In people's traditional impressions, tigers are mostly fierce and majestic. However, in the Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang, a world cultural heritage, the king of the hundred beasts has a "hundred changes", showing the beauty of life and souls from a thousand years ago.
In the silk painting "Monk with Tiger's Feet" unearthed from the Tibetan Scripture Cave in the Mogao Caves, the tiger looks like a "sticky big cat". This Tang Dynasty silk painting depicts monks returning from the scriptures walking with tigers. In the picture, the monk wears straw sandals on his feet, carries a heavy book box filled with sutra scrolls, holds a Buddha bead in one hand, and a wooden staff in the other, and his eyes are calm and determined. Next to him was a furry-looking, fleshy"-looking tiger.
Tang Dynasty silk painting "Monk with Tiger's Foot" unearthed from the Tibetan Scripture Cave (courtesy of Dunhuang Research Institute)
According to experts from the Dunhuang Research Institute, this silk painting has delicate brush strokes and elegant colors, and is a fine work of the theme of "walking foot monk". In ancient China, the image of the "walking monk" was once popular in the painting world. Among the cultural relics excavated from the Dunhuang murals and Tibetan scripture caves, at least 20 images of "walking foot monks" have been preserved. Despite the lonely and difficult road, these "cute" or "fierce" tigers are always with the monks.
At the top of the 92nd cave of the Tang Dynasty in mogao caves, a tiger with a black pattern is painted. This tiger is not "looking at the tiger", but lying quietly on the side and looking "miserable". According to reports, this work shows the scene of a hundred beasts before Shakyamuni Nirvana came to listen to the Fa and mourn. The painters of a thousand years ago used smooth lines to outline the body posture of the tiger, and depicted the coat color of the tiger with black, white, brown and other colors.
The Black Tiger in Cave 92 of Mogao Caves (Courtesy of Dunhuang Research Institute)
In Cave 296 of the Mogao Caves, excavated in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, there is a sutra painting "Five Hundred Bandits Become Buddhas". In the middle of the mountain forest, tigers and deer face each other. The tigers in the murals are not painted, only with ochre paint. With a few strokes, the painter sketched a beast with pointed ears, round eyes, and glowing eyes. The eye contact between the tiger and the deer creates a tense atmosphere.
Tiger and deer in Cave 296 of Mogao Grottoes (Courtesy of Dunhuang Research Institute)
Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes is known as the "Art Museum in the Desert". From the 4th to the 14th century AD, cave construction lasted for thousands of years. There are 735 existing caves in Mogao Caves, 45,000 square meters of murals, more than 2,000 painted sculptures, and 50,000 or 60,000 cultural relics unearthed from the Cave.
Reporter: Zhang Yujie
Editors: Li Zhengyan, Luan Ruohui