Approaching Dunhuang

This book is part of the “Learning” series. This book shows the author’s thoughts on learning in multiple dimensions and teaches academic paths， which are very helpful for future learning.

I was part of a delayed generation. Before university， I had spent time in the countryside， worked as a bricklayer， a porter， and a substitute teacher. Those years of hardship taught me resilience and perseverance. Once in university， I encountered many outstanding teachers. During my undergraduate studies at Hangzhou University， I was introduced to classical Chinese by Professor Guo Zaiyi， who sparked my interest in ancient language and scripts. My graduation thesis was supervised by Professor Jiang Lihong， who introduced me to Dunhuang transformation texts and colloquial expressions. In 1984， as I approached thirty， I enrolled in the master’s program at Hangzhou University， once again under Professor Guo’s guidance， which ultimately led me towards “Dunhuang.”

In the 1980s， influenced by Professor Jiang Lihong， Professor Guo shifted his focus toward Dunhuang language and script research， centering on vernacular characters and colloquial expressions. He published a series of papers， including Explaining Terms in Tang Dynasty Vernacular Poetry. Under his influence and encouragement， I developed a deep interest in Dunhuang studies. During the summer vocation of 1985， while on a work trip to Shanghai， I brought along both volumes of Collected Dunhuang Transformation Texts， compiled by Wang Chongmin and others， reading whenever I had spare time. I quickly noticed numerous issues in the book’s proofreading， some of which had been identified by previous scholars， while others had not. This made me wonder about the causes of these issues and whether there might be patterns to summarize. After returning to Hangzhou， I shared my thoughts with Professor Guo. He nodded in approval， encouraging me to write an article with these insights. Later， when Professor Guo was hospitalized， he continued to express concern for my writing progress from his hospital bed. Every time I completed a section， he would have me read it to him. As his condition slightly improved， he even asked me to bring the draft along and accompany him for walks outside the hospital. I vividly recall those scenes — in the teahouse by Hongchun Bridge， the small pavilion in the botanical garden， and the stone stools beneath Feilai Peak， where Professor Guo， even while unwell， attentively reviewed my paper. After the article， titled Examples of Proofreading and Interpretation in Dunhuang Transformation Texts， was completed， Professor Guo wrote a separate review， giving high praise to what， in retrospect， was an immature paper， reflecting his warm encouragement and earnest expectations for the younger generation. Thanks to his strong recommendation， the 30，000-character paper was published in two parts in the Journal of Hangzhou University and the Dunhuang Studies Anthology. For a young scholar starting out， it was an immense source of encouragement！

In the summer of 1986， I completed my two-year postgraduate studies. Thanks to Professor Guo’s strong recommendation， I was able to stay on as a faculty member， officially embarking on the path of Dunhuang studies， a field I continue to love deeply to this day.

While writing Examples of Proofreading and Interpretation in Dunhuang Transformation Texts， I cross-referenced some questionable passages in Collected Dunhuang Transformation Texts with the original Dunhuang manuscripts （on microfilm）. I found that many of the errors were due to transcription mistakes by the editors. At that time， most published studies on emendations and word interpretation were based solely on the transcriptions in Collected Dunhuang Transformation Texts， without consulting the original manuscripts， which led to numerous errors. Furthermore， these articles were scattered across different publications， making it inconvenient for researchers and hindering in-depth study. I thought， how wonderful it would be if we could compile these emendations， cross-reference them with the Dunhuang manuscripts， and create a new， more accurate edition of Dunhuang transformation texts！ I shared my idea with Professor Guo， who expressed his strong approval. Given the large scope of this project， and since our colleague Huang Zheng was also under Professor Guo’s guidance， conducting research on the collation of Wang Fanzhi’s poetry and well-versed in Dunhuang literature， Professor Guo decided that the three of us should collaborate on this project.

In April 1987， at the annual meeting of the Chinese Society for Philology held in Fuyang， Hangzhou， Professor Guo formally proposed the concept of compiling A Comprehensive Collation of Dunhuang Transformation Texts， which sparked widespread interest in the academic community. Renowned scholars such as Lü Shuxiang， Xiang Chu， and Wang Ying all expressed enthusiastic support for our work. Professor Guo later discussed with us additional plans to compile two other books： A Collation and Commentary on the Collected Dunhuang Transformation Texts and A Dictionary of Vernacular Characters from Dunhuang and Turpan. Together with A Comprehensive Collation of Dunhuang Transformation Texts， these works would form the Three Works of Dunhuang Studies that we would jointly author under Professor Guo’s guidance.

The concept and drafting process of the “Three Works” were roughly as follows： Building on previous emendations， we would cross-reference each text with the original Dunhuang manuscripts， draft supplementary emendation papers for each text， and publish them in journals to gather feedback before refining and systematizing them into A Collation and Commentary on the Collected Dunhuang Transformation Texts. Then， by expanding upon Collected Dunhuang Transformation Texts， supplementing it with missing content， compiling all previous scholarly emendations， and adding our own insights， we would create the comprehensive work， A Comprehensive Collation of Dunhuang Transformation Texts. Finally， we would extensively investigate and collect vernacular characters from the Dunhuang and Turpan manuscripts， corroborating these with vernacular materials from other texts， such as transmitted dictionaries and stone inscriptions， tracing their origins and evolution to outline the historical development of each character， resulting in A Dictionary of Vernacular Characters from Dunhuang and Turpan.

In the late spring and early summer of 1987， work officially began on the first volume of the “Three Works”： A Collation and Commentary on the Collected Dunhuang Transformation Texts. We started by copying all available academic studies on Dunhuang transformation texts at the time. We then gathered and organized the parts relevant to collation by cutting and pasting each passage according to the page-by-page， line-by-line， and word-by-word order of Collected Dunhuang Transformation Texts. During the sweltering summer months， Huang Zheng and I spent the entire break cross-referencing the transformation texts collected in Collected Dunhuang Transformation Texts with the microfilm copies of the original manuscripts， using a reader and taking detailed notes throughout. Once we completed this preliminary comparison， we began drafting the emendation papers for each text. Our division of work was as follows： Huang Zheng was responsible for drafting the supplementary emendations for the texts in the first volume， while I handled the texts in the second volume. After the initial drafts were completed， we exchanged them for mutual review， and then submitted them to Professor Guo for his review. The final drafts were written by the primary authors of each section.

Under Professor Guo’s attentive guidance and direct involvement， the writing process for A Collation and Commentary on the Collected Dunhuang Transformation Texts progressed smoothly. By early 1988， several papers had already been submitted to journals for publication. On May 20， 1988， in a letter to Professor Zhao Kuifu at Northwest Normal University， Professor Guo wrote： “Together with my young friends Zhang and Huang， I am co-authoring the Three Works of Dunhuang Studies. Among them， A Collation and Commentary on the Collected Dunhuang Transformation Texts is expected to be completed by the end of the year， totaling around 300，000 characters. This manuscript exclusively presents our own perspectives， and I am confident that there are some noteworthy insights， particularly in the areas of vernacular character analysis and colloquial word interpretation， where we have uncovered many unique findings.”

At the beginning of 1989， just as A Collation and Commentary on the Collected Dunhuang Transformation Texts was nearing completion， our beloved mentor left us suddenly， plunging us into deep sorrow. In his will， Professor Guo wrote：

Yongquan， Huang Zheng，

Farewell comes so quickly; my heart is filled with melancholy. You must strive to complete our research plan and endeavor to publish all three books， so I may rest in peace. I have one last request： Please collect my papers not included in Essays on Philology， compile them into a supplement， and aim to publish them in a few years （it isn’t possible now）， to earn some royalties to support my family; I personally ask for nothing more.

From his hospital bed， Professor Guo spoke with us often about the writing and publication of the Three Works. His earnest words and presence moved us to tears.

Fulfilling Professor Guo’s final wish was an undeniable responsibility for us， his students. With the care and support of many friends， both those who knew him and those who did not， we compiled his posthumous papers into Collected Essays on Language and Literature by Guo Zaiyi， Collected Essays on Dunhuang Studies by Guo Zaiyi， Collected Works of Guo Zaiyi， and New Compilation of Philological Essays. These volumes were subsequently published by Zhejiang Ancient Books Publishing House， Jiangxi People’s Publishing House， Zhonghua Book Company， and Zhejiang University Press. The first of the “Three Works on Dunhuang Studies”， A Collation and Commentary on the Collected Dunhuang Transformation Texts， was finalized at the end of 1989 and published the following November by Yuelu Publishing House. This work later received the Wang Li Linguistics Award from Peking University and the First National Classic Books Award from the National Press and Publication Administration.