What are priceless wood carvings and murals?

After obtaining a large number of reliefs and documents, Stein did not expect that something even more surprising happened: he found several priceless woodcuts and murals of the Tang Dynasty. These paintings are the mouse god, Princess Chuansi, Persian Bodhisattva and Dragon Lady, which later shocked the world art world and caused a lot of controversy. What is particularly incredible is that, except for the Persian Bodhisattva, the contents of the other three pictures are exactly the same as those recorded in Master Xuanzang's "Records of the Western Regions of Datang". But in terms of painting style, these paintings basically belong to the popular Greek art style in India.

Dandan Uhrik's paintings were born about 1300 years ago. At that time, the reputation of monk Wei Chiyi, a painter in Khotan, had spread all over the Central Plains painting world. An Italian scholar named Mario Buszagli mentioned and commented on Yu Khotan School in his book Painting in Central Asia: ... The only school that can boast and appreciate the great works of China artists and critics is Yu Khotan School. Unfortunately, only a few surviving paintings prove that these works are heterogeneous in type, source, time and theme. Yukun School has proved that it has absorbed Indian, Persian, China and may even have Chinese influence. "He also believes that, from the root, characters, images, etc. Uhrik and Dandan depicted in Yu Kun's paintings can be said to have evolved from the source of ancient India, but this does not mean that Yu Kun's paintings and other works do not have their own creations. The extension of the Bodhisattva statue of Dandan Wulike lies in the combination of Tan painting and Iranian foreign painting style. Dragon Girl shows the blending of Chinese and western cultures, and the combination of China's line drawing technique and western concave-convex painting is well reflected in this work.

Yu Kun's early paintings were greatly influenced by Gandhara's art, but around the 7th century AD, the influence of Central Plains culture was clearly reflected in Dandan Uhrik's paintings and even in Kun's paintings. The reason is not difficult to infer, because the relationship between the Central Plains and Khotan was closer in the Tang Dynasty, and the Sui and Tang Dynasties was a period of high development of Khotan culture, which was marked by the collection of various foreign arts.

Legend of rat soil grave

Stan found several paintings on wooden boards in the ruins of Uhrik in Dandan. These boards were placed under the statue, which seemed to be the offerings of believers. There is a big board with a bust, a mouse head with a crown on it, an oval halo on the back, and two waiters standing around it. In Stan's view, this painting is based on historical facts. He knew that Xuanzang's records contained a story about a rat grave. It is said that in ancient times, the local people had great respect for mice and mouse kings. Khotan was invaded by Huns on a large scale, but thanks to the mouse biting off the harness of Huns, it defeated the enemy and saved the country. On the way to Hotan, someone pointed out to him that this place was what Xuanzang called a rat grave.

There is indeed such a wonderful fairy tale "Legend of Rat Soil Grave" in "The Story of the Western Regions of Datang", which tells that there is a sandbag called Rat Soil Grave in the western suburb of Kandu City. Local residents said that there were rats as big as hedgehogs, and the giant rat with golden and silver fur was the leader of the group. Once hundreds of thousands of Xiongnu troops invaded Khotan, and they were stationed next to the rat soil grave. At that time, King Khotan only led tens of thousands of troops, which was difficult to resist and win. Although the king always knew that there were mice in the desert, he never really saw them. At the present time of the great enemy, the monarch and his subjects were terrified and didn't know what to do, so they had to put out all kinds of sacrifices and pray for the help of rats. That night, the king dreamed that a big mouse told him that he could help him repel the enemy and hoped that he would reorganize his army as soon as possible and prepare for the attack. When the king woke up from his dream, he remembered the agreement with the mouse in the dream, so he ordered the soldiers to pack up and go straight to the enemy. The Huns were frightened and were about to go into battle. Unexpectedly, the saddle, bowstring, nail chain and lace were bitten off by rats. Xiongnu soldiers were in a state of disintegration in an instant, so they had to give in easily, and Khotan's army returned home in triumph. The king was very grateful for saving his life, so he built a shrine to express his gratitude and hoped to be protected by the tree forever.

In many historical documents, people have seen the record that "Wang Jin is crowned with golden rats in Khotan", "There is a rat country in the western regions, the big ones are like dogs, the middle ones are like rabbits, and the small ones are as usual", and "There are sand moraines in the west of Khotan, the rats are as big as hedgehogs, the color is gold, and the rats obey the crowd". These records are consistent with those of the Western Regions in the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, Stein thinks that the picture of the mouse god shows the legend of the mouse grave, which should be explained.

Chuansi princess

Stan's most important achievement was to find the portrait of Princess Chuansi. Stan later described: "The most amazing thing is that I found a drawing board with a Chinese princess on it. In a story told by Xuanzang, she should be the first person to introduce sericulture to Yu Kan. During the reign of Xuanzang, sericulture was very prosperous. It is said that the princess secretly hid the silkworm eggs in her hat and took them out when people were not looking, because the export of silkworm eggs was forbidden in China. In the middle of this painting is a well-dressed lady with a maid kneeling on both sides. At one end of the picture, there is a basket with something like fruit in it, and at the other end, there is a polygonal thing. At first, people didn't know what it was. Later, I found that the maid on the left pointed to the lady's high crown with her left hand. Under the crown, she stole China's silkworm eggs, so the other end of the painting is silkworm cocoons. "

These views of Stein coincide with Xuanzang's record-"Silkworms were not raised in the past, but were owned by Wendong, and people were ordered to find them. At that time, the monarch of the Eastern Kingdom kept it a secret, but he stabbed it severely and prevented it from being released. Wang Nai bowed in Khotan and proposed to the East. The monarch was ambitious and agreed to his request. King Khotan ordered an emissary to greet his wife and sincerely said, "Your message is for the monarch and daughter of the Eastern Kingdom. There are no such things as silk, cotton and silkworm in our country. Take them and wear them yourself.' When the woman heard what he said, she secretly asked for its seed and put it in a hat stuffing. At the customs, the master searched everywhere, but the queen's hat was afraid to be inspected. Then he entered Kanguo, stopped shooting at Galand's hometown, prepared a ceremony to welcome him into the palace, and left here with mulberry seeds. At that time, Xuanzang visited the "Mashe Galand" in the southeast of the capital of Khotan, which was established to commemorate the monarch and daughter of the Eastern Kingdom. In addition to the Records of the Western Regions of Datang, there are similar records in the Records of the Kingdom of Khotan and other documents.

The content of Princess Sichuan coincides with the memory of the Western Regions in the Tang Dynasty, which makes people have to think deeply about the truth behind history.

Persian bodhisattva

Stan found a drawing board of "Persian Bodhisattva" in a small room of a Buddhist temple in Uhrik, Dandan. On the drawing board, there is a strong man whose clothes are all Persian. However, judging from his expression and appearance, this man is a Buddhist god. However, he has a black beard and bushy eyebrows on his face, which is very much like a westerner. He wore a golden hat on his head, a slender waist, a brocade coat and a belt around his waist. The scarf hangs from the head and winds down, which is roughly the same as the Central Asian Bodhisattva that people usually see. All the four arms hold the method except one hand holding the leg. One hand holds the short spear, the other hand holds the goblet and the other hand holds the flower. The headlights and backlight are very obvious, and the statue looks solemn and majestic.

Stan also said that behind the drawing board of the Persian Bodhisattva, there is an "Indian-style three-headed devil", dressed in dark blue and naked, wearing a tiger skin skirt below the waist, two cows holding their heads high and their arms bent, all of which are similar to the Shinto of Indian Tantric Buddhism.

Dragon girl map

The dragon lady figure discovered by Stan is a masterpiece of ancient oriental painting. This is one of a series of colorful murals in a Buddhist temple in Dandan, Uhrik. "Its unconventional theme and vivid pictures" immediately attracted Stein's attention. In the middle of this dragon lady picture is a naked woman standing in the lotus pond, with a high bun on her head, a scarf as decoration, a collar, armbands, bracelets and ornaments between her legs. Her left hand caresses her chest and her right hand puts her abdomen, and her posture is beautiful and natural. There is also a naked boy in the swimming pool, holding the naked woman's legs in his hands and looking up at her. The naked woman also looked back at the boy with a happy and shy expression on her face. The pool is surrounded by a chessboard pattern, and lotus flowers float on the water.

Stein described the painting like this: "The outline of the picture is simple, and the vivid charm is outlined with beautiful lines. The naked woman caressed her chest with her right hand fingers, bent her left arm to her waist, and tied four belts with small bells on her hips, which resembled dancers in early Indian sculpture art. Strangely, in late classical works of art, exquisitely painted grape leaves appeared where figs should have been painted. The face of the girl in the bath turned to her right and looked down at the boy ... The lotus flowers in the pool are very realistic and natural, with different postures, some in bud, some half open and half closed, and the colors range from dark blue to deep purple. It shows that the painter is very familiar with these holy lotus flowers after long-term observation ... There is also a horse and other figures painted in front of the pool, reminding people that its theme may be to express an absurd myth, that is, the story of the dragon girl who proposed to the man on earth recorded in the Nanjiao River of Xuanzang. "

Stein believes that the myth recorded by Xuanzang is the story of Sof, the dragon girl of the Western Regions in Datang. The story goes like this: in ancient times, there was a big river in the southeast of Khotan City, which irrigated the farmland in Khotan City and raised the people in Khotan City. Later, the river broke down, it is said that it was because of the dragon. The king built the Dragon Boat Festival in the ancestral temple by the river. The dragon lady came to Ling Bo and said that her husband was dead and there was no one to rely on. She hoped that the king would choose a husband for her. If the king agreed, the water would be restored. The king later chose a minister who wore white clothes and rode a white horse into the Dragon Palace in the river. Since then, the river has continued to benefit the people. If this painting is really the story of "Dragon Lady Sof" written by Xuanzang, as Stein said, then the naked girl in the painting is the dragon lady and the teenager holding her legs is her new husband-according to the practice of dealing with the size of human beings and gods in ancient Buddhist paintings, the relationship between the characters in the painting is possible.

This exquisite work of art embodies the compatibility of Chinese and western paintings in Yu Tan's paintings. The beautiful nude, rhythmic three-way bending posture and small decoration of the dragon girl embody the usual modelling technique in ancient India; However, the combination of rigidity and softness, the line drawing technique with high generalization, the eyebrow eye painting of the dragon girl, the shy expression on her face and the gesture of covering her chest with her hands are the portrayal of the painting art and concept in the Central Plains.

Stan's explanation of the four strange pictures has been recognized by many Chinese and foreign scholars. However, some domestic scholars do not agree with Stein's view, and think that the exact content of painting should be found in Buddhist stories, and the artistic expression should be China's classical painting techniques.

Opinions vary, each with its own reasons. But in any case, the significance of Stein's paintings discovered by Dandan Uhrik goes far beyond art itself. These paintings, as people, have unfolded a picture of ancient social life in Khotan. At the same time, the most amazing coincidence is that Stan's discovery also strongly confirmed Xuanzang's written records.