Heritage: Mogao Caves
Set on the edge of the Gobi desert, Dunhuang may seem like an unlikely place to find an oasis of Buddhist art. With towering sand dunes in the background, the caves here reflect the power of divine inspiration.
One summer day in 1900, Wang Yuanlu, an unassuming Taoist priest who lived nearby stumbled into a cave that had been covered by a rockslide. His accidental discovery would lead to one of the most significant collection of Buddhist artifacts ever uncovered.
Inside the cave were artifacts dating from the 4th to 14th century, a complete collection spanning approximately a thousand years tracing the development of Buddhism from its initial arrival in China. A cornucopia of documents on subjects ranging from history, treatises on politics, the military and science, to Buddhist sutras and even personal documents such as tax receipts were discovered preserved within a dry dark cave. In fact, so much material has been found that the discovery has led to a new branch of academic study called Dunhuang Studies.
Unfortunately most of the documents are now in museums and collections scattered across world, like the invaluable Diamond Sutra, the earliest printed book, which is now held in the British Library. While the documents may have been purloined, the caves still hold a treasure trove of statues and wall paintings.
Today Dunhuang is a relaxed town in Gansu Province with the Mogao Caves (mògāo kū 莫高窟), where the famed carvings are located, 25km to the southeast. Once an important oasis town on the Silk Road, Dunhuang lies close to the border of Qinghai, Tibet and Xinjiang. In 111 BC, under the Han dynasty, the Great Wall was extended here.
From the present day city it’s hard to picture the importance of ancient Dunhuang. Its strategic position meant that it was an important transit point for the spreading of Buddhism, which entered China during the 3rd century AD. As Buddhism developed, so did the city. During the 4th century, Dunhuang was the last stop for Chinese Buddhist pilgrims on the road to India and the first stop for arriving missionaries.
In AD 366, Le Zun, a Chinese monk on his way to India, had a divine vision of Buddha, which led him to believe he was on holy ground. In his fervor, he began carving out the first caves at the 1.6km long sandstone cliff face. Development continued through 10 dynasties and reached a peak during the Sui and Tang dynasties. Though the Sui dynasty lasted a short 38 years, Emperor Wendi was a fervent Buddhist and during his reign 101 caves were carved, over twice as many as the previous 180 years.
It was during the Tang dynasty, China’s golden age of economic prosperity and openness, when the caves were the most active. A community of monks, craftsmen and artists lived at the caves, getting their water from the mountain fed Daquan River that flows in front of the cliff. The highly international dynasty saw the introduction of Greek, Hindu and Central and Western Asian cultural influences. Of the over 1,000 Tang era caves, 232 have survived, about half the remaining 492 surviving caves. Most importantly, the Tang dynasty caves are considered the most artistically developed.
Of the 492 caves, 60 are open to visitors, though others maybe opened for a high fee. About 45,000m – of wall paintings and over 2,400 Buddhist sculptures have been preserved in this dry desert climate. The paintings themselves are a priceless resource documenting the changes in lifestyle, religion and culture over a thousand-year period. In 1987 the caves were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
Reflecting the convergence of influences in this area, the architecture in the caves are a mixture of Chinese, Central Asian and Indian styles, which is more apparent in the earlier pre-Tang caves. After the Tang dynasty there wasn’t any space left to carve new caves, forcing artisans to re-work older caves. Some stylistic differences to look for are: the older statues tend to be stiffer, the statues appear stronger and the lines are much more defined. Tang sculptures tend to be fluid, the lines are flowing – this is especially clear when looking at the robes of the statues. Whereas earlier statues have severe and dour faces, Tang statues are lively and expressive.
Cave 328 is an example of the melding of two different styles. The sculptures in this cave date to the Tang dynasty, but the ceiling and wall paintings are from the Song dynasty. Inside are three statues of Sakyamuni flanked by two disciples. The artisans who worked on the sculptures, to emphasize that Sakyamuni wasn’t Chinese, painted a “typical” Central Asian face on the statue, take a close look at his mustache. To the right of the somber Sakyamuni is a proud looking Ah Nan, one of Sakyamuni’s favorites. Standing to Sakyamuni’s left is a skinny Jia Ye, his face showing the lines of a hard life. Caves 98 and 100 are also clear examples of two different styles in a single cave.
For architecture aficionados, Cave 96 is a highlight. This is one of the largest caves and has a 34.5m tall Tang dynasty statue of Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future. There’s also a pagoda outside that’s the same height as the cliff. Only the core of the Buddha is rock, the rock in this area is extremely soft and unsuitable for carving. The craftsman and artisans had to use a terracotta-like plaster pasted over the rock, from which they would mould and carve the intricate details. Smaller statues used a wooden skeleton that was then covered in wheat husks, reeds, hemp and mud before being smeared with plaster. Once carved, painters would paint them with lively colors bringing them to life. Not many of the Tang dynasty sculptures that were made this way have survived, making the remaining ones highly valuable and a focus of preservation efforts.
The wall paintings are definitely the big draw at the caves. If the paintings were lined up end to end they would measure 25km. The paintings are so important as an historic record that scholars have dubbed them a “mounted library.” Some paintings are Buddhist scriptures and sutras, while others illustrate the different ethnicities that passed through Dunhuang. Social hierarchies, traditions, clothing, even music and dancing have been the subject of ancient painters. The different traditions and how they’ve evolved have been clearly recorded, from important life events such as marriages to mundane activities like farming and business transactions. Caves 47,112, and 220 have better examples of these paintings.
The area surrounding the caves also makes for an interesting diversion. Climbing to the top of the cliff offers a majestic view of the surrounding desert, mountain and oasis. West of the caves and south of Dunhuang is Mingsha Shan (míngshā shān 鸣沙山), which means “singing sand mountain,” though it’s not really a mountain, but a giant sand dune. If you’re looking for some excitement after the solemn caves, this is the place to be. The Buddhist pilgrims of old never had it this good. Sand-surfing, camel rides and therapeutic sand baths (imagine being buried up to your neck) are available activities. In the same area is the shallow spring fed Crescent Moon Lake (yuèyá quán月牙泉), which forms an oasis at the desert’s edge. A peculiar natural phenomenon occurs when standing on top of the sand dune. If it’s a windless day, a sound similar to a flute can be heard, but if there are many people descending the dune at once it becomes a thunderclap. The corresponding legend goes that a horrific sandstorm buried an army that rested at this oasis and the sounds heard are those of the buried men trying to claw their way to freedom. It’s best to go there in the late afternoon when it’s a lot cooler.
The Han dynasty Jade Gate Pass (yùmén guān 玉门关) is 98km northwest of Dunhuang. Here was the ancient equivalent of the last gas station before a long stretch of road, the Silk Road to India that is. There’s a preserved section of the Silk Road (sīchóu gǔdào 丝绸古道) here.
Further north of Dunhuang, in the Gobi desert, is a section of the Han dynasty Great Wall that originally stretched for 150km. In one beacon tower, which were used as signaling stations, Han dynasty writings on bamboo, thought to be letters, official documents and the ancient equivalent of wanted posters were found amongst the ashes.
Mirages can also be seen on extremely hot days when out in the desert, just be sure not to be lured away by them, the admission price may be quite costly.