The Buddhist narrative paintings in Dunhuang murals gradually developed a method of painting successive scenes in long strips, which became particularly exquisite and rich in the Sui dynasty. During the same period, the painting style from the Central Pains exerted a dominant influence on Dunhuang cave paintings, as characterized by the appearance of a style of sutra illustration new for the time. Many Sui dynasty sutra illustrations still adopted the use of long, successive strips, however, which reflects the lasting profundity of local art traditions. Previously, the themes of Buddhist sutras were represented by painting narrative scenes in long strips, but at this time the main ideas of the sutras were condensed into a single large picture that often symbolized Buddhist paradise. This was a dramatic turn for Buddhist painting, and the Sui dynasty became an important period for such innovation. This paper discusses these changes in painting styles by analyzing the art of Sui dynasty narrative paintings at Mogao.
