Duan Qing, a well-known historical linguist and professor at peking university's School of Foreign Chinese, died in Beijing in the early morning of March 26, 2022 due to illness. Professor Duan Qing is a Liberal Arts Chair Professor at Peking University, who has devoted her life to the teaching and research of medieval Iranian, Sanskrit, Pali, Gandhara and other related fields, and has made outstanding achievements in the fields of Indian studies, Buddhist teaching, Silk Road literature and Sanskrit Bayeux Sutra, and is well-known in the international academic community. The Paper hereby publishes a reminiscence written by Zhao Li, a librarian of the Xinjiang Guizi Research Institute, recalling Duan Qing's concern for the Guizi Grottoes in Xinjiang and his affirmation and encouragement for future generations of scholars.
In the early morning of March 26, when I was busy preparing breakfast, I suddenly heard Lao Yang calling me loudly in the study, and then I shouted in panic: "Teacher Duan is gone!" Teacher Duan is gone! I hurriedly leaned out and asked, "Which Duan teacher?" "Teacher Duan Qing!" "How is that possible? What nonsense! "Really! It's true! Hurry up and look at your phone! I took three steps and made two steps into the bedroom, grabbed the mobile phone placed on the bedside table, hurriedly opened the WeChat circle of friends, and in an instant, the hanging information of "Teacher Duan Qing for thousands of years" came to me like a tide. At that time, my head was like a smouldering stick, buzzing.
Can't believe it! Don't want to believe it! Why did Teacher Duan suddenly say to leave? What I can't let go of for a long time is that I have only now learned that Teacher Duan was seriously ill and hospitalized at the end of last year. In the end, I was unable to see her for the last time, and I had to greet Teacher Duan no matter what!
For those two days, I was like a lost soul, listless all day, and I kept blaming myself in my heart, not being able to greet Teacher Duan during her illness, and not having time to say a final goodbye to her. Looking back on the past, Teacher Duan's every move, every smile and smile are so vivid that they are deeply imprinted in my mind. Thinking back to her encouragement and support for her juniors, I can't help but burst into tears.
Professor Duan Qing
The first meeting with Professor Duan Qing was held at the "International Symposium on Archaeology in the Western Regions of the Han and Tang Dynasties: Niya-Dandan Urik Site" held at the School of Archaeology and Archaeology of Peking University from November 20 to 22, 2009. During the tea break, Teacher Duan talked to me a lot about the importance of Khotan on the Silk Road, and she said that if she wanted to apply for a project, she must go to Hotan to do some work in her lifetime. As we all know, Teacher Duan's best skill is to interpret the dead language of ancient Central Asia, which is unpopular, but she is not rigid at all, unlike the old pedantry in people's impressions.
Later, the 2012 National Social Science Foundation Major Project "Interpretation and Research on Non-Chinese Documents Left behind in The Southern Silk Road of Xinjiang" declared by the School of Foreign Chinese of Peking University, together with the Xinjiang Museum and the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology, was approved. Since then, Mr. Duan has led the academic team to and from Xinjiang many times, busy with the project of Hu literature research in the western region. In particular, the interpretation of several pieces of helium found in Hotan is praised by scholars in the circle.
Duan Qing (first from right) accompanies Mr. Ji Xianlin (second from right) on a visit to Germany (1980)
In December 2014, I participated in the two-week "Xinjiang Cultural Masters and 'Four Batches' Talent Training Class" held by the Propaganda Department of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region at Peking University, which was located on the upper floor of the School of Foreign Chinese of Peking University, and the trainees lived in the Post and Telecommunications Hotel outside the west gate of Peking University. The next day, during recess, Teacher Duan and I met in the corridor. At noon the next day, Mr. Duan warmly entertained me and Mr. Ruan Qiurong of the Xinjiang Archaeological Research Institute, who also participated in the training. Teacher Duan's enthusiasm for the people of Xinjiang is like a fire, roasting us warmly. When I learned that the hotel room where I was staying was cramped and it was not convenient to write something at night, Teacher Duan resolutely asked me to work in her office at night. Therefore, every night after dinner, I came to the office of Teacher Duan in the Foreign Language Building as promised, drank the good tea she brewed, coded words on the computer, chatted with her at the same time, and occasionally listened to the anecdotes and anecdotes of Teacher Duan's "gossip" academic circle, accompanied by hearty laughter, and the fatigue of the day suddenly disappeared. This is no ordinary office, Ji Xianlin and Jin Kemu, two old gentlemen, have been preparing for classes here. It is this small office, the academic achievements of the old gentlemen seem to have been accumulated by time, and the rich smell of books is emitted through the full house of books, and it is fortunate to be able to come in with Teacher Duan in this life. At that time, Mr. Duan was organizing an academic expedition to the Niya site. Within two days, she led the inspection team to Hotan. On the first night before leaving, Teacher Duan left me a key with red satin tied to it, and specially told me to work in her office at night. I respectfully obeyed the order, took the key with both hands, and asked Teacher Duan who should give the key to before leaving Beijing? She patted me on the shoulder and smiled and said, "You keep it, and Peking University will come to my office later." "Since then, this key has connected me and Teacher Duan. To this day, this key is still hanging on the bookcase in my house, and I keep stroking the red satin with the key, and tears are gushing, which is a permanent memorial left to me by Teacher Duan.
The key to Duan Qing's office
From October 9 to 10, 2016, the Xinjiang Museum, together with the Research Center for Ancient Chinese History of Peking University and the Project Team of the School of Foreign Chinese of Peking University on "Investigation and Dissemination of Folk Culture in Xinjiang Region", held an academic seminar on "Silk Road in Khotan - The Fusion of Culture and Art" at the Xinjiang Museum. I was invited from Kyzyl to Urumqi to attend the seminar. In the lecture chair, I had the courage to have an academic debate with Teacher Duan. I was deeply impressed by Mr. Duan's cheerfulness, frankness and truth-seeking personality.
In October 2016, the academic seminar "Silk Road in Khotan - The Fusion of Culture and Art" was held
Cave 38 of Kyzyl, The Lushena Buddha Mural of the Cave of the Aai Cave of the Kyzyl Cave of The 69th Cave Protector Vajrapani
In August 2017, I suffered from a low point in my life, restless and in a bad state. On November 20, Duan Qing, Rong Xinjiang, Professor Li Chongfeng, and Teacher Fan Jingjing of Peking University came to See Me in Kyzyl on their way back to Urumqi from the Bachu Tumshuk site. It was already afternoon when they arrived in Kyzyl, and we strolled together on the boulevards of Kyzyl. The teachers cared about me and encouraged me, and I was fortunate to appreciate the demeanor and personality of several teachers. Teacher Duan said to me: "Zhao Li, you are the best, the work you have done is very important, and we all look forward to your results being published as soon as possible." I was so moved that I choked up and couldn't speak. Of course, any verbal expression at this time is pale and powerless. The sunshine of that winter afternoon warmed my heart and illuminated my way forward.
On November 20, 2017, Duan Qing was in the Kyzyl Caves
On July 18, a year later, the National Art Fund Communication and Exchange Promotion Project "Overseas Kyzyl Cave Murals and Cave Restoration Video Exhibition and Academic Seminar on Kyzyl Caves and Silk Road Research" sponsored by Xinjiang Guizi Research Institute was launched at the 798 Mumu Art Museum in Beijing. Mr. Duan visited the exhibition in a busy time and presided over the opening ceremony of the academic seminar held at the Goethe-Institut in the afternoon. When I finished introducing the curatorial intentions, Mr. Duan gave the exhibition a high evaluation: "The mural art of the Guizi Cave is very amazing, and every time we go, we feel very shocked. The Guizi murals were from the 4th and 5th centuries AD, a thousand years before the Renaissance. Ancient works of art should have a background, such as the cave temple, it must have its own place, it belongs to the logic of an art. Art, like our words, is a transmission of civilization, an expression of civilization; each of its elements, like our language, has words and grammar. Grammar is the logic of language, and so is art, and each element of it is its text, its most basic composition, that is, like a vocabulary. Art is shocking because it has logic behind it. If this logic is exposed and fragmented, you cannot see what it is trying to express behind it, and it is impossible to restore a civilization. So I think Zhao Li just spoke very well. ”
On July 18, 2018, Professor Duan Qing presided over the "Academic Seminar on Kyzyl Caves and Silk Road Studies"
In June 2020, the Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House's selected title "Silk Road Archaeological Research Classic Translation Series" was to be declared to the National Publishing Fund, and Professor Duan Qing's recommendation was as follows: "Senior scholars in the field of Silk Road studies, such as Mr. Ji Xianlin, have long concluded that Xinjiang is the gathering place of diverse civilizations, and there is no second place in the world that can present so many diverse civilizations, such as Xinjiang and Dunhuang. As we all know, it was the British, French, German, and Russian expeditions that first opened the archaeological expedition in Xinjiang, thus revealing the deceased civilization that once existed, discovering many languages that have disappeared, and discovering texts that were considered to no longer exist. Not only that, after the Western powers transported the cultural relics from Xinjiang and even Central Asia back to various countries, they did not stop at the stage of just hunting and appreciating treasures, but carried out continuous research and created new disciplines for the academic community. However, it must be pointed out that archaeological expeditions from the West and Japan have also caused serious damage to the grottoes in Xinjiang. Because the murals were cut and stolen, cultural relics and so on were stolen, so that the cultural relics found in archaeological expeditions lost their original information, resulting in major shortcomings in the academic field. Fortunately, the rapid growth of Chinese scholars in the past decade or so, as well as the tracking and investigation of archaeological relics on the Silk Road, have made up for some regrets. The efforts and achievements of Zhao Li, a researcher at guizi research institute for more than ten years, are obvious to all. Now researcher Zhao Li proposes to translate and publish the 'Silk Road Archaeological Research Classic Translation Series', and her plan is based on years of investigation. I think her vision is unique, and she has chosen many works in Russian and German. Precisely because of language limitations, the Collections of Russia and Germany, as well as their archaeological reports, catalogues, research treatises, etc., cannot be fully utilized by domestic scholars. I believe that after the completion of this set of classic translations, it will certainly benefit Chinese scholars. Facts have proved that only the participation of Chinese scholars in the study of the archaeological relics of the Silk Road can greatly improve this field. I am very grateful and supportive of Researcher Zhao Li for planning the "Silk Road Archaeological Research Classic Translation Series" series, and hope that this series of works will be translated and published as soon as possible, so that more Chinese scholars will benefit." "Teacher Duan's affirmation, encouragement and support everywhere give me confidence and strength, and make my pace of progress more firm."
On March 23, 2021, the "Guizi Grotto Inscription Publishing Symposium" held by The Chinese and Western Bookstore was held in Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House. At the meeting, Professor Duan Qing made a brief introduction: "Although we have made great achievements in the field of mural paintings and grottoes over the years, the research on Guizi culture has not been deepened. I have to say that the reason why further in-depth research is difficult, one of the biggest obstacles is the lack of talents to master the Guizi language. And it is in this field that the "Inscription" has set a precedent for the blue wisps of the road. Mr. Ji Xianlin once said: 'The impact of Oracle's discovery and research is limited to China. The discovery of these ancient languages in Xinjiang has world significance. Teacher Duan's speech pointedly pointed out the bottlenecks and shortcomings of the research of the Guizi Grottoes, and also pointed out the direction for the depth and breadth of the future research of the Guizi Grottoes, and gave the book "Guizi Grottoes Inscription" a very high evaluation. After the meeting, Mr. Duan expressed his hope to lead the team to conduct relevant research on the murals of the Guizi Grottoes from the perspective of iconography in the future.
On March 23, 2020, the symposium on the publication of "Inscriptions on the Grottoes of Guizi" was held in Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House
On March 23, 2020, Teacher Duan Qing spoke at the symposium on the publication of "Guizi Grotto Inscription"
On March 23, 2020, Teacher Duan Qing held a symposium on the publication of "Guizi Grotto Inscription"
On March 23, 2020, Duan Qing and the author took a group photo at the symposium on the publication of "Guizi Grotto Inscription"
On May 9th, the "Research on the Restoration of Mural Paintings in the Kyzyl Caves" Publishing Seminar sponsored by Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House was held at the Institute of Culture and Research of Peking University. Teacher Duan Qing once again presided over my keynote speech "Investigation of National Treasures Lost Overseas- Research on the Restoration of Murals in the Kyzyl Caves". What I did not expect was that this was the last side of me and Teacher Duan, and without saying goodbye, it had become forever.
Group photo of the symposium on the publication of "Research on the Restoration of Mural Paintings in the Kyzyl Caves" on May 9, 2021
On May 9, 2021, Professor Duan Qing delivered a speech at the publication seminar of "Research on the Restoration of Mural Paintings in Kyzyl Caves"
In mid-June 2021, during the "Liu Pingguo Carved Stone and Western Civilization Academic Seminar" held in Baicheng County, Teacher Duan led the students to the Kyzyl Grottoes, and she left me a message in WeChat: "This trip is mainly to make young students interested in Guizi. Originally, Guizi was the key area of Mr. Ji's attention, but now we don't have a focus on Guizi here. "At that time, I was thinking that when I was busy with the work at hand, I must find an opportunity to cooperate with Teacher Duan well, as she wished, to interpret the Murals of the Guizi Grottoes from the perspective of iconography." Teacher Duan had already laid the groundwork for the beginning, but she had to leave the scene halfway. I look forward to continuing the frontier with Teacher Duan's team and fulfilling Teacher Duan's long-cherished wish.
Teacher Duan's sudden death made my heart feel empty. Holding this key left by Teacher Duan, I will spend the rest of my life trying to solve the many unsolved mysteries of the Guizi Grottoes to comfort Teacher Duan's spirit in heaven.
(The author is a research librarian at the Xinjiang Academy of Culture and Culture.) ）