Cave Temples of Mogao at Dunhuang: Art and History on the Silk Road

by Roderick Whitfield, Susan Whitfield, Neville Agnew

The Mogao grottoes in China, situated near the town of Dunhuang on the fabled Silk Road, constitute one of the world’s most significant sites of Buddhist art. The hundreds of caves carved into rock cliffs at the edge of the Gobi desert preserve one thousand years of exquisite art. Founded by Buddhist monks as an isolated monastery in the late fourth century, Mogao evolved into an artistic and spiritual mecca whose renown extended from the Chinese capital to the Western Kingdoms of the Silk Road. Among its treasures are miles of stunning wall paintings, more than two thousand statues, magnificent works on silk and paper, and thousands of ancient manuscripts, such as sutras, poems, and prayer sheets.
 
In this new expanded edition, Cave Temples of Mogao at Dunhuang, first published in 2000, combines lavish color photographs of the caves and their art with the fascinating history of the Silk Road to create a vivid portrait of this remarkable site. Chapters narrate the development of Dunhuang and the Mogao cave temples, the iconography of the wall paintings, and the extraordinary story of the rare manuscripts—including the oldest printed book in existence, a ninth-century copy of the Diamond Sutra. The book also discusses the collaboration between the Getty Conservation Institute and Chinese authorities in conservation projects at Mogao, and the ways in which the site can be visited today.

Genres: History, Art, China, Nonfiction, Religion, Buddhism

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2000

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was published in conjunction with the Getty Museum's special exhibition of the Buddhist cave paintings on the Silk Road near Dunhuang. I loved the exhibition and I find the book excellent as well. Not only are the illustrations well done, but the accompanying text is a good survey of the history, religion, and art behind these cave paintings.

[Esoteric Grimoire · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Cave Temples of Mogao," by Roderick Whitfield is an excellent collection of images from the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California. Having visited the original Dunhuang Caves exhibit at the Getty in 2016 I must say this book brought up many of those images and the experience for me all over again. The text covers the history of City of Dunhuang, China's Western most gateway to the Silk Road and famed for its Buddhist grottoes and intercultural society. The book is filled with full color glossy images as well as a moving timeline for the history of the City of Dunhuang. Marked by the arrival of the first Buddhist monks to the area in 330s CE to escape a China wracked by civil war, the city thrived until the isolationism of the Ming Dynasty a millennia later. During that thousand year period the grottoes were home to brilliant artwork depicting the evolution and movement of Mahayana Buddhism into China and the greater East Asian world. There are also chapters detailing the restoration efforts of Chinese and Western archaeologists and scholars to preserve the grottoes for future generation and to translate and distribute the Buddhist texts found in the caves. I would recommend this book to other Buddhists especially and to anyone with an interest in art and archaeology.

[翰林院编修]

似无。160页。评价无

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Read for History and Culture of the Silk Road]

[王]

so good

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good summery of the history of the area the Cave temples are located in, and the history of Buddhism in China. Gorgeous photographs too! Excellent supplementary reading to the Getty Exhibit that I went to.
http://www.getty.edu/research/exhibit...

[Kaiti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice, easy to understand summary of the history of the area and how the larger history of China and other countries impacted it's development. Lots of beautiful images too.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice explanatory sampling of history archeology and conservation of these gems. Excellent supplement to Seattle Asian Art Museum Exhibit