Fortunately, there are still Mogao Grottoes in the world

Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes

It should be ignored

Because it's so desolate there

Only a piece of sand

(Sketch of the location of Mogao Grottoes, drawn by @吴昕恬/Planet Research Institute)

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However

Countless people come here

They form a millennium-long picture of the human world

From the Sixteen Kingdoms to the Yuan Dynasty

(Please watch in horizontal screen, some figures in the Mogao Grottoes murals, picture source @Dunhuang Research Institute & Being in Beihai North, map @Wang Tianyi/Planet Research Institute)

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who are they?

What happened?

Why are you here?

This is a story about the coexistence of suffering and beauty

In the sorrow and hardship of the world

Fortunately, there is Mogao Grottoes

Can entrust thousands of beautiful

Learn about the story of Mogao Grottoes

We need to go back more than 1,600 years

At that time, there was no Mogao Grottoes in the world.

01

Quiet cliffs

- The First Space -

Southeast of Dunhuang City is a vast sea of ​​quicksand

There is little sign of life anywhere.

But in the view of the monk Le Zun

This is an ideal holy place

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Mingsha Mountain is hit by sandstorms, photographer @汤海磊)

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This is the year 366 AD

Dunhuang is the gateway from the Central Plains to the Western Regions.

The monks who traveled between the two places often stopped here.

It has a strong Buddhist atmosphere

After Le Xian's travels around the country

On Mingsha Mountain, I saw thousands of golden lights, like the Buddha appearing.

He believed that it was his sincere practice that brought him inspiration.

I decided to stop here.

And there happens to be a place

Ideal place to live

(Looking towards Sanwei Mountain from Mingsha Mountain, photographer @徐海洋)

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It is 25 kilometers away from the ancient city of Dunhuang.

On one side is Mingsha Mountain covered with quicksand

On one side is the Sanwei Mountain with its numerous rocks and peaks.

There is a natural cliff where the two meet.

For Le Xian

This is a perfect cliff.

The Dangquan River flows slowly under the cliff.

Opposite is the golden Sanwei Mountain

At the same time, this place is far away from the city and quiet enough

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Mogao Grottoes at the junction of Mingsha Mountain and Sanwei Mountain, photographer @徐海洋)

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Le Xian is on this cliff

Digging a cave

The cliffs act as barriers

Isolated from the scorching sun and sand

It also isolates us from the hustle and bustle of the world.

Le Xian climbed up the cliff and practiced with piety

(Mogao Grottoes North Caves, Le Zun excavated the first cave of Mogao Grottoes in 366 AD, picture source @Visual China)

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Le Xian won't know

He opened a torrent that lasted for a thousand years.

It will generate enough power

The fate of countless people

Get out of this desert Gobi

Until the world was shocked

Today, more than 1,600 years later

There are 735 caves of various sizes on this cliff.

Total length 1680 meters

Mogao Grottoes

(Please watch in horizontal mode, the distribution of Mogao Grottoes is shown in the figure. Mogao means "Mogao", which means the high place in the desert. Map by @张靖&王天怡/Planet Research Institute)

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Who made the same choice as Le Xian?

The answer lies behind this barrier

In silence

There are millions of hearts here.

02

Sacred Caves

- The Second Space -

The beginning of the excavation of Mogao Grottoes

It's just a place for monks to practice.

They meditate and contemplate in it

Seeking ultimate liberation

(Statue of Sakyamuni in meditation in Cave 259 of Mogao Grottoes, with Sakyamuni’s eyebrows raised and smiling, picture source: Dunhuang Research Institute)

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Enter the oldest existing cave in Mogao Grottoes

It's claustrophobic, dark, and extremely small.

The small Zen room can only accommodate one person

This cave is used by monks for meditation.

Zen Cave

(Sketch of the Zen cave space. Cave 268 was built in the Northern Liang Dynasty and is the earliest existing cave in Mogao Grottoes. Map by @王天怡/星球研究院)

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besides

Monks also worship, preach, and live in Mogao Grottoes.

Some monks were also buried in caves after their death.

However, even if the monks live here for a long time

It is not enough to form such a huge scale

In the long years

Mogao Grottoes also attracts a large number of secular believers

For secular believers

It is very difficult to read Buddhist scriptures directly

Therefore, people approached the Buddha through various rituals.

(In the mural of Cave 103 of Mogao Grottoes, people are worshipping the pagoda. Initially, Buddha did not have an image, and the pagoda was often used as a symbol of Buddha to be worshipped. Image source: @Dunhuang Research Institute, map by @Wang Tianyi/Planet Research Institute)

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In the central column cave

Believers circumambulate the pagoda pillar under the guidance of a monk

Colored sculptures and murals are arranged in a specific order

One by one, they came into the eyes of the believers

People saw the Buddha protecting all living beings

Helping sentient beings overcome difficulties

Quietly feel the Buddhist teachings

(Spatial diagram of the central tower column cave, drawn by @龙雁玲&王天怡/Planet Research Institute)

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6th century AD

Yuan Rong from Central Plains

The Mogao Grottoes have undergone changes

Yuan Rong was the local governor of Dunhuang

He is also a devout Buddhist.

Yuan Rong not only led the secular masses to open caves and create statues

It also injected the construction technology of the Central Plains into Mogao Grottoes.

Under the influence of Central Plains culture

The caves began to take on a new form

The top of the cave is like an inverted bucket.

The dome

(The dome-shaped cave in the picture shows Cave 285 of Mogao Grottoes. According to scholars’ speculation, the founder of Cave 285 was most likely Yuan Rong. Image source: @Dunhuang Research Institute)

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The dome-shaped cave will not collapse even without the support of tower columns.

You can have a larger and more complete space

Can accommodate more and more believers

(Schematic diagram of the forces on the dome roof, drawn by @王天怡/Planetary Research Institute)

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With the development of experience technology

Various caves emerged

With a very open attitude

Accepting all living beings

(Sketch of some cave types in Mogao Grottoes, drawn by @王天怡/Planet Research Institute)

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There are aristocratic families

During the Tang Dynasty, most local families built Buddhist temples and caves.

They placed all the Buddha statues in niches on the wall.

Leaving a complete and spacious space in the cave

Can satisfy the whole family to worship Buddha together

(Buddha Temple Cave, the picture shows Cave 220 of Mogao Grottoes, picture source: Dunhuang Research Institute)

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There is a leader

During the Guiyi Army period, the Cao family ruled Dunhuang

A Buddhist altar cave with an area of ​​nearly 200 square meters was built

The statues of gods and Buddhas are placed on the central altar.

It also has an exquisite back screen that goes straight through the cave ceiling.

(Fotan Cave, Mogao Caves Cave 61, image source @Dunhuang Research Institute)

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There are emperors of the Central Plains

During the Wu Zhou period, the local people of Dunhuang used Wu Zetian as their prototype

A giant Buddha statue 35.5 meters high was created

A large cave was specially built for this statue.

(Spatial diagram of the Great Elephant Cave, drawn by @王天怡&张靖/Planetary Research Institute)

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The local servant Xihe and her daughter

He also invested in the construction of Mogao Grottoes

Their images also remain in the cave.

There are many people like Xihe and her daughter.

Someone organized a family

Someone participated in the event in a personal capacity

There are more civilians forming civil society groups

Such as family clubs, brotherhood clubs, women's clubs, etc.

Collective participation in the construction of Mogao Grottoes

Looking at the entire Mogao Grottoes

Its creation depends on social forces

It is the local nobles and people who have made it last forever.

(Statue of Xihe and her daughter in Cave 107, image source: Dunhuang Research Institute)

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From Dunhuang City to Mogao Grottoes

You have to walk in the yellow sand for four or five hours.

But that doesn't stop people from flocking here.

It's not the claustrophobic caves themselves that attract them

But the contents of the cave

here

It's their beautiful world.

03

Beautiful murals

- The Third Space -

925 AD

Zhai Fengda from Dunhuang came to Mogao Grottoes

The ancestors of the Zhai family spent a huge amount of money to build the Zhai Family Cave

The cave is like a family temple, guarded by Zhai's descendants for generations.

By the time of Zhai Fengda, he was already the ninth generation descendant.

He will continue to protect this place.

The Zhai family has a Chang'an complex

The murals contain scenes that make them proud.

The Lantern Festival in the Tang Dynasty

In the murals

Musician holding a long scarf

Dance the Hu Teng dance that is popular in Chang'an

(Hu Tengwu in Cave 220 of Mogao Grottoes [replica cave], image source @Planetary Research Institute, map by @Wang Tianyi/Planetary Research Institute)

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Musicians of different skin colors

Play different instruments

Peaceful

(Large Multi-ethnic Band in Cave 220 of Mogao Grottoes [Replica Cave], image source @Planetary Research Institute, map by @Wang Tianyi/Planetary Research Institute)

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In order to restore the Lantern Festival

There is also a gorgeous lantern tower in the middle of the stage.

On both sides, celestial maidens light up the Western-style lantern wheels.

Just like the prosperous scene of Chang'an described by Tang Dynasty poets

"The thousand shadows of the lanterns of the Western Regions merge, and the golden palaces of Donghua open ten thousand times"

(Tang Dynasty lantern tower in Cave 220 of Mogao Grottoes [replica cave], the above quote is from the two lyrics of "The Slogan and Stepping Songs in the Palace on the Night of the 15th Day" by the Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Shuo, picture source @Planetary Research Institute, map by @Wang Tianyi/Planetary Research Institute)

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(Mogao Grottoes Cave 220 Western Region Lantern Wheel [Replica Cave], Image source @Planetary Research Institute, Map @Wang Tianyi/Planetary Research Institute)

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The beautiful Lantern Festival in the hearts of the Zhai family

It forms a huge mural

Used to depict the Buddhist world

(The Medicine Buddha Sutra in Cave 220 of Mogao Grottoes [replica cave], image source @Planetary Research Institute, map by @Wang Tianyi/Planetary Research Institute)

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People yearn for a world full of beauty

Let the murals in Mogao Grottoes shine

Beautiful things in real life

Continuously projected on the mural

The Buddhist world

(Viewing the Infinite Life Sutra Transformation, located in Cave 217 of Mogao Grottoes, the high platforms, pavilions, courtyards, etc. can all reflect the grandeur of the prosperous Tang Dynasty architecture. There are more than 45,000 square meters of murals in Mogao Grottoes. The themes are roughly divided into statues, Buddhist story paintings, sutra transformation paintings, donor portraits and decorative patterns. The sutra transformation paintings used to show the content of Buddhist scriptures are the largest in number and the richest in content. Image source @Dunhuang Research Institute, map @Wang Tianyi/Planetary Research Institute)

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Beyond Gods and Buddhas

A large number of ordinary people are also integrated into the painting

Murals also reflect people’s lives

Some murals

Showing the ordinary and vivid daily life

(Some life scenes in the Mogao Grottoes murals, image source @Dunhuang Research Institute)

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There are also murals

Records the important stages of life

In the eyes of Dunhuang native Zhang Yichao

The prosperity of the Tang Dynasty is too far away

All he could see was Dunhuang, which had fallen into the tyranny of the Tibetans.

The local people were forced to cut off contact with the Central Plains

Forced to accept Tibetan transformation

Wearing Hu clothing and braided hair, speaking Tibetan

(Wang Shanu, a Dunhuang native wearing Tibetan clothing, is located on the east wall of Cave 225 in Mogao Grottoes. Image source: @Dunhuang Research Institute)

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Zhang Yichao vowed to return to Tang Dynasty when he was young

He continued to accumulate strength and lay dormant until he was over fifty.

Since 848 AD

Zhang Yichao led the local people in an uprising

Recovered the lost 11 states in Hexi for the Tang Dynasty

The moment when he accepted the imperial title was captured in the mural

In the 8.3-meter-long giant travel map

Zhang Yichao, wearing a Tang suit, rides a horse forward

The team he led was called

Guiyi Army

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Zhang Yichao leads the army on a journey. After Zhang Yichao became the governor of Guiyi Army, he built the Gongde Cave 156. Image source: @Dunhuang Research Institute)

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Like Zhang Yichao

There are many people who have left their own images.

They are the "financial sponsors" of the construction of Mogao Grottoes

known as the provider

In the Mogao Grottoes murals

There are more than 8,000 existing donor statues.

These donors really existed in history

From different eras and different classes

There are noble families and common people.

After investing in the caves and statues

Their names and images will remain in the murals

(The Queen of Khotan is a donor, located on the east wall of Cave 61 of Mogao Grottoes. Her phoenix crown and necklace are inlaid with jade, showing that Khotan was rich in jade. Image source: Dunhuang Research Institute)

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Different from the financial provider

Craftsmen who built Mogao Grottoes

Rarely leave your own trace

Most of them have no homes or possessions.

Regardless of the level of craftsman

They eat two meals a day, two or three pieces of Hu pancakes per meal.

But they regard building caves as a kind of merit

Willing to report less wages, or even do voluntary labor

Invest in this without expecting any return

The murals also reflect their artistic pursuits

(The painting of crossing the city at midnight is a story of the Buddha, located in Cave 329 of Mogao Grottoes. It tells the story of how Sakyamuni, when he was a prince, felt the various sufferings of birth, aging, illness and death in the world. In order to seek a way to get rid of all the sufferings, he decided to give up his royal life and rode a horse across the city of Viravastu to practice in the mountains at night. Image source: @Dunhuang Academy, map by @Wang Tianyi/Planetary Research Institute)

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They use delicate brushstrokes and rich imagination

Creating a beautiful world in the painting

(Gold-leafed Bodhisattva in Cave 57. The decorative parts of the Bodhisattva on the mural are made of gold-leafed to give the ornaments a three-dimensional effect. Gold is then applied on the gold-leafed to make the ornaments sparkle. Image source: @Dunhuang Research Institute)

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Make it full of joy

(Some flying figures in the Mogao Grottoes murals, image source @Dunhuang Research Institute, map @Wang Tianyi/Planet Research Institute)

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Infinite Holy

(Nirvana Sutra - Burning of the Golden Coffin, located in Cave 148 of Mogao Grottoes, image source @Dunhuang Academy, map @Wang Tianyi/Planetary Research Institute)

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Fusion of the four

(Part of the mural of the Buddha of Blazing Light, the complete mural depicts the twelve zodiac signs and the twenty-eight constellations, image source @Dunhuang Academy, map @Wang Tianyi/Planetary Research Institute)

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Enter the wonderful world of murals

Seems to be able to get rid of all the sadness

But outside this beautiful world

There is also the reality that people have to go through

04

The chaotic city of Dunhuang

- The Fourth Space -

The Lantern Festival in Chang'an has already ended.

The Lantern Festival in Zhaijia Grottoes is still a time of peace and prosperity

The descendants of the Zhai family have been guarding this lantern festival for more than 300 years.

But here too the curtain falls

In 1036 AD, the Dangxiang tribe rose to power

Dunhuang was transferred to the rule of Western Xia

When dynasties changed

The aristocratic families of Dunhuang began to decline

Inside the family cave guarded by Zhai's descendants for generations

Complete coverage of the Thousand Buddhas paintings favored by later generations

(The double-layer mural in Cave 220 of Mogao Grottoes. The Thousand Buddha murals painted during the Western Xia Dynasty once covered the Tang Dynasty murals. Image source: @Dunhuang Research Institute)

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Dunhuang once connected the four directions by virtue of its geographical advantages

Becoming a prestigious Northwestern metropolis

But the peace and glory did not last

It is close to Yangguan Pass and Yumen Pass.

Go west through Yangguan and survive Yumen

All of these indicate that the frontier is the main identity of Dunhuang.

(Dunhuang Yumen Pass, photographer @Qu Xiaofeng)

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People living in Dunhuang

Constantly experiencing the chaos of reality

Enduring killings, massacres, and mutinies

(Diagram of Dunhuang's historical changes, drawn by @吴昕恬/Planet Research Institute)

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There is no era without suffering

There is no place without sadness

Dunhuang, which has long been on the frontier, is even more tragic

Buddhism believes that people are born with suffering.

We must face the sufferings of birth, aging, illness, and death.

Suffering from meeting with those we hate, suffering from separation from loved ones, suffering from not getting what we want

and the suffering of the five aggregates

These sufferings

The most vivid display in Dunhuang

Mogao Grottoes before arriving today

I saw the endless sadness

(Statue of Sakyamuni in asceticism, located in Cave 248 of Mogao Grottoes. There are many kinds of suffering in Buddhism, and the most common one is the Eight Sufferings of Buddhism. Image source: @Dunhuang Research Institute)

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It has seen the stability of the country.

Can't ask for

Zhang Yichao spent his whole life

Just so that the land west of the Yellow River can return to the Tang Dynasty

But in the end it's like a moth to a flame

The Tang court was always wary of Zhang's Guiyi Army

Constantly divide their territory and weaken their power

Zhang Yichao and his brothers were sent to Chang'an as hostages

This led to the killing of Zhang clan members.

The Hexi region continued to fall into chaos

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Gobi Desert west of Yumen Pass, photographer @傅鼎)

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It has seen the power struggle

Love Farewell

To survive in the cracks

The Cao family ruled Dunhuang

Choose to gain stability through continued political marriage

Uighur Princess Li

She was the first person to marry in Dunhuang.

Through peaceful means such as marriage

Dunhuang enjoyed a century of stability in the midst of chaos

But Princess Li's personal life was extremely unfortunate

When Cao was cleaning up the internal Uighur forces

All her sons were killed

The pain of losing her son eventually made her blind.

(Portrait of the donor, Princess Li of the Uighurs, image source: Dunhuang Research Institute)

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In the Cao Family Cave

The ladies in gorgeous clothes

Many of them married for political reasons.

(Portraits of female relatives of the Cao family as donors on the east wall of Cave 61 in Mogao Grottoes, image source: Dunhuang Research Institute)

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(Cave 61 of Mogao Grottoes, image source: Dunhuang Research Institute)

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It has seen ethnic conflicts

Resentment and hatred

In the heart of the Dunhuang hermit

Living in a dilemma

Yin's ancestors once fought hard on the battlefield and served the country

But because of suspicion, he drifted away

In light of the teachings of our ancestors

Yin has always been good at clinging to the rulers

(The Great Statue Cave built for Wu Zetian under the auspices of the Yin family. "Meeting with those you hate" is one of the eight sufferings in Buddhism, meaning that you have to live with those you hate and cannot get rid of them. Photographer @徐海洋)

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After the An-Shi Rebellion

The Central Plains Dynasty's power declined

To protect yourself in a turbulent environment

The Yin family began to worship the Tibetan rulers

They were originally a Han family that was loyal to the emperor and filial to their parents.

Hated the Tibetan rulers who oppressed the Han people

But in order to save his family, he still bowed to Tubo

In Yin Chushi's heart, he is like a "living dead"

(Vimalakirti Sutra Transformation - Tibetan King's Journey, located in Cave 159 of Mogao Grottoes, image source @Dunhuang Academy, map @Zheng Borong/Planetary Research Institute)

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It has also seen what everyone has to face

Old age, illness and death

The woman is pure , she is a commoner

For her

The death of both parents is a major event in life.

She paid to paint a Buddha statue here to pray for her parents

He regarded Mogao Grottoes as his spiritual sustenance

(Left-side Bodhisattva in Cave 328 of Mogao Grottoes, image source: Dunhuang Research Institute)

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However

Mogao Grottoes, a place that embraces and comforts all living beings

Isn't it born out of suffering?

In the middle of the 16th century, when the Ming Dynasty closed Jiayu Pass,

Dunhuang has basically become an abandoned place outside the Great Wall.

The Mogao Grottoes, which had flourished for a thousand years, fell into a state of slumber.

Waiting for thefts to wake it up

It was originally just boundless

But it holds so much beauty

It's so beautiful, but the fate is so heartbreaking

It makes people sigh, "This is the sad history of our country's academics"

(The Tang Dynasty painted gilded clay statue of the Bodhisattva, originally located in Cave 328 of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, is now in the Sackler Museum of Harvard University. Since 1900, the cultural relics of the Mogao Grottoes have been continuously lost overseas, and the number of cultural relics lost from the Sutra Cave alone is as high as 30,000. The above is quoted from Chen Yinke, photographer @脉影)

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1943

Chang Shuhong gave up his comfortable life

Arriving in Dunhuang with the biting cold wind

To save the fragmented Mogao Grottoes

He has been guarding this place stubbornly for forty years.

(Facing the cemetery of Mogao Grottoes, where the two directors Chang Shuhong and Duan Wenjie, as well as early colleagues of the Dunhuang Research Institute, are buried. Photographer @张扬小强)

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There are many people like Chang Shuhong.

They came from all corners of the world to the desert Gobi

Controlling sandstorms, copying murals, and repairing caves

Buried in the voluminous volumes of documents

(Li Qiqiong from the Art Department of Dunhuang Cultural Relics Research Institute is copying the Mogao Grottoes murals. The photos were taken in 1955 and 1984 respectively. Image source: @Dunhuang Research Institute)

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Guarding the wishes of our ancestors

Reviving the creations of the general public

(The Governor's Wife Worshiping Buddha, copied by Duan Wenjie, image source: Dunhuang Research Institute)

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Fortunately, there are still Mogao Grottoes in the world

People who suffered in Dunhuang

There is also spiritual sustenance

It reflects people's inner world

Although people have experienced the fickleness of fate

I have experienced glory, decline, expectation and suffering.

Laughed, hurt, loved, hated

Still able to place good things here

(Nirvana statue in Cave 158 of Mogao Grottoes, built during the reign of Tubo, with a smile on the lips of Sakyamuni in Nirvana, picture source: @Dunhuang Research Institute)

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Fortunately, there are still Mogao Grottoes in the world

It allows all living beings to penetrate history

Keep telling us

Able to transcend many sufferings

It's in our own hearts

The call of beauty

(Overlooking Mogao Grottoes, photographer @徐海洋)

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1600 meters, things have changed

1600, Whistling By

What does it have?

From the stars to the earth, we all have something to think about

What does it have?

At first it was just a piece of sand

(Please watch in horizontal mode, the Mogao Grottoes are integrated with the Mingsha Mountain, photographer @徐海洋)

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This article was created by

Written by : Ding Ding

Editor : Director

Image : Yu Kuan

Map : Wu Xintian

Design : Wang Tianyi & Zheng Borong & Long Yanling

Proofreading : Lushumao & Yelu & Honghe & Chen Jingyi

Special thanks

Teacher Sun Zhijun

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