer I have actually been to every bike that exists just in this country alone!