American Journal of Humanities and Social Science (AJHSS) Volume 5, 2020

Research of the Worn in the Donors’ Portraits in the Unearthed Artworks of the Dunhuang Mogao Grotto Sutra Cave

Xia Shengping*, Chen Wenjin Tunhuangology Information Center of the Dunhuang Research Academy, Dunhuang, Province, Xia Shengping E-mail:[email protected], [email protected] Chen Wenjin Email: [email protected] Abstract This article mainly discusses the portraits of cave temple donors from the unearthed artworks of the Dunhuang Mogao Grotto Sutra Cave. The Dunhuang murals and paintings of the Sutra Cave are major portions of the art of Dunhuang. Portraiture of cave donors are important themes in Dunhuang’s grotto art, and serve to depict the roles and histories of different persons, events, beliefs, and religious groups in the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in different eras and changes in painting and styles. The identities and characteristics of these donors therefore play a very important role in the chronology of the grottoes. The author discusses the quantity of the surviving paintings of the Sutra Cave, studies of the donors’ portraits, the inscriptions and dates of the donors’ portraits, the types and presentation forms of the donors displayed on the surviving paintings in the Sutra Cave, thereby fully explaining that the inscriptions on the donors are virtually identical on both portraits and murals, and fully explaining the use of verse to express the goals and desires of the donors who paid to create their paintings.

Keywords: Dunhuang Sutra Cave, Artwork, Donors’ portraits, Surviving paintings of Dunhuang Foreword The main body of Dunhuang art is the Dunhuang murals, but the texts and surviving paintings of the Sutra Cave are also a major part of Dunhuang art. Together, the Dunhuang murals and the surviving paintings of the Sutra Cave constitute the whole of the art of Dunhuang[1]. The phrase “surviving paintings” is commonly used in Chinese scholarship to refer to the surviving artworks unearthed in Mogao Grotto Sutra Cave that were not destroyed in the process of their removal and sale overseas by foreign archaeologists. Though this term is also used in this article, the author respects the controversy and subjectivity of this issue. There are similarities between both the figures in the paintings unearthed in the Sutra Cave and the portraits of donors depicted in the Dunhuang murals. These paintings can be used to verify historical records of Dunhuang and to provide evidence of Dunhuang’s ancient history. The portraiture of donors are important themes in Dunhuang grotto art, and contain evidence and depictions of the developmental role of different persons, events, beliefs, and religious groups within the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes across different eras, and showing changes in painting and other artistic styles. As such, the depiction of donors play a very important role in the chronology of the grottoes. 1. Study of the Surviving Paintings of the Dunhuang Grotto Sutra Cave At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Dunhuang were discovered by accident, and this ultimately attracted great attention from academic circles around the world. Expedition teams from all over the world arrived in Dunhuang, a small town in northwestern China, at the edge of the ancient . These teams would remove nearly 50,000 texts, paintings, and murals from the Sutra Cave, along with murals, painted sculptures, and wood carvings from some other caves, causing a large number of Dunhuang’s cultural relics to be lost overseas. Currently, a considerable number of Dunhuang cultural relics are preserved in libraries, museums, and public and private collections in many countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Russia, the United States, India, Japan, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. Among the many cultural relics unearthed from the Mogao Grotto Sutra Cave that have been lost overseas, paintings mainly include paper paintings, silk paintings, colored paintings on linen paper, line drawings, and engravings. However, the author believes that the silk works unearthed from the Sutra Cave

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American Journal of Humanities and Social Science (AJHSS) Volume 5, 2020 should be included. Therefore, the surviving paintings are composed of two types: discrete paintings on paper, silk, linen, and other material and the artworks embedded within other textual works. 1.1 Statistics on the Number of Surviving Paintings within the Dunhuang Grotto Sutra Cave 1.1.1 Surviving Dunhuang Paintings of the Stein Collection The paintings in the Sutra Cave are now preserved in the British Museum, the National Museum in New Delhi, India, the National Asian Art Museum in the Guimet Museum in Paris, France, and the Oriental Manuscripts Department of the French National Library. The categories of the Dunhuang paintings held in the Stein collection include colored paintings and line drawings on made silk, linen, and paper, as well as engravings. In prior studies, according to Waley’s Catalogue of Paintings Obtained by Stein in Dunhuang[2], we learned that the collection contained a total of 554 artworks, including silk paintings, paper paintings, engravings, and embroidery, based on the statistics of the Sutra Cave paintings obtained in Stein’s two visits to Dunhuang. Among these works, No. 1-281 are stored in the collections of the British Museum, and No. 283-554 are stored in the collections of the National Museum in New Delhi, India. Zhang Peijun later wrote an essay stating that there were more than 520 paintings in the Stein collection[3], however, Mr. Zhang Deming’s Catalogue of the Stein Collection of Surviving Dunhuang Paintings includes the collection numbers, publication indexes, and Chinese inscriptions from the Stein collection of surviving Dunhuang paintings (a total of 885 pieces), providing a basic tool for research and appreciation of the Stein collection. The catalogue collects and categorizes 885 surviving Dunhuang paintings and the Chinese inscriptions within the Stein collection [4]. The author systematically sorts out the paintings and calculates that (285+130+7+1=)423 of them are in the collection of the British Museum. A total of 279 pieces of artworks in the collection of the National Museum in New Delhi, India: SP283-SP554, including 272 surviving Dunhuang paintings and seven engravings. A total of 172 surviving Dunhuang paintings have been selected from the above texts and the IDP website. Among the Dunhuang silk fabrics collected by the Victoria and Albert Museum in the United Kingdom, 11 of them may be categorized as surviving Dunhuang paintings. In conclusion, a total of 885 pieces of surviving Dunhuang paintings are held within the Stein collection. 1.1.2 Surviving Dunhuang Paintings in the Pelliot Collection in France The categories of surviving Dunhuang paintings held in the French Pelliot collection include colored paintings and line drawings on silk, linen, paper, as well as engravings. The surviving Dunhuang paintings obtained by Pelliot are now preserved in the Guimet Museum in France. Based on the statistics published by The Art of Central Asia: the Pelliot Collection in the Guimet Museum[5], Catalogues of Dunhuang Banner Paintings and Silk Paintings,[6] andThe Collection of Dunhuang Banner Paintings and Paper Paintings[7], a total of 247 surviving paintings from the Sutra Cave are preserved in the Guimet Museum in France. Many important works have been published on the sorting and research of surviving Dunhuang paintings collected in France, but a complete catalogue has yet to be produced. This is partly due to the inconsistency of the serial numbers used in the collection and the numbering of the publishing, which makes it difficult for researchers to conduct research. However, Zhang Deming ultimately compiled the Catalogue of the Pelliot Collection of Surviving Dunhuang Paintings[8]. Based on a careful search of the Pelliot collection of surviving Dunhuang paintings in museums like the Guimet Museum and the National Library of France, this catalogue includes the Pelliot collection of surviving Dunhuang paintings (a total of 596 objects). After undergoing screening, the current edition of the catalogue now includes the scroll of surviving Dunhuang painting No. 288, the scroll of surviving Tibetan painting No. 45, the scroll of surviving Sanskrit painting No. 13, the scroll of surviving Sogdian painting No. 1, the scroll of surviving Uyghur painting No. 1, and the scroll of surviving Tangut painting No. 10, all of which are currently collected in the French National Library. As a result, the total number of surviving Dunhuang paintings in the Pelliot collection is 596. This catalogue includes the numbers, plate indexes, and Chinese inscriptions of Dunhuang silk paintings, coloured paintings on paper and linen, line drawings, and engravings stored in the Pelliot collection. 1.1.3 The Surviving Paintings of the Sutra Cave Obtained by Sergei Oldenburg of Russia The surviving paintings of the Sutra Cave obtained by Sergei Oldenburg of Russia are mainly currently stored in the Hermitage Museum in Russia. According to the two volumes of Dunhuang Artworks Collected in the State Hermitage Museum of Russia [9] published by Shanghai Classics Publishing House (which include No. 45-111 in

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American Journal of Humanities and Social Science (AJHSS) Volume 5, 2020 Volume One, No. 112-249 in Volume Two, and No. 1-71 of Black and White Plates), these mostly consist of murals, silk paintings, paper paintings, linen paintings, and textiles, 271 of which (including fragments) are surviving paintings of the Sutra Cave. The Dunhuang Texts in the Russian Collection also includes several line drawings and engravings. This catalogue includes the collection numbers, plate indexes, and Chinese inscriptions of the surviving Dunhuang paintings (a total of 374) published in the The Dunhuang Art Collection in the State Hermitage Museum of Russia and The Russian Collection of Dunhuang Texts, and serves as a basic tool for the study and appreciation of surviving Dunhuang paintings in the Russian collection. In Mr. Zhang Deming’s latest publication, The Catalogue of the Oldenburg Collection of Surviving Dunhuang Paintings [10], he mentions that the categories of surviving Dunhuang paintings in the Oldenburg Collection in Russia include colored paintings and line drawings on silk, linen, and paper, as well as engravings. The article discusses a selection of 138 texts containing surviving Dunhuang paintings from the Dunhuang Texts in the Russian Collection (1-17). Therefore, The Catalogue of the Oldenburg Collection of Surviving Dunhuang Paintings contains 236 items of surviving Dunhuang paintings in the The Dunhuang Artworks in the Russian Collection and 138 surviving Dunhuang paintings in The Dunhuang Texts in the Russian Collection, a total of 374 items. 1.1.4 The Surviving Sutra Cave Paintings Scattered Across the World In addition, the other surviving Dunhuang paintings scattered across the world have also been published. According to Mr. Ma De, the miscellaneous scattered surviving paintings of the Dunhuang Sutra Cave include 5 silk paintings stored in the United States [11], 4 of which are inscriptions of donors. These include: the Portrait of the Maitreya and His Servant (1943.54.1) painted in the tenth year of Tianfu (approximately 900 CE), which is collected in the Harvard Art Museums; the 12-Faced Six-Arm Guanyin in Disguised Form (1943.57.14) painted in the second year of Yongxi (approx. 900 CE); Guanyin Encompassed by Water and Moon (30.36) painted in the sixth year of Qiande (approx. 970 CE) and collected by Freer Gallery of Art in Washington; the Six-Arm Guanyin Sutra Illustration in Disguised Form (No.201570) painted in the eighth year of Kaibao (approx. 980 CE) and collected by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. There is only one inscription without a donor’s portrait, a portrait of Ksitigarbha currently collected in the Freer Gallery of Art. Two silk paintings are collected in the Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum in Japan, including the Guanyin with a Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes, and Bhaisajyaguru Preaching the Dharma with an inscription made in the fourth year of Tiancheng (929 CE). Two pieces of silk paintings are collected in the Gansu Provincial Museum, the Guanyin in Disguised Form painted in the second year of Yongxi (approx. 990 CE), and the Examination on Buddhist Sutra in Disguise Form painted in the second year of Chunhua (approx.. 985 CE). One silk painting has been collected in the Sichuan Provincial Museum, the Guanyin Encompassed by Water and Moon painted in the second year of Jianlong. 3,299 painted Buddha portraits on paper have been collected in the Shanghai Museum. Mr. Wang Huimin has collected and made a catalogue of Dunhuang paintings scattered across China, the United States, Japan, and Korea, with a total of 42 artworks [12]. In addition, there are some other items stored in private collections, but data regarding them is unknown. To sum up, Zhang Peijun created preliminary statistics based on previously published data and believes that there are 1,082 surviving paintings from the Dunhuang Sutra Cave [13]. In Yuan Ting’s History of the Study of Paintings Unearthed From the Dunhuang Sutra Cave, the author believes that, based on the currently available data, there is a total of 1,700 Dunhuang paintings held in collections across China and around the world. This database of paintings has become the basis for the study of Dunhuang paintings [14], however, according to the author’s latest statistics, the number of paintings from the Sutra Cave must be no less than 1897. This number should be the most accurate based on currently available data (885+596+374+42=1897). Based on the number of paintings in the Sutra Cave calculated by scholars, the gap between the two is relatively large. It is hoped that more accurate data will be obtained to share with readers in the future. 1.2 Study on the Donors’ Portraits in Dunhuang Sutra Cave There have been many publications regarding the surviving Dunhuang paintings, the most important of which has been the Dunhuang Artworks in the Russian Collection published by the Shanghai Classics Publishing House from 1997-1998. The Shanghai Classic Publishing House published the Dunhuang Texts in the Russian Collection (1992- 2001), specifically the Dunhuang Texts 1-17 Collected in the St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Oriental

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American Journal of Humanities and Social Science (AJHSS) Volume 5, 2020 Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In addition, related research studies have been made in books including the Collection of Dunhuang Grottoes: Picture Scrolls of Sutra Cave[15] edited by Fan Jinshi, Rong Xinjiang’s Eighteen Lectures on Tunhuangology[16], Liu Jinbao’s General Discussion on Tunhuangology [17], Sha Wutian’s Research on Dunhuang Manuscripts[18], and Zheng Binglin and Sha Wutian’s Introduction to Dunhuang Grotto Art[19]. However, there are still few systematic studies of the donors’ portraits of the Sutra Cave. The categories of surviving Dunhuang paintings in the British Stein collection include colored paintings and line drawings on silk, linen, paper, as well as engravings. The research and organization of surviving Dunhuang paintings in the British collection are quite complete, but a complete catalogue of them has yet to be produced. The catalogue of surviving Dunhuang paintings collected in India is even less known. Due to the inconsistency in the numbering of the collections and the numbering of certain works, it is difficult for scholars to conduct research on these items. Mr. Zhang Deming has systematically compiled the collection number, the plate indexes, and Chinese inscriptions of the Stein collection of surviving Dunhuang paintings (885 items in total) to serve as a basic tool for their research and appreciation, based on the Stein collection of surviving Dunhuang paintings held in the British Museum, British Library, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Mr. Zhang Deming’s SteinCollection of Surviving Dunhuang Paintings can help us clarify the number of silk paintings, linen paintings, and paper paintings Stein took from Dunhuang, and the inscriptions, list of titles, and verses on these paintings. He has collected and sorted out 885 pieces of surviving Dunhuang paintings in the Stein collection and their Chinese inscriptions, providing great convenience for later research. Regarding texts like the inscriptions, lists of titles, and verses (hereinafter collectively referred to as “inscriptions”) in the Pelliot collection of surviving Dunhuang paintings, 43 out of 222 pieces in the Catalogue of Dunhuang Banner Paintings and Paper Painting Annotations have inscriptions, but the book only published a few of them. Ma De’s Collection of Dunhuang Silk Painting Inscriptions [20] compiled inscriptions of surviving Dunhuang paintings published in The Art of Central Asia: the Pelliot Collection in the Guimet Museum, and other items. Among them, only 21 of these words have been compiled in The Art of Central Asia: the Pelliot Collection in the Guimet Museum (7 EO numbers and 14MG numbers).The colored or black-and-white plates of the large-scale published catalogue The Art of Central Asia: Pelliot Collection in the Guimet Museum, though beautifully printed, is still inferior to the digital images of the International Dunhuang Project and other websites, especially the enlarged images. When interpreting damaged and blurred inscriptions or other textual materials, digital images are far superior to paper materials. The Dunhuang collections looted by Sergei Oldenburg of Russia are now preserved in the State Hermitage Museum and the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Dunhuang cultural relics collected in the Hermitage Museum in Russia include murals, sculptures, silk paintings, paper and linen paintings, and silk fabric fragments. These are all important parts of the surviving paintings in the Sutra Cave. The surviving paintings scattered in the Dunhuang texts include donors’ portraits, Buddha portraits, pictures of preaching the Dharma, and sutra illustrations of disguised bodhisattvas. The academic circle in this field has proceeded to sort out, classify, and discuss these paintings. These studies include Sha Wutian’s Research on Dunhuang Manuscripts, a masterwork of research in the study of sketches, and the images of persons in the book are significantly worthy of reference. In this research, the author makes significant discussion of the figures’ clothing, including their headwear, such as the men’s futou hats in sketch P2869V. The author explains that the futou was a common headdress worn by ancient Chinese men of the period, and analyses the ranks, identities, and personal backgrounds that the futou represents, and the changes in the styles of futou. The Research on Dunhuang Manuscripts is a discussion on the sketches, which provides the basis of Dunhuang murals, silk paintings, linen paintings, paper paintings, and other materials. It uses these complete works as basic materials to try to reproduce the detailed process on the production of Dunhuang paintings to grasp the context of the art of Dunhuang, and also to provide rare information for the study of the history of Chinese painting and clothing. In Zhang Peijun’s article A Preliminary Study of the Donors’ Portraits in the Unearthed Paintings of the Dunhuang Sutra Cave [21], he investigates donors’ portraits in the Dunhuang Sutra Cave paintings. This article sorts out, counts, and makes a preliminary analysis of the donors’ portraits in the surviving paintings of Sutra Cave, so as to let people have an overall understanding of the donors’ portraits in the paintings. He believes that the rich materials of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes which reflect the donors’ appearance and activities in ancient Dunhuang can be

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American Journal of Humanities and Social Science (AJHSS) Volume 5, 2020 summarized into two aspects: first, text regarding the donors, including a total of more than 7,000 inscriptions of donors preserved in the Mogao Grottoes, and inscriptions of donors on silk and paper paintings unearthed in the Sutra Cave. Among the texts unearthed from the Sutra Cave, a large number of Tang- and Song-era paintings and materials of monks and lay believers and their supporting activities in Dunhuang are preserved in the Sutra Cave. Second, the image information of the donors, including the images of tens of thousands of donors from the Sixteen Kingdoms to the Yuan Dynasty preserved in the murals of Dunhuang grottoes, and hundreds of donors’ portraits in paintings such as silk paintings, linen paintings, and paper paintings painted in the early Song Dynasty and the Tang and Five Dynasties unearthed from the Mogao Grotto Sutra Cave. His introduction gives us a better understanding of the value of the donors’ portraits unearthed from the Sutra Cave. The texts of Dunhuang artwork are so rich in content that they contain immeasurable content for study. Previous scholars conducted research on the texts and paintings unearthed from the Dunhuang Sutra Cave and acquired fruitful results. However, it only in recent years that comprehensive and systematic research on donors’ portraits in the surviving paintings of the Dunhuang Grottoes and the Sutra Cave has attracted worldwide attention. 2. Donors’ Portraits in the Paintings Unearthed from Dunhuang Sutra Cave 2.1 Research on Donors in the Surviving Paintings The paintings unearthed from Dunhuang Sutra Cave were painted during the Tang and the Northern Song Dynasty, with many produced during the Five Dynasties and the early Northern Song Dynasty. Compared with the production of grotto sculptures, the silk, linen, and paper paintings were less costly means of performing meritorious deeds as part of redeeming oneself as a Buddhist. Moreover, these paintings were convenient for allowing the Dunhuang monks and lay believers to carry out rituals and offerings in different places such as homes, temples, Buddhist halls, and monasteries. Therefore, the use of paintings and portraiture is a form of economic support generally accepted by monks and lay believers of all classes of society, from local officials to ordinary people. These silk-paper portraits and sculptures from the grotto constitute an important part of Dunhuang . The silk and linen paintings unearthed from the Dunhuang Sutra Cave are important parts of Dunhuang Buddhist art, and have long attracted academic attention. Scholars from China and across the world have successively studied the donors’ portraits in the surviving Dunhuang paintings and published relevant papers on them. As early as 1919, Mr. Wang Guowei wrote the Portrait Postscript of Princess Khotan’s Supporting Ksitigarbha[22]. Wang Guowei was the pioneer scholar in this field of research, and Stein selected 48 exquisite silk paintings in the book Thousand Buddha Caves: Ancient Buddhist Paintings from the Cave Temple of Dunhuang on the Western Border of China [23]. The introduction of the book outlines the content and artistic value of these paintings. In the Study on Dunhuang Paintings[24], the Japanese scholar Matsumoto Eiichi conducted a systematic classification and study of all artworks unearthed from the Sutra Cave in combination with the murals of the Mogao Grottoes taken by Pelliot, and achieved fruitful results in the field. The French scholar Michel Soymié used dozens of surviving Dunhuang paintings collected in the British Museum and the Guimet Museum in France in The Donors in Dunhuang Paintings [25], in which he examined the donors’ portraits and believed that the reason that these paintings were drawn was to pay tribute to the dead, instead of serving as a means for the living to serve the Buddha. The British Museum researcher Anne Farrer’s From Sukhavati Drawings to Paper Flowers: Comparison of the Value of Painting Materials Unearthed from Dunhuang Sutra Cave [26] made an analysis on the surviving paintings painted during the Tang and Five Dynasties that were unearthed from Dunhuang Sutra Cave and are currently collected in the British Museum. She pointed out that the selection of materials used in the paintings is different; silk paintings are extremely costly and exquisite works, while paper paintings are relatively cheap, reflecting how people of different social classes could both pay to produce different paintings. The Collection of Donors’ Portraits of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes Collected in the Hermitage Museum[27] introduces some of the surviving paintings of donors in the Sutra Cave collected in the Hermitage Museum. There is also the Catalogue of Paintings Recovered in Tun-huang by Sir Aurel Stein [28] compiled and completed by the British researcher Arthur Waley, and these are all major academic achievements in this field. In this way, catalogues and photo galleries of the most well-preserved paintings have been published in countries like Britain, France, Russia, and India, providing basic materials for the study of Dunhuang paintings. Other publications include The Art of Central Asia: Stein Collection in British Museum [29] (3 volumes) edited by Roderick Whitfield, The Art of Central Asia: Pelliot Collection in Guimet Museum [30] (2 volumes) co-edited by

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American Journal of Humanities and Social Science (AJHSS) Volume 5, 2020 Jacques Giès and Terukazu Akiyama, Dunhuang Silk and Banner Paintings in the Guimet Museum [31] edited by Hambis Louis, and Dunhuang Silk and Banner Paintings in the Guimet Museum[32] (commentary) edited by Nicolas-Vandier. What remains to be addressed is the current Indian collection of Dunhuang paintings, which can be found in the Dunhuang Buddhist Paintings[33] co-authored by Professors Jindal and Sharma. The publication of the book provides an academic and ideological basis for Sino-Indian cooperation as well as multinational cooperation. The fourth part, “Dunhuang Paintings in the National Museum of India”, is the core of the book. It introduces artwork from the Dunhuang Sutra Cave in detail, and comprehensively provides readers with basic information on the surviving Dunhuang paintings in Britain, France, Russia, and India. The publication of Dunhuang Buddhist Paintings was a milestone with epoch-making significance in the history of global Tunhuangology, which marks the official publication of the long-awaited Dunhuang paintings and texts collected India, and the study of Tunhuangology will enter a new stage of comprehensive development through Sino-Indian cooperation and multinational collaboration. Ma De’s Records of Dunhuang Silk Painting Inscriptions [34] compiled and organized the inscriptions of the donors in the surviving Dunhuang paintings collected in the British Museum and Guimet Museum in France which had been published in The Art of Central Asia. Archaeological Series of Pelliot’s Expedition [35] (Published in Paris, France) is edited by Hambis Louis, and its 14th volume was published in 1974. TheDunhuang Silk and Banner Paintings in the Guimet Museumwas edited by Hambis Louis. Dunhuang Silk and Banner Paintings in Guimet Museum[xxxii] (commentary) is edited by Nicolas-Vandier, the 15th volume of which was published in 1976. The Collection of Dunhuang Artworks in the State Hermitage Museum of Russia edited by the State Hermitage Museum of Russia and Shanghai Classics Publishing House has included many collections and paintings unearthed from the Sutra Cave, which are all important reference materials. 2.2 The Issue of Donors’ Age in the Surviving Dunhuang Paintings Judging from the published materials on paintings unearthed from the Sutra Cave, a large number of clear portraits, inscriptions, and verses of the donors are preserved in the surviving Dunhuang paintings, providing a wealth of images, texts, and research materials for the study of the social structure, religious beliefs, and economic conditions of the people of Dunhuang during the Tang and Song Dynasties, which are irreplaceable treasures for the study of ancient Chinese Buddhist art and history and culture. Preliminary statistics have been made based on the above published materials, and there are 1,082 pieces of surviving paintings in the Dunhuang Sutra Cave. 134 of them are donors’ portraits, 34 of them are only donors’ inscriptions, totaling 168. These surviving Dunhuang paintings are divided into three categories: silk, linen, and paper, with the number of silk paintings being the highest, then linen, then paper. The earliest painting was produced during the early Tang Dynasty and the latest painting time was produced during the early Northern Song Dynasty, with most of them being painted during the Five Dynasties and Song Dynasty, when the Guiyi Circuit ruled Dunhuang under the Song, during, the 10th century [36]. For related research, please see Jean-Pierre Drège’s Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie, Volume 11, “New Research on Tunhuangology in Commemorating the Centenary of the Founding of the French School of Far East”[37] (Jean Pierre Drège edit: Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie, Vol.11: Nouvelles êtudes de Dunhuang Centenaire de L'école Francaise d'Extrême-Orient, Kyōto: L'école Francaise d'Extrôme-Orient Section de Kyōto, 2000), as these materials are worthy of serious academic attention. Most of the paintings unearthed from the Sutra Cave were painted on silk, linen, and paper. These scrolls were written between the early 4th century and the end of the 10th century. It is worth noting that in the paintings from the temples, there are very few donors’ portraits from the first half of the 9th century AD, with a large number of donors’ portraits not appearing until the late Tang and Five Dynasties. Moreover, there are inscriptions stating the exact dates of the donor’s depiction, with these dating from 864 AD to the latest in 983 AD [38]. The donors’ portraits painted on the scrolls and banners are complements of the Dunhuang grottoes. When painting these donors’ portraits, the artists were not bound by strict religious rituals, so their depictions came from real life. The clothes on the portraits of the male and female donors, as painted on silk, linen, and paper, all reflect the characteristics of the era, and their social status in particular. Clear dates were written in many of the donors’ inscriptions, which are important references for judging the age of caves, their murals, and temple banners. Therefore, they also provide an important basis for distinguishing between donors and ordinary people as depicted in Buddhist paintings.

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American Journal of Humanities and Social Science (AJHSS) Volume 5, 2020 To sum up, over the years, scholars across China and around the world have done a great deal of research on the artifacts from the Dunhuang Sutra Cave and achieved fruitful results. There is limited research on the donors’ portraits in the paintings, but some scholars have noticed this problem and achieved fruitful research results in this area. These scholars include Ma De, who wrote Five Dunhuang Silk Paintings in the United States and Anne Farrer, who wrote From Sukhavati Drawings to Paper Flowers: Comparison of the Value of Painting Materials Unearthed from Dunhuang Sutra Cave, Rudova M.A., who wrote The Collection of Donors’ Portraits of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes at the State Hermitage Museum of Russia (translated by Zhang Huiming), and Yu Xin, who wrote French Progress in Tunhuangology—(Far East Asia Series)Special Issue Review of New Research on Tunhuangology[39]. These papers new thoughts on research methods available for use in the field. These authors have made particular focus on exploring the rich historical information stored in the texts and in exploring the social and historical value of these paintings, and is worthy of recognition. 3. Portraits of Donors of the Dunhuang Sutra Cave and Their Combinations Mr. Duan Wenjie believes that the relationships between the donors and the grotto were interdependent. Without the donors, there would be no grotto, and without the grotto, there would be no donors’ portraits [40]. The paintings unearthed from Dunhuang Sutra Cave are an inseparable and important part of the art of Dunhuang. They have many similarities with grotto murals, but they are also distinct. It is their support and funding that allowed the excavation of the Dunhuang Grottoes to be continued, as evidenced by the donors’ portraits in the paintings unearthed from the Sutra Cave. Included in the donors of the Dunhuang paintings were the highest local official of the Guiyi Circuit, the Cao clan leaders and their families, including Cao Yuande, Cao Zongshou, and Princess Khotan, who appeared in the paintings at the same time. Among the middle and lower-level officials, only a few were seen among the donors of the grotto murals; for example, in the silk painting of Eleven-Faced Guanyin (NG.17778), the donor was “Cheng Enxin, Yaqian military commissioner, general, grand master of the palace with silver seal and blue ribbon, attendant guest of the prince, imperial censor, and highest commander”, who also appears in Cave 98 of the Mogao Grottoes, with the inscription of “Cheng Enxin, Yaqian military commissioner, general, grand master of the palace with silver seal and blue ribbon, attendant guest of the prince, imperial censor, and highest commander”. Other middle and lower-level officials and ordinary monks and lay believers are not found in the grottoes. The verses in these surviving paintings also play a role in recording the merits and virtues of the dead, and paying tribute to them. For example, MG.17659, Guanyin with a Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes, included a portrait of Fan Jishou, and its verse was clearly titled “Portrait of Merit”. It first praises Fan Jishou for “studying the nine classics, learning the principles of the eight schools...His cultural talent is well known in the city, and his martial art is top in the army. His virtues and talents should be recognized”. 3.1 Donors in the Surviving Paintings of the Sutra Cave—Supporting Activities of Lay Devotees Compared with the surviving paintings of the Dunhuang Sutra Cave and the Dunhuang murals, the surviving paintings of the Sutra Cave require much less financial resources, but the themes are relatively richer, and their composition is relatively simple. Most of them are simple Buddha portraits, providing a communication channel for the middle and lower classes to express their Buddhist beliefs and express their wishes. This is also one of the main reasons for the large number of surviving paintings in Dunhuang from the Tang and Song Dynasties. The inscription of EO.1398 Portrait of Prabhutaratna is, “Suo Zhangsan, donor, pious believer of Buddhism, cobbler who sews shoes and boots, and scribe, who supports the portrait with all his heart”. This content explains that the subject, a cobbler named Suo Zhangsan, had little money and low status and could not draw silk paintings or his own portraits. He thus paid to support two paper paintings and create inscriptions for them. However, he also left us with precious research materials, a thorough depiction of a poor donor who paid to support a portrait more than a thousand years ago. Among the donors of ordinary monks and lay believers, there are only a few monks and nuns, with categories such as “pious male believers”, “pious Buddhist pilgrims”, “pious female believers”, “Upasika”, and other kinds of lay devotees account for the vast majority of the paintings, showing that most of the surviving paintings in the Sutra Cave were supported by lay devotees. Most of the paintings are silk paintings, with some being linen and paper paintings.

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American Journal of Humanities and Social Science (AJHSS) Volume 5, 2020 Evidence has shown that some of the paintings were drawn by monks and laymen from different families. For example, silk paintings Ch.38005 Two Guanyins was co-supported by six people, including devotees the Wen Yi, Wen £, and Dong Wenhai, Upasika Jue Hui, and monks Ci Li and Yi£. This may be due to the fact that some monks and lay believers could not afford to independently support the creation of silk paintings, so they jointly supported these portraits. Some poor people also could not afford the cost of a silk painting, so they chose to use paper painting, which was relatively cheap. For example, the paintings Guanyin and Prabhutaratna, supported by cobbler Suo Zhangsan, are paper paintings. 3.2 Donors in the Surviving Paintings of the Sutra Cave—Family Donors Since the second half of the 9th century AD to the 10th century, there were many donors’ portraits within the Dunhuang paintings. We can refer to the donors’ portraits during this period as family donors’portraits. Family donors’ portraits have a fixed form of expression, in which the position of each figure is strictly in accordance with their hierarchical identity, kinship, and relationship with the main subject of the painting. The subjects are usually located under the Buddha or Bodhisattva, and are listed on the left and right sides according to age and gender. The family donors’ portraits follow the fashions and styles popular at the time. The men’s clothing is also the standard clothing worn by Chinese officials. The family donors’ portraits can be seen as having unique characteristics in the long chain of Chinese portraiture. This art is closely related to the spread of Buddhism throughout the Dunhuang oasis. The appearance of family donors’ portraits also shows that Buddhism has developed among ordinary people, adapting to local religious beliefs and ultimately blending with them. A bride in a red wedding dress is regularly added to these family donors’ portraits, and this is no accident. She is used as a symbol of future generations for the family, and is meant to carry on the family lineage. While discussing the inscriptions and verses of the donors in the surviving Dunhuang paintings, the author puts forward the same view that the combination of the donors’ portraits, inscriptions and verses in the surviving Dunhuang paintings is the same as that of the Dunhuang murals. The study of the identities of the figures in the surviving Dunhuang paintings shows that among the paintings unearthed from the Sutra Cave, many top local officials and their families provided financial tithes to create these donors’ portraits, and the views of prior researchers on this topic are convincing. 3.3 Representation of Donors Portraits in Surviving Dunhuang Paintings There are two main different combinations of donors’ portraits, inscriptions, and verses of surviving Dunhuang paintings: the first is of those with donors’ portraits and the inscriptions or verses. This type of painting is generally drawn by the painter according to the donor’s idea. The image is generally large, and the quality is good. The positions of the donors are arranged according to proportion, the composition is rational, the characters are arranged in an orderly manner, and the level of artistic skill is high. The second is those with the inscriptions or verses of the donor only, but with no portrait for the donor. These types of paintings may matched with an appropriate painting drawn in advance by the artist chosen by the donor, with the inscriptions or verses being written as needed. Ma De’s Research on the History of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes included the inscriptions of the donors in the silk paintings collected in Britain and France. While studying the history of the Mogao Grottoes, he combined the inscriptions of the donors with the verses in the paintings for study. The donors’ inscriptions in the surviving paintings are basically the same as those used in the murals, which were written vertically in the inscription box above the donor’s portrait.The inscriptions of the donors in the surviving paintings are usually simple in the early stage, but gradually became longer as they gained official posts. For example, the longest donor’s inscription is in The Portrait of Bhaisajyaguru Funded by Zhang Herong (Ch.00101), which contains 36 characters: “Zhang Herong, devotee of Buddhism, military commander, general, grand master of the palace with silver seal and blue ribbon, general of the left, commander of the guards, attendant highest commander of the Imperial College, and censorof the palace”. The donor who paid for the portrait would add the title “donor” before the inscription, for example, “donor Xu Hanrong” (Ch.27002), “donor and new bride Suo” (MG.25468). In addition, there are two lists of titles for the Tibetan donors’ inscriptions. For example, In the Sutra on Contemplation of Amitayus collected in Russia, there is a red horizontal list of titles written in Tibetan, along with a vertical list of titles written in Chinese, painted above the heads of each female donor on the left and the male donor on the right. Compared with the verses of donors in the murals, which are mostly damaged, the verses in the surviving paintings are relatively complete and clear. The verse is used to explain the donor’s motivation and goalin creating this painting.

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American Journal of Humanities and Social Science (AJHSS) Volume 5, 2020 Conclusion The donors’ portraits in the paintings unearthed from the Dunhuang Sutra Cave are important parts of Dunhuang’s grotto art. These portraits also serve as important and thematic imagery in Dunhuang’s grotto art, confirming the development of numerous persons, events, beliefs, and religious groups depicted in the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes across different eras, and expressing changes in painting and styles. Donors play a very important role in the chronology of the grottoes. With the inscriptions and verses of donors in the surviving Dunhuang paintings, it is believed that the presentation forms of the donors’ portraits, inscriptions and verses in the Dunhuang paintings are consistent with the purpose of the donors’ portraits in the Dunhuang murals. The donors’ portraits in the paintings unearthed from the Dunhuang Sutra Cave provide a wealth of images, texts, and other research materials for the study of social structures, religious beliefs, and economic conditions of the people in Dunhuang during the Tang and Song Dynasties, once again showing that the function of the donors’ inscriptions in the surviving paintings and on the murals are basically identical, and these verses are used to express the purpose and wishes of the donor who paid to create each painting. Although several scholars in the field have conducted some research and provided specific references for the further in-depth study of the texts unearthed from the Sutra Cave, further organization and analyses are needed to broaden research ideas in this field and lead the research of donors’ portraits in the Dunhuang Grottoes and the Sutra Cave to reach a deeper level. Acknowledgement * This article is one of the phased results of the “Arrangement and Research of Tunhuangology Academic Historical Data” (17ZDA213), a major project of the National Social Science Fund; it is also a research result of the China Dunhuang Grotto Conservation Research Foundation’s “Unearthed Texts of the Dunhuang Sutra Cave and Literature Research Catalog Database” project. References [1] Xianlin Ji, editor-in-chief (1988): Dictionary of Dunhuang Studies, Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House, p.231. [2] Arthur Waley (1931). Catalogue of Paintings Recovered by Sir Aurel Stein in Tun-huang, London. [3] Peijin Zhang (2007). A Preliminary Study of the Donors’ Portraits in the Unearthed Paintings of the Dunhuang Sutra Cave. Dunhuang Studies. No.4. [4] Deming Zhang (2017). Stein Collection of Surviving Dunhuang Paintings. Journal of Tibetology. No.2. [5] Jacques Giès andTerukazu Akiyama (1994-1995). The Art of Central Asia: Pelliot Collection in the Guimet Museum(2 volumes). Kodansha Ltd. [6] Nicolas-Vandier (1974). Dunhuang Silk and Banner Paintings in the Guimet Museum (with commentary). Volume 14. [7] Hambis Louis (1976). Dunhuang Silk and Banner Paintings in the Guimet Museum (with pictures). Volume 15. [8] Deming Zhang (2014). Catalogue of the Pelliot Collection of Surviving Dunhuang Paintings. Journal of Tibetology. No.2. [9] State Hermitage Museum of Russia and the Shanghai Classics Publishing House (1997). Collection of Dunhuang Artworks in the State Hermitage Museum of Russia. Shanghai Classics Publishing House. [10] Deming Zhang (2019). The Catalogue of the Oldenburg Collection of Surviving Dunhuang Paintings. Journal of Tibetology. No.1. [11] De Ma (1999). Five Dunhuang Silk Paintings in the United States. Dunhuang Studies. No.2.

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American Journal of Humanities and Social Science (AJHSS) Volume 5, 2020 [12] Huimin Wang. Known Records of Scattered Dunhuang Paintings. Refer to the website of the Dunhuang Research Academy. [13] Peijun Zhang (2007). A Preliminary Study of the Donors’ Portraits in the Unearthed Paintings of Dunhuang Sutra Cave. Dunhuang Studies. No.4. [14] Ting Yuan (2016). The History of the Study of Paintings Unearthed from the Dunhuang Sutra Cave. Gansu Education Press. [15] Jinshi Fan (2005). The Complete Works of Dunhuang Grottoes: The Picture Scrolls of the Sutra Cave. Commercial Press (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. [16] Xinjiang Rong (2001). Eighteen Lectures on Tunhuangology. Peking University Press. [17] Jinbao Liu (2019). General Discussion on Tunhuangology. Gansu Education Press. [18] Wutian Sha (2007). Research on Dunhuang Manuscripts. Central Compilation and Translation Press. [19] Binlin Zheng and Wutian Sha (2005). Introduction to Dunhuang Grotto Art. Gansu Culture Press. [20] De Ma (1996). Collection of Dunhuang Silk Painting Inscriptions. Journal of Dunhuang Studies. [21] Peijun Zhang (2007). A Preliminary Study of the Donors’ Portraits in the Unearthed Paintings of Dunhuang Sutra Cave. Dunhuang Studies. No.4. [22] Guowei Wang (1959). Portrait Postscript of Princess Khotan’s Supporting Ksitigarbha. Volume 20. Zhonghua Book Company. [23] Aurel Stein (1921). Thousand Buddha Caves: Ancient Buddhist Paintings from the Cave Temple of Dunhuang on the Western Border of China. London. [24] Matsumoto Eiichi (1937). Study on Dunhuang Paintings Volume 1. Chinese Translation: Lin Baoyao, Zhao Shengliang, and Li Mei. Study of Dunhuang Paintings, Zhejiang University Press. 2019. [25] Jean Pierre Drège, Editor: Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie, Vol.11: Nouvelles êtudes de Dunhuang Centenaire de L'école Francaise d'Extrême-Orient, Kyōto: L'école Francaise d'Extrôme-Orient section de Kyōto, 2000. [26] Anne Farrer (2000). Translation: Wei Wenjie.From Sukhavati Drawings to Paper Flowers: Comparison of the Value of Painting Materials Unearthed From the Dunhuang Sutra Cave. Dunhuang Studies. Issue 3, pp. 48-51. [27] Rudova M•A (1993). Translation: Zhang Huiming. The Collection of Donors’ Portraits of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in the State Hermitage Museum of Russia. Dunhuang Studies. Issue 3. [28]Arthur Waley (1931). Catalogue of Paintings Recovered From Dunhuang by Sir Aurel Stein, London. [29] Roderick Whitfield (1984-1992). The Art of Central Asia: Stein Collection in British Museum(3 volumes). Kodansha Ltd. [30] Jacques Giès and Terukazu Akiyama. The Art of Central Asia: Pelliot Collection in the Guimet Museum. [31] Hambis Louis (1976). Dunhuang Silk and Banner Paintings in the Guimet Museum. Volume 15. [32] Nicolas-Vandier (1974). Dunhuang Silk and Banner Paintings in the Guimet Museum. Volume 14. [33] Buddhist Paintings of Tun-Huang In The National Museum , Nezv Delhi, 2012 [34] De Ma (1996). Collection of Dunhuang Silk Painting Inscriptions.Journal of Dunhuang Studies. Volume 1. [35] Hambis Louis (1974). Archaeological Series of Pelliot’s Expedition. Paris, France. [36] Peijun Zhang (2007). A Preliminary Study of the Donors’ Portraits in the Unearthed Paintings of Dunhuang Sutra Cave. Dunhuang Studies. Volume 4.

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American Journal of Humanities and Social Science (AJHSS) Volume 5, 2020 [37] Jean Pierre Drège edit：Cahiersd'Extrême-Asie ,Vol.11：Nouvellesêtudes de Dunhuang Centenaire de L'école Francaise d'Extrême-Orient, Kyōto：L'écolefrancaise d'Extrôme-Orient section de Kyōto,2000. [38] Rudova M.A. (1993). Translation: Zhang Huiming. The Collection of Donors’ Portraits of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes at the State Hermitage Museum of Russia. Dunhuang Studies. Issue 3. [39] Anne Farrer (2000). Translation: Wei Wenjie. From Sukhavati Drawings to Paper Flowers: Comparison of the Value of Painting Materials Unearthed from Dunhuang Sutra Cave. Dunhuang Studies. Issue 3, pp. 48-51. [40] Rudova M•A (1993). Translation: Zhang Huiming. The Collection of Donors’ Portraits of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes at the State Hermitage Museum of Russia. Dunhuang Studies. Issue 3. pp. 46-49. De Ma. Five Dunhuang Silk Paintings in the United States. Dunhuang Studies. No.2. pp. 170-175. [41] Xin Yu (2001). French Progress in Tunhuangology—(Far East Asia Series) Special Issue Review of New Research on Tunhuangology, Journal of Dunhuang Studies. No. 1. pp. 103-111. [42] Wenjie Duan (1995). Portraits of Donors and the Grottoes. Dunhuang Studies. Issue 3.

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