麦积山石窟第127窟西方净土变献疑

A Study on the Western Pure Land Illustration in Cave 127 at the Maijishan Grottoes

第127窟是麦积山石窟的艺术代表,内容新颖,技法高超,功德主是西魏乙弗氏皇后,身份特殊,因此这个洞窟一定程度上代表着西魏艺术的最高水准,也成为学界研究的热点。由于时代久远,破损严重,部分重要的图像线索容易被忽视。通过对第127窟西壁经变画细部的解读,对比净土经典和法华经典,可以推断,这铺经变画为法华经变,特别表现了释迦佛在灵鹫会为四大弟子授记和龙女成就男儿身成佛说法的情节,在佛教义理上,与洞窟其他壁画题材形成了一个整体,画面内容与其他题材一样,突出了女性角色,再次彰显了乙弗氏功德窟的性质。

Cave 127 is representative of the artistic content of the Maijishan Grottoes,as it contains several innovative illustrations created with excellent technique.In addition,because it was sponsored by Empress Yifu of the Western Wei dynasty,it also shows the highest level of artistic development of this dynasty.It is for these reasons that this cave has become a focal point for academic research.Due to serious damages accrued over the history of the cave,several important iconographical clues have long been ignored.This study brings this overlooked content into the foreground by interpreting details of the sutra illustration on the western wall of cave 127,and by comparing the text of the Pure Land and Lotus sutras.The results of this study lead to the conclusion that the mural on the western wall is most likely a depiction of the Lotus Sutra that accentuates the episodes of Sakyamuni Buddha giving predictions to his four great disciples and the"Dragon Lady"achieving enlightenment after being reborn as a man.Not only does the scriptural content of the murals complement that of the other mural themes in the cave,the visual elements of the paintings also give prominence to the female figures of Buddhist lore;all of which achieves a combined effect of highlighting the presence of Empress Yifu.