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General Buddhism => General Buddhism => Topic started by: icy on December 25, 2013, 11:34:12 AM
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China’s Mogao Caves, at the edge of the Gobi Desert, hold an unrivaled collection of Buddhist art spanning a thousand years. Now they’re inspiring new generations of artists, from masters of ink painting to fireworks maestro Cai Guo-Qiang
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First-time travelers to China wouldn’t think of leaving the country before they had seen the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Terracotta Warriors. But few venture farther inland to the oasis of Dunhuang, a small city on the edge of the Gobi Desert, 1,150 miles northwest of Beijing. If they did make the trip, they would discover a World Heritage Site that rivals the beauty and cultural importance of more popular tourist attractions: the Mogao Caves, sometimes referred to as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas. This expanse of 492 grottoes carved into the sandstone face of a nine-story-high cliff holds an unrivaled collection of Buddhist art, with more than 484,000 square feet of murals and 2,400 sculptures.
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THIS IS MAGNIFICENT!!! A cave full of Buddhist art and sculptures!!! This would be a Buddhist paradise. And now it is a World Heritage site and will be preserved for many generations to come. No doubt that CHina has been the core place for Buddhism centuries ago and we are very lucky to have rediscovered this treasure when we are alive. A must visit place for all and definitely a holy pilgrimage site.
Hope there are proper accommodation and transportation nearby. But, it will take a lot of merits to be able to go on pilgrimage to this place. Hope also that place will not become so commercialised and lose it's beauty and tranquility.
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Wow! I didnt know that this place exist! And its really beautiful! Visiting this holy pilgrimage site is much much better than visiting places like the Great Wall or the Forbidden City. To be able to circumambulate and prostrate to so many Buddhas is incredible!
China is just full of such Holy sites. It would be great to go visit and China government to continue to preserve these places.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/china/shanghai-longhua-temple (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/china/shanghai-longhua-temple)
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http://www.sacred-destinations.com/china/leshan-giant-buddha (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/china/leshan-giant-buddha)
(http://d1ezg6ep0f8pmf.cloudfront.net/images/lthumbs/a5/15345-giant-buddha-leshan.jpg)
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/china/longmen-caves (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/china/longmen-caves)
(http://d1ezg6ep0f8pmf.cloudfront.net/images/lthumbs/a8/15368-longmen-caves.jpg)
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China is such a vast continent. Discovering this treasure could just be the tip of the ice. Expect more treasures to be uncovered.
It is situated at the crossroads along the famous Silk Route, at the hub of religious, cultural and intellectual influences.
The caves are famous for wall paintings and statues depicting Buddhist art. This is a must-visit China destination together with the Longmen and Yungan Caves.
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This is a spectacular place to visit and shows the history of Buddhists constructing extensive places of worship for the benefit of others. Below are some pics of the Mogao Caves and the murals inside.
(http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2013/03/20/10555380/dunhuang-mogao-grottoes.jpg)
(http://chinatour.net/images/tour/grottoes/mogao%20caves/4.jpg)
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(http://[url=http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/545/flashcards/2147545/png/mogao_cave_2541349743131767-13F085744E02E2AB76F.png]http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/545/flashcards/2147545/png/mogao_cave_2541349743131767-13F085744E02E2AB76F.png[/url])
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Wow! Amazing to see such art still preserved in China, not effected by the likes of zealots like the Taliban and the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues. It's great to see they have still been preserved, and provides an inspiration and glimpse into the Buddhist past of the world. More people should visit such places, and then maybe Buddhism can once again flourish through the medium of religious art.
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I pray in my wish to be able to go on pilgrimage to places like the Mogao Caves and Dunhuang as it require alot of merits to go on such trip at least once in a lifetime. To be able to sit down appreciating beautiful works depicting Buddhas, deities, daka and dakinis on the walls inside. It is a source of inspiration to imagine the kind or work and hardship these ancient monks, nuns and lay people had to go through for them to leave such fresco beauty, stone statues, carvings inside these caves for the future generation. If not for such effort of these ancient people, we would not be able to marvel at such greatness.
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The pictures show that the statues and paintings on the walls are well-preserved. This is a reason to rejoice as I have seen some caves in which the mural paintings have either faded with time or destroyed, and statues have been mutilated and removed. It is possible, since these caves have become a world-heritage site, that the statues have been repaired and the paintings restored. This is good for the preservation of Buddhist art and the propagation of the religion. In any case, it is good for China's image.
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Mogao Caves looks really spectacular in all the pictures posted here. Now that its been declared a World Heritage Site, I am sure Mogao Caves would attract even more tourist to gaze at its wonderful work of art, whether they are of Buddhist faith or not. If I have the opportunity to travel to China, I would definitely make time and effort to travel further inland to gaze and pay homage to this wonderful holy site with so many Buddha images.
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Mogao caves is really amazing and spectacular. I think not many of us are aware of this place in China. I will definitely make a trip there when I visit China next time. To be able to see and to pay homage to so many Buddha images will be so blessed. And it is so well preserved too.
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China's Magao Caves,at the edge of the Gobi Desert,hold an unrivaled collection of Buddhist art spanning a thousand years!
It is simply amazing that it is so well preserved!It will definitely be a popular tourist pilgrimage site.To be able to pay homage and gaze at these beautiful Buddha images is a blessing.
It is wonderful that the Chinese Government preserved these holy sites for generations.
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Yes, China has a very long history of adopting Buddhism. I guess, it is a blessing of Manjushri on the people of China so they value the Dharma then and they will again as more and more people becoming educated, wealthy and disenchanted with materialism, many will seek solace in spirituality. Would be interesting if there was a Dorje Shugden cave temple. But that would be unlikely as many of the caves predates the arrival of Dorje Shugden. Nevertheless, this does not diminish the beauty and sanctity of these ancient caves and statuary.
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I can't fathom how the ancient peoples can carved caves out from rocks. What is more amazing its height is 9-storeys tall. Talk about engineering. No doubt this proves that the people in the past are very devoted to Buddhism. If I have the good karma I would like to visit such places. I think it is very rare to see this kind of temple in this modern age. :D
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Simply spectacular! It's said the grottoes in the Mogao Caves are the world's largest and oldest treasure house of Buddhist art, spanning over 1000 years. Precious treasure of Buddhist Art, a must visit prilgrimage site.
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It's really beautiful
It is hard to deny that it is really stunning and unique.The beautiful sight and history of Buddhism is incredible and well preserved. Mogao Caves will be on my priority list on my next china trip.
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China is a treasure of culture. Particularly from the Buddhist perspective, China has a very long history, longer than Tibet. With great skills the ancient artisans carved, drew and created many Buddhist murals, statues and drawings and as it is traditional, I suspect as offerings to the 3 Jewels, and it is left for eternity to discover and see. Mogao Caves is a great example.
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Project to preserve beauty of the Mogao Grottoes
The Mogao Grottoes in North West China are a treasure trove of cultural wonders. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art in the world. And now with the aid of the latest technology, archaeologists are creating a digital archive of these priceless treasures.
The Mogao Grottoes have been used as a natural canvas for artists for more than 1,600 years. The frescos are now extremely fragile, so archaeologists have been digitally archiving them since the 1990s. But now the project has gone beyond mere preservation.
"Our initial aim was to make a record of them, but now we are inviting people to check out our digital archive online so they can see the beauty of the Mogao Grottoes for themselves," said Wang Xiudong, deputy director of Dunhuang Academy China.
The frescos and painted sculptures have been hard to archive digitally because of the cramped space in the caves and the irregular surfaces of the works.
(http://p4.img.cctvpic.com/program/cultureexpress/20140220/images/1392865168411_1392865168411_r.jpg)
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The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art in the world. And now with
the aid of the latest technology, archaeologists are creating a digital archive of these
priceless treasures.
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This is fantastic, can't believe that people centuries ago are be able to do or built such a magnificent piece of architectural and art without a help from modern tools and machineries. China is definitely a place to visit if one is interested in historical buildings and sites and especially Buddhism sites.
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Mogao Caves have the world most beautiful and precious Buddhist art. Mogao Caves can be make into a place for Buddhism study and also a holy place for pilgrimage. May Buddhism flourish in China. For those that visit the place or see the murals of Buddha images get the blessing and get the imprint to practice dharma in the future.
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Mogao Grottoes sees 5,000 sq.m. fresco restored
Deep within a network of caves lining the shores of the Dunhuang oasis in Gansu Province, thousands of 1,600-year-old Buddhist sculptures sit in silent decay.
(http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20140911/0019b91ec74f157b41e233.jpg)
Mogao Grottoes [Photo/Xinhua]
The Mogao Grottoes, the collection of buddhist artworks occupying the caves on a 1,700-meter cliff which are considered one of finest in existence, was listed as a world heritage site in 1987.
With most of the frescos and sculptures dating back to 400 A.D., hundreds of years spent in the damp confines of the caves has taken its toll on the precious works, says Wang Xudong, deputy president of Dunhuang Academy.
Wang and his colleges have spent decades countering the corrosion in the ancient cultural site.
As the academy celebrates its 70th anniversary this month, they are celebrating the 5,000 sq meter restoration milestone while digging in to continue their exhaustive efforts.
Since its establishment in 1944, the academy has devoted its resources in repairing and restoring the antique wall paintings in the grottos.
Located in nearby Dunhuang City, the academy boasts a team of highly skilled specialists who, in addition to decades restoring the artworks, have spent the last few years photographing the frescos in hopes that even if the buddhist art falls to decay, digital references will last for centuries to come.
Using modern technology, they've also devised processes to "cure" the cracked, flaked, faded and detached murals.
Their goal, Wang says, is to "prolong the life of the world cultural heritage site" indefinitely.
Known as the Thousand Buddha Caves, the Mogao grottoes consist of 735 caves, with the ancient buddhist frescos on the inside walls covering a combined area of 45,000 square meters. The paintings are considered among the preserved in the world.
Ever since the 1980s, the academy joined with relic protection institutions worldwide in exploring mural restoration technologies and cultivating talents to help keep the site alive.
In 2009, the National Engineering Research Center for Conservation of Ancient Wall Paintings was set up in the academy to serve as a state-level engineering center on ancient mural restoration for both Mogao grottoes and other ancient murals around the country.
Of China's 38 sites on the World Heritage List, 11 have ancient murals. Dunhuang, a booming town on the ancient Silk Road, is home to more than 800 grottos that are at least 1,600 years old.
http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2014-09/10/content_33480810.htm? (http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2014-09/10/content_33480810.htm?)
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The Mogao Caves are situated on a cliff at the eastern foot of the Mingsha Mountain in the Gobi Desert southeast of the Dunhuang City, in Gansu Province. They are considered to be a treasure of Buddhist culture with wall paintings and statues created in some 500 grottoes cut over hundreds of years. Construction of the Mogao Caves is believed to have started with one monk's dwelling somewhere in the 3rd - 4th centuries, but the huge complex of caves that developed did not come to completion until more than 1000 years later, a period which saw the rise and fall of the Sixteen Kingdoms, the Northern Dynasties, the Sui and the Tang dynasties, the Five Dynasties, the Song Dynasty, the Western Xia, and the Yuan Dynasty.
The Mogao Caves are a collection of cave architecture, painted sculpture and wall paintings. The sculptures in all ranges of sizes include Buddhas, bodhisattvas, Lokapala (Heavenly kings, the four guardians of the world and of the Buddhist faith), patrons and attendants.The murals are mostly Jataka stories on the life of the Buddha and the Eight Aspects of Buddha's life, with a rich variety of ornamental patterns in such designs as apsaras.
The murals that dominate the Mogao Caves are of the highest artistic level. They give an extensive and detailed account of the Buddhist sutras and beliefs of the times. They also offer a wide range of subjects: the Buddha in various manifestations, a biographical series on Shakyamuni the Buddha and the legends of his enduring humility and sacrifice to rescue souls; traditional folk tales of the major Chinese ethnic groups as well as historical events related to the Buddha, and eminent monks in disseminating Buddhism. In the paintings are also portrayals of human figures, flying birds, pavilions, and descriptions of grotto builders and their families, including how they dressed. (Zheng Lixin, Guide to Chinese Buddhism, 2004, pp. 127-130)
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The Mogao Caves have become a United Nations World Cultural and Heritage Site. Based on the different artistic styles found in these caves, Chinese archaeologists have constructed a list of the time of construction of the 480 caves that still exist:
1. Western Jin, Sixteen Kingdoms, and Northern Dynasties - 32 caves
2. Sui - 100 caves
3. Tang - 232 caves
4. Five Dynasties - 40 caves
5. Song and Western Xia - 59 caves
6. Yuan - 9 caves
7. Time unknown - 8 caves
These statistics indicate that no caves were built at Dunhuang during a period of about 270 years that covered Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern dynasties. The reason is that both the Eastern Jin and the Southern dynasties were situated south of the Yangtze River, whereas Dunhuang is located in the northwest. Construction resumed after the Sui Dynasty unified China, and this is shown clearly in the list.
(Zheng Lixin, Guide to Chinese Buddhism, p.129)