An Attempt To Identify and Classify Scenes With A Central Buddha Depicted On Ceilings of Qizil

An Attempt to Identify and Classify Scenes with a Central Buddha Depicted on Ceilings of the Kyzil Caves (Former Kingdom
of Kutcha, Central Asia) Author(s): Emmanuelle Lesbre Source: Artibus Asiae, Vol. 61, No. 2 (2001), pp. 305-352 Published by: Artibus Asiae Publishers Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3249912 . Accessed: 24/03/2013 11:57
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EMMANUELLE
LESBRE
AN ATTEMPT TO IDENTIFY AND CLASSIFYSCENES WITH A CENTRAL BUDDHA DEPICTED ON CEILINGS OF THE KYZIL CAVES (FORMER KINGDOM OF KUTCHA, CENTRAL ASIA)
I.
INTRODUCTION
This Asiankingdomof Kutcha(ca. knowntodayof theformer Central tantBuddhistsanctuary Ist-IIth
partofpaintingsin the Kyzilcaves- themostimporstudyis devotedto the leastunderstood
scenescharacterized It will attemptto identityandclassifythe smalllozenge-shaped by the century). whicharedepictedon the vaultedceilingsof most Kyzilcaves centralpatternof the sitting Buddha, Lives to worship.Thosescenespresideovera fewjatakascenes- or scenesof the Previous dedicated to bottomrowsof the vaults,andformally of the motifof of the Buddha- usuallyrelegated deprived The ceilingson whichtheyaredepictedmaytherefore be calledthe "mixed the centralBuddha. ceilto ceilingsdecorated Thedecorpaintedon ceilings onlywith "previous ings,"asopposed lives"scenes. to fit in the vaultedarchitecture of the worshipcaveswasspeciallyconceived of the caveshrines,and in wallpaintings in Kutcha, of traditionally builtmonasteries suchasDuldur-Aqur havenoequivalent fromwhichonly a few fragments weresaved,thanksto Pelliot., or Subachi, sceneshavebeenidentified sincethe return of European Whereas fromChiexplorers mostjdtaka in the West has been devotedto sceneswith a nese Turkestan duringthe I9Ios,-little scholarship
Letme thankChenShiliang,director of the Research Instituteof the Kutchan who kindlywelcomedme in Kyzil, Caves, I andallowedthe necessary to be taken for this am also for photographs study. grateful MaShichang's help andsketches, andforG. Pinault's kind advice. I the regionof Kutchafrom Pelliotexplored to September 1907.Unfortunately, January partof his diaryhasbeenlost, his on the caves. For the monasteries of and seeS. Gaulier, M. Hallade, including reports Kyzil Duldur-Aqur Subachi, Paul Pelliot,Koutcha and L. Courtois,Mission construits (text),EditionsRecherche IV: Temples sur les civilisations PaulPelliot, Koutcha III:Temples construADPF,Paris,1982: 43-173,and,forthe plates,L. Hambis(chiefed.), Mission its (plates), Paris,1967;DuldurAqur:pls. A-C, 28-45;Kyzil:pls. 269-270 and272-274. Volumeson the cavesancPaulPelliot, tuariesawaitpublication(Mission Koutcha V-VI:temples rupestres). The ChineseTurkestan hasessentially beenexplored between19o00 and 1915 andvon Le by the Prussians Grtinwedel - Dec. 19o5-Apr.1907- and4th expedition wasexplored Coq(Kutcha during3rdexpedition 1914), -June 1913-Feb. Paul theFrenchman Pelliot,the Russian in 1909-191o, S.Oldenburg, theEnglishman SirAurelStein,thoughhespent officers Tachibana andNomura,sent by Count Asia, vol. 2: 5ol-5o2) andJapanese only one day in Kyzil (Innermost Otani(1902,1908-1909, 1910,cf.J. Sugiyama, CentralAsian back the NationalMuseum, Mission, Objects Brought by Otani The narration of theseexpeditionsis summarized DevilsontheSilk Road", Tokyo,1971). by P. Hopkirkin "Foreign H. and and M. the Ancient Silk the Museumof London, Yaldiz, Routes, J. Murray, Along Metropolitan 1980, Hirtel discovered Otanimissionin I9o02, but theirnotes Art,New York,1982:24-46. Kyzilwasactually by the firstJapanese
305
centralBuddha,to which more attentionhas been paid by some Chinesescholars.Griinwedel's identification effortwasindeedmoresuccessful scenes forjataka paintedon the ceilingof cave38than forsceneswith a central Buddha paintedon themixedceilingsof caves8 and80, of whichhe provided but a formaldescription.3 The monotonous aspectof the scenesandthe few numberof hints left for the art historian's makethe task of identification difficultindeed,and undoubtedly interpretation accountforthis delayin scholarship. The lozenge-shaped sceneswith a centralBuddhadepictedon theceilingsweregenerally described as "preaching or"Buddha scenes." Yet the by Griinwedel scenes" featsof the Buddha scenes" illustrated on the caves' sidetheydepictoftendifferfromthe "preaching walls.4 illustrate assaults on the Buddha. A particular is placed, Theysometimes unfriendly emphasis I believe,on demonstrating the Buddha's overthe gods andfollowers of otherreligions, superiority on one hand,andon the act of almsgiving,on the other.Theyalso illustrateparables paintedin no otherpartof the Kyzilcavesdecors. Therefore a specialstudy. theydeserve I will concentrate on scenespaintedin representative andcomplementary ceilingsof threecavesI havecarefully in situforthispurpose: selected Before thosebarrel-vault describing nos.34,80, and171. let me recall somesignificant factsaboutthehistoryandgeography of Kyzilwithin verybriefly decors, the Kutchakingdom. KyzilandtheKutcha kingdom in detailduringthe I9Iosby the French The historyof the Kutchakingdomwastraced scholars ChaIt maybe brieflysummarized vannesandLevi.5 as follows:
weretotallylost. It wasthenexplored andLeCoq,who broughtbackmanymuralpaintextensively by Grtinwedel Someof the muralscanstill be seenin the MuseumfiirIndischeKiinstin Berlin,see Hartel, ings andmanuscripts. Malerein ausBuddhistischen H. andM.Yaldiz,DieSeidenstrasse: undPlastiken Staatlische Museen PreussisHohlentempels, cherKulturbesitz, The sceneillustratingannouncement of the BudBerlin,1987:42-64, 70-91 (Kyzilfragments). dha'sdeathto KingAjataiatru is oneof themostfamous Varsakara) (bymeansofa paintingpresented by his minister andPerformance, Chinese Picture andits IndianGenesis, ones(cf.V. Mair,Painting Recitation pl. IV). the and comments on the of the cave "der sechzehn with the 16 Compare descriptions ceiling ("cave Schwerttriger" nowcave8, andof thesouthern vaultof the "Hillentopfhahle" with the Hell-cauldron"), now sword-holders"), ("cave cave80, with thoseon thecave"mitdemMusikerchor" with the Choirof Musicians"), nowcave38,in A. Grtin("cave in Chinesisch-Turkistan, wedel,Altbuddhistische GeorgReimer,Berlin,1912:53-57,95-97, 65-75.E. WaldKultstatten Livesscenesto caves17,178,114, aswell asto caveswith mixedceilingsno. 8, schmidtextended studyof the Previous Die buddhistische in Mittelasien, andE.Waldschmidt, Berlin,1922-23, 7 vol., 80, 198-199, and206 (A. Lecoq Spatantike undandere vol. 6: 9-24, 42-62). SeealsoYaldiz'ssynthesis,M. Yaldiz:43-79 ("Jdtakas NakanoTeruo, Legenden"); of the Previous Livesin Kyzil'sMuralsbelongingto the Second "Kijiru hekigadai niki no honjozu"(Illustrations shi 104 (1978):112-126; and Yao Shihong'srecentclassification, which includesa usefultable Foundation), Bijutsu the illustrated in Kyzil), extendedto 40 caves,"Kezi'erfobensheng (A classification of jataka-scenes gushihua ticaizhonglei" the tablebeingon p. 122. YaoShihong:61-135, aregivenforsome18cavesbetweenthe German Concordances andthe names,PelliotandOtani'sclassifications, Monuments d'Asie A. Maisonneuve, Chinese modern count,whichI use,in M. Maillard, Centrale, Paris,1983: 279-280. tablegiven in Su Bai,vol. 3:21o-212. Seealsothe moreexhaustive havelisted 62 episodesforall the caveson the Lifeof the The Chinese archaeologists Ding MingyiandMaShichang andendingwith the Distribution shikude Buddha,startingfromthePrediction oftherelics. ofDipamkara Cf. "Kezi'er in in the Life of the Buddha the Su vol. fozhuan bihua" (Paintings illustrating KyzilCaves) Bai...: I: 218-219. Seealso Yaldiz:79-87 ("DieBuddha Legende").
306
Becauseof its strategicsituationon commercial highwayswhich linked Indiaand the Western wasoverrun andKashgar, worldwith the Chineseempire,Kutcha,situatedmidwaybetweenTurfan BanChaoin 88) A.D.(a raidby General betweenthe Istcentury timesby the Chinese militarilyseveral movedinto Kutchanterriof Anxi (anxiduhufu) andthe 7thcentury,whenthe Chineseprotectorate Kum rajiva the Kutchan tory(658).6 In 383,General LiiGuangabducted one (35o-4o9), whobecame Kutchawas then an important of ChineseBuddhistscriptures.7 of the greatesttranslators religious as well as Indianmissionaries one until the 7th century,attracting andculturalcenterandremained in diffusing Chinesepilgrims, includingthe most famous,Xuanzang(6o2-664). Its contribution followedtheChitheEastwasessential." towards Buddhism In 698andagainin 791,Tibetaninvasions Islamcompletedthe ruinof Kutcha,which was mentionedfor the nesedomination.Subsequently, in Io96. last time in the Chinese History (Songshi) knowntoday.Fromits painted Buddhist Kutchan With its 236caves,Kyzilis thelargest sanctuary artitself,it rankshigherthanits neighbors Kirich)(fig. I). As faras its' own Kumtura, (Kyzil-Gaha, the middleof the 7th of Kyzilaround scholars is concerned, agreein datingthe decadence chronology of the of Anxi into Kutcha.Patronage to the entryof the Chinese protectorate corresponding century, forSuvarnapuspa (reigned618-624), Kyzil cavesby the kings of Kutchahaslatelybeenascertained of the in the of his portraitas a donor cave69.9However, earlychronology thanksto identification
5 to Songshi) andalso, records basedon the Chinesehistorical is essentially reconstitution This historical (fromHanshu in A. Stein "Ancient translated "Chinese on the Koutchan 544(on the texts, cf. E. Chavannes, Documents" Khotan": chinois,"T'oung pao,1905:216-245(on the conquestled by BanChao); generaux campaignof Lii Guang); "Trois srie XI-II (Sept-Oct.1913): S. Levi,"Letokharien B, languede Koutcha," journalAsiatique, 323-80. in Chinesehistorical is to the Chinese mentioned of manytributesbetween224 and630 by Kutcha empire Payment loaded thevisit of anenvoyof theking of Kutcha(Niruimozhunasheng), TheHistory reports ofthe Liang Dynasty records. The TangHistory mentionsa first with objectsof art,duringthe secondyearin the reignof Putong(52o-527),i.e., 521. Asianorigin(from Gaozu(LiYuan)wasenthroned visit the yearEmperor (618).He washimselfof central diplomatic It a in also mentions tribute of horses the west of in the of Gansu). broughtto Chinaduring region Longxi, Chengji, and the fourthyearof the Zhenyuan reign,i.e., 630, to his successor, Taizong(LiShimin),cf.Jiu tangshu, j. 198:5303 S. Levi,(asabove): 348,367. mentionsI,ooo stupasandtemples,as well as a royalpalaceso beautifulthat General The History oftheJin Dynasty a satirical of the Previous Qin (350-94),felt the needto order pieceof poetry LiiGuang,sentby the lordof the dynasty in the History on it (cf.S. Levi,S. [asabove]: 334,citing the noteon LiiGuang's campaign, reported ofthejinDynasty). in translating the Buddhistscriptures into Chinesefromas earlyas the 3rdcenKutchans seemto haveparticipated assuchbytheChinese andcontemporary of theWei Emperor BoYan,named sources Cao(254-26o), tury.Forinstance, indicatesthat he probably wasa memberof the royalfamilyof Kutcha.SeeChusanzang maybe quoted.His surname in Su Bai, vol III:272. 2 Xu of the Eventsrelatingto Kucha"), shiji"("Chronology Wanyin,"quici jiji, j. quotedby of Dhamaraksa, A. Howardalso mentionsBo Yuanxinand Bo Faju,assistants who was a contemporary of theJin in I also have been descendants of the same clan. Wudi do not believe (died However, 304). Theymay royal Emperor that theirKutchanidentityshouldimply earlydatesfor the Kyzil caves,as Howardhassuggested(A. Howard,"In forthe Kizil MuralPaintings," Archives ofAsianArt, XVIV [1991], supportof a new Chronology p. 81). As for the Indianmissionaries, in Chinesethe Dirghagama 384-417),who translated Buddhayafas (Fotuoyeshe, school(theSifenlu), andDharmamitra (Tanmomiduo, (Chang ahan jing) andthe monasticrulesof the Dharmagupta from both be The Chinese monksSengchun andTanchong cameto Kutcha Kashmir, 356-442), coming may quoted. in 379,andSengjing,leadingan expeditionof IOmen in the year400. in the circular Thenameandthe royalstatusinscribed halosurrounding the headof the king, paintedwith his spouse on the upperwesternsectionof the wall now close to the entrance, weredeciphered by G. Pinaultin 1994(see the
307
betweenthe 3rd and6th centuries. Thisissuehasbeen varying Kyzilcavesis still a matterof discussion, on comparison basedessentially in detail by Howard.On groundsof stylisticarguments addressed with the earlyChinese caves,shebelievesthatKyzil's earlycavesdatebackto the 4thcen-Dunhuang SuBaiandHuo Xuchu,mainly with viewsadvanced Shethusagrees archaeologists by Chinese tury.1o the contradictory detailsof whichwill be reviewed basedon CI4 measurements, brieflyat the end of this studyforthe threecavesinvolved., and betweenthe presenttownsof Kuche(67 km southeast) on the Muzart Situated river,halfway whichlinked road commercial Baicheng (6o kmwest)I (fig.I), Kyzil'sexactpositionon theNorthern the ChineseEmpirewith the Indianworldis alsodebated,althoughit now seemstakenforgranted was a very importantpass at the beginningof the ChineseTang that its neighbor,Duldur-aqur, caves thanthe Kumtura thattheKyzilcavesaremuchlesssinicized It shouldbe emphasized dynasty.3's locatedonly 2o km east,next to the pass.Thisgives the Kyzilcavesa purerKutchanstyle andidentity.I4 at the beginningof this whichhadbeenremoved by explorers Apartfromthe muralfragments, exhauscavesof Kyzil.Fairly in the roughly80 worship manypaintingshavebeenpreserved century, in China, whichareofgreathelpin identifying beenpublished haverecently tive colorcatalogs paintessento Westernpublications, in situ.Theyconstitutea usefulcomplement ings not yet understood of the century.15 duringthe firsttwo decades tiallybasedon paintingsremoved
on the haloe vol. I, whereinscriptions [Murals nohekiga in Minami,Shinkyo Tokyo,1981, of Xinjiang], reproduction with the kings andHaripuspa, andhis twosonsSuvarnadeva arestill visible).Fordetailson identifyingSuvarnapuspa see Levi:311-21. of Kutchamentionedin the History oftheTangDynasty, as no. 67) a list of donors havealsofoundin the cave"withthe reddome"(nowclassified The German explorers It seemsthat the namesof King andhis son Suvarnadeva. includinga queenandsix kings includingSuvarnapuspa werewrittenon panelsof the muralpaintingstakenawayfromcave2o5(formerly TottikaandQueenSwayamprabha Huo Xuchu as in note 3: 114; or fromcave224 (cf. M. Maillard, of the secondfoundation") of Mdya calledthe "cave to R. Jera-Bezard, that of Suvarnapuspa, and WangJianli:21).The reign of Tottikaprobably according preceded au muse la conserves documents koutchenne de de divers region Koutcha, in Sites (Mission P. Pelliot, "Avant-propos" epigraphie la Bibliotheque are andSuvarnadeva VIII.However, documents eta* Guimet VIII): Suvarnapuspa Nationale, archeologiques the only kings of Kuchawho havebeenpreciselyidentifiedso farin the Chinesehistorythat enableddating their reigns. of a newChronoalsotendedto defendthis opinion.Cf.A. Howard,"InSupport A. Soper,L.Hambis,andRowland IO 2 Archives ofAsianArt, XLIV(1991):69, 81,notes to 4. Fora briefreviewof the logy forthe KyzilMuralPaintings," Problems. see discussions, "Dating infra chronological tansuo" dechubu wenti shikubufen Studyof the 11 Cf. Su Bai, "Kezi'er (Preliminary deng huafen yu niandai dongku jieduan Classification by periodsandof the questionof the datingsof someof the cavesin Kyzil)in Su Bai,vol. I:10-23, and Huo XuchuandWangJianli:1-30. The fromKumtura East)on theMouzart. 12 Kyzil(82u3o' East)is situated upstream North/4IU43' (82u40o' North/4IU47' in Maillard (asin note 3):map4 ("lessitesde la regionde Kutcha"). is incorrect locationof Kumtura off roadsbranched has recentlybeen identifiedas an importantpassfromwhich manycommercial 13 Duldur-Aqur the pass wenti anxizhejueguan ("Concerning the West, cf. Wang Binghua,"Tang towards yanjiu" guzhibingyouguan 10-19. Xibeishidi1987/3: Zhejuein the regionof Anxiunderthe Tang"), Instituteof the Kutchan caves,is alsoworkingon this issueof geogra14 ChenShiliang,now in chargeof the Research wenhua in Qiucifojiao foside yanjiu," SteinandPelliot'sviews(cf "Qiuci lunji,Xinphy,wherehe citesandcriticizes 61-65). jiangmeishusheying,Urumqi,1993:
308
caves andtheirceilings Theworship asworshipcaves,asopposedto cavesdestinedto medA thirdof the Kyzilcaveshavebeenidentified a itation,habitation, religiousteaching,or bookstoring.Some5Iof these8o cavesweredug around as in Indiancaves.This architectural traditionallowsthe succespillarusedforcircumambulation,6 the mainchamber, and the rearcella behindthe pillar.Because sion of the antechamber, of erosion, most antechambers havecollapsed.Princelydonors,bodhisattvas, teachingscenes,as well as other werepaintedon sidewalls of the mainchambers, eventsof the life of the Buddha whichhavemostsufferedfromthe Muslimiconoclasm, because of theirlow position.The rearcellaof the cavesandcorto the nirvana of the Buddha. ridorsleadingto it weremost oftendedicated The high positionof the mainchambers' them.Theyweredecorated ceilingshashelpedpreserve with a largenumber of scenespaintedwithin lozenge-shaped frames with stylizedmoundelineated tainpeaks.Thesepaintedmountaindecorsrecallthe motifssculptedin clayandpaintedwhichoften surround the nichedug in the circumambulation wasplaced. pillar,in whicha statueof the Buddha excavated shrines. Thelozengescenespaintedon the ceilTheyaretypicalof Buddhistartin Kutchan believedto belongto the mostancientcaves,arereling of caveII8 andceilingsof cave77'scorridors, with the prevailingthemeof meditationin a natural ativelylargein size anddecorated surrounding with animals.1 moreregular andmorenumerous on thevaultedceilingsof themain Theythenbecome chambers of caveswith centralpillars(the pillarseparates the mainchamber fromthe rearcella:it is not in the mainchamber). Theircontentis alsomorecomplex.As I havesaid,two maintypesof ceillivesof the Buddha aredepicted, ings canbe distinguished: ceilings,whereonlythe former thejdtaka and the "mixedceilings,"wherea largenumberof scenes(Goto 78) appear. Thesearecharacterized by the patternof a sitting Buddhaplacedin the centerpresidingovera fewjatakascenes,generally situatedon the bottomrow.,'Thisarrangement resembles the ndtaka apparently copiesfoundin Kyzil
earlier 15 The recentseriesareDuanWenjie(chiefed.):3 vol. andSu Bai:3 vol. Theycomplement bookssuchas Griinwedel'salready mentioned Altbuddhistische in Chinesisch Turkistan (asin note3):37-181 A. GriinKultstitten ("Qyzyl"), Klinkardt & Biermann wedel,Alt-Kutscha, Berlin,192o, vol. II: 57sq.;E. Waldschmidt, Gandhara, Kutscha/Turfan, Histoire et Civilisation, collectionorientalede I'ImVerlag,Leipzig,1925: 49-78; L. Hambis(ed.), L'AsieCentrale, primerieNationale,Paris,1977:212-215 and pls. 55,105,111-112,II5-11-6,118, 120, 130,134,I42, I44, 146-149, 153; M. Bussagli,Lapeinture del'AsieCentrale, Zentral in Skira,Geneva, 1963:71-85;M. Yaldiz:17-98;B. Rowland, Asien, "Kunst derWelt"series,Holle Verlag,Baden-Baden, 8: "Serindien: die ritterliche Kunstvon (chapter 197o:155-182 Kuchaund Kyzil"); (asin note 2):pls. 10-15.The exhibitioncatalogues alsoought to be mentioned: Jiro Sugiyama H. Hairtel and M. Yaldiz(as in note 2): pls. 9-41; andJ. Gies and M. Cohen(chiefeds.),Serinde, Terre de Bouddha,
R.M.N., Paris, 1995:cat. 79-81, 16I-I62, 168, 186, 191,193.
16 An alcoveis usuallydug in thispillar,to installa sculpture oroccasionally apaintingof the Buddha. Apartfromthese the other caves a have or were to a hold statue caves, worship square (Ma plan designed large Shichang: 5I I74-I75). called"thecavewith the hippocampi," consistsof a rectangular 17 CaveII8,which the Germans cella,widerthanit is deep.It is situatedat the northof the valleywhichdividesthe Kyzilsite in two parts,west andeast.Lessthanhalfof the vaultdecorremains, the othersectionhavingbeencarried at the beginningof the century. It awayby Griinwedel is nowkeptat the Museumin Berlin(cf.SuBai:vol. II, pls. Io, 151, andGriinwedel (asin note3):lo7-1o8 (paint154 E. Waldschmidt,Gandhara, Klinkhardt & Biermann ing copiedafter); Verlag,Leipzig,1925: Taf. Kutscha/Turfan, For cave see Su vol. and 37). Bai, 77, II, pls. 20-22, 150, I51 Grtinwede 192. 18 This is a generaldivision.Oneshouldalsomentionillustration in caves69 and178of somemonastic rules,as in a few of the central Buddha scenes,deprived pattern,placedamonga greatnumberof jdtakascenes.See Yao Shihong: shu hua" (An gushi Insightinto the Scenesof Monastic "L'e Kezi'erjield disciplinepaintedin Kyzil). I37-I43:
309
- a sort of narrativedesigned for public performance,based on the previous lives and feats of the Buddha - unfortunately,hardly translatedat all.x9 scenes with a central Buddha Lozenge In these numerousscenes, in which the repetitive motif of the Buddhaconfersa certainmonotony, the Buddha is representedseated on a rectangularthrone, most often topped by a stylized bodhi tree in full bloom or by a st xpa.He generally sits with legs crossedin meditative position or occasionallywith legs down. He wearsa monastic robewith his right shoulderuncovered.He is painted slightly off center, so that more space is left to depict subsidiary figures or animals, generally concentrated on one side of the lozenge. These peripheralelements are alternativelyplaced on the right or left side of the Buddha. Lessthan in the Gandharancarvedpanels, they arethe only indications that may permit precise identification of the scene. The presence of the seated Buddha under the tree of awakening no longer automatically indicates a teaching scene or a "friendly"relationship between the Buddha and his faithful disciples. It may also be associatedwith assaultsagainst the Buddha or with his subduing the heretics - episodes which Foucheridentified more readilyin panels showing a standing Buddha. o Whereas more than half of the 130jdtaka scenes representedon the ceiling vaults of the painted caves at Kyzil have been identified and listed cave by cave," fewer than one third of the scenes with a central Buddha has been identified. No complete inventory of these caves or of individual scenes painted on vaults of their main chambershas been undertaken.At best, identification has been proposed for part of the scenes in some of these caves. Ma Shichang and Yao Shihong are the first scholars, to my knowledge, who have involved themselves in the difficult task of identifying these scenes, whom I shall quote in the footnotes. One may regret, however, that they exclusively referto the Chinese Buddhist scriptures,without mentioning the Indian Art precedentsor Kutchan epigraphypublished in Europe.of with the oldestcopiesof the Indiantheatreknowntoday,fragments in the Kyzil library, altogether 19 Discovered both music scenic indications. and contain of and an alternation show thesendtaka Encompassing prose verse, copies who alteredhis voice andpantomime,they servedas a basisforpublicperformances by a single narrator, produced to suit the indigenous and narrative form of This the characters. to distracting changeable performance, according written in Btexts".Suchplay-scripts or Chinese"transformation of the "chantefables" audience,is the ancestor bianandthe Chinese anintermediary Tokharian (orKuchan step betweenthe Indianprototype represent language) HarV. and in Lalies7 (1989): auTokharien," wen.Cf.G. Pinault,"Introduction Texts, Mair,TangTransformation I9, theatriof the "Great translation summarized vardUniversityPress,Cambridge (Mass.), departure" I989.Pinault's ancient canbe foundin GiesandCohen(eds.,asin noteI1):cat.35.Themost calscriptwrittenin B-Tokharian scripts werestudiedbyH. Liiders, in Kyzil.Thesanskrit werealsodiscovered onBuddhism, based of Indian fragments drama, in Kleine Sansrittexte buddhistischer Wiesbaden, I, GeorgReimer,Berlin,1911, Dramen," "Bruchstiicke I979 reprint: 1-69. of aggression described Foucher: assault, maybe cited,suchas infra,otherexamples 479 sq. In additionto the Mara's 2o a sword,andalso the secondfull lozengescenein the 3rdrowof caveI7I'swesternvault, in whicha manbrandishes the thirdscenein the 2ndrowon the eastern side, in whicha manseemsto dumpa plateof stonesonto the Buddha (cf. DuanWenjie,vol. I: pls. 183and185). 122. 21 YaoShihong: caveI7IL to identifyabout30 of about80 scenespaintedon the ceilingof the bestpreserved hasproposed 22 MaShichang This includedthejdtakascenes.He hasalsoproposed identifyingisolatedscenespaintedon the vaultedceilingsin
310
usesthe conceptof When dealingwith scenesof the vaultswith a centralBuddha,MaShichang hasbeenusedto translate wordyinyuan the Chinese stories.'However, gushi- or 'cause-effect yinyuan of theBuddhist to eitherof the 6th or IIth categories thusreferring andnidana, words thesanskrit avaddna the lozengesceneswith a cenwhichhasbeenusedto describe The definitionof avaddna, scriptures. featsof the Buddha, as extraordinary be understood as it mayvariously tralBuddha,is itselfunclear, vera lateSanskrit ForLeonFeer,whotranslated orevenaspredictions. orparables,jatakas metaphors relationan avaddna into French, sion of the AvaddnaSataka storymainlyimpliesa cause-and-effect of events elementsuggestingthe representation shipbetweentwo tales.23 However, thereis no formal than link betweenthe scenesdepictedon the Kyzilcaveceilings.Rather bypairsorsomesortof causal andtryingto guesswhichtaleshavebeendepicted,it might conceptofavaddna usingthe ambiguous evokedby the paintedscenes to simplyattemptto identifythe storiesormetaphors be morerelevant themselves. a identified hasnevertheless frameofyinyuan Within this vagueconceptual stories,MaShichang Buddhaor numberof lozengesceneswith a centralBuddhaas episodesin the life of the awakened 24 director of the Research YaoShihong,a former content(piyu). asscenesof metaphorical occasionally Instituteon the KutchanCaves(in Kyzil),hasdevotedan originalandconvincingstudyof sceneson His studyshowstheseteachingsof illustrateparables. the ceilings of Kyzil caveswhich specifically Yet to occupyan important the Buddha basedon parables placeon ceilingsof the typestudiedhere.25 of a single scenemayvarycompletely,dependingon whetherone expectsto disthe interpretation ThusI will addmy own insightsto the life or a parable. coverin it a knownepisodeof the Buddha's seemfounded. of scenesforwhichprioridentification presentation or"preaching andeffectstories," "Buddha Instead of thevagueconcepts scenes, of"cause scenes," I will proposethreethematicalcategories- subduing,almsgiving,and parables -, deducedfrom with "mixed To conductthis studyamongthe 25cavesdecorated observation. empirical ceilings,"'6
caves8, 38, 80, IoI, I63, I75,2o5,and 224. SeeMa Shichang: piyu 198-212, andYao Shihong,"Jieshao ji zhong kezi'er in the KyzilCaves): of a few Paintingsof Parables YaoShihong: (Presentation gushihua" 144-157. cent dusanskrit du MuseeGuimet,vol. 18),E. Leroux, L.Feer, (Annales (bouddhiques) Avaddna-(ataka, lMgendes traduites IX. Hohogirin, fasc.1(1929): with the definition: d'ungenrelitteraire ou l'acte Paris,189i,introduction: 9 agrees "nom a est rapporte andgives two Chinesetranslations parcomparaison un episodede sonpasse," presentd'unpersonnage fortheSanskrit,piyu, andchuyao, "shed Soothillgivesanevenbroader definition: light,"whereas "comparison," "paraillustrations. stories, bles,metaphors, Ma Shichang's concentrated on studyof paintingsin vaultsof the main shuoshi paper(equiv.to M.A., unpublished) a binaryclassification andbackchambers of the caveswith a centralpillarin Kyzil. He proposed forlozengescenes: - effectstories" on one hand,andthoseillustrating"cause thosewhich illustrated on bensheng) jdtakastories(lingge the other.In the midstof this last category, rather he still identified a few scenes of Ma Cf. defined, vaguely parables. scenes" (asin note 3:95:"Buddhapredikten") wasusedby the 179-212.Grtinwedel's Shichang: conceptof"preaching M. Maillard, French scholars S. Gaulier, andR. Jera-Bezard, Buddhism in Afghanistan andCentral Asia(Series Iconographyof Religions,section7, fasc.14),Brill, Leiden,I976:8. YaoShihong:I44-157. well preserved. The cavesareno. 8, 34, 58,63, 25 cavespresentsimilarvaultedmixeddecor,which is still relatively
80, 98, Ioo, 101, O104,163, 171, 172, 175, 179, 184, 186, 188, 192, 193, 196, 199, 20zo5, 206, 219, 224, agreeing with Ma
23
24
25 26
Shichang's list, from which we have deducted cave no. 38, which is special in that it alternatively presents rows of jdtaka scenes together with scenes depicting the life of the Buddha. It deserves a classificationof its own. A close exam-
311
I have chosen the best preservedand complementaryscenes of ceilings in caves 34, 80, and I7I, with a particularfocus on cave 34, which has been overlookedto date. Formaldescription of mixedceilingsat caves34, 8o, and 171 These three gather almost all subjects representedin the "mixed"ceilings: cave 34- (formerly called "thecave with the Meditating Sungod"by the Germans, because the painting at the top of the vault cave 80 (formerlycalled "thecave with the Hell cauldron"),and portraysSuryasitting on a chariot27), cave I7I1. Cave 34 is situated at the western end of the site close to the "cloisterwith stairs"(cave 36), identified by the Germans(fig. 2).z8 The scenes depicted in cave 34 are the most lavish and least hieratic ones, which form a useful complement to those of the better-known caves I7I and 80. The position of peripheralelements varies:in cave 34, from one row to the next (fig. 3-4), whereas the alternation takes place from one section of the vault to the other in cave 8o, or from one scene to the next in cave 171,29 located east of the gorge (fig. 2). Some zz sceneshaveremainedentirelypreservedon the easternsection of cave34, but only 14scenes on the western section (fig. 4), of which the lower part has collapsed. The erosion has been more severe at the southernextremity of the ceiling in the main chamberthan in the two other caves. Close examination of the ceiling shows that the detail of the complexion has been applied only on the two lower rows, at least as far as the preservedeasternsection is concerned(fig. 3a).3OIt seems that the painting of the scenes was not finished. The decorativemotif usually painted on top of the Buddha is lacking, except for two scenes on the easternsection of the vault. In one of them, situated in the middle of the fifth row (starting from the top of the vault), one can see the top of a stf pa, adornedwith garlands,onto variousparts of which the same monogram has been inscribed(fig. 3a). These inscriptions, written on variousparts of the figures or elements of the scenes, may referto either the colors to be applied or to abbreviationsof the painters'names31, which would suggest that decorationof the vaulted ceiling was assumed by a team, with certainpainters told to apply this or that color or to figures'complexions.32 Whereas the western side section of the barrel-vaultceiling in cave 80 is almost completely collapsed, the easternside is relatively well preserved.This allows counting 39 scenes with a seated Buddha, spreadover six rows of six or seven lozenges.33 As for cave 34, the initial number of scenes with a central Buddha may have been 78, if one expects both sides of the vault to have been arrangedwith a similar alternation of rows of six and seven scenes per row.
andcave88 (cf. omittedaccidentally by MaShichang, ination,led in situ,madeus addcave34, whichwasprobably MaShichang: 199). (as Grtinwedel in note3):62 and33,fig. 67. (asin note3):39, fig.79. Griinwedel It consistsof The painterhasbrokenthis principleonly in ordernot to infringeon the ruleof generalcomposition. andvicerow of the the extreme on situated of the in the case left on the the right lozenges figure setting secondary versa.cf. Su Bai,vol. II:pls. 5and8. Cf. Su Bai,vol. I: pls. 78 and80. documents in situandphotographic his ownobservation is proposed Thishypothesis by G. Pinault,afterconfronting to him. whichI presented Cf. SuBai,vol. II: pls. 78-81. Cf. SuBai,vol. II:pls. 53.
27 28
29
30 31 32 33
31I
In comparison, the vaulted ceiling of cave 171is the best preservedof the three caves. Exceptions are the last row, which has been cut, and wherevermeditating Brahmans,monks, or the SaSajataka (placed in the center of the row) are depicted, just as on the barrel-vaultsof caves 34 and 80.34Both sides of the vault contain 30 scenes eachwith a centralBuddha, equally spreadover five rows, and there is usually a single figure standing on either side of the sitting Buddha. The bodhi tree is repeatedly evoked on top of the halo surrounding the Buddha, and one or two birds are depicted standing on its blossoming flowers. The colors used as backgroundsare about the same in the three caves, but they are richer in caves 34 and 171;only in the latter has the red ochre not faded.
2.
SPECIFICATION OF TYPOLOGY Whereas events of the life of the Buddha representedon side-walls include episodes of the youth of Gautama, those depicted in the vaulted ceilings' lozenges seem to concentrateon the later life of the Master after his awakening. The predominant arrangementof the jatakas on the bottom row of the vault suggest a chronological reading from the bottom row up to the top row. But since this arrangement is not general, and as long as we do not know exactly the sources that determined this iconographicalprogram,a thematic breakdownof scenesis preferableto an attempt to reconstitutea chronological sequence. In fact, as Foucherremarked,the Buddhist scripturesshow much divergence in the chronological succession of events in the later biography of the Awakened, to which new legendary episodes have been added. The majority of scenes depicted may be grouped thematically into three categories. The first consists of the Buddha'sdemonstrationof superiorityover his adversaries, gods, or religious chiefs, whom he convertsor subdues, peacefully or violently. The second centerson gifts or almsgiving (ddnain Sanskrit) which constitutes one of the six virtues encouraged by Buddhism, illustrated in numerous The third group includes the Buddha'sparables,or metaphoricalteachings, accordavaddnastories.35 ing to the category established by Yao Shihong. Thesuperiority and conversions of Buddha,subduings Buddhist literature abounds with picturesque examples illustrating the superiority of its hero over diverse divinities or over competing sectarians.The Kutchan epigraphy suggests that a cult centered on commemorating the Buddha's superiority over the gods was practiced in Kutcha's monasteries. Indeed, Paul Pelliot discoveredthe fragmentof a hymn proclaiming the Buddha'ssuperiorityat a comin whicha pigeonor harecommitssuicidein orderto warmandfeedan ascetic,is one of the most 34 The asa-jadtaka, illustratedPreviousLives,both on jatakaceilings and in "mixed" frequently ceilings. Thejatakawith the hareis at the centerof the lowerrowin the eastern sectionof ceilingsin eachof caves34,80, andI7I, depictedapproximately - organkhapdla-jataka cf. Su Bai, vol. I: pl. 78, vol. II:pl. 53,vol. III:pl 5. In cave80, the sacrifice of the snake-king - is represented at the left endof the vault'ssouthern side.Thegasa-jdtaka of thepigeonis alsounusually paintedon the upperrowof the vault'snorthern side (seeLecoqandWaldschmidt(asin note 3),vol. 6: 58,figs.19o0, wherethe caveis mistaken,6o, andzo5;Su Bai,vol. II:pl. 64). 35 Rewards forliberality the Buddha toward orotherreligiousmendicants, aswell aspunishments forreluctance to give almspervade (Feeras quotedabove). throughthe avaddnaSataka
313
to be identifiable, Toofragmentary this hymn crossroad munication onlyI5km awayin Duldur-Aqur.

contains a list of gods over which the Buddha had been victorious, among them Mara, followed by the
A similarfragment and Surya,as well as the ndgadivinities,Upaldlaand Bhima.36 yaksasAtavaka

of Sanskrit text praising the Buddha as a converter was in the same region. It too mentions the subduing of the yaksa Atavaka, the snake-king Apalala, the angry elephant of Rajagrha, and the heretic
of the The scenesevokedbelowmay havebeen relatedto such proclamations killer Afigulimala.37 overthe gods. Buddha's superiority i. The subduingof Mara wasvictoriof the gods overwhomthe sageof the clanof Sakya The firstandthe most important wallsof the scenespaintedon the mainwallsoron lateral the god of desire.Several ouswasMara,
Kyzil caves illustrate the various assaults of Mara, including the attempted seduction by his daughters.38 The scene can be only schematic in the reduced space of ceiling lozenges: in cave 80, charac-
in teristicfeatures permitidentifyingthevillain:his greenskinandpointedears,the hairdressed pigtailsgatheredon top of his skull. He attacksthe Buddhaarmedwith a javelinthat he holds
with both hands, the right foot raised (fifth scene on the second row; fig.
5).39
In contrast to cave 80, Mara has a halo over his head in cave 171.40 He sits on a throne comparable to that of the Buddha, but smaller, and has four arms: the two upper arms seem to want to hit the Buddha with a lance pointed at him, while the lower arms hold a weapon lying on his thighs. In this way, the two moments of aggression and subduing of the god are represented simultaneously.4I sanskrits de Haute list no. 1116) (findno. 882,provisional quotedin B. Pauly,"Fragments 36 Cf. the Pelliot fragment de texteen prosesurles proclamations du Bouddha en I'honneur Asie(Mission Pelliot),no. XII: 'hymne Sakyamuni; of the Indian an be indigenousadaptation vol. 248 (g196o): superiorit'," 52o-521). Upalalamay JournalAsiatique, life (Divyavadidna, late in the Buddha's quotedin Foucher: Apalala,the subduingof whom is said to haveoccurred to scenes have which listed were divinities Other next, paintedon the might helped identify probably figs.270-275). vaults. asthatof the fieryhair,tremblingtongue,teeth,and aregivenin thesefragments, of the subdued 37 Simpledescriptions fromRajagrha the bloodyelephant fromHimalaya, snakeApalala the fire-spitting (likelyto eyeslike sunof Atavaka; "thekillerof one as mentionedfurther andAjatasatru, be the one sent by Devadatta down,p. 21),andAhigulimala, SanStotras aus ostturkistanischen Buddhistische thousand people"aboutto kill his own mother.See D. Schlingloff, of the conBuddhas" derBekehrungen G: "Preis [Praise Berlin,1955: skrittexten, Akademie-Verlag, lo1-1o5(fragment verting-Buddha]). on the largelunettepanelplaced Assault ThisscenedepictingMdira's 38 Thosein caveIio areamongthe mostbeautiful. cf. of the at the visible was still the vaulted under century, Hambis(asin note I5):fig.146 beginning ceiling, right - LeCoq).The rectangular lateralscenesstill visible todayincludeMdara's daughters' attempted (MissionGriinwedel in cave Assault be Mara's of Two other vol. Su andtheir seduction may quoted, (cf. examples punishment II:pl. IIy). Bai, leftof thewalloppositeto theentrance). in cave92 (very andprobably 80 (rightwall,cf.SuBai,vol. II:pl. 51) damaged, 39 Cf. SuBai,vol. II:pl. 57. with the a laterdeviation,compared to incarnate a figuresupposed evil;it is probably 40 This haloseemsto contradict thereis a blue figurepaintedon the vaultin cave80. In cave34,in a sceneof whichonlythe upperpartremains, Mara of a halois the absence to relates If this it. below head is A human an arch. Assault, painted figuredrawing Mdira's justified.
314
amidscenes is alsoillustrated The subduingof two divinitiesbelongingto theyaksas category situatednextto the theSubduing with a seatedBuddha. oftheOgre-of-the-Waste-land, Theyconcern
previous one, in cave 171 (extreme left of the fourth row in the eastern section), and that of his fel-
low creature, (caveI71'seastern depictedin moreworldlyfeatures Hariti,the mother-of-demons, sectionvault,in the fourthsceneof the secondrow),42 andalsodepictedin caves 34 and80. Xuanof bothof thesetwo of the subduings monuments thathe hadvisitedcommemorative zangreports theirreputed of abandoning of food,in exchange gods43,to whoma commonritualoffering yakdsa
cannibalism was perpetuated in Buddhist monasteries.44 Thanks to her function as a child giver and the exoticism of her legend,45 Hariti was nevertheless to acquire a higher reputation in China than that ofAtakava, who was to become the General-of-the-Waste-land.46
2. The subduingof the ogreAtavaka of low caste,the ogre with a simpleloinclothlike Indians Depictedwith a nakedchestandcovered a younginfantto the Buddhawho holdsit in bothhands,his left kneeon the ground.A presents
halo emphasizes his status as a god (fig. 6). The similarity to the Gandhtran reliefs47 suggests the identification of Atavaka48, who is specifically named on the indigenous list proclaiming the superiority of the Buddha mentioned above.49 with its equivalentin the scenesituatedat the extremeleft of the upperrowon 41 This Marafiguremay be compared In the westernside of cave224'svault. it the villain,with a greenskin,alsohasfourarms.Bothpairsof armsarebusy to dumpa plateof stonesfromabove(cf. Su Bai,vol. III:pl. attackingthe Buddha,the two upperarmsthreatening the side.A youngman, me scene makes This last 142). paintedin the secondrowof caveI7I'seastern question point - with a plateof stones.I questionif this is not the Buddhain the samefashion depictedin shortdressin it, threatens asbelievedby MaShichang: thanDevadatta's Assault a continuation of Mdra's Assault, scene,rather 2o3. 42 Cf. SuBai,vol. III:pl. 5. at the stupathatcommemorated the conversion out in the 7th century werestill beingcarried ofHariti,sit43 Sacrifices The text is not clearas to the preciselocation andVaroucha. betweenPkalavati somewhere uatedin the Gandhara, of the strpasof Brahma Cf. andIndra." of the stupa,whichis specified only by the distanceof "co li to the northwest surlescontres S.Julien,Memoires occidentales, vol. I:119-I22. locatednorthof the 44 Xuanzangclaimsto haveseen a stupamorethan 30 li eastof the templeof the god Narayana, a a the Submission the with text commemorating of demon(s) by columninscribed Ganges.It waspreceded oftheWastedeHiouen-thsang, dacidian: 6666 andS.Julien,Memoires landbytheBuddha (cf. Foguang vol. I: 381). "La and conSee E. Lesbre, 85-92;E. Lesbre, 1997/1: 45 yanjiu juanyanjiu," yanjiuI996/4:24-29, Meishu Meishu "jiebotu et interpretations ArtsAsiaversionde Hariti au Buddha: chinoises," originedu theme iconographique picturales the of Mother of Themeof note and and the (2000): Demons, 4, J. Murray, "Representations Hdriti, tiques 98, 114 55 Artibus Asiae,vol. XLIII,no. 4. (1981-1982):253-84. 'Raisingthe Alms-bowl'in ChinesePainting," the theGeneral-of-the-Wastelands in Sanskrit means demon of the whose name Atakava, 46 jungle,will become (kuangye in particular with the Fastof Waterand Earth(shuiluzhai), (cf. C. Gyss-Vermande, dajiang)in China,associated "Demons et Merveilles: vision de la naturedansune peintureliturgiquedu XVe siecle,"ArtsAsiatiques, vol. XLIII
(1988): III).
47 Cf.Foucher: figs. 252-253. 507, 511, Ma Cf. 48 Shichang: 204, fig. IO8. identifiesthe sameepisodein the sceneat the extremerightin the upperrowon the western wall in cave 49 MaShichang a man with a in and a of the black dressed short loincloth low an infantby holds skin,veryhairy, bearded, castes, 14: the hand(cf. SuBai,vol. I: pl. 44)-
315
the infant of the ogre,whohandsoverto the Buddha is the surrender Themomentrepresented talesdepictthe childaseitherthe sonof a king or ofa richmerDifferent he wasaboutto devour. chant.They describesubduings,which aremoreor less peacefulor provoked by the menaceof
Vajrapatni.5o
3. The subduingof Hariti is represented asthemother-of-demons, Theyaksini kneelingdown Hdriti,betterknownin China to implorewith herhandsjoinedin the ar-jali or seated,5' facingthe Buddha,whomshe appears of heryoungestson, afterthe disappearance a sign of herdespair gesture.Hercurlyhairis ruffled, her alms bowl, in orderto forceherto renounce andhiddenin Buddha's who hasbeencaptured activities(fig. 7).52 child-devouring for fertility,like the yaksasof pre-Buddhist A halo indicatesher role of goddess,venerated almsbowl,placedin frontof the in the Buddha's in profileasprisoner India.Her lastsonappears andjoinedhandsemergefromthe bowl. latter'sthrone.Only his head,shoulders, arealso andgandharvas of the godswhobelongto the ndgas category Finally,scenesof conversion hoodof illustratedon mixed type ceilings.Ndgadivinitiesarerecognized by the characteristic eitherthe bodyof a snakeorthatof ananthropomorphic whichsurmounts a many-headed cobra,
of the episode,see the secondpartof the story"ofthe big strongmanwho converted into French o50 Fora translation fromthe Za baozangjing extracted (T. 2o3,IV (8):97-98 (section97)),- in the gang of banditsin the desertregion," fromthe hands(of the ogre)of the Wastelands" shou), the nameof "(thesurvivor) whichthe child receives (kuangye is very of the Mulasarvastivadin vol. III:96-98. Thestoryof the vinaya etApologues, Contes cf. E. Chavannes, Cinqcent of the Tibetantranslanameof the childas Hastaka oneandgives the Sanskrit (cf. the summary closeto the previous occursin the storyof the Guanfo of the vajrapani A violentintervention dhaijing, sanmei tion in Panglung:153-154). incidents and Chinese Indian the various of the See with Samjfieya by and the ogre is confused (sanzhi). synthesis transin the Chinese 6th fascicule, R. Duquesne,'Daigensui', 1983, Hibogirin, p. 617.Note thatthe storyalsoappears - the illustratedUddnavarga, The child taken or Uddndlankara. versionof the Dhammapada lationof the northern sonof a veryrichmanfromAtavi(aluopi) (cf. Ed. Huber,biblioin it is the verybeautiful awayby theyaksa(aluopo) and the Chuyao de du "Les bas-reliefs jing, A. 461, on notice 1904, Foucher, stipa Sikri,"B.E.F.E.O., graphical p. T. 212,IV (12): 672b- 673b). scenein the secondrowof the east(fourth section)and171 5I In caves34(rightendof the thirdrowin thevault'seastern while she is seatedon the right to the left of the Buddha, ernsection),shehasherleft kneeon the groundandfigures left of fifthrow,southern section). in cave80 (extreme the Za baozang in the followingChineseBuddhistscriptures: is narrated jing, T zo3, IV (9), 492a-b, sup52 The story Indiantext by Tanyaoin 472;andthe Genbenshuo froman unidentified zashi pinaiye yiqieyoubu posedlya translation Yi translation a Chinese XXIV T. by Jing in (31): 36oc-362c, of thevinayaof theMulasarvdstivddin),1451, (Miscellany (cf. Panglung: 196).The latterversionis the most detailedandgives 695,andof whichthereis a Tibetanequivalent in Peri,"La attributes Za the whereas the goddess500oo jing children, baozang Io,ooo to her(cf. completetranslation in Murray [asin note45]:253sq.).Thisstoryis also B.E.F.E.O., mere-de-demons," 1917: 2-15,andEnglishsummaries T. 193,IV (4):82 andin theLianin the 5thcentury, writtenin verseby Baoyun in the LifeoftheBuddha summarized of T. 386,XII:1076-7. Fora synthesis in 585, translated huamian by Narendrayasas oftheFaceoftheLotus), jing (Sutra Ph. D. dissertadansl'iconographie desdimons, deHdritt,Mere La conversion the various stories,see E. Lesbre, chinoise, Arts in note (as conversion 98,114note Asiatiques 45), tion (unpublished, INALCO, 99):37-5o and"La [...]" 55(200ooo): in the Kyzilcavesis alsodiscussed Hdritl'ssubmission (fig.I). 4, wherethe sceneillustrating
316
as in the art of Gandhara.A round halo reminds the viewer of their divinfigure of noble role, s53 ity. 4. The subduing of the ndga The scene in which the Buddha is entwined in snake rings and surmounted by a canopy made of snake-headsevokes the conversion of the first ndga-king, Mucilinda, who protected the Buddha against the cold just after the breaking of his fast (cave 80, third row, fifth scene; fig. 8).54 Considering that their names are mentioned in the indigenous fragment of Thehymnofproclamations discovered by Pelliot, it is likely that the ndgasUpalala and Bhima are repreof superiority sented in other scenes depicting snakes surging out of the watersor showing an anthropomorphic na-ga figure making the a-jali greeting. Nevertheless, in the absence of more precise indigenous textual evidence, it is difficult to relate these succinct representationsto particularlegends. 5. The harp contest won at the expense of the Gandharvaking (Supriya) The subduing of the vain Gandharva king who believed that his musical talent was unsurpassable is seldom illustrated. His identification, proposed by Ma Shichang for cave I71'svault depicting the second scene in the fourth row of the western section,55 is better documented for the scene sketched aside (fig. 9)56 and situated on cave 196's eastern section ceiling in the fourth row. It portraysa man with a bare chest, dressed in a long loincloth, a halo over his head and holding a harp in his left hand, while another harp is laid on the floor in front of the Buddha. It is likely that the god holding a harp in a scene of the second row at the eastern ceiling section of cave 34 refersto the same event (fig. 9). The tale, which is illustrated, seemingly constitutes an original extension of the 'Visit of Indra' episode. It is usually identifiableon the Gandharanreliefs, by the gandharva, holding a harp,placed in front of Sakyamuni.57 This gandharva-king- named Supriyain the Avaddnaiatakaand in the Tibetan translationof the vinaya of the Milasarvdstivddin,or Shan'aiin the Chinese translationS - had seen the major events of the life of Sakyamuni, as he was Indra'sassistant, without converting. In order to lead this god of music to conversion, the Buddha, disguised as a gandharva,challenges him to a comanddressed in trousers. 53 Theyareusuallypaintedbare-chested, wearinga necklace, 54 Cf. Su Bai,vol. II:pl. 57. wearsa necklace in cave171.His halohasbeenscraped, andhis rightarmis raised, in a sign probably 55 Thegandharva of admiration. Cf. DuanWenjie,vol. I: 174,pl. 188. section'sfourthrow). 56 Cf. Su Bai,vol. III:pl. 94 (middlescenein the eastern of the scenein cave196,cf. DuanWenjie,vol. 2: pl. 57 SeeA. Foucher: 492, figs. 246-247. Fora detailedreproduction characteristic of thegandharva is visible.His hairis tied up in fourpigtailson top of 62, in whicha specifichairstyle the skull. 58 Cf. Panglung: of Miscellany of theVinaya of theMflasarvastivddin, cited, T. 1451, zoo, the Chinesetranslation already XXIV(37):395b-396c,andFeer,Avddana-(ataka: 76-79, althoughthe storyis given thereas onepartof ajdtakatale andhasan unclear cited by Foucher, the gandharva who accompanied Indrawascalled ending.In the Divyavaddna, but thereis no questionof his submission Pancasikha, is alsotold. (Foucher: 492).The storyof Supriya
317
in everyexercise, in spiteof the stringsbeinggradupetitionon the harp,in whichhe is superior Evenwithoutstrings,the harpof the Buddha fromthe instrument. a marallyremoved produces the prideof the musician velousmelody,whichovercomes king.59 The gilded legendof the Buddhashowshim victorious, not only overthe gods but alsoover to as the "heretics" or "preachers his variousspiritualcompetitors, of falsedocusuallyreferred arealsonumerous scenes thesubduing trines" There of heretics onside-walls illustrating (tirthika). The Brahmanic the chesthelpsto identifythem as of the worship-caves.60 cordthey wearacross cannotalwaysbe specified.'61 Fivesuchscenesfollowhere.The but this identification "heretics," as a particular firstis a miracleperformed demonstraby the Buddhawhichmaybe interpreted overthe heretics- variously to the different tion of his superiority sources, described, according orthe groupof Six Preachers of FalseDoctrines he belongsto, or, yet, as asNirgrantha jil-taputra mere'Brahmans.'6z fromthe fire 6. Jyotiskaresuscitated a turban sectionvault,a kneelingmanwearing At the middleof the thirdrowin cave34'seastern is surrounded to theBuddha, whilethelyingbodyofawoman achildwithhishands byflames presents formulated confirmation ofaprediction evokes thespectacular thisscene bytheBud(fig.Io).I believe of theBuddha's of anheirlonghopedforby a devotee thegender dha,concerning competitors. of FalseDoctrineshadpredictedto that manofJambuthe birthof a girl. The Six Preachers followedthe adviceof a friendandput the questionagainto the Budthe futurefather Downcast, of FalseDoctrines,drivenby jealousy him a son.The Six Preachers dha,who, in turn,promised wouldturnout to be wrongwhenthe motherwoulddeliver andby the fearthat theirprediction in orderto reverse The Buddhaintervened hera poisonedfruit,andshe died.63 the child, offered
wallsin the left gangwayof the cirscenepaintedon the lateral of a comparable mentionsthe presence 59 MaShichang in several cumambulation caves,including80, whichI havenot beenableto verify(cf. Su Bai,vol. I: 2o7, episode53 of the table). mounSumeru (in the placeof the clay-relief vaultfacingthe entrance 60 As in cave80, in the lunetteunderthe barrel vol. Su wall of caves and on the is also The scene vol. cf. Duan (cf. Bai, 14 161). right tain, presented zo7 Wenjie, II:pl. I: pl. 43). sectionandin the middleof the upperrow 61 See,forexample,scenesplacedon the left of the upperrowin the eastern in the westernsectionof cave34'svault(figs.I and2). as Subthe fatheris identified of the Vinaya andthe Tibetantranslation 62 In the Divydvaddna of theMdlasarvastivddin, to to theJainpatriarch who hasbeenassimilated a discipleof Nirgrantha-jfiatiputra contemporaneous Sakyahadra, from (A:Foucher: compilation 527,Panglung: muni,whilehis sonis called Jyotiska,'thefiery' 168-169).TheChinese - an earlyMing editionof the Shishi Conversions and this identification (Events whichI inferred shiji yinghua yuanliu (bolu10336) speaksof the "brahmans" ZhengZhenduofund,cat. Xiti shumu of theBuddha) (1425,BeijingLibrary, Chinese a based on Buddha is the this in narrated The compilation, previous omen). episode Lifeof popular thejinglu" of theMahd translation froma Chinese a corresponding wherewe findin the 45thchapter story,itselfderived yixiang, havethe meritof represutra,the Dabanniepan jing,T. 375,XII(28):788b-89a.The Chineseillustrators parinirvdna MuXueyong, in eastern the paintingof theJueyuansi, Sichuan, (see,forexample, sentingthe motheralsoresuscitated datant du Buddha vie illustree ancienne E. "Une and Lesbre, bihua, 143, episode mingdaifozhuan jueyuansi p. II2z, Jiange murales du les illustrie fonction de et sa si, au de I425(Shishi Jueyuan par peintures shiji), yinghua yuanliu module, no. 57(to be published). ArtsAsiatiques Sichuan oriental,"
318
had whenthe deadwomanwason the stake,andthe incineration viewsof the father, the mistaken the childfromthe mother's He senthis disciple,the doctor started. belly. already Jivakato extract it a the Buddha to be since was His father alive and Thechildcameout right, boy. repented proved of FalseDoctrinesandbecameconverted to the Buddha.64 the Six Preachers havingworshipped unmasked 7. The falsepregnancy The denunciationof a feigned pregnancyinvolving an adept of the tirthikas- (namedCifica in the IndianandTibetansources) is another miracle Manavika (pratihdrya) by whichtheBuddha, with her,denounces andsubdues his falselyaccused by thatwomanto havehadsexualintercourse libellousrivals.65 withouta Gandharan Cave80 showsthe most explicitillustration, A antecedent. apparently womandressed asa Kutchanis sitting on the left of the Buddha,herrighthandlaidon herbelly, fromwhichis slippinga big woodenbowl.A whitemouse,knownto be anephemeral incarnation ofIndra,fleesafterhavingchewedthe bondsthatkept the falsebelly in place(fig. 11).66 8. Conversion of the butcher A thirdepisodein whichthe Buddhaundoeshis adversaries' accusations is probably identifiable in a cave34 sceneat the secondrowof the westernsection's vault. A youngmonkkneelswith joinedhandsto the left of the Buddha. A butcher's knifelies abandonedon the groundin frontof a lying cow thatalsoseemsto be listeningto the Buddha's teachhideis depicted overtheyoungman(fig. 12).I believethisshouldindicate a butcher ing. An animal whohasgivenup hisprofession. to the Chinese translation of the Uddnavarga, theBudAccording dhapronounced some shrewdverses,showingthat he had foreseen that the hereticsplannedto slander him.Thisprompted theiracknowledgement of theBuddha's overthemselves.67 superiority 9. Thesubduing of rtgupta,thepoisoner The hereticshownto be pouringfoodinto the Buddha's bowl (middleof thirdrowat the southernsectionof cave8o'svault) seemsto evokethe subduingof Srigupta, who intendedto poison him with food.Thestoryrelates thattheBuddha andhis disciples couldeatthefoodwithoutbeing Amazedat this extraordinary hurt, thanksto a miracleof Sakyamuni. feat, Sriguptarepented. Somesources His features are presenthim as the brother-in-law ofJyotiska,mentionedabove.68
translation of the Mahaparinirvdna in whichthe mother's 63 This is the versionof the Chinese poisoningis attribszatra, uted to the HereticMasters. It seemsmoreprobable thanthat of the Divydvaddna, whichblamesthe husband. in the artofGandhara. Cf. Foucher: 64 The scenehasantecedents figs. 258-260. 527-528, in the Tibetantranslation 65 Seethe summary of the episodeincorporated in the Vinayaof theMulasarvdstivddin, Panto the Dhammapada of Feer,injournalAsiatique, series9, vol. IX, glung: 5o;and the Frenchtranslation according (1897): 288-317. 66 Cf. DuanWenjie,vol. II:pl. 17I,on the fourthsceneof the fifthrow. T. 211, IV (3):590-591(section19:"calomny"), andit canbe tracedin the 67 This episodeis relatedin the Fajupiyujing: of the Buddha, cited,Shishi shiji(EventsandConversions compilation already yuanliu yinghua episode120o). 68 The episodeis narrated firstin the scriptures relatedto the Malasarvastivadin that is the Genben school, shuoyiqieyou of Srigupta's fallin attemptto makethe Buddha bunituonamudejia: T. I452,XXIV(8):444b-445b wherethe failure
319
cordacross a barechest,the hipscovtypicallythoseof theheretics depictedat Kyzil:a Brahmanic eredwith a loinclothfallingto his knees,bearded, the hairdressed in a chignon(fig. 13).69 oftheKdayapa brothers IO.Theconversion of the Kasyapa fromUruvilva,fire-worshippers brothers with theirhair Finally,the conversion tied in a chignon(jatila), seemsto be evokedin the scenerepresented at the extremerightof the secondrowwithin the samedecorin cave80. the Buddha, andseemsreadyto spit its venom,whilea man, entwinesitselfaround a) A serpent as Srigupta,standsto the left of the Buddha,holdinga jug of waterin his left hand dressed with his righthandraisedto the sky(fig.14a). at the templeof the Ka-yapa Thesceneevokesthe subduingof a venomous brothserpent fromtheGandharan ers.Thepaintedscenefromvaultsin theKyzilcaves reliefs, slightlydiffers as the snakedirectlyentwinesthe Buddhainsteadof standinguprightnext to him.70 sectionvault(belowHa-riti) evob) The sceneat the fifthrowof cave34'seastern maybe another He is dressed asa heretic cationof the sameevent.It showsa manwith a chignonanda beard. of water(fig. I4b). I believeit mayrefer to someobjectsinto anexpanse in the actof dropping of theirobjectsof brothers the finalabandonment (or theirnephewUpasena) by the Ka-yapa threwinto a river. whichtheyeventually worship, manthe Buddha's Froma formal point of view, the scenesaboveillustratein a syntheticmanner overthe godsandheretics, of superiority ifestations depictingeitherof two moments:theyrepreis made,eitherin the act of sent the figureor divinityat the expenseof whomthe demonstration or in the followingmomentof being subdued,symbolized by the kneelingor sitting aggression of ceilingsevoke depictedon the samecategory position.It is likely thatotheractsof aggression or is still awaited above.Theiridentification to thosepresented otherfeatsof Buddha comparable
uncertain.7I and became ashamed first:lotusflowers a firepit is narrated suddenlybloomedup to let him walkon them.Srigupta is saidto haveeatenhimto forgivehim.Srigupta whobeggedtheBuddha hiswife (Jyotiska's released sister) younger Chinesetranslain the presumed selfpartof the poisonedfoodwithoutbeing hurteither.The storyis alsonarrated the Shisong has contributed, to which Kumarajiva school- a translation tion of the vinayaof the Sarvastivadin l, a a man and woman of the to those be This T. 1435, XXIII(61):464-465. narrating punishment storymay compared of Because insteadof foodinto the bowlsof religiousmendicants. who haverespectively pouredurineandexcrement 162-166 and nos. and into pretas(Feer, theirevil deed,theywerereborn 171-174). 44: Avaddna-?ataka, 41 with the middlescenein the secin Su Bai,vol. II:pls. 53and 57,maybe compared 69 The scenein cave8, reproduced to offerfood to the ond rowof the westernsectionin cave34. The heretic,seatedon a stool in cave34,also appears Buddha. in whicha ndgacomesout ofa green in SuBai,vol. II:pl. 53orthe evenmoreexplicitvariation, 70 Thescenereproduced to Foucher: be III: vol. section eastern (SuBai, 449, fig. 224. lake,in the secondrowof cave196's pl. 95)may compared with a swordor a plateof stonesin sceneslocatedin the middleof the second the Buddha 71 Menareseenthreatening andrelated elements ofcomplementary vault.Theabsence sectionof caveI71's andthirdrowsin theeastern epigraphic doesnot allowpreciseidentification. documents
320
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Fig. 3 Eastern section of ceiling vault of cave 34.
Fig. 4 Westernsectionof ceilingvaultof cave34-
SUBDUINGS AND CONVERSIONS
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Fig. 5 Subduing of Mara(cave 80).
Ma Shichang. Fig. 6 Subduing of Atavaka (cave 171); after
Fig. 8 Subduing of the ndga (cave 80); after Ma Shichang.
Fig. 7 Subduing of Hdriti (cave 34).
Fig. 9 Harp Contest with Supriya; cave 34.
Fig. Io Jyotiska resuscitated (cave 34)
Fig. 11 Cincd Manavika'sfalse pregnancy unmasked (cave 80).
Fig. 13 Subduing of Srigupta (cave 80).
Fig. 12 Conversion of the butcher (cave 34).
Fig. 14 Conversionof the Kasyapas(a: cave 80, after Ma Shichang; b: cave 34)-
ALMSGIVING
Fig. 15 Almsbowl receivedfrom celestial kings (cave 171);after Ma Shichang.
Fig. 16 Offering of food by the merchants (cave 34).
gift of precious cloth (cave 34). Fig. 17 Mahaprajapati's
Fig. 18 The offering of flowers (cave 34)-
Fig. 19 Alms of dust (cave 34)-
PARABLES
Fig. zo Six animals (cave 34).
theunchaste wifewith her (cave34).Four Fig. 21 Fourserpents serpents; lovers' as a dog (cave80). basket,andTodeyareborn
Fig. 22 Logof wood'sfreefloat(cave171).
Fig. 23 Bandit hit 300 times (cave I7I).
Fig. 24 Blind tortoise(cave171).
Fig. 25 Child strangled in the well (cave 171);after Ma Shichang.
on stickygrass Fig.26 Monkeytrapped (cave224).
Fig. 27 Rahula and the jug (cave 34).
Fig.28 Theelephantleavingthe sword(cave34).
Fig. 29 Submission of Devadatta.
OTHER FEATS
Fig. 30 First Sermon in the Deer park (cave 171)-
(cave34). Fig. 31 Buddha paintinghis self-portrait
Scenes almsgiving ofexemplary themeto whichscenescharacterized Anotherprevailing by the centralBuddhamotif maybe related is that of Almsgivingor liberality.Numerousscenesrepresent figuresmakingthe gestureof giving a scintillatingobject, This objectmaybe a bowl,a cloth,a bunchof flowers, an objectto the Buddha. an oil lamp,sometimesevena religiousmonument. the almsbowl fromthe FourKings I. Buddhareceives fromhissix-year bowl on emerging received whichBuddha Thefirstoffering, fast,wastheprecious broughtby the FourCelestialKings. It permittedhim to receivealms of food like any begging vaultedeastern monk.At the extreme ceiling(fig. 15),onesees rightof the secondrowin caveI71's his bowl, on the of the fourkings, who arebeautifully the personification painted,eachcarrying largersceneof the right wall of caveIIo.71 Dressedas a militarychief,kneelingwith a haloover a blue bowl to the Buddha.73 his head,this character presents the clothinghasbeenadapted to localindigethis to its Gandharan antecedents, Comparing
nous taste.74
2. Offeringfood - or lay devotees- maybe reprewho becomethe firstupdsakas The foodofferingby merchants man sentedto the right in the fourthrowof cave34'seasternsectionvault. Herea bare-chested seemsto take somethingfromthe loadborneby two lying cows (fig. 16). I believethe moment to the merchants alludedto might be the Buddha's beforetheirhandingover teachingdelivered of alms,sinceBuddhais not shownofferinghis bowl. 3. Pirna'salms In the secondsceneof caveI7I'supperrowin the eastern section,the Buddhais shownreceiving a bowlfromanother man.Theabsence ofa haloindicates thathe is a human,notagod. His clothes, thanthoseof the CelestialKing, seemto suggestthathe is the sonof a noblefamily:baresoberer overhis hair,anda roundnecklace. MaShichang chested,he wearsa long blueloincloth,a turban of foodforthe Buddha's bowl.75 Thisgift wasrewarded a hundredfold recognizes offering Purna's of cerealstransformed into gold, whichwouldgrowagainafterbeing cut. by an infiniteharvest The king sawthis miracle,as did Purna's who couldnot believethat theirpoorbrother brothers, hadsuddenly becomeso rich.Consequently theytooconvert to the Buddha. Thisreward ofgolden cereals concerns both the act ofalmsgiving,whichis symbolized significantly here,andimplicit
72 Cf. Su Bai, vol. II:pl. 116andvol. III:pl. 5, and Ma Shichang: zoo, fig. 198.A fragmentof the samescenewas also see Gies andCohen(eds.,as in note I5):cat. I92. paintedin the shrineof Duldur-Aqur, to E. Huber,thisepisodeis indeedlocatedundertheTreeof Awakening in thealready citedChinese trans73 According lationof the northern versionof the Dhammapada, the Chuyao to Mahdavastu tradition jing (T. 212,IV (12)),contrary (cf. Huber,B.E.F.E.O., 462). I904: 74 Cf. forinstance,the reliefof Sikri,in Foucher: 417,fig.2Io. hasbeenmistaken forthe left one,whenit ought to 75 MaShichang: 2oz, no. 2, wherethe sectionof the vaultindicated be the right one.
333
overtheBrahmanic of the Buddha's P1rna superiority systemto which recognition

inally.76
belonged orig-
a bowloffresh who spontaneously palmsapto the Buddhais illusoffers 4. The episodeof the monkey he waspromAs a reward, tratedin the samevault'sfirstscenein the fourthrowof the section.77 iseda privilegedrebirth. of disciplesby the numerous to the Buddha's 5. Thegift ofthefirst community increasingly monastery evokedin a sceneshowingan architecis probably Sudatta richmanof Sravasti, Anathapindada, in the Budaredescribed andtheirrewards orstupas turalelement.Numerous gifts ofmonasteries withapieceof sucharchitecture.78 threescenes Andtheceilingof cave171 dhistscriptures. presents One must admit that it is impossibleto tell preciselyfromthe sole paintingwhich event they depict. cloth 6. Mahaprajapati gift of a precious gautami's to be well cloth by the Buddha's The offeringof a precious appears step-mother, Mahapraj'apati, in a scenelocatedin cave34'svault in the fourthrowof the easternsection:a wellidentifiable on her head dressed kneelingwomanpresentsa foldedcloth, placedon a traywhich she carries andhis disthe Buddha as havingoffered is presented by somescriptures (fig. 17).Mahaprajapati to asshewasrequesting two monastic coats,wovenby herself, permission ciples(orcommunity?) becomea nun. This scenethus indirectlyrefersto the difficultiesin foundingthe femaleBuddhistorder, thanpreviously Lawmuchearlier to implythe fallof Buddhist of whichwassupposed acceptance planned.79
of rice.His almsconsisted T. 2o3,IV (49):469-470, Purna's to the Chinese scripture 76 According (translitteratedfuna) while makingthe wish to be reborn a rejoicing followhis example fourbrothers pill to the Buddha, by eachoffering of the enterinto religion,and reachthe saintliness amongthe devas.LikePurna,they reachthe stateof andgamin, translated versionof the AvaddnaSataka arhat. pouredall sortsof solidand by Feer,Purna Accordingto the Sanskrit bowl who in turnpouredit into the bowlsof the I,ooo bhiksus.Buddha's alms-bowl, liquidfoodinto the Buddha's is moredetailed:Purnais preno. I: 25).The Chinesetranslation full (Feer,Avaddna-(ataka remained nevertheless a friendcomingfromRa-jaof theBuddha whofirsthears thanapoorpeasant, rather sentedasa richbrahman, through grha.The incensePurnaburnsfromthe top of a high buildingto invite the Buddhais saidnot only to remainsusthe wholecity (T. 2oo, IV:2zo3). headbut alsoto haveperfumed pendedas cloudson top of the Buddha's 77 Cf.Su Bai,vol. III:pl. 8, MaShichang: 513,fig. 254(stupaof Sikri). 2ol, fig.94, andFoucher: the third of western row in the the on last scene to In the next section,a monkis shownkneelingon the rightof right 78 alsoidentifies meditation cell is paintedon the left. MaShichang the Buddha,his handsjoined,while a rectangular sceneat the right behindthe monkdepictedin another a monasticcell in the pointedtriangular objectrepresented a in the eastern row the third section, man,dressedin a merend of the upperrow.Finally,on the extremeright of as a gestureof donation,while a stupa chant'sbluecoat,kneelsandholdsa cloth in his hands.It maybe understood behindhim (cf. DuanWenjie,vol. II:pl. 193). levelsis represented with several the ChinesetranslaXXIV(29):I85b, presumably 79 The gift of two garmentsshe haswovenis mentionedin T. 1421, theBudbecause Law Buddhist the of The tionof theMahisdkavinaya, shortening bytheCashmeree Buddhajiva (423). of the nuns'orderis explicitlymentionedin numerous texts, such as T. 26, I (28):605c, dha acceptedfoundation
334
7. The offeringof flowers as being in numerous storiesandis oftendescribed to the Buddhaappears The offeringof flowers in a loinclothanda scarf, a turban on his head, event.A mandressed rewarded by somemiraculous to the Buddhawith his right hand(fig. 18).Is he the garstandsup andoffersa bunchof flowers in Sravasti who offeredhimselfthe lotus whichboth Anathapindada of the Jetavana den-keeper anda discipleof the tirthikaswantedto buy fromhim in view of offeringit to theircompeting of Rajagrha Or doeshe represent the inhabitants who, at the sight of the Budreligiousmasters? dha,decidedto offerhim flowers king, despitethe death originallydestinedfortheirtyrannical penaltytheywouldreceivefordoing so?8o In the caseof the dramatic endingof the latterstoryandthe offeringmadeby the old woman below,the taleendswith the Buddha's prophecy promising beggarNandadescribed (vydkarana) A comparison to realize the wish (pranidhadna) fora futurelife formulated of these by thesefigures. be drawnwith other"scenes of wishes"identifiedin Kutchan scenesmaytherefore paintings.81 in a long blueloinclothand 8. Thescintillatingobject,presented man,kneeling(dressed by another a knottedturban astheprecious whilecrowned with a halo)hasbeeninterpreted stone wearing being the Brahman of scene cave row of the western In (fourth offered by jeweler section).82 cave I7I'supper 80 we probably asa Kutchan havethe sameBrahman dressed merchant (sceneat the extreme right of the fifthrow).83 9. The symbolicalmsof dust I believethe offeringof dust (Pdnsu-pradana) in the lastscene,half by a youngchild is illustrated in the fourthrowof cave34'swesternsectionvault(fig. I9). TheBuddha condescends to preserved hisbowlto thechildto receive himofaprophecy hissymbolic alms.He informs present (vydkarana):
T 196,IV:158a-b,the Bhiksunivinaya of the Mahasamghika-lokottaravadin school(transl. in French fromSanskrit by E. Nolot, Regles dediscipline desnonnes bouddhistes, Baccard, Paris,1991: 2-9). scenein the upper 80 Seethe lastsceneon the extremerightof the upperrowin cave34'swesternsectionandthe central rowof caveI71'seastern a narrow his barechest(thebrahsection,wherethe mankneelsandwears pieceof clothacross man'scord).The Sanskrit a In includes few stories floral involving offerings. caseof the lotus flower AvaddnaSataka anda tirthikasadeptbothwantedto buy fromthe gardener, the tale saysthatafterthe gardener had Anathapindada thrownthe lotusonto the Buddha,it became as big as the wheelof a chariotandremained on of Budsuspended top no. 7, Feer: dha'shead("padma avadana," 41-43).In the "Nirmala" story,the mimosasent to the Buddhaby another Neitherof theseextraodigardener growsas a treewhenfalling to the ground(no. 29, Feer: immediately 1o8--o9). naryfeatshasbeendepictedin the lozenge,whichmayindicatethatthe lastinterpretation, proposed byMaShichang: for cave is more suitable: the of inhabitants of is in the described Chinesetransla171, story presumed Rajagrha 199 tion of the AvaddnaSataka, in the late section),but it doesnot appear (Zhuanji jing, T. zoo, IV (6):229 (53rd baiyuan sanskrit text translated by Feer. 81 Cf. the exhibitioncatalogSerinde, Terre deBouddha, nowkept in the HerParis,R.M.N, 1995:145, pl. 65(a fragment whichwasbroughtfromKyzil's"cave of the demons" in (i.e.cave198)by Berezovski mitageMuseum,St Petersburg,
1905.
82 This identification is suggestedby MaShichang. Theepisodeis described in the already citedZa baozangjing, T. zo3, IV (7), 79th section:480c-48Ia.Note that the firstsceneof the samerowis formally veryclose. 83 Cf.DuanWenjie,vol. II:pl. 173.
335
thathe will be bornagainto becomea king (Aloka).This famous story,whichwasillustrated on theGandharan alsoinspired a beautiful andlarger of thenearby paintingon theside-walls panels,84 at Kumtura.s85 sanctuary almsof lampoil IO.The old beggar's to the Buddha with bothhands(caveI7I's Finally,the lit oil lampthata kneelingwomanpresents western sectionat the rightendof the fifthrow).It probably illustrates the exemplary devotionof the old beggarNanda,who did not hesitateto give all she hadcollectedin herquest,in orderto The sincerity of herfaithmakesthe buythe oil destinedto feedone lampin the Buddha's vihdra. the night,whiletheBuddha with a prophecy thatanswers herwish lampshinethroughout replies to be bornagainin a betterconditionin orderto freeherfellowbeingsfromevil.86 as a dog Todeyareborn Ii. Avaricious The secondscene,with a white dog lying on a square stonenext to a recipient,depictedon cave 80's ceiling in the fourthrowof the southern section(fig. 21), seemsto illustratethe reward (or forlackof liberality. here,in theaniBy depictinga badfate thatis, reincarnation, punishment) malphase deserved to give alms,this scenemaybe interpreted asan indirect by onewhorefuses enticementto almsgiving. A housemaster standsto the left of the Buddha,his handsrestingon a sword.Thisgestureis of Subhamanava probablyan allusionto the aggressiveness Todeyaputta ("theson of Todeya") his dog'sbarking. towards the Buddha, whosearrival hasjustrepIndeed,the Buddha provoked rimanded the dog forhis meanness whena richmanin his previous life. In orderto demonstrate of Todeya,the housemaster's that the dog is none otherthan the reincarnation father,Buddha him to go andunearth the familytreasure, orders whichis represented shownnext bythe recipient to the animal. in theMadhyamdgama, Theepisode,reported existedin Gandharan sculpted panelsandpassed into the laterLifeof the Buddhacompiledin Chinaandalready cited.87
Theepisodewassculptedin the Gandhdra (26),citedby Foucher. 84 Cf.Divyavadana panels,cf. Foucher: I57, fig. z55,in which the Buddhais shownstandingup. A Chinesetranslation of the episodecanalso be foundin the Xianyu jing IV (3):368c(I7thsection). of the Wise andthe Fool)T. zoz02, (SU-tra nowkept in the Ermitage Museum: Gies Berezovski, 85 As one canjudgefromthe fragment depositedby the Russian andCohen(eds.,as in note I5):cat. 94. andtheFool),T. zoz02, IV (3):370-372(20oth 86 The storyis told in the Xianyu jing (Sutra of theWise episode)wherethe as one usedforBuddha's handsome namegiven to the femalebeggaris Nanduo,the sametranscription cousinand in the of the Malasarvastivadin In is not named Tibetan the ChiShe (cf. 35). refractory disciple. Vinaya Panglung: herthatshewill reach the Buddhahood herentryinto religionandpromises nesestory,the Buddha accepts Ioo kalpas asaSakyamuni andplacesher makesit clearthatthe womanbeggarwill resuscitate later.Thesecondsource Buddha, to the Buddha andto his community, to whomthe in the contextof hospitality extended by King Prasenajit offering is mentioned 35).Theidentification (Panglung: by Ma king hasoffered manylampsin the hopeof a similarprophecy of the scene in cave Duan For a detailed equivalent Wenjie,vol. 3:pl. o108. reproduction fig.27. Shichang: 20zo, Io8, cf. while Huber,cited by Foucher, 87 Todeyais the pdli namequotedin the notesappendingto the Chinesetranslation, andfig. 257b,Shishi shiji:episode107,andT. 26, I(44): 703c. yuanliu yinghua spellsit Taudiya. Cf. Foucher: 524-525 in SuBai,vol. II:pl. 53,andDuanWenjie,vol. II:pl I72. The sceneis reproduced
336
Rewardsfor these famous acts of generosity and punishments for being reluctant to give alms were certainly known by pilgrims. Tales were probably narratedto them during their visit to the theatricalplays basedon the 'feats'and 'formerlives' of the sites or during "narrative performance" Buddha. Fragments of them have been discovered in Kyzil. From a material point of view, these examplesof piety and generosity remindedthe pilgrims of their obligation to be charitabletowards the Buddhist community, where most of the alms were directed towards shelter, clothing, and food.88 Should its identification be correct, cave I7I's scene at the extreme right of the western section's lower row could be understoodas exhorting the devouts to be generous towardsthe religious community. Two monks arerepresentedunder a tree, one wearing a blue monastic garment, holding a long object in his right hand (maybe a rolled parchmentor a stick), and seeming to teach the other, painted lower down, dressedwith a green kasdya,his hands joined in a sign of submission. Ma Shichang and Yao Shihong agree that this scene evokes the conditions for religious teaching to succeed, i.e. that disciples be freed from all preoccupationabout food.89 In cave I7I, in particular,many scenes of liberality are illustrated, yet too succinctly to allow identification of a particularepisode in Buddha's life. One may question whether these scenes all referto precise moments ofSakyamuni's hagiography,or whether they were intended to stimulate believers to give alms generously. Kyzil depended on this generosity materially, as did the other Kutchan sanctuariesthat were densely populated and richly decorated. that Levi has translated Some Kutchan inscriptions, notably a passage of the Karmavibhanga into French, presents an interesting echo to the general invitation to liberality. The English version says: "Therefore,he who wishes to be happy at all times must give with joy."9o TheBuddha's of metaphoric teachings parablesorscenes The parablesare the third prevailing category to which referscenes characterizedby the motif of the central Buddha painted on mixed ceilings of the Kyzil worship-caves. From a formal point of view, nothing evoked thus farpermits them to be distinguished from other events in Buddha'scareer.This category, established by Yao Shihong, still appearsappropriateto describe a significant number of
88 Thefourthregular medicaldrugs.Contrary to the threeothertypesof alms,it is accidental. The alms-givingconcerns vital character forthe Buddhistcommunityexplainsthe remarkable of thesealmsdonations with which continuity thesenotableexamples continuedto be illustrated with the samepopularity in China,anduntil the last two dynasLives in printorpaintedon the wallson Buddhisttemcirculated ties, asexemplified by the illustrated oftheBuddha, mentionedand the muralpaintingsof the Jueyuansi in eastern ples (suchas the Shishiyuanliuyinghua shijialready Sichuan, Jiangecounty). to feelhungry.He recovered his facultyof concentration the 89 A disciplewasunableto learnthe sitras whenhe started Cf.YaoShihong:74 (no. 62), MaShichang: daythata devoteetook chargeof his meansof subsistence. zoz-zo3, no. andXianyu 38andfig.o102, jing, T. 2o2, IV (Io):417a-b(45thsection). versesIo to I3arecentered around the actof liberality. Cf.S. Levi,"Fragments de texteskoutcheens, 90 Thefragmentary et et traduits avec un et une introducUdinastotra, vocabulaire Uddnavarga, Uddnalamkara Karmavibhanga, publids tion surle 'tokharien'" textsfromthe Uddinavarga, andKarmavib(Kuchan fragmentary Uddinastotra, Udndlamkdara with a vocabulary andanintroduction to the "tokharian"), in Cahiers dela Soci&tAsihanga, publishedandtranslated firstseries,Paris,1933: atique, Io2.
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sceneswith a central Buddha studiedhere.Evenif theirprecise moralinterpretation is notalways easy to understand, on thewhole,theirfunctionseemsto encourage andsensual self-conreligious practice trol. Thesesceneshaveno knownprecedents in Indianart or laterChinesepaintings.9IThey seem specificto Kutchan pictorialart. In mostcases,thepaintershowsthe unfortunate of breaching rewards the rules.Theonlypositive - onewell knownto symbolize - showsa treetrunkfloatingunthe idealadvance to nirvana parable carried austerities areaimedat controlling hindered, by the riverto the sea.The implicitlydescribed the sensesgenerally or rejecting the temptation of lust in particular. Letme startwith the parables of generalnature. I. The six animals Thelastscenein cave34'swestern sectionat the rightof thesecondrowshowssix animals attached to a stakeplantedin frontof the Buddha's thronetryingto fleein all directions (fig. 2o). A monk is seatedon the left, his handsjoined,as if listeningto the Buddha's teaching.The six animalsthe six-foldsensesphere- eye-sight, snake,crocodile, dog, jackal,bird,andmonkey- illustrate andmind-thought- eachleadingto difear-hearing, nose-smelling, tongue-taste, body-touch, ferentandcontradictory activitiesandsensations unlessoneexercises restraint or bodyconsciousness,symbolized by the stake.91 the crocodileto enterthe Indeed,when feelinghungry,the snaketriesto enterthe burrow, to visit the charnel water,the birdto flyin the air,the dog to enterthevillage,the jackal field,and to the forest.Only bodyconsciousness allowsone'ssensesto stop the strugthe monkeyto return charming objects. gle to pull oneselftoward serpents 2. The fourvenomous the fiveenemies,andthe six thievesis another of Thefableof the fourvenomous parable serpents, in thesamesectionof thetreaties nature. It wasrelated ofcontemplation formed evenmoregeneral into Englishnicelyby RhysDavids. Theseweretranslated agamas(Samyuktdgama). by the mixed vaultat the extremeleft of the sixth rowin the western It is represented on caveI7I'sbarrel section(fig. 21).A bare-chested manin a sectionas well as in cave8o's thirdrowof the southern sits on a seat to the right of the Buddha.Next to him long blue loincloth,wearinga necklace, an openbasketfromwhichfourheadsof serpents emerge. appears Thestorytells thata mandarin raises fourvenomous serpents in a basket,until the daythathe realizes thatif thesereptilesbecame irritated with him, theycouldkill him. In a momentof panic, he abandons the basketandrunsaway,but immediately comesacross fivemurderous foes,armed with knives,whothreaten to kill him. Havingescaped fromthem,he hears abouta sixthone,who
91 The illustration, painted on the southern wall of Dunhuang cave 257 (dating Northern Wei), of the suicide of the monk to whom a young woman had made advances, is an exceptional Chinese example of loyalty to monastic rules. This (L. Feer [ed.], Samyutta-nikdya, 92 story appears in the Saldyatana Bookof the P-li version of the Samyuktdgama H. Frowde, London, 1884, text IV, 197, XXXV, IV, 5-zo6), and in its Chinese translation in Ioo chapters by Gunabhadra, the Za a'hanjing: T. 99, II (43): 313a-b (verse 27I). See the English transl. by Rhys Davids, TheBookof theKindredSayings,Luzac& Co., London, I950, vol. 4: I30-132 ("The Six Animals," in "KindredSayings of the Senses").
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yet again,wantsto takehis life. He findsrefugein anemptyvillage,whereall houseshe entersare thatrobbers aregoing to plunder theplace,he runsaway, deserted, Learning moldyandcrumbling. but his flightsooncomesto a haltby a riverwhichbarshis way.He buildsa makeshift raft,somehowcrosses the river,and,crawling on his handsandknees,he reaches the othershoreandis finally freedfromall his torments.93 TheBuddha the meaningof this simileto the monks:the fourserpents in the explains trapped - earth, basket area metaphor forthefourelements water, wind,andfire- theemptyvillagealludes to the personal six-foldsensespherementionedabove... andthe othershore(securityandsafety fromfears)is a nameforthe nirvana, liberation fromthe holdof the sensesoverthe humanbeing, whichhasto be reached througheffort. 3. Thepigeon,the raven,the serpent,andthe deer If its interpretation is correct,the scene represented in cave I71'shalf-lozengesituatedat the extremeleft of the thirdrowin the western vaultsectionmayalsorefer to generalappeasement of the passions: Buddha the sufferings causedby carnal desire,hungerandthirst,angerand presents - as the worstfears,respectively, fear- all hindrances to Enlightenment of thepigeon,raven, serThe Uddnavarga of the four pent, and deer.94 presentsthe fouranimalsas previousincarnations monksto whomBuddha delivers this teaching.Hencethis metaphor asa "premaybe assimilated viouslife"tale,whichexplainsthe absence of the Buddha figureandits replacement by the figure of an ascetic,identifiedby Waldschmidt as Viryabala.95 4. The log of woodfloatingwithouthindrance Theadvance towards liberation is exceptionally in the parable illustrated promised by the nirvdna of the treetrunkfloating withouthindrance to the sea.It suggestsa fluidprocess thana franrather tic raceon a roadfull of obstructions. To the left, a bhiksu sits on a cushion,handsjoined.Underthe throneof Buddha,thereis a of wateroverwhicha long objectfloats(fig. 22). YaoShihongrecognizes herethe greenexpanse in theparable in whichthe Buddha its freefloattoward the greatlog of woodmentioned compares oceanto the attitudeof detachment to reachthe nirvdna. required As the monkcomesto reporthis achievements to the Buddha,the Buddhatells him that he shouldprogress withoutattachment andwithout breaching his practice,just as the log of wood advances without being stranded on eitherbank,withoutsinkingor being stoppedby any islet, withoutbeingcaughtin the whirlpools orrottinginwardly. Soshouldthe monkprogress until he
93 This story appearsin the SaldyatanaBookof the Samyutta-nikdya (text IV, 197, XXXV, IV, 5-197: Asivisa), and in its Chinese translation mentioned above, the Za ahanjing: T. 99, II (43): 313b-c (verse 272) (cf. Yao Shihong: 148). See the English transl. in Davids. (as above): vol. 4: Io7-IIo ("The snake"). 94 This story is narratedin the chapter "On the appeasement [of the passions]" (anningpin: section 25) of the Faju piyu jing, one of two principal Chinese translations of the Uddnavarga,cf. T. 211, IV (3): 594c-595b. 95 Lecoq and Waldschmidt (as in note 2), vol. 7: 42-43, where the scene described belongs to the vaulted ceiling of cave II4. This scene is also illustrated in two more caves, of which 17 is exclusively decorated with jdtaka scenes (Yao Shihong: 75 [no. 651, 93 and 122). For a detailed reproduction of the scene, see Duan Wenjie, vol. II: pl. 186 or Su Bai, vol. I: pl. 67.
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of nirvdna of lureandlust or into the sorthe finalreward withoutfallinginto the stream reaches of the senses.96 rowsandpleasures in theparables whois tortured abouta prisoner unceasis illustrated forevil behavior Retribution ingly by blowswith a lanceandof a blindtortoisewhostickshis headthrougha holein a drifting plank. times 5. The bandithit threehundred deserved withoutthe respiteof deathillustrates of a bandithit 300 timeswith a spear Theparable forlicentiousbehavior. infernal punishment in a blue loinclothwith a white turbanon his head To the right, a bare-chested man,dressed is andhis left kneeon the ground,hashis handsboundbehindhis back(fig. 23).His left shoulder fork. This seems to justify identificationby Yao Shihongof the piercedby a three-pronged overto the king forexemplary andhanded of a thiefcaughtred-handed punishment: metaphor thathe shouldbepiercedIoo timeswith a lanceat dawn;then,seeingthathe Theking orders is still alive, Ioo moreblowsareinflictedat noon,and Ioo morein the evening,until the body lookslike a holedcoin. to of hell promised torments to illustrate the everlasting to this metaphor resorts TheBuddha the dishonest.97 6. The BlindTortoise in cave171(fourthsceneof the sixth rowin the of the blind tortoiseis illustrated The metaphor westernsection): of greenwaterbehind on the right,a monkkneelswith his handsjoined.Thereis an expanse throne.A floatingwoodenplankhasa hole throughwhicha tortoisepassesits head the Buddha's
24). (fig.
of theMadhyamdgama, translation onein theChinese Thisstorycomessoonafterthepreceding endured the sufferings when the Buddhadescribes by thosebornin the animalphasefor lackof into the humanphaseonceone of transmigration the difficulty wisdom.He tells this to illustrate is justaslikelyasthechance ofgoodtransmigration hasfalleninto theanimalone.Theprobability of a blind tortoisepassingits neckthroughthe hole of a driftingplankpushedby the wind on a river. 9
vaultin the westernsection,in SuBai,vol. III:pl. 8, andYao 96 Cf.the fourthscenein the secondrowof caveI7I'sbarrel in the Samyutta-nikdya this one appears (textIV, 197, As the firsttwo previous 153 episodes, 7), I54-155. Shihong: (fig.verse T. translation andits Chinese (Zaahan jing, 99, II [43]:314c: 274).SeeDavids XXXV,IV,5-200:Darukkhandha) ("Thelog of wood"). (asin note 89),vol. 4: 113-116 sectionvault.Cf. Su Bai, vol. III:pl. 8. In the eastern of the secondrowin caveI71's left at the extreme is 97 The scene saidto corthe king is namedShalidingsheng, of the Madhyamdgama Chinesetranslation Samghadeva, by Gautama T. name Indian to 26, the (Zhong Khattiyamuddhdvasitta 759c-76oa). I jing, respond [53]: ahan as opposedto Wisdom, to which the chapteris devoted used to illustratethe fruitsof Ignorance, 98 This is a parable (T. 26, I [53]: I46 (fig.2), 147,andSuBai,vol. III:pl. 8. 76Ib-c). SeeYaoShihong:
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7. The child strangled in a well The parableof the child strangled in a well is an explicit warning against lust, representedwithin the cave 171 vault's third scene in the third row of the western section (fig. 25) and in cave 80 (extreme right).99 A woman stands on one side of the Buddha, while the head of a child seems to be caught in a rope, emerging from the top of a rectangular construction representing a well. The episode, identified by Ma Shichang, has been translatedinto Frenchby Chavannes:a mother, having come to the well with her child to draw water, meets a handsome lute player. In order not to be disturbed while she is carrying on with the player, she attaches the child. But, in the middle of her pleasures,she does not notice that the child has fallen into the well and that the rope is strangling
him.0oo
This episode, related in the section on carnaldesire of the Chuyao jing, a Chinese translationof a Uddnavargaversion with commentary, probably illustrates the following verses: "O Desire, I know your root; it is in the imagination that you are born. I shall not imagine you, and you will not be born in me. "Io1 8. The monkey trappedon sticky grass The parableof the monkey trapped on sticky grass, illustrated on the upper row of cave 80's preserved vault section, and still more explicitly in cave 224 (fig. 26), is also a warning against sensory stains in this world. A ginger-colored monkey is shown leaning forward,hands and feet stuck on a squaresurface. In a mountainous region, peopled with men and monkeys, a hunter applies onto the grass a glue made from glutinous millet. The clever monkey, who saw him do it, walks away from the trap, whereasan idiot monkey, attracted by the smell, is caught, sticking first one front leg, then the second, then the back legs, then his mouth until his whole body collapses and he is caught by the hunter. o2 This parableseems to be a particularwarning against the temptations to which the monks are likely to be subjected when they beg for food in the secularworld.
99 Cf. Su Bai,vol. III:pl. 9, andvol. II:pl. 53,andMaShichang: fig. 93. 200oo, (asin note47) vol. III:268-269, no. 478, in whichthe storyis translated fromthe Chinese Buddhist Ioo Cf.E. Chavannes underEmperor Wu of the Liangdynasty,theJingliiyixiang. compilation produced translation sanskrit by N. P. Chakravarti, (MissionPellioten Asie Centrale, unfinished L'Uddnavarga IoI Seethe French edition),A. Maisonneuve, of the samestanzais foundin the ChuyaoParis,I930,vol. I. The exactChinesetranslation in the well is placedbetweenseveral jing,T. 212,IV (4):626c-627a.The storyof the childstrangled of the repetitions samestanza.The samestoryis foundin the Vinaya of the Mu-lasarvastivadin, in which the youngwomanmeetsthe Buddhain despair forthe deathof the child, converts, andreaches sainthood (cf. Panglung: 25). 102 This episodeis told in "The GreatChapter on the Stationsof Mindfulness" of the Samyutta-nikdya cited (text already in and the Chinese translation of the Makkata) 146, (T. 99, II [24]:I73b-c:verse620). See V, III, I/7: Samyuktdgama Yao Shihong:147-148andDavids(asin note 89):vol. 5:127-128.Fora reproduction of the scene,see Su Bai, vol. II: A more in (cave which the hunter to 80). 53 his version, explicit appears carry away prey,is seenin cave224 (cf. Su pl. III: first Bai,vol. section). pl. 151, full-lozengesceneof the upperrowin the eastern
341
Finally,two scenes,situatedone abovethe otheron the vaultedceiling of cave34, areinterintendedby the Buddhaforhis youngson Rahula.They illustratethe pretedas two metaphors unfortunate of telling lies. consequences andthe jug of water 9. R-ahula western At thecenter of thethirdrowin thevault's section,a youngmonk,leftkneeontheground, coatin his left hand.A largecup holdsa jug of waterin his righthandandthe tail of his monastic is lying on the groundin front of the Buddha,who has just kicked it awaywith his left foot
(fig. 27). 13
In orderto stop his son Rahula,who is a youngnovicesevenyearsold, fromtelling lies, the him to takea basinandto washhis feet.He askshim then,if it werepossibleto use orders Buddha the lessonaboutlies, whichmayleadto comparait forcooking.Rahula saysno, andunderstands ble consequences. Then,the Buddhathrowsthe basinonto the groundandkicksit with his feet, thatit maybreak. The negativereplyfromhis songivesway he is afraid whether andasksRahula - though or unable toguard because to a further yourmouth yetbeing youarea Shaman, reprimand, eddies in theendless tobewhirled as a smallandinsignificant oftransthing, youaredestined, tongue, your toall theWise.104 migration an object ofcontempt who leavesthe sword Io. The elephant Thesecondscene,paintedjustabovetheprevious one,on the upperrowof the samevaultsection, a youngmonk, standingwith his headbowedas a sign of obedienceto the Buddha; represents below him is an elephantlying down, in frontof which is painteda sword,set on the ground (fig. 28). of the metaphor of the Uddnavarga, translation the otherknownChinese In the Fajupiyujing, themguard withawarning is associated theelephant lies,translated byBealasfollows:"Let against thatstrikesin the middle!Letthemkeeptheirmouth,lest theydie andfallinto againstthe arrow The Buddha the miseryof futurebirthsin the threeevil paths!"ios explainsto his son thattelling asthe mistakeof a warelephant lies is as serious who, insteadof keepingthe mostvulnerable part of his body,his trunk,down, rollsit up to catcha swordand engagesin the hostilities.An eleardor duringcombatas to forgetthe mortaldangerof exposing phantthat showssuchexcessive asthe fromthe army.Tellinglies is thuspresented shouldbe removed his trunkto enemyarrows the liarto a rebirthin the threeevil paths.'o? firstof the Io faultsandcondemns sceneis paintedon the lastrow(secondscene)of cave80, exceptthat no monk An equivalent is paintedand the swordis set verticallyin the trunkof an elephant,which is lying down.It is the attackled againstthe orillustrates to the sameparable to knowwhetherthis refers impossible
103 Cf. Su Bai,vol. III:pl. 78.
section31, S. Beal,The Dhammapada, section]),and its Englishtranslation, 104 SeeFajupiyujing (T. 2II,IV: 599 [33rd "TheElephant": 143. Beal (asabove): 144. lo5 YaoShihong: 150-151. 1o6
342
Buddha by the elephant Nalagiri, sent by Devadatta. Indeed, Gandharanreliefs showed the elephant, attacking the Buddha, charging with a weapon in his trunk, which some sources identify as a sword.1o7 This is a good example of the difficulty of interpreting scenes on vaults characterizedby the central Buddha pattern. Nevertheless, it is likely that both scenes have been depicted on vaults in cave 34, which may be distinguished becauseofa figure representednext to the elephant. Indeed, the third scene in the easternsection's second row not only depicts an elephant lying down (without a weapon) but includes a young man in lay dress instead of the monk representedin the scene on the vault's opposite section (fig. 29). This young man may be identified as Devadatta, a cousin of the Buddha, after his releasing drunken elephants had failed to kill the Buddha. Otherfeats of the Buddha There area few painted scenes in the vaulted ceilings of the "mixed"type that cannot be rankedamong the three thematic categories outlined above. They may still be mentioned briefly. They include the First Sermon of theBuddhain theDeerPark ofBenares 1os(fig. 29), a scene often depicted in a largerscale on the caves' main walls;Io9 theself-portrait paintedby the Buddha(fig. 30) to allow and spreadhis cult (based on his image that the other painters had failed to and theMiraculous Crossing of the achieve)o; Another scene seems to illustrate theConversion who had broken all ties with his Ganges."' of Ugrasena, noble family and was living as a strolling player, for the sake of his beloved female dancer."1
107 Su Bai, vol. II: pl. 53;Foucher:fig. 75,267-269, and the Chinesetranslationof the Ekottardagama, T. 125,II (9): 59oa-59Ia. sectionin caveI7I,is characterized of two deers,paintedsymetIO8Thesecondscene,secondrow,eastern by thepresence on the throne which the Buddha is To the of the rically upon Buddha,a kneelingmonkprobably sitting. right symbolizesthe firstfivedisciplesof the Buddha, who renounce theirformer asceticpractice. It is thusan implicit recognition of the superiority of the Lawof the Buddhaoverotherpractices. Thereis a verybeautifulexampleon the rightside wall in cave224 (SuBai,vol. 3:pl. 136). log scenessituatedat the thirdrowof the eastern sectionin caves34 (to the extremeleft of the IIO This is the caseregarding six preserved scenes)and171(secondsceneof the fivewith a centralBuddha): the Buddhaholdsa paintbrush in his canvas to him by a monk,who holdsit by the uppercorright hand,which he bringsonto a rectangular presented ners.Several similarstoriesdescribe whether afterhisdeath kings,whoworry theywill be ableto imaginethe Buddha but resolvethe problemby the miraculous intervention of the Buddha,who eitherpaintshis self-portrait or reproduceshis effigyinstantaneously in a myriad-fold. The Xianyujing (Sfitra of the Wise and the Fool),quotedby Ma asthepatronof 84, ooo pictures (Vasuki?) Shichang, presents King Bosaiqi paintedafterthe modelmadeby the Buddha himself,whoseimagethe artistscouldnot capture. Theseeffigieswerethen distributedto the samenumberof countries in order to allowthemto venerate the Buddha. The storycomesrightafterthe Offering of Dust by the child who will laterbe bornas King A'oka.This formsan association betweenbothpatronkingsandthe legendary figure of paintingsorpagodaswhichthey sponsor. SeeT. 202, IV (3):368c-369a(I7thsection).The Guanfo sanmei haijing in whichthe Buddha (T. 643,XV)givesanother a series of imagesof himself,according version, to thevisionproduces of the Samadhi to appease the anxietyof King Suddh6dana at the ideaof Sakyamuni arypractice This disappearing. lastepisodeis illustrated in the already mentioned Chinese Shishi LifeoftheBuddha, and yuanliu shiji(Events yinghua Conversions of the Buddha,1425: episode93). left of the lowerrowin cave80'svault,the Buddha III In the scenesituatedat the extreme seated,not on his usual appears thronebut on a long-shaped with a on the surface of an expanse of water.A man dragonhead,painted objectending into the watersits nextto him. MaShichang holdinga stickdisappearing to recognize the miraculous crossproposes
343
theexactlocationof the 35scenes aboveonvaultedceilThefollowingtablessummarize presented ings of the threecavesused in this study. They also identify the Buddhistsourcescited so far as orTibetan. Indian,Chinese, Kutchan,
andConversions Submissions
I. Mara
Cave34
W4 (I)?
Cave80 S2 (5)
Cave171 Othercave BuddhistSources

E4 (2) Numerous
2. Atavaka, the Ogreof the Wasteland
E4 (I)
3. Hariti,the Mother-of-demons E3(5) 4. Theprotectingnaga (Mucilinda?) 5. the Gandharva-king, Supriya
S5(I)
E2 (4)
of Buddha's Proclamation (kutchanfrgmt); Superiority MS(Tib.: Panglung:153); Vinaya T643.. Chuyao jing:T212, T20zo3, VinayaMS(Tib.: Panglung:196; Chin.:TI451 (3I)),T203,193,386... Numerous VinayaMS(Tib.: Panglung: 200zoo; Chin.:TI45I [37]);Avadanaiataka
(17)
S3(5) E2(4)?
? W4 (2) I96E4
6. Jyotiskaresuscitated feignedpregnancy 7. Cinca's 8. The butcher 9. Thepoisoner, Srigupta
E3(3) W4(2)?
W2 (2)
S5(4)
163
W2 (3)? S3(4)
VinayaMS(Tib.: Divyavadana, Panglung:168), T375 MS Vinaya Dhammapada; (Tib.: Panglung:5o);TzI2 (IO) jing:TzII (3) Fajupiyu VinayaMS(Chin.:TI452(8)), school Vinayaof Sarvastivadin
(TI435 (61))
brothers: IO.Kasyapa a) b)
E5(3)?
S (7)
Numerous
: E=Eastern sectionof the vault;W=Westernsection.W4 (2)=Westernsectionof the vault,4thrank,2nd Codification school YaoShihong.VinayaMS=Vinayaof the Mulasarvastivadin Yao= MaShichang; scene.Ma=
ing of the Gangesby the Buddha,who crossedthe riverby air,wherethe passerinsistedon makinghim pay, then morecloselyto the to conform The depictionof the dragonappears his lackof piety (SuBai,vol. II: 20o9). regretted the Gangesovera bridge across whichalludesto the Buddha's of the MfilasarvastivIdin, passage storyof the Vinaya constructed to the (cf. Panhe which by King Ajatasatru formedby the headsof the river's bridge preferred nagas, glung: 21,andSu Bai,vol. II:pl. 53). in caveI7I (to the left of II2 In the thirdsceneat the fifthrowof the westernsectioncave8o'svaultandits counterpart with a necklace as a noble(long loincloth,bare-chested, the thirdrowin the westernsection),a youngmandressed the of cave in and 80 in cave He is seated a tambourine. Kyzilpainted on Comparison anda turban) upright plays I71. in a pubthe Buddha met was who of by scenewith a Sikrireliefpresented suggeststhe identy Ugrasena, by Foucher his new tradeof comicactor(seeFoucher: whilepracticing lic placein Rajagrha 520-522andfig. 256b).
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Cave34 Almsgiving Bowl Celest. by King I. 2. Foodby the merchants E4 (4)? Food 3. by Pirna 4. Fresh palm-sapby the monkey
Cave80
5. Monastery 6. Precious cloth

by Mahapraj apati-gautami E4 (3)
Cave171 Othercave BuddhistSources Numerous E2(5) Numerous Avadanasataka EI(2) (Iu), T200oo, T2o3... W4 (I) T202 (see I.J. Schmidt, & derThor, DerWeise ch.4o), Records... Xuanzang's E3(5) Numerous W2 (4), W3 (5)?
TI421 (29)
7. Flowers by Rajagrha people 8. Precious stoneby a Brahman 9. Dust by futureAsoka Io. Oil forlamp, by old beggar(Nanda?) Todeya II. Avaricious reborn as a dog
WI (6) S5(6) W4 (3)
EI(3)
WI(4)
Chin.tsl of : Avadmnasataka Zhuanji jing:Tzoo (53u) baiyuan (7) T20zo3 Divy-vadmna
W5 (5)
108
Xianyu jing: T20zoz, VinayaMS (Tib.: Panglung:35) T.26 (44) Madhyamagama;
S4(2)
Parables I. Sixanimals
Cave34 W2 (4)
Cave80
2. Foursnakes
S3(I)
& deer 3. Pigeon,raven,serpent 4. Logof woodfloatingdownsmoothly
5. Bandithit 300oo times 6. Blind tortoise in the well 7. Childstrangled 8. Monkeystuck
S3(6) SI(5)
Cave171 Othercave BuddhistSources (Pdli)Samyutta-nikaya 224 IV, 197, IV, XXXV, 5-zo6; (Engl.) Davids:vol.4: 130-132; (Chin.): Za a'han jing: T99 (43-271): 313 W6 (I) IV, 197, Samyutta-nikaya (PRili) XXXV, IV, 5-197;(Engl.) Davids:vol.4: IO7-IIO; (Chin.) T99 (43-272): 313 W3 (left end) TzII(3) W2 (4) (Pali) Samyutta-nikaya IV, 197, IV, XXXV, 5-zoo; (Engl.) Davids:vol.4: 113-II5; (Chin.)T99 (43-274): 314 Chin.trsl.of Madhyam-gama Ez (I) jing:Tz6 (53) Zhong a'han Same W6 (4) (3) Udinavarga, W3 TzIz (4), VinayaMS (Tib. Panglung: 2z) 224 (Pali) Samyutta-nikaya V, 146,III, I-7; (Engl.) Davids:vol.5: 127-128;(Chin.)T99 (24-620):
173
9. Rahulaandthe jug IO.The elephantleavesthe sword
W3 (2) WI (2)
S6 (5)? S6 (2)?
section) TaII(33rd Same
345
Otherfeats teachingin DeerPark I. i"

2. Self-portrait
Cave34 E3(I)
Cave80
conversion 3. Ugrasena's of the Ganges 4. Crossing
S$(3) S6 (I)
Cave171 Othercave Ez(2) E3(2) W3 (I)
BuddhistSources Numerous
T202(3)...
(Bigandet,Vie,p.I89) VinayaMS(Tib. Panglung:21)
3.
CHRONOLOGICAL DIVERGENCES AND LIMITS OF IDENTIFICATION Problems of dating The controversialdating of the caves I have based this study on ought to be outlined here. As I have said, the chronologyof the Kyzil sanctuaryis still being debated. Von LeCoq, Waldschmidt, and Pelliot used to group paintings of the Kyzil caves (and of Duldur Aqur) under two styles - the first, socalled Gandharan,dating from the 6th century, and the second, so-called Indo-Iranian,going back to The Chinesescholarsand some Americanscholars,includthe firsthalfofthe 7th century, before658.113 ing Howard, alreadyquoted, believe that the earlierpaintings may date back to as early as the 3rdor
4th centuries.II4
Before I emphasize the problem of dating caves 34, 80, and 171,I would like to recall briefly the two types of chronologyproposed by Chinese scholars,based on CI4 tests and stylistic interpretation.
The first CI4 tests were carried out by teams of Beijing University, led by Su Bai in 1979-1981.
The tests were done in eight caves on samples of wood found in relics of Sumeru high-reliefs made of clay and on wisps of straw taken from the layer of preparation.Based on these measurements,Su Bai
divides the caves into three periods: a) 310 +/- 80 to 350 +/- 60; b) 395 +/- 65 to the beginning of the
6thcentury; c) 545 +/-75 to 685 +/- 65s5. Huo Xuchu and Wang Jianlin, from the ResearchInstitute of Kyzil, proceeded to a new series of measurementswith carbon 14, in collaborationwith the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Social Sciences of China. They then set up a chronology including four periods:
3rd century to
I)
the end of the first half of the 4th century,"6
2) The "development"phase: mid-4th-_thcenturies;
113 Cf. the synthesisof thesedatingsby Yaldiz:33-35. 114 Seenote Io. - 395+/- 65 to 465 +/- 65- with a subforit combines CI4measurements II5 The secondphaseitself lacksconsistency, shikubufen of the 6th century" dongku jied- cf. Su Bai, "Kezi'er jectiveextensionof the perioduntil the "beginning tansuo" wentidechubu uanhuafen by periodsandof the quesStudyof the Classification (Preliminary deng yu niandai andMaShichang's in Kyzil),in SuBai,vol. I:10-23, zo20; zhongxtionofdatingsof somecaves quoted"Kezi'er previously in Rear Main and Chambers...), de bihua" zhushi inzhuku (MuralPaintingsof the Vaultsin the yu houshi juanding shiku, shiku- Kezi'er Zhongguo vol. II, pp. 174-226. cave of his firstphase,Huo Xuchubaseshimselfon the CI4 datingconcerning the 116 In orderto formulate hypothesis Instiinto [75to 322A.D.] andwhichhe then reinterprets (cf. Archaeology whichwere,briefly,[8o to I3O A.D.], 118,
346
3) the "apogee" phase: 6th_-7th centuries, the decline 4) phase: 8th_gth centuries, characterizedby the repetitive motif of the I,ooo Buddhas, of Chinese influence."1 The authors of this general classification believe that the worship caves dug around a central pillar appearedduring the "development"phase and reachedtheir full maturity in the "apogee" phase. The decor of the vaulted ceilings in these caves would have first given priority tojataka scenes during the "development"phase and then become more complex, relegating the jdtakas (in the lower rows) in order to emphasize scenes with the central Buddha, which have been the focus of this discussion. According to this, the paintings studied above would thus belong to the 6th and 7th centuries. Yet the CI4 tests and their interpretations,as applied to caves 34, 80, and 171in particular,do not match this general chronology. Situated at the east of the gorge, cave 171is the largest of the three, and it is joined to its neighboring cave 172 in the antechamber.Its dating by carbon 14 representssome gap between Huo Xuchu (410 +9o/-50o)and Su Bai, who puts it at 395 +/- 65.1sHuo Xuchu's affiliation of cave 171to his "development"phase contradicts his affiliation of the other large caves with a central pillar to the "apogeephase,"a phase in which he observesa generalization of the architecture by pairs of caves. Although he does not propose any explanation, this exception reservedto cave 171 representsa gap of two centuries. The disagreement between Su Bai and Huo Xuchu is still more important for the two other caves: while Su Bai sets cave 34 in period b) (395 +/- 65 to 465 +/-65),19 Huo Xuchu places it in his "apogee phase," i.e., 6th_-7th centuries.,2o Concerning cave 80, in which Su Bai sees an old cell of meditation transformedinto a worship cave with a central pillar, it is affiliated to phase a): 31o +/- 8o to 350 +/-6o,,' while Huo Xuchu sees it as a typical cave of the "apogeephase"(6th_7th centuries). This representsanothergap of interpretation
tute of the SocialAcademy of Sciences, tanshisi Zhongguo kaoguxue with zhong (Measurements shujuji, niandai I965-I9p9, carbon r4in Chinese Wenwu,Beijing,1991: Archeology, Bystylisticcomparison basednotably 324,ZK 2455). rp65-9pp-), on the naturalistic on thevaultedceilings,Huo Xuchuthen styleof mountains peakspaintedin the scenesillustrated a numberof othercaves- 77, 92, 47, 48, and117- with this firstphase,cf. Huo XuchuandWangJianlin: affiliates 1-30. One ought to be verycautiouswhile readingthesecarbon andtheirinterpretations, 14measurements especially whenreadingthe margins of error, whichcuriously from cave to cave. Measurements carried out by theInstitute vary of Archaeology of the Academyof SocialSciences resultedin cave77, for instance,providingthe followingdating: whichwaschangedafteran unexplained [60 to I B.C.], calculation to [92to 130o A.D.]. Cf.Archaeology Institute...(as ZK above): 323, 245o. cavesof this lastphasearesituatedat the eastern 117 Themost representative endof the site, up on the hill. Therearevery few cavesandsmallof size.Thesearecave180,forwhichthe carbon 14measurements give the dating(86o +95/-110o), andcave197. 118 Su Bai, vol. I: 19. ii9 Su Bai, vol. I: 18. out by the Instituteof Archaeology of the Academy I2zo Huo XuchuandWangJianlin:2I. The datingcarried of Social Sciencesagaindiffers:260-3IOA.D.,modifiedto 262-531A.D.,cf. Archaeology Institute...(as in note 113): 323,ZK 2448. I2i Su Bai, vol. I: 18.
347
to 400 years. Formerly, the German scholar Klimburgdatedit fromthe secondhalfof the of 20zoo
6th
century.123 Thus, according to these authors, the three caves are dated in a range varying for each of them from
the 4thto the 7thcenturies. The interpretation of Su Bai claimscave8o to be the oldest,while Huo
Xuchu would classify cave 171 as the oldest. Of the three caves, although the vaulted decor of cave 171 is the best preserved, it presents less personalized scenes than those in the other two caves. The iconographical elements of the scenes are more laconic and repetitive, to the point that I question whether certain scenes had not become general invitations for almsgiving rather than illustrations of particular episodes in the life of the Buddha. By comparison, scenes painted on the vaults of cave 34 are more detailed, as, for instance, those illustrating
the of the Conversion andthe miracleof yotiska savedfrom fre. This richernarrative oftheButcher being whoabandons his sword, the sceneson the ceilingof cave34 is alsofoundin theparable oftheelephant in cave80. Thesceneof theSubin whicha monkwasdepictedin cave34(fig. 28),andhasdisappeared includinga demonpainted ofMdra showedtwo figuresin cave34(the lowerhalfhascollapsed), duing in blue in the gestureof drawinga bow, as opposedto the single figureof cave 171.Lastly,a still a miracleof the Buddhaor admission of a poorpersoninto the unidentified scenethatmayillustrate in cave34 (extreme left in the secin cave34 thanin cave171: religion,is alsomorerichlyillustrated lefthandholdstheheadofa veryemaciated ondrowof thewestern section)(fig.4), theBuddha's youth an objectoffered by a personin the sitting on a stool,while he extendshis righthand,as if to receive guise of a god (halo).This thirdfigurehasbeenomittedin the sceneof caveI7I (extremeleft in the thirdrowof the westernsection).124 of the three the detailedcomparison measurements, Thus,while we awaitmoreprecisescientific thanthoseof caves8o and caveswouldindicatethat the ceiling decorin cave34 waspaintedearlier
171.
Buddhist Limits scriptures non-indigenous through ofIdentification thanksto references becameroughlyunderstandable, Althoughthe generalmeaningof the parables it ought to be notedthat the moral or theirIndianpredecessors, to the ChineseBuddhistscriptures havebeenidentified to the other.Someparables to mayvaryfromonesource theyarerelated precepts fromtalesinserted withinthe Udanavarga verses. Thetranslation of Kutchan fragments broughtback to Europe in the Uddndlankara - a kind of illustrated commentary of the Uddnavarga - is unfortunatelytoo limitedortoo sketchyto allowpreciseconnection with scenesdepictedon the caves' barrel Thus the proposed identifications werebasedon Sanskrit versionsor Chineseand Tibetan vaults.'5s translations knownof the Udanavarga, orits Southern equivalent, theDhammapada. Comparing these versions nowshowsthatthe sametalesmaybe linkedto different versesandmaytherefore haveillustrateda slightly different moral.The parable of the basinwhich Rahulauses to cleanthe feet of the
122 Huo XuchuandWangJianlin:17. 123 Cf.Yaldiz:35,quotingM. Klimburg,1969,140.
124 Su Bai,vol. 3:pl. 5. I25 Levi,S., (asin note 86):72-77 ("TheUddndlamkdra").
348
in the "elephant" Buddhais a good example: in the Fajupiyujing,it appears chapter,while in the jing, as in the Tibetanversion,it is includedin the "acts" Chuyao chapter.126It is likely that the tales 17 andthattheKutchans introduced somearrangements frombooksof narrative werederived examples of theirown. 4. CONCLUSION of the Kutchan shedon suchdecor, While we awaitthe light thattranslations mayfurther epigraphy in them ought to be underscored. of the parables illustrated the generalsignificance Theyencourage a severeasceticism anda generaldefenseof the six-foldsensesphere eyes,ears,nose,mouth,body, and mind againstall sortsof temptationsthat would causethe monk to fall backinto ignorance. in the Udndlankadra, call to self-control described of whichindigenous Theyreflecta quasi-obsessive in the Lifeof the Buddha havebeen Whereas muchof the narrative will travelfurfragments found.8 thereastrightinto China(suchasin the illustrated of theBuddha, theShishi which biography yuanliu, and19thcenturies) )9 andJapan, theseaustere seemto characspread widelybetweenthe I5th parables terizethe vaulteddecorsof the Kyzil caves. This predominance of asceticrigor,withoutequivalent in ChineseBuddhisticonography, seems to denotethe influence of the SmallVehicle.TheChinese whostoppedin Kutcha pilgrimXuanzang, onhiswayto Indiain 629-630, witnessed theactivityof theSarvastivadin SmallVehicleschool.Kyzil, as well as otherKutchancaves,mayhavebeeninfluenced, moreexactly,by the so-called Malasarvas-
126 Cf.Chuyao in whichcomparison of dirtywaterin the basinseemsto be jing,T. 212,IV (ii): 668a(section9: "Xingpi"), moreimportant. The lessontranslated fromthe Tibetanby Rockhillis as follows:"Well,Rahula,thoufoolishman, who hastshunnedthe rulesof virtue( who hastlied), thou artlike that (dirtywaterleft in the basin), I declare! He who knowinglytells lies, who is immodest,withoutshameandwho repents him not, is castout of the priesthood, as is thrownawaythis (dirtywater)," Rockhill(asabove),appendix: The verses which illustrate this in story 20o-2o6. the Chuyao into the followingChinese:"yifa weiwangyu renbumianhoushi wu'ebugeng", jing weretranslated guoqu whichcorresponds of the firstverseof the Karmavarga in roughlyto the Frenchtranslation by Chakravarti proposed the Sanskrit "Amanwho hastransgressed a singlelaw,whosespeechis false,andwhodespisesthe other Uddnavarga: fromChakravarti world,thereis no crimewhichhe doesnot commit" (transl. [asin note96]:96). AlthoughbothChinesetranslations to the Tibetanversiontranslated Fajupiyujing andChuyao jing the latercorresponding by Rockhill - relatethe parable of Rahula's feet with the act of lying, the thebasin,whichhasservedto cleanthe Buddha's maticframework andconclusions differ. of the Sanskrit 127 Comparison fragments broughtbackfromChineseTurkestan by Pelliot, Rockhill,andothers,with theirpresumed Chinesetranslations, demonstrates thevariable of the link of a storywith a particular character stanza ortheme.Thetableshowingcorrespondance betweenstanzas of the PaliDhammapada, theTibetanUddnavarga (translatedinto Englishby Rockhill),the Fajupiyufing (translated into Englishby Beal),andthe SuttaNipdtaalsoshows the mobileand adaptable character of the versescollectedin thesedifferentsources(cf. Rockhill,The Uddnavarga, index:217-222). 128 "Unless the mind hasbeentrained with the FourExercises (beats)it. It destroys unceasingly [...], the rainof passions it. [...] Whose mind has not been trainedthroughself-control[...], followingthe wisai(= skt: visaya: the sensual see Levi in S. (as note 86):74-75. objects)[...]," as in note 62. 129 SeeE. Lesbre,
349
tivddin school, whose creationin India can be situated aroundthe 4th-5th centuries.-30 Epigraphicdocumentation in Sanskrit or Kutchan discovered in the neighborhood of Kyzil seems to indicate the influence of this school too.3s' And many scenes depicting the Life of the Buddha in Kyzil have been identified in the vinayatexts of this latter school. This was the case for quite a number of vault scenes Musician(Supriya, I havepresented, such as the Subduing oftheGandharva-king ofHdriti, the Subduing Chin. transl.: Shan'ai),the Subduing ofSriguptawho attempted to give poisonous food to the Buddha, sonperishes in thewell, the Conversion whose Woman the story of the Adulterous of the FatherofJyotiska; the denunciation of the False Pregnancy ofthe Gangeson a bridge of Circa Mdnavika,and the Crossing temporarilymade of the heads of ndgas.All were traced in the Chinese and Tibetan scripturaltranslations related to the discipline of the M-lasarvastivadinschool. The iconographicanalysisconducted by Ma Shichang, Ding Mingyi, and Xiong Xi of scenes in the life of the Buddha representedon the side walls of caves in Kyzil was also essentially basedon the Chinese translationof that school's books on discipline.132 In order to provoke the viewers' feeling of contempt for lust, it is interesting to note use of the in sonperishes whose Woman image of unchaste women. Such was the case in the story of the Adulterous thewell. The scene showing a woman, sitting next to the Buddha, and an open basket containing sevbasket (left end eralmen's heads,probablyillustrates the similar tale of the Unchaste Wifeand herlovers' 2nd row in the easternsection of cave 34's ceiling: fig. 3 b; and 2nd scene in the row at the southof 2nd While the merchantDhanadevawas away, his wife would sneak ern section of cave 80's vault: fig. zi21). a different lover into her house every night by having them hide in a basket that would be brought in by servants.The story goes on to say that the unchaste wife, who was drunk, failed to recognize her own husband when he was brought into the house in the same manner. As a result, the man became The illustration of such stories with demodisgusted with his wife and decided to become a recluse.133 nized women on the ceilings of the Kyzil caves is somehow contradicted by the strikingly sensual images of women depicted in the royal couples on side-walls of the same sanctuary.These reflect the height of Kutchanpainting.134This pictorial and moralambiguity is quite specific to the art of Kutcha and apparentlystopped at the Chinese border.
Histoire Louvain, indien, SeeE. Lamotte, Bibliothiquedu Museon,1958, vol. I: 727. The Sarvdstivddin du Bouddhisme 130o the 3rdcentury around - whosenamemeans"those who teachthateverything appeared B.c..They exists" - probably menwho one the first Yi is The Chinesepilgrim Jing Indiaand the districtof Mathura. Northwestern dominated as one of fourschoolsderivedfromthe Sarvdstivddin. They dominatedNorthernIndia tions the Mulasarvdstivddin at the end of the 7th century.Yet the difference in Magadha andwerenumerous andNorthernPunjab) (Cashmere in betweenthe two schoolsis unclear(Lamotte,as above:581,587, 602). Their ideal doctrineswere summarized Orient d'Extreme de l'EcoleFrangaise Series),Paris, Lessectes (Publications A. Bareau, bouddhiques du PetitVWhicule 1955: 133-154. 131 Froma linguistic point of view, study of the Kutchanepigraphywould seeminglyindicatethe influenceof the sect (cf. Pinault,as in note I:I3). Mflasarvastivadin bupinaiye shuo (T. 1450),anda posengshi yiqieyou 132 Over40 of the 61scenesstudiedhavebeenidentifiedin the Genben bupinaiye dozenin the Genben zashi(T. I45I),cf. Su Bai,vol. I: 218-219. shuoyiqieyou of the secondrowon the Eastern end vault,fig. 3),andin cave80 (fig.21).I have in cave is 34 This scene (left 133 depicted in Somadeva's (dated talecollected thantheKashmirian of thisstoryearlier notyet foundanyversion saritsdgara Kathd 5: Grafton Ocean The London, 145-148. N. House, and 1924, see C. Penzer, around (transl.) ofstory, vol. Tawney. Io70),
350
Understanding the "mixed ceilings" of the Kyzil worship caves will hopefully be improved even more by further investigations - iconographical and textual - on the biography of the Buddha. Clarificationsmay also be expected from study and translationof indigenous texts found in Kyzil, especially of fragments of Buddhist plays (ndtaka) derived from the "PreviousLives"and "Exploits"tales, which may reveal Kutchan adaptations.135 CitedSources Frequently - Duan Wenjie (chief ed.), Zhongguo xinjiang bihua quanji, Kezi'er,Tianjin renminmeishu, Tianjin (China), 1992-1995, 3 vols. - Foucher,A., Lesbas-reliefs greco-Boudhiques du Gandhdra;E. Leroux,Paris, I905. - Huo Xuchu and Wang ji fenqi gaishu"("Chronologyof the Mural Paintings in Jianli, "bihuayishu the Cavesof Kyzil"), in (The ResearchInstitute on Kutchan Caves,ed.) Qiuciyishuyanjiu(Research on theArt of Kutcha),Urumqi (China), 1994: I-30. - Ma Shichang, "Kezi'er zhushijuandingyu houshide bihua"(Mural Paintings of the zhongxinzhuku Vaults in the Main and RearChambersof the Caveswith a CentralPillar in Kyzil), in Su Bai, vol. II: 174-226. Panglung, J.L., Die ErzalstoffedesMulasarvdstivdda-vinaya analysiert auf Grunddertibetischen Cberseries III ), Reiyuka, Tokyo, 1981. setzung(StudiaPlilologicaBuddhica,Monograph Su Bai, Ding Mingyi, Ma Shichang, Xiong Xi, Xu Wanyin, Kezi'er shiku(The cave sanctuaryof Kyzil), (Heibonsha, Tokyo, 1983-1985) and Wenwu, Peking, 1989-1998, 3 vols. Taishoshinsh& daizoky?[abbrev.:T.] (The Chinese Buddhist Scriptures),T6kyo, 1924-1935. Yaldiz, M., Archdologie Chinesisch-Zentralasiens und Kunstgeschichte (Xinjiang), E.J. Brill, Leiden/ New York/Cologne, 1987: chapt. III. "Das Kuga-Gebiet": I7-98. Yao Shihong, Kezi'er shikutansuomi (Essayson theKyzil caves),Xinjiang meishu sheying, Urumqi (China), 1996, including, in particular, "Jieshao ji zhongkezi'er piyu gushihua"(Presentation of a few Paintings of Parablesin the Kyzil Caves): I44-157.
134 See,for instance,the panelillustratingRudrayana and his wife Candraprabha, withdrawn fromcave83and now in Berlin,Su Bai, vol. 3, pl. I93;Griinwedel (asin note 3):10o3, figs. 228(fromcave118), I2I, 264 (fromcaveI23)and128 as well as 284(fromcaveI49). I35 Pinault(asin note 19):I8-I9.
351I
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352

An Attempt To Identify and Classify Scenes With A Central Buddha Depicted On Ceilings of Qizil

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An Attempt to Identify and Classify Scenes with a Central Buddha Depicted on Ceilings of the Kyzil Caves (Former Kingdom

This Asiankingdomof Kutcha(ca. knowntodayof theformer Central tantBuddhistsanctuary Ist-IIth

partofpaintingsin the Kyzilcaves- themostimporstudyis devotedto the leastunderstood

to be identifiable, Toofragmentary this hymn crossroad munication onlyI5km awayin Duldur-Aqur.

A similarfragment and Surya,as well as the ndgadivinities,Upaldlaand Bhima.36 yaksasAtavaka

Buddhistshrines. Kuchan Fig. I Mapof Kyzilandthe neighbouring

Sketchof the Kyzilcaves,showinglocationof caves34, 80 & IT7. Fig. 2 General

Fig. 3 Eastern section of ceiling vault of cave 34.

Fig. 4 Westernsectionof ceilingvaultof cave34-

SUBDUINGS AND CONVERSIONS

Fig. 5 Subduing of Mara(cave 80).

Ma Shichang. Fig. 6 Subduing of Atavaka (cave 171); after

Fig. 8 Subduing of the ndga (cave 80); after Ma Shichang.

Fig. 7 Subduing of Hdriti (cave 34).

Fig. 9 Harp Contest with Supriya; cave 34.

Fig. Io Jyotiska resuscitated (cave 34)

Fig. 11 Cincd Manavika'sfalse pregnancy unmasked (cave 80).

Fig. 13 Subduing of Srigupta (cave 80).

Fig. 12 Conversion of the butcher (cave 34).

Fig. 15 Almsbowl receivedfrom celestial kings (cave 171);after Ma Shichang.

Fig. 16 Offering of food by the merchants (cave 34).

gift of precious cloth (cave 34). Fig. 17 Mahaprajapati's

Fig. 18 The offering of flowers (cave 34)-

Fig. 19 Alms of dust (cave 34)-

Fig. zo Six animals (cave 34).

Fig. 22 Logof wood'sfreefloat(cave171).

Fig. 23 Bandit hit 300 times (cave I7I).

Fig. 24 Blind tortoise(cave171).

Fig. 25 Child strangled in the well (cave 171);after Ma Shichang.

on stickygrass Fig.26 Monkeytrapped (cave224).

Fig. 27 Rahula and the jug (cave 34).

Fig.28 Theelephantleavingthe sword(cave34).

Fig. 29 Submission of Devadatta.

Fig. 30 First Sermon in the Deer park (cave 171)-

(cave34). Fig. 31 Buddha paintinghis self-portrait

overtheBrahmanic of the Buddha's P1rna superiority systemto which recognition

103 Cf. Su Bai,vol. III:pl. 78.

Cave171 Othercave BuddhistSources

2. Atavaka, the Ogreof the Wasteland

3. Hariti,the Mother-of-demons E3(5) 4. Theprotectingnaga (Mucilinda?) 5. the Gandharva-king, Supriya

6. Jyotiskaresuscitated feignedpregnancy 7. Cinca's 8. The butcher 9. Thepoisoner, Srigupta

5. Monastery 6. Precious cloth

WI (6) S5(6) W4 (3)

Chin.tsl of : Avadmnasataka Zhuanji jing:Tzoo (53u) baiyuan (7) T20zo3 Divy-vadmna

Xianyu jing: T20zoz, VinayaMS (Tib.: Panglung:35) T.26 (44) Madhyamagama;

& deer 3. Pigeon,raven,serpent 4. Logof woodfloatingdownsmoothly

5. Bandithit 300oo times 6. Blind tortoise in the well 7. Childstrangled 8. Monkeystuck

9. Rahulaandthe jug IO.The elephantleavesthe sword

section) TaII(33rd Same

Otherfeats teachingin DeerPark I. i"

conversion 3. Ugrasena's of the Ganges 4. Crossing

Cave171 Othercave Ez(2) E3(2) W3 (I)

(Bigandet,Vie,p.I89) VinayaMS(Tib. Panglung:21)

the end of the first half of the 4th century,"6

2) The "development"phase: mid-4th-_thcenturies;

124 Su Bai,vol. 3:pl. 5. I25 Levi,S., (asin note 86):72-77 ("TheUddndlamkdra").

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