Despite ongoing academic discussion reaching back for years, no consensus has ever been reached about the construction date and the first donor of Mogao cave 454. Several views have been put forth respectively claiming that the cave was first constructed by Cao Yangong and his wife, by Cao Yuanshen, or by Cao Yuande; in recent years, the first of these views has become prominent. By discussing the order of the first three donor figures starting from the east on the south wall, and the two layers of donor figures painted on the side walls of the corridor in the cave, this paper reassesses the view proposed by professors Huo Xilang and Ma De that cave 454 was first constructed by Cao Yuanshen and concludes with them that this history is likely closest to the truth. Cave 454 was first constructed by Cao Yuanshen between 940-942 CE and renovated thirty years later by Cao Yuanshen’s son Cao Yangong, governor of Guazhou, and his wife Lady Murong.
