• This photo feature tells how Buddhist cave tradition entered Xinjiang, translation of Buddhist scriptures, scholar Kumarajiva, Buddhist Art in Kucha. It has o/s pictures, including of Shiva and Parvati Mural in Kizil Caves, with detailed captions.

Text and Photographs by Benoy K Behl.

The tradition of Buddhist caves that originated in India travelled to Bamiyan, Kucha, Turfan and across the length of China to Dunhuang. Caves were excavated in this vast region for meditation and as retreats for monks.

In the Tarim basin, there were four main centres of art, at Miran and Khotan on the Southern Silk Route and at Kucha and Turfan on the Northern Silk Route.

The present-day Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of Northwestern China is home to many ethnic groups. It was a very active region of trade on the Silk Route, which led to a wonderful blend of cultures here. The rule over the Xinjiang region shifted between Indo-European language speaking tribes, nomads and the Chinese. The nomadic Xiongnu tribe replaced the Central Asian tribe of Yuezhi, who resided in the eastern Tarim basin in ancient times. The Chinese Han Rulers then vanquished the Xiongnu tribe, gaining control over the area in the 1^st century CE.

The Yuezhi tribe gradually migrated southward to form the Kushana Empire in present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. In these regions, they came in contact with the Indic faiths of Hinduism and Buddhism. The Gandhara and Mathura schools of art were established under their rule.

The area of rule of the Kushanas expanded in the 1^st-2^nd centuries CE to include the Tarim Basin. They established a kingdom in Kashgar* and competed with nomads and Chinese forces for control of the region. They introduced the Indian Brahmi script and Prakrit language as their language for administration.

The 2^nd century CE onwards saw an age of translation of Buddhist scriptures in Kucha. The main tradition of Buddhism which prevailed here was the Theravada. However, Kucha also produced a major translator of Mahayana Buddhist texts, Kumarajiva of the 4^th century CE. He was a person of great learning. He translated many Buddhist texts and Mahayana sutras such as the Lotus Sutra into Chinese and introduced Mahayana Buddhism in the region in a systematic manner. Other important translators of this period include Lokaksema (167-186 CE), Dharmaraksa (265-313 CE) and Bodhidharma (440-528 CE), who was the founder of the Chan (Zen) school of Buddhism.

After the 4^th century CE, Chinese monks began to travel to India. They wished to gain first-hand knowledge of Buddhism and to obtain original Indian sutras. Among the most influential and best-known Chinese pilgrims who travelled to India were Faxian (395-414 CE) and Xuanzang (629-644 CE). Xuanzang’s detailed accounts of his travels have provided much of the known historical information about his era. Besides these two, hundreds of other pilgrims also visited India in this period. The Silk Route transmission of Buddhism declined around the 7th century CE, with the rise of Islam in Central Asia.

Kumarayana, from Kashmir, was one of the greatest Buddhist teachers of the 4^th century CE in Central Asia. He became the guru of the king of Kucha and later married his daughter Princess Jiva. Their son was named Kumarajiva, after the names of the father and mother. Princess Jiva took Kumarajiva too Kashmir, the land of his father. There the young boy studied Sanskrit and Buddhist scriptures for 13 years. On their return to Kucha, Kumarajiva became very famous as the finest-ever translator of Buddhist scriptures. His fame spread far and wide and it is believed that China attacked and annexed Kucha because they were very keen to take Kumarajiva to their own court. Today, there is a beautiful modern sculpture of Kumarajiva made in front of the Kizil Caves near Kucha. There even stands a large temple which was dedicated to the white horse which Kumarajiva rode.

The Lotus Sutra and other translations of Kumarajiva remain extremely popular in China even today. Others have translated the same sutras after him, but it is said that there is a poetic quality and charm to Kumarajiva’s writings, which the later translations do not have. 

The earliest treasure-trove of Buddhist art in China is at Kucha. It was an ancient kingdom located on a branch of the Silk Route that ran along the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, in the Tarim Basin. Kucha’s geographic location made it a centre of Buddhism, as well as a key point for its spread to Central China. There are about 10 ancient sites in and around the city. These include caves at Kizil, Kumtura and Simsim.

The Kizil Caves are the best known among the monastic complexes at Kucha. 60 kilometres east of Baicheng County, the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves are made on the cliffs on the northern banks of the river Muzat, 7 kms south-east of Kizil town.

The caves at Kizil were carved from the 3^rd to 9^th centuries CE. There are 236 caves here, spread over 3 kilometres. These caves were probably painted by artists from Central Asia or even from far-away India, supported by wealthy donors and patrons. The murals in the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves are in 81 caves. These show a high quality of art. The stucco sculptures of the Kizil Caves have been largely destroyed by natural forces, over the years. Unfortunately, some sculptures and paintings have also been removed and taken abroad.

The Kizil paintings depict various Buddhist themes: the Jatakas, Avadanas, scenes from Gautama Buddha's life, figures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, musicians, donors, Hindu deities, saints and yogis.

Besides the themes themselves, other Indian elements in the Kizil paintings include the representation of apsaras and other figures, the clothing of many of the figures, the sensitive modelling of the forms and smooth blending of colours. The Kizil artists have drawn largely upon the art of Ajanta and many of the Jatakas and Avadanas depicted in Kizil correspond to those painted in the Ajanta Caves.

The Mogao Caves (at Dunhuang) are one of the most magnificent complexes of ancient Chinese Buddhist art. Around 492 caves survive, which are repositories of the artistic traditions of ancient and medieval China. These help to trace the development of Buddhism and the art of the region.

Approximately 25,000 square metres of wall paintings and more than 3,000 painted sculptures make this one of the most valuable sites of Buddhist art in the world. The paintings and sculpture reveal Chinese, Indian, Greco-Roman and Iranian influences.

The first Buddhist caves here are believed to have been founded in 366 CE. The making of the vast complex of the Mogao Caves spanned more than a thousand years, in the Early Qin, Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Xixia and Yuan periods. It was during the rule of the Tang dynasty (7^th-9^th centuries CE), that the artistic traditions at Dunhuang reached their greatest height.

Wealthy traders and important officials were the principal donors responsible for creating the caves. Caravans of traders stopped here for prayers or to give thanks for a safe journey through the treacherous wastelands to the west. These cave shrines were carved out of the gravel conglomerate of the cliffs. There are murals made inside the caves which date from the 5^th century CE onwards.

The sculptures at Dunhuang were made of clay, moulded around wooden armatures, as the gravel conglomerate would not support direct carving. (This is a tradition seen in Buddhist clay sculptures, from India till Dunhuang.) These figures were then painted.

Note location of Kasghar, Kucha,Turfan & Khotan.

Now pictures by author. Format is short caption followed by a detailed one.

1. Kizil Caves, Kucha, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. Pic by Benoy K Behl

Kucha was one of the greatest Buddhist centres in Central Asia in the first half of the First Millennium. There are 236 caves at the site of Kizil, with paintings that date from the 3^rd to 9^th centuries CE. Stylistically, they are a blend of Indian, Iranian and Chinese influences. These are among the finest early paintings that have survived in present-day China. 

2. Statue of Kumarajiva, Kizil Caves, Kucha, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.  Pic by Benoy K Behl

Kumarajiva, of the 4^th century CE, was the son of the Indian Pandit Kumarayana, the royal teacher at Kucha. He was married to Princess Jiva of Kucha and their son was named Kumarajiva, after both their names. At a very young age he was taken to Kashmir, the land of his father, to learn Sanskrit and Buddhist scriptures. He returned to Kucha to become the greatest translator of Buddhist texts into Chinese.

3. Shiva and Parvati, Mural, Kizil Caves, Kucha, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, c. 6^th Century CE, China. Pic by Benoy K Behl.

Hindu deities are commonly seen in the art of the Buddhist caves in India and across the many countries of Asia. We are reminded of the cosmopolitan culture of ancient times, when Buddhist caves and art were made in the rule of Hindu kings. Ancient inscriptions also show that the wives of Hindu kings in India quite often worshipped a Buddha or a Jaina Tirthankara.

4. Garuda, Mural, Kizil Cave 178, Kucha, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. Pic by Benoy K Behl.

From Sri Lanka and South-East Asia up to China and Mongolia, one of the favourite representations is that of Garuda, the vahana, or vehicle, of the deity Vishnu. This powerful eagle remains the national symbol of Thailand and Indonesia and is one of the popular deities in India.

5. Kizilgaha Caves, Northern Banks of River Muzat, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 3^rd-8^th Centuries CE, China. Pic by Benoy K Behl.

In the north-west of Kuqa County, in a ravine, is the site of the 47 Kizilgaha Caves. This is one of the large groups of Buddhist caves in China.

6.  Bezeklik Caves, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.  Pic by Benoy K Behl.  

The 77 Bezeklik Caves date from the 5^th to 14^th centuries CE. The site lies between the cities of Turpan and Shanshan (Loulan) to the Northeast of the Taklamakan Desert. It was on the Northern Silk Route in ancient times. 

7. Cave 64 and Others, Kumtura Caves, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 4^th-10^th Centuries CE, China. Pic by Benoy K Behl.

This site was among the first to be designated for protection as a National Historical and Cultural Site. From 1999 onwards, extensive documentation and consolidation of the conglomerate rock, from which the caves were excavated, was taken up. 

8. Mogao Caves, Near Dunhuang, 4^th-14^th Centuries CE, China. Pic by Benoy K Behl.

The Mogao Caves, also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 492 Buddhist temples. These are near Dunhuang, which was an oasis, strategically located at a crossroads on the Silk Road, in the Gansu province. 

9. Mogao Caves, Near Dunhuang, 4^th-14^th Centuries CE, China. Pic by Benoy K Behl

The 492 caves which survive at this site were made over a period of a thousand years. The first caves were excavated in 366 CE, as places of Buddhist meditation and worship. The Mogao Caves are the best known Chinese Buddhist caves.

10. Interior, Mogao Cave no. 45, Near Dunhuang, China. Pic by Benoy K Behl.

Buddhist cave art, which originated in India in the 3^rd century BCE, travelled to Bamiyan, Kucha-Kizil, Turfan and Dunhuang. Buddhist caves were excavated for meditation and as retreats for monks. The Mogao Caves are repositories of the artistic traditions of ancient and medieval China. Approximately 25,000 square meters of wall paintings and more than 3,000 painted sculptures make this one of the most valuable sites of Buddhist art.

11. Colossal Buddha, Bingling Si, Buddhist Caves on Yellow River, Gansu Province, China. Pic by Benoy K Behl.

Bingling Si is a series of natural caves and caverns in a canyon along the Yellow River, with Buddhist sculpture inside them. They lie just north of where the Yellow River empties into the Liujiaxia Reservoir, in Gansu province, some 100 kms Southeast of Lanzhou. The caves were sculpted over a period of more than a millennium, beginning around 420 CE.

12. Parinirvana, Bingling Si, Gansu Province, China. Pic by Benoy K Behl.

The theme of the Parinirvana was first seen in the caves of Ajanta in Western India, in the 5^th century CE. The sculpture at Bingling Si reflects the movement of Buddhist art on the Silk Route, between Bamiyan and Eastern China.

To read all articles by author Benoy K Behl

To see albums of Buddhist Monuments

To read articles on Buddha Vakhya  

Also read

1. The Tarim Basin in Xinkiang was Kashmir’s twin by Subhash Kak

2. Buddhist sites in Xinjiang

3. How China became such so bigg – “The Xinjiang region came under Mongol rule and was fully Islamicised by the 14^th century. Later, the Qing dynasty overthrew its rulers and conquered the area in the 18^th century (1759).”

4. Scholar Pilgrims from India to China

5. When did Xinjiang become part of China