Yulin Cave 16

CHINA, Gansu, Guazhou

This cave, located on the lower level of the east cliff, dates to the early Five Dynasties period (907–960) and consists of a front passageway, an antechamber, and a main chamber.
Painted along the ceiling of the front passageway are the Thousand Buddhas, with male and female donors on the side walls. Within the antechamber, the ceiling is decorated with floral patterns. The four walls are painted with Bodhisattvas, Brahma, Sakya, yaksas, and the Eight Classes of Dharma Protectors, with the Seven Buddhas on top of the doorway. The short corridor that leads into the main chamber is depicted with Cao Yijin and Uighur Princess as Donors on the walls, and an illustration of Amoghapasa Avalokitesvara on the ceiling.
The main chamber has a truncated pyramidal ceiling painted with numerous images. The central image has been damaged; however, the murals on the slopes of the ceiling can still be discerned. These include images such as apsaras, the Thousand Buddhas, and the Buddha teaching the Dharma. There is also the Thousand Buddhas on the walls. The Thousand Buddhas painted on cave ceilings after the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties were mostly meditation Buddhas.
Large sutra illustrations have been painted on all four walls of the main chamber. An illustration of the Battle Between Sariputra and Raudraksa is depicted on the back (east) wall, while the south wall displays illustrations of the Medicine Buddha Sutra and the Returning Favors Sutra. The north wall contains illustrations of the Amitabha Sutra and Devata Sutra, and the front (west) wall has depictions of Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas. The Buddha altar in the center of the main chamber supports a seated Buddha statue.