Concerted Care for the Dunhuang Culture

By staff reporters TANG SHUBIAO & LI GUOWEN

AFTER a trial opening upon its completion at year-end， the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes Tourist Center will open to the public next May， Fan Jinshi， director of the Dunhuang Academy of China， told China Today in an interview on April 8.

As a member of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference， Ms Fan has raised several proposals on the conservation and utilization of Dunhuang –oasis city and main stop on the historical Silk Road. Building a tourist center was one of them.

Conservation versus Utilization

Enabling more people to appreciate Dunhuangs ancient artworks while at the same time conserving and protecting them is among Fans deepest concerns.

Massive overcrowding during peak tourist season exerts huge pressure on her. After lengthy investigations and research， the conclusions of the Dunhuang Academy， in cooperation with the LAbased Getty Research Institute and the Australian Heritage Council， are that the Mogao Grottoes can accommodate a maximum 3，000 visitors a day. During the 2012 week-long National Day holiday， however， as many as 18，660 visited the grottoes each day， Fan said. They had time only to hear a brief introduction in front of the caves before entering and looking around for a minute or two. Most of their time was spent waiting in line.

Moisture and carbon dioxide emanating from tourists has direct， negative impact on the fragile colors of the caves centuries-old murals and painted sculptures. And owing to limited space， visitors are distracted from the rare experience of seeing these historical artifacts by trying not to jostle one another.

Taking into consideration the need to conserve this UNESCO heritage site while giving visitors the chance to see it， only 70 caves are open to tourists. More routes are organized at high season， each including representative caves of different eras.

When it comes into operation， the tourist service center will provide visitors with detailed information on the Dunhuang culture. Its dome and digital theaters will also show them the caves in authentic detail， so minimizing time they spend within them. This will relieve pressure on Fan to conserve this precious heritage.

Onerous Task

The new tourist center may reduce human damage， but cannot halt the relentless course of erosion.

The Mogao Grottoes are located on a cliff on the east side of Mingsha Mountain， which extends for 1，700 meters. First built in AD 366， the grottoes were under construction for an entire millennium. They reached an immense scale in the 14th century. There are now 492 caves that house murals covering 45，000 square meters and 2，415 painted clay sculptures. Cave 17， discovered by the Taoist Wang in the early 20th century， is a repository for more than 50，000 ancient documents and artworks. The Mogao Grottoes comprise the worlds largest extant shrine of Buddhist art. They have engendered a specific discipline – Dunhuangology – that entails research on the Mogao documents and grotto art. The grottoes were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Blights， however， like hollowing， peeling， flaking， discoloring and mildew， are apparent in more than half of the Mogao murals and painted sculptures.

The effects of natural erosion are plain to see from two photos Fan showed us. They are both of a mural on the north wall of Cave 285 taken within a 100-year period. The first， taken by French sinologist Paul Pelliot in 1908， is of a more or less complete mural with easily identifiable figures. The second， taken in 2002， shows how the central part is peeling and the figures are too faded to decipher.

Of the proposals Fan has raised， one is a complex project called “three lines of defense.” It consists of cliff reinforcement， construction of a plank path and complex protection from sand storms. The National Development and Reform Commission approved the project in December 2007. All subprojects， other than the tourism center， passed the acceptance inspection last January.

A native of humid Shanghai， Fan Jinshi found it difficult to adapt to Dunhuangs arid climate.“Its so dry here， with an annual rainfall of only 30 millimeters，” she said. “I never imagined that the caves could suffer from water seepage.” The cliffs of Mingsha Mountain are glutenite， which means that rain water penetrates minute cracks and gradually seeps behind the murals.

Water infiltration within the cliffs is the main culprit of the murals maladies， according to Fan. As mud is their main substance， they swell under humidity and shrink after drying. This process causes flaws and blights. The cliff reinforcement project is expected to reduce the risk of both landslides and rainwater infiltration.

The Dunhuang Academy has worked with the Getty Research Institute and the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute， Chinese Academy of Sciences， on controlling sand storms. They have hit on a complex system comprising high nylon fences on the cliff and a psammophyte belt to repel sand. They have also established grids of cotton stalks and wheat straws to fix the sand， and constructed a drip irrigation system and water pipes. After 20 years sand storms in the Mogao Grottoes area decreased 75 percent， reducing erosion of the cliff， murals and painted sculptures.

The security and monitoring system， however， failed to meet todays demands. The new security project， initiated in July 2009， entails a more advanced technological security system. Covering all caves and their priceless artifacts， it pinpoints the specific location of alarms triggered by both images and sounds. It also includes micro-monitoring of temperature， humidity， carbon dioxide and the number of visitors in the caves. The system thus constitutes a scientific base for cave and tourist management.

Strengthen Basic Research

The guides at Dunhuang and the research they have carried out are crucial to tourists appreciation of the grottoes. They explain grotto culture， the historical background of murals and the significance of the figures they feature， in effect invoking the spirit of the Dunhuang culture.

The late scholar of Chinese-Western cultural exchanges Ji Xianlin said that Dunhuang is in China， but Dunhuangology is worldwide. Fan agrees that specialists in Europe， the U.S. and Japan have all contributed to the development of Dunhuangology， but maintains that China has achieved the most.

The Dunhuang Academy carries out conserva- tion， research， promotion and management of the Mogao Grottoes， the Yulin Grottoes and the Xiqianfo Grottoes. Scholars at the academy specializing in Dunhuangology do research on Mogao history， archeology， religion， ethnology and arts –including painting， painted sculptures， music and dance – as well as apparel and furniture. In the past decade they have published 35 books. The academic periodical Dunhuang Research has published 137 issues since 1983.

Fan graduated from Peking University in the 1960s with a Ph.D. in archeology. She is hence adept at assessing the dates of relics according to stratigraphy and typology， and in gauging the chronology of the grottoes.

During the 15 years Fan has led the academy she has considerably advanced the work of her predecessors. In recent years she has led archeologists in compiling detailed records and archaeological reports on the caves. The year 2011 saw publication of The Archaeological Reports on Caves 266 to 275 of the Mogao Grottoes – the first volume of The Complete Works on Dunhuang Grottoes. The twovolume report records and interprets data， comprising texts， photos and maps， on 11 caves.

The Complete Works on Dunhuang Grottoes is integral to basic research on their conservation and research， Fan said. The works scientifically and systematically document each cave， including their locations， exterior， cave structures， murals and sculptures of different times. It also records their restoration in modern times， current preservation status and subsidiary inscriptions.

The project expects to publish 100 individual volumes. The second volume is now at the compiling stage.

Foresight

Dunhuang is at the transportation junction and strategic hub of the ancient Silk Road. The grottoesconstruction took place under the backdrop of sustained exchanges between the Western and Eastern civilizations. At the time China exported silk and tea to the West， caravans introduced belief systems， culture and art from ancient India， Greece， Rome and Persia to Dunhuang. Their influence was later evident in Chinas Central Plains area.

In February 2012， Fan gave the lecture World Cultural Heritage in China： Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes at the Benaki Museum， Athens. Around 300 or more specialists in Greek archaeology and art attended. She explained that Mogao grotto art circles includes Chinese characteristics and also those of ancient India， Persia， Greece， and other parts of Central Asia. The Dunhuang Grottoes thus showcase the fruits of multi-cultural convergence. Fan cited a bird appearing on the murals that is strikingly similar to the Siren image of Greece； also the lines of a Buddhist robe that resembles the cassocks worn by ancient Greeks. The two details draw a distinct parallel between Dunhuang and Greek culture.

During her lecture in Egypt， Fan talked about glassware. “We had glassware in ancient times， but it was not transparent. But glassware featured in Dunhuang murals is indeed transparent， very likely from ancient Egypt.” Fan also mentioned the konghou， an ancient musical instrument seen in the murals similar to the ancient Egyptian harp on display at the Louvre. She believes the instrument was invented in Egypt， and spread to West Asia， India， Central Asia and eventually to Dunhuang.

Dunhuang Impressions – Exhibition of Chinese Culture opened in November 2012 in Istanbul， another hub on the Silk Road. Over the past two or more years， the Dunhuang culture has become prominent in Chinas international cultural exchanges. In 2012 the dance drama Dream of Dunhuang toured Southern Europe， North Africa， the Middle East and Tokyo and Akita of Japan. The latter country is the largest source of visitors， according to guides at the Mogao Grottoes. In January 2013， a 3D version of the Dunhuang murals was screened in Washington， D.C.

In addition to conservation， research and tourism， Fans work also focuses on the demands of the future. She believes a world-class heritage museum should include four aspects. They are： a first-class heritage collection； conservation； research； and exhibitions and service. In other words， collection and conservation are primary concerns， and social aspects like exhibitions and communications constitute the fundamental objective. The objective of conservation of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes is， according to Fan， “To protect and conserve this treasure for posterity.”