Ancestor portraits at Mogao Cave 231

The ancestor portraits in Mogao Cave 231 challenge traditional views on the separation between familial commemoration and Buddhist devotion. These murals, dated to circa 839 C.E., depict a blend of secular and religious elements that contradicts both medieval Chinese perspectives and modern scholarly interpretations. The study reveals the fluidity and contingency of these practices, complicating the rigid categorization of Confucian filial piety as secular and Buddhist devotion as sacred. This insight is derived from analyzing the figural group on the eastern wall of Cave 231, part of a larger collection of nearly 500 decorated caves at Dunhuang, which collectively offer a window into Chinese Buddhist practices from the fifth to fourteenth centuries.

Kyan, W. (2014). Ancestor portraits at Mogao Cave 231. Conversations: An Online Journal of the Center for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion. https://doi.org/10.22332/con.obj.2014.26