A chronicle of Dunhuang: from Silk Road to Belt and Road (2)

Cultural fusion in the Buddhist Caves

Decorative Zone with Musicians and Lotus, cave 427 Mogao Grottoes, Sui Dynasty 581-618 A.D.

“The craving for global cooperation and respect to different cultures are part of the reason for China’s rise as an ancient superpower. We can find evidence for this in the Mogao Caves,” said Zhao.

Rediscovered in 1900, the 1,652-year-old Mogao Caves are home to more than 2,000 exquisite sculptures and 45,000 square meters of frescos, featuring many different cultural elements. Here you can find Greek-style columns, abstruse manuscripts written in ancient Hindu, and decorative patterns originating from Persia.

According to Zhao, in 2017, a Hungarian researcher proposed a scientific hypothesis, noting that the ancient cultural exchanges between the East and West may be more frequent than first thought, after he discovered traditional Hungarian decorative patterns on a mural within the Mogao Caves.

As a well-preserved global cultural vault, the Mogao Caves have provided valuable materials for the restoration of some cultural relics along the Belt and Road. In 2018, 17 years after the Taliban destroyed the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan, the government of Afghanistan reached out to Dunhuang for help with the restoration, as the lost relics’ prototype and cultural roots appeared in the Mogao Caves.

“For many centuries, the Mogao Caves had been absorbing ideas and culture from Central and Western Asia, as well as Europe. People from these regions can easily find traces of their aboriginal culture here, showcasing the cultural fusion between China and its foreign counterparts,” added Zhao.

Cave 45 Mogao Grottoes, high Tang Dynasty 705-780 A.D.

The apsaras in the Mogao Caves are the best example of such cultural fusion. Originating from Hindu Buddhist culture, apsaras are female spirits of the clouds and water, but in the Mogao Caves, the Hindu goddesses have developed a Chinese style, including both genders and connotations of Chinese mythology.

“The reverence for different culture has benefited both countries along the Belt and Road and China itself. Thanks to the cultural fusion, Chinese people have learned to absorb the essence of other cultures and to make it their own, making us even more culturally confident,” noted Zhao.