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.

九色鹿

九色鹿見于莫高窟第257窟西壁壁畫《鹿王本生》，全圖生動描繪了古印度恒河邊九色鹿王搭救溺水人，溺水人見利忘義最終惡有惡報的故事。畫面整體布局緊湊、主旨突出，并以富有動感的山巒分割情節，繪制了8組場景。

畫面采用橫卷連環畫的表現形式，按兩頭開始、中間結束的特殊順序繪制。左一為九色鹿救起溺水之人，畫中一人騎在鹿背上，緊抱鹿頸，鹿王從水中將其馱出。左二落水人跪在九色鹿面前，向鹿王許諾保守秘密。右一為王后向國王撒嬌要九色鹿皮做坐褥、用鹿角做拂柄，圖中國王與王后坐在宮殿之中，王后以右臂攬國王肩膀，扭頭朝 向國王，一只腳丫翹起外露，撒嬌之態躍然畫上。門外，溺水之人正背信棄義向 國王告密。右二為一人駕馬車，是國王和王后在溺水人的帶領下同乘一輛馬車前往圍獵九色鹿。畫面中部是國王等人驚醒了沉睡中的九色鹿，九色鹿毫不畏懼，向國王痛訴溺水者的忘恩負義。在國王及侍從之后，是手指九色鹿居處的溺水人，這個告密者滿身白點，代表惡有惡報，全身生瘡。

這組壁畫在1981年由上海美術電影制片廠制作成動畫片，成為中國本土動畫片的經典之作。