Why is Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes known as one of the world's recognized artistic treasures?

Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, commonly known as Thousand Buddha Cave, is located at the eastern foot of Mingsha Mountain, 2 5 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, Gansu Province. It was built in the second year of Jian Yuan in the former Qin Dynasty (AD 366), and has been ordered to preserve 735 caves of various types, such as Beiliang, Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Xixia and Yuan, which lasted more than 1000 years, including 492 murals and painted plastic caves. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were 45,000 square meters of murals, more than 2,400 colored sculptures and 5 wooden eaves. In 1900, more than 50,000 pieces of classics, history, books, collections and other documents from the Western Jin Dynasty to the Song Dynasty were found in the Tibetan Sutra Cave (now numbered 1 7). Mogao Grottoes is the largest Buddhist cave temple in the world with the richest content, the most exquisite art and the most complete preservation. It is a wonderful work with a history of 1600 years. 1987 65438+In February, the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu Province were included in the World Heritage List.

The Mogao Grottoes is located on the cliff at the eastern foot of Mingsha Mountain, 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, Gansu Province. It has five floors up and down and is about 1600 meters long from north to south. It was first excavated in 366 AD, and after sixteen countries and more than ten generations in Yuan Dynasty, a large cave group with rich contents was formed. The art of Mogao Grottoes is a comprehensive art integrating architecture, painted sculptures and murals. There are 492 caves, 45,000 square meters of murals, more than 2,400 colored sculptures, more than 4,000 flying figures, 5 wooden buildings in Tang and Song Dynasties and thousands of lotus columns and tiles. It is a profound comprehensive art hall composed of architecture, painting and sculpture. It is the largest and best-preserved treasure house of Buddhist art in the world and is known as the "Pearl of Oriental Art". At the beginning of the 20th century, the Buddhist Scripture Pavilion (CaveNo. 17 of Mogao Grottoes) was discovered, which contained 50,000 to 60,000 scriptures, documents and cultural relics from the 4th to10th centuries. It has aroused great concern of scholars at home and abroad and formed the famous Dunhuang studies.

Among the Dunhuang grottoes, frescoes are the most abundant and rich in content, and sculpture painting is the most extensive theme, that is, all kinds of buddhas, bodhisattvas, kings and their statements are equal; Buddhist story painting is a cartoon adapted from various stories in Buddhist scriptures; Classic painting is a large-scale classic painting that rose in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, which comprehensively expresses all the contents of a classic and promotes the imaginary paradise. Buddhist historical paintings show the theme of combining Buddhist legends and stories with Indian, Central Asian and China historical figures; The portrait of the benefactor, that is, the portrait of the hero who made the hole, is a portrait history.

In the murals of the Mogao Grottoes in different periods, there are pictures reflecting some scenes of production and labor, social life, clothing system, ancient architecture modeling, music, dance, acrobatics, etc., and they also record the historical facts of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, providing valuable information for the study of ancient China society from the 4th century to14th century.

The murals in Mogao Grottoes also have high artistic value, with the Tang Dynasty as the highest level. The most influential caves are 96 caves, 17 caves, 130 caves, 158 caves, 259 caves, 285 caves, 200 caves and 428 caves. Western scholars call Dunhuang murals "the library on the wall".

The excavation of the Mogao Grottoes began in 366 AD. According to records, there was a monk with excellent virtue who went west with a stick and saw a thousand buddhas shining, and he had an epiphany, so he chiseled the first grotto. From the Sixteen Kingdoms to the Yuan Dynasty, the excavation of grottoes lasted for ten dynasties, 1500 years. So far, the grottoes in Lezun have long been indistinguishable, while the Mogao Grottoes have been eroded by wind and sand, and more than 750 caves in ten dynasties have been preserved, with 45,000 square meters of murals and 3,000 colored sculptures, and 5 wooden buildings on the eaves in the Tang and Song Dynasties. In addition, 40,000 to 50,000 handwritten documents and various cultural relics, including thousands of silk paintings, prints, embroidery and a large number of calligraphy works, have been found in the cave of Tibetan scriptures. If all the works of art are arranged one by one, it will be a world-class gallery over 25 kilometers long.

The colored sculptures in Mogao Grottoes are mostly Buddhist figures and their deeds of practicing nirvana. Because the rocks in Mogao Grottoes are loose and cannot be carved, craftsmen use clay sculptures. Clay sculptures before the Tang Dynasty are rarely preserved in other places, so a large number of colored sculptures in Mogao Grottoes are even more precious and rare.

In addition, there are traditional national myths and various decorative patterns. From the murals, we can see various social activities of all ethnic groups and classes, such as emperor trips, farming, fishing and hunting, smelting iron and making wine, weddings and funerals, business trips, emissaries meeting, playing the piano, singing and dancing, and so on.

As a treasure house of art, the Mogao Grottoes is a beautiful landscape, where artistic fashions of different eras gather. Dunhuang Tang art represents the worst era of Buddhist art in China. Foreign art and China national art complement each other, and Dunhuang Tang art is unprecedentedly gorgeous. A majestic giant Buddha more than ten meters high; A small bodhisattva with dexterity and exquisiteness of only ten centimeters; Great changes with grand scenes and dense characters; One figure painting with vivid image and distinct personality is impressive.

Some social life scenes depicted in Dunhuang murals at that time reflected the contents of production activities and social activities such as hunting, farming, textile, transportation, fighting, music and dance in ancient China. All kinds of figures in murals retain a lot of information about the costumes of people of all ethnic groups in the past. There are a large number of pavilions, pavilions, towers, palaces, cities, bridges and five existing wooden eaves in the murals, which are the image patterns and precious materials for studying ancient buildings in China. Sculpture and painting in China have a history of thousands of years. Many famous painters' works recorded in art history have been lost, and a large number of murals and colored sculptures in Dunhuang art have provided rich physical materials for the study of China art history.

Together with the pyramids of Egypt, the temple of Athens in Greece, the Taj Mahal in India and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, it is known as a world-recognized art treasure house.