According to the inscriptions in the Tang Dynasty, the Mogao Grottoes were built in the second year of Jianyuan in the former Qin Dynasty (AD 366),14th century, and were carved for thousands of years. After the Northern Liang Dynasty, the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Western Wei Dynasty, the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties, the Song Dynasty, the Uighur, the Xixia and the Yuan Dynasty, the total length of the north and south was 1.680 meters, and there were more than 700 caves, including 492 caves with colored plastic murals and more than 2,000 colored plastic sculptures. Mogao Grottoes is the largest, longest, richest and best preserved Buddhist site in the world.

All caves in Mogao Grottoes are composed of cave architecture, painted sculptures and murals. The architectural forms of grottoes mainly include Zen grottoes, central tower grottoes, Buddhist niches, Buddhist altar grottoes, elephant grottoes and so on. The colored sculptures combined with plastic painting mainly include Buddha, Bodhisattva, disciple, King of Heaven, Lux statue and so on. Murals are rich in content and can be divided into seven categories: Buddhist statues, Buddhist story paintings, Buddhist historical story paintings, accident paintings, supernatural paintings, portraits of donors and decorative patterns, which reflect the historical image of ancient society. Exquisite color sculptures and murals systematically reflect the artistic style of each era and its inheritance and evolution. It has precious historical, artistic and scientific value.

In the 26th year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1900), the Tibetan Sutra Cave was discovered, and more than 40,000 pieces of documents, embroidery, silk paintings, paper paintings and other cultural relics from the 4th to14th centuries were unearthed. Most documents are written in Chinese, and a few are printed. Buddhist classics account for more than 90% of Chinese manuscripts, and there are also traditional subsets of classics and history, which are "official and private documents" with precious historical value. In addition to Chinese, there are many minority languages such as ancient Tibetan, Sanskrit, Uyghur, Khotan and Kucha. The discovery of Dunhuang documents is an important material for studying the history, geography, religion, economy, politics, nationality, literature, art and science and technology of China and Central Asia. After the discovery of the Buddhist scriptures in the Mogao grottoes, a large number of Dunhuang cultural relics and some murals and painted sculptures in the grottoes were taken abroad by treasure thieves from Britain, France, Japan, Russia and the United States, and scattered in libraries and museums in many countries around the world. This is "the sad history of Chinese academics".

Since the beginning of this century, "Dunhuang studies", which mainly focus on the documents unearthed in the Tibetan Sutra Cave and the art of Dunhuang Grottoes, have risen around the world and become a prominent study in the world today.

Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, founded in the second year of Qin Jianyuan (AD 366), is the largest and most well-preserved Buddhist art treasure house in China and even in the world. 1600-year-old wonder. 1987 65438+In February, the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu Province were included in the World Heritage List.

Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu include Mogao Grottoes, West Thousand-Buddha Cave and Yulin Grottoes. Among them, the Mogao Grottoes, commonly known as the Thousand Buddha Cave, located 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, Gansu Province, are the representatives of Dunhuang Grottoes. There are also five wooden buildings in the Tang and Song Dynasties.

In the murals of the Mogao Grottoes in different periods, there are pictures reflecting some scenes of production and labor, social life, clothing system, ancient architecture modeling, music, dance, acrobatics, etc., and they also record the historical facts of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, providing valuable information for the study of ancient China society from the 4th century to14th century.

The murals in Mogao Grottoes also have high artistic value, with the Tang Dynasty as the highest level. The most influential caves are 96 caves, 17 caves, 130 caves, 158 caves, 259 caves, 285 caves, 200 caves and 428 caves. Western scholars call Dunhuang murals "the library on the wall".

The excavation of the Mogao Grottoes began in 366 AD. According to records, there was a monk with excellent virtue who went west with a stick and saw a thousand buddhas shining, and he had an epiphany, so he chiseled the first grotto. From the Sixteen Kingdoms to the Yuan Dynasty, the excavation of grottoes lasted for ten dynasties, 1500 years. So far, the grottoes in Lezun have long been indistinguishable, while the Mogao Grottoes have been eroded by wind and sand, and more than 750 caves in ten dynasties have been preserved, with 45,000 square meters of murals and 3,000 colored sculptures, and 5 wooden buildings on the eaves in the Tang and Song Dynasties. In addition, 40,000 to 50,000 handwritten documents and various cultural relics, including thousands of silk paintings, prints, embroidery and a large number of calligraphy works, have been found in the cave of Tibetan scriptures. If all the works of art are arranged one by one, it will be a world-class gallery over 25 kilometers long.

Don't dance in all aspects of production activities and social activities. All kinds of figures in murals retain a lot of information about the costumes of people of all ethnic groups in the past. There are a large number of pavilions, pavilions, towers, palaces, cities, bridges and five existing wooden eaves in the murals, which are the image patterns and precious materials for studying ancient buildings in China. Sculpture and painting in China have a history of thousands of years. Many famous painters' works recorded in art history have been lost, and a large number of murals and colored sculptures in Dunhuang art have provided rich physical materials for the study of China art history.

The Mogao Grottoes were once abandoned in the Ming Dynasty, and it didn't attract people's attention until the fifty-fourth year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (AD 17 15). 26 cave paintings. These thefts and damages have caused great losses to Dunhuang cultural relics.

Since the 1940s, China has established the academic research and protection institutions of the Mogao Grottoes. In the 1960s, the grottoes were fully reinforced; Since 1980s, the Mogao Grottoes have entered a period of modern scientific protection. Dunhuang Grottoes Cultural Relics Protection Research and Exhibition Center is the only research and exhibition institution in China. The center exhibition department has a video studio and three exhibition areas, which can show the essence of Dunhuang grottoes art and the general situation of its development process, and provide favorable conditions for people to understand Dunhuang grottoes and Dunhuang Buddhist art comprehensively and deeply.

Mogao Caves (English name: Mogao Caves) was selected into the World Heritage List (No.:200-004) in February of 1987 and 12 according to the selection criteria of world cultural heritage C (I) (II) (III) (IV) (V).

Evaluation by World Heritage Committee: Mogao Grottoes are located in the strategic location of the Silk Road. It is not only a transit point for East-West trade, but also a meeting point of religion, culture and knowledge. The 492 small grottoes and grotto temples in the Mogao Grottoes are famous for their statues and murals, showing the Buddhist art that has lasted for thousands of years.