A century before Dunhuang!
Stunning Kyzyl murals scattered around the globe
It has been said that the Kyzyl Caves are the lost "Second Dunhuang".
It predates the excavation of the Dunhuang Grottoes more than a century ago, and many people know Dunhuang, but far fewer know Kyzyl.
Kyzyl means "red" in Uyghur. Perhaps it is the ochre red color of the Chertagh Mountain, and whenever the sun sets, the glowing river water is like rouge.
The Kyzyl Caves, just above this towering cliff.
This is the earliest large-scale grotto group excavated in China, and it is also the most important cultural relic of the ancient Guizi state.
During the Western Han Dynasty, the Kingdom of Guizi was the largest oasis kingdom among the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions, and by the Tang Dynasty it was one of the four towns of Anxi.
Mr. Ji Xianlin once said: "Guizi is the only meeting place in the world between ancient Indian, Greco-Roman, Persian, Han and Tang civilizations. ”
Exterior view of the Kyzyl Caves
The main wall of the main chamber of Cave 17
The main wall of the main chamber of Cave 188
The outer wall of the right yongdao in Cave 175
The status quo of the outer wall of the left Yongdao Inc. 4 has been chiseled off
After about the 10th century AD, the Kamezi Empire ceased to exist, and the grotto community gradually disappeared.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, foreign expeditions came to the Kyzyl Caves and separated a large number of exquisite murals and sculptures from the matrix caves and transported them to foreign countries, so that these beautiful turtle art was scattered all over the world.
Today, there are 345 caves in the Kyzyl Grottoes, with nearly 4,000 square meters of murals, with a wide range of themes, rich contents, and great artistic charm, which is a precious material for studying the history and culture of the Western Regions.
Ling ge Bunsen story The top of the main room of the 17th cave of Kyzyl
The Buddhist legend "Half past the city at night" the right wall of the main room of Cave 110 in Kyzyl
The outer wall of the right yongdao in Cave 8 is in the collection of the Asian Art Museum in Berlin, Germany
Flying Sky Top of the Trail Behind Cave 198 (Middle)
Collection of the Russian State Hermitage Museum
Goldfinch The middle ridge of the main chamber of Cave 198A
Collection of the Asian Art Museum in Berlin, Germany
Tianren and Bhikkhus (part of the Karma Buddha's Transmission Map) The right wall of the main room of Cave 186
Buddhist Legend "Heavenly Man Offering" The upper front end of the left end wall of the back room of Cave 8
In order to accurately expound the truth about the loss of cultural relics in Xinjiang and make up for the regrets caused by history, the Xinjiang Guizi Research Institute undertook the task of investigation, research and restoration of the loss of cultural relics in the Guizi Grottoes.
Among them, one researcher insisted for nearly three decades, just to let the Murals of the Kyzyl Caves scattered around the world "go home" -
Zhao Li is a librarian of cultural and bo research at Xinjiang Guizi Research Institute.
After nearly thirty years of investigation and research, Zhao Li, together with experts from the Asian Art Museum in Berlin, Germany, the State Hermitage Museum in Russia and other cultural and museum units collecting Kyzyl Cave murals overseas, on the basis of fully possessing documents and physical materials, through in-depth research on the color, composition, content and subject matter of the murals, with rigorous research and digital image technology, systematically sorted out the status of the existing and lost murals in the Kyzyl Caves in Xinjiang, and conducted in-situ research and restoration research. To accurately and comprehensively present the overall appearance of the Kyzyl Cave murals.
Trick Lotte Man Cave 129 Main Chamber Vault Roof
Restoration of the dome of the main chamber of Cave 129
Right end wall of the Yongdao Road behind Cave 171 (current situation)
Restoration of the Buddhist story "Refuge of The King of Qianmin"
The right end wall of the Yongdao Road behind Cave 171
The outer wall of the right Yongdao in Cave 175 meditation bhikkhu restoration map
Restoration of the Buddhist story "Heavenly Offerings to Man" at the left end of the back room of Cave 8
Source: Zhan Play