Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Dunhuang Caves'

 The group cave-temples in Dunguang, Gansu Province of north-western China offer an unparalleled display of grotto art of over a thousand years from the fourth century to the fourteenth century. They represent a microcosm of ancient and medieval civilizations, providing us with enormous opportunities of heritage experience and understanding. However, these grotto treasures are extremely fragile. Over the centuries they have been suffering from serious deterioration and damage due to human and natural causes, and in recent decades the ever-increasing visitor load has posed even greater threat to the murals. The emerging trend of using advanced technology in the preservation and the interpretation of the grotto art offers new possibilities of remote access and interpretation which shall enhance understanding and enjoyment of the cultural treasures. This dissertation sets out to examine such trend of digital interpretation of heritage in off-site scenarios. The research includes a background of the study, the significance of the Dunhuang Caves, the application of new technology, followed by a case study of re-presenting and interpreting one of the Dunhuang caves in Hong Kong.
published_or_final_version
Conservation
Master
Master of Science in Conservation

This thesis examines the visual images of Vimalakirti, an ancient Indian lay Buddhist, painted on the walls of the Buddhist cave complex at Dunhuang, Gansu province, between 581 and 1036. The sixty-nine Vimalakirti, paintings preserved at Dunhuang are a valuable source for the exploration of historical, religious, and artistic dimensions of wall paintings and sutras. These visual images, together with other textual sources such as sutras, commentaries, and inscriptions, suggest a variety of interesting questions: Why was this theme repeatedly represented? Do the images all have the same prototype? Is there a spiritual function contained in the layout of the caves and composition of the wall paintings? Did the meaning of these images change according to historical context? Did the patrons have a political scheme in mind when commissioning these devotional artworks? While it is difficult to provide definitive answers to all these questions, this thesis will attempt to clarify them and offer preliminary answers on the basis of available visual and textual sources.
The introduction of this thesis includes an overview of basic concepts related to wall paintings, a short history of the transmission of the Vimalakirti,-nirdesa Sutra, and a review of past scholarship on Vimalakirti, paintings and related subjects. The body of the thesis is divided into three main chapters. The first chapter describes the important visual representations of Vimalakirti, before the Sui dynasty. The second chapter of the thesis will provide an introduction to representations of Vimalakirti, at Dunhuang from the late sixth to the early eleventh centuries. The third chapter examines the social functions and symbolic meanings of the Vimalakirti, paintings at Dunhuang.

This study explores the significance of Dunhuang 敦煌 iconography from the perspective of Buddhist philosophy. The time span of the Dunhuang iconography of the Grottoes runs from the 4th to the 14th centuries. This wide coverage makes it extremely valuable for revealing the developments in art, history, culture, and religious activities in China, and neighbouring regions along the Silk Road. Most scholars have approached the Dunhuang Grottoes from the perspectives of art, history, or archaeology. However, studying the Dunhuang Grottoes from the perspective of Buddhist philosophy has remained under-researched, and therefore, less exhaustively dealt with. It is in Dunhuang Mogao 莫高 Cave 45 that one can see the most well preserved Buddha statue group, and the only Guanyin S?tra 觀音經, i. e. the Chapter of the Universal Gateway of Avalokite?vara Bodhisattva 普門品 from the Saddharmapu??ar?ka S?tra 妙法蓮華經, painted on one entire wall. This dual association has rendered Cave 45 the most ideal source for this research. In this research, Buddhist iconography will be studied in the light of Buddhist philosophy. The study also takes into account triangulation of data collected through various sources, namely: (1) Field trips in Dunhuang and related areas for primary data collection; (2) Image analyses of data collected from primary and secondary sources; (3) Verification of data in the light of both ancient and modern Buddhist literature. The research will be focused on identifying Buddhist philosophy from the mural paintings of the Guanyin S?tra and on the conceptualized understanding of the material as presented in the paintings. The causes of suffering will be identified after examining the thirty-three manifestations / appearances of Avalokite?vara as depicted here. The scenes of various desires as identified and conceptualized in the mural painting of the Cave 45 will also be studied. The Buddha statue in the centre of the statue group portrays cessation of suffering. The statues of bodhisattvas and disciples along both sides, with different facial expressions and body gestures, portray the different levels of cessation of suffering, all leading to ultimate awakening and full emancipation. In this connection, the missing pair of statues in the statue group will also be explored and identified. It is true that Dunhuang iconography, as exemplified through Cave 45, can be approached from many perspectives. However, the primary objective of this study is to show that the Dunhuang iconography is designed as an artistic portrayal of the fundamental teachings of Buddhism.
published_or_final_version
Buddhist Studies
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy

碩士
樹德科技大學
應用設計研究所
106
The splendid legendary Dunhuang frescoes are to be found in the deserts of China! Dunhuang is located west of Hexi Corridor, an important junction of the “Silk Road.” It is also known as “the city where the Chinese and foreigners met” in history, for it is where the Buddhist culture was first introduced into China, and where Chinese, Indian, Greek and Islamic cultures converged together. The unique historical and spatial background of Dunhuang created not just a multicultural society, but exotic and beautiful art! As Northern Liang and Northern Wei reigned over the whole country with “Buddhist Ideology,” they eagerly dug out caves and made Buddhist statues. For a thousand years, Dunhuang frescoes, the great aesthetic achievements of multiculturalism, shone with their absolute mineral colors. During the peak of Sui and Tang dynasties, strong, bright and solemn colors were applied to the frescoes, which were an unusual spectacle of its time. Images of Flying Apsaras were first found in the caves dug during the Sixteen Kingdoms, and the last images of them were painted during the Yuan Dynasty. The length between these two periods is over one thousand years. More than 6,000 images of Flying Apsaras are preserved. In these attractive images, Apsaras worship Buddha with singing and dancing. iii Their slim and graceful figures suggest the sincerity of praising the Three Precious and the joy of learning about Buddhist dharma. The beauty of Flying Apsaras brought strong energy to the Dunhuang arts. Although they are not the major characters in the Buddhist frescoes or sculptures, their significance in the Brahmaa chants shall not be neglected, as The Lotus Sutra states, “joyfully, do sing of Buddha’s qualities with odes and praises, even if they only use the weakest voice; such people have already gained the utmost Way to Buddhahood.” Ranging from the dynasties of North Liang, North Wei, West Wei and North Zhou to Sui and Tang, this study focuses on the presentations of “Flying Apsaras” of different periods at Dunhuang and explores the revolution of these visual presentations. It also includes the following aspects: the origin and significance of Flying Apsaras, music and dancing, stylistic influence and Sinification, and the characteristics of Flying Apsaras in different periods of time. By collecting and analyzing varied studies, the accumulated experience and resources of those nameless painters from various dynasties will be demonstrated. By exchanging or mixing media like gouache, color ink, and porcelain painting, these painters gave life to the frescoes of Flying Apsaras! An exploration of the contemporary background of arts will open up a new page for postmodern arts through a new interpretation of Flying Apsaras!

There are five chapters. Chapter 1 reviews the publishing of catalogs, the methods used to identify fake copies, and previous scholarly studies. I will also define the research scope, objective and methodology of the study. Chapters 2 to 4 explain the relationships between official sutra copies and Buddhist ones, religion and scripture calligraphy, and the copyists and their calligraphy. Through analysing the colophons at the end of the manuscripts and the style of the calligraphy, I intend to show the impact of politics, religion and the status of the copyists on the calligraphy. Chapter 5 focuses on the artistic style of the calligraphy of Dunhuang scriptures, explores the concepts of Xiejing Style and Beiliang Style , and highlights the stylistic differences and similarities in different geographical areas.
This study demonstrates that Dunhuang scriptures are an important part in the history of Chinese calligraphy. The quality of the calligraphy varies: some may be masterpieces while others common everyday writings.
This thesis investigates the calligraphy of Buddhist and Daoist scriptures found in Dunhuang and Xinjiang, spanning from the Jin dynasty to the Song dynasty. The calligraphy of the copied scriptures is analyzed in its specific social and historical context. Based on historical records, contemporary references and the actual objects themselves, this study uses a textual, comparative research method to give an overview of the calligraphy and to describe its course of development in an approach that is as faithful to history as possible.
毛秋瑾.
呈交日期: 2005年12月.
論文(哲學博士)--香港中文大學, 2006.
參考文獻(p. 143-149).
Cheng jiao ri qi: 2005 nian 12 yue.
Advisers: Jao Tsung-i; Harold Mok Kar-leung.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-11, Section: A, page: 4016.
Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Abstracts in Chinese and English.
School code: 1307.
Lun wen (zhe xue bo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2006.
Can kao wen xian (p. 143-149).
Mao Qiujin.

碩士
華梵大學
東方人文思想研究所
98
The main discussion of this paper is “The studying of Dunhuang Mogao Cave 465 " . It discusses the structure of images, cave and its contains which have the way of practicing on the esoteric teaching and the explanation about the discrimination, functions of the images and its relation with practicing. It passed long history and its fate made it changes in continually. During the last period, Those Buddha Bodhisatva and deity’s statues made the Buddhism was flourishing in Dunhuang and did influence to ordinary life of the all sentient beings. This research paper has been divided into six chapters. First, a preface consists of research motive, explanation of the relevant documents and research plan. According to the research constitute, this chapter has been divided into five sections. In the second chapter, Discussion of the environment and the procession on history of the Dunhuang Mogao Cave 465 including with its geographical locations and historical remains that has procedures on development of Buddhism in Dunhuang. The third chapter is ‘The structure of images in Dunhuang Mogao Cave 465’. According to the situation of the main room，Those pictures and images have been separated on the western, south and north side wall. Chapter IV, Article 465 of Mogao Grottoes Cave altar Mandala and the center circle. The analysis on pictures of the deities and images of the 84 enlighten one have been added too. As well as there some explanation of the other pictures which have established between those images and study the meaning of those images. Chapter5," Mandala of the image will be the essence of the Ceiling to do the analysis and explore the concept of repair principle and interest, and further to switch to self-cultivation of the discussion, by deity, blank lines, protect the law of God Facilities for the role and image structure of the in-depth content, into the esoteric practice of the most senior Famennian, and its purpose is to explore the practitioner clear your heart What the Buddha attained enlightenment to carry out of doctrine. Chapter6, "Conclusions and Prospects", will make the full text of the summary points. Follow-up to the results of this study is based, if future studies related to the theme of this access to follow-up prospects and meet relevant discussion can be more important discoveries.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
藝術史研究所
101
Cave 428 which were excavated in the Northern Zhou Dynasty (557-581) is the largest central-pillar cave in Mogao Grottoes. In Mogao Grottoes, Cave 428 is easily distinguished from others. The stylistic characteristics of some statues and mural paintings, new subject matters of the cave, are imbued with those commonly found in the Central Plains and even Luoyang. The Northern Zhou Dynasty only lasted for twenty-four years, during which the extermination of Buddhism by Emperor Zhou Wu, and the Controversy of the Three Religions took place. Buddhist was badly devastated; however, Cave 428 still made itself the largest cave at Dunhuang in the Northern Dynasties. Concerning the iconography of Cave 428, the Buddha images inside the shrines on the four sides of the central-pillar and the central figures of the mural paintings on the walls can all be identified as Shakyamuni. While the mural paintings of the caves of Mogao Grottoes in the Northern and Western Wei Dynasties generally feature the Jataka stories and the Buddha''s life stories, emphasizing the process to the enlightenment, the murals of Cave no.428, representing the Parinirvana, Kanishka''s stupa and Vairocana, shift to feature more on the perpetuation and preservation of the Dharma. Hence, the design of Cave 428 is more profound than other caves at Dunhuang in the Northern Dynasties in terms of religious or doctrinal sense. This study has shown that Cave 428 was excavated under the order of Yu Yi, a native of Luoyang, Henan. As a prefectural governor of Guazhou, he not only brought the artistic tradition and Buddhist iconography of Henan to Dunhuang, but he also protected the monks fled from Liangzhou and Ganzhou during the period of the extermination of Buddhism. In a bid to show his support to the monastics, he even repainted some murals of the donors of Cave 428 and added the monks from Liangzhou and Ganzhou to the procession of donors. Although the biography of Yu Yi in the Book of Sui (Sui Shu), does not mention that he was a devoted Buddhist, based upon the excavation of Cave 428 and the large number of Buddhist monks seen on the murals of this cave, it is undoubtedly that Yu Yi is an earnest Buddhist, which in a way makes up for the before mentioned biographical hiatus.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
藝術史研究所
107
Cave 323 at Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, was excavated in the early Tang Dynasty with unique images and combinations. The Divine Connection paintings on the north and south walls and the Precepts paintings on the east wall are all new subject matters of the Tang Dynasty, and also the only examples at Dunhuang. Bodhisattvas on the lower section of the north and south walls are much taller than those found in the Sui and other Early Tang grottoes at Dunhuang. The image combination of this cave is unique and never seen in other places as well. Cave 323 has attracted the attention of many scholars due to its special subject matters and combinations. Nevertheless, to this day, there is yet a conclusion on issues such as the date of the grotto, its image structures, and its religious function. This thesis is divided into three chapters: Stylistic Analysis and Date, Iconographic and Iconologic Study, Historical Background. This thesis aims to clarify the date of the cave through detailed stylistic analysis of mural painting to complement the insufficiencies of stylistic analysis of past scholars. It also explores the religious significance and function of the grotto through discussing the meaning of the images and their relationship with each other. The author included all walls in the thesis for comprehensive thinking. In addition, this thesis is also dealing with the historical background of Cave 323 to understand some aspects of Dunhuang Grotto Art in the early Tang Dynasty. The author believes that Cave 323 was a grotto where monks received Bodhisattva Precepts in the early eighth century. It is the earliest cave associated with the Bodhisattva Precepts among Mogao Grottoes. In terms of the date of this cave, the painting styles, such as the forms and dresses of the figures, landscape background, and the relationship between the figures and the landscapes, etc., resemble to those in Cave 217 dated to the early eighth century, therefore, Cave 323 should be dated at the same time, that is, in the early stage of the flourishing period of Tang. In terms of its structure and function, Cave 323 is a cave for monks receiving the Bodhisattva Precepts. The Precepts paintings on the east wall are based on the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, emphasizing strict adherence to the Bodhisattva Precepts. The Divine Connection paintings on the north and south walls show how monks make sentient beings convert to Buddhism by all means, which correspond to the spirit of Mahayana Bodhisattva in the Holy Practice Chapter of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra. The Holy Practice Chapter describes that after monks swear the twelve vows, they have to enlighten all beings. In addition, based upon the Dunhuang manuscripts and the scriptures of Bodhisattva Precepts, bodhisattvas on the north and south walls are fellow friends in the Bodhisattva Precept ritual; the One Thousand Buddhas are buddhas of the ten directions serving as witness preceptors; the west wall painted the Future Buddha Maitreya, representing the hope that people taking the precepts will be able to attend the three Dragon-Flower Assemblies and meet the Maitreya in the future. Therefore, the author believes that the content of receiving the Bodhisattva Precepts, the altruistic practices of the Mahayana Bodhisattva, and the idea of meeting Maitreya in the future are seen throughout the walls and figures in the Cave 323. In terms of the historical background of Cave 323, the murals reflect not only the anxiety of the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism, but also the prevalence of the Bodhisattva Precepts in the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, the murals highlight the close connection between Dunhuang and the Central Plain. In the early Tang Dynasty, Dunhuang had unobstructed courier routes connecting to the Central Plain, numerous soldiers from the east joining wars against the Western Regions, and many government officials assigning to the region from the Central Plain. In addition, the Dunhuang manuscripts preserve many scriptures written by monks from the Central Plain, and official scriptures issued by Tang court. Furthermore, the movement of monks facilitated the exchange of the two places. Military and religious exchange cases all reflect the connection between Dunhuang and the Central Plain in the early Tang Dynasty. It is possible that the unique murals in Cave 323 were introduced through this frequent exchanges. Cave 323 is unique in its images and structures; in addition, it reflects the characteristics of Buddhism in the early Tang Dynasty and complements the development of Dunhuang Buddhism in the early Tang Dynasty.

碩士
淡江大學
中國文學系碩士在職專班
106
The development of Chinese wall paintings has a long history. The Dunhuang Grottoes presented the content of the Buddhist scriptures in the form of wall paintings. It not only demonstrated the spirit of the Buddhism but also integrate into the humanistic ideas of Chinese culture,therefore, it represented a grand scene and rich content. The works from the Wei, Jin and the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Yuan Dynasty have been rich and colorful for more than a thousand years. The study of Dunhuang culture has now been listed as an international manifestation. The Yulin Cave belongs to the Dunhuang Grottoes and has a beautiful environment. They have the geographical conditions for the artistic conception of the pottery, and among them, the frescoes of the Yulin Cave 25 are just like other Dunhuang Grottoes, the purpose of construction is to flaunt and promote religious beliefs. However, compared to other caves, its uniqueness lies in the fact that its fresco style is quite mature, and it has departed from the category of decorative patterns. Xie Zhiliu described this cave, “panted in the Tianbao years of Tang Dynasty, is well-preserved and beautiful among more than four hundred Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes.It’s the origin of the 36th Cave of the Mogao Grottoes in the late Tang Dynasty”This is what Duan Wenjie praised as "a treasure of Chinese Buddhist art." It shows that the work is extremely exquisite, attracting the eyes of Dunhuang scholars, and also creating great masters of the artistic circles. Even though I have little talent and less learning,only know a little about the process of drawing the wall paintings, but I still admire and cherish the beautiful paintings and excellent artistic skills. This led me to study and explore the motives of the frescoes in the Yulin Cave 25, and expect that the study of wall paintings will enhance the understanding of the meaning of Chinese cultural aesthetics. Wall paintings of the Yulin cave 25 in Dunhuang are not only examples of the immortality of the art of paintings, they are even more valuable in all aspects of Chinese society and culture. Therefore, at the beginning of building, perhaps purely aimed to promote Dharma, but the work so stunning were not merely for the simple function of worship, “Only when some man-made material object has recourse tothe human body in its form, that is, when the physical formbecomes the aesthetic object, the artworks appear and existrealistically.” I believe that there is an ideal of beauty in the paintings and unique art, so it should be probe into the spirit, creative features and internal core nature from the aesthetic point of view. In summary, the main issues to be addressed in this paper are the following three points: What are the basic meanings of the wall paintings of the Yulin cave 25 and the possible cultural features and religious beliefs? How does Chinese painting style affect the work? What is the artistic connotation and aesthetic quality? Regarding the structure of this paper, I will first discuss and explain the location of the the Yulin cave 25, the historical and cultural backgrounds, and the development of Buddhism. Then further discuss the origins and meanings of the configurations within the cave and the origins of the Buddhist scriptures. The religious doctrines; followed by the artistic expression of the 25 cave is divided into character images, line colors, structural composition and spatial layout of the four parts of the analysis. Through the combing and sorting of documents, the cultural aesthetic significance and value of the 25 caves in Yulin were constructed. I am so grateful to teacher Tsui for instruction on the structure of the dissertation and the contents of the amendments. Together with the guidance of the oral test committee members professor Chou Yi-Chun and Yin shan-pei, my paper can be more complete.Also thank my family for their care and understanding during writing and have gived me an endless source of energy.

碩士
華梵大學
東方人文思想研究所
96
Abstract The Mogao Grottoes are located on the precipitous face of the east ridge of the Mingsha Mountains, twenty-five kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, Gansu province. After being carved and painted by several dynasties, the grottoes have become a gorgeous and majestical grottoes cluster. Mogao Grottoes art includes architectures, painted sculptures, and murals. Among them, murals are the largest and richest parts and most of them are about The Buddha’s Life Murals. So The Buddha’s Life Murals are the important materials of the murals. The Buddha’s Life Murals in Mogao Grottoes described the life of Sakyamuni Buddha in two ways, either by representative fragments or some of murals described the life of Sakyamuni Buddha by describing his life in details . The Buddha’s Life Murals of The cave 290, carved in Northern Zhou, used simple colors and compact lines to express the images of peoples and scenes. There were 87 continuous and detailed pictures describes the life cycle of Sakyamuni Buddha from birth, studying, learning skill, becoming num, understanding and turning Law Wheel. This kind of expression was seldom found. Despite that In Northern Zhou, the country was governed by Confucianism and then the Emperor Wu Zong destroyed the Buddhism, The Buddha’s Life Murals of The cave 290 still evolved to a story with lot of clues from fragments of early The Buddha’s Life Murals which had its own particular reasons. Sakyamuni Buddha was born in India and Buddhist art is also rooted in India.In Mogao Grottoes, the artists adopted these foreign Buddhist pictures and transformed successfully these pictures into the images which could be accepted peoples in China and convinced the peoples to accept Buddhism. The paper is to study the intensions of images and art style of The Buddha’s Life Murals of The cave 290 of Mogao Grottoes carved in Northern Zhou. The research focuses on following objects : (1) To explore the contents of The Buddha’s Life Murals in Mogao Grottoes and to analyze the characteristics and expression of the images. (2) To explore the historical background and factors causing the creation of murals in The cave 290 carved in Northern Zhou. (3) To compare the types of The Buddha’s Life Murals of The cave 290 , carved in Northern Zhou, types of murals in another grottos and types of murals in another area to find the differences among them. (4) To categorize the images in The Buddha’s Life Murals of The cave 290, carved in Northern Zhou and explore the intensions of expression of images. The study includes four sections: (1) To survey the geological environment of DunHuang Mogao Grottoes, the reasons why grottos are carved, the contents of Buddhist art. (2) To analyze the grotto shape of The cave 290 of Mogao Grottoes, contents of The Buddha’s Life Murals, expression shape and the canons cited in the manuals. (3) To analyze the The Buddha’s Life Maunals in The cave 290 , carved in Northern Zhou and to explore the intensions of the manuals. (4) To conclude the point of view of The Buddha’s Life Murals in The cave 290, to introspect and to expect. Through my effort in this field , collecting and analyzing information and references about The cave 290 of Mogao Grottoes, I hope I can show an easy way to admire the great Buddha art.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
資訊工程學研究所
104
In order to preserve the historical heritage, many cultural relics have been digitized to save. With these data, we have established a i-m-Cave platform for users can be used on many devices. In this paper, we focus on a virtual reality for the head-mounted display. While protecting cultural relics, users can still interact with the history of the landscape. Taking Mogao Cave 61 for example, we add number of multimedia elements in the virtual cave. Through these novel elements, we hope can enhance user experience. In addition, we designed the methods of the virtual transistion and virtual exploration. Expect users can be more smoothly to go into the virtual caves by Semi-room and move by Walk, Jump-and-Glide and Portal. We analysis the results of studys and collect users feedback. The first experiment, we found that the most users think they can have more time to do preparation by Semi-room. It is helpful to enhance the experience. The second experiment, Portal is the most appreciate move method. It can do wide range movement effectively in the short time and reduce the possibility of dizziness. The third experiment, the statue 3D restoration is a very novel experience for users. From the different direction to observe the three-dimensional artworks can discover more detail. Finally, we apply these results in our system, we can look forward to bringing innovative user experience.

碩士
國立臺南藝術大學
藝術史學系藝術史與藝術評論碩士班
99
The thesis attempts to explore the foreign impact upon the Dunhuang in Sui Dynasty through the Bodhisattvas Muktahara and earrings of Cave 420. Focused on both periods of the Wei-Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties as well as Sui Dynasty, the research accesses the Bodhisattvas Muktahara, earrings and relevant artifact excavated throughout China, Middle Asian and East Asian Areas in order to explore the origins of foreign elements designed on the Bodhisattvas Muktahara and Earrings of Cave 420. By so doing, we are able to search for the possible approaches of how they were transmitted and influenced, and then discover the background of Cave 420 underlying the Muktahara and Earrings. The thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 explains the research motivation, research objects, chronological order, area scopes and moreover, tries to define and categorized the Muktahara and earrings. Chapter 2 attempts to understand not only the literature review on the topic of the Dunhuang Cave 420 but also a careful reading on Muktahara and earrings. Chapter 3 focuses on the observation on the Bodhisattvas Muktahara and earrings in Dunhuang of Sui Dynasty and other areas, and then tries to describe the unique expression of Cave 420. Chapter 4 traces back the Muktahara, earrings and relevant artifact excavated of the Wei-Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties throughout China, Middle Asia and East Asia. Moreover, the Chapter attempts to search for the possible origin that influence the Muktahara and earrings of the Dunhuang Cave 420. Chapter 5 gives a possible conclusion on the expression of Muktahara and earrings in Dunhuang Cave 420. Moreover, the Chapter observes the holistic effects evoked from the accessories of the Bodhisattvas, links them to the literature pertaining to history and transportation, in attempt to understand the possible route of the foreign elements on them, and finally tries to conclude the background of the construction of the the Dunhuang Cave 420.