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TheYulin Caves (Chinese:榆林窟;pinyin:Yulin kū) is a Buddhist cave temple site inGuazhou County,Gansu Province, China. The site is located some 100 km (62 mi) east of the oasis town ofDunhuang and theMogao Caves. It takes its name from theelm 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 250polychrome statues and 4,200 m2 (45,000 sq ft) of wall paintings, dating from theTang dynasty to theYuan dynasty (seventh to fourteenth centuries).[1][2] The site was among the first to be designated for protection in 1961 as aMajor National Historical and Cultural Site.[3] In 2008 the Yulin Grottoes were submitted for future inscription on theUNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Chinese Section of theSilk Road.[4]
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 theTang,Five Dynasties,Song,Western Xia, andYuan dynasties. It fell into disuse during theMing dynasty. There were early efforts to restore the caves at the time of theQing dynasty and several new caves also date to this period. More recently, under the management of theDunhuang Academy, the focus has been on preventiveconservation throughconsolidation of the cliff face andcontrolling access.[1][5]
The paintings areBuddhist with some secular scenes, the former includingbuddhas,bodhisattvas,apsara, andjataka tales; and the latter,donor portraits,go players, representatives ofChina'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.[1][2] The paintings are notfrescoes but instead executed on an earthenrender with mineral and organicpigments andgum orgluebinders.[5]
The forty-two caves are dated as follows, based largely on thestyle of the paintings and their accompanyinginscriptions (inChinese,Mongolian,Tibetan,Sanskrit,Tangut, andOld Uighur):[6][7]
40°3′33″N95°56′10″E / 40.05917°N 95.93611°E /40.05917; 95.93611
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