The main grottoes at Yungang were constructed during three periods of the mid- and late-Northern Wei Dynasty.The Buddhist garments depicted in the caves of the first and second period,prior to the reform of the Taihe reign period,perpetuated Indian traditions and the cassock with covered shoulders drawn to the right and decorated with a connected hook design was the prevailing fashion at Yungang.In the third period,after the Taihe reform,there was an emphasis on Chinese dress traditions which were influenced by the fashions of the Southern Dynasties.In the Maijishan grottoes at Tianshui,Gansu province,and in the early period Mogao grottoes at Dunhuang,the cassock with covered shoulders drawn to the right and decorated with a connected hook design was also popular,and so it is believed that the early caves at both these sites could not have been much earlier than the first period at Yungang. After the Northern Wei moved its capital to Luoyang,the Yungang Buddhist garments continued to b...
