Dunhuang, an oasis on the eastern edge of the Taklimakan Desert, is a
small city in Gansu Province of Northwest China. According to historians,
Dunhuang was the farthest settlement within
the governance of Han and Tang dynasties when China was at its height in
economic and cultural prosperity. This ancient town lies along an ancient trade route known as the Silk
Road traversed by traders carrying luxury goods, predominantly silk, and new
ideas between China, Central Asia and the West around 2000 years ago. The Silk
Road started at Xian, China and ended at Istanbul, Turkey.
Dunhuang is famous for its Buddhist carvings. Large numbers of Buddhist
images were carved in caves in the mountain cliffs just outside the city, Mogao
Grottos. The 492 extant caves preserve more than 2,000 colored statues and 45,
000 square meters of murals. The mural themes depict Buddha portraits, stories
and interpretations of Buddhist scriptures, legends, portraits of devotees and
various decorative patterns. Due to Dunhuang�s geographical location, its art
illuminates the complex cultural interactions of ancient central Asia. It
reflects the period�s culture with Indian, West Asian, Central Asian, Tibetan,
Uygur and native influences. These international elements reveal a dynamic,
eclectic, and thoroughly multicultural setting that had a profound impact on
the later development of narrative literary forms as well as on Buddhist
image-making. They describe different ethnic groups: their lives, outings,
singing, dancing and music, farming, fishing and hunting, acrobatics and
martial art practice, foreign envoys and merchants.
The building of the caves began in the 4th century and ended
in the 14th century, thus describing a time span of 1,000 years.
Scholars nicknamed Mogao Grottos �library on the wall�.
In 1900,
a Chinese monk uncovered the 2,000-year-old treasures hidden in one of the
caves, which add even more luster to this national treasure of China. The total
of 50,000 pieces of cultural relics discovered include 1,000 pieces of silk
painting, embroidery and calligraphy. The most ancient musical scores in the
world were unearthed with this find. Most of those precious items are now kept
in the National Museum of Great Britain.
In the 1940s the Dunhuang Art Research Institute was established at Mogao. Some scholars study and research the Dunhuang art focusing on music and dance. This group founded the Gansu Dunhuang Arts Academy of China in 1961.� They have deciphered many musical scores and have recreated from the murals the period's costumes for their performance. This production, celebrating ancient cultural interactions, presented more than 220 times around the globe, shows the past in a beautiful performance and echoes contemporary internationalism.