The Dunhuang Grottoes Mandala Image

In the researches of recent years on Tantrism in China, Dun Huang Esoterism is one of the subjects most followed by scholars. However, only few of them dealed with the iconography of Mandalas in Dun Huang grottos. There are a few Mandalas in the Dunhuang frescoes attributed to Tattvasamgraham system besides to inner and outer four bodisattvas during early and middle Tang dynasty, earlies Five tathagatas of Vajradhatu appeared in Yuling Grotto No.35,28during Cao family ruling period and four Vajradhatu Mandalas first represented late to Tangut period, such as on the north wall and ceiling of Yunlin Grotto No.3, the ceiling of Dongqianfo Grotto No.2as well as the north side of the pole of Dongqianfo Grotto No.5, of which only the one on the north wall of Yunlin Grotto No.3belongs to a complete a37-deities Vajradhatu Mandala, while others are simple representation.My research focuses on the recognization of Vajradhatu Mandalas examples and their iconography found in Dunhuang Grotto. as well as Mayajala Mandala and Eight Bodhisattvas in Tianwang Hall, Dunhuang Grotto, on the base of carefully studies on Tattvasamgraha, Mayajala Tantra and Guhyasamaja Tantra and comparison between the texts and iconography. With the help with of Japanese achievements in the Esoteric iconographic studies, my paper pays more attention to the concrete Buddhist iconographic elements of mandala deities, sucha as body color, direction, mudra, attribute, crown etc. while dealomg with its moscology and organization in a space of grottoes. Further more, on the basis of examining the numerous texts of Tattvasamgraha and its related ritual texts, recognization of main deities of Five Tathagatas of Vajradhatu, Vajradhatu Mandala and Four Paramitas have been done. Through the coparative studies of the above iconographic elements with those from India and Tibet, I found there exit many iconographic and systematic differences among them and how to identify the origin and system of Dunhuang Grottos Mandalas is one of the futural main questions. Besides, the studies on deities of Mayajala Mandala fresco and Garbha Vairocana and Eight Bodhisattvas sculptures on the altars, will shed a new light on Esoteric spread during the Song Dynasty and make clear that the crucial points to understand Chiese Esoterisim is to deal with the origin, system and artistic style of esoteric iconography in Dunhuang during the10th-13th centuries.My paper has six chapters as the following:chapter1-4, mainly discussing esoteric iconographic examples of Tattvasanigraham in Dunhuang Grotto, namely on the basis of Vajradhatu Mandala and its main deities. Among them, chapter1 "Tattvasamgraham and its ritual", chapter2"Fiva Tathagatas of Vajradhatu", chapter3"Vajradhatu Mandala" and Chapter4"Four Paramitas"; chapter5-6, centering on iconographic investigation of the late esoteric Mandalas in Tianwang Hall. Among them, chapter5"Recognization of Deities in Tianwang Hall", Chapter6,"Garbha Vairocana images and Eight Bodhisattvas". The last chapter is "Conclusion"...