Dunhuang and the Cave of Manuscripts

7/25/2019 Dunhuang and the Cave of Manuscripts

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Dunhuang and the Cave of Manuscripts

Dunhuang has 492 caves, with 45,000 square meters of frescos, 2, 415 painted statues and

five wooden-structured caves.

The ogao !rottoes contain price"ess paintings, scu"ptures, some 50,000 #uddhist

scriptures, historica" documents, te$ti"es, and other re"ics that first stunned the wor"d in the

ear"% 1900s.

Dunhuang is an oasis town in &hinese &entra" 'sia west of (ian, a former capita" of &hina.

To the west of Dunhuang "ies the Ta)"ama)an Desert. The si") road coming from the west

sp"it to fo""ow the northern and southern *orders of the desert where there were man% sma""

oases.

Dunhuang was the town where the two *ranches of the si") road re+oined for the fina" "eg

into &hinas capita".

The cave-temp"es near the town of Dunhuang form what is argua*"% the wor"ds most

e$traordinar% ga""er% of #uddhist art a ga""er% whose magnificent mura" paintings and

stucco scu"ptures were not co""ected from distant sources *ut were created in situ over a

period of near"% a thousand %ears. oreover, one particu"ar cave contained a sea"ed "i*rar%

whose contents, consisting of written documents, si") paintings and wood*"oc) prints,

ref"ect contacts with ever% ma+or #uddhist centre of *oth &entra" 'sia and the &hineseempire.

The town was founded *% mperor /udi of the an d%nast% in 111 #& as one of the four

garrison commanderies which assured &hinese contro" over the trade routes to the western

regions. or severa" hundred %ears after the co""apse of the an empire 203 #&-220 'D,

the area was su*+ected to successive waves of invasions, which often caused great

upheava". or e$amp"e, in 49, conquest of the area *% the 6orthern /ei 73-55 "ed to a

re"ocation of thirt% thousand of its inha*itants to the d%nastic capita" in 8han$i province.

n :71, during the Tang d%nast% 317-903, Dunhuang surrendered to the Ti*etans after ten

%ears resistance. /hen &hinese ru"e was restored in 747, one "oca" fami"% assumed power,

to *e fo""owed in the tenth centur% *% other powerfu" c"ans. Dunhuang was "ast considered


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a p"ace of importance when it was under the contro" of the /estern (ia )ingdom 990-

122: and the ongo" ;uan d%nast% 12:1-137.

rom the time of the an to the end of the ;uan, a most important trade route deve"oped

from &hina to the /est, which "ater *ecame )nown *% the marve"ous"% evocative name,

The 8i") ersian and 8ogdian merchants trave""ed the who"e "ength, and were such

fami"iar sights in the &hinese capita"s &hangan present-da% (ian and ?uo%ang that the%

can frequent"% *e found, for e$amp"e, portra%ed on Tang d%nast% figurines.

This route was a"so used *% #uddhist mon)s from &hina and @orea trave"ing west in search

of images and scriptures, and *% am*assadors and princes from the west ma)ing the "ong

+ourne% to &hina. t was *% means of the 8i")


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their )now"edge and interpretations of the scriptures to their &hinese counterparts *% wa%

of these trade routes.

ersian dua"ist re"igion, and of

6estorianism, an astern &hristian sect, a"so reached &hina and esta*"ished themse"ves

there.

ounded in the si$th centur% #&, #uddhism soon *egan e$panding northwards from the

foothi""s of the ima"a%as. n the third centur% #&, under its most inf"uentia" convert, the

ndian emperor 'so)a, it was dispersed *% missionaries across &entra" 'sia, where it

remained dominant for a*out a thousand %ears, unti" invaders in the seventh centur% 'D

*rought in s"am.

n &hina itse"f, #uddhism was introduced pro*a*"% as ear"% as the first centur% #&, with

communities of #uddhist mon)s in e$istence *% the first centur% 'D. ?earned #uddhist

mon)s *ecame va"ued as pa"ace advisors, and it was through imperia" and aristocratic

patronage that #uddhism made its first su*stantia" progress in the empire. #ecause of its

vita""% important position on the 8i")


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'ccording to archaeo"ogists, it is the greatest and most consummate repositor% of #uddhist

art in the wor"d.

an% pavi"ions, towers, temp"es, pagodas, pa"aces, court%ards, towns and *ridges in the

mura"s provide va"ua*"e materia"s for the stud% of &hinese architecture. Fther paintings

depict &hinese and foreign musica" performances, dancing and acro*atics.

The &ave for >reserving 8criptures, was discovered *% a Taoist mon) /ang ;uan"u in

1900. The cave contains more than 50,000 sutras, documents and paintings covering a

period from the 4th to the 11th centuries. t was one of &hinas most significant

archaeo"ogica" finds. These precious re"ics are of great historica" and scientific va"ue.

n 1931 the !rottoes were "isted *% the 8tate &ounci" as one of &hinas )e% historica" and

cu"tura" sites. au" >e""iot, 8ergei eodorovich

F"den*urg and other archaeo"ogists.

&hinese scho"ars such as ?uo hen%u and /ang !uowei cu"tivated the stud% of Dunhuang

cu"ture *% pu*"ishing a num*er of *oo)s in 1910. The Dunhuang 'rt 'cadem% was

esta*"ished *% &hang 8huhong "ater.

The site "a% empt% and ignored unti" a secret sea"ed-up cave was discovered at the end of

the 19th centur%. t was crammed with ancient manuscripts and printed documents. ts

discover% coincided with a period of great internationa" archaeo"ogica" research in the area

and 8ir 'ure" 8tein was the first to gain access in 190:. Thereafter archaeo"ogists from

rance, aris, ?ondon and 8t. >eters*urg.

Documents and paintings from other 8i")


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'part from 14,000 paper scro""s and fragments from this cave at Dunhuang, the #ritish

?i*rar% 8tein co""ection inc"udes severa" thousand woods"ips and woods"ip fragments with

&hinese writing, thousands of Ti*etan and Tangut manuscripts, >ra)rit wooden ta*"ets in

#rahmi and @harosthi scripts, a"ong with documents in @hotanese, Eighur, 8ogdian and

astern Tur)ic. '"" this materia" is inc"uded in The nternationa" Dunhuang >ro+ect and wi""

*e entered onto the >ro+ect data*ase.