敦煌佛爺廟灣唐代模印塑像磚墓（五） - 模印龍首犬身怪獸磚與有關問題=A Study on the Tang Dynasty Brick Tombs with Impressed Statues or Motifs at the Foyemiaowan at Dunhuang - On the Bricks Impressed with a Dragon-headed, Dog-bodied Beast and Relevant Issues(Ⅴ)
In the main chamber and entrance corridor of Tomb M121 at Foyemiaowan, Dunhuang, several bricks impressed with the image of a crouched or seated dragon-headed, dog-bodied beast can be found. This artistic motif has never been seen before and the historical lineage and cultural source of the impressed image is difficult to ascertain. It is noteworthy that since the 1950 s, a group of cultural relics bearing images of seated dragons began to be discovered throughout northern China. The images were either found in ancient sites or in ancient tombs, were made of copper or clay, and can be roughly dated to a period from between the Tang and Yuan dynasties. An examination of these impressed bricks and other cultural relics with the same image suggests that this motif can be divided into two types, one depicting a seated dragon that resembles the image often used as decoration on the chariots or man-drawn carriages used by the emperors of the Jin dynasty, and another type that closely resembles the crouching dragon images unearthed in the tombs of the Tang and Yuan dynasties. Historical documents contemporary with this second type show that it was believed that this motif could ward off evil.
