The Thousand Buddhas / Ancient Buddhist Paintings from the Cave-Temples of Tun-huang on the Western Frontier of China

by Sir Aurel Stein

The whole figure is drawn with admirable verve and freedom. Fragmentary as it is, it allows us to surmise what we have lost here of a work of true Chinese genius—and at the same time to realize what we owe to the safe hiding-place the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas have provided for so many other relics of art.

INDEX

• ahhaya-mudrā, [25], [27], [32], [51], [53].
• acanthus leaves, [60].
• Ajaṇṭā, frescoes of, [3], [8].
• Ajātaśatru, legend of, [44].
• Ākāśagarbha, [16], [17].
• altar, valance of, [18].
• Amitābha, Buddha, [4], [5], [11];
  Western Paradise of, [5], [6], [11], [17], [18], [20], [21] sq., [44], [52];
  triad of, [18].
• Ānanda, legend of, [49].
• Andrews, Mr. F. H., [xii], [44].
• Antioch, [4].
• Apsaras, [12], [20], [22], [49];
  see Gandharvī.
• Asuras, World of, [38].
• Athene, on seal, [4].
• Avalokiteśvara, Bodhisattva of Mercy (Kuan-yin; Kwan-non), [4], [13], [18], [20], [22], [27], [28], [49], [56], [58], [59];
  guide of souls, [53];
  six-armed, [35]; thousand-armed, [30], [57];
  emblems of, [30], [57];
  four forms of, [29];
  male and female forms of, [4];
  Maṇḍala of, [13], [30], [31];
  paintings of, [6];
  under willows, [36];
  with willow spray, [31], [32];
  worship of, [4].
• Badakhshī breed of horses, [20].
• banners,
  on silk, [2], [23], [25], [40], [43], [51], [53], [56], [61];
  groups of, [23];
  on linen, [3].
• Barnett, Dr. L. D., [47].
• Bath, of Gautama, [52].
• Benares, Deer Park of, [24].
• Bhaiṣajyaguru, Buddha, Paradise of, [11] sqq., [14], [50].
• Bhaiṣajyarāja, [5].
• bhūmisparśa-mudrā, [27].
• Bimbisāra, [44].
• Binyon, Mr. L., [ix], [xi], [xii], [13], [36], [37], [45], [53], [54], [55], [58].
• boar, head of, [53].
• boar-headed demon, [31].
• Bōdh-Gayā, image at, [27].
• Bodhisattvas, [4] sq., [11] sqq., and passim;
  banners of, [56];
  ‘Indian’ and ‘Chinese’ types of, [14], [29], [56];
  worship of, [28];
  see Avalokiteśvara, Kṣitigarbha, Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra.
• borders, of paintings, [2], [53], [55], [59].
• Brahman, [12], [30].
• British Museum,
  paintings at, [ix], [xi];
  Trustees of, [xi].
• Buddha, see Gautama, Śākyamuni.
• Buddhas, [4];
  subsidiary, [13], [17];
  ‘of ten quarters’, [30].
• Buddhism, spread of, into Central Asia and China, [3] sq., [7];
  see Mahāyāna.
• Buddhist art,
  of China, [3], [6];
  of India, [3] sq.;
  of Japan, [4] sq.;
  of Tibet, [9].
• Buddhist Heaven, see Paradise.
• Buddhist images, from India, [6].
• bullocks, [53].
• Butsu-yé [3].
• Cakravartin, [53].
• cangue, [35], [38].
• cartouches,
  inscribed, [23], [26], [29], [32], [49], [52], [58], [59];
  uninscribed, [36], [38].
• castanets, [12].
• ‘Caves of the Thousand Buddhas’, [1], [13], and passim.
• celestial mansions, [11], [17], [18], [51], [54].
• chain-armour, [42].
• Chamberlain, the Right Hon. Mr. A., [xi].
• Chandaka, [24].
• Chavannes, M. Éd., [x], [16], [19].
• Ch‘ien-fo-tung, Chinese for ‘Caves of Thousand Buddhas’, passim.
• China, westward expansion of, [4].
• Chinese art, [5], [6], [7], [8].
• Chinese painting,
  Buddha legend in, [8];
  Central tradition of, [5];
  style of, [54].
• ‘Chinese’ type of Bodhisattvas, [29], [32], [36], [43], [54], [56].
• Christians, at Turfān, [5].
• chronology, of paintings, [7], [16], [21], [50].
• clappers, [12], [14], [16], [17], [18], [25], [36].
• Clarendon Press, Delegates of, [xi].
• cleaning, of paintings, [2].
• cloud scrolls, in textiles, [36].
• coiffure, of donatrices, [16], [17], [19], [30], [38];
  see head-dress.
• coins, Chinese, [48].
• Conception, of Gautama, [52].
• costume,
  of donatrices, [16], [21], [22], [30], [50];
  of donors, [17], [22], [36], [37], [38], [50], [56].
• crane, [12], [18], [22].
• crown, of Sassanian type, [39], [60].
• dancer, [12], [15], [17], [18], [51].
• Deer Park, Śākyamuni in, [27].
• Delhi Museum, [xi].
• demons, [12], [15], [40] sq., [61], [62], [63];
  Tibetan, [47];
  World of, [38];
  see Yakṣas.
• Dharmapālas, [43], [63].
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra, [42].
• Dhyāni-buddha (Amitābha), [4], [20], [28], [29], [32], [35], [57], [58].
• Dīpaṅkara, Buddha, [51].
• disciples, figures of, [17], [19], [21].
• discs, of Sun and Moon, [17], [38].
• distemper, painting in, [9], [46].
• donors, in paintings, [7];
  see costume, portraits.
• dragons, [12], [19], [48], [52].
• drapery, Hellenistic, [20].
• dress, see costume;
  magisterial, [19], [24], [44], [37], [55].
• drums, [12], [45].
• ducks, [22];
  wild, [25].
• embroidery picture, [10], [48];
  remains, [44].
• fan-bearers, [37].
• First Sermon, see Gautama.
• flame streamers, [39], [60].
• flask, of Avalokiteśvara, [36], and passim.
• flutes, [12], [14], [18], [36], [45].
• Foucher, M. A., [23], [27], [28], [31], [43].
• ‘Four Encounters’, see Gautama.
• Freer Collection, [7], [8].
• Fu-hsi, Emperor, [48].
• fungus sceptre, [38].
• Gandhāra, Buddhist art of, [3], [4], [7], [49];
  types from, [8].
• Gandharvīs, [14];
  see Apsaras.
• Gaṇeśa, [58].
• Garuḍa, [12], [16], [17], [18], [60].
• Gatis, see Worlds of Desire.
• Gautama (Buddha, Śākyamuni),
  scenes from Life of, [5], [6], [25], [51];
  Chinese treatment of, [7], [23];
  Conception of, [52];
  Birth of, [52];
  Bath of, [52]; Seven Steps of, [52];
  Four Encounters of, [23] sq., [51];
  Search for, [24]; Farewell from Kaṇṭhaka, [24];
  Enlightenment of, [27];
  First Sermon of, [24], [27];
  as teacher, [6];
  Miracle of Śrāvastī, [27];
  on Gṛdhrakūṭa, [25], [27], [48], [49];
  see Buddha, Jātakas, Śākyamuni.
• Giles, Dr. L., [xii].
• glass bowl, [43].
• Graeco-Buddhist art, [x], [12], [15], [20], [23], [26], [27], [28], [52], [59], [60].
• Gṛdhrakūṭa, see Vulture Peak.
• gryphon, [12].
• Guardians of Regions, see Lokapālas.
• halo,
  flame-bordered, [15];
  transparent, [21], [22].
• hands, pair of colossal, [26].
• Hāritī, [31].
• harp, [12], [16], [45].
• hats, shape of, [17].
• head-dress, of donors, [19], [23], [30], [32];
  see coiffure.
• Hell, Kṣitigarbha Regent of, [37], [54].
• Hellenistic art, influence of, [4], [20], [59].
• Heracles, on seal, [4].
• hermit, picture of, [47].
• Herzfeld, Prof. E., [40].
• high lights, [9], [21], [22].
• hills, [14], [17], [19].
• Hīnayāna Buddhism, [4].
• Hindu mythology, [31].
• Horiuji Temple, [3].
• horse,
  drawing of, [19];
  types of, [20], [25], [39].
• horse’s head, [54].
• horse-dragon, [47].
• ‘horse-millinery’, [20], [39].
• Hsüan-tsang, pilgrim, [6], [27].
• human form, Chinese treatment of, [7].
• iconography, Buddhist, [x].
• India, Buddhist painting in, [3].
• Indian art, genius of, [8].
• Indian garb, of divinities, [7].
• Indian type, of Bodhisattvas, [28], [29], [36], [42], [47], [59].
• Indians, dark-skinned, [14], [15], [29], [53].
• Indra, [12], [30].
• infants, [12], [16], [22], [36], [61].
• Infernal Judges, [37], [38], [55].
• Iranian,
  art motifs, [4];
  influences, [58];
  emblems, [39], [60];
  see Persia.
• iris of eyes,
  blue, [39];
  yellow, [62];
  green, [62].
• Japan,
  Buddhist art of, [5];
  Buddhist paintings of, [3].
• Jātakas, scenes from, [5], [6], [8], [23];
  see Gautama.
• Jizō (Kṣitigarbha), [37].
• Kābul, [27].
• Kakemonos, paintings mounted as, [2], [39], [53], [59].
• Kālika, [47].
• Kalyāṇaṃkara, legend of, [16], [17].
• Kaṇṭhaka, Buddha’s horse, [23], [24], [53].
• Kapilavastu, [52].
• Kapiśa (Kabul), [27].
• Kāshgar, [1].
• Kashmir, [1], [4].
• Kāśyapa, [49].
• Khotan, [1], [4];
  mural paintings of, [28];
  painter from, [10];
  Vaiśravaṇa’s worship at, [39].
• Kings, Twelve, protectors of the Law, [13], [51].
• knee-caps, [35].
• Kṣitigarbha,
  in paintings, [5], [8], [16], [17], [37];
  patron of travellers, [38], [54], [55];
  Regent of Hell, [37], [54].
• Ku K‘ai-chih,
  painter, [6], [7];
  style of, [8].
• Kuan-yin, Chinese name of Avalokiteśvara, q.v.
• Kubera, [39].
• Kwan-non, Japanese name of Avalokiteśvara, q.v.
• Lamas, hoods of, [46].
• landscape,
  treatment of, [7];
  dividing scenes, [13];
  see hills.
• laṅgōṭī (loin-cloth), [42], [58].
• Laufer, Dr. B., [41].
• leather,
  armour, [42], [62];
  scales, [41].
• linen, paintings on, [3], [46].
• lion, [15], [41], [49], [55].
• Littlejohn, Mr. S. W., [2].
• Ló-shen-fu, painting, [6].
• Lokapālas, [5], [12], [13], [14], [15], [31], [36], [39], [40], [41], [53], [58], [60], [61], [62].
• Lop desert, [5].
• Lorimer, Miss F. M. G., [xii].
• lotus-lake, [12], [17], [18], [22].
• lotus-seats, [20], [50], [55].
• Lumbinī garden, [6], [52].
• Lung-mên, relievos of, [22], [43].
• lute, [16], [17], [18], [45], [53].
• Magadha, [27].
• Mahākāla, [30].
• Mahāsthāma, [18], [20], [22], [49].
• Mahāyāna Buddhism, [ix], [x], [4], [28].
• Maheśvara, [31].
• mail-coat, [41], [59].
• Maitreya,
  Buddha, [5];
  Paradise of, [19].
• Maitreya-vyākaraṇa-sūtra, [18].
• Maṇḍala, compositions, [x];
  of Avalokiteśvara, [13], [36], [57].
• Manichaeism, [5].
• Mañjuśrī, [5], [12], [14], [15], [29], [40].
• manuscripts,
  at Ch‘ien-fo-tung, [1], [8];
  rolls, in paintings, [20], [48].
• Māra, attack of, [27].
• marginal scenes, [13], [16], [17], [47], [51].
• Māyā, [52].
• Meru, Mount, [17], [40], [61].
• Milne, Mr. J. C., [xi].
• Mīrān, mural paintings at, [4], [21].
• mirror,
  metal, [19];
  magic, [38].
• Mithras, worship of, [4] sq.
• modelling, in two tones, [10].
• monkey, [53].
• monks, [17], [30], [38], [47], [49].
• Moon,
  Bodhisattva of, [30], [57];
  disc of, [47].
• mouth-organ, [14], [15], [16], [36].
• musical instruments, [12], [16] sqq.
• musicians, [12], [15], [16], [17], [18], [45], [51].
• Nāga-tree (coral), [40].
• Nāgas, [31], [40], [52], [57].
• Nara, frescoes at, [3].
• Nativity, of Gautama, [52].
• Nepalese miniatures, [27];
  paintings, [3], [9].
• ‘Nymph of Virtue’, [31], [57].
• Nymphs, [12], [15], [50], [60].
• officials, dress of, [37];
  see dress.
• ox-headed demon, [45].
• palanquin, [20], [52].
• Pāpaṃkara, legend of, [16], [17].
• paper paintings, [36], [47] sq., [61].
• Paradise,
  of Amitābha, see Western Paradise;
  of Bhaiṣajyaguru, [50];
  of Maitreya, [19];
  of Śākyamuni, [15], [16].
• pavilions, [13].
• peacock, [12], [18], [22], [31].
• pearl, of Kṣitigarbha, [37].
• Pelliot, M. Paul, [2].
• Persia, [4];
  see Iranian.
• Petrucci, M. R., [v], [x], [xi], [xii], [14], [16], [17], [19], [27], [30], [37], [50].
• phoenix, [12], [22], [31].
• pipe, [12], [14], [16], [25];
  see whistle-pipe.
• Planets, divinities of, [8], [53].
• plectrum, [53].
• portraits, of donors, [7], [16], [21].
• pretas, [31], [38].
• processions, [14] sq.
• psaltery, [12], [17], [18], [45].
• Rājagṛha (Rājgir), [27], [48].
• rat-king, [58].
• ratnām, see seven.
• Rawak Vihāra, [27].
• reborn souls, [12], [16], [18], [22].
• reed-organ, [12], [17].
• Roman Empire, silk trade to, [4].
• ‘royal ease’, pose of, [35], [58].
• saddles, [20].
• ‘Sage of the Air’, [31], [57].
• Śakti, of Avalokiteśvara, [45], [46].
• Śākyamuni, [17];
  in pictures, [5];
  legend of, [6];
  Paradise of, [15], [16];
  type of, [4];
  see Gautama, Buddha.
• Samantabhadra, [5], [12], [14], [15], [29], [45].
• sandals, [41];
  of string, [37].
• Śāriputra, [25], [49].
• Sassanian relievos, [40].
• ‘Sassanian’ textile motifs, [40], [45], [60].
• scabbard, lacquered, [62].
• scale armour, [39], [41], [42], [53], [59] sq., [62].
• Schlesinger, Miss K., [12], [53].
• Serindia, [ix], [xi].
• Seven Jewels, [53].
• Seven Steps, of Gautama, [52].
• shading, method of, [15].
• shoes, of string, [62].
• Shōsōin Collection, [12].
• silk, of paintings, [2];
  gauze-like, [23];
  trade from China, [4].
• siṃhāsana, [36].
• Śivaitic divinities, [30].
• slab for inscription, [21], [22], [38].
• spacing, Chinese, [9], [46], [60].
• Śrāvastī, ‘Miracle of,’ [27].
• stag, white, [61].
• statues, of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, [26];
  see Vulture Peak.
• Stone &
  Son, Messrs. Henry, [xi].
• Stūpa, consecration of, [20].
• Śuddhodana, [25].
• Sukhāvatī, see Western Paradise;
  type of, [22].
• Sun, Bodhisattva of, [30], [57];
  disc of, [47].
• Sung period, art of, [7].
• Syrinx, [16].
• Taki, Prof., [xii].
• Taklamakān desert, [5].
• T‘ang period, art of, [5], [6], [7].
• Tantra doctrines, [46];
  emblems, [58].
• Taoist monk, at Caves, [1] sq.
• Tārā, goddess, [45], [46].
• Tejaḥprabha, Buddha, [53].
• tempera, painting in, [46].
• textile patterns, [54];
  see Sassanian.
• Thunder god, [26].
• Ti-tsang (Kṣitigarbha), [37].
• Tibet,
  Buddhism of, [46], [58];
  Buddhist art of, [9], [46].
• Tibetan paintings, [3], [9].
• Tibetans, at Tun-huang, [45], [46], [47].
• tiger, [48].
• tonsure, [19].
• trees, in paintings, [11], [16], [20], [22].
• ‘triple cord’, [42].
• Tun-huang,
  oasis and town, [1] sq.;
  chiefs of, [36];
  Tibetan conquest of, [9].
• Turfān, [5];
  painting from, [21].
• Turkestān,
  Buddhist art of, [3], [4];
  pictorial style of, [9];
  under Chinese rule, [4].
• Tuṣita Heaven, [18].
• Urushibara, Mr. Y., [2].
• Vaiśravaṇa, [58];
  paintings of, [6], [39], [59];
  emblems of, [40];
  flag of, [60].
• Vajra, [43], [47].
• Vajrapāṇis, [31], [43], [58], [63].
• vara-mudrā, [41], [46], [49].
• vase, glazed, [36].
• Vignette, portrait in, [21].
• Virūḍhaka, [15], [36].
• Virūpākṣa, [40], [58], [62].
• Visser, Prof. M. W. de, [37].
• vitarka-mudrā, [11], [14], [16], [18], [20], [22], [28], [29], [32], [35], [47], [50].
• votive inscription, [2].
• Vulture Peak (Gṛdhrakūṭa), [25], [27], [48], [49].
• Waley, Mr. A. D., [xii].
• warrior kings, [12].
• Western Paradise (Sukhāvatī), of Amitābha, [5], [6], [11], [17], [18], [20], [21], [22], [44], [52].
• wheel, of sovereignty, [53].
• whistle-pipe, [15], [16].
• willow spray,
  of Avalokiteśvara, [28], [30], [32];
  Aval, under willows, [36].
• Winter, Miss E. A., [2], [49].
• ‘Worlds of Desire’, [37], [38], [54].
• Wu Tao-tzŭ, painter, [8].
• Yabuki, Mr., [xii].
• Yakṣas, [39], [60];
  see demons.
• Yaśodharā, [53].
• Yün-kang, relievos of, [8], [22], [23].

Footnotes

[1] Cf. Serindia, p. 1420. For a distinctively ‘Indian’ representation of Mañjuśrī, see below, Plate [xxvii].

[2] Cf. Serindia, Appendix E, p. 1410.

[3] See Serindia, Appendix A, pp. 1434 sqq.

[4] See particularly the painting, Ch. lv. 0023, of a.d. 864 reproduced in Plate [xvi].

[5] Cf. Serindia, pp. 850, 885, 888.

[6] See Serindia, p. 1410.