Mogao Cave 220

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang

Situated in the south area of the site, this shrine cave was constructed in 642 of the Early Tang period (618–712), and was sponsored by the Zhai family, probably serving as a family temple. The original murals were covered over during the Song dynasty (960–1279) and Western Xia period (1032–1227). In 1944, the Dunhuang Research Academy removed the surface layers, revealing the original murals. In 1975, the Academy lifted and relocated the walls of the multi-layered corridor, removing the original murals.
Currently, in the corridor, the ceiling displays a Four-Armed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva with four seated Buddhas on each side. A square niche in the center of the south wall houses murals painted during the Tibetan occupation of Dunhuang (781–847). A Buddha, two disciples, two Bodhisattvas, and two apsaras are painted on the back (west) wall of the niche, and a Buddha and two Bodhisattvas are on both side walls. Two male Tibetan donors and a Chinese female donor are painted on the bottom of the right wall within the niche. Above the niche is a seated Buddha, and on each side are a Buddha and two Bodhisattvas, all from the Mid-Tang period (756–846). Three donor images are to the left and right of the niche, along with an inscription written by Zhai Fengda from the Five Dynasties (907–960). Below the niche are a Buddha and a monk drawn in simple ink lines, and on each side are three colorfully painted donors dating from the year 857 of the Late Tang period (846–907). On the north wall of the corridor are two images of Manjusri Bodhisattva and one of Avalokitesvara. Below these figures are seven male donors and an inscription written during the Five Dynasties.
The main chamber has a truncated pyramidal ceiling, in the center of which is a lotus and coiled dragon motif painted in the Song dynasty. Decorative patterns surround the center, and on the four slopes of the ceiling are images of the Thousand Buddhas and the Buddhas of the Ten Directions, also from the Song dynasty. On the back wall is a niche housing sculptures of the Buddha, two disciples, and two Bodhisattvas, all created in the Early Tang period and repaired during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Only the sculpture of Mahakasyapa on the right beside the Buddha maintains its original form. The flat ceiling of the niche displays a Dharma teaching scene and six flying apsaras. The Buddha image in the center is faded, but the Bodhisattvas are still colorful. On the back wall of the niche are images of two disciples, and on each of the side walls are a Buddha, a Bodhisattva, and two disciples. To the left and right of the niche are images of Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas, and below the niche are seven faded donor portraits from the Early Tang period and an ink inscription reading, “Cave of the Zhai Family.”
On the other three walls of the cave include are illustrations of the Medicine Buddha Sutra on the north wall, the Amitabha Sutra on the south wall, and the Vimalakirti Sutra on the front (east) wall. Vimalakirti and Manjusri are depicted to the left and right of the doorway on the front wall, and above are three seated Buddhas and six standing Bodhisattvas. There are ink inscriptions from the Early Tang period on both the north and front walls, including a prayer written in 642 on the front wall.