Historical background: The one-thousand-year history of the construction of the Dunhuang Grottoes was during the long period of division and separatism after the Han Dynasty in the Chinese history. It was moving towards national integration and the unification of the north and the south, reaching the peak of the Tang Dynasty, and then rising from its peak. important development period of decline.

During this period, it was the period of formation and development of the procedures, schools, categories, and theories of Chinese art. It was also the period when Buddhism and Buddhist art were introduced, and Chinese Buddhist theories and Buddhist sects were established and developed. Buddhist art became an important category of Chinese art and finally completed the period of Sinicization.

In the second year of Jianyuan of the former Qin Dynasty (366), the monk Lezun passed by this mountain and suddenly saw a golden light shining like ten thousand Buddhas appearing, so he dug the first cave on the rock wall. After that, Zen Master Fa Liang and others continued to build a cave here to practice meditation, which was called "Mogao Cave", which means "high place in the desert". Later generations changed its name to "Mogao Grottoes" because "Mo" and "Mo" were interchangeable.

Another saying is: Buddhism has a saying that building Buddhist caves has immeasurable merits. Mo Gao Grottoes means that there is no higher cultivation than building Buddhist caves. .

Extended information:

Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, commonly known as Thousand Buddha Cave, is located on the cliff of Dangquan River at the eastern foot of Mingsha Mountain, 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, and is about 1,600 meters long from north to south. It was first built in the second year of Jianyuan of the former Qin Dynasty (AD 366). It has gone through the Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Zhou, Five Dynasties, Song, Xixia, Yuan and other dynasties, and has been built for thousands of years.

There are currently 492 caves, including more than 45,000 square meters of murals painted from the Northern Liang to the Yuan dynasties, more than 2,400 colorful sculptures, more than 4,000 flying figures, 5 wooden structures from the Tang and Song Dynasties, lotus pillars and stone Thousands of floor tiles.

It is an extensive and profound comprehensive art palace composed of architecture, painting and sculpture. It is the largest and best-preserved Buddhist art treasure house in the world and is known as the "Pearl of Oriental Art".

Most of the painted sculptures in the Mogao Grottoes are of Buddhist figures and their deeds of practicing Nirvana. Because the rock of the Mogao Grottoes is loose and cannot be carved, craftsmen used clay sculptures. Clay sculptures before the Tang Dynasty are rarely preserved in other places, so the large number of colored sculptures in Mogao Grottoes are even more precious.

There are also traditional national mythological themes and various decorative patterns. From the murals, we can see various social activities of various ethnic groups and classes, such as the travels of emperors, farming, fishing and hunting, iron smelting and wine making, weddings and funerals, business trips, envoys meeting, playing music, singing and dancing... Everything in the world is like this. Lots and lots of them.

The murals of various eras in the Mogao Grottoes reflect some production and labor scenes, social life scenes, clothing systems, ancient architectural styles, music, dance, and acrobatics at that time. They also record scenes from both China and foreign countries. The historical matters of cultural exchange provide valuable information for the study of ancient Chinese society from the 4th century to the 14th century.

The Mogao Grottoes were listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit by the State Council in 1961. In 1987, they were included in the World Cultural Heritage Protection Project by UNESCO. In 1991, they were issued a "World Cultural Heritage" certificate.

Baidu Encyclopedia—Mogao Grottoes (Dunhuang Attractions in Gansu Province)