化生童子乐伎【英】

Lotus Boy Performers

定义

敦煌壁画中为了形象地表现这一内容，在莲花含苞或刚开的莲花中画一些或坐或立的童子，有些是光着身子在水中嬉戏，这就是佛经所说的化生童子。一般来说经变图里的莲花池中，多有化生童子的踪影，表示一种纯真无邪的生态现象，一般在这种场面都不持乐器，空手而舞。

Certain grotto murals in Dunhuang portray cherubic boys sitting or standing on lotus buds or blossoms; some are depicted playing in the water naked. The children are born from “transformation,” or spontaneous birth from nothingness, one of the forms of birth described in Buddhist scriptures. The supernaturally created boys can generally be seen in lotus ponds in sutra illustration paintings, demonstrating an innocent, joyous state of existence. Such children are usually shown dancing with no musical instruments in hand. The lotuses themselves symbolize that the children are born through miraculous “transformation,” or spontaneous birth from nothingness.