The Art of Yulin Grottoes

The Art of Yulin Grottoes provides a comprehensive introduction to Yulin Grottoes， its historical value， artistic value， and the latest research in seven chapters.

The Art of Yulin Grottoes

Written by Fan Jinshi

Edited by Dunhuang Academy

Jiangsu Phoenix Fine Arts Publishing House

September 2016

58.00 (CNY)

Fan Jinshi

Fan Jinshi， former dean of Dunhuang Academy， and now honorary dean of Dunhuang Academy， is dedicated to the archaeology， scientific protection， and management of grottoes. Since she graduated from Peking University in 1963， she has been working for Dunhuang Academy for more than 40 years and is honored as “the daughter of Dunhuang.”

In the valley of the Nanshan Mountains， which lies in the southwest of Guazhou County (formerly named Anxi County) at the west end of Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province， there is a famous cave called the Yulin Grottoes， also known as Yulin Temple and Wanfo Gorge. Yulin Grottoes are excavated in the cliffs on the east and west sides of Tashi River (also known as Yulin River). The river rushes through the valley， and elms cover the two riversides. Hidden in the peaceful， deep valley are dozens of splendid Buddhist grottoes. There are 42 existing caves distributed on the cliffs on the both sides of the steep river valley， with a distance of about 100 meters apart， a length of about 500 meters， and a height of about 10 meters. Among them， there are 20 caves in the upper layer and 11 caves in the lower layer on the east cliff， and 11 caves in the only layer on the west cliff. At the northern end of the upper and lower caves on the east ridge， there are monks’ houses and remains of Zen caves. There are about 5，200 square meters of existing murals in the caves and approximately 200 coloured sculptures. In front of the caves are 20 earthen buildings， such as towers and sacrificial buildings. The Yulin Grottoes are located in Guazhou， more than 100 kilometres east of Dunhuang City. Since ancient times， Guazhou and Dunhuang have been in the same cultural circle. Before the Han Dynasty， the Qiang， Wusun， Rouzhi， and Huns successively lived in Dunhuang and Guazhou.

When Yulin Grottoes， Guazhou， were founded is unknown， but as essential towns on the Silk Road， Guazhou and Dunhuang have extremely significant geographical positions. According to literature， Buddhism was introduced into Dunhuang in the Western Jin Dynasty in the third century. The Mogao Grottoes were officially established in the fourth century (the 16 Kingdoms Period). During this period， both Dunhuang and Guazhou were deeply influenced by Buddhism， and it was possible to build temples and excavate caves. However， no relics before the Tang Dynasty have been discovered from the existing caves in the Yulin Grottoes.

Among the existing caves in the Yulin Grottoes， Cave 28 and Cave 17 were excavated earlier， and their remains of murals and painted sculptures are in the style of the early Tang Dynasty. It is roughly correct to infer that the Yulin Grottoes was founded in the early Tang Dynasty. Cave 6 has a 24-meter high Buddha， also built in the Tang Dynasty. However， after being rebuilt through ages， the decoration and colored painting on the Buddha statue and the existing murals in the cave were all made by later generations. According to the existing relics， 19 caves were built in the Tang Dynasty， and most of the murals were repainted and covered by later generations. The An Shi Rebellion took place in the 14th year of the Tianbao period. The Tang Dynasty was forced to move armies from Hexi and Longyou， including Dunhuang and Guazhou. All of a sudden， the northwest border weakened， and the Tang Dynasty began to decline.

Tubo took this opportunity to occupy the Longyou Region and attacked Hexi from east to west. In the 11th year of the Dali period， Guazhou was captured， and Shazhou was surrounded. In the second year of the Zhenyuan period， Shazhou was captured. The military and political centers ruled by Tubo in Hexi were Liangzhou (today’s Wuwei) and Guazhou， and Shazhou was under the jurisdiction of Guazhou. During the more than 60 years when the Tubo Regime ruled Guazhou and Shazhou， the Buddhist force expanded rapidly. Dunhuang set up a translation workshop dedicated to translating Buddhist scriptures， constantly sought Buddhist scriptures from the Tang Dynasty， and invited monks from the Tang Dynasty to Hexi to preach the Buddha Dharma to the Han people in the inhabited areas. The Buddhist culture of the Central Plains continuously influenced Hexi. Tubo vigorously advocated Buddhism and promoted the construction of the Mogao and Yulin Grottoes in Guazhou and Shazhou. The existing Cave 25 and Cave 15 in the Yulin Grottoes were built during the Tubo occupation period.

In the second year of the Huichang period， Tubo was in civil strife， its power declined significantly， and its rule in Hexi began to waver. In the second year of the Dazhong period， Zhang Yichao from a local aristocratic great clan in Shazhou took the opportunity to lead an uprising， drove away the Tubo rulers， and recovered eleven prefectures， including Guazhou and Shazhou. Then he sent an envoy to return to the Tang Dynasty with a memorial to the throne. In the fifth year of the Dazhong period， the Tang Dynasty appointed a military governor of the Guiyi Army in Shazhou and titled Zhang Yichao as the military governor of eleven prefectures in Hexi. Zhang’s Regime of the Guiyi Army recovered the Tang system and promoted the Chinese culture， which stabilized the political situation in Dunhuang. As Buddhism was under the protection of Zhang’s Regime， Guazhou and Shazhou continued to build temples and grottoes.