Kizil Caves - WikiHQ

The Kizil Caves (also romanized as Qizil or Qyzyl; ; ) are a set of Buddhist rock-cut caves located near Kizil Township () in Baicheng County, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. The site is located on the northern bank of the Muzat River 65 kilometres (40 miles) (75 km; 50 miles by road) west of Kucha. This area was a commercial hub of the Silk Road. The caves have an important role in Central Asian art and in the Silk Road transmission of Buddhism, and are said to be the earliest major Buddhist cave complex in China, with development occurring between the 3rd and 8th centuries CE.

The Kizil Caves were inscribed in 2014 on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor World Heritage Site.

Caves

The Kizil Caves complex is the largest of the ancient Buddhist cave sites that are associated with the ancient Tocharian kingdom of Kucha, as well as the largest in Xinjiang. Other famous sites nearby are the Kizilgaha Caves, the Kumtura Caves, Subashi Temple and the Simsim Caves. At the time the caves were created, the area of Kucha was following the orthodox Sarvastivadin school of Hinayana Buddhism, although an early and minority Dharmagupta presence has also been noted. The simpler square caves may have been established by the Dharmagupta from the 4th century CE or earlier, while the "central pillar" caves, which flourished from the mid-6th century CE, can rather be associated with the Sarvastivadin school. Of these, 135 are still relatively intact. The earliest caves are dated, based in part on radioactive carbon dating, to around the year 300. Most researchers believe that the caves were probably abandoned sometime around the beginning of the 8th century, after Tang influence reached the area. Chronology remains the subject of debate. The rear chamber may feature the parinirvana scene in the form of a mural or large sculpture, and in some cases, a combination of both. The "central pillar" layout is possibly related to the structural design of Kara Tepe in northern Bactria.

The program of the paintings in the "central pillar" caves generally follows a fixed arrangement: the walls of the main cella show sermons of the Buddha, the ceiling has rhomboid vignettes alluding to Jatakas, the central niche has the scene of the Indrasala Cave. The back room or corridor has scenes related to the Parinirvana, and finally the painting over the exit is related to the Tusita Heaven and the future Buddha Maitreya.

The Kizil Caves were first discovered and explored in 1902–1904 by the Ōtani expedition, a Japanese expedition under Tesshin Watanabe (渡辺哲信) and Kenyu Hori (堀賢雄), funded by Count Otani, but the expedition left hurriedly after four months of exploration in the area of Kucha, following a local earthquake.

The Kizil caves were then explored by Albert Grünwedel, head of the Third German Turfan Expedition (December 1905 – July 6, 1907).

Grünwedel removed a great number of paintings, but was careful to make records before doing so in order to retain their archaeological value, and to photograph or draw them before cutting them out, out of fear that they could be destroyed upon removal or during transport. He used a canvas to take quite precise records of the paintings. For example, Grünwedel recounts how he discovered a very interesting mural with warriors in the Cave of the Painters (207). Intending to remove it, he first made a precise drawing. But once the drawing was made, the mural disintegrated upon removal and was lost, except for a few fragments still in-situ. Altogether, the Third German Expedition still removed many paintings, and shipped almost 120 crates of murals to Berlin. Grünwedel published the result of his explorations in 1912 in Altbuddhistische Kultstätten in Chinesisch Turkistan, Bericht über archäologische Arbeiten von 1906 bis 1907 bei Kuča, Qarašahr und in der Oase Turfan.

The French explorer Paul Pelliot and his photographer Charles Nouette, who were in Kucha from January 1907, visited Kizil soon after the German mission, from September 1, 1907, over a few days, and Charles Nouette took many beautiful and informative photographs.

Albert von Le Coq came back to Kizil and surrounding areas in 1913–1914, heading the Fourth German Expedition, removing many paintings, including those Grünwedel had left in place, but generally taking much fewer records than his predecessor.

Datation schemes

Albert Grünwedel and the German school

{| class="wikitable" align="right" style="margin-left: 1em;" style="font-size: 80%;" width=30%

| colspan="4" align="center" cellspacing="0" style="background:lightgrey; color:black" | Datation scheme according to the German school

Modern attempts at Carbon 14 dating

Various attempts at radio-carbon analysis were made over the years, with various degrees of success, but with the main effect of pushing back the dates of the first caves to circa 300 CE, and challenging the German classification according to styles and colors schemes.

Su Bai

{| class="wikitable" align="right" style="margin-left: 1em;" style="font-size: 80%;" width=30%

| colspan="3" align="center" cellspacing="0" style="background:lightgrey; color:black" | Datation scheme according to Su Bai (1981)

Huo and Wang

In 1989–1993, Huo and Wang (中国社会科学院考古研究所, Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo) tested the following caves: 224, 76, 4, 8, 34, 68, 77, 98, 104, 114, 117, 118, 119, 125, 129, 135, 162, 171, 180, 189, 196, 198, 206, 212, 219, 227, 27, 39, 48, 60, 69, 84, 91, 92, 99, 123, 139, 161, 165, 178, 207. Most narrow Carbon dates given for the Kizil Caves refer to a 68% probability level (1σ), which implies a significant level of uncertainty, and when dates are adjusted to the 95% probability level (2σ) as standard archaeological practice requires, then the timespan between the earliest and lowest dates becomes so large (about 200 to 300 years), as to make individual comparisons between the caves meaningless. Most researchers now use an approach combining artistic and architectural analysis together with carbon-dating, as a way to approach a reliable nomenclature, as proposed by Marylin Martin Rhie from 2001. Other explorers removed some fragments of murals, that may now be found in museums in Russia, Japan, Korea and United States. Although the site has been both damaged and looted, around 5000 square metres of wall paintings remain, These murals mostly depict Jataka stories, avadanas, and legends of the Buddha, and are an artistic representation in the tradition of the Hinayana school of the Sarvastivadas.

The Kizil Caves were designated by the Germans by a series of names, and have been separately numbered by the Chinese. A correspondence chart has been produced by Rhie.

Some very early caves, now numbered 90–17 to 90–24, have been discovered since the 1990s in the lower parts of the cliff at the entrance of the central valley. These caves were square or rectangular with barrel-vaulted ceilings, but without any decorations.

General characteristics

thumb|upright|Blue pigment used on mural. [[Greco-Buddhist art|Greco-Buddhist Wind God Boreas or Vayu, central part of the ceiling of Cave 38]]

A notable feature of the murals in Kizil is the extensive use of blue pigments, including the precious ultramarine pigment derived from lapis lazuli from Afghanistan. In the classification of the art of the region by Ernst Waldschmidt, there are three distinct periods: The earlier paintings reflect more Greco-Indian or Gandharan influences, while the second ones show Iranian (Sassanian) influences. has been generally accepted.

The first style is called "Indo-Iranian style I", and cover all the early caves with delicate tone-on-tone paintings, using browns, oranges and greens. The name "Indo-Iranian" broadly denotes the artistic influence from India, combined with elements of Iranian art, that presided over the creation of the first cave paintings at Kizil. Often attributed in the past to the 7th century CE,]]

The Kingdom of Kucha, the most populous oasis in the Tarim Basin, occupied a strategic position on the Northern Silk Road, which brought it prosperity, and made it a wealthy center of trade and culture. Kucha was part of the Silk Road economy, and was in contact with the rest of Central Asia, including Sogdiana and Bactria, and thus also with the cultures of India, Iran, and coastal areas of China. Early visitors are known, such as Maes Titianus. Since the 2nd century CE, under the auspices of the Han dynasty and the Kushan Empire, numerous great Buddhist missionaries passed through the Tarim Basin on their way to China, such as the Parthian An Shigao, the Yuezhis Lokaksema and Zhi Qian, or the Indian Chu Sho-fu (竺朔佛). Culture flourished, and Indian Sanskrit scriptures were being translated by the Kuchean monk and translator Kumarajiva (344–413 CE), himself the son of a Buddhist man from Kashmir and a Kuchean princess, sister of the King. The art of these paintings is quite refined, and forms the "Classical" period of the art of Kizil: the shades are delicate, the lines are fine and elegant, the colors blend progressively to give a sense of texture and volume. The paintings of Bamiyan in northern Afghanistan are generally considered as the precussors of the art of the Kizil Caves. Towards the end of the period, the influence of the art of Gandhara is considered as a consequence of the political unification of the area between Bactria and Kucha under the Hephthalites, which lasted from 480 to 560 CE, or a few decades later.

Period 1: "Classical" early style (circa 300–400 CE)

The earliest paintings at Kizil belong to a "Classical" stage. Their style is very elegant and "painterly", with sophisticated shading of the bodies to express sculptural volume. The lines are refined and subtle, the colors blend softly.

File:Kizil First Period 300-395 CE (1).jpg|Kizil First Period 300-395 CE

File:Kizil First Period 300-395 CE (1 detail).jpg|Kizil First Period 300-395 CE (devotee detail)

File:Kizil First Period 300-395 CE (3).jpg|Kizil First Period 300-395 CE. Tocharian inscription: "The Buddha was painted by the hand of Ratna(...)".

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Earliest painted caves

According to the Chinese chronicles of the Jin dynasty (265-316 CE), there were already a thousand Buddhist stupas and temples in Kucha by the 3rd century CE.

The earliest painted caves at Kizil are thought to be Cave of the Hippocampi (Cave 118) and Treasure Caves C and B (Caves 83 and 84 respectively). Cave 118, possibly the earliest of the three, is located deep inside the central valley. Cave 83 and 84 are located at the entrance of the same valley. These caves have simple architectural structures, together with paintings in a clear style, reflecting Indian influences. Large portions of the murals were removed and sent to Germany, especially by von Le Coq in 1914, who removed the lunettes and the sides of the vault. The model for this kind of vaulted cave can be found in Bactria at Kara Tepe, dating from the 2nd-3rd century CE. A kneeling monk appeared next to the top left corner of the main mural, in a red robe and with ocher shorn hair, engaged in shaping a ceremonial jar with a hammer, while behind him appeared a painter wearing a tunic similar to those of the donors on the other side, but whose head only remained.

File:Cave 118, front mural (composite).jpg|A reconstitution of the mural of the back wall

File:Kizil 118.jpg|Cave of the Hippocampi, ceiling detail

File:Monks, ceiling of the Cave of the Hippocampi (Cave 118).jpg|Monks with "ocher shorn hair", on the ceiling of the Cave of the Hippocampi.

In this cave, the frames of the paintings, especially the vine rinceaux, are probably derived from Roman art of the 1st century CE. Most of the intact panels were dismantled and sent to the Museum für Indische Kunst, Berlin, Germany, where many were lost in the destructions of World War II. This view faces the left wall ("2" on the plan).

| image2 = Cave of the Peacocks, location and plan.jpg

| caption2 = Peacock Cave location and plan (Cave 76). The main cella (top) has a large podium in the center (70cm; 28 inches high), and is crowned by a dome decorated with apsaras flying among peacock feathers.

| footer=

The "Peacock Cave" (Pfauenhöhle in German) is also an early cave, although dated slightly later to circa 400 CE, and next located "Cave of the statues" (Cave 77), in the second rocky outcrop just outside of the central valley. The main chamber has a domed ceiling, an innovation first seen in early caves at Bamiyan, and in caves 83 and 84 at Kizil. Numerous statuettes of the Buddha, as well as decorated wooden benches and low display tables were discovered in the antechamber of the cave.

In the center of the main chamber, there is a large podium, on which probably stood some major statuary associated with the Buddha. The middle row was almost entirely damaged, although scenes of the Preaching Buddha were identifiable. The bottom of the wall contained fragments of panels showing: 10) the Parinirvana, 11) devotees looking at the Buddha being put in a coffin, 11) The Buddha in his coffin, and 12) would have been the Cremation of the Buddha.

The dome over the cella is composed of eight pairs of segments filled with a flying apsara among peacock feather. Numerous devatas and Buddhas of the past are painted around the dome.

Pictures of monks and one Kuchean donor holding a basket of flowers, all labeled with Brahmi inscriptions, appeared on the door wall. In the art of Kizil explanatory labels were often added to pictures of donors. On the contrary, such labels were never used for narrative representations. Carbon dates are significantly later, circa 561-637 CE.

A painter "Rumakama" (40px|Rumakama, "the one from Rome"),

thumb|center|"Rumakama" inscription, in [[Sanskrit.]]

According to Grünwedel, "the circles (mandalâni) undoubtedly refer to the edges made of foliage and human skulls", that is the Classical border of acanthus leaves and Buddhist skulls painted along the inferior border of the mural.

The word Rumakama, or Romakam appears in the Kizil paintings as well as in the later Tibetan document, and is thought to refer to a painter who came from the Roman Empire or the Byzantine Empire.

Period 2: "New school" with bolder style (circa 400–500 CE)

thumb|upright=1.5|Emergence of new painting techniques in the later half of the First Period. Left: "Classical" detail of Cave 212. Right: bolder style in Cave 77. Still, the color palette (brown, orange, green) remains the same. This style is thought to be derived from the confluence of Hellenistic, Iranian and Indian influences under the [[Kushans, and its main center of creation was at Bamiyan, which became "a kind of parent monastery for the settlement of monks in Central Asia".

This evolution in style is accompanied by a change in the main themes being portrayed. In the Classical period the story of the life of the Buddha and numerous Jataka tales took center stage. Now the main accent is on the sermons of the Buddha, which typically cover the walls of the main cella, together with the appearance of side and rear corridors in which are pictured the events of the death of the Buddha, the Parinirvana.

Rhie attributes the sudden variations of styles at Kizil, without much signs of internal evolution (especially in the early stages), to the sudden arrival of new groups of artists from other regions, bringing their own artistic idioms and techniques. This period is also marked by the appearance of the self-portraits of painters in long tunics and highboots armed with short daggers, such as the

painter of the Cave of the Statues or the several painters of the "Cave of the Painters", with often their own identifying labels in Sanskrit. In the higher portion of the main cella, three rows of beam holes, about 1.5 meters (5 feet) apart and above the paintings, were visible, suggesting supports for decorative balconies, probably holdings stucco statues of standing figures and Devatas. The rather well preserved corridors and back room remain to this day.

| image2 = Painter from the Cave of the Statues (Cave 77).jpg

| image3 = Nanda the cowherd, Kizil, Cave of the Statues (Cave 77), 406-425 AD, wall painting - Ethnological Museum, Berlin - DSC01776.JPG

| footer=Self-portrait of the painter (104x35 cm; 40 x 14 inches) from the Cave of the Statues, in Central Asian caftan and high boots and armed with a dagger, who was standing behind the first statue of the left corridor. In an atypical design, the back corridor is quite large and wider than the main cella, with a width of 8.70 meters (342 inches), for a height of 5.10 meters (200 inches).

The numerous statues of the cave were made of clay and straw, fibers or hair for reinforcement, and often dated to the 6th century CE, but now rather dated to 375–400 CE in conjunction with carbon dates. Their style was very close to those of the "Cave of the Painters (Cave 207)", and, according to Grünwedel, "they seem to have been executed by the same hand". Albert Grünwedel attributed both caves to the same "Stage I" period (500–600 CE). Grünwedel explained that only three paintings remained in the cella, all scenes of the sermon of the Buddha:

1) On the right wall of the cella, Grünwedel described the picture of a sermon, with "a youth in light undergarment praying in front of Buddha", corresponding to the picture now described as the "cowherd Nanda", known to have come from the Cave of the Statues. Originally at the front end of the left corridor, behind the first statue, the painting is now located in the Hermitage Museum. Two more devotee figures with the same clothes were located in the back corridor as well. The head is a tentative addition. Lü Guang, a Chinese general sent by Emperor Fu Jian (r. 357–385) of the Former Qin dynasty (351–394), who temporarily conquered Kucha in 383–385 CE, mentioned the powerful armour of Kuchaen soldiers, a type of chainmail and lamellar armour of Sasanian inspiration which can also be seen in the paintings of the Kizil Caves:

thumb|upright=1.5|Richly adorned asparas over the [[Parinirvana Buddha, back wall of the back corridor.]]

The back corridor, also visible today, is quite unusual, as its vault is trabeated, formed of three flat longitudinal surfaces, on which figures of devatas are aligned like a deck of cards. The statues too were painted.

File:Cave of the Statues, back room mural.jpg|Cave of the Statues, back room mural, over a reclining statue of the Parinirvana Buddha.

File:Cave 77 Left corridor decorative band (detai).jpg|Left corridor, devatas standing at a balcony (detail).

File:Cave 77 Ceiling of the back corridor.jpg|Ceiling of the back corridor (detail)

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"Cave of the Painters" (Cave 207, dated 478–536 CE)

The "Cave of the Painters" (Malerhöhle, 画家窟, Cave 207) is one of the earliest caves of Kizil, and one of the most beautiful. The cave contained a statue of the Buddha against the rear wall of the cella, and a barrel-vaulted ambulatory surrounded it. "Citrakara" is not Tocharian, but Sanskrit (and later Hindi, चित्रकला) for "painter/ painting". In the art of Kizil identifying labels were often added to pictures of donors, but never to narrative scenes.

The Cave of the Painters, as some other caves at Kizil, depicts men in caftans with a triangular collar on the right side, and a unique hairstyle. Another marker is the two-point suspension system for swords, which seems to have been a Hephthalite innovation, and was introduced by them in the territories they controlled. The influence of the art of Gandhara in some of the paintings at the Kizil Caves, dated to circa 500 CE, is considered as a consequence of the political unification of the area between Bactria and Kucha under the Hephthalites. Also, a self-portraited painter in the Caves of the Statues, holding a cup of paint, has clothes which "exactly match" those of the painters in the "Cave of the Painters" (caftan, boots...).

File:Kizil, Cave of the Painters, plan.jpg|Cave of the Painters, plan

File:Cave of the Painters, Painters.jpg|Self-portraits of the painters at Kizil. Labels in Sanskrit (Gupta script): "Painting of + (name)"

File:Painter Tutuka and his work, Cave of the Painters, Kizil Caves, circa 500 CE.jpg|Mural in the Cave of the Painters, with painter in caftan in the lower right corner, circa 500 CE. He has a label written in Sanskrit (Gupta script): "The Painter Tutuka" (Citrakara Tutukasya).

File:Mural with warriors, Cave of the Painters, Kizil Caves (detail).jpg|Mural with warriors in the right corridor, outside wall: the War for the relics of the Buddha.

File:Cave of the Painters, Devata detail.jpg|Detail of a Devata (right wall, top tier, left scene)

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Cave 60: "Largest Cave"

Cave 60, also called the "Largest Cave", is a cave which was expanded over several periods, and still contained a few paintings belonging to the refined style of the Classical First Period, while most of the paintings are from the later Second Period. The cave is known for its portrait of royal donors, characteristically accompanied by a label in Brahmi script. This motif was likely painted later than the portraits of the royal donors. The Hephthalites lost political power circa 550 CE after being defeated by the Sasanids and the Western Turks, but they remained influential for a long time, having fragmented into semi-independent Principalities. Sogdia, at the center of a new Silk Road between China to the Sasanian Empire and the Byzantine Empire became extremely prosperous around that time.

Central-Asian stylistic elements

This style is characterized by strong Iranian-Sogdian elements probably brought with intense Sogdian-Tocharian trade during the period, the influence of which is especially apparent in the Central-Asian caftans with Sogdian textile designs, as well as Sogdian longswords of many of the figures. is probably the earliest of the "central pillar" caves at Kizil, dated to the mid-4th century CE, and its iconography is also among the earliest. Carbon testing by Su Bai gave dates ranging from 310 +/-80 CE to 350 +/-60 CE (i.e. a maximum range of 230-410 CE).

The style of the paintings is derived from the Art of Gandhara and Kashmir, the Art of Mathura and early Gupta art, with striking influences from Roman art and the art of Palmyra.

File:Kucha Turtle King Jataka.jpg|"Merciful Turtle King" from Buddhist Jataka tales. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.

File:Warrior, Kizil, 6th-7th century CE.jpg|Warrior in armour, ceiling of Cave 38.

File:Trader making a dedication to the Buddha.jpg|Trader making a dedication to the Buddha, Cave 38.

File:Sab leading the way, Kizil Cave 38.jpg|Jataka scene on the ceiling: Sabu leading the way of the traders, Kizil Cave 38 "Cave of the Musicians"

File:Cave 38 ceiling, Kizil.jpg|Kizil Cave 38, ceiling.

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Cave 14: Central Asian traders

thumb|Group of caves 14–19. The small Cave 14 is located to the west, and Cave 17 is in the center of the group. The other caves are viharas, without decorations.

Cave 14, a small and nearly square room with a vaulted ceiling (2.17x2.17 meters; 7 x 7 feet), is considered as later than the "Cave of the Musicians", and dated to the late 4th century CE to early 5th century CE, circa 400 CE, by Rhie. The cave has many designs showing Central Asian traders encountering various dangers on their way, such as being lost in the dark, and being saved by the Dragon-King Mabi. Cave 14 is considered as an important historical marker for the dress styles or the armour types worn by some of the figures. It was probably the main cave of the group of caves from 14 to 19, which also includes several undecorated living quarters or viharas, and was dedicated to religious services. Su Bai dates Cave 17 to the Second Stage (395–465 CE -+65), together with Cave 14. Luo and Wang date it to 465 CE +-65. It is a "central pillar" cave, with a small, very colorful, square cella (3.80x3.90 meters; 12 x 13 feet) with a vaulted ceiling, a central pillar with two side corridors, and a back room. on the lower left panel of the entrance wall, appeared a Royal family, composed of the King, Queen and two young Princes. They are accompanied by monks, and men in caftan. The relief is now in the Hermitage Museum. He wears a long white caftan decorated with small diamond designs, and has long boots. His right hand is in front of his chest, holding an incense lamp, The end of a long knight's sword is visible behind the first boot. The Chinese named Kuchean kings by adding the prefix "白", meaning "white", probably pointing to the fair complexion of the Kucheans. The Chinese Monk Xuanzang in 645 CE, noted that "they clothe themselves with ornamented garments of silk and embroidery".

This cave also shows Central Asian traders encountering various dangers on their way, such as being lost in the dark, and being saved by the Dragon-King Mabi. Another is the story of the good merchant Sabu (萨缚), who, in order to show the way to a party of 500 merchants lost in the darkness, puts his own arms on fire to use them as torches, and successfully rescues them. The story appears in numerous paintings, in which the merchants are in Central Asian garb and accompanied by camels, and Sab has the attributes of a Bodhisattva.

File:Kizil, Cave 17 (plan).jpg|Plan of Cave 17

File:Dragon-King_Mabi_saving_traders,_Kizil_cave_17.jpg|Two-headed dragon capturing traders, Cave 17

Sab leading the way, Kizil Cave 17.jpg|Sab leading the way for the 500 traders, Kizil Cave 17.

File:Cave 17, followers of the King.jpg|Attendants to the King, Cave 17, Kizil

File:Kizil, Cave 17, right corridor.jpg|Vairocana Buddha, right corridor, Cave 17

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"Cave of the Sixteen sword bearers" (Cave no. 8, 432–538 CE)

A Prince appears with his wife in the adjacent frescoes, mentioned in a nearby inscription as the future king Tottika and his princess Swayamprabha.

This cave has been rather precisely dated to the end of the 6th century CE, based on the names of the rulers found in the inscriptions, particularly King Tottika and his wife Svayamprabha (a Sanskrit name), who also appear together with Suvarnapushpa (known to have ruled 600–625 CE) and his son Suvarnadeva in the inscriptions on the walls of the Red-dome Cave. The epigraphy also suggest dates later than the Cave of the Painters, with its more ancient inscription about the "painter Tutuka".

File:Cave 205, scene.jpg|Presentation of the Parinirvana, Cave 205

File:The Monk Ajnatakaundinya, Maya Cave, Site 2, (Cave 205), Kizil, c. 5th-6th century AD, wall painting - Ethnological Museum, Berlin - DSC01697.JPG|The Monk Ajnatakaundinya, Maya Cave, Site 2, (Cave 205)

File:Kizil Caves Parinirvana.jpg|Cremation of the Buddha

File:Armed attendants to King Anandavarman, Maya Cave 205, Kizil Caves.jpg|King Anandavarman and attendants.

File:Cave 205, ceiling detail.jpg|Medidating Mahakasyapa in his patched robe, ceiling detail, Cave 205.

File:Inscription of the King of Kucha.jpg|The inscription in Sanskrit mentioning Anandavarman

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Red-dome Cave 67: more royal dedications

Another nearby cave, the Red-domed Cave A (Cave 67) also has inscriptions mentioning a list of donors including a queen and six kings, among them Suvarnapuspa (ruled 600–625 CE) and his son Suvarnadeva (ruled 625–648 CE). Also included in the inscriptions are the names of King Tottika and his wife Svayamprabha (a Sanskrit name), who also appear in the Maya Cave of the Second Group (Cave 205), suggesting proximity in time of these two caves.

When he visited Kucha in 630 CE, the Chinese monk Xuanzang received the favours of Suvarnadeva, the son and successor of Suvarna-puspa, and Hinayana king of Kucha.

Xuanzang described in many details the characteristics of Kucha (屈支国 qūzhīguó, in "大唐西域记" "Tang Dynasty Account of the Western Regions"), and probably visited Kizil:

1) "The style of writing is Indian, with some differences"

2) "They clothe themselves with ornamental garments of silk and embroidery. They cut their hair and wear a flowing covering (over their heads)"

3) "The king is of Kuchean ("屈支" qūzhī) race"

4) "There are about one hundred convents (saṅghārāmas) in this country, with five thousand and more disciples. These belong to the Little Vehicle of the school of the Sarvāstivādas (Shwo-yih-tsai-yu-po). Their doctrine (teaching of Sūtras) and their rules of discipline (principles of the Vinaya) are like those of India, and those who read them use the same (originals)."

5) "About 40 li to the north of this desert city there are two convents close together on the slope of a mountain".

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Period 3: final narrative evolution

The final stage at Kizil is Period 3 of the Second Indo-Iranian Style. The style of painting is very refined, and can also be seen in some other caves in the region such as in Kumtura. The iconography too has evolved, with a cosmological Buddha becoming omnipresent and majestic, often surrounded by myriads of emanations of smaller Buddhas. It represents a final narrative evolution, in which the figures of the cosmological Buddha predominate, while secondary figures and stories take an ever-smaller role. The main cella forms a square vestibule or main hall (3.42 x 3.42 meters; 12 x 12 feet) in front of the pillar forming the back wall, the vestibule being surmounted by a decorated dome. The prototype for the dome decorated with standing Buddhist deities is to be found in Group C of the caves at Bamiyan. It can also be seen in some other caves in the region, such as in Kumtura.

The cave is named after a pattern of "flying geese holding a wreath" (or ring). This pattern is also known from Cave 69, which is dated to 625–647 CE because of the depiction and inscription of a historically identified king. Because of this marker, Cave 123 may be dated to the same period.

Two monumental Buddha images occupy the sides of the main cella. They have full-body "mandorla" halos filled with a multitude of sitting or standing Buddhas. These monumental images represent the second Great Miracle of the Sakyamuni Buddha at Shravasti. The cave was reconstructed in Berlin around 1928, but suffered damage during the war. It has been reconstructed again recently in the Museum für Asiatische Kunst. The painting of the left side wall remains in-situ, quite damaged.

File:Cave with the Ring-bearing Doves (Cave 123).jpg|Cave 123, with collapsed front antechamber.

File:Cave 123, as recorded by Charles Nouette in September 1907.jpg|Cave 123, as recorded by Charles Nouette in September 1907 (composite)

File:Ceiling - Cave of The Ring-Bearing Pigeons - Kizil.jpg|Decorative dome over the niche. "Cave with the Ring-Bearing Doves". Ethnological Museum of Berlin

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The cave is quite outstanding and refined, either in terms of architecture and decoration, and departs from the mainstream of other caves at Kizil. Marianne Yaldiz has called it "One of Xinjiang's Mysteries". Untypically, the narrative scenes are placed over the entrance, taking second position to the monumental standing Buddhas of the side wall. This is a layout which became popular farther east in Gansu. In a final narrative evolution, the cave magnifies the figure of the Buddha, and gives an ever smaller role to secondary figures and stories. The civilization of Kucha, with the whole Tarim Basin from Turfan to Khotan, fell to the Chinese punitive invasion of 648 CE, putting an end to the Indo-Iranian styles of Kucha. Ashina She'er, the East Turkic general leading the Tang dynasty expeditionary corps, ordered the execution of eleven thousand Kuchean inhabitants by decapitation. It was recorded that "he destroyed five great towns and with them many myriads of men and women... the lands of the west were seized with terror."

Two caves at Kizil have art of the Tang period: cave 43 and cave 229. In nearby Kumtura and in Turfan, Chinese styles now prevailed.

In 753 CE, the northern part of the Tarim Basin was taken over by the Turks of the Uyghur Khaganate, based in Turfan.

{| class="wikitable centre"

|+ Tocharian B manuscript B-496

! scope="col" align=left| Translation (English)!!Transliteration!!Inscription (Tocharian script)

|align=center width="33%"|

| align=left |

The Japanese Buddhist scholar gave a rather different translation:

thumb|The Statue of [[Kumārajīva in front of the Kizil Caves in Kuqa County, Xinjiang, China.]]

According to a recent translation by Sam van Schaik, the text should be: