|
|
Article: Treasures of Mogao.(Buddhist art)
- Article from:
- Calliope
- Article date:
- November 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Sometime around 1900, a Daoist monk named Wang Yuanlu made an astonishing discovery in the remote desert of northwest China. Wang was the self-appointed guardian of the ancient Buddhist cave temples of Mogao, a site that lies close to the oasis town of Dunhuang. Centuries earlier, Mogao had been the gateway from China to the western regions along the Silk Road. By the beginning of the Ming dynasty (1368), however, the site had been largely abandoned. Windblown sands smothered the grottoes (caves), and decay ate away at the wooden temple facades built on the cliff face into which the grottoes were cut.
What Wang found by chance was a library in a cave that had been ...