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Notes on the History of Dunhuang |
Dunhuang (in older sources, Tun-Huang), located at the western end of
the Gansu (Hexi) Corridor and at the eastern end of the
Taklamakan Desert, was very
important historically. For many periods of Chinese and Inner Asian history, it marked the
western limit of direct Chinese administrative control and military authority. Located
near one of the important nodes of the routes across Eurasia, Dunhuang experienced a
variety of cultural influences. For example, perhaps the most important early translator
of Buddhist scriptures in China, the monk Kumarajiva from Kucha in the Tarim Basin, worked
at Dunhuang before he went to Ch'ang-an. The famous Buddhist monks Faxian and Xuanzang
passed through Dunhuang en route to (or from) India in their quest for new knowledge of
Buddhism at its source. We know that Soghdian merchants from Ferghana were there, as were
Nestorian Christians. During the period of the T'ang Dynasty, for many decades Dunhuang
was under Tibetan control; later Uighurs and others controlled the region.
While the history of Dunhuang and its region has much in common with
that in other cities in Inner Asia, part of its distinction lie
in the degree to which life in Dunhuang
has been documented. Much of that documentation came to the attention of scholars only at
the beginning of the twentieth century, with the expeditions of Aurel Stein (front
center in photo) and others. In the first instance today when we think of Dunhuang, we
think of the Mogao Caves near the town, a complex of hundreds of Buddhist sanctuaries, a
great many of which contain remarkably well preserved religious art from about the late
fifth century (CE) on. At Mogao in 1900, a local caretaker monk uncovered a treasure trove
of manuscripts and paintings, most of which ended up in European collections after Stein
and others purchased or otherwise obtained them. Toward the middle of the twentieth
century, the systematic study of the art and inscriptions in the caves began, providing
additional information on local culture and history. Apart from the evidence at Mogao,
considerable written material for the early history of the region has been found in the
ruins of Han-era fortifications. Taken together with the information in dynastic
historical records, these sources often allow much more detailed study of the Dunhuang
region than can be obtained for many other areas of China.
Yet surprisingly, there is no readily available synthesis of Dunhuang's history as a center on the Silk Road. We might hope to view the history of the Silk Road through the lens of Dunhuang and its history, but to do so requires pulling together materials from a variety of sources. The pages here are intended as a start in that direction. So far pages are provided here on the following topics:
1. Dunhuang as a military outpost.
2. Dunhuang in the late T'ang period: The Tun Huang Lu. Note that this page links to various pages containing images of the region around the Mogao Caves.
3. Dunhuang social, economic and political history.
© 1999 Daniel C. Waugh