A Probe into Dunhuang Culture

The prosperity of Dunhuang culture in ancient times is attributed to the rich presence of Chinese and western cultures on the Silk Road. This book explores the issues related to the Silk Road and Dunhuang studies from a new perspective and through new methods， so more non-professionals will become interested in and benefit from ancient civilizations such as Dunhuang and the Silk Road.

A Probe into Dunhuang Culture

Written by Zhao Shengliang， Dai Chunyang， Zhang Yuanlin

Edited by Dunhuang Academy

Jiangsu Phoenix Fine Arts Publishing House

September 2016

58.00 (CNY)

Zhao Shengliang

Doctor of art and research librarian， former editorial director， deputy dean and dean of Dunhuang Academy. He is currently the Party Secretary and Chairman of the Academic Committee of Dunhuang Academy.

Dunhuang Studies is a famous research discipline throughout the world， with a consensus of no objection in academic circles. As we know， Dunhuang Studies refers to a deepening and enriching comprehensive discipline which focuses on the ancient remains (grottoes) and relics (all kinds of cultural relics unearthed from the Buddhist sutra caves) in the Dunhuang Region， and the theories of Dunhuang studies， as well as Dunhuang historical sites (including Hexi and Gaochang) as objects of research.

As a regional culture， Dunhuang culture refers to the history， geography， folk customs， traditions， lifestyle， literature and art， code of conduct， way of thinking， values， etc. of all ethnic groups in the Dunhuang Region. This shows that its core is an objective social phenomenon created by people for a long time. At the same time， it is a historical phenomenon deposited by social history. Therefore， with the deepening of Dunhuang studies， “Dunhuang culture” has become a multidimensional concept with rich connotation and broad extension， and has become the object of inquiry， elucidation， and contention by various disciplines.

Although Dunhuang culture is a regional culture， the profound spiritual wealth held by the above carriers， including the encyclopedic cultural heritages such as politics， economy， military affairs， education， characters (Chinese， Tibetan， Sanskrit， Tocharian， Huihe， Khotanese， Sogdian， Xixia， etc.)， literature， academic thoughts， religious beliefs， moral sentiments， grotto art (sculpting， painting， and calligraphy)， science and technology， folk customs， and all kinds of institutions， represent and embody the new outcomes and advanced cultures of the Chinese civilization and exotic civilizations during their eras. It is no exaggeration to say that Dunhuang culture is a veritable world cultural heritage and an actual symbol of world civilization. In this way， it is not difficult to understand the attention and enthusiasm of Chinese and western cultural masters， represented by Bo Xihe， Wang Guowei， and Chen Yinke， on Dunhuang culture since the first half of the 20th century; the persistence of top artists represented by Chang Shuhong， who resolutely returned to China when he saw the Dunhuang artworks by chance as he majored in oil painting during his study tour in Paris， and then devoted the rest of his life to preserving the Dunhuang Grottoes; and the regretless pursuit of generations of “sons and daughters of Dunhuang” represented by Fan Jinshi， who dedicated her youth and life to Dunhuang culture.

Not only that， even people and friends from all walks of life who visit Dunhuang are attracted by its fame or watch the exquisite Dunhuang murals through other approaches. And they are impressed by the legendary Dunhuang culture， desiring to catch a glimpse of its magnificence. At the same time， many friends are thinking and asking: Why could Dunhuang， which seems so remote today and even more outlying in the Han and Tang dynasties， make such unique cultural achievements? This is undoubtedly the basic question that we should answer.

Archaeological and cultural relics in Majuanwan， Nanhu and other areas in Dunhuang show that as early as around 2000 BCE， ancestors living in the Huoshaogou site， which belonged to Siba culture in the Bronze Age， began to develop the Dunhuang Region. They mainly engaged in agriculture and ran animal husbandry. The colored pottery they fired is featured with the decorative style of the Machang type of Majiayao culture in the late Neolithic Age and Qijia culture in the Bronze Age in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. The triangular covers， arsenic and copper products， and the copper and ceramic scepter heads they used have close ties to Central Asia and Mesopotamia. Moreover， the cultivation of wheat cannot help but draw our attention to West Asia， the origin of wheat. In this context， it is easy to understand that a large number of exquisite jade articles carved from Hetian jade have been unearthed from the Tomb of Fuhao amongst the Yin Ruins. During the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods， nomadic people such as the Rouzhi and Huns lived here for generations. In 121 BCE， Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty expanded his territory， and the Dunhuang area was officially incorporated into the territory of the Han Dynasty， which laid a foundation for the management of the Western Regions and thus made China-West exchanges a state action of the Han Dynasty.