| Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes |
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The Mogao Grottoes are located in a rare
mountain  gully
running from south to north in this barren land, sandwiched
by Minsha Mountain in the west and Sanwei Mountain in
the east. The Dangguan River flows through it,nurturing
a rare piece of oasis full of vitality.
When you entered the mountain gully,you'll see numerous
caves on a stretch of1600 meters carved out on the steep
cliffs of the Minsha Mountain. It is a 1,000-year-old
ancient art gallery still living today.
Each cave and each mural hs its own story. The earliest
cave was carved 1630 years ago. During the first year
of the reign of the King Taihe of Jin (or in the year
of 366 A.D.),a Buddhist monk named Le Zun came into the
mountain gully one evening and saw thousands of shafts
of light shedding upon the Sanwei Mountain like Buddhas
in their thousands.Monk Le Zun threw himself to the ground,determined
to carve a cave on the Sanwei Mountain cliff in the worship
of the Buddhas.
Several years later, Fa Liang, another monk who was from
the east, came to dig the second cave.Thereafter people
came in flocks to carve caves to express their belief
in the Buddhas.
The construction of the Mogao Grottoes spanned more than
a 'thousand years ranging from the Early Qin, Northern
Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou,Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties,
Song, Xixia and Yuan. But it was the Tang Dynasty that
was really its heyday. During this period more than one
thousand caves were carved.
The Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Terra cotta
warriors of the Qin are all remarkable.However, they were
all built in a given dynasty.
That the Mogao Grottoes as a quintessence of art, history
and culture, were built and developed over 11 dynasties
over more than 1,000 years is indeed unprecedented.
The art of the Mogao Grottoes is composed of cave architecture,
sculptures and murals.There are now 482 caves with 4500
square meters of murals and 2500 sculptures. The Mogao
art features five Tang and Song wooden cave buildings
and 50,000-volume "Dunhuang Books".
The treasure is one of the greatest cultural discoveries
in the 20th century.We were treated as guests of honor
when Ma,a deputy director of the reception office, personally
guided us on the tour. We visited13 of the most spectacular
grottoes, immensely charmed by the beautiful murals and
well-seasoned explanations by Ma.
The frescoes evolve one story after another, telling of
the strife between the good and the evil and the extreme
happy life in the paradise. The heaven and the earth thus
seemed to have unified into one.
The colored sculptures, frescoes and ancient buildings
were the crystallization and materialization of the spirit
and life of the builders and artists and the worshippers
of the day.
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