Dunhuang tells the world a thousand-year story
Zhao Mei, reporter of Economic Daily · China Economic Net
With the footsteps of spring, the Hexi Corridor, which stretches for thousands of miles, was awakened.
"The first sandstorm, a prosperous glance, a fresco after suffering, a timeless eternal after being opened ..." The long-term quiet and exquisite Mogao Grottoes are independent from the desert. , Just as it was then.
The yellow sand stretches and Dunhuang is immortal. Through years of continuous protection, research, and promotion, Mogao Grottoes "lived", and long-term stories and "Mogao Spirit" are circulating ...
Brilliant in protection and restoration
Or the Buddha is teaching in the middle, and the Luohanhuan is listening to the scriptures; or the graceful streamers are circling around in the flying eyes ... mentioning Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, many people will see such frescoes in front of their eyes.
The Mogao Grottoes are located in the depths of the Gobi Desert at the westernmost end of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province. Dunhuang culture is the world ’s largest existing art treasure with the longest duration, the richest content, and the most complete preservation. It is a shining pearl in the world ’s long history of civilization. It is also a study of the political, economic, military, cultural, and arts of various nationalities in ancient China. Precious historical materials.
The 735 caves built by the Mogao Grottoes over the ages are distributed on the cliffs between 15m and 30m high, with 4 layers above and below. There are 492 caves with murals and painted sculptures of various dynasties, including more than 2,400 painted sculptures and 45,000 frescoes. Multi-square meters, 5 wooden eaves in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and the nine-story building rebuilt in the early Republic of China. "If it is arranged in a gallery with a height of 1 meter, it will be arranged 45 kilometers." Zhao Shengliang, Dean of the Dunhuang Academy said.
Standing at the mouth of the cave, it seems that you can see the scene of the dark night, Mo Gao's painter painting on the stone wall under the light of beans. "Protection, research, and promotion, these three complement each other and promote each other." Zhao Shengliang said that research without protection is empty talk. On the basis of protection, in-depth study of the history and artistic value of Mogao Grottoes will be carried forward to promote and let them The current society is playing its due role, is the job responsibilities of the Institute.
From the establishment of the National Dunhuang Art Research Institute in 1944, the Mogao Grottoes ended its unmanaged situation for nearly 500 years. It was reorganized as the Dunhuang Institute of Cultural Relics in 1950, and expanded to the Dunhuang Research Institute in 1984. The generations of Mogao cavemen represented by Duan Wenjie and Fan Jinshi gathered in Dunhuang, rooted in the desert, and passed on fire, making the brightest pearl on the silk road of Mogao cave reappear.
Over the years, the protection of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes has never stopped. In 2019, the Dunhuang Research Institute continued to highlight the application of science and technology, lay a solid foundation for protection, completed the annual maintenance tasks of 14 cultural relics protection projects and open caves in 6 grottoes, repaired 718 square meters of murals of various diseases, and 18 statues; The high cave monitoring and early warning system has improved the analysis processing and risk assessment mechanism based on monitoring data.
"The protection of Dunhuang Grottoes has evolved from rescue work in the past to preventive protection today." Su Bomin, vice president of the Dunhuang Research Institute, said that since the reform and opening up, the Dunhuang Research Institute has vigorously promoted scientific protection work, strengthened international cooperation, and improved cultural relics protection. Technology level.
Become fresh in digital applications
"It is said that there was a benevolent doctor in ancient India called Liushui. One day, Dr. Liushui and his two sons went to the countryside for a visit ... Maybe, the noblest art in this world is the awe of life." This is from Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes Fragment of the animated "Benevolent Doctor Rescue the Fish" created by the mural story of "The Elder Son of Flowing Water" in Cave 55.
From April 13th, on the WeChat mini-program, the "Yun You Dunhuang" series of animated dramas premiered. The stories are derived from the classic murals of Mogao Grottoes, which are updated daily, and each episode is within 5 minutes.
The Dunhuang frescoes that have passed through the millennium have been animated and “lived” in the WeChat mini-program. The audience can not only find the corresponding Dunhuang frescoes and stories in each animated drama, but also personally participate in the interpretation of the story and share it with others after dubbing.
The promotion of these digital applications is based on the implementation of the Dunhuang digital protection project. Since the 1990s, the Dunhuang Research Institute has undertaken a number of research and research projects related to the digitization of Dunhuang frescoes, laying a foundation for the application of the full-scale digital technology at Mogao Grottoes today.
Yu Tianxiu, deputy director of the Institute of Cultural Relics and Digitization of the Dunhuang Academy, is a post-80s man. He has worked in Mogao Grottoes for 15 years. Construct a diverse and intelligent grotto cultural relics digital resource library. During the closure of the Mogao Grottoes due to the epidemic, Yu Tianxiu and colleagues seized the time to collect images of Cave 148. Cave 148 is an open large cave, and more than 20,000 photos were collected.
On May 1, 2016, the "Digital Dunhuang" resource library was launched. For the first time, high-definition digital content and panoramic roaming of 30 classic caves in the Dunhuang Grottoes were released to the world via the Internet. After the audience entered the "Digital Dunhuang" resource library platform and opened the page, they could Use VR360 degree panoramic roaming to visit and appreciate the beauty of the grottoes, so as to realize the immersive visit to Dunhuang Grottoes. In June of the same year, the English version was launched, with more than 7 million visits.
Up to now, the Dunhuang Academy has completed more than 230 image collection caves, 145 image processing caves, 160 virtual roaming caves, more than 40 sculpture 3D reconstructions, nearly 50,000 digital films, 3 large-scale reconstruction of the ruins, 74 items Copyright. "The digital achievements of Dunhuang have been widely used in the fields of archaeology, art copying, protection and restoration, tourism opening, etc., which makes me feel that my work is valuable." Yu Tianxiu said that the digital protection project is not only to preserve archives, it will serve all Field, I hope to continue to expand the application field of digital results through my own efforts.
"The digitization of cultural relics is an important means for the protection and utilization of cultural relics today. We will further strengthen the continuous construction of the digital Dunhuang project and bring together the achievements of the digitalization of the Silk Road cultural heritage to form a complete and orderly silk that can be preserved and used forever. The road of digital cultural heritage provides rich digital cultural resources to help the cultural exchange and dissemination of countries related to the “Belt and Road”. ”Zhao Shengliang said.
Promote culture in communication and dialogue
The dust of the years is wiped away, and all the efforts are made thicker by perseverance.
"Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, the world ’s largest grotto, Cambodia ’s Angkor Wat, the world ’s largest temple ... Today, when they stretched out and held hands, a dialogue of civilizations that spans thousands of miles and spreads across the millennium begins. "On August 31, 2019, a large documentary film" The Dialogue between Mogao Grottoes and Angkor Wat "co-produced by the Dunhuang Research Institute and other units premiered at the Dunhuang International Convention and Exhibition Center. This documentary on the theme of the Dialogue of Asian Civilizations has enabled the "Two Caves" to achieve a civilization dialogue that transcends time and space, showing the cultural connotations of the countries related to the "Belt and Road" and the spiritual connotation of the community of human destiny.
"We want to explore the mutual learning and exchanges between the two civilizations in the history of the two cultural heritages of Mogao Caves and Angkor Wat in Cambodia." Zhao Shengliang said.
Dunhuang culture is open and inclusive. In recent years, the Dunhuang Academy has held more than 80 Dunhuang art exhibitions with outstanding themes and distinctive characteristics in 18 countries (regions) such as the United States, Britain, France, and Germany and more than 20 provinces and cities in China in response to the needs of different publics; Public welfare activities such as the “Six Entering Activities” and “Dunhuang Culture and Art Study Tour” where cultural heritage enters the campus have been highly praised and become influential cultural cards and brands at home and abroad.
It is the tireless pursuit of generations to let the world know Dunhuang and let Dunhuang go to the world.
Today, Li Yunhe, the 88-year-old former deputy director of the Dunhuang Academy Conservation Research Institute, is still restoring Buddha statues and murals in the Yulin Cave, known as the "sister cave" of the Mogao Grottoes.
In 1956, he came to Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes to work on the restoration of cultural relics. He participated in the restoration of mural paintings of nearly 4,000 square meters, and restored more than 500 colored sculptures, and was named the "Great Country Craftsman of the Year" in 2018. Under his influence, his son and granddaughter also devoted themselves to the restoration and art design of the Dunhuang Academy.
What supports them to move forward firmly? The Mogao Grottoes who joined the Gobi gave the same answer: Mogao Spirit!
For more than 70 years, Mogao people from generation to generation have taken the responsibility of protecting, researching and carrying forward Dunhuang Grottoes with the Mogao spirit of “holding on the desert, willing to dedicate, bravely take responsibility and pioneering and enterprising”. With the wind and sand, all difficulties and difficulties are eliminated, and a new situation of Dunhuang is constantly being opened up.
"Building the Dunhuang Research Institute as a model of world cultural heritage protection and a research highland for Dunhuang studies is our mission of the times!" Zhao Shengliang said, let more people feel the charm of Dunhuang, and let the profound Chinese traditional culture penetrate into the hearts of the people. It is a historical mission that a new generation of Mogao Grottoes should undertake for many people to draw the necessary nutrients from it.
Zhao Mei