The Music Cave

Cave 220 of the Mogao Caves, located south of the Nine- Story Building, is also known as the "Zhai Family Cave" and was built in 642. The ink inscription on the southern wall of the corridor describes Zhai's genealogy with a concise record of the family lineage. The Dunhuang Zhai family not only excavated the cave but also maintained it for the following 300 years. This cave is a representative example of early Tang-dynasty caves in the Mogao Caves, characterized by its line drawings, colors, and shading that reflect the artistic traditions of the Central Plains. The grand scenes, vibrant colors, and realistic depictions of figures reflect the broad vision and opulent splendor of the founding of the early Tang Dynasty.

This cave features full-wall sutra transformation paintings on its northern and southern walls. The central compositions portray the Buddha and Bodhisattvas as the primary figures within the Eastern and Western Pure Land transformations depicted on these walls, while the lower platform displays scenes of music and dance. Dancers perform in Western Regions styles, presumably, accompanied by musicians on either side. The entire scene radiates a joyful atmosphere of the Buddhist realm. The murals reflect the grandeur of court music and dance during that time, depicting over 50 musical instruments. Notably, the depiction of the xun(a type of ancient Chinese vessel flute) is unique to this cave, and the image of the flower-bordered ruan(a plucked string instrument) appears only twice in the whole Mogao Caves, hence the name "Music Cave".

音樂窟

莫高窟第220窟位于莫高窟九層樓南，又名“翟家窟”，建于公元642年。甬道南壁龕外墨書翟氏“檢家譜”，即翟氏一家較為簡明扼要的家譜。敦煌翟氏家族不僅開鑿了這一洞窟，其后300年間還對此窟進行了維護。本窟是莫高窟初唐洞窟的代表，壁畫線描、色彩、暈染均屬中原一脈，其場面恢宏、色彩瑰麗、人物形象真實，反映出大唐開國的博大胸懷和繁華富麗的景象。

此窟南北壁繪通壁大幅經變畫。在北壁和南壁的東、西方凈土變中，中央繪佛和菩薩等主要人物，下方平臺上是樂舞場面，舞伎們正在表演西域傳來的舞蹈，樂伎們在兩旁伴奏，整個畫面洋溢著佛國的歡樂氣氛。壁畫反映了當時宮廷舞樂盛況，共繪樂器50多件，其中塤的圖像，莫高窟僅此一例，花邊阮僅見兩例，故此窟又被稱為“音樂窟”。