Research On Yibian Suo's Cave Of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes

The patron of the 12^th cave of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in late Tang Dynasty was Shazhou monk Dufalu called as Yibian Suo.Except for the statues in the cave which were re-adorned in Qing Dynasty,all the original murals are basically kept intact and were basically painted around the 10^th Xiantong Year of Tang Dynasty?869?.As for image contents,layout arrangements as well as religious and secular significances implied by the rock cave,the cave was representative among rock caves in late Tang Dynasty.Based on existing research achievements of former worthies,the paper comprehensively refers to research methods of archaeology,applies research ideas in iconography and functional science,takes image structure analysis as the basis and deeply illustrates Buddhist theories and secular connotations of image structures in order to explore overall design ideas and functions of the rock cave.As the mainstay at initial construction stage of Guiyijuan regime,Suo Clan in Dunhuang possessed superior positions both in politics and religion,which were embodied in many family caves excavated by it.Chiseling and construction of Yibian Suo's Cave manifest prestige and power of the family and indicate the close followership to leadership of Zhang's regime.Inside the west niche of the cave,the image Lord Buddha sat in the middle and formed Huayan Trinity together with Manjusri and Samantabhadra on both sides;Jataka stories on the south side and Buddhist stories on the north side inside the niche respectively tell previous life processes of Sakya and his enlightenment course in the current life,while their combination reflects the idea of Buddhism immortality and is combined with the Lord Buddha Sakya in the niche to form the complete course from Buddha practicing to Buddha enlightenment and education;Buddhas of four directions are surrounded by a thousand Buddhas on the cave top,which reflect the connotation of ten directions and triple worlds and are combined with the Lord Buddha in west niche to form Dharmakaya Vairocana Buddha and show connotation of“Buddhas in ten directions and triple worlds”.The combination of Ancestor Portraits of Suo Fengzhen Couple,Repaying Kindness Sutra Painting and Vimalakirti Sutra Painting on the east wall of main room reflects the rock cave construction motivation of“repaying four kindnesses to reach utmost virtue”.Meanwhile,emphasizing of Vairocana Buddha Dharmadhatu by Repaying Kindness Sutra Painting and character characteristics of Huayan Lord Buddha defined by the Vimalakirti Sutra Painting also echo with the Huayan context created by west niche.Three groups of sutra painting images including Fahua Sutra Painting and Huayan Sutra Painting,West Pure Land Sutra Painting and East Bhaisajyaguru Sutra Painting,Maitreya Sutra Painting and Tianqingwen Sutra Painting were set on south and north walls of the main room,wherein the West Pure Land Sutra Painting and the East Bhaisajyaguru Sutra Painting take the leading role and form subsumption relations with west niche and the east wall.The Yibian Suo Procession Scene in the front room reflects situations such as politics,religious environment,and position of monk officials in Dunhuang at that time and also points out the close relations between monk officials and their family during the period of Guiyijuan.Through icon and structural analysis of images in the whole cave,we can find that religious images of Yibian Suo's cave were blended with secular images,simultaneously implying religious ideas and expressing realistic utilitarian things.As for secular utilitarian things,the“repaying four kindnesses to reach utmost virtue”points out construction motivation of the rock cave.The Procession Scene in the front room as well as the images on the east wall and inside the west niche were designed according to this theme.As for religious ideas,image design and layout of the rock cave inherited the image design traditions in Dunhuang.Design of the west wall and cave top highlights creation of Huayan context,pays attention to the subsumption relations with four walls,embodies the subsumption of multiple pure lands by the integral and harmonious Huayan spirit,reflects that pure lands such as Amitabha and Maitreya lead one into the dharma realm of the infinite realm of Lotus flower that embodies the pure dharmakaya of Vairocana Buddha,and takes pure lands such as Amitabha and Maitreya as destinations for future life.Drawing of images on south and north images also provided affiliations of different directions and levels to the dead,echoes the drawing of the Ancestor Portraits of Fengzhen Suo Couple on the east wall door,and reflects the hope of praying for family deceased's future life to pure lands.Construction of the rock cave embodies Suo family's belief and conversion to Buddhism and also witnessed the history of previous prosperity of this family.Hence,construction of Yibian Suo's Cave reflects historical information such as politics,Buddhism,family and belief in Dunhuang during the late Tang Dynasty and embodies multiple functions of rock caves in Dunhuang during the late Tang Dynasty.