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Volume 10,Issue 8

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25 July 2025
Research on the Narrative Relationship Between Dunhuang Jātaka Story Paintings and Their Corresponding Scriptures
Xinyu Gao
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1 School of Foreign Language, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China,
JCER 2025 , 9(7), 38–47; https://doi.org/10.26689/jcer.v9i7.11284
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Abstract

Jātaka story paintings are common narrative subjects in Dunhuang murals. Based on corresponding scriptures, they present all kinds of good deeds that Sakyamuni sacrificed his life to save sentient beings in his previous life. Dunhuang Jātaka story paintings are highly consistent with the scriptures in content, but their intuitiveness and expressiveness are more prominent. By comparing the narrative relationship between Jātaka story paintings in the Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang and their corresponding scriptures, this study finds that the two have unity in reproducing artistic images and restoring key plots of classic Buddhist scripture stories, but there are great differences in the narrative effect. Dunhuang Jātaka story paintings have three prominent features in narrative, including visualization of key elements, concretization of expressions and movements, and contextualization of cause and effect. This study aims to reveal the intertextual narrative relationship between Dunhuang Jātaka story paintings and their corresponding scriptures.

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