A Decorative Study Of Flying Sky And Caisson In Dunhuang Patterns

Dunhuang is located in the Gobi Desert,northwest of China.As the Silk Road ran through in the Han Dynasty,Dunhuang came to be one of its pivots where cultures of diverse nations collided and sparkled here.The Dunhuang Grottos,the most brilliant among these sparkles,including The Mogao Grottos,The East Qianfo Grottos,The West Qianfo Grottos,The Yulin Grottos,etc.,has witnessed the vicissitudes of Chinese art of decoration in the past millennium.It explains the development of Chinese Buddhism since its beginning,whilst it stands as an encyclopedia of Chinese art of decoration.The paper focuses on the pattern of Apsaras and caisson in The Dunhuang Grottos,because they are among the most decorative patterns in the Grottos.In addition,they don't have particular regulation and painting pattern in Buddhist classics,which is different from that of Buddha,so that they are two of the few parts of the mural which can be created by painters with their subjective emotions.Therefore,the study on Apsaras and caisson can best interpret the evolution of decorative patterns and their correlation with real society,whilst facilitating our understanding and study on decorative patterns in ancient China.In addition,Apsaras and caisson in diverse ages can be integrated to form combined art of decoration,which means to decorate in one space with pattern from different ages and bring decoration patterns from different ages and backgrounds to collide to shape fresh Dunhuang decoration pattern of modern society.The paper studies and divides the development order and characteristics of Apsaras and caisson in the light of time.To begin with,the background,significance and object of the study are illustrated.The second chapter studies the development of Apsaras and explains its painting methods and ornament.The third part is about the history of caisson patterns,and it analyzes and concludes the pattern in different ages.In the fourth chapter,Apsaras and caisson patterns in different ages are analyzed and integrated to make study on its feasibility,so as to put forward the creation and idea for my graduate project.The fifth chapter,with the integration into my graduate project,is a study and analysis about how to revive Apsaras and caisson patterns in modern society.In the end,my conclusion and opinion are drawn on the inheritance and decoration of Apsaras and caisson decorative patterns.