DOI 10.14277/2385-3042/AnnOr-52-16-7
Submission 2015-04-01 | Acceptance 2016-04-14 | © 2016
145
Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale
[online] ISSN 2385-3042
Vol. 52 – Giugno 2016
[print] ISSN 1125-3789
Qizil: an Interpretation of District Six,
Caves 109-121 in Gunei
Giuseppe Vignato
(Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia)
Abstract For over a century studies on the caves of Kuča were mainly focused on the paintings;
little attention has been dedicated to cave architecture, while the way caves related to one another
forming a living monastery has gone almost completely unnoticed. In previous studies I proposed a
division of the site of Qizil in seven districts: among these, District Six was the one which presented
most interpretative difficulties. In recent years the iconography of five painted caves has been the
object of many studies, but the remaining 18 undecorated ones have been systematically ignored.
Realizing how this district keeps on stimulating art historians’ interest – other relevant studies are
presently being carried out – the present work offers a more complete description and analysis by
focusing on the unique assemblage of caves and groups of District Six; some essential features never
mentioned before are also introduced here. Finally, the provisional interpretation of District Six as
a special ritual area will contextualize it in the overall site of Qizil.
Summary 1 Description. – 2 Analysis of Some Elements. – 2.1 Internal Stairways. – 2.2 Repair and
Renovation of Damaged Caves. – 2.3 Paintings and Painting Style. – 3 Interpretation. – 3.1 Function
of the Caves. – 3.2 Monastic Cells: Who Lived in Them? – 3.3 Meditation Cells and Meditation. – 3.4
Conclusion.
Keywords Qizil caves. Caves function. Meditation cells. Soot.
For over a century the study of the Buddhist caves of the kingdom of Kuča,
set on the northern artery of the Silk Road, north of the Taklamakan desert,
has mainly focused on the paintings and texts found in them.
1
Successive
generations of scholars have worked to achieve a better understanding of
the kind of Buddhism which was practiced in this small kingdom, but much
remains to be done. Scholarship needs to shift its focus from the study of
selected images and individual caves to a more comprehensive approach
that considers the rock monasteries in their entirety and follows their
development through time. Formed of almost 400 caves hewn at different
heights in the towering cliffs that run alongside the Muzart River, Qizil is
the largest and most complex rock carved monastery of the ancient king-
1
This research project has received generous support by the Peking University Endow-
ment for the Humanities (北京大学人文基金).
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Vignato. Qizil: an Interpretation of District Six, Caves 109-121 in Gunei
Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale, 52, 2016, pp. 145-172
ISSN 2385-3042
dom of Kuča. The division of the site in seven functional districts serves
to clarify our understanding of the site (Vignato 2006). District Six is the
most difficult to interpret since it defies the precise functional definition,
which is readily achieved in the other districts.
Although there is still no clear cut understanding of the role of District
Six within the Qizil rock monastery, an extensive amount of scholarly en-
deavour has been expended on the iconography of the few decorated caves
therein – the paintings from a handful of caves continue to draw the atten-
tion of art historians. In providing a preliminary description, analysis and
interpretation of District Six this paper will discuss its unique assemblage
of caves and cave groups. These features indicate the successive phases
of development in this district and so by examining them an improved un-
derstanding of District Six can be reached. This should include the specific
location of this district within the site of Qizil and of all the 23 remaining
caves within the district, in addition the way caves related to one another,
and of the successive phases of carving, remodelling and use. This will lead
to a more accurate interpretation of this district and, consequently, of the
iconography concentrated in its five painted caves (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. The layout of the rock monastery of Qizil. Besides the traditional naming
of its different sections, the coloured parts indicate my proposed division in seven districts;
District Six is in the upper left corner
ISSN 2385-3042
Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale, 52, 2016, pp. 145-172
Vignato. Qizil: an Interpretation of District Six, Caves 109-121 in Gunei
147
1 Description
Scholars rarely consider the physical characteristics of the location at
which a cave is carved. The relative position of a cave in the site, its rela-
tion to neighbouring caves, the quality of the rock in the general area,
the daily amount of direct sunlight exposure, the distance from sources of
humidity are all elements which, although they rarely appear in present
day studies, would have been the primary concerns of the planners and
builders of the caves. Take District Six in Qizil: it is located in the west-
ern section of Gunei. At this point the bottom of the gully only receives
a few hours of direct sunlight a day. It is also damp almost year round
with the humidity rising after even light rain. This explains why the caves
are concentrated in the upper section of the northern cliff. This location
would have received a greater number of sunlight hours in addition to
being away from the damp. The district is only accessible from the South.
Having walked through most of the north-south stretch of Gunei, the first
visible cave is a monastic cell. The other caves come into view one after
the other as one walks further into the valley. The arrangement is in sharp
contrast with that of Guxi, Gudong and Houshan. Those caves receive more
sunlight hours and are further removed from sources of humidity. How-
ever, the most significant detail is that these caves were carved in highly
visible locations and could be seen from afar. From this we can ascertain
that District Six was not a prime location, a site of last resort rather than
the location of earliest caves.
District Six is the most difficult to interpret of the districts in Qizil, be-
cause it does not present a clear functional identity. In contrast, the other
districts display a much more uniform content relying on caves or groups
of caves of the same type. This lack of uniformity indicates that the caves
in District Six underwent several alterations, restorations and additions,
which moved the function of the district away from its original purpose.
An understanding of the function of the district is further complicated by
late caves which were carved into the remaining sections of viable rock
due to a lack of space in other districts. The caves along the gully will be
described from east to west (Fig. 2).