九色鹿
九色鹿见于莫高窟第257窟西壁壁画《鹿王本生》，全图生动描绘了古印度恒河边九色鹿王搭救溺水人，溺水人见利忘义最终恶有恶报的故事。画面整体布局紧凑、主旨突出，并以富有动感的山峦分割情节，绘制了8组场景。
画面采用横卷连环画的表现形式，按两头开始、中间结束的特殊顺序绘制。左一为九色鹿救起溺水之人，画中一人骑在鹿背上，紧抱鹿颈，鹿王从水中将其驮出。左二落水人跪在九色鹿面前，向鹿王许诺保守秘密。右一为王后向国王撒娇要九色鹿皮做坐褥、用鹿角做拂柄，图中国王与王后坐在宫殿之中，王后以右臂揽国王肩膀，扭头朝 向国王，一只脚丫翘起外露，撒娇之态跃然画上。门外，溺水之人正背信弃义向 国王告密。右二为一人驾马车，是国王和王后在溺水人的带领下同乘一辆马车前往围猎九色鹿。画面中部是国王等人惊醒了沉睡中的九色鹿，九色鹿毫不畏惧，向国王痛诉溺水者的忘恩负义。在国王及侍从之后，是手指九色鹿居处的溺水人，这个告密者满身白点，代表恶有恶报，全身生疮。
这组壁画在1981年由上海美术电影制片厂制作成动画片，成为中国本土动画片的经典之作。
Nine-Colored Deer
The Nine-Colored Deer appears in the mural Deer King Jātaka on the western wall of Cave 257 in the Mogao Caves. The mural vividly depicts the story of the Nine-Colored Deer King who saves a drowning man by the banks of the Ganges River in ancient India. The man, however, being ungrateful and treacherous, ultimately faces dire consequences for his selfishness. The overall layout of the mural is compact, with a clear theme, and the dynamic mountains divide the narrative, illustrating eight distinct scenes.
The mural employs a horizontal scroll format, depicting the narrative in a unique order that begins at both ends and concludes in the middle. On the far left, the Nine-Colored Deer rescues a drowning man, who is shown riding on the deer's back, tightly clutching its neck, as the Deer King carries him out of the water. To the right, the drowning man kneels before the Nine-Colored Deer, promising to keep the secret. On the far right, the queen coyly begged the king for the Nine-Colored Deer's hide to make a saddle blanket and its antlers for a fly-whisk handle. The scene illustrates the king and queen sitting in a palace, with the queen hugging the king's shoulder with her right arm, turning her head toward him while one of her feet is playfully raised, vividly portraying her flirtatious demeanor. Outside the door, the drowning man, having betrayed the deer, is maliciously informing the king. On the second right, a man is driving a carriage, taking the king and queen to hunt the Nine-Colored Deer, led by the perfidious drowning man. In the center of the mural, the king and others awaken the sleeping Nine-Colored Deer, who, unafraid, passionately recounts the ungratefulness of the drowning man to the king. Behind the king and his attendants is the drowning man, pointing to where the Nine-Colored Deer resides. This informant is covered in white spots, symbolizing the notion of karma, as he is afflicted with sores all over his body as a consequence of his betrayal.
This set of murals was adapted into an animated film by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio in 1981, becoming a classic in China's domestic animation.
