Chapter 7 Chapter 4 Paintings of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties (220-589 A.D.)

The temple murals of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties have disappeared with the destruction of the ground buildings, but many beautiful Buddhist murals have been left to us in the cave temples in Gansu, Henan and other places.For example, there are many murals in Turpan, Kuqa, and Baicheng in Xinjiang, and Dunhuang, Tianshui, Yongjing, Jiuquan, and Wuwei in Gansu.Among them, the murals in the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu Province are the most numerous and most splendid. The grottoes were originally a place for missionaries to drill holes in the cliffs and face the walls to practice, and later became a holy place for worshiping Buddha and worshiping.Dunhuang is located between Mingsha Mountain and Sanwei Mountain at the western end of the Hexi Corridor.In ancient times, this was the fortress from Guanzhong to the Western Regions.It is said that in the second year of Jianyuan in the former Qin Dynasty (366 A.D.), a monk named Lezun (zun 撙) came here and suddenly saw the golden light of Mingsha Mountain, which seemed to be in the shape of a thousand Buddhas, so he began to carve grottoes here.By the 14th century, it took more than a thousand years, and 11 dynasties successively excavated.So far, there are 492 caves, more than 2,000 statues and 45,000 square meters of murals.Among them, the murals in the Northern Dynasties mostly focus on Buddhist stories.For example, "Picture of King Shibi Cutting Meat and Trading Pigeons" in Cave 275, "Prince Sattva [Duoduo] Feeding a Tiger with His Life" in Cave 254, "Prince Sudana Jataka" in Cave 428, "Five Hundred Robbers Become Buddhas" in Cave 285 Picture", Cave 257 "Nine-Colored Deer Jataka Story".

Among them, "The Story of Nine-Colored Deer Jataka" is 61 centimeters high and 130 centimeters long. It is the most abundant and best-preserved group of murals among the existing "Jatakas of Nine-colored Deer" paintings at home and abroad.This painting is based on the content of "Buddha Says Nine-Colored Deer Sutra".According to the story, the predecessor of the Buddha was a deer with nine coat colors and two snow-white horns.Often go to the Ganges to drink water and eat grass.There is a crow who is its good friend.Once, the nine-color deer carried a man who fell into the water and was about to drown to the shore.The man expressed his willingness to be the servant of the Nine-Colored Deer in return for its life-saving grace.The deer said, no, as long as you don't tell me that I'm here, it's considered a kindness.Soon, the queen dreamed of a beautiful nine-colored deer, and wanted to use its fur as a coat and its horns as a handle for a whisk.She said she couldn't afford it and asked the king to catch the nine-color deer.The king issued a notice saying that whoever can catch the nine-color deer will give him half of the country.The man who fell into the water was greedy for high-ranking officials and rich salary, so he became malicious, informed the king, and led his troops to capture the nine-color deer.At this time, Jiu Selu was sleeping on the mountain. Although his friend Crow reported to him, he was surrounded and unable to escape.Nine-colored deer knelt down in front of the king and asked who told the secret.The king pointed to the man in the water and said: That's him.Nine-colored deer narrated how it saved the life of the man who fell into the water.The king was very moved and condemned the ungrateful people who fell into the water. He immediately released the nine-color deer and announced to the whole country that anyone who wanted to capture the nine-color deer would kill his five clans.Later, the man who fell into the water was covered with malignant sores, and the queen died of shame because of this.

This group of murals arranges the nine plot scenes in the story in a complete composition.The whole painting does not pursue three-dimensional sense and normal proportional relationship.Characters, animals and the beautiful natural environment are unified, and the scenes are blended and fascinating.In the painting, the calm and elegant demeanor of the Nine-Colored Deer is particularly highlighted, and the characters' personalities are deeply portrayed through the momentum.For example, the man who fell into the water knelt humbly to inform the king, and the queen proudly put her right arm on the king's shoulder, with her raised big toe exposed under her long skirt.The description of these details highlights the dark psychology of the man who fell into the water and the queen.The scene of the nine-color deer explaining the truth to the king, according to the original text of the "Buddha Says the Nine-color Deer Sutra", is kneeling in front of the king. In the mural, it is painted to stand upright with its head upright, with a high bearing, as if questioning the king and falling into the water. people.This not only shows the mural creator's emotional tendency towards justice, but also makes the Nine-colored Deer, the incarnation of "goodness" who sacrifices himself to save others, more moving.