Analysis the Construction Age of Mogao Cave 3 was in the Yuan Dynasty rather than Xixia(1038-1227)

 The fine wall murals in Mogao Cave 3 are the representative works of the late grottoes. About its era, there are many debates between the theories of the Yuan dynasty and Xixia(1038-1227) dynasty. The Xixia(1038-1227) spokesmen put forward five evidence, namely, the restoration of the ancient law by line-drawing, the popularity of the belief in the esoteric buddhism of Avalokitešvara,,the prosperity of Dunhuang in the Xixia(1038-1227) and the decline of the Yuan Dynasty, the similarity between the Avalokitešvara images in the grottoes and the “ Avalokitešvara images in the Xixia(1038-1227)” unearthed in Khara-Khoto, and the similarity between the murals in the grottoes and the art of the Eastern Thousand-buddha Cave 7 in Guazhou which be identified as the Xixia(1038-1227) murals..In fact, none of these five evidences can be established, which in turn helps to prove that Mogao Grottoes Cave 3 is a Yuan Dynasty grotto. In addition, the feature of flying in Mogao Cave 3 is a long-lost Western Asian style, which is related to the status of the Semu people in the Yuan Dynasty. In the painting, the elements of the Taoist murals permeated in the Buddha's garment, and the Bodhisattva image appeared obvious secular tendency. From a historical point of view, since the Binwang royal family of Mongolia was stationed in Guazhou and Shazhou in the Yuan Dynasty, large-scale land reclamation was implemented here, resulting in a significant improvement in the political status and economic development of the two regions compared with the Xixia(1038-1227). It can be concluded that the Mogao Grottoes 3 was constructed in the Yuan Dynasty rather than Xixia(1038-1227).