In the afternoon of June 5, the public exhibition of Dunhuang Mural Art Treasure was held on Sipailou Campus, Southeast University. As one of the special activities for the celebration of the 115th anniversary of Southeast University, the exhibition was sponsored by Dunhuang Academy China and China Dunhuang Grottoes Conservation Research Foundation, and held by Southeast University. The opening ceremony, which was held on Qunxian Building, Sipailou Campus, attracted more than a hundred of researchers, teachers and students.
Among the must-see treasures of the world are the 1600 year old Dunhuang cave-temple museums. They include the Mogao Grottoes, the Yulin Grottoes, the Western Thousand Buddha Grottoes, the Eastern Thousand Buddha Grottoes, and the Five Temple Grottoes.
Among them, Mogaoku (the Mogao Grottoes, also known as Caves of Thousand Buddhas) is the most magnificent. A total of 735 caves (including 492 containing artwork) have been identified. They were constructed along the cliff facing east, extending from north to south ( Figure 1). The decorated caves are found mainly in the southern section.
Cave art is an invention of the ancient Indian Buddhists, but their achievement was far surpassed by the Chinese grottoes, both in grandeur and in the length of time the original artwork has remained in situ.
Besides the ample achievement in visual art, the Dunhuang art is a witness to the toleration and fusion of different cultures. It didn’t inherit any one single style; instead it assimilated many different influences from metropolitan China, Central Asia and India, and integrated them into a unique style.
As is introduced, the public exhibition of Dunhuang Mural Art Treasure was held in more than 30 renowned universities including Tsinghua University and Tongji University. All the 50 paintings appear in the exhibition are exquisite copies of the original Dunhuang Grottoes with the help of modern digital technology. The visitors will have a chance to appreciate the art of Dunhuang.
