Xiqianfodong Caves

Xiqianfo cave is named for its location to the west of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. It was excavated on the cliff along Danghe river bank. It was excavated earlier than Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. Its structure, painted sculpture and mural art style are very similar to those of Mogao Grottoes. There are 16 caves, only 9 of which can be viewed. The murals are colorful, but the statues are basically destroyed. Other caves can only look up from the cliff because they can't climb. Due to the inconvenient transportation, the number of people visiting here is far less than that of the Mogao Grottoes.

Xiqianfodong Caves

West thousand Buddha cave is named for its location in the west of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes (commonly known as thousand Buddha cave). It is about 35 kilometers away from the urban area of Dunhuang. It was excavated on the cliff on the Bank of Danghe River from the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Western Wei Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty to the Five Dynasties and the Uighur period. It is an important part of Dunhuang art. According to the Dunhuang manuscripts in Paris, the excavation of xiqianfo cave should have been earlier than the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, and at the latest at the same time.

After long-term scouring, erosion and collapse of the river, only 22 caves have been preserved. Among the 22 existing caves, the earliest preserved one is the Northern Wei Dynasty, followed by the caves of the Western Wei Dynasty, as well as the Sui, Tang, five and Song dynasties.

geographical position

Sitting quietly on the cliffs of Danghe river for thousands of years, watching the yellow sand with the setting sun turns into the dust of the past.

Xiqianfodong cave is located 35 kilometers southwest of Dunhuang city and on the cliff on the North Bank of Danghe river. It is named for its location in the west of Mogao Grottoes and is only separated from Mogao Grottoes by Mingsha mountain.

On the way from the southwest of Dunhuang city to Yangguan, Dang river is not far from the left of the road. On the North Bank of the river bed is the Gobi desert, and on the south bank is the sand mountain with snake winding. The West thousand Buddha cave is located on the steep cliff on the North Bank of the river bed at the end of the sand mountain. The steep cliffs and deep ravines here are covered with shade. The beach under the cliffs is covered with red willows, with towering ancient trees and flowing streams. The environment is quiet.

Current situation

There are 16 caves (22 caves and niches) in xiqianfo cave, among which cave 1-3 is Tang cave, cave 4-8 is Wei cave, and cave 16 is late Tang cave. These 9 caves are well preserved, others are mostly collapsed, and the frescoes are also eroded, so it is difficult to confirm the age. It is generally believed that the caves were excavated from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Song Dynasty. Among the nine well preserved grottoes, most of them have a central seat in the center, with niches carved around the seat and Buddha statues inside. The four walls are mostly painted with a Thousand Buddhas, Buddha's view of sitting down and Buddha's nirvana. Under the Buddha statues on the center seat and four walls, the statues of Vajra and Hercules are painted. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, the story of laizijing in the western part of the south wall and the story of laoduchadou in the eastern part of the cave are the stories of Buddha's birth which are not found in the Northern Wei Dynasty caves of Mogao Grottoes. They can fill the gaps and have unique value. The four walls and caissons of other caves and niches are rarely painted with stories of Buddha.

Xiqianfo cave and Mogao Grottoes have experienced similar ups and downs, suffered from various natural and man-made destruction, and suffered heavy losses in art treasure house. In recent years, the people's government has comprehensively strengthened and repaired the caves, restoring the integrity and stability of the cliff and caves facing collapse, and ensuring the safety of tourists. Today, the West thousand Buddha cave has been effectively protected, with 10 caves open to the public, which has become an important part of the tour from Dunhuang to Yangguan.

Starting years

The structure, painted sculpture and mural art style of the grottoes are similar to those of the Mogao Grottoes. Therefore, it has become a part of Dunhuang art.

It is impossible to find out when the xiqianfo cave was opened. In the Dunhuang manuscripts collected in Paris (the Sutra of Shazhou dududufu Pavilion), it is recorded that the date of writing of the Buddhist niche is: "on the right side, it is 60 Li to the east of the county (shouchang county), where the incense is old, and the Han (que) Buddhist niche is built by the common people." It is speculated that the niche in the text should refer to this. Therefore, the xiqianfo Grottoes should have been founded earlier than the Mogao Grottoes, at least in the same period as the Mogao Grottoes

Design structure

Cave 4 of West thousand Buddha cave

The cave is composed of two parts: the front chamber and the main chamber. The top of the front chamber is slightly arched, and the top of the main chamber is covered with a bucket. The cave was first built in the Sui Dynasty, and then rebuilt in the Tang Dynasty, the Uighur and the Republic of China. This can be confirmed by the donors of the Sui Dynasty in the cave, the pictures of the Tang Dynasty, the Uighur Scripture paintings and the Buddha statues remodeled in the north wall niche of the main chamber in the Republic of China.

Due to natural and man-made reasons, the lower part of the front room appears diffuse. In the picture, the Buddha is sitting in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, and the head is decorated with a canopy. The disciples and Bodhisattvas are around the Buddha. The full faced and plump Buddhist figures reflect the characteristics of the figures in the middle of the Tang Dynasty.

There is a double-layer niche on the north wall of the main room, which appeared earlier in the Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty. The sitting Buddha in the niche was molded in the period of the Republic of China, and the murals were painted in the period of Uighur and the Republic of China.

It is worth paying attention to a large number of murals drawn in the Uighur period (from the 1970s to the early 12th century), such as the sitting Buddha in the front room, the change of Puxian, the change of pharmacist, the caisson and pattern on the top of the cave, and the illustration of the East and west walls of the main room. Most of the murals in this period were pictures of Buddha, Bodhisattva, arhat and so on. Their layout was characterized by sparse figures, loose structure and rough description. On the main wall (such as the south wall and the north wall), the picture is large, but there are few figures. The figures are enlarged to fill the space of the mural. At the top of all kinds of architectural structures (cave top, corridor top, niche top), almost all of them are painted with the same pattern of peony flowers. Compared with the illustration and statue painting, the pattern is compact in structure, gorgeous in color, neat and meticulous in description, which makes people feel that decorative painting was more important than Buddhist figure painting in this period. As for the figures of this period, they also have unique features, such as strong body, round face, fat cheeks, willow eyebrows, straight nose and small mouth, which obviously emphasize the appearance and temperament of the Uighur people, which is an important embodiment of the nationalization of Uighur Buddhist art to a certain extent.

Cave 7 of West thousand Buddha cave

This cave was built in the Northern Wei Dynasty. It is the earliest existing cave in xiqianfo cave. Its plane is square and its shape is similar to that of the central pillar cave of the Northern Wei Dynasty in Mogao Grottoes. In the front, the herringbone drape has collapsed, and in the back, there is a central pillar leading to the top of the cave. Around the pillar, there is a passageway for Buddhist right-handed rites. Above it is a flat chess top. There is a Buddhist niche on each side of the central pillar. The statues inside and outside the niche are mostly from the Qing Dynasty In the restoration, only the reclining statue in the front niche, which has been destroyed, is the only original statue of the Northern Wei Dynasty preserved. The Buddha statue is tall and straight with round shoulders, and the cassock is close to the body, showing the outline of the body. However, it is also in a loose style. The pattern of the incised garment is slightly shallow and smooth. It is one of the representative works of the transition from the water style of caoyi in the early period of Northern Wei Dynasty to the style of xiuguqingxiang baoyibo belt. The layout of the murals in this cave is the same as that in the Northern Wei Dynasty of Mogao Grottoes. It is divided into three parts: the upper part, the middle part and the lower part. There are thousands of Buddhas in the middle and King Kong warriors in the lower. These warriors are strong, dynamic, exaggerated and strong. The style of murals in the Grottoes is the same as that in the same period of Mogao Grottoes. The figures are strong in shape, moderate in proportion, dressed in western style costumes, and use western style concave convex halo dyeing techniques to show the three-dimensional feeling of the faces and bodies of the figures. The colors are simple and heavy. They are mostly made of stone green, stone green and earth red background, showing a solemn and warm religious atmosphere.

Cave 19 of West thousand Buddha cave

This cave was built in the Five Dynasties. It has a unique shape, with a vertical dome. There is a large niche on the front, in which the main statue is sitting on the Buddha. It is the most complete painted statue of the Five Dynasties period preserved in xiqian Buddha cave. The statue has dignified posture, solemn expression, plump and round skin, simple and moderate clothing patterns, and simple and elegant colors. It has the style of Tang Dynasty statues. There are platforms built along the East and west walls. The original statue of sixteen Arhats, with 13 bodies, is the only one used in Dunhuang Grottoes The form of image shows the theme of sixteen Arhats.

According to historical records, Zhang sengyao of the Southern Dynasty, lulengjia of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Wei and others all painted sixteen Arhats. However, it was not until the Five Dynasties that the portraits and statues of the sixteen Arhats began to be popular in the Central Plains. The appearance of the sixteen Arhats in this cave shows that the Buddhist art in Dunhuang and the Buddhist art in the Central Plains basically developed at the same time. The frescoes in this cave are all original works of the Five Dynasties. The main niche contains ten disciples, six Bodhisattvas, eight heavenly dragons and four heavenly kings. The East and west walls are painted with arhat statues from the top down. In Dunhuang Grottoes, it is rare to show so many arhat statues in one cave by means of painting and sculpture. Therefore, this cave is called arhat hall by experts

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Protection level

In 1961, it was listed as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council, and officially opened to the outside world in 1997.

Related information

Traffic information

You can take a taxi from Dunhuang city to the West thousand Buddha cave.

get accommodation

Dunhuang Mogao hotel was opened in October 1990 and partially decorated in February 2005. The building is 6 floors high, with a total of 84 rooms (sets) and a standard room area of 15 square meters. The hotel is 0.5 km from the city center, 5 minutes drive; 105 km from the railway station; 15 km from the airport, 20 minutes drive; 0.5 km from the long-distance station.

delicious food

One green bamboo, more than one jin. Slice half of the fish and size. Take cauliflower stem, roll fish fillet on Cauliflower stem, drizzle with soy sauce, steam for two minutes, thicken and drizzle with hot oil.

Chinese PinYin : Xi Qian Fo Dong