The Yulin Caves () is a Buddhist cave temple site in Guazhou County, Gansu Province, China. The site is located some east of the oasis town of Dunhuang and the Mogao Caves. It takes its name from the elm trees lining the Yulin River, which flows through the site and separates the two cliffs from which the caves have been excavated. The forty-two caves house some 250 polychrome statues and of wall paintings, dating from the Tang dynasty to the Yuan dynasty (seventh to fourteenth centuries). The site was among the first to be designated for protection in 1961 as a Major National Historical and Cultural Site. In 2008 the Yulin Grottoes were submitted for future inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Chinese Section of the Silk Road.
Caves Most of the caves take the form of an entrance corridor, antechamber, and main chamber. In three caves, a central pier was left intact during excavation then carved with niches on all four sides. A number of caves were reworked and repainted in later periods, since the site remained in use throughout the Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Western Xia, and Yuan dynasties. It fell into disuse during the Ming dynasty. There were early efforts to restore the caves at the time of the Qing dynasty and several new caves also date to this period. More recently, under the management of the Dunhuang Academy, the focus has been on preventive conservation through consolidation of the cliff face and controlling access.
Wall paintings The paintings are Buddhist with some secular scenes, the former including buddhas, bodhisattvas, apsara, and jataka tales; and the latter, donor portraits, go players, representatives of China's ethnic minorities, marked out by their hair styles and dress, farming scenes such as milking a cow, wine-making, a smelting furnace, and a marriage ceremony; depictions of musicians and dancers help break down the distinction between the sacred and the profane. The paintings are not frescoes but instead executed on an earthen render with mineral and organic pigments and gum or glue binders.
List of caves The forty-two caves are dated as follows, based largely on the style of the paintings and their accompanying inscriptions (in Chinese, Mongolian, Tibetan, Sanskrit, Tangut, and Old Uighur): Cave Construction Restorations Former Numbering Image Cave 1 Qing Cave 2 Western Xia Yuan, Qing C1 Cave 3 Western Xia Yuan, Qing C2 Cave 4 Yuan Qing C3 Cave 5 Tang Qing Cave 6 Tang Five Dynasties, Song, Western Xia, Qing, Republic of China C4 Cave 7 Qing Cave 8 Qing Cave 9 Qing Cave 10 Western Xia Yuan, Qing C5 Cave 11 Qing Cave 12 Five Dynasties Qing C6 Cave 13 Five Dynasties Song, Qing C7 Cave 14 Song dynasty Qing, Republic of China C8 Cave 15 Mid-Tang Song, Western Xia, Yuan, Qing C9 Cave 16 Five Dynasties Early Republic of China C10 Cave 17 Tang Five Dynasties, Song, (date unclear), Qing C11 Cave 18 Five Dynasties Western Xia, Yuan C11b Cave 19 Five Dynasties Qing C12 Cave 20 Tang Five Dynasties, Song, Qing C13 Cave 21 Tang Song, (date unclear), Qing C14 Cave 22 Tang Song, Western Xia, Qing C15 Cave 23 Tang Song, Qing C16 Cave 24 Tang C17b Cave 25 Mid-Tang, reigned by Tibet Empire Five Dynasties, Song, Qing C17 Cave 26 Tang Five Dynasties, Song, (date unclear), Qing C18 Cave 27 Tang C18b Cave 28 Early-Tang Song, Western Xia, Qing C19 Cave 29 Western Xia Yuan, Qing C20 Cave 30 Late-Tang Song C20 Cave 31 Five Dynasties Qing C21 Cave 32 Five Dynasties Song C22 Cave 33 Five Dynasties Qing C23 Cave 34 Tang Five Dynasties, Song, Qing C24 Cave 35 Tang Five Dynasties, Song, Qing C25 Cave 36 Tang Five Dynasties, Song, Qing C26 Cave 37 Qing Cave 38 Tang Five Dynasties, Qing C27 Cave 39 Tang (date unclear), Yuan, Qing C28 Cave 40 Five Dynasties Qing C29 Cave 41 Five Dynasties Yuan, Qing Cave 42 High-Tang
See also Mogao Caves Principles for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in China National Heritage Sites in Gansu Province International Dunhuang Project World Heritage Sites in China
References
External links
Conservation of Ancient Sites on the Silk Road (1st Conference) (GCI) Conservation of Ancient Sites on the Silk Road (2nd Conference) (GCI) Images of the Site and the Area (National Institute of Informatics) Yulin Caves (Dunhuang Academy)