There are two sets of dates held by historians as the time at which cave 33 at the Yulin Grottoes was constructed,one in the Five Dynasties period and the other in the early Song dynasty. Based on the dates and information in an inscription on the south wall of the corridor beside a portrait of Cao Yuanzhong, the military governor of the Gui-yi-jun regime at the time, the author of this paper have come to the conclusion that the cave was built in the early Song dynasty between the third year of the Jianlong era(962) and the second year of the Qiande era(964). Cave 33 is sometimes considered to have been sponsored by the local Cao Family. By examining the names in the inscriptions of the donor figures in the main chamber and comparing them with the names appearing in manuscript P.5038, however, this research comes to the conclusion that cave 33 was constructed on a voluntary basis by a mixed group of officials and common people. This group of donors was comprised of a handful of officials from Jinchang County and a group of settlers in Jinchang County under the leadership of the Guozhou government and military offices.
