A reexamination of the reasons for the closure of the Dunhuang Library Cave

Abstract

Cave 17 or the cave library is located on the northern wall in the hallway of Cave 16 in Mogao Caves, Dunhuang. The murals on the cover layer of Cave 16 are closely connected with the reason why the cave library was sealed. The transformation tableaux of the thousand Buddhas on the cover layer of Cave 16 seems to reflect the thought of the Final Dharma, which could be dated in the late Guiyijun period when Dunhuang was ruled by the Cao family. In 1052, the trend of the Final-Dharma thought flourished in the Liao Dynasty. With the frequent communications between the Guiyijun regime and the Liao, this trend came to Dunhuang and merged with the original thought of the Final Dharma in this region, which tremendously impacted the Buddhist community in Dunhuang. So the local Buddhist community made the transformation tableaux on the mural of Cave 16 and also transformed Cave 17 for storing Buddhist texts as a response to the coming Final Dharma. These activities seem to have led to the eventual sealing of Cave 17.     

喀斯特洞穴书法景观的分类统计与洞穴旅游发展——以广西桂林市为例

书法景观是近期人文地理中出现的新的研究领域,以洞穴石刻为主体的洞穴书法景观的研究目前尚非常缺乏。本文通过对桂林市域1659个历史石刻的分类统计,首先梳理了洞穴石刻,同时结合洞穴石刻总数分析评价了旅游洞穴的吸引度。其次,划分了石刻的形式类型和内容类型,进而归纳为6大类旅游相关类型-亦即景点建设、粗放旅游、深层体验、群体旅游、景点历史、民俗,并进行了洞穴石刻相应的分类统计,分析了不同朝代洞穴旅游的兴衰状况和结构变化特征。     

Providing Cultural Context for ‘Sacrifice of the Social Outcasts’

In ‘Sacrifice of the Social Outcasts’, C.L. Kieffer proposes that the disabled formed a socially marginal group that might have been preferentially targeted for human sacrifice in ancient Maya society. Extensive ethnohistoric and iconographic evidence exists that the disabled and deformed held high status in pre‐contact Mesoamerica precisely because of their physical disabilities and played well‐defined social roles. Several incidences of the sacrifice of these individuals are produced, but they are associated with extraordinary events. The actual cultural context suggests that the sacrifice of a disabled individual may have larger social implications. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

云冈20窟佛坐像对太和期单尊佛像的影响

云冈20窟佛像的图样来源属于犍陀罗-凉州系统佛像,其坐像的衣纹形式在昙曜五窟中别具一格。至云冈第2期即太和时期,以20窟佛坐像为范本的石窟佛像和单尊铜石佛像盛行一时,确立了太和时期独具特色的佛像形式。     

New Middle Palaeolithic sites from the Mani Peninsula,Southern Greece

We here report the first results from a systematic research project in Mani (Southern Greece), which includes survey and test excavations. Forty-six caves, rockshelters and open-air sites in lowland settings were surveyed. Geomorphological data were collected in order to assess how geological processes affect the preservation of sites and bias site distribution patterns. Artifacts manufactured from non-local rock indicate potential raw material transfers and suggest links among the different regions of Mani, related to mobility patterns. Our research in the Mani has nearly doubled the number of known Middle Palaeolithic sites from the region and confirmed that the peninsula has the strongest ‘Neanderthal signal’ identified to date in Greece. Almost all sites are located at coastal areas. Despite the influence of Pleistocene landscape dynamics, this distribution emerges as a persistent pattern, perhaps indicating a preference for coastal locations. The Neanderthal occupation of Mani can illuminate important aspects of Middle Palaeolithic adaptation in one of the southernmost coastal regions of Europe.     

Death,Passion and Politics: The Power of Grief and the Charisma of Loss

Caves used in antiquity had multiple functions and often long use histories. While many were employed for shelter, some became ritual sites. Revitalized interest in caves in Mesoamerica combines archaeology, ethnography, ethnohistory, epigraphy, and osteology. The current, general anthropological study of caves offers exceptional insights into early Mesoamerican customs, ceremonies, and beliefs, and indicates that caves played a significant role in religion. The evidence suggests that some caves were perceived as vital aspects of a sacred landscape and connections to the supernatural underworld. Continuity of indigenous ritual practices associated with caves remains to the present.     

甘肃藏敦煌汉文文献巡礼

在纪念敦煌藏经洞发现100年之际 ,甘肃人民出版社对甘肃境内收藏的敦煌汉文文献进行普查、鉴定、整理、拍摄 ,结集出版了《甘肃藏敦煌文献》一书。本文对书中文献来源及特点 ,与混其中的疑伪品未收入此书的赝品作了述论。     

龙门石窟小型坍塌窟龛的修复

龙门石窟小型窟龛坍塌、缺失的现象比较普遍,对坍塌、缺失窟龛进行适当修补和复原,可使雕刻品免受日晒雨淋的侵蚀。为此,以龙门石窟683号洞窟坍塌窟顶的保护性修复为例,选用石材在坍塌洞窟恢复小体量窟顶的修复方法。试验证明,这种方法对石窟外观的改变不大,又可以解决雕刻品直接受到的日晒雨淋问题。试验表明,本方法有可能应用于其它露天摩崖石刻的保护。     

巩县石窟寺双面人像浅析

巩县石窟寺双面人像,题材新颖,造型独特,为全国各石窟雕刻中所仅见。目前,学界对双面人像的研究还不够深入,关于其名称和来历问题尚不明确。本文依据佛教经典的记载,结合雕像分析,进而认定双面人像即为鬼子母神。并指出,鬼子母故事题材在石窟中是作为《法华经》方便说法思想意图表现的,意在宣扬大乘佛法。     

秦始皇陵园考古新发现

秦始皇陵园的考古工作经历了一个较长时期,已出土公布了大量重要文物及遗址。最近,考古工作者又先后发掘出土了几座陪葬坑及石质甲胄、青铜鼎、彩绘俑等珍贵文物。这一系列重大考古发现对丰富秦陵内涵和研究中国古代陵墓有极为重要的意义。