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It is such a place:
It is the only treasure that converges the four ancient civilizations of China, India, Greece and Islam, and its cultural magnificence is incomparable.
More than 800 caves, more than 3,000 painted sculptures, and more than 50,000 square meters of murals, condensing more than 2,000 years of Chinese history.
Mogao Caves Cave 112 On the west side of the south wall
King Kong Sutra Transformation Rebound Pipa Dance Close-up In the Tang Dynasty
(Photo by Wu Jian/Courtesy of Dunhuang Research Institute)
Contains the throat key of the Silk Road, known as the "Pearl of the Silk Road".
It is an "encyclopedia of the Middle Ages".
The north wall of Cave 323 of Mogao Caves
Zhang Qian sent an envoy to the Western Regions
(Produced by the Institute of Digitization of Cultural Relics of Dunhuang Research Institute, courtesy of Dunhuang Research Institute)
Contains the world's largest and best-preserved treasure trove of Buddhist art.
It is also the intersection of Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Jingjiao and other religions, and can be called "paradise of the gods".
Mogao Caves Cave 61 West Wall Wutai Mountain Map
(Photo courtesy of Dunhuang Research Institute, Produced by Institute of Digitization of Cultural Relics)
Regrettably, two-thirds of these precious cultural relics have been lost abroad.
They "have the most hidden in Britain, the most refined in France, the most miscellaneous in Russia, the most secretive in Japan, and the most scattered and chaotic in China."
King Uzumaki, because he could suppress the filth of the world,
Bodhisattvas who are considered "unclean" in China
(King Uzumaki, in the British Museum)
Some people came out crying after reading it, saying that they would come once a year in the future.
Some people say that if you haven't been here, don't say you know China.
It is disappearing little by little, and will eventually disappear completely.
For our descendants, it will become a legend in the sand.
……
It is Dunhuang, the great Dunhuang.
The beauty of a thousand years
It's so beautiful that people dare not come out
Whether you've been to Dunhuang or not, you'll know this famous statue of the Bodhisattva in Cave No. 45. It is known as "Beauty" and was featured on the cover of the 38th issue of Sanlian Life Weekly in 2019.
I have to admit that the first time I saw it, it felt like I was being doused with a basin of water by the hood and froze. The ears can still hear, but they cannot catch the slightest noise; the mouth can speak, but it cannot make any sound.
How gentle this is: strong and wide shoulders, rounded face, condensed the plump beauty that people in the Tang Dynasty yearned for. The bodhisattva tilts his head, and the three points of his head, chest, and hips form a twist, creating a graceful posture of three twists and turns;
Cave 45 of Mogao Caves, north side of the west niche, Left Banner Attendant Bodhisattva Sheng Tang (Photo by Wu Jian/Photo courtesy of Dunhuang Research Institute)
What a kind of love this is: the bodhisattva has his eyes downcast and is smiling slightly. Tenderness is mixed with the Buddha's compassion, and people can't help but want to bow down and bow down deeply.
Japanese documentary "Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes: A Complete Picture of Beauty"
The picture below is more than 15 meters long, the largest "Nirvana Buddha" in the Mogao Caves, depicting Shakyamuni shakyamuni who is quietly ushering in death. His face was serene, as if he were pretending to be asleep. Under his head was the robe he had worn before he was born.
This is the pattern of "grapes" on the inside of the algae well. The grapevines are studded with grains of fruit, which were considered rare fruits in the Tang Dynasty.
In the hearts of people at that time, pomegranates, grapes and other fruits from the far west symbolized abundance and auspiciousness.
Chinese and Western cultures converge here
Produce abundant fruit
Ji Xianlin said: "There are only four cultural systems in the world with a long history, vast territory, self-contained system and far-reaching influence: China, India, Greece, islam, and there is no fifth; and there is only one place where these four cultural systems converge, that is, China's Dunhuang and Xinjiang regions, and there is no second."
Dunhuang, which is regarded as the "center of the confluence of world civilizations", has assumed an important role in communicating the cultures of the East and the West since ancient times. In 1907, the British scholar Stein found some letters under the beacon of the Great Wall northwest of Dunhuang, which were called "Sogdian Ancient Letters".
Ancient Sogdian letters unearthed from the Yumen Pass Beacon
The study found that it was a letter written to their fellow Ethnic Group by Sogdian (Iranian) merchants in Gansu and Xinjiang at the time. The content of the letter mostly reflects its business activities in China, such as their business of gold, musk, camphor, wheat, pepper and so on.
As the "capital of Huarong", Dunhuang has absorbed the ancient Indian, Persian, Greek and Central Asian civilizations in the process of the prosperity and development of trade between the East and the West, making its own culture show extremely rich and mixed characteristics.
Another example is the famous "Hu Xuan Dance". Bai Juyi has a poem "Hu Xuannu": "Hu Xuannu, Hu Xuannu." The heart should be stringed, and the hands should be drummed. The strings and drums are raised with two sleeves. Back to the snow fluttering and dancing. Turn left and right tirelessly, and there is no time for a thousand turns. The human creatures are incomparable, and the whirlwind of the running wheel is delayed", and the dancer's spinning posture has jumped in front of him.
Hu Xuan dance in "Emperor Tang Ming"
The Tang Dynasty poet Cen Shan also had a poem cloud: "The beauty dance is like a lotus whirlwind, and the world should not see it with its eyes", "This song hu people introduced to The Han, and the guests were shocked and sighed". Such a cheerful and dynamic dance spread from the Western Regions to the Central Plains and became popular. Ancient books record that Yang Guifei danced the Huxuan dance very well, and she also consulted with An Lushan. In dunhuang's warp paintings, there is a detailed depiction of the Hu Xuan dance. The dancers spin at a high speed, but they can not leave the round carpet they are stepping on, and the skill is amazing.
In addition to being a hub for cultural exchanges between the East and the West, Dunhuang is also a military town connecting the Central Plains to the Western Regions. During the Tang Dynasty, Dunhuang participated in the Tang wars with Guizi, Western Turks, and Tubo, and was a key force in assisting the Anxi Capital Protectorate (the jurisdiction of the Xinjiang region during the Tang Dynasty) to control the Western Regions.
"Divine Realm Office in Dunhuang"
Welcome to the paradise of the gods
Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes is the largest and best-preserved treasure trove of Buddhist art in the world. At the same time, it is also the intersection of Taoism, Yuanjiao, Manichaeism, Jingjiao and other religions, which can be called "paradise for the gods".
On the west wall of Cave 257 in Dunhuang, a "Deer King Bunsheng Map" may evoke your childhood memories.
Mogao Cave No. 257 West Wall Nine Colored Deer Bunsen Part (Produced by Dunhuang Research Institute Cultural Relics Digitization Institute Dunhuang Research Institute Photo)
Yes, the well-known animation film "Nine Colored Deer" produced by Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio was adapted from this painting.
Buddha Shakyamuni was the King of the Nine-Colored Deer in his previous life, and after saving a drowning person regardless of his own safety, he was betrayed by this person.
As the most perfect comic strip Bunsen story painting in the Mogao Caves, its viewing method is from the left and right ends to the middle: at the left end of the picture, it is the plot of the nine-colored deer saving the drowning person, and the drowning person swears never to leak the secret; at the far right end of the picture, it reflects the princess dreaming of the nine-colored deer and wanting the deerskin to be clothed. One left and one right, the final climax is gathered in the center of the picture - the nine-colored deer confesses to the king, and the king is ashamed and orders the subjects of the country never to harm the nine-colored deer.
Mogao Cave No. 257 West Wall Nine Colored Deer Bunsen (Produced by Dunhuang Research Institute Cultural Relics Digitization Institute Dunhuang Research Institute Photo)
In the Dunhuang murals, a large number of stories of Shakyamuni's enlightenment of sentient beings and universal practice of the six degrees of life before his birth have been vividly presented.
In addition to finding a large number of Buddhist texts in Dunhuang, later generations also have many Documents of Taoism, Jingjiao (a branch of Christianity), and Manichaeism. It is shocking that a large number of precious cultural relics, including such documents, have been plundered by Britain, France, Russia, Japan and other countries many times to decorate their museums. As the place with the largest collection of Dunhuang cultural relics in the world, the British Museum has more than 10,000 collections. The so-called "Dunhuang is in China, Dunhuang learning is in a foreign country", the past history, can not bear to look back.
Today, when we are in the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, there are too many regrets in our hearts: we mourn the loss of two-thirds of the treasures that have been lost overseas, and we also feel deeply powerless for the reality that "the Mogao Grottoes will disappear one day in the future" under the action of sand and dust.
Moreover, due to the protection of the murals, although Dunhuang has more than 800 caves, only 20 or 30 of them are currently open to visitors.
Look at Dunhuang
It is not necessary to go to Dunhuang
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of modern Archaeology in China, and Sanlian Zhongyu has the honor of inviting 13 of the most qualified speakers in China, including Fan Jinshi, Wu Hong, and Rong Xinjiang, to explain to you the past and mysteries of these more than 800 caves, more than 3,000 painted sculptures, and more than 50,000 square meters of murals;
With 60 lectures and more than 800 minutes of content, put this mysterious place that converges the four ancient civilizations of China, India, Greece and Islam into your palm.
This is the audio lesson "Great Dunhuang", which was launched for the first time today! Directly save you round-trip airfare, accommodation and tickets to Dunhuang, and solve your four major problems of "no time, no experience, no understanding, and incomplete reading" at one time.