BuddhistRoad Paper 6.1. Special Issue: Ancient Central Asian Networks, ed. Erika Forte. “The Eight Protectors of Khotan Reconsidered: From Khotan to Dunhuang”

This paper provides an overview of the group of Eight Protectors of Khotan de-scribed in Khotanese, Tibetan and Chinese literary texts and manuscripts. The paper then identifies images of this group depicted in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, where they appeared from the late 9th to 10th centuries. Inclusion of the Eight Protectors of Khotan in caves sponsored by the Dunhuang Governors, in particular, indicates not only a close political relation between Dunhuang and Khotan, but also the profound influence of Khotanese Buddhist culture in the Dunhuang Caves art.

Chinese Translation

本文首先概述了于阗文, 藏文和汉文文献与写本中的于阗八大护法, 其后认定这组图像在敦煌莫高窟中出现于9世纪末到10世纪. 特别是将于阗八大护法归于由敦煌统治者出资开凿的洞窟, 不仅表明了敦煌和于阗之间密切的政治关系, 而且展现了于阗佛教文化对敦煌石窟艺术的深刻影响.