Based on the studies taken by scholars from China and abroad,the present papergoes further into the stages of the Tibetan caves in Dunhuang.According to this paper,the Tibetan caves of Dunhuang can be divided into two pe-riods,In the earlier period from 780s to the end of the 8th century and the beginning ofthe 9th century,because of the damage of war between the Tibetans and the Chinesegovernment,Buddhism and ecconomy of Shazhou were undermined their constitution.After the Tibetan occupied Shazhou , its rulers supported the development of Buddhism,then few small caves were carved,some caves which were cuted out but had not beenpainted in the Tang were painted in this period.The feature of the caves basically carriedforward the tradition of the Tang,only few contents of paintings and forms of niches hadbeen changed into the Tibetan style.The later period includes two stages,first one began from the beginning of the 9thcentury and ended in 839 A.D.. Because of support from the Tibetan rulers and the aris-tocratic families of Shazhou,Buddhism and ecconomy of monasteries in Shazhou devel-oped very soon,the Buddhist arts reached to a new altitude,the caves in large-size werecarved and painted beautiful and delicate paintings. In this stage,the various sects ofBuddhism were formed in succession.The second stage corresponds to 840s AD. When the Tibetan’s dominion in Shazhouwas on the verge of extinction. Generally speaking,the character of the caves was similarto that of the last stage,but,contents of paintings in ceiling,the technique, figures anddesigns in the caves had changed, and created a precedent for the cave art of the periodof Zhang family Gui-yi-jun歸義軍Regime.
