Donor, Cave No. 329, Early Tang
Donor, Cave No. 130, High Tang
During the first half of Tang, a large number of realistic portrait painters came into prominence. Not only were portraits of famous courtiers with meritorious services exhibited in the Linyan Pavilion of the imperial palace but many portraits of historical characters (such as portraits of Tang Emperor Xuanzong, Liang Emperor Wu, Xuanzang, the King of Khotan and so on) were enshrined in the monasteries of Chang'an and Luoyang.15 All the well-known religious painters of the time, like Yan Liben, Wu Daozi, Han Huang, Zhou Fang, Li Guonu ,were also portrait painters. Although the figures of donors in Dunhuang murals are not exactly the same as the portraits mentioned above, they are still examples of realistic portraiture. The Tang Dynasty achieved a breakthrough from the earlier style which had the same face for a thousand people; the emphasis shifted to expressing distinct personalities of diverse characters and individual traits. The depictions of the donors not only highlight their religious devotion, but also identify their status and clan. Some of the Mogao Grottoes are known for their belonging to a particular clan, for example, Cave No. 220 dating from the Zhenguan Era is often called the "Zhai Family Cave".16 It was the family temple nursed by several generations, viz., Zhai Siyuan, Zhai Tong, Zhai Fengda and others. During Early Tang the portraits of donors were usually arranged on the lower portion of the four walls of the caves. In some cases, the master is escorted by servants in groups of threes and fours. There are painted processions of the donor-family completing a whole circle on the walls. It was during High Tang that the donors began to occupy both sides of the passage leading to the main hall. The portraits became increasingly larger, and all of them were shown facing the main Buddha in the cave, with flowers in hand, paying homage to Buddha.
Cave No. 130 of High Tang, enshrines the portraits of Le Tinghuai family drawn in the Tianbao Era (742-755). The painting of Le Tinghuai on the north wall of the corridor shows him wearing a turban and a robe, carrying a tablet in his waist. The inscription on the painting reads: "Courtier, General and Governor of Jinchang province, first-grade medal awardee Le Tinghuai offering homage to Buddha." Behind him are standing three sons and servants and slaves. On the south wall is drawn Le Tinghuai's wife with her hair tied in a bun, wearing a green shirt and red skirt, a white shawl over her shoulders and holding a censer in the hands, paying homage to the Buddha. The inscription reads: "Wife of the Governor, maiden name Wang, from Taiyuan worshipping Buddha with devotion." She is followed by two daughters and other attendants. The attendants hold fans, flower vases and a harp. They express their mood in their open glances. Some of the maids wear men's attire, such as a robe with a belt in the waist and a transparent scarf on the head which reminds us of the Tang poem:
New fashion and clever style,
Eyebrows painted straight,
Tying colours with a smile,
Transparent scarf on her head.
This is in strong contrast to outlook of the attendants of the famous Tang painting "Duchess relaxing amidst spring scenery". We thus have the palace fashions drawn on the Dunhuang walls. In the background we see weeping willows and fluttering butterflies which embellish the otherwise solemn atmosphere with life and vitality. The portrait of a female donor which we have just discussed is, indeed, an outstanding masterpiece of Tang portrait of female characters.
Cave No. 431, High Tang
Behind the image of the donor we often see foreign faces among the servants and slaves, and these foreigners often appear along with horses and carts. In the painting of the donor on the lower portion of south wall in Cave No. 431, there are three fine horses, the stable-man leading the horse looks as though he is unable to bear the exhaustion and is almost falling into sleep. Here, we see the artists' efforts in unfolding the interesting details of real life while executing religious and devotional tasks. The portraits of donors of Early Tang have, indeed, achieved unprecedented success.
Caisson Ceiling, Cave No. 329, Early Tang
Due to changes in the cave designs, the decorative art in Early Tang was no longer intimately linked to the cave architecture. In the hall-style caves, the most important thing was to decorate the inverted dipper ceilings. Second in importance were border decorations. Meanwhile, new decorations not related to the architecture were created, such as the canopy, the lotus-throne, flags and banners, carpet and decorative design on dresses, etc. There was an evolution of the designs from the earlier periods' focussing more on deities and fairies to the new phenomenon of floral and geometric patterns becoming dominating. The designs are those of lotuses, grapes, pomegranates, camellias, curry leaves, flower clusters, whirling lines, water chestnuts, bead and fish-scales, clouds, dancing dragons, double phoenixes, lotus-born flying figures and designs of brocades.
The decorated caissons of Early Tang are refreshingly innovative in ideas. The spacious square ceiling of Cave No. 209 is filled with grape and pomegranate designs, with criss-crossing creepers ingeniously highlighting a bumper harvest, thus breaking the earlier monotony of using only the lotus as the main design. In the centre of the ceiling in Cave No. 329, we see a circle composed of lotus petals, signifying the turning of the Cakra. Outside the lotus cakra is the azure sky with coloured clouds floating and apsaras flying. The scene is resplendent with colour and the rhythm of movement.
During High Tang, the style of caisson decoration underwent a change. Vivid and lively scenes gave way to a solemn discipline and gorgeous magnificence. Cave No. 320 is the representative of Kaiyuan and Tianbao Eras. The centre of the ceiling has the flower cluster design, embroidered by well-proportioned layers of motifs, combining rigidity with variety. The colour tones are warm and gorgeous with a typical High Tang accent.
In the first half of the Tang the halo was already a disc-shaped decoration with elaborate and exquisite sculpture. Here we see the achievements in decorative art during the Tang dynasty. One of the halos of Cave No. 188 has a white lotus at the centre and pomegranate and curry leaves encircling it, while twisted branches and leaves look as if sucked into the whirlpool, rising and falling with the rhythm of music. A halo in Cave No. 444 of High Tang is composed of lotus, grapes, pomegranate, lotus leaves, buds, vines and other floral designs, with the lotus bud coming out of pomegranate, and grapes out of lotus leaves, while the vines interweave into a net. It is complex without the feeling of disorder, a clever design with unrestrained dynamism.
Caisson Ceiling, Cave No. 320, High Tang
The most magnificent decorative designs are to be found in the costumes. Both in the stucco statues and mural paintings the Arhat's kaŔˇya, pleated dhoti, the Sa´kakshikˇ of Bodhisattvas, the rich embroidered skirt, woven and painted apparel of the donor are simply gorgeous with floral designs, the flowers mingling with peacock feathers. Then, there are the designs knit by gold thread, glittering and magnificent. The richness of the Tang brocade designs may be seen from the Tang fabrics recently unearthed at Turfan which are similar to the drawings on Mogao murals. This shows that the decorative art of Dunhuang had its affinity with real life, thus diminishing its mythical religious touch, and becoming a living entity.
