Mogao Cave 296: Good Prince Going to Sea

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Northern Zhou dynasty

This mural, located on the slopes of the truncated pyramidal ceiling, illustrates a story from the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish. The mural extends across the east, west, and south slopes of the ceiling. The narrative begins with an image of a royal palace on the west slope, and proceeds as follows: the king asks the gods for a son, and his first wife gives birth to a child who comes to be called the Good Prince. On the south slope, the king’s second wife has a son, the Bad Prince. Next, the king and the Good Prince are shown together throughout the four seasons. Then, the Good Prince goes on an excursion riding an elephant and observes a butcher who slaughters animals, a farmer who plows the land and harms the living beings within the soil, a hunter who shoots and kills animals, and a fisherman who uses a net to catch fish. On the east slope, the Good Prince returns to the palace grieving and without joy, the Good Prince requests his father to open the treasury to give charity, and the princes decide to go to sea to seek a wish-fulfilling jewel. They are shown setting sail along with 500 merchants. The Good Prince goes to the City of Seven Treasures and obtains a wish-fulfilling jewel, but the boats, overladen by the greedy Bad Prince, are lost at sea. The Good Prince saves the Bad Prince from drowning, but soon after, the Bad Prince blinds the Good Prince with a sharpened length of bamboo and steals the wish-fulfilling jewel. Next, the Cow Deity licks the Good Princes eyes and restores his sight. The Good Prince then travels to a neighboring kingdom and marries a princess. The last few scenes from the story are not depicted, including the Good Prince’s return to his homeland, his recovery of the wish-fulfilling jewel, and his distribution of alms to the poor.