Study on murals in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes

Experts uncover the mystery of pigments in Dunhuang murals

Why can Dunhuang murals not change color for thousands of years? Where does the pigment come from? What technology and minerals is it made of? There have been many different opinions over the years. Wang Jinyu, a researcher at Dunhuang Research Institute, recently pointed out that after scientific analysis of more than 30 pigments used in Dunhuang murals, China had superb pigment invention, production and chemical technology more than 600 years ago. The pigments in Dunhuang murals mainly come from imported gems, natural minerals and synthetic compounds.

Dunhuang Grottoes are not only a world-famous art treasure house, but also a colorful museum of pigment specimens. It has preserved a large number of painting art pigment samples from the Northern Dynasties to the Meta-algebra for thousands of years, which is an important material for studying the chemical history of ancient pigments in China and even the world. Wang Jinyu, a researcher at Dunhuang Research Institute, used scientific methods to combine the analysis results of modern instruments with the records of ancient documents to scientifically analyze more than 30 colors of Dunhuang murals, such as red, yellow, green, blue, white, black and brown.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency today, Wang Jinyu said that the study on the pigments of murals in Dunhuang Grottoes in different periods not only confirmed that China was one of the first countries to use lapis lazuli, verdigris, lithargyrum, red alum and mica powder as pigments, but also showed that China's ancient chemical technology and pigment preparation skills were at the leading level in the world at that time.

The Artistic Features of Dunhuang Murals

Dunhuang grottoes art is a national treasure of our country and a world cultural heritage. Its large scale, long duration, rich content, exquisite craftsmanship and well-preserved are rare in the world.

Because it originated from Dunhuang, a key area in the middle section of the Silk Road, an international channel for cultural exchanges between China and the West, it has special geographical and cultural properties. Wusun, Yueshi, Xiongnu and other nationalities once lived here. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established four counties in Hexi, he set up Yangguan and Yumenguan in the territory, which was the only place for Chinese and Western envoys, merchants and monks to travel eastward and westward. Therefore, Dunhuang has been a city of communication between Hua Rong and Rong since ancient times, and it is also a region where many cultures blend. Grotto art originated in India, and it must have various contents and forms after passing through Central Asia and the Western Regions. However, all the features are included in the long-standing cultural and artistic system of China, and present a new style. Here are ten characteristics.

(A) the grotto architecture with China characteristics.

Buddhist grottoes originated in India and spread to the western regions. The shape of every place has changed, and new forms have appeared in Vishnu (monk's room) and Zhiti (pagoda temple) in India. When it arrived in Dunhuang, it was farther away from India. The earliest Zen cave in Dunhuang, its narrow tunnel can not be compared with the colonnade hall in India; The small meditation room where only one person can sit on both sides is also different from the Indian living room meditation room, which completely imitates the shape of Kuqa Subhas meditation room and has a smaller area. The central pillar cave in the Northern Wei Dynasty is more different from the colonnade pagoda-style hall. It gradually evolved from Bamiyan Buddha Cave in Qizil, Afghanistan, and developed into a multi-storey pavilion tower in China in the late Northern Wei Dynasty. The function of the image around the observation tower is similar to that of the support tower, but the back room has a flat roof, the front hall has a herringbone and a hard peak, and the north and south walls have Chinese niches. In the early grottoes, the characteristics of China's wooden buildings have been added. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there was a niche on the front wall of the inverted bucket hall, and a canopy (algae well) hung on the top. Some caves have Buddhist altars, with steps in front of the altars and screens behind them, surrounded by fences and painted pot doors, surrounded by geisha music and animal decorations, and four murals are combined into one. In the process of secularization, Buddhist grottoes further imitate the form of palaces, and the characteristics of China are more intense.

② Fly from India to China.

All ancient civilizations in the world have their own images of flying gods, and there are angels in Greece-children or girls with arms and wings; There are people with feathers in China, with long feathers on their arms, galloping in the air, and they are called flying immortals in the world. India has a round head and a flying sky with clouds, and there are also angels with wings. Dunhuang Tian Fei is from India. When it entered the Qiuci Grottoes, it became round face, beautiful eyes, short and strong body and awkward posture. Together with Indian nudes, Persian scarves and clouds without horses, it forms a special style in the western region. After entering Dunhuang, he gradually combined with Feather Man, and became a flying fairy at the end of the 5th century, with a rich face, long eyebrows and fine eyes, a bun on his head, a half-naked upper body, a big scarf on his shoulders, no round lights on his head, chic charm and flowing clouds. This is China Feitian in Dunhuang style. The emperors of Sui Dynasty liked flying. The secret organs let wooden flying people fly up and down to open the door for the emperor, and the gods in the sky descended to earth. [(1)a] Therefore, flying reached its peak in the Sui Dynasty, with various forms and numerous groups, forming a free flying group. Especially in the Heavenly Palace, Lotte, a geisha in the pavilion, also took off, becoming music that geisha flew around the cave for a week.

In the Tang Dynasty, they had no wings. They flew, stretched and danced with a long towel instead of clouds, and flew into space lightly. As China poet Li said in his flying fairy poem: "Holding hibiscus in hand is too clear;" The dress is dragging a wide belt to the sky. " [(2)a] This is a typical artistic image of China Fei Xian (Flying).

Feminization of Bodhisattva

Grottoes originated in India, where human proportions, postures and facial expressions are realistic and ideal. In terms of gender, the characteristics are distinct, and the physiological characteristics of men and women in the congregation are very obvious. This person has a round face, bearded lips, broad shoulders and strong waist, and is strong and powerful; Women's faces are round, their eyes are sharp, their eyebrows are long, their lips are thick, their breasts are big, their waists are thin, their hips are big, and their feet are staggered. Some male roots and female genitals are unabashedly displayed.

Qiuci Grottoes inherited this tradition, but the number of naked figures has been greatly reduced. Entering Gaochang area, the gender of bodhisattvas and saints is mostly unknown, and most of the Tianlong Babu after the Buddha are the same image. There is no difference between men and women, and the nude image no longer exists. Most of the early caves in Dunhuang were like this. On the one hand, it conforms to the Buddhist scripture that the saints in the Buddhist world are "not male or female", and at the same time, Confucian ethics thinks that nudity is immoral, uncivilized and immoral, so it deliberately does not show the physiological characteristics of men and women. After the Sui Dynasty, a female bodhisattva appeared obviously. She had a rich and charming face, a green beard on her lips and no breasts on her chest, but she was gentle and elegant. Therefore, at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, eminent monks preached the statue of Bodhisattva: "In Song and Qi Dynasties, the lips were thick, the nose was long, and the eyes were rich, quite like her husband. Since the Tang Dynasty, calligraphers have always been as strict and weak as geisha, so today people praise Gongwa as a bodhisattva. " [(3)a] The painter Zhao Gongyou described the Bodhisattva as "beautiful and beautiful, with wonderful clothes and precious eyes, just like a woman" [(4)a], lamenting that the purpose of creating the Bodhisattva was lost. Like the painters in the Central Plains and Dunhuang, in order to "please the public", the statue of Bodhisattva is also feminine and secular.

(4) The portrait of the provider is a unique portrait of China.

In the art of Buddhist grottoes in India, no portraits of patrons with chronological inscriptions have been found. There are few portraits of patrons in Qiuci Grottoes in the Western Regions, but there are also few inscriptions. On the other hand, Dunhuang has a group of portraits or murals of diners in the earliest caves in the late Sixteen Countries, which is related to the ancestor worship of Confucianism. In the Han dynasty, there was a trend of painting ancestors, and the portraits of Buddhist masters combined with this became the original donor images. The Western Wei Dynasty has formed a portrait of a family, while the Tang Dynasty developed into a family temple, such as Cave 220 in the 16th year of Zhenguan. With the theme of "Zhaijiadong", Zhai Fengda painted three generations of portraits of his family, from Daogong Zhai Siyuan to "genealogy check" [(5) A] of nine grandchildren and five dynasties, which lasted for 280 years.

Cave 98 of the Five Dynasties was Cao Yijin's Gongde Cave, with painting patrons 169 people, including Zhang Yichao, Suoxun, Li Shengtian, the son-in-law of Yu Kan's consort, and Princess Huihe. From Cao Shi family, officials of our yamen, in-laws of Cao Shi, ancestors, children and son-in-law of Cao Shi family, etc. , sorted by generation, and one more.

(5) Changes of Mahayana Kingdom

Mahayana religion is popular in China and has formed many sects. Therefore, the main Mahayana classics, such as Fire Eye Sutra, Huayan Sutra, Vimalakīrti Sutra, Amitabha Sutra and Maitreya Sutra, have all changed. The classic here refers to a picture and a story, then a story and a picture, which can also be called a classic, but a large-scale classic contains many stories. This change has not been found in Buddhist sites before the Sui and Tang Dynasties in Buddhist countries, nor in Central Asia, which was originally created by China painters according to Buddhist scriptures. Judging from the existing paintings, the Maijishan Grottoes have seen a huge Chinese-style Western Pure Land Change and Vimo Change in the late Northern Wei Dynasty. According to Dunhuang records, it was generally later than the Central Plains, which began in the Sui Dynasty and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. Dunhuang Grottoes have preserved more than 20 pieces, including 1 102 pieces, such as Pure Land Change in the West, Change of Oriental Pharmacists, Change of Maitreya, Change of Vimo, Change of Gratitude and Change of Secret Words. Especially after the Tubo period, all schools and factions gathered in a cave and coexisted at the same time, showing their charm. These changes are the visualization of abstract Buddhist scriptures. In the process of visualization, there are pavilions and pavilions in China, magnificent royal palaces and distant natural scenery. In the changed artistic realm, there are many levels of artistic conception: religious realm, political realm, ethical realm and so on. It fully embodies the China characteristics of the integration of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.

(6) Dunhuang murals are a treasure house of music and dance.

Dance and music reflected in Dunhuang murals are connected as a whole. Dance is the shape of music, and music is the sound of dance. It combines the factors of dance music of various nationalities and countries, and its diversity is obvious. Mainly can be divided into three categories: Central Plains Han dance music, such as music, Yan music and so on; Brothers dance music in the western regions, such as Qiuci music, Shule music and Gaochang music; Foreign dance music, such as Tianzhu music and dance music from Central Asia and Persia. Xiliang music is a combination of Qiuci music and Central Plains dance music, which is popular in Hexi Corridor, including Dunhuang music. With the prosperity of the Silk Road and the development of Buddhist art in Dunhuang, Tianzhu music has had a far-reaching impact on dance music in the Western Regions and Dunhuang.

Dance music in Dunhuang murals can be divided into two categories: Yue Xian and pop music. The so-called Yue Xian is a dance music that appears in the image of heaven and man in the Buddhist world, such as the Tiangong geisha music that walked around the cave in the early days; Large-scale dance scenes in Jin Daibi Paradise in Tang Dynasty, such as Hu Xuan Dance and Hu Teng Dance in Cave 220 and Ji Zhe Dance in Cave 2 17. Folk dance is music and dance in real life, such as geisha in Zhang Yichao's Travel Map. Businessmen in Qing Dynasty and Hundred Dramas in The Portrait of Lady Guo Song: Marrying the Six Male Dances in the Picture, etc. The gestures and postures of Yue Xian Zhongtian people and Bodhisattvas all contain the charm of Indian dance. However, in the Tang Dynasty, all this was integrated with the national spirit of absorption, integration and continuous innovation, forming a huge system and excellent tradition of China dance music.

(7) Dunhuang Grottoes Art and Belief Thought

The art of Dunhuang Grottoes directly accepted the contents, techniques and styles of Buddhist art in the Western Regions, mainly praising the Buddha's life story and good deeds in previous lives, and publicizing the accumulated merits of lifelong practice. Therefore, the tragic themes such as Prince Sa feeding the tiger, the corpse king cutting the meat to feed the eagle, the moonlight king cutting his head a thousand times, and the need to cut the meat to serve his loved ones are very popular, which promotes the spirit of sacrifice for all beings and finally makes him become a Buddha.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the whole country was unified, the politics and economy developed greatly, and the Mahayana Sutra rose suddenly. The pure land of Maitreya Buddha, the pure land of oriental pharmacists, the pure land of Amitabha Buddha and the goblet of fire have changed, which is contrary to the tragic atmosphere in the early days, showing a happy scene of pavilions, resplendence and singing and dancing. The idea that a person can become a Buddha after death and go to the pure land after seven days of chanting Buddha has replaced the old idea that a person can become a Buddha after long-term repeated practice, and the beliefs of good men and women in Buddhism have also changed. Generally, there are three kinds: one is that it can't be turned over. I hope that the parents who died first, the third generation of parents and the seventh generation of parents will stay away from the pure land forever; Second, pray for the living. For example, "My wife is now living in the throne", "Seeing the descendants of my old mother's family, there is no disaster" and "The master Cao Gong is a security guard". Thirdly, those who wish to become Buddhists have more common aspirations. "May the dead god give birth to pure land", "All beings in the dharma circle realize" and "All beings will become Buddhas in a short time", especially the wishes for the living. Hokkekyo's popular products "Guanyin Classic Change" and "Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes Guanyin Change" show a lot of pictures of reciting Guanyin's name and getting rid of real pain immediately, instead of becoming a Buddha after death. Therefore, the picture of Elysium is often used as a sacrifice to the Buddha to get rid of real suffering. There is hope to become a Buddha in Elysium, but the three-level nine-product hierarchy is very strict and difficult to obtain.

The change of Buddhist belief thought for thousands of years is influenced by Confucianism's entry into the WTO and realism, which is the product of the combination of Confucianism and Buddhism.

(8) Technical exchange of murals between China and India.

There are two sources of Dunhuang mural expression techniques: one is China traditional mural techniques, and Dunhuang Han and Jin tomb paintings are the foundation; The first is the expression from the western regions. The production methods of murals are basically the same, and the methods of expression such as modeling, line drawing, composition, coloring and vividness have their own national characteristics. I won't talk much here, but mainly talk about two completely different three-dimensional expressions.

Tianzhu concave-convex method from the western regions expresses subjective consciousness through light and shade. From Ajanta to Dunhuang, many changes have taken place in this method, but the flesh color was painted with flesh red, the eyes, nose and face were dyed with ochre red to make the light and shade clear, and finally the nose and eyeball were painted with white powder to show the brilliant part. The color changes with age, the muscles turn gray-black, and the white nose and small face are more prominent. This daubing method has been used in Dunhuang Grottoes for more than 250 years.

The traditional color blooming method in China is simple. Contrary to the Indian bump, only a mass of red is rendered on the cheeks and upper eyelids of the face, which not only shows rosy color, but also has a certain stereoscopic effect. This method originated in the Warring States period and was very mature in the Western Han Dynasty. Dunhuang frescoes entered the end of the 5th century, and it coexisted with the light and shade method in the western regions for nearly a hundred years. It was not until the Sui Dynasty at the end of the 6th century that Chinese and Western cultures were integrated, mainly with color halo and light and dark rendering. It was not until the Tang Dynasty in the early 7th century that a brand-new three-dimensional representation of China was formed.

(9) Great integration of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.

In the early days of Dunhuang art, the story of Buddha's statement, Sakyamuni's life story-the story of Buddha's biography, the story of Buddha's good deeds of giving his life to save all beings in previous lives-the story of karma, and the story of thousands of Buddhas sitting in meditation. It mainly shows the tragic and peaceful realm of becoming a Buddha six times.

In the late Northern Wei Dynasty, images of Taoist immortals, such as Dong, Queen Mother of the West, Fuxi, Nuwa, alchemist, Suzaku, Xuanwu, Qinglong, White Tiger, Feather Man and Wuhuo, appeared in murals, and floating ceilings appeared, as well as images of Bodhisattvas in the Southern Dynasties, and literati wearing robes and high feet.

After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there appeared many apocryphal scriptures, which were actually Buddhist scriptures written by China people. The Book of Filial Piety is based on the Book of Filial Piety. There is a change in the cave of the Tang Dynasty, with the Buddha and the sage in the middle, and the plots of pregnancy, childbirth, growth, disobedience and unfilial in October are described around. This is not to preach Buddhism, but to preach Confucian filial piety. In many deep areas of pure land change, there are many Confucian ethics and political fields.

A scholar in the Southern and Northern Dynasties put it well: "Sakyamuni gave birth to China and established Kong Zhou; Kong Zhou was born in the west, and he taught like Sakyamuni. " This sentence reveals the law of cultural exchange.

(10) The intersection of Chinese and Western grottoes.

In the third century BC, Asoka preached Buddhism, and Buddhist art rose from India. In the first century, Greek Buddhist art appeared in Gandhara and spread to other countries. It was introduced from Afghanistan to Khotan, Xinjiang in the 2nd century. There is a statue of a bodhisattva in Greek style and a dragon pattern in China in the Han Tomb in Minfeng, South Road, and a story painting of Ryuichi Sakamoto in the ruins of Nuoqiang Temple. At the same time, Bamiyan Grottoes appeared in Qizil Grottoes on the North Road with Qiuci as the center. When it is combined with Qiuci's local customs, Qiuci's unique diamond story painting is formed. However, Qiuci art still contains Indian artistic elements, Afghan characteristics and Persian influence, and more importantly, China painting factors, thus forming a diversified western style.

Gaochang has been a Han regime since the Jin Dynasty, and Chinese culture is deeply rooted. The nude art from the west was resisted by Confucianism, the gender characteristics of nude figures and bodhisattvas were diluted, and the Buddha and many saints became asexual nature. The form of painting has more connections with Han paintings in the Central Plains, so the first stop for the real communication between Chinese and Western arts is here.

Since its introduction into Dunhuang, it has been endowed with more China cultural factors, such as que-shaped niches, herringbone grottoes, group painting forms and bold brushwork. , but basically maintained the western style. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Chinese characters were sinicized and comic book forms were developed. Although Indian and Persian elements are still maintained in style, the spread of Buddhist art to the west in the Central Plains, especially in the Southern Dynasties, showed obvious Central Plains style from theme, figure modeling, line drawing, coloring, three-dimensional light and shade to artistic conception, which pushed the process of China of Dunhuang Grottoes to a climax. At the same time, it has formed a new situation in which the styles of the Western Regions and the Central Plains meet and coexist in Dunhuang. After Taihe, Central Plains-style paintings were introduced to the Western Regions with Song Yun and Sheng Hui, and then fed back to Central Asia and India. Facts have proved that Dunhuang Grottoes are the meeting point of cultural exchanges between China, India and China.