Mogao Cave 257

Mogao Cave 257 was built in Northern Wei (439-434AD). Cave 257 has a central pillar and a ceiling consisting of the gabled part in the front and the Hat part in the back with painted latemendeckp motifs. The large arched niche in the east-facing side of the pillar has a preaching Buddha seated in yizuo posture, right shoulder exposed, right hand raised upward and left arm extended forward. Such sculptures are very common in the central-pillar caves of Northern Dynasties. The central pillar has upper and lower niches on the rest three sides. The upper niche on the south-facing side has modeled drapery in relief below the eave, and a pensive Bodhisattva inside representing the scene of Maitreya Bodhisattva living high in the Tusita Heaven. The upper niche on the north-facing side in the que or Chinese gate way form has a cross-legged Bodhisattva, and each of the other niches has an image in dhyana or ascetic posture. The standing guardian in armor and with thunderbolt on the north side is Vajrapani. The walls are divided into four sections respectively for musicians in heavenly palaces, preaching scenes, narrative paintings and the yaksas figures from top to bottom.
The nine-colored deer jataka goes as follows : once a nine-colored deer with snow-white horn lived by the Ganges River. One day, he saved a drowning man in the river despite of danger, and the man promised that he would worship the deer and never tell anyone the place of the deer. At that time, the queen of the kingdom dreamed of the nine-colored deer and would get its horn for her own use. Therefore, the king made an edict that anyone who got the nine-colored deer would obtain half domain of the kingdom. Then the man told the king where the deer lived, and he soon had many scabby sores in his face. When the deer told of the story as to how he saved the drowning man, the king, deep moved, blamed the wicked man for his requiting kindness with enmity, and ordered that no one of his people should bother the deer from then on.
This is a widely known story from India to Dunhuang, which was painted in a horizontal band, and the episodes proceeded from two sides to the middle, where the climax of the story, namely the conversation between the king and the deer, was arranged.