Mural of the Vimalakirti Sutra

This is one of the over 30 murals in the Mogao Grottos based on the Vimalakirti Sutra. As an important part of the murals in Mogao Grottos, these murals, created during different dynasties, are a good testimony to the mentality of the Chinese literati. Most of these murals of this theme would combine various stories and juxtapose characters from different time and space in one piece of work. The painting techniques had witnessed great improvement by the Tang Dynasty (618-907) in terms of composition, brushworks, and also depiction of the characters’ inner world.

This mural of the Vimalakirti Sutra was painted with fine lines and partially colored. Vimalakirti, dressed in a white robe and clad in a thin purple jacket, holds a leaf-shape duster made of deer tail hair (a popular accessory serving as symbol of identity among the ancient Chinese literati) in his right hand and rests his left hand on the curved left knee. The dress style of Vimalakirti and the objects in his surroundings, such as the cursive script screen right behind him, create an image of a Confucian literati. Slightly leaning his upper half of body in high spirits, Vimalakirti seems to be in an argument with a little frown and an open mouth. This image is totally different from those depicting the literati in the Wei and Jin dynasties, which tended to portray the literati as weak scholars with sickly complexions.