Group Topic- Dunhuang

“Closed up in the tiny cave, the documents of Dunhaung were hidden for a thousand years. With the fall of the Tang dynasty in China, following the Buddhist persecutions of the ninth century which had reduced the power and wealth of Buddhist monasteries, the great cave temple was abandoned and sand began to drift into the beautifully decorated caves.”

 

Dunhuang  can seen to have a history that totals over two thousand years. China can be seen to find much of its history to be affiliated with this region. What we know of the region is that it was a large retreat settlement with a significant population. Temples built there could also be seen to be devoted to various faiths. It can be read that during the fourth century AD, caves were hollowed out and were gradually filled with sculptures of all sorts and as well wall paintings and different types of architecture which could be seen to have a Buddhist touch to them. These caves could be seen to be used for religious practice as well as some sort of political ideology.  Buddhist icons were probably the main theme as they were formed outside and inside the caves as well. They could be seen to be sculpted in large scales and painted on the walls as murals.  Monks were believed to have lived inside these caves as well, and most of their time was spent “…working on the caves, painting them, creating the sculptures on wooden armatures, painting banners on hemp, paper and silk to be carried in processions and to decorate special caves at festivals.”( Pg 88)

Though religious life could be seen to be important in this region, the Dunhuang caves could also be seen to be purposeful for individuals wanting to safe-guard things. Documents that were found consisted of wills and contracts which were probably kept there for safe-keeping. This shows that social life was connected with Religious life. Buddhism can also be seen to have flourished into this region because of the trading that took place.  (It was interesting to read how foreigners in China were the first people to accept the practise of Buddhism, and it was through their help and word that Buddhism eventually flourished to others living in China). It says Buddhism did develop against other religious movements in India such as Hinduism, but it differed because it did not believe in the Caste system and the worship of Gods in hope of salvation. However by carving such big sculptures of the Buddha and painting the image of Buddha, wasn’t one actually worshipping the Buddha in hope of salvation? It had to play a significant part in a followers life for them to have images of the Buddha everywhere. It was wonderful to hear of all these monks that would visit these caves, and help translate the documents that were found there, however Kumarajive, a contributor to the Chinese Buddhist canon and devoting his life to the work of translating texts is rumoured to have states that “…reading the sutras in translation was like eating rice that someone else had already chewed.” (pg 96). 

The finding of the scrolls by Abbot Wang in one of the caves also shows how these caves could be seen as a form of a library which stored written documents. Because they were found behind a hidden door that was also painted over in order to not make it visible, would show how far these individuals went to protect these scrolls, and politics and other religious views could have made it hard for Buddhists to actually practise their religion openly. For instance,  the invasion of Islam and  the reign of Mahmud who went on to destroy temples in order to collect the jewels and treasures and place them on his own mosques, palaces and gardens.