Dunhuang manuscripts

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The manuscripts discovered in Mogao Caves (mostly in Cave No. 17), Dunhuang are of great historical, philological and literary interest. Works thought to be long lost turned up (e.g. the Hua Hu Jing). Ancient editions of the classics were found (e.g. editions of the Analects of Confucius). Unknown ancient Central Asia languages came to light (e.g. the Khotanese language). A copy of the Diamond Sutra of the Tang Dynasty, the earliest surviving printed book in the world, is also among the manuscripts.

Dating from 5th to early 11th century, the manuscripts are mostly in Chinese; the remaining is in a number of other Asian languages (many now extinct). Most of the texts are of religious nature, although there is a great variety of other genres, including contemporary social documents. Among the religious texts, most deal with Buddhism.

The manuscripts were discovered by the Taoist monk Wang Yuanlu during the early 20th century. He later sold them to Western explorers, notably Aurel Stein and Paul Pelliot. Largely due to Luo Zhenyu's efforts, the remaining manuscripts were preserved in China. Russian and Japanese explorers also acquired some.

These manuscripts are now kept in institutions all over the world, such as the National Library of China, British Library and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. They are all being digitised by the International Dunhuang Project, and can be accessed free online.

Contents 1 Classification 1.1 By language 1.2 By genre 2 External links

[edit] Classification

[edit] By language

• Classical and vernacular Chinese
• Hebrew
• Khotanese
• Old Tibetan
• Old Turkic
• Pali
• Sanskrit
• Sogdian
• Tangut
• Tocharian

[edit] By genre

• Religious scriptures
  • Buddhist, and those of Tibetan Buddhism
  • Taoist, including the Hua Hu Jing, and the Xiang'er commentary to the Tao Te Ching
  • Jewish, Selihot prayers
  • Nestorian
  • Manichaeist
• Philosophy, notably the Confucian classics, including an ancient edition of Analects commented by Huang Kan (皇侃), and ancient editions of the Shang Shu
• Literature
  • Popular narratives of Buddhist motifs, known as bian wen (變文)
  • Folk songs
  • Classical poetry
• History, both official and local
• Geography, including the Wang wu tianzhu guo chuan
• Medicine
• Astronomy, including the Dunhuang star map
• Mathematics
• Divination
• Dictionaries, including fragments of the Qieyun
• Music scores
• Dance notations
• Social documents, such as contracts, account books and loan receipts

[edit] External links

• The International Dunhuang Project