Is the Dunhuang Flying Fairy a man or a woman?The gender of the Dunhuang Flying Apsaras had undergone many changes. During the Beiliang era, when the grottoes were first built, the Flying Apsaras in the grottoes were mostly male. Their shapes had the characteristics of foreign males, such as oval faces, big noses, deep eye sockets, big eyes, and big ears. Their movements were stiff, and the way they danced was simple.
During the Western Wei Dynasty, influenced by the fusion of Buddhism and Taoism, there was a situation where men and women mixed together. For example, in the picture of the Flying Apsaras and the Queen Mother of the West (Cave 249 of the Western Wei Mogao Grottoes), you could see the Flying Apsaras with male characteristics (two tufts of beard).
During the Northern Zhou Dynasty and Sui Dynasty, the image of the Flying Apsaras gradually changed to that of females. During the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Flying Apsaras were graceful and graceful, and their styles emphasized music and dance. The image of the Central Plains girls became increasingly distinct. During the Sui Dynasty, the Western Region style was replaced by the Central Plains techniques, and the Flying Apsaras were basically women from the Central Plains.
In the Tang Dynasty, under the influence of court dances and paintings of beautiful women, the Flying Apsaras were close to the category of figure paintings. Their hairstyles, clothing, jewelry, dress streamers, face decals, etc. reflected the social customs of that time. The Flying Apsaras of this period were mainly female images.
During the Five Dynasties and Yuan Dynasty, the painting of Flying Apsaras gradually declined and became more stylized. However, the Flying Apsaras in the murals were generally round in appearance, solemn in expression, slim and graceful like young girls, and dressed in Bodhisattva costumes. In the Yuan Dynasty, the Flying Apsaras in Buddhist postures were rare, and the Flying Apsaras were more like fairy children flying on clouds.
In summary, most of the Dunhuang Flying Apsaras were male at first, but later on, there were both men and women. In the later stages of development, most of them were female.
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