|
|
|
Han Wudi was Wu of Han, the seventh emperor of the Han Dynasty from 141-87 BCE. During his reign, a well organized centralized Confucian state emerged along with substantial territorial expansion. As Emperor Wu, he founded a school to teach the Confucian classics to future government administrators. He also established Confucian principles and code of ethics as the sanctioned state philosophy. The Tŕichu (Grand Inception calendar) was also introduced by Han Wudi in 104 BCE. The calendrical modifications instituted by him still continue to govern the Chinese calendar. A follower of Buddhism, Han Wudi was gifted with Buddhist statues from central Asia. There was a fresco painting inside the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang in Gansu Province that depicted Han Wudi revering two Buddha statues.
The improvements instituted by Han Wudi had an abiding effect all the way
through the days of imperial China; as well as, an abiding influence on the
cultures of neighboring countries.
The Sacred Site focal point of Hierarch Han Wudi and the First Ray of Will Empowerment is the Mogao Caves (Mogao Grottoes), which are located along the Silk Road near Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China. The rock cut Mogao Caves form a system of four hundred ninety-two temples. Also known as Qianfodong, the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, and the Dunhuang Caves, the Mogao Caves became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. One of three (Longmen, Mogao, Yungang) famous ancient architectural sculpture sites in China, Mogao Caves was the most renown of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes. The paintings inside the secluded grottoes related stories about Buddhist beliefs. They also served as inspirational reminders during the pilgrims' and monks' meditational quest for enlightenment. According to a local legend, the first of the Mogao Cave temples was built around 366 ACE after Lezun, (a Buddhist monk who had envisioned a thousand Buddhas), secured financial support from a Silk Road pilgrim. Scriptures from the West were collected by Dunhuang Buddhist Monks from the fourth to fourteenth centuries. Inside Mogao Caves, around 42,00 square meters of the caves have been decorated with murals painted by the many pilgrims who passed through the area. Circa 1900 ACE, a Chinese Taoist guardian of the Mogao Caves named Wang Yuan-lu found a veritable treasure drove of ancient manuscripts dating from 406-1002 ACE inside a small walled up cave. The small cave was a repository for anthologies, apocryphal works, Buddhist canonical works, Confucian works, dictionaries, glossaries, old Chinese hemp paper scrolls; old Tibetan scrolls, and Taoist works; as well as, paintings on hemp, paper, and silk.
Wang Yuan-lu also initiated Mogao Caves refurbishment and archaeological
projects. Today, the World Heritage Site has become a noteworthy tourist
attraction in China... Hierarchs
Goddesses Gods of Twelve Universal Rays
|
|
|
Explore 
Visit 
Hierarchs
of Twelve Universal Rays 
