Experts Talk About Dunhuang

As one of the book series The Silk Road and Dunhuang Culture， this book compiles a series of special lectures on Dunhuang Art given by experts in Dunhuang Studies during the “Dunhuang Art Exhibition” organized by Guanshanyue Art Museum， Shenzhen. Experts in Dunhuang Studies gave easy-to-understand interpretations of Dunhuang’s history， culture， and art.

Experts Talk About Dunhuang

Written by Fan Jinshi

Edited by Dunhuang Academy

Jiangsu Phoenix Fine Arts Publishing House

September 2016

58.00 (CNY)

Fan Jinshi

Fan Jinshi， former dean of Dunhuang Academy， and now honorary dean of Dunhuang Academy， is dedicated to the archaeology， scientific protection， and management of grottoes. Since graduating from Peking University in 1963， she has been working for Dunhuang Academy for more than 40 years and is honored as “the daughter of Dunhuang.”

In 111 BCE， the court of the Western Han Dynasty set up a county in Dunhuang， which was named as the four counties in Hexi along with Jiuquan， Zhangye， and Wuwei. The Western Han Dynasty controlled the Hexi Corridor， a strategic traffic artery leading to the Western Regions. One could reach Chang’an and Luoyang in this era by crossing the Hexi Corridor from Dunhuang to the east. The south road went from Dunhuang to the west， went southwards after passing Yangguan， passed through Shanshan， Qiemo， and Yutian to Shache along the north side of Mount Kunlun， and went over Congling to reach Darouzhi， Anxi， and other states. The north road went from Dunhuang to the west， went northwards after passing Yumenguan， passed through the Jushi Qianwangting， Yanqi and Qiuci along the south side of Mount Tianshan to reach Shule， and went over Congling to reach Dawan， Kangju， and Daxia. In the Sui Dynasty， the middle road was added， which went from Dunhuang， passed through Yiwu， Gaochang， and Shanshan， and reached Central Asia and Europe." Dunhuang became the hub of Europe， Asia， and Africa on the Silk Road during the Han and Tang dynasties， China’s gateway to other countries， and was known as the “choke point” between China and the West. The critical geographic location gives Dunhuang a significant role in the history of cultural exchanges between China and the West.

During the Han and Tang dynasties， the Hun merchants in the Western Regions and the Han merchants exchanged silk and porcelain in the Central Plains， precious metals， treasures， jade， spices， and medicinal materials in the West， camels in the north， and grains in the local area. Dunhuang became the transfer station for East-West trade and the intersection of religions， cultures， and knowledge. The envoys of the Han and Tang dynasties traveled to India and Central Asian countries， and envoys from Central Asia and the Western Regions constantly traveled on the Silk Road. Most of them passed through Dunhuang. Monks from the Western Regions to the East for preaching and monks from the Han region to the West for pilgrimage met when they passed Dunhuang， the only road for monks from the East and the West. The culture of the Central Plains spread to the West through Dunhuang， and the cultures from Greece of Europe， Central Asia， South Asia， and West Asia spread to the Central Plains through Dunhuang. The art of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes from the 4th to 14th centuries， as well as the cultural relics in the Buddhist sutra caves， record the confluence of Chinese， Indian， Greek， and Islamic cultures in Dunhuang during ancient times. It also recorded that more than ten ethnic cultures， such as Huns， Xianbei， Sogdian， Tubo， Uyghurs， and Mongolians， were included by Dunhuang. That is why Dunhuang is regarded as “the metropolis converged by the Chinese and Western cultures” in historical records.

Under the constant collision and integration of Chinese and western cultures， Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes came into being. In the second year of Jianyuan (366 CE) in the Former Qin of the Sixteen Kingdoms， Shamen Lezun came from the east and saw myriads of golden rays on the Sanwei Mountain， which looked like the Thousand Buddha motif. Thus， he excavated the first cave here， and later Zen Master Faliang excavated the second cave. The two monks started the construction of the Mogao Grottoes. After that， the construction continued for ten centuries. By the 14th century， in the Yuan Dynasty， Dunhuang had gradually lost its important position on the Silk Road with the development of the Maritime Silk Road and the decline of traffic on the Silk Road. After the Yuan Dynasty， the construction of the Mogao Grottoes stopped. They were gradually deserted， abandoned， and forgotten. In the 20th century， it again came to the public view， which was greatly related to the discovery of the Buddhist sutra caves.

So far， 735 caves， 45，000 square meters of murals， and more than 2，000 colored sculptures have been preserved in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. In addition， in 1900， more than 50，000 pieces of literature and silk paintings were unearthed in the Buddhist sutra caves of the Mogao Grottoes. With their long history， abundant resources， a huge amount of information， rich connotations， exquisite art， perfect preservation， and precious value， Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and Buddhist sutra caves have become famous Buddhist art treasures in China and even around the world. They are the emblem and symbol of the Chinese nation’s admirable traditional culture and art and have an important position in the history of Chinese culture and even world culture. In March 1961， Mogao Grottoes were announced by the State Council as one of the first batches of important heritage sites under state protection. In November 1987， it was included on the World Heritage List by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.