In 1900, Chinese Daoist Wang Yuanlu rediscovered the centuries lost and nearly forgotten Library Cave of the ancient, abandoned Mogao Caves. The caves are located near the Central Asian city of Dunhuang, a former religious, cultural, and intellectual intersection of the Silk Road. The caves contain Buddhist art and manuscripts from a thousand years ago, with some of its artifacts dating back to the fifth century (Stein 187). The network of numerous caves served as a religious center for Buddhist scholars and monks until fell into disuse following the abandonment of the Silk Road as a result of the advancement of sea exploration and trade. After rediscovering the well-preserved Buddhist Mogao Caves hundreds of years later, Wang made it
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Knowing that Wang was desperate for money, Stein offered donations. Stein also established a connection with Wang through their mutual admiration for the Chinese Tang Dynasty monk named Xuanzang (Whitfield 39). After gaining Wang’s trust, Stein gained access to the Library Cave, where he discovered fifty thousand documents dating from 406 AD to 996 AD (Whitfield 41). According to “Lost Treasures of the Silk Road,” the documents “contained an unprecedented record of the medieval Chinese world” (Whitfield 43). Eventually, Wang sold to Stein seven thousand manuscripts, six thousand fragments of manuscripts, and paintings and other artwork. Other explorers soon followed Stein such as Paul Pelliot for France and Langdon Warner for the United States; in addition, explorers from Japan and Russia obtained manuscripts and artwork (Whitfield 45). In 1909, China’s Ministry of Education managed to recover the remaining manuscripts, but according to Stein, many of the relics were stolen in transport (Stein 185). These remaining manuscripts are now stored in Beijing’s National Library of …show more content…
According to “Lost Treasures of the Silk Road,” many paintings and statues were destroyed during the Islamic invasion of central Asia. Also, when White Russian troops sought safety in Dunhuang during the Russian Revolution, they “defaced paintings and blackened entire caves with soot from their fires” (Whitfield 47). In addition to foreign destruction of the caves and the artwork inside, local authorities and robbers often pillaged the caves for treasures. Had the manuscripts and some artwork not been taken and preserved in other countries, much more Chinese history and culture could have been destroyed. For this reason, the foreign institutions that protected and preserved the artwork should not be forced to return them to
Knowing that Wang was desperate for money, Stein offered donations. Stein also established a connection with Wang through their mutual admiration for the Chinese Tang Dynasty monk named Xuanzang (Whitfield 39). After gaining Wang’s trust, Stein gained access to the Library Cave, where he discovered fifty thousand documents dating from 406 AD to 996 AD (Whitfield 41). According to “Lost Treasures of the Silk Road,” the documents “contained an unprecedented record of the medieval Chinese world” (Whitfield 43). Eventually, Wang sold to Stein seven thousand manuscripts, six thousand fragments of manuscripts, and paintings and other artwork. Other explorers soon followed Stein such as Paul Pelliot for France and Langdon Warner for the United States; in addition, explorers from Japan and Russia obtained manuscripts and artwork (Whitfield 45). In 1909, China’s Ministry of Education managed to recover the remaining manuscripts, but according to Stein, many of the relics were stolen in transport (Stein 185). These remaining manuscripts are now stored in Beijing’s National Library of …show more content…
According to “Lost Treasures of the Silk Road,” many paintings and statues were destroyed during the Islamic invasion of central Asia. Also, when White Russian troops sought safety in Dunhuang during the Russian Revolution, they “defaced paintings and blackened entire caves with soot from their fires” (Whitfield 47). In addition to foreign destruction of the caves and the artwork inside, local authorities and robbers often pillaged the caves for treasures. Had the manuscripts and some artwork not been taken and preserved in other countries, much more Chinese history and culture could have been destroyed. For this reason, the foreign institutions that protected and preserved the artwork should not be forced to return them to