【Traceability to Gansu】
Dunhuang culture and the source of Buddhism in the Central Plains
Gansu Provincial Museum Buddhist Art Exhibition Hall in the Mogao Grottoes simulation panorama
Portrait of Master Tan Yan in the mural paintings of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang
Dunhuang murals
The Beiliang Gaoshan Mu Stone Statue Pagoda unearthed in Jiuquan City
Gansu Daily special writer Pan Chunhui
Dunhuang is located at the western end of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu, south of Qinghai, west of Xinjiang, connecting the Silk Road of East-West exchanges, since the Han Dynasty has been the hub of transportation between China and the West, it is known as the pearl of the ancient Silk Road.
Historically, Dunhuang was not only the border town of the Central Plains Dynasty, but also an international famous city adjacent to the countries in the Western Regions, and a transit station for the export of Chinese civilization and the import of Western civilization. Ji Xianlin once said: "There are only four cultural systems in the world with a long history, a vast territory, a self-contained system, and far-reaching influence: China, India, Greece, islam, and there is no fifth; and there is only one place where these four cultural systems converge, that is, China's Dunhuang and Xinjiang regions, and there is no second." ”
Scholars believe that the initial introduction of Buddhism to China was also inextricably linked to Dunhuang. Buddhism slowly infiltrated mainly from the western region, entering China in Dunhuang via the Trans-Eurasian Silk Road and entering Guanzhong and the North China Plain through the Hexi Corridor. As a result, Dunhuang became the source and primary transit point for the eastern transmission of Buddhism.
Dunhuang is located in the "throat road" of the Silk Road
The Silk Road was an international communication route that connected China with the river (between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers in Central Asia) and between China and India from 114 BC to 127 AD, and between China and India, using silk road trade as the media of western communication routes. The Silk Road was once the link connecting the world's oldest ancient civilization - China, India, Egypt, Babylon and other countries; at the heart of the Silk Road, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, which still influence people's thinking, were born; many epoch-making inventions and schools of thought in the world, such as China's four major inventions and India's Buddhism, were widely spread through the Silk Road, and thus contributed to world civilization. Through the Silk Road, Chinese silk fabrics, steel, bamboo, lacquerware, pottery and advanced production technology were introduced to the West, and Western grapes, alfalfa, flax and other products, as well as music, painting, and religion, were also introduced to China.
Dunhuang is the "throat" of the Silk Road, its geographical location is very important, it always strangles two passes (Yangguan, Yumen Pass), east of the Central Plains, west of Xinjiang, control of the east to the west of the merchant travel. From Dunhuang to the west out of Yangguan, along the northern foothills of the Kunlun Mountains, through Shanshan (Ruoqiang), Andmu, Khotan (Hetian) to Shache, through the Onion Ridge can enter the Great Moon Clan, Rest and other countries; from Dunhuang out of the Yumen Pass north, along the southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, through cheshiqian Wangting (Turpan), Yanqi, Guizi (Kucha), to Shule (Kashgar), and then over the Onion Ridge, into Dawan, Kangju, Bactria and other places; and from Dunhuang to Yiwu (Hami), and then through Pushi (Barikun), Tielebu, cross the present-day Chu River, Syr Darya River and reach the West Sea (Mediterranean). These three roads all "originated from Dunhuang", "the gateway to The ancient Knowledge of Yiwu, Gaochang, Shanshan and the Western Regions is also dunhuang, which is its throat", which shows the important position and pivotal role of Dunhuang on the Silk Road. Therefore, with the increasing prosperity of the Silk Road, Dunhuang, which is located at the key point of the Silk Road, has also developed into a hub for transportation between China and the West and a bridgehead for the spread of Buddhism to the east.
It is generally believed that Buddhism is the three kingdoms of Kangju, Rest, and Great Moon in Central Asia, along the Taklamakan Desert, through the medium of the Western Regions, to Dunhuang in the Hexi Corridor, and finally to the Central Plains. Before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty passed through the Western Regions, Buddhism had been introduced to many countries in the Western Regions east of the Onion Ridge through the medium of the Great Moon Clan and The Emperor Ofebin. During the Two Han Dynasties, India and the Onion Ridge were all influenced by Buddhism, and Buddhism continued to spread eastward along the Silk Road. Dunhuang, on the other hand, borders the western region and dominates the two passes, first welcoming the eastern transmission of Buddhism. In the process of the continued spread of Buddhism to China, Dunhuang played a huge role. Therefore, some scholars refer to the "Silk Road" as the "Buddhist Road".
Dunhuang was one of the earliest regions in China to come into contact with Buddhism
Dunhuang is connected to the western region and occupies an important position in the history of the introduction of Buddhism to China. The legendary Regents, Zhu Falan White Horse traveled to Luoyang, and the famous Chinese and foreign monks recorded in several extant "Biographies of High Monks", whether they visited Tianzhu or preached to the Eastern Lands, as well as merchants of various nationalities and envoys from various countries who traveled to and from the Silk Road, all passed through Dunhuang. Many Tianzhu and Yue monks crossed the Onion Ridge to China to preach, first to solve the language problem and learn Chinese, Gaochang and Dunhuang are the two major cities, and the latter is more attractive. According to historical records, from the third and fourth centuries onwards, Dunhuang was a place where foreign monks prepared languages and became familiar with customs and customs before they entered the Central Plains. Similarly, the Han monks who traveled west were also required to prepare grain in Dunhuang and become familiar with the Western languages.
Available data prove that around the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Buddhism began to become widely popular in Dunhuang. In the Han and Jin Dynasties, the "Passing House" (ancient voucher for passing customs) held by the monks was found, which proved that there were already temples such as "Slim Money Buddha Tu" in the Dunhuang area at that time; the "Records of the Mogao Caves" written by the Tang Dynasty also contained the record of the "Xianyan Temple" inscribed on the wall of Jin Sikong Suojing. "Biography of the High Monk, Zhu Fa Protector" Yun: "It is the world of The Jin Dynasty, the temple image, although the reverence of Jingyi, and the Fang and other deep scriptures, are contained outside the onion." At that time, the prosperity of Dunhuang Buddhism's "temple image" could be compared with Jingyi's "reverence", and its prosperity is not difficult to imagine.
After the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, a large number of indian and western monks, such as An Shigao, Zhu Shuo Buddha, Zhi Lou Jia Tan, etc., trekked through mountains and rivers to preach inland; famous monks in Middle-earth also went to Tianzhu to seek the Fa and learn the scriptures. The transmission of the Dharma by senior monks in the Western Regions and the westward travel of monks from the Central Plains to learn the scriptures both pass through Dunhuang, and Dunhuang has become the hub of the spread of ancient Buddhism in China.
At the time of the Wei and Jin dynasties, the government forbade Han Chinese to become monks, and the monks were mainly Hu people, and there were very few Han Chinese. The "Luoyang Jialan Record" records that after Zhang Qian passed through the western regions, "from the west of the Onion Ridge, as for the Great Qin, the Hundred Kingdoms and Thousand Cities, Mo Bu Qian, the merchants and merchants, the day ben saixia", and the "stuffing" here should refer to the westernmost throat of the eastern section of the Silk Road - Dunhuang. Many Hu monks from the Western Regions, accompanied by Hu merchants and foreign envoys, first studied Chinese in Dunhuang and translated Buddhist scriptures before entering the Central Plains, in preparation for the spread of Buddhism to the Central Plains.
With the continuous development of Buddhism, examples of the transmission of the Dharma from the Western Regions to the Interior and the study of scriptures from the Interior to the Western Regions have continued to emerge. For example, the trip of the guizi monks in the western region to the interior, the southern tour of Yu Daoyao, Shan Daokai, Zhu Tanyou, Fa Ying and others, and Zhu Shixing's westward journey to seek the Fa. From the historical facts of the two Han Dynasties and the Wei and Jin Dynasties, through Dunhuang going south to the west to spread the Fa and learn the scriptures, it can be seen that Dunhuang was an important hub and transit station for the spread of Buddhism from Central Asia and the Western Regions to the Central Plains, and Dunhuang made important contributions to the eastern transmission of Buddhism.
The Buddhist statues in Dunhuang bring together the essence of Chinese and foreign art
Located at the western end of the Hexi Corridor, Dunhuang is the key point of the Silk Road and a multi-ethnic gathering place, with a deep Han cultural tradition and deep influence of foreign Buddhist art. Since the opening of the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty, the culture of the Central Plains has taken root in Dunhuang. At the same time, because Dunhuang is connected to the western region and has convenient transportation, it also accepted the Buddhist culture that originated in India earlier. The cultures of West Asia and Central Asia also reached Dunhuang with the spread of Indian Buddhist culture to the east. Different cultures of China and the West converge, collide and blend in Dunhuang.
The Dunhuang Grottoes were carved during the war-torn period, and the earliest statues were influenced by extraterritorial styles such as Gandhara statues. As far as the Northern Wei Dynasty unified northern China, the art of sculpture in the Central Plains and the art style of Buddha statues in the Western Regions merged to form a new style.
When Buddhism first came to Dunhuang, out of admiration and worship of the Buddha, believers could not completely change the shape of the Buddha at that time, which was reflected in the early Buddha statues in the Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang. The Buddhist statues of the early caves in Mogao Caves are heavily influenced by Indian Gandhara art. Its early Buddhist statues in the grottoes all bear a variety of characteristics of Indians, especially the high nose and deep eyes, and Buddhist statues with distinct Western styles abound in the Mogao Caves, of which the Indian Gandhara art influence is the most prominent. Until the Sui and Tang dynasties, there was still no shortage of external factors in Dunhuang Buddhist art. It can be seen from the strong foreign artistic factors in the Buddhist statues in Dunhuang that when Buddhism was first introduced to Dunhuang, the Mogao Grottoes basically copied the original appearance of the Indian Buddhist statues and showed them to Chinese society.
Since then, with the immersion of Central Plains culture, the Central Plains characteristics in Dunhuang Buddhist statues have also become increasingly strong. In fact, at the time of the introduction of Buddhism to Dunhuang, the Han and Jin cultural traditions already had a solid and deep foundation in the Dunhuang area. Therefore, with the spread of Buddhism to the east, the characteristics of Indian Gandhara art in the Buddhist statues of Dunhuang Grottoes have been continuously integrated with the traditional statue techniques of the Central Plains. Foreign art and Central Plains style were integrated in Dunhuang. For example, on the pattern of clothing and clothing, the traditional honeysuckle, flower and bird patterns and the newly introduced Persian lion and phoenix patterns, bead hunting patterns, animal and poultry patterns reflect each other. In painting, the Combination of the Zhongyuan dyeing method and the Western style chiaroscuro method produces a new blending method with a three-dimensional sense. All of this reflects the bold absorption, integration and innovation of the Dunhuang Buddhist statues on various arts from the north and the south, Chinese and foreign, Buddhist or non-Buddhist.
The Buddhist statues of Dunhuang reflect the integration of Chinese and foreign art, which also reflects the status of Dunhuang in the gradual development of Buddhism from west to east.
Dunhuang is truly a "Buddhist metropolis"
Some scholars believe that Buddhism was introduced to Dunhuang as early as the second half of the 1st century AD and has been popular among the people. In 366 AD (the second year of the former Qin Jianyuan), a Zen monk named Le Zhuo traveled to the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, and suddenly saw the golden light on the Three Dangers Mountain, as if there were thousands of Buddhas appearing in the golden light, Le Duo thought that it was the Buddha's sign, so he excavated the first grotto in the Mogao Grottoes. Shortly thereafter, another Zen master named Fa Liang excavated another cave next to the grotto opened by Lezun. Since then, the construction of the caves of Dunhuang Mogao Caves has lasted for nearly a thousand years, forming a large-scale grotto group in the future. Today, Mogao Grottoes preserves 735 caves of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Song, Western Xia, Yuan and other dynasties (including 492 in the main area), with 45,000 square meters of murals and more than 2,400 painted statues, which is the largest and richest in the existing grotto art treasure house in China.
During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Dunhuang grottoes and pagodas continued to be built. The Book of Wei and Shi Laozhi says: "Dunhuang is connected to the western region, the Taoist customs are handed over to its old style, the villages belong to each other, and there are many pagoda temples." This account reflects the prosperity of the construction of the Dunhuang Grotto Temple from one side. The Northern Dynasty of Wei and Jin was an important period for the rapid development of Dunhuang Buddhism, and since the excavation of the Mogao Caves in the second year of the Former Qin Jianyuan (366), and since the continuous excavation of the Northern Wei, Western Wei and Northern Zhou, there are 39 existing caves. After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, with the support of Emperor Wen of Sui and Emperor Ju of Sui, Buddhism was able to develop rapidly, and Dunhuang once again had a climax of cave opening. In the short 37 years of the Sui Dynasty, a large number of Dunhuang caves were excavated, and there are still 70 or 80 caves that still exist today, and the process of opening caves on this scale is also unique in the 1,000-year construction history of Mogao Grottoes.
After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Dunhuang Buddhism relied on the prosperity of the Silk Road and entered its own golden age. During the Wu Zetian period, Buddhism flourished due to the admiration for Buddhism, and Buddhism in Dunhuang reached an unprecedented scale at that time. Among the existing Dunhuang caves, there are 47 caves opened in the early Tang Dynasty, 2 caves that have been rebuilt in the Sui Dynasty, 96 caves in the Shengtang Dynasty, 1 cave that has not been completed in the early Tang Dynasty, and 3 caves that have been rebuilt in the Sui Dynasty. In addition to the opening of cave statues, the number of monasteries and Buddhist temples in Dunhuang during the Sui and Tang dynasties also increased. The Tang Dynasty was the heyday of Dunhuang art, and the cave shape system was dominated by the temple caves, and the appearance of giant Buddha statues was a significant feature of the Mogao Caves cave system in the early Tang Dynasty. The statue technology of the Tang Dynasty was also further improved, such as the Bodhisattva of the 328 Cave, with his head slightly tilted to the right, smiling, the center of gravity of the whole body fell on one foot, the waist was slightly twisted, and the whole body was "S" shaped, feminine and moving. The murals of the Tang Dynasty are rich in content, magnificent in scenes and magnificent in color. For example, in the early Tang Dynasty Cave 205 "Guanyin Sutra Change", the Guanyin in the painting is plump, the body is healthy, the jewelry is all over the body, the whole body is Ayaluo, and the manners are numerous.
At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Dunhuang fell into Tubo rule. Tubo Zangpu Songde Zan, a firm believer in Buddhism, took measures to worship the Buddha in Dunhuang, and the Mogao Caves continued to open caves, building 57 new caves, supplementing the painting of 20 caves of the previous generation, and repainting 11 caves. If calculated by the average number of years, it even exceeds the early Tang Dynasty and sheng Tang Dynasty. After the end of the Tubo rule, the rebel regime ruled Dunhuang and vigorously developed Buddhism. At that time, as many as 60 or 70 grottoes were built, and senior monks were sent to the Central Plains to establish contacts with the Buddhist community in Chang'an, which undoubtedly promoted the development of Dunhuang Buddhism. Under the vigorous promotion of the Gui rebel regime, Dunhuang was full of monasteries and incense.
From the fifth dynasty of the Tang Dynasty to the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Dunhuang developed into a Buddhist capital and had a great influence on society. The Dunhuang document S.2575 "Tiancheng Fourth Year (929) March 6, 929 Should Be In Charge of the Inner and Outer Capitals of the Monks and The Ordination Of the Fang and Other Ordination Altars" records: "Eavesdropping on the Longsha realm, based on the Dharma. S.4359 Back (2) "The Twenty-first Day of the First Moon" reads: "Dunhuang Is a County, originally supported by Buddhism. It can be seen that Dunhuang is a "Buddhist metropolis" in the true sense.
After Buddhism entered China, due to its extremely long circulation time, it spread far and wide, and gradually penetrated into all aspects of ancient Chinese society. Dunhuang, the transit point for the initial introduction of Buddhism to China, played an important role in this. Buddhism spread to the Central Plains through Dunhuang east, and monks in the interior also passed through Dunhuang west to learn the scriptures, which was the passage of Buddhism into China. Its splendid and rich statues integrate the essence of Chinese and foreign art, where Chinese and foreign civilizations converge. It is not only a transit point for the eastern transmission of Buddhism, but also a resort for Chinese Buddhism, and a Buddhist metropolis on the northwestern frontier. Dunhuang is of great significance in the eastern transmission of Buddhism in China and is the source of Buddhism in the Central Plains.