| Veneration of the Tree of Life | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Unknown |
| Year | 9–11th century |
| Type | Mural |
| Dimensions | 180 cm × 280 cm (71 in × 110 in) |
| Location | Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves, Turpan |
The Veneration of the Tree of Life is a Manichaean fresco in Cave 38 (No. 25 according to Grünwedel) of the Bezeklik Caves in Turpan, Xinjiang, China, that depicts a Manichaean tree of life worship scene. According to the teachings of this religion, there is a tree of life growing in the Kingdom of Light. It has three trunks, which symbolize the East, West, and North of the Kingdom of Light.
Overview
This fresco was discovered in the early 20th century and was already badly damaged. In order to facilitate research, the German archaeologist Albert Grünwedel drew a black-and-white line sketch, followed by the French archaeologist Joseph Hackin copied color pictures.
The center of the picture depicts a tree of life with three trunks. The tree has luxuriant branches and leaves, fragrant flowers in full bloom, and numerous fruits. There are huge bunches of grapes hanging down from the branches. The whole tree looks like a huge canopy. The pool under the tree may be the "Scented Pond of the Seven Treasures", with two birds in the pool looking at the worshiping crowd. On the left and right sides of the trunk, there were six people saluting the tree of life. Four of them were kneeling in the front and two standing in the back. They are well-dressed and wear richly decorated high crowns. Among them are angels with wings, believers, and other gods. The angel's name, praise, and vows are Uighur, written in the pool and in the sidebar under the painting.
Below the incense pond, there is a Uyghur script written in Uighur letters in vertical lines, similar to the prayers: "This is a gathering of guardian deities", "With(?) the image of the peacock. I, Sävit, have written. May there be no sin. May be protected", "Ötükän Ngošakanč (and) Qutluk Tapmïš Qy-a may they be protected... I have humbly done may be at peace. Please forgive my sins.” Although some of the contents of the prayers involve frescoes, these words are not left by the original author.
See also
References
- ^ Gulácsi, Zsuzsanna (2015). Mani's Pictures: The Didactic Images of the Manichaeans from Sasanian Mesopotamia to Uygur Central Asia and Tang-Ming China (PDF). "Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies" series. Vol. 90. Leiden: Brill Publishers. ISBN 9789004308947.
- Ma Jian (2006-11-01). "Remains of Manichaeism in Turpan". dsr.nii.ac.jp (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 2019-05-02.
- Chao Huashan (1992). "Explore the Annihilated Turpan Mani Temple (Part 1)". Theological Collection (in Traditional Chinese) (94): 561–570. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
Cave 38 (German's Cave 25) was first built, and the depth was short. After using it for a long time, it was smoked black. Later, the cave was lengthened and became the shape shown in this picture, namely the 38B cave. This cave has a main chamber and a back chamber. The middle section of the main chamber's starting wall has a lower wide passage connecting the adjacent cave 39A. In front of the starting wall, there is a platform with a width of 120 cm and a height of 40 cm. The front wall also has the same height. However, for a platform with a width of 150 cm, the lower half of the front wall is recessed about 40 cm into the wall, and the arcuate surface of the upper half is not recessed. A low passage is opened on the front side of the front wall to enter the back chamber, which is connected to the adjacent cave 39. The architectural form of this cave is quite special. The wall of the main room is painted with a layer of white mortar, and the arcuate surface of the front wall is painted with colorful murals directly on the white and gray surface without other background colors. There is also a row of murals in the same way on the lower edge of the abdomen on both sides of the coupon. The arch-shaped mural on the front wall is a tribute to the tree of life. In the center of the picture is the tree of life. The three trunks of the tree grow out of a circular pool. In the pool, there are a pair of swans. The tree blooms with twelve large flowers and bears many fruits. On both sides of the tree, there are believers, angels, and gods to praise and repent. The praise, angel name, and vow are written in Uighur, written in the pool, and in the sidebar under the painting. There are three paintings on the bottom edge of the coupon frame. There are three paintings in the middle of the end, one of which is an enshrined flame orb, and the other two are of Ji Le Ren. There is a row of decorations under the frame. The painting on the belly of the front side coupon has fallen off. According to Glen Weddell's record, one is a picture of the universe, but it is actually a picture of a Manichaean temple; the other is a portrait of a Persian Manichaean believer.
