Changes of Women's Status from the Evolution of Dunhuang Murals—Taking Images of Donors and Feitian Legends as Examples

Abstract

It is well-known that social phenomena can be reflected in art. In the past research time, there have been some research results about the Dunhuang murals and gender equality, respectively. However, there is no such one as combining the two meaningful topics together and applying them in modern society. The aim of this study is to analyze the trend of murals painted in Dunhuang by comparing the characteristics in a different time, from the Beiliang Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, and then compare the trend of feminization of the mural images with the changes in women's status during this 1000 years. After comparing and analyzing, the different, even contrary, results lead to deeper thoughts: from what perspective the women's status should be analyzed and described? Definitely, the four dimensions, including economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment, should not be ignored and must be treated seriously. That is meaningful for the research of Dunhuang Grottoes, the images painted in Dunhuang, the studies of ancient China, today’s gender inequality, and many other areas. It is confident that this article will fill academic gaps and provide a new idea to other researchers.