alb5471899

The concealed documents cave at Mogao, Dunhuang, Gansu.

In the early 1900s, a Chinese Taoist named Wang Yuanlu appointed himself guardian of some of these temples. Wang discovered a walled up area behind one side of a corridor leading to a main cave. Behind the wall was a small cave stuffed with an enormous hoard of manuscripts dating from 406 to 1002 CE. These included old hemp paper scrolls in Chinese and many other languages, paintings on hemp, silk or paper, numerous damaged figurines of Buddhas, and other Buddhist paraphernalia. The subject matter in the scrolls covers diverse material. Along with the expected Buddhist canonical works are original commentaries, apocryphal works, workbooks, books of prayers, Confucian works, Taoist works, Nestorian Christian works, works from the Chinese government, administrative documents, anthologies, glossaries, dictionaries, and calligraphic exercises. Wang sold the majority of them to Aurel Stein in 1907.

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Title: The concealed documents cave at Mogao, Dunhuang, Gansu.

Caption: In the early 1900s, a Chinese Taoist named Wang Yuanlu appointed himself guardian of some of these temples. Wang discovered a walled up area behind one side of a corridor leading to a main cave. Behind the wall was a small cave stuffed with an enormous hoard of manuscripts dating from 406 to 1002 CE. These included old hemp paper scrolls in Chinese and many other languages, paintings on hemp, silk or paper, numerous damaged figurines of Buddhas, and other Buddhist paraphernalia. The subject matter in the scrolls covers diverse material. Along with the expected Buddhist canonical works are original commentaries, apocryphal works, workbooks, books of prayers, Confucian works, Taoist works, Nestorian Christian works, works from the Chinese government, administrative documents, anthologies, glossaries, dictionaries, and calligraphic exercises. Wang sold the majority of them to Aurel Stein in 1907.

Credit: Album / Pictures From History/Universal Images Group

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Image size: 5000 × 3512 px | 50.2 MB

Print size: 42.3 × 29.7 cm | 1968.5 × 1382.7 in (300 dpi)

Keywords: ART • ARTS • ASIA • ASIAN • AUREL STEIN • BOUTIQUE • BUDDHISM • BUDDHISM, BHUTANESE • BUDDHIST • CHINA • CHINE • CHINESE • COMMERCE • CULT, BUDDHIST • CULTURE • ECONOMY • EQUUS CABALLUS • HISTORIA UNIVERSAL • HISTORIA • HISTORICAL • HISTORY • HISTORY. • HORSE'S • HORSE • HORSES HORSE • HORSES • LEGEND • PORCELAIN • RIDING • SILK ROAD • SILK ROUTE • TRADE ROUTE • TRADE • TRADING • XINJIANG