Mogao Cave 112

Mogao Cave 112 was constructed during Middle Tang (781-848AD). This is a small cave with a truncated pyramidal ceiling. The tent-like niche in the west wall has a five-figure group. The sidewalls are covered with two sutra illustrations each. In the dancing scene among the illustration of the Aparimitayus Sutra, two three-figure groups of musicians seated in a splay form on a flatworm, the group on the right side holding pipa, ruanxian and konghou, while the other group holding jilou-drum, nute and clappers. Below the terrace are four Bodhisattvas playing music instruments in two back-to-back groups. There is a musician dancing to the music among the musicians. He bends the body, raises right foot upwards, and plays the pipa on his back with left hand up and right hand bent in a gesture of playing, which is traditionally called "Playing Pipa behind One's Back". The illustration of Sutra of Requiting Blessing Received on north wall is a new theme in Middle Tang, in which several stories including those of Mother Deer* and the Firmly Vowing Lion King Jataka are depicted. The skin of the figures in this cave glitters as a result of the mica powder applied during the Five Dynasties.