The earliest grottoes in Dunhuang were excavated in the Northern Liang period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, that is, in 397-439 AD. It was the early days of Buddhism in China, when people regarded Buddha as a god, and the image of the dragon appeared as a statue of Rui in Cave 272 of Beiliang, reflecting the people's desire for a peaceful and stable life brought by the new gods.
Cave 272: Buddha and dragon, Eastern and Western cultures collide here
When we enter the 272nd Cave of Beiliang, one of the first three caves excavated in the Mogao Grottoes, we will immediately feel that this square plan is only a few square meters of space, like a living room, especially the dome in the shape of a tent, which seems to have the will from the nomadic areas of the Western Regions.
The Buddha statue in the round arch niche on the west wall of the front of the cave is broad and strong, the posture is strong, wearing the earthy red robe that exposes the right shoulder, and the chest is exposed monk (low voice) branch; The pattern of its clothing is dominated by flat rows of raised clay strips, which are obviously developed from the statues of the Gupta school in India.
The north and south sides of the Buddha statue in the shrine are painted to offer offerings to the Bodhisattva. Outside the west niche, the north and south sides also symmetrically depict two groups of dynamic and beautiful offering bodhisattvas, respectively four groups of five bodies, each dynamic is different, graceful and graceful. The dances of these bodhisattvas include twisting, sideways, fingers, and wrapping the feet, which are obviously influenced by Indian dance styles.
The heavenly palace painted by the four coats on the top of the cave is the western style building of the dome roof, there are Greek-style column heads on both sides of the door, and the balustrade is painted with perspective, the three-dimensional sense is very strong, this is the first time in ancient Chinese painting to use perspective method to depict the building.
In Cave 272 of Beiliang, Mogao Grottoes, the influence of Western culture can be felt everywhere from the content to the form. However, on both sides of the shrine on the west wall, there is a dragon head image with traditional Chinese characteristics. The two dragon heads are frontal, with black heads, green eyes, white teeth, and the tongue is outlined with white lines on a black background, and the dragon body is the entire niche beam. This has many similarities with the dragon heads on the octagonal Optimus Prime on both sides of the octagonal Optimus Prime in the middle room of the Yinan Han portrait stone tomb.
The image of the dragon is associated with the gods, and it is usually accompanied by auspicious appearances of the gods. The reason why the dragon image appeared in the early Buddhist caves reflects the people's pursuit of a peaceful life and the desire for "the son of heaven" at that time. People need "gods" to welcome the arrival of a new god who may bring hope, the Buddha. It was under such historical conditions that the image of the dragon accompanied the Buddha into the Buddhist grottoes as an auspicious auspiciousness.