The History and Culture of Mogao Grottoes

The Mogao Grottoes were built during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. According to the book "Li Kerang Rebuilds the Monument of Mogao Grottoes" in Tang Dynasty, in the second year of Yuan Dynasty, the monk Le Zun passed by this mountain and suddenly saw the golden light shining like a Buddha, so he dug the first grotto on 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".

Most of the painted sculptures and murals in the Mogao Grottoes are Buddhist, such as statues of painted sculptures and murals, Sakyamuni's Bunsen Sutra, karma, Buddhist stories, various paintings, numerous Buddhist stories and mythical figures spread to the East. Each category has a large number of rich and systematic materials. It also involves India, West Asia, Central Asia, Xinjiang and other regions, which can help people understand the Buddhist thoughts, sects, beliefs and spread in ancient Dunhuang and Hexi Corridor, the integration of Buddhism and China traditional culture, and the process of Buddhism's China.