Baoxianghua Patterns in Dunhuang’s Tang Dynasty Murals: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Silk Road Artistic Exchange (Published)
This study offers a comprehensive analysis of “baoxianghua” (treasure-flower) motifs in the Dunhuang Mogao Cave murals across the four subperiods of the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), with a specific focus on cross-cultural exchange along the Silk Road. Through integrating visual analysis, iconographic interpretation, and comparative periodization, the research examines representative murals from selected caves to trace the evolution of these distinctive patterns. Findings reveal a dynamic progression from geometric simplicity in the Early Tang to opulent complexity in the Prosperous Tang, followed by refined abstraction in the Mid Tang and resilient minimalism in the Late Tang. The study demonstrates how baoxianghua patterns functioned as visual embodiments of transcultural dialogue, incorporating Central Asian vine scrolls, Indian lotus forms, Persian palmette designs, and indigenous Chinese floral traditions. These motifs encapsulate Buddhist cosmological principles through petal numerology, geometric configurations, and color symbolism, while simultaneously reflecting the socio-political fluctuations of the Tang empire. The research illuminates Dunhuang’s pivotal role as a nexus of Silk Road exchanges, where artistic forms migrated, were recontextualized, and evolved within the sophisticated imperial worldview. This cultural hybridity was not a passive process of imitation but an active reconfiguration of global influences into a cohesive, distinctly Tang idiom. The implications extend to art historical scholarship, conservation practices, and heritage interpretation, suggesting avenues for material studies and comparative research with cave sites across Central Asia.
Keywords: Buddhist iconography, Silk Road, Tang Dynasty, baoxianghua patterns, cross-cultural exchange, dunhuang murals