Why is Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes called "Mogao Grottoes"?

In 366, two years before Jian Yuan of Qin Dynasty, Monk Le Zun passed by this mountain and suddenly saw the golden light shining like Buddha, so he dug the first hole in the rock wall. Since then, Zen master Fa Liang and others have continued to build caves here to practice, which are called "desert grottoes", meaning "high places in the desert". Later generations renamed it "Mogao Grottoes" because of the common "desert" and "Mo".

Mogao Grottoes, commonly known as Thousand Buddha Cave, is located in Dunhuang at the western end of Hexi Corridor. Founded in the pre-Qin period of the Sixteen Countries, after the Sixteen Countries, Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Five Dynasties, Xixia and Yuan Dynasties, it has formed a huge scale, with 735 caves, 45,000 square meters of murals and 24 15 clay sculptures. It is the largest and richest Buddhist art site in the world.

Extended data:

The Mogao grottoes with a long history

1 During the Northern Wei, Western Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasties, the rulers believed in Buddhism, and the construction of grottoes was supported by princes and nobles, which developed rapidly.

2. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with the prosperity of the Silk Road, the Mogao Grottoes flourished, and there were more than 1,000 caves in Wu Zetian. After the Anshi Rebellion, Dunhuang was occupied by Tubo and Guiyi Army successively, but the carving activities were not greatly affected. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Xixia and Yuan Dynasty, the Mogao Grottoes gradually declined, and only the caves of the previous dynasties were rebuilt, with few new buildings.

3. After Yuan Dynasty, Dunhuang stopped opening caves and gradually became barren. In the seventh year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty (1528), Jiayuguan was closed, and Dunhuang became a nomadic place in the frontier fortress. In the fifty-seventh year of Kangxi in Qing Dynasty (17 18), Xinjiang was settled, and in the first year of Yongzheng (1723), Shazhou Station was set up in Dunhuang, and in the third year (1725), it was changed to Shazhou Wei, and immigrants from Gansu provinces settled in Dunhuang and rebuilt Shazhou City.

4. In the twenty-five years of Qianlong (1760), Shazhouwei was changed to Dunhuang County, and Dunhuang economy began to recover. The Mogao grottoes began to be noticed by people.

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