《张骞出使西域图》
公元前138年和前119年，汉武帝两次派张骞出使西域，使中原与西域第一次有了直接交往。历史上把张骞通西域的壮举称为“凿空”，从此仿佛打开了一扇中国通向西方世界的大门，东西方世界被这条后来称为“丝绸之路”的交通线连接起来。莫高窟初唐第323窟北壁绘制了著名的《张骞出使西域图》，以唐代佛教徒的视角将这一重大历史事件以图像方式记录下来。
此幅作品整体呈“U”字形叙事结构，融于青绿山水环境中，以山峦来引导、分割故事情节，在敦煌壁画中首次采用透视原理中的近大远小手法绘制而成。整个故事由三个画面组成：一是左上角汉武帝得到匈奴祭天金人，并将两尊金人安置在甘泉宫，武帝常亲自前来礼拜。二是底部汉中宗不知金人名号，于是派博望侯张骞出使西域问其神名。画中是张骞辞别汉中宗，骑在高头大马上的是汉中宗，在马前跪拜的是张骞。三是右上角张骞所遣副使经过万水千山最终抵达大夏国，问得金人原来就是佛像。
历史上，派张骞出使西域的是汉武帝而非汉中宗，两次出使的目的分别是联合大月氏、乌孙夹击匈奴和通好西域，打通丝绸之路并保证其畅通。这里，唐代佛教徒对“张骞出使西域”进行了改编，使其成为一个讲述佛教如何传入中国的故事，也赋予了张骞出使西域在文化交流上的新意义。
Zhang Qian's Diplomatic Missions to the Western Regions
In 138 BC and 119 BC, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian (164-114 BC), a prominent diplomat and explorer, on two missions to the Western Regions, marking the first direct exchange between the Central Plains and the Western Regions. Historically, Zhang Qian's accomplishments connecting with the Western Regions have been referred to as "cutting through the solid", as if opening a door for China to go west. This connection ultimately established the transportation route later known as the "Silk Road", linking East and West. The northern wall of Cave 323 of the Mogao Caves from the early Tang Dynasty features the famous mural Zhang Qian's Diplomatic Missions to the Western Regions, capturing this significant historic event from the perspective of Tang Buddhist practitioners.
The overall composition of this work is a U-shaped narrative structure integrated into a landscape of green mountains and blue water. The mountains guide and divide the storyline, employing the technique of perspective—where objects appear larger in the foreground and smaller in the background—used for the first time in Dunhuang murals. The entire story is composed of three scenes:
1. In the upper left corner, Emperor Wudi receives some golden statues for worship from the Huns and places two such statues in Ganquan (Sweet Spring) Palace, where he often comes to pay his respects personally.
2. At the bottom, curious about the name of the golden statues, Emperor Zhongzong of the Han sends Zhang Qian to the Western Regions to inquire about their divine names. The painting depicts Zhang bidding farewell to the emperor, who is mounted on a tall horse, while Zhang kneels in front of him.
3. In the upper right corner, Zhang Qian's deputy, having traversed many rivers and mountains, finally arrives in Daxia and learns that the golden statue is, in fact, a Buddhist statue.
Historically, it was Emperor Wudi of Han who sent Zhang Qian on a mission to the Western Regions, not Emperor Zhongzong. The purposes of these two missions were to unite the Yuezhi and Wusun in attacking the Huns, establish friendly relations with the Western Regions, and keep the route operating. In this context, Tang Buddhist practitioners adapted the story of Zhang Qian's Diplomatic Missions to the Western Regions, transforming it into a narrative about how Buddhism was introduced to China, thereby imbuing Zhang's missions with new significance in terms of cultural exchanges.
