Mati Temple South Grotto
马蹄寺 南窟 孙南 · Mati South Temple Sunan · Mati Nan Si
Sixteen Kingdoms to Yuan·Hexi Buddhist (Northern Liang, Northern Wei, Sui, Tang, Uyghur, Tibetan, Yuan)·🇨🇳 Gansu Province, Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, Qilian Mountains north flank, Mati South valley 65 km south of Zhangye, China
About
About Mati Temple South Grotto
South valley grotto cluster 800 m south of the famous Mati Si Thousand-Buddha cliff (Pugu Si) group, comprising 18 caves on a 60-m conglomerate cliff: Early Northern Liang to Yuan (c.420 CE–1350 CE) grottoes with Central Asian-influenced murals (Maitreya, thousand-Buddha, mandala), a 7-m seated Shakyamuni (Cave 14 South) and a unique horse-hoof imprint legend slab (Mati — horse hoof). The south grotto is smaller than the 33 Heavens pagoda group but preserves original Northern Wei timber façade postholes linking cliff face woodwork to rock-cut architecture.
Why it mattersSouth outlier of Hexi's iconic Mati cliff preserving Northern Wei timber-architecture postholes and horse-hoof legend cult place.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Northern Liang attribution accuracy
- 02Uyghur vs Tibetan mural attribution
Theories
- 01Hexi corridor Silk Road Buddhist transmission
- 02Horse-hoof legend conversion narrative
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.420–1350 CE (Northern Liang to Yuan, peak Northern Wei and Sui-Tang)
- Period
- Sixteen Kingdoms to Yuan
- Culture
- Hexi Buddhist (Northern Liang, Northern Wei, Sui, Tang, Uyghur, Tibetan, Yuan)
- Builders
- Hexi Buddhist monks (Tanwuchen lineage at Mati)
- Purpose
- Mahayana Buddhist meditation and Hexi corridor Silk Road merit-making grottoes
- Rediscovered
- Early 5th c. Tanwuchen founding; 1920s Stein photos; 1990s Dunhuang Academy conservation
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.420 CE
Earliest Northern Liang cave cutting begins
c.500 CE
Northern Wei 7-m Shakyamuni completed
c.1350 CE
Yuan final mandala grottoes added
On the ground
Structures & features
38.4650° N · 100.4050° E · 2580 m · 2 mapped features
South Grotto — Cave 14 South 7-m Shakyamuni
cave hall7-m seated Shakyamuni with apsara murals, Northern Wei core with Sui retouch, central hall
38.4660° N · 100.4060° ESouth Grotto — Horse-Hoof Imprint Slab
natural rockNatural conglomerate slab with 22-cm horse-hoof depression and Tibetan mantra inscription below, legend focus
38.4640° N · 100.4040° E