Stories of the Mogao Grottoes

Stories of the Mogao Grottoes is one of the book series The Silk Road and Dunhuang Culture. It mainly depicts the far-reaching and profound Dunhuang culture， presenting rich historical materials related to Dunhuang and in-depth research on the Mogao and Yulin Grottoes. This allows readers to gain a fresh insight into Dunhuang culture and Dunhuang Studies through ancient religion， literature， history， music， art， and other perspectives.

Stories of the Mogao Grottoes

Written by Fan Jinshi

Illustrated 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.”

Since the opening of the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty， the Silk Road has been a passage between China and Western countries for nearly two thousand years. As China’s silk has been continuously transported to the West through this traffic route， Western historians named this road connecting the East and the West “the Silk Road.”" When we come to the topic of the opening of the Silk Road， we have to mention Zhang Qian. As the envoy of Emperor Wu in the Han Dynasty， Zhang Qian was ordered to contact the Rouzhi and Wusun Kingdom in the Western Regions to attack the Huns. Though he didn’t complete this political mission， he unexpectedly brought all kinds of intelligence to the states about the Western Regions. The Han Dynasty made further contact with these states， which led to extensive diplomatic activities between China and the Western Regions， thus opening a new chapter in the history of human civilization. From the end of the Qin Dynasty to the era of the struggle between Chu and Han， the Han nationality was busy with all kinds of battles， while the Huns in the north were on the rise. Rouzhi was originally a powerful nation living from the north of the Qilian Mountains to the Tianshan Mountain range. Unexpectedly， in the war with the Huns， the Rouzhi were defeated. The Huns killed the King of the Rouzhi and used his skull as a drinking vessel. Thus， the Rouzhi continued to move westwards and finally reached the Amu Darya. The Huns controlled the vast area in the north， blocked the road from the Han Dynasty to the Western Regions， and constantly invaded the border of the Western Han.

In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty， due to the long-term war， the economy of the Central Plains had not yet recovered， and the court was unable to resist the repeated provocation and intrusion of the Huns. For a time， the Huns approached Taiyuan. Liu Bang， Emperor of Han， once led an army to a decisive battle with the Huns and reached Pingcheng (today’s Datong City， Shanxi Province)， but he was besieged by the Huns and narrowly escaped. After that， the Han Dynasty had to make peace through political marriages， and send a large amount of silk， grain， and other gifts to the Huns each year. However， the Huns， relying on their strong generals and soldiers， wantonly plundered the grain and wealth of the people living on the border regions of the Han Dynasty during the autumn harvest every year. After six or seven decades of development， during the period of Emperor Wu， the Han Dynasty was known to be “wealthy， abundant and strong.” At this time， Emperor Wu decided to fight against the Huns. He sent General Wei Qing and General Huo Qubing to fight the Huns. However， the Huns had strong horses and soldiers and marched at a high speed. When the Han army was informed of the Huns’ invasion and sent troops to the frontline， the Huns returned with plunder before the Han soldiers arrived. The outcome was mixed during the engagement between the Han Dynasty and the Huns， and Emperor Wu was very upset about it. When Emperor Wu learned from the Huns’ captives that the Rouzhi were defeated by the Huns， he decided to send an envoy to the Western Regions， and to contact the Darouzhi and Wusun peoples， who had been driven away from the Hexi Corridor， to jointly attack the Huns.

In the second year of Jianyuan (139 BCE)， Zhang Qian was sent as an envoy to the Western Regions. At that time， the Hexi area had been occupied by the Huns. Zhang Qian and his mission were captured by the Huns as soon as they entered Hexi. After that， they were trapped by the Huns for more than ten years. To force Zhang Qian to join them， the Huns selected a beauty as his wife， and they later gave birth to children. However， Zhang Qian had never forgotten his mission. After 11 long and hard years， the Huns loosened their hold against Zhang Qian， and Zhang Qian took this chance to venture out with his entourage. They headed for the Rouzhi. After a more than ten days walk， they came to Dawan. The Kingdom of Dawan， having heard that the Han Dynasty was wealthy， was pleased to see Zhang Qian and was willing to exchange envoys with the Han Dynasty. Zhang Qian said his mission hoped that Dawan would help him to reach Darouzhi. Subsequently， Dawan sent a guide to lead Zhang Qian on his mission to Darouzhi. At this time， the Darouzhi people were living in the Guishui River (today’s Amu Darya River) Basin， where the aquatic plants were abundant and life was peaceful. They no longer wanted to fight with the Huns.