A Study Of Secular Images In Cave 3 Of Yulin Grottoes, Guazhou

Yulin Cave 3 is the representative cave in Xixia period.Exoteric Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism exist distinctively within one cave.Some scholars have made in-depth studies from the perspective of single cave.The purpose of this paper is to select the social and secular pictures of 51-faced and thousand-armed Avalokitesvara on the south side of the east wall,the portraits of Xixia providers and and the picture of auspicious birds and animals on the top of the cave,as the case study of the secular image of the cave.They all have high historical research value and are worth exploring the potential significance behind the images.Through the comparison of the Tang Dynasty to Xixia Avalokitesvara murals,found in the composition of the layout,corresponding combination,sutra anastomosis and secular features of hand holding,especially in the picture,there are many objects and scenes in daily life,the ingenuity of image choices is evident.In addition,a large number of secular objects and scenes are divided into agriculture,handicraft industry,commerce,music,acrobatics acrobatics and architecture.It combines historical background to explore the overview of material culture in Xixia.51-faced and thousand-armed Avalokitesvara is not traditional form.In consideration of the specific era is crucial for Image Selection,consequently,according to the remnants of the Xixia donor portraits firstly,record things about thirteen people on the north side of corridor,obvious Esoteric Buddhism style,and the architectural modeling of boundary painting in Ren Xiao period.It is inferred that the construction time may be in the period of Ren Xiao in Xixia,owners may be senior military officers.With regard to the identity symbol of 51-faced and thousand-armed Avalokitesvara,it is deemed that donors support the Avalokiteshvara's image as a symbol of emperor.Rulers of secular and Buddhist world merge into a single whole.A lot of secular implements and labor scenes are depicted,and they are not consistent with record of sutras.Inese objects that involve production and daily life—the social and secular portion,not only reveal material culture,but also have important historical value for the study of material culture and cave construction history in Xixia Dynasty.The top of Yulin Cave 3 is the original composition in Xixia.It takes Tibetan Mandala and Architectural Painting Patterns as Examples.The images of the auspicious birds and beasts surround the top of the cave,and form a square structure.In total,there are dragon,horse,phoenix,peacock,lion,antelope,white elephant,kalavinka and so on.By sorting out the changes of the auspicious birds and animals images on the top of Dunhuang Grottoes from the Northern Dynasty to the Xixia,it can be seen that the image of animal auspiciousness in Xixia changed from scattered ornament to centralized and stylized arrangement.This design is not only for decorative purposes,but also for religious implications.These animals gather in the cosmic world under the control of the top Mandala,traditional tomb elementary such as auspicious animals infiltrate into buddhist grottoes.Furthermore,they cooperate with each other and merge with the theme of Pure Land.Eight leaf lotus Nine Buddhist and Ten Buddha attending the meeting on the top of Yulin Cave 10 are important auxiliary materials for studying the image of the YulinCave 3.The auspicious birds and beasts running at the top of the cave can be said to be the transformation of the images of ascending heaven in tombs.They echo the theme of the cave,and have dual f'unction of protecting the country and Buddhism.Also are metaphor of the belief of the Pure Land.