Founders of Mogao Caves

In 366 during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, a pilgrim-monk named Yue Zun arrived in Dunhuang. He wandered in between Sanwei Mountain and Sounding Sand Hill and gazed in awe at the majestic peaks. Looking up, he suddenly had a vision of a golden radiance in the form of a thousand Buddhas, which inspired him to carve caves in that location. Thus, Yue settled on the cliffs of Sounding Sand, where he practiced meditation while carefully excavating the steep rock face to construct the caves. Thanks to his relentless efforts, he ultimately completed the first cave on the mountain, marking the founding of the Mogao Caves.

After Yue Zun, another monk named Fa Liang arrived at the site. He too saw the extraordinary vision that had appeared to Yue and began to carve the second cave of Mogao next to Yue's. From that point on, monks, devotees, and pilgrims flocked to the area, building temples, caves, and Buddhist statues, hence expanding the scale of the site. Although Fa was not the first to carve caves there, he and Yue are both recognized as the founding figures of the Mogao Caves who played a crucial role in the establishment of the Dunhuang cave complex.

莫高窟的創建者

東晉十六國時期的前秦建元二年（366），一位名叫樂僔的和尚到達敦煌。他來到三危山前，身處隔河相望的三危山和鳴沙山之間，樂僔在這里禁不住遙拜大山，起身仰望時忽然看到金光千佛的神奇景象，就萌生了在這里開鑿石窟的念頭。于是，樂僔在鳴沙山斷崖前住了下來，一邊坐禪修行，一邊在峭壁上架空鑿險，建造石窟。在樂僔的不懈努力下，多年以后，終于在山上鑿建了第一個洞窟，莫高窟自此創建。

樂僔之后，又有法良禪師來到這里。他同樣看到了在樂僔面前顯現過的奇異景象，于是就在樂僔窟旁開鑿了莫高窟的第二個洞窟。此后，這里的僧侶、香客、朝拜者絡繹不絕，人們紛紛在這里修建寺院、開窟造像，規模越來越大。法良雖然不是第一個在此開窟的人，卻與樂僔一同被認作莫高窟開窟的鼻祖，成為敦煌石窟的創建者。