What does flying mean?

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, shortly after the spread of Buddhism, the flying immortals in murals were once called flying immortals, which was the difference between flying immortals and flying immortals. With the in-depth development of Buddhism in China, the flying of Buddhism and the flying fairy of Taoism are integrated in artistic image. Flying in Dunhuang refers to the flying god painted in Dunhuang grottoes, which later became a special term for Dunhuang mural art in China.

Flying in the air, offering sacrifices to buddhas and bodhisattvas with songs and dances and fragrant flowers. Flying has been popular in India since ancient times, so there are many examples of flying murals and wall carvings in major Buddhist relics. Among them, there are six famous stone statues of Sakyamuni collected by Liudaoyuan and Tuola Museum. On the back of the statue, there are two statues flying dynamically.

Another example is the three statues in the Jade Buddha Hall of Fayu Temple in Putuo, Zhejiang. There are also several flying sculptures in the boat-shaped background light, and their fluttering clothes are like flames.

Extended data

Artistic image

As far as artistic image is concerned, Dunhuang Tian Fei is not a cultural and artistic image, but a synthesis of various cultures. Although Tian Fei's hometown is in India, Tian Fei in Dunhuang was bred by Indian culture, western culture and Central Plains culture. It is a flying sky with China cultural characteristics. It is a long-term exchange between Indian Buddhist heaven and human beings and China Taoist feather people, flying in the western regions and flying in the Central Plains.

It is a flying sky without wings, feathers and round light, relying on clouds rather than relying on them, mainly relying on flowing dresses and fluttering ribbons. Flying in Dunhuang can be said to be the most talented creation of China artists and a miracle in the world art history.

Age characteristic

Flying in Dunhuang murals appeared at the same time as the creation of grottoes, starting from sixteen countries and going through ten dynasties, which lasted for more than a thousand years, and disappeared with the completion of Dunhuang grottoes until the end of Yuan Dynasty.

In this long history of more than 1000 years, Tian Fei's artistic image, posture, artistic conception, style and taste are constantly changing due to the historical situation such as the replacement of dynasties, the transfer of political power, the development and prosperity of economy and the frequent exchanges between Chinese and Western cultures. Different times and artists have left us Tian Fei with different styles and characteristics.

Over the past 1000 years, Dunhuang Tian Fei has formed a unique history of evolution and development. Its evolution history is roughly consistent with the whole history of Dunhuang art development, which is divided into four stages.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Tian Fei