The Wall Paintings of Dra-thang Monastery and Dunhuang Art Pate 1 Hemp linen painting in Dunhuang's Thousand-Buddha Cave

e The relation between the wall paintings of Drathang Monastery and Dunhuang art is r ather omple!" #n order to have a better understanding of it$ two fa ets need to be larified% one is that the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery are a &ind of ontinu ation of Tibetan-style paintings during the Tubo's o upation period '()*-)+) ,"D-$ that is their dates are different but they are of the same essen e" The other is tha t both of them share similar ultural elements" They are related but differ from ea h other" Their multiple lin&s and parallels underline the diffi ulties in determining the on ne tion between Dra-thang Monastery and Dunhuang art$ and the author intends to ondu t some sorting of the data hopes hoping to a hieve some larity" '#Before getting to the sub.e t$ it will help to briefly review the development of Tub o-bran h art in Dunhunag during the period of Tubo's o upation '()*-)+),"D-" Tub o-bran h art$ as its name indi ates$ mainly refers to the remains of Tubo paintings amongst the tremendous amount of Dunhuang reli s$ hiefly onsisting of paintings of sil& loth and murals preserved in /rottos 0o"1( of Dunhuang's Thousand-Buddha Cav e" Typi al of Dunhuang orthodo! art$ murals in the mid-and-late Tang Dynasty$ the 1ive Dynasties and 0orthern 2ong have maintained a tradition of their own sin e the Tang and 2ui Dynasties" The passage of time and the hange of politi al situations un doubtedly bring about some new hanges$ whi h in religious paintings are only obs ure ly refle ted in ontents$ but not in the Tang-style e!pression" #n ontrast$ the painti ngs on sil& loth$ hara teristi ally more popular with greater fle!ibility and adaptati on$ assemble art from different ethni groups in luding Han$ Mongols$ 3iang$ Tibetan and others in the 4estern 5egions and Central ,sia" Therefore$ they an best reveal ultural e! hanges among these ethni groups" Though only a meager part of Dunhuan g art$ paintings on sil& loth and murals in Dunhuang's Thousand-Buddha Cave onvey ri h ultural information" 6f the hundreds of paintings unearthed in the Cave$ about ten devoted to Tubo-bra n h art are hiefly on sil& loth$ linen and paper" 7! ept a few with un ertain dates$ the overwhelming ma.ority of them an be pla ed between the late )th entury and t he early 11th entury" #n the early 89th entury$ they were plundered by P"Pelliot of 1ran e and M"," 2tein$ a Briton$ and now are preserved in the :ibrary of the British Museum$ the 0ational :ibrary of 1ran e and 0ew Deli ,rt Museum of #ndia$ respe tiv ely" Tubo-bran h paintings are small in number$ but diverse in style" There are gener ally three styles% 1- The ommonly seen #ndo-0epal style$ mostly painted on linen$ hara teristi ally sm all in si;e$ simple omposition$ and of typi al 2outh-,sian pattern$ but in a poor stat e of preservation 'plate 1-< 8- The e!traordinary Tubo-style$ and 0o"19= urio olle ted by M"," 2tein in the :ib rary of the British Museum is a ase in point 'plate8-" Painted on either sil& or pape

r$ the >uaint and simple patterns refle t the s ulptures in Chalalufu /rottoes< Plate 8 Painting of Bodhisattva of 7nergy and Power on sil& usand-Buddha Cave

loth in Dunhuang's Tho

=- The ombination of Tibetan and Han styles" ,ll are paintings on sil& and sil& loth a nd the best e!ample is 0o"=8 urio olle ted by M"," 2tein" #n a typi al Dunhuang reli gious painting on sil& loth named Pi ture of Medi ine Buddha with 2 ripture$ there a ppears some sporadi but onspi uous #ndo-Tibetan Buddha images 'plate=$+-" This is a bit surprising$ but what's more mysterious is their in redible harmony with the surr ounding Han-style artisti images$ and one ould hardly dis ern them without meti ulo us observation" The aforementioned three types of paintings are .ust a sample of Tubo-bran h art during the Tubo's o upation period" 1ew Tubo-bran h paintings e!ist now$ and only one is generally &nown" #t is none oth er than Mandala Depi ting Buddha's 7ight 2piritual 2ons 'plate ?- on the main wall 'e astern side- of @ulin /rotto 0o"8? in Dunhuang" #t is onfirmed as Tubo-bran h art o f the mid-Tang Dynasty for three reasons% 1"The painting is identi al in style and ontents to the liff s ulptures on bTan-ma Cl iff of Chab-mdo of Tibet" The liff s ulptures on bTan-ma Cliff an be as ribed wit h a urate dates but are rarely seen in Tubo Dynasty art1" ,dmirably$ the s ulpture s point to a distin t Tubo-bran h artisti influen e 'while the ontemporary liff s u lptures in the Temple of Prin ess 4en heng in Beinagou @ul-2hu =99 &ilometers far a way$ ould be hardly regarded as typi al of Tubo bran h-" Therefore$ .ust as we a n learn a lot from the s ulptures in Chalalupu /rottoes in :hasa$ we have a ess to a great deal of valuable tangible data to learn the art of the Tubo Aingdom" 8"The paintings on the main wall of @ulin /rotto 0o"8? obviously differ from Dunhuang Han-style murals on the southern$ northern and eastern walls in the same grotto in s ub.e t matter and e!pressions" @ulin /rotto 0o"8? was a lassi grotto of Dunhuang during the mid-Tang Dynasty$ and two fa tors ontribute to its greatness% firstly$ t here are two artisti lues in @ulin /rotto paintings$ one is the Mandala Depi ting Bu ddha's 7ight 2 riptural 2ons painted on the entre of the grotto wall lassified as T ubo-bran h art$ and the other two paintings named 2 riptural Pi ture of Pure :and and 2 riptural Pi ture of 2amantabhadra and Man.usri on the hief wall and the othe r three side walls are typi al Dunhuang Han style" These two lues$ found solely in @ ulin /rotto so far in Dunhuang murals$ espe ially refle t the ulture of Dunhuang unde r Tubo o upation in the mid-Tang Dynasty" 2e ondly$ the e!e ution of the paintings in @ulin /rotto is e! eptionally mature$ though their ontents and forms vary" They r epresent the top Han-Tibetan artisti riterion of that period$ parti ularly the huge s riptural pi ture o upying the southern$ northern and eastern walls that is rated a s a masterpie e" ="The ontents of the painting$ namely$ Bairo ana and Buddha's 7ight 2piritual 2ons 'or The Cult of Bairo ana in Tibet$ or Mandala Depi ting Buddha's 7ight 2 riptural 2

ons- are also a sub.e t matter popular in Tubo-o upied areas Ceastern Tibet$ :ong you 'western /ansu- and He!i et "D in the late Tubo Aindom" #n the Bei.ing #nternation al 2ymposium on Tibetology in 1EE($ 2wiss s holar ,rmy Heller onfirmed with full an d a urate data the popularity of the sub.e t matter of Bairo ana and Buddha's 7ig ht 2piritual 2ons in Tubo art in eastern Tibet$ :ongyou and He!i areas in the Tubo A indom8" Plate = Painting of 2 riptural Pi ture of Medi ine Buddha on sil& Thousand-Buddha Cave

loth in Dunhuang's

Therefore$ the murals on the main wall of @ulin /rotto 0o"8? were eligible to be the representatives of Tubo-bran h art during Tubo o upation" The previous resear he rs used to regard a painting of Tubo bTsan-po Paying Homage to Buddha in /rotto 0o" 1?E in Dunhuang /rottoes as representative of Dunhuang art during the Tubo o upation in the mid-Tang Dynasty" #n fa t$ this painting puts more emphasis on the s tatus of bTsan-po among the prin es who paid homage from different ountries$ rev ealing that the politi al status of Tubo was greatly improved" However$ in artisti te rms$ this painting remains a rude representative of the artisti tradition of Dunhuan g 'see plate *-$ and the painter is more li&ely a Han artist" The mural of Mandala De pi ting Buddha's 7ight 2 riptural 2ons on the main wall in @ulin /rotto 0o"8?$ on the other hand$ distinguishes itself from previous e!amples in both ontents and style" 1o r e!ample$ the shape of Bodhisattva's rown$ the style of the nimbus$ Bodhisattva's lotus throne and even the marble lions below the throne show detailed differen es" T hose differen es in detail demonstrate that the murals in the grotto follow a new ar tisti path 'it omes from #ndia and is more li&ely the original version in Dunhuang fro m Tubo- instead of the rude Dunhuang version" The development of art is usually o nfined to general trends" /enerally spea&ing$ the forms remain un hangeable and even lag behind some other artisti elements$ espe ially the styles of ethni art$ will more or less adhere to their own aestheti standards so the hanges in e!pressions alway s follow some intrinsi rules" Though Tubo-bran h paintings are diversified$ they have similarities" The rude artist i e!pression they adhere to may ome from #ndia$ so they are stunningly different f rom the original Dunhuang art" ,s we &now Dunhuang art originated in 7astern Fin '=1 (-+89 ,D-$ developed in 0orthern and 4estern 4ei '=)*-??( ,D- and the Tang Dyn asty witnessed its great prosperity" The solid tradition$ spe ial style and the profou nd essen e have all ontributed to this uni>ue Buddhist art" #n other words$ the outs tanding Dunhuang artisti style was already well developed$ so$ when it appeared in Tubo-bran h art in the mid-Tang Dynasty$ it undoubtedly appeared rather alien" #ndi an Mahayana Buddhism and 7soteri Buddhism were introdu ed into :hasa of Tibet in the late )th entury$ whi h soon aused their artisti version to develop in Dunhuang very >ui &ly" Three types of Tubo-bran h art are more or less asso iated with this version" Type # is the earliest$ so it maintains distin t #ndian features< Type ## an be viewed as a reation of Tibetan artists$ whi h arries more tra es of lo al olours< and Type ### embodies the fusion of Tubo-bran h and Han-style arts" Though they &e ep the #ndian patterns$ the e!pressive te hni>ues$ for instan e$ the use of olour an d line shows the influen e of Dunhuang traditional art" , ase in point is none other t han the murals on the main wall of @ulin /rotto 0o"8?"

'##Having had some review of Tubo-bran h art of Dunhuang during the Tubo's o upati on period$ let's return to the sub.e t" #t is evident that the wall paintings of Dra-th ang Monastery have inherited the tradition of Dunhuang Tubo-bran h art$ but it is n e essary to point out that the latter is not the only sour e of the former" The wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery were influen ed by several s hools of art% Plate + Bodhisattva of Medi ine Buddha's ,ttendant on the 5ight 2ide 'part of plate =1-Dunhuang Tubo-bran h artisti entury-< tradition 'from the late )th entury to the mid-Eth

8-The artisti tradition of the G2amada typeG in gTsang in the 11th entury 'the 4e stern Tibetologists as /"Tu i and 5obeter Bitali= onsidered the wall paintings of Dr a-thang Monastery as the ontinuation and variant of the G2amada TypeG-< =-, new #ndian Pala artisti style appeared in gTsang after the mid-11th entury" #n addition$ some new styles deriving from He!i Dunhuang art also seemed to appear in the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery" 0aturally$ the diversity of art inheritan e does no harm to the ensemble of the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery$ but thi s omple!ity does ma&e its art stand out" The onne tion between the two artisti traditions is as follows% in the first pla e% t he proto type of Bodhisattva's rown and dresses in the wall paintings of Dra-than g Monastery an be tra ed ba & to either Dunhuang Tubo-bran h murals in the early period or Tubo-related paintings in the Tang Dynasty" The Bodhisattv's rown with f lattop and a ylinder-shaped top&not made by various &inds of olorful sil& loth$ is very uni>ue$ and alled G&ettle-styleG 'plate (-" The rown an be first found in mur als depi ting a Tubo btsan-po in /rotto 0o"1?E$ but it is not so typi al as that of t he bron;e statue of 2rong-btsan-sgam-po in the Tubo period 'plate )$ preserved i n Potala Pala e-" 2rong-btsan-sgam-po's rown is not only one-shaped$ but also with an i on of ,valo&itesvara$ indi ating that 2rong-btsan-sgam-po is the rein arn ation of the Bodhisattva and the style of top&not is more li&ely a Tubo btsan-po's h eadgear" Besides the headgear$ Tubo btsan-po's bul&y garments with turndown ollar s have also been put on Bodhisattva in the Dra-thang Monastery" Those garments a nd robes are mostly made of sil& that feels soft$ smooth and with splendid olors" Th e posy designs aligned in the robes with turndown ollars were popular styles of atti re in gTsang in the 11th entury$ and they appeared on the ostumes worn by m/a r-stong-btsan$ a Tubo envoy$ in the pi ture of GMar hing in a ChariotG by the Tang painter @an :iben" His pi tures on histori al events are e!tremely realisti " 4hat it orresponds to is the bron;e statue of 2rong-btsan-sgam-po during the Tubo perio d$ and similar medallion patterns are reprodu ed on the robes with turndown ollars% a string of beads with a dragon oiling inside 'plate E-" , ording to /" Tu i$ this s tyle of pattern might be the apparel symbols of the aristo ra y during the Tubo peri

od" These designs were first seen on bTsan-po's attire and influential offi ials durin g the G1ormer Prosperity of BuddhismG$ but at the beginning of the G:atter Prosperi ty of BuddhismG$ those designs su h as dragons or flowers be ame the symbols of B odhisattva and Buddha's ostumes" #n other words$ the attires of those sa red figur es in the G:atter Prosperity of BuddhismG were modeled after the fashion of those of Tubo aristo rats 'plate 19-" #n the se ond pla e$ Buddha's nimbus serves as another lue to elu idate the relation ship between the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery and Dunhuang Tubo-bran h art" The ri h styles of Buddha's nimbus in the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery apparently reveal the onne tion with numerous art s hools$ and one of them is the i nheritan e of Buddha's nimbus style from Dunhuang Thubo-bran h art" 2imple and ele gant$ the early style differs stri&ingly from the new Pala style prevalent in gTsang in the 11th entury" Chara teristi ally H-shaped$ the aureole behind the head and the s emi- ir ular nimbus behind the body form the halo of the Buddha in the early period" Composed of numbers of olorful lines$ the aureole and the nimbus are without de or ations" This &ind of halo seems very un onventional in Dunhuang murals$ whose aureole is typi ally round" #n the mid-Tang Dynasty$ floral designs of many &inds were also p ainted in its interior$ ma&ing the halo remar&ably magnifi ent and ompli ated" Thus$ t he Buddha's halo in Tubo-bran h art seems simpler ' ompare the designs in the Dunh uang Buddha's halo with those of the Tubo-bran h art$ see plate 11 and 18-$ and a ase in point is the halos of the Buddha of #nfinite :ight and Buddha's 7ight 2piritual 2ons on the main wall of @ulin /rotto 0o"8?" #n the shrines of Dra-thang Monastery$ there are two paintings on ea h side of the main wall 'altogether +-$ and the Buddh a's halo '2a&yamuni- in the entre of ea h painting learly resembles that of @ulin /r otto 0o"8? 'refer to plate 18-" #n addition$ the marble lions below the throne of the Buddha of #nfinite :ight on the main wall of @ulin /rotto 0o"8? are also similar in style$ even in form and e!pressive te hni>ues$ to a pair of lions whi h are loo&ing ba & at ea h other$ rubbing their ear s and s rat hing their hee&s below the throne of the Buddha in ea h painting in Dr a-thang Monastery" :ions arranged below the throne were initiated in the Tubo Aing dom" Hnder the eaves of the main hall of gTsug-lag-Ahang$ over a hundred pairs of lions are aligned" Those sa red sites$ bearing lose politi al$ religious and ultural ties with the Tubo Aingdom$ have su h auspi ious animals as pre ious lions or white lions" 1or instan e$ the well-&nown lion s ulptures standing heroi ally before the Tibetan Ai ng Tombs$ the pre ious lions in front of b2amyas Monastery$ a pair of lions in front of Tubo 0oble Tombs in Dulan$ 3inghai Provin e and the stone lions on sTan-ma Cliff of Chab-mdo of eastern Tibet and liff s ulptures in 4en heng Prin ess Temple in @ ulshu" #t is evident that pre ious lions were >uite a distinguishing sub.e t matter durin g the Tubo Aingdom$ and the geographi al distribution of those auspi ious lions indi a tes that the worship of white lions not only prevails in gTsang$ but also in Tubo-o upied areas$ su h as eastern Tibet$ ,-mdo and Dunhuang in He!i" However$ apropos to the form of the lions$ the murals in @ulin /rotto most resemble those in Dra-than g Monastery" Plate ? Bairo ama$ the mural on the eastern wall of @ulin /rotto 0o"8? 'the mid-Tan

g DynastyTherefore$ it is >uite lear that the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery have inh erited the tradition of Dunhuang Tubo-bran h murals" '###,part from the inheritan e of the similarities in style of Duhuang Tubo-bran h art$ t he wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery also absorbed some Han-style elements in patterns$ whi h is obviously the result of the e! hanges between different ultures" ,rranged verti ally among the flowers below the throne on the right lower part of t he main wall in the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery is a group of well-&nown G,ttendants in Tang DressG" 4ith round aureole and mysterious gestures$ the four a ttendants are brightly dressed with rowns and e!>uisite headgears" 6bviously$ they differ from most attendants in Dra-thang Monastery% 1- some of the figures are tur ning sideways whi h is rarely seen in the murals 'three >uarters of the images are f a ing front-< 8- their top&nots as well as the rowns are also distinguished from tho se of other attendants in the paintings< =- their lo ation is somewhat spe ial$ that is$ they are standing below the throne among flowers where usually only two noble lion s are seen$ while the attendants in other paintings are usually put in the orner" 2om e resear hers infer that those stri&ing differen es indi ate that those stri&ing differ en es indi ate that they are not ordinary attendants 'see plate 1=-$ but more li&ely the builders of the monastery+ 'if it is true$ one of them should be /rags-pa-a-gs hegs the founder of Dra-thang Monastery-" Fust as the phrase G,ttendants in Tang DressG we use defines$ those four figures have a lot in ommon with the attendants in the murals in Dunhuang" Their lu!ury attire$ e!>uisite headgears and even the roun d aureoles may remind us of the paintings on sil& loth in Dunhuang's Thousand-Buddh a Cave" #n addition$ the designs on the nimbus and aureoles in the wall paintings of Dr a-thang Monastery are also similar to those in 3o o and Dunhuang along the 2il& 5oa d" The remains of Buddha$ the embossed design of the nimbus$ flame designs and s r oll designs on the walls of the shrine$ and parti ularly the ellipti flame designs of th e guardian deities on both sides near the eastern door of the shrine of Dra-thang M onastery an be found in the murals of Bo;i&eli&e /rottoes of an ient 3o o and Dun hunag as well" Besides the spe ifi images$ the ensemble of the figures in the wall paintings also poi nts to the influen e of the Han art" 4e've noti ed that the figures in the wall painti ngs of Dra-thang Monastery an be lassified as at least of two types$ whi h show two distin tive artisti traditions" The manifestation of the nonnative deities su h as Buddha and Boddhisattvas usually follows the #ndian Pala artisti tradition$ while Tibe tan artists will hoose different ways of e!pression for those religious figures su h as eminent mon&s$ leaders and Buddhist saints" The wide-sleeved and elegant-pleate d robes and the drawing of hair and beard all re on ile with the Han artisti traditio n$ and this e!plains why Mi hael Henss$ a /erman s holar$ laims in his arti le that B uddhist mon&s in the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery have GChinese fa esG?$ while Mr" 2u Bai believes that the paintings are mostly influen ed by the hinterland*"

Plate * Tubo bTsan-po Paying Homage to Buddha$the mural in Mogao /rotto 0o"1?E 'the mid-Tang Dynasty s&et h drawing#t is no doubt that the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery have been influen ed b y the painting art in the hinterland$ however$ the >uestion is whether this phenomena was an isolated one in gTsang in the 11th enturyI Though the relevant ar haeologi al materials are limited$ it is definite that the phenomenon is not isolated" The Tibetan Cultural 5eli s 2urvey Team 'also the Tibetan ,r haeologi al Team- mad e a tour to investigate the #wang '7-4am- Temple in Aang-dmar County$ gTsang ar ea in 1EE9 and it found some remains of the early statues in this remote small templ e" :ater in the investigation's report$ the Team pointed out that the statues showed some reminis en es of Gthe 0orthern 4ei to TangG style of the Central Plains$ and d ated the statues on the main hall ba & to the Tang Dynasty( 'see plate 1+-" #t happ ens that the #talian s holar Tu i drew the same on lusion about the main hall after he ondu ted a survey on the #wang Temple half a entury ago" He held that Han art had delivered a lear impa t on the statues" 2urprisingly$ though the Chinese ,r haeo logi al Team and Tu i$ fifty years later$ oin idently formed the same .udgment on the style$ they held totally different opinions on dating" Tu i onsidered that the st atues bearing Han-style should be the remains of the 2a-&ya Period in the @uan Dy nasty)$ and it seemed to him that it was none other than in the 2a-&ya 5egime Peri od that the Han influen e was able to permeate in Tibet" Tibetan ,r haeologi al Tea m's dating appears to have been attributed to the early Tang Dynasty while Tu i's later to the @uan Dynasty$ but the premise of their .udgment if probably the same" 1rom Tu i's standpoint$ dBus-sTsang between the 11th and 18th entury 'the Cent ral Plains during the 2ong Dynasty- was unli&ely to be affe ted by Han art" #n other words$ the Tang Dynasty 'the Team's on lusion- and the @uan Dynasty 'Tu i's on lusion- were both able to see the in-fluen e of the Han art$ but not the 2ong Dyna sty" However$ we are ertain that the statues in the #wang Temple in Ahang-dmar C ounty$ gTsang area are indeed the artisti reli s of the 2ong Dynasty$ and the s hol ars have onfirmed their date as in around 19=9 ,D after ondu ting a thorough res ear h and areful studyE" #n addition to the #wang Temple$ there were still a number of temples whose styles w ere identi al to those statues in the #wang Temple in the 11th entury" Based on Tu i's two investigations in the 1E=9s and +9s$ the style of the statues in those an ie nt monasteries$ su h asr/ya-vbur Monastery$ rTse-g0as-b;a' Monastery and Fo-n ang Monastery in gTsang was a ombination of Pala and Central ,sian artisti styles$ whi h appeared in the early G:atter Prosperity of BuddhismG" 4estern s holars ons ider the style prevalent in gTsang in the 11h entury as the very Pala-Cen-tral ,si an artisti style$ whi h is the mainstream we've seen in the wall paintings of Dra-th ang Monastery" Besides this$ the statues of 1our Heavenly Aings preserved in m0ye s-thang Monastery lo ated in the western suburbs of :hasa are of the purer Tang style% the Aing embra ing pipa '+-stringed Chinese lute- are stately but not severe$ loo&ing very pleasant and &indly against the auspi ious louds" m0yes-thang Monaster y used to be the pla e where ,tisha resided and passed away$ therefore it be ame renowned" #f the statues in the main hall of the #wang Temple bearing the hara teris ti s of Gthe 0orthern 4ei to TangG style an be rated as representative reli s of Ti

betan paintings of the early 11th entury$ and those of 1our Heavenly Aings in m0ye s-thang Monastery as the wor&s of the mid-11th entury$ then the wall paintings o f ,ttendants in Tang Dress$ with mysterious e!pressions$ an be regarded as the le ga y of the late 11th entury" ,pparently$ the abovementioned three groups more o r less had the elements of the Tang style$ whi h ontinued in gTsang fine arts throu ghout the 11th entury" #ts oe!isten e with the Tang style should not be negle ted$ that is$ the Tang style$ .ust li&e the early #ndian Pala style$ is not that pure" #t has undergone some developments$ so it is more a variant than a transplant of the Tang style itself" Though it stri&es some people as familiar$ it is not the original" This prob ably results in ompli ating the omparison between it and Dunhuang art" ,dditionally$ the statues in the #wang Temple and the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery are the produ t of >uite a mature art$ so are the statues of 1ur Heavenly Aings in m0y es-thang Monastery" Plate ( Bodhisattua's top&not in the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monaster y The wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery have provo&ed new thoughts$ and we ma y understand them as follows% 1- 6bviously$ the Buddhist art in dBus-gTsang in the 11th Han art< entury was affe ted by

8- #ts influen e permeated deep enough to mingle with Tibetan art$ whi h formed a h armony of the two< =- Dated prior to the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery$ it is not diffi ult to id entify this art as of a type initiated in the early 11th entury$ at least in the 1989s$ and in vogue throughout the entire entury< +- The religious art of this period is learly the earliest artisti reli s of the :atter Prosperity of Buddhism found in the dBus-gTsang region" Fudging from the areas of its popularity and the periods of produ tion$ both tally well with the time and s ope of the :ower-5oute Prea hing religious a tivities aiming at reviving Buddhism in dbu s-gTsang advo ated by Alu-mes Tshul-&hrims-shes-rab19 2o far as Dra-thang Monastery is on erned$ it belongs to the system of :ower-5 oute Prea hing$ whose founder /rags-pa-a-gshegs is Alu-mes Tshul-Ahrims-2hesrab's dis iple$ and Dra-thang Monatery is one of the G1our 2a red 2itesG or Alu-me s Tshul-Ahrims-2hes-rab se t11" #t is well &nown that all :ower-5oute Prea hing a dvo ated by ten figures in luding Alu-mes Tshul-Ahrims-2hes-rab has played an ess ential role in dBus-gTsang and even in the revival of Buddhist ulture during the :at ter Prosperity of Buddhism in Tibet" However$ in the religious art reli s transmitted by Alu-mes Tshul-Ahrims-2hes-rab$ a lear indi ation of the influen e of Han art h as been found$ providing us with due noti e that our previous belief on erning the in fluen e of Han art oming into e!isten e after the @uan Dynasty 'this point of view omes mainly from the 4est- re>uires re tifi ation" 4e've mentioned that the Tibeta

n Cultural 5eli s 2urvey Team and the #talian Tibetologist Tu i happened to oin ide in su essively leaving out the 11th entury when dating the statues in #wang Temple$ be ause a traditional on lusion indi ates that during the hundred or two hundred ye ars 'the mid Eth to the mid-11th entury- in the wa&e of the ollapse of the Tubo Aingdom$ separatist Tibet had no onta t with the 0orthern 2ong Court" 6ffi ial re ords in the 1ive Dynasties and the 0orthern 2ong had no mention of dBus-gTsang$ a nd the ontemporary Tibetan histori al materials only overed religions" The Tang Dy nasty witnessed the ;enith of Han-Tubo ultural e! hanges as the result of their fr e>uent onta ts at the interval of wars" 7ver sin e then$ the ultural e! hanges bet ween ethni groups of Han and Tubo '3iang and Mongolian- be ame all the more fre> uent in 4estern Jia and the @uan Dynasty" 4hen Tibet was in orporated into the te rritory of China in the @uan Dynasty$ their politi al$ e onomi and ultural e! hanges be ame further enhan ed" However$ the 0orthern 2ong appeared a wea& period for the Tibetan-Han ultural fusion18$ though the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery have afforded new valuable eviden e on the study of ethni relations" '#BThe onne tion between the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery and Dunhuang art is lear$ but not without ontroversy and time dis repan ies" The ontroversy lies in the fa t that the orresponden e fails in time and pla e" /eographi ally$ Dra-thang Monastery is lo ated in the entre of dBus-gTsang$ however$ its paintings have inhe rited the artisti tradition of Tubo-bran h art of Tubo-o upied Dunhuang" Fudging from time$ the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery were the produ t of Buddhist revival in dBus-gTsang in the 0orthern 2ong '19 to 11th entury-< while Dunhuang Tu bo-bran h art$ 1?9 years earlier$ was a ultural phenomenon in a spe ifi period dur ing the )th and Eth entury" #n the mid-Eth entury in parti ular$ Tubo Aingdom olla psed and its politi al and military power retreated from the northwestern areas to d Bus-gTsng$ whi h had remained separated for >uite a long time$ and there was no si gn of any onta t with Dunhuang" Therefore$ as for the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery$ the onne tion between Dunhuang Tubo-bran h art in the Tang Dynasty and the Han art of the 0orthern 2ong ould hardly be determined" The sophisti ating relationship between the two is of e! eptional perple!ity$ whi h an only be solved b y way of a Tibetan word GBoddang-bod- hen-poG$ appearing in the Tubo Dynasty" :iterally$ it appears to be a ompound word with two meanings$ but it a tually was a omplete new one in the later Tubo Aingdom$ meaning Gthe Tubo 5egimeG1= GBodGst ands for Tubo itself$ while GBod- hen-poG refers to the areas o upied by Tubo in the mid-Tang Dynasty$ and both of them omprised the Tubo 5egime around the Eth entury" Plate ) Bron;e statue of 2rong-btsan-sgam-po 'the otrown on the top&n

The word GBodG is what Tibetans all themselves$ and it has en.oyed a long history$ while the word GBod- hen-poG ame into being at the beginning of the mid-Tang Dy nasty$ or rather$ after the Tubo o upied :ongyou and the northwestern areas$ su h as the 4estern 5egions" The Tubo Aingdom began to rise in the early Tang Dynast

y and rea hed its pinna le in the mid-Tang Dynasty$ and the word GBod-dang-bodhen-poG 'see Dunhuang Tubo Manus ripts- thereafter was used for the Tubo Aingdo m" The word is not only dire t but also lear$ ombining the two omponents of Tub o-GBodG and GBod- hen-poG both geographi ally and ulturally" #n short$ the former refers solely to the present Tibet$ while the latter to the areas o upied by Tubo" Master Bu-ston$ a man of immense erudition on gTsang in the 1+th entury$ also elu idated the differen e between GBodG and GBod- hen-poG% the former refers to the areas$ su h as dBus-gTsang and m0gavris$ and the latter to hu-stod$ Chab-mdo a nd ,-mdo$ namely mDo-&hams1+" #t needs pointing out that GBod- hen-poG in the mi d-Tang Dynasty was larger than what Master Bu-ston ever des ribed" #n Master B u-ston's understanding$ the word was a geographi on ept in the @uan Dynasty$ w hi h$ in fa t$ in luded &hams$ and ,-mdo" However it on e also ontained :ongyou$ H e!i and the 4estern 5egions in the heyday of Tubo Aingdom" This hange in on ept refle ts the growth and de line of Tibetan ultural sphere throughout the mid-and-l ate Tang Dynasty$ the 0orthern 2ong$ 2outhern 2ong and the @uan Dynasty" #t is not diffi ult to find in su h Tibetan histori al materials as Dunhuang Tubo Manus ripts that GBodG and GBod- hen-poG were employed during the Tubo period to mea n different areas" 4hat is more important is that the two are distinguished from ea h other in e onomi system$ military establishment and ultural features$ espe ially in ethni elements" The Tubos mainly inhabited the area of GBodG while those in GBodhen-poG were >uite mi!ed sin e the area was ontrolled by Tubo military strength"GT a&ing the advantage of the ,n :ushan-2hi 2iming 5ebellion$ the Tubo o upied the H e!i Corridor and :ongyou$ abandoning millions of Chinese into the hands of the Tubos" The Tang Court sent an envoy to the 4estern 5egions in the year of Aai heng ')=* ,D-$ noti ing those ounties$ su h as /an;hou$ :iang;hou$ /ua;hou and 2ha;hou$ rem ained as what they used to be" 2eeing the Tang emissary$ people aptured by the T ubos in the year of Tianbao '(+8 ,D- all lined up on both sides of the street to wel ome him and as&ed% '4hether the 7mperor still remembers us people fallen into the h ands of the TubosI' The offspring of those people arried a sense of differen es w hen they tal&ed$ however their lothing remained un hangedG1?" The number of Han p eople among the lo als in the area of GBod- hen-poG was onsiderable$ let alone the 3iang aboriginals 'from Hehuang and He!i-$ and there was still a large portion of Tog u; and Mongols from the 4estern 5egions" 4hen the Tubo Aingdom fell$ its politi al s trength was greatly wea&ened and its influen e shran& ba & to the entre of dBusgTsang$ with the ore GBodG separated" However$ large numbers of Tubo survivors were still living in the vast areas of 3inghai$ /ansu and the borderlands of 2haan!i a nd 0ing!ia after the Tubo politi al and military power withdrew from the northwest" 2u h a situation ontinued to the late Tang Dynasty$ the 1ive Dynasties and 0orther n 2ong and 2outhern 2ong" plate E Cir le pattern on the attire of the bron;e statue of 2rong-btsa n-sgam-po Thus$ it an be seen from this analysis that two ultural spheres were in e!isten e i n the late Tubo Dynasty 'the late )th entury to the mid-Eth entury-" Fust as ther

e were two different geographi on epts$ GBodG and GBod- hen-poG$ the religious ulture and religious art in two areas more or less developed parallel with ea h othe r% one is the Buddhist fine arts in dBus-gTsang$ the other is that in Tubo-o upied He!i and :ongyou-they were related but different from ea h other" ,long the route of Chab-mdo of 7astern Tibet to the ,-mdo-He!i Corridor$ the south of the 2il& 5 oad$ Tubo-bran h art was undoubtedly influen ed by the art of dBus-gTsang" Mean while$ it was unavoidably affe ted by the lo al artisti tradition in te hni>ues$ even i n on ept" #t was parti ularly influen ed by Dunhuang He!i traditional art with its pro found and ri h ulture" Hen e$ from the very beginning$ Tubo-bran h art appeared ulturally dualisti or multi hara ter in this area$ as did its religious ulture" ,s is re vealed in The Tablet in /uang 5en Chan Monastery of Min;hou in the late 11th entu ry$ the Buddhism prevalent in that area was a somewhat mysterious mi!ture of the h interland Ken and Tibetan pra ti es1*$ and its religious ulture also appeared stri&ingl y diversified" The Tubo's reign over Dunhuang lasted less than seventy years$ howev er its art already showed diversity" #t is worth mentioning the spe ial role that Dunhuang has played" 4e've learned that most areas of GBod- hen-poG$ su h as Chab-mdo of eastern Tibet$ @u-shu's&ye-r gu-mdo- in 3inghai and the He!i Corridor$ are pla es where Tibetan$ Han and 3iang ultures intermingle with ea h other$ and whose religious ulture more or less &eeps ertain ties with Dunhuang" ,G 2il& 5oadG ran through most parts of GBod- hen-poG in Tubo Aingdom" #n the late )th entury$ the G2il& 5oadG traversing from the east to the west hanged its ourse to Hehuang$ and onne ted the old route of Tubo$ be o ming a losed trade road within the area" Dunhuang and 2han;hou along this road wer e towns of strategi importan e for Tubo politi al power$ and also pla es under spe ial attention by the Tubo military aristo rats" They played indispensable roles in boo sting the e onomi and ultural ties a ross the whole GBod- hen-poG areas" ,n outs tanding e!ample is that Ahotan along the 5oad was engaged in intimate ties with Dun huang from the late Tang Dynasty to the 0orthern 2ong" The Buddhist murals in 3o o 'in Bo;i&eli&e /rottos- at the west end of the 2il& 5oad$ and the murals in the ro & ave of old Chan monastery in 2han;hou of Hehuang at the south end$ during the 1 9th to 11th enturies$ showed the impa t of Dunhuang Buddhist art" 4hen visiting th e Beishan Temple 'originally named Bei han Temple in the 0orthern 2ong$ and now be oming a Taoist Temple- in Jining$ 3inghai Provin e$ # found the remains of some mural s of the 2ong Dynasty in a ro & ave on the ba & hill$ whose style was apparently onsistent with the artisti style of the 0orthern 2ong in He!i Corridor" Jining City ' alled 2han;hou in the Tang Dynasty and 3ingtang City in the 0orthern 2ong- served a s the ultural entre of Tubo in the northwest" , ording to 5e ord of 3ingtang$ it was a highly prosperous Buddhist ity$ and Gthe 3ingtang 5iver in the west of the i ty flowed into the Kong 5iver" Beyond the river$ Buddhist monasteries e!tended five or si! li '1 liL9"*81+ mile-$ surrounded by ridged hills" , house of over a thousand-b ay was built for a giant statue oated with gold$ and a thirteen-storey pagoda was also ere ted to guard it""" People lived in board houses$ while in those tiled houses fo r Buddha people ould hant their 2utras""" Half of the houses in the ity were for B uddha and only the main hall and the residen e for Buddha were tiled"""G Plate 19 Patterns of ostumes worn by the statue of Bodhisattva in #w

ang Temple #n the mid-Eth entury$ the Tubo royal houses banned Buddhism in dBus-gTsang$ and severe damage was wrea&ed upon Buddhism with the ollapse of the Tubo Aingdom" H owever$ areas free from the Tubo politi al and military ontrol were still seeing the development of Buddhist ulture< a good e!ample was the developed Buddhist ulture in areas inhabited by the Tubos in /ansu and 3inghai" #n other words$ of the two Bud dhist ultures in the Tubo Aingdom$ one in dBus-gTsang bro&e up while the other on tinued to develop" , entury later$ when Buddhism was revived in dBus-gTsang and m0gav-ris$ the :ower-5oute Prea hing in dBus-gTsang resumed in ,-mdo to see& i ts origin and tradition" The omplete reed$ Buddhist organi;ation$ religious developme nt modes and the ontents as well as the forms of its religious ulture were all re>ui red to be relearned at the early G:atter Prosperity of BuddhismG in dBus-gTsang" H en e$ the :ower-5oute Prea hing$ advo ated by the ten figures in luding Alu-mes T shul-Ahrims-shes-rab$ was the very period when dBus-gTsang and Tubo in /ansu a nd 3inghai resumed their relationship$ and what they had brought ba & was more than some Buddhist on epts and mon&s" #t is &nown that :ower-5oute Prea hing originat ed in an ient GDandiG$ 3inghai$ so did the related religious ulture" ,s Tibetan religiou s s holar Taa-ra-naa-tha in the Ming Dynasty points out in The 6rigin and Develop ment of 5eligion in 0yangg-yul Han and Tibetan ultures were ongenial there1($ and the lo al religion and ulture indeed refle ted the dual nature of Tubo ulture in the northwest" Plate 11 Murals of the Tang Dynasty in Mogao /rotto 'Bodhisattva's halo pattern,s a result$ the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery and even the entire G2amada TypeG revealed their ultural onne tions with the area of GBod- hen-poG$ and the Tubo artisti tradition that the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery had inherited was a very lo al religious art instead of the rude Tubo religious tradition of dBusgTsang 'this lin& is by now already bro&en-"Dunhuang$ based on traditional onne tions$ used to be the development and growth entre of the religious art of GBod- hen-p oG$ and the asso iation between he wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery and Dunhu ang Tubo-bran h art was displayed in the area" 4hile absorbing the elements of the original religious art of the area$ the paintings of Dra-thang Monastery also a >uire d its artisti duality or diversity" Plate 18 Buddha's halo pattern in the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monaste ry 1ormed in the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty$ the religious ulture of GBod- hen-poG o ntinued to follow the Tang style in the 1ive Dynasties and the 0orthern 2ong" #n fa t$ Buddhist fine arts of the He!i Corridor remained in the style of the Tang Buddhist f ine arts lega y during the period of the 1ive Dynasties and the 0orthern 2ong 'the Dunhuang Buddhist fine arts follow the same trend-" 6n a ount of politi al and milita

ry reasons in the northwest$ espe ially the e onomi fa tor of opening up the trade of horses on the western road$ the 0orthern 2ong Court maintained an intimate relat ionship with the tribes in northwestern Tubo$ and it also enhan ed its influen e on ul ture in the northwest" However$ the art of the 0orthern 2ong did not seem to e!ert a dire t permeation into the area$ at least not on the He!i Corridor 'mainly be ause the He!i Corridor was under the ontrol of 4estern Jia after 19=*-$ but in the 0or thern 2ong$ northwestern art ontinued to maintain the Tang style" ,nd more element s of the lo al art were also seen blended into the Tang style in the pro ess of perm eation 'in other words$ the Tang style was gradually lo ali;ed$ whi h is a distinguishin g feature of the Buddhist fine arts in :ongyou and He!i-"2imilar hara teristi s were also found in Tubo Buddhist fine arts in northwest /ansu and 3inghai" 1ollowing the s ame lin& to the style of Buddhist fine arts of the early period of the G:atter Prosp erity of BuddhismG in dBus-gTsang$ we learn that the so- alled Han elements autom ati ally showed the Tang style$ and this well e!plains why the artisti reli s in dBu s-gTsang in the 11th entury that we've found show the Tang style" Plate 1= G,ttendants in Tang DressG in the wall paintings of Dra-thang Monastery Plate 1+ The damaged statues in #wang Temple ',$B-

0otes% 1 , Brief ,nalysis on the #ns ription of 0ewly-found Tubo Cliff 2 ulptures written b y Chab-spel tshe-brtan-phun-tshogs$ translated by Khamdui and Dantsin$ China Tibe tology$ Bol"1"1E))" 8 5efer to ,rmy Heller% The Cult of Bairo ana in Tibet M(?9--1899 ,"D"M, ording to Tibetan 5ituals from Dunhuang Manus ripts and ,rtisti 5epresentations" 5efer to , Colle tion of ,bstra t on Tibetology$ Bei.ing 2ymposium$1EE(" = /iuseppe Tu i made a se ond investigation in Dra-thang Mongastery in 1E+E and raised the viewpoint in his wor&s in 1E?*" 5efer to , Hni>ue Treasure of 7arly Tibet an ,rt% The 7leventh Century 4all Paintings of Dra-thang Monastery" By Mi hael Hen ss" 6rientation$ Bol 8?"0o"*$ Fune"1EE+"5efer to 7arly Temples of entral Tibet" By 5 oberto Bitaly"1EE9 :ondon" +"?" 2ee , Hni>ue Treasure of 7arly Tibetan ,rt% The 7leventh Century 4all Painting s of Dra-thang Monastery" By Mi hael Henss" 6rientation$ Bol 8?" 0o"*$Fune"$1EE+" *" 5efer to ,r haeologi al 2tudies on Tibetan Buddhism Monasteries" By 2u Bai$ Cult

ural 5eli s Publisheng House$1EE*" ("The 5e ords of Cultural 5eli s in @adong 'gro-mo-$ Ahang-mar$ /amba and Dinggy e 'gting-s&yes- Counties ompiled by the Tibetan Bureau of Cultural 5eli s$ Tibetan People's Publishing House$1EE8$ p?(-*1" ,lso refer to #nvestigation 5eport on the #w ang Temple in the Ahang-mar County by Tibetan ,r haeologi al Team in ,r haeologi al 2tudies on 2outhern 7thni Minorities$ 0o"+ .ointly published by the Tibetan Bureau of Cultural 5eli s and 2i huan Hniversity" )" /iuseppe Tu i% /yantse and #ts Monasteries$ #0D6-T#B7T$ Bol"+$ p1=)"

E",propos of this issue$ #talian s holar 5oberto Bitaly has elaborated in his wor&s 7a rly Temples of Central Tibet"1EE9 :ondon" Tibetan ,r haeologi al Team released two investigation reports in 1EE8 and #nvestigation 5eport on the lwang Temple in the Ah ang-mar County printed in ,r haeologi al 2tudies on 2outhern 7thni Minorities$ 0o"+ sponsored by the Bureau together with the History Department of 2i huan Hniversity also agrees that part of the buildings in the Temple were set up in the eleventh ent ury" 19" ,propos of this issue$ #talian s holar 5oberto Bitaly has elaborated in the se ond hapter in his wor&s 7arly Temples of Central Tibet"1EE9 :ondon" ,nd the author als o ondu ts a thorough analysis in the fourth hapter of her do toral dissertation 2t udies on the 4all Paintings of Dra-thang Monastery" Do uments and ar haeologi al m aterial ob.e ts are able to demonstrate that most artisti reli s in dBus-gTsang in t he twentieth till the end of the eleventh entury were related with the prea hing a tivities advo ated by the ten figures in luding Alu-mes-Tshul-Ahrims-shes-rab in d Bus-gTsang$ and they were the religious artisti remains of :ower-5oute Prea hing" 11"Blue ,nnals$ translated by /uo He>ing$ pp ?9-*=" 18" , multitude of histori al materials on erning the intera tion between the 0orthe rn 2ong Court and Tubo is re orded in history of the 2ong" 2ome s holars hold that Han and Tibetan en.oyed a fre>uent ultural e! hanges during the period of the 0ort hern 2ong$ but$ Tubo in the history of the 2ong is Tubo in the northwest /ansu and 3inghai or rather$ those Tubo tribes left in the northwest by the Tubo 5egime su h as the Tubos in the He!i Corridor and :ongyou$ instead of those in dBus-gTsang" 2o me well&nown northwestern Tubo governments during the 19th and 11th enturies we re in :iang;hou$ namely$ :iugubu and /yalse" 1="# got the e!planation of the word from Mr" 4u.un when # went to Jining in 1EEE$ and was enlightened immediately" 1+" Pramanavartti&a$ Bu-ston 5in- hen-grub$ refer to Biography of Bla- hen-d/on gs-pa-rab-gsal$ Tshe-tan-;habs-drung$ Tibet 5esear h Bol"1$1E)(" 1?" Biography of Tubo$ ,nnals of 1ive Dynasties$ Bol"1=) 1*" G2in e Buddhism was introdu ed to the 3iangs in the western areas$ they often ounted the number of people in their tribes so as to hoose those >ualified to atte

nd Buddha to perform the wor&" Those people hanted 2ans&rit Palm :eaves 2utra" 7ven though with some mista&es and ambiguous pronun iation$ they herished good wil l in their hearts$ .ust li&e never- easing waterfall running to the valleys" 2ome other s$ however$ gathering enough provisions in autumn and winter$ remained indoors and p ra ti ed in meditation" 7ven though some of them were indeed wise and reasonable$ t hey were un&nown to the world" G5efer to The Tablet in /uang 5en Chan Monastery 1(" , Chroni le of gTsang$ translated by 2he 4an;h'i$ Tibetan People's Publishing Ho use$ :hasa 1EE+" 1rom China Tibetology 'Chinese 7dition- 0o"+$8991 Translated by% Tao /eru 1rom% China Tibetology Maga;ine By% Khang @asha