Map of Mount Wutai
Wutai Mountain, part of the Taihang Mountain range, is located in present-day Shanxi Province. Since the Tang Dynasty, it has been recognized as the sacred site of Manjushri Bodhisattva, leading to the creation of specific depictions known as Mount Wutai maps. During the mid-Tang period, these maps arrived in Dunhuang, the most famous example being a large Map of Mount Wutai found on the western wall of Cave 61 in the Mogao Caves.
The map is 13 meters long and 3.6 meters high, covering an area of 46.8 square meters. The entire painting can be divided into three sections. The upper section primarily depicts Bodhisattvas attending a gathering and various "supernatural" and "transformation" scenes. The middle section focuses on the sacred sites of the mountain including temples and pagodas. The lower section highlights two main routes leading into and out of the mountain. The map contains a total of 195 labels. The painting also depicts Jibin monk Buddha-bhadra making a pilgrimage to Wutai Mountain, along with a procession from Silla (Korea) offering tribute, illustrating the influence of the mountain as a center of Buddhist faith at that time. The grand work is not only a depiction of Buddhist historical sites but also a landscape featuring figures, as well as a detailed, accurate historical geographic map. It serves as an important visual resource for the study of Buddhist history, social history, transportation history, geography, and ancient architecture.
《五臺山圖》
五臺山,屬太行山脈的一支,位于今山西省境內。從唐代開始,被認定成文殊菩薩的道場,并產生了專門描繪五臺山面貌的《五臺山圖》。中唐時期,該圖傳入敦煌,其中最為著名的即莫高窟五代第61窟西壁的巨幅《五臺山圖》。
這幅《五臺山圖》長13米、高3.6米,面積達46.8平方米。全圖可分為三部分,上部主要繪菩薩赴會和各種“靈異”“化現”內容,中部主要表現五臺及山中寺院、佛塔等圣跡,下部重點描繪出入五臺山的兩條交通要道。圖中共有榜題195條。其中,還可以看到北印度罽賓國僧人佛陀波利巡禮五臺山,以及山中的新羅送供使隊伍,反映出當時五臺山信仰在整個東亞地區的影響力。這幅巨作不僅是一幅佛教史跡畫,也是一幅山水人物畫,更是一幅翔實細致的歷史地理地圖,為佛教史、社會史、交通史、地理史和古代建筑史的研究都提供了圖像資料。