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The Buddhist Art of Dunhuang

The Mogao Caves, which are located in the gobi-desert 25 kilometers away from the city, consist of 492 caves with 25000 square meters wall paintings.
#Culture & Society #History #Mogao caves #Dunhuang grottoes
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Brief History Dunhuang, the small town at the edge of the Gobi desert, is located in Gansu Province, China. Dunhuang had become the gateway to the Silk Road during the Han dynasty (205-247BC). The Silk Road had brought Dunhuang not only commercial prosperity but also the development of Buddhist art during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-533).  Legend said a monk, Yue Zun, dug the first cave and also cut a statue of the Buddha into the sandstone cliff face of Mingsha mountain, where are now the famous Mogao Grottoes, about 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang. Over 1000 caves were cut out of cliffs between the 4th and 14th centuries. The art of Dunhuang began to decline in the 12th century and was ignored until the early years of the 20th century. Today 492 caves remains in the 1600-meter-long cliff face. The Mogao caves are one of the best preserved and most extensive collections of Buddhist paintings and sculptures in the world. The Buddhist art of Dunhuang is truly fascinating. Manuscripts and Documents of Dunhuang About 60,000 paper manuscripts, printed documents and fragments were found from a secret sealed-up cave, discovered at the end of the 19th. These manuscripts and documents are now preserved in Beijing, Paris, London and St. Petersburg. A good collection of these is in the Stein collection at the British Library, including the World's earliest dated printed book, the Diamond Sutra (dated 868). Most of the collection are available in surrogate form. The collection of Dunhuang Chinese manuscripts in the National Library of China has over 10,000 Chinese scrolls. The International Dunhuang Project (IDP) was established in 1993 to promote the study and preservation of manuscripts and printed documents from Dunhuang and other Central Asian sites through international co-operation. The organization publishes a newsletter. A joint study of Dunhuang Academy and Japanese researchers was formed for the conservation of the wall paintings and statues. Painted Statues and Flying Apsaras There are about thousand statues preserved in the Dunhuang Grottoes. Here are a few pictures from Textile & Art Publications: Buddha Triad in Cave 427, Sui dynasty (581-618) and Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara in Cave 45, Tang (705-780). The walls of the 492 Mogao Caves are covered by the frescoes of over 45,000 square meters. There are about 4500 Flying Apsaras figures found in some 270 caves. Northern and Southern Dynasties (386-588) A Dancer, Northern Wei (386-533) A Dancer, Northern Wei Hunting Scene, Cave 249, Northern Wei Divine Being, Cave 272, Northern Liang dynasty (421-439) Detail of a Legend, Western Wei (535-557) Mountains, Cave 285, Western Wei Sui and Tang Dynasties (581-907) Fresco painting, Cave 112, Early Tang (618-907)  Mourning Potentate, Cave 158, Mid Tang Procession of Zhang Yichao, Cave 156, Late Tang, completed 865 About
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Mylodon annotated1+ month ago

According to legend, a Buddhist monk named Yue Zun (乐僔和尚), established the Mogao shrine in the desert oasis after seeing beams of light there. He is said to have cut out the first cave and the first statue of Buddha. ...

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Mylodon annotated1+ month ago

The Mogao Caves, which are located in the gobi-desert 25 kilometers away from the city, consist of 492 caves with 25000 square meters wall paintings. ...

#Culture & Society #History #Mogao caves #Dunhuang grottoes
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Mylodon annotated1+ month ago

Fresco painting, from Mogao Grottoes

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Mylodon annotated1+ month ago

Detail of a legend, from Mogao Grottoes

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Mylodon annotated1+ month ago

Hunting scene, from Mogao Grottoes

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Mylodon annotated1+ month ago

The Mogao Caves or Mogao Grottoes (Chinese: 莫高窟), also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas (Chinese: 千佛洞), form a system of 492 temples 25 km (16 mi) southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis strategically located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road. ...

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Mylodon annotated1+ month ago

The National Library of China (中国国家图书馆) or NLC in Beijing is the national library of the People's Republic of China. With a collection of over 31.1 million items, it is the largest library in Asia and one of the largest in the world. It holds the largest and diverse collections of Chinese literature and historical documents in the world. ...

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Mylodon annotated1+ month ago

The Diamond Sūtra is a Mahāyāna (Buddhist) sūtra from the Prajñāpāramitā, or "Perfection of Wisdom" genre, and emphasizes the practice of non-abiding and non-attachment. The full Sanskrit title of this text is the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. ...

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Mylodon annotated1+ month ago

The Northern Wei (Chinese: 北魏; pinyin: Běi Wèi), also known as the Tuoba Wei (拓跋魏), Later Wei (後魏), or Yuan Wei (元魏), was a dynasty founded by the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei, which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 (de jure until 535). ...

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Mylodon annotated1+ month ago

Dunhuang (Chinese: 敦煌; pinyin: Dūnhuáng, also as simplified Chinese: 炖煌; traditional Chinese: 燉煌; pinyin: Dūnhuáng in ancient times meaning 'Blazing Beacon') is a county-level city (pop. 187,578 (2000)) in northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road and is best known for the nearby Dunhuang Caves. It has also been known at times as Shāzhōu (沙州), or 'City of Sands', "or Dukhan as the Turkis call it." ...

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Mylodon edited1+ month ago

The Buddhist Art of Dunhuang

Mylodon annotated1+ month ago

About 60,000 paper manuscripts, printed documents and fragments were found from a secret sealed-up cave, discovered at the end of the 19th. These manuscripts and documents are now preserved in Beijing, Paris, London and St. Petersburg. ...

The Buddhist Art of Dunhuang

The Buddhist Art of Dunhuang - A Tour

chineseculture.about.com

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