莫高窟中英文介绍.doc

5A GRADE SCENIC SPOT Mogao CavesPRODUCER: XINGXINENGLISH NAME: SISSINUMBER:26110032THE CONTENTS Relevance as a tourist destination History Heritage attributes Special Local Snack Accommodation Relevance as a tourist destinationTheMogao CavesorMogao Grottoes, also known as theCaves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 492 temples 25km southeast of the center ofDun Huang, an oasis strategically located at a religious and cultural crossroads on theSilk Road, inGan Su province,China. The caves may also be known as theDun Huang Caves, however, this term also include other Buddhist cave sites in the Dun Huang area, such as the Western Thousand Buddha Caves, and the Yu Lin Caves farther away. The caves contain some of the finest examples ofBuddhist artspanning a period of 1,000 years. MuralsThe murals on the caves spanned a long period of history, from the 5th to the 14th century The murals are largely of Buddhist theme, some however are of traditional mythical miikl themes（传统神话主题） and portraits（画像） of patrons （赞助人）A distinct Dunhuang style （截然不同的的敦煌风格）however began to emerge（浮现） during Northern Wei Dynasty MuralsThe murals on the caves spanned a long period of history, from the 5th to the 14th century. The murals are largely of Buddhist theme, some however are of traditional mythical themes and portraits of patron.A distinct Dun Huang style however began to emerge during Northern Wei Dynasty.History The construction of the Mogao Caves near Dun Huang is generally taken to have begun sometime in the fourth century AD. According to a book written during the reign of TangEmpress Wu,Fokan Ji by Li Junxiu , a Buddhist monk named L Zn had a vision of a thousandBuddhasbathed in golden light at the site in 366 AD, inspiring him to build a cave here. The story is also found in other sources, such as in inscriptions on astelein cave 332, an earlier date of 353 AD however was given in another document .He was later joined by a second monk Faliang , and the site gradually grew, by the time of theNorthern Lianga small community of monks had formed at the site. Members of the ruling family ofNorthern WeiandNorthern Zhouconstructed many caves here, and it flourishe in the short-livedSui Dynasty. By theTang Dynasty, the number of caves had reached over a thousand. During the Tang Dynasty, Dun Huang had became the main hub of commerce of the Silk Road and a major religious centre. A large number of the caves were constructed at Mogao during this era, including the two large statues of Buddha at the site, the largest one constructed in 695 following an edict a year earlier by Tang EmpressWu Zetianto build giant statues across the country. The site escaped the persecution of Buddhists ordered byEmperor Wuzongin 845 as it was then under Tibetan control. As a frontier town, Dun Huang had been occupied at various times by other non-Han Chinese people. After the Tang Dynasty, the site went into a gradual decline, and construction of new caves ceased entirely after theYuan Dynasty. Islam had conquered much of Central Asia, and the Silk Road declined in importance when trading via sea-routes began to dominate Chinese trade with the outside world.During the Ming Dynasty, the Silk Road was finally officially abandoned, and Dun Huang slowly became depopulated and largely forgotten by the outside world. Most of the Mogao caves were abandoned, the site however was still a place of pilgrimage and used as a place of worship by local people at the beginning of the twentieth century when there was renewed interest in the site. Heritage attributesv The caves were cut into the side of a cliff which is close to two kilometers long. At its height during the Tang Dynasty, there were more than a thousands caves, but over time, many of the caves were lost, including the earliest caves v 735 caves currently exist in Mogao, the best-known ones are the 487 caves located in the southern section of the cliff which are places of pilgrimage and worship v 248 caves have also been found to the north which were living quarters, meditation chambers and burial sites for the monks. v The caves at the southern section are decorated, while those at the northern section are mostly plain. v The caves are clustered together according to their era, with new caves from a new dynasty being constructed in different part of the cliff.Special Local Snac