Explanation of Stein's Fourth Chinese Archaeological Diary

Author: Wang Jiqing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: Sir Aurel Stein, a British archaeologist, conducted four archaeological expeditions in the northwest region of China during his lifetime. His First Chinese Expedition (1900-1901), Second Chinese Expedition (1906-1908), and Third Chinese Expedition (1913-1915) led to the large-scale outflow of cultural relics from northwest China and laid the foundation for international Dunhuang studies. Regarding these three expeditions, Stein himself wrote detailed reports totaling 11 volumes, as well as numerous travelogues and academic papers, and has long been well-known in the international academic community. However, regarding Stein's Fourth Chinese Expedition (1930-1931), it has remained largely unknown to the international academic community because Stein never published any reports or travelogues about it. The author of this book began researching Stein and his life in 1979, studied Stein's Fourth Chinese Expedition starting in 1985, and traveled to the UK in 1989 to research Stein's archaeological archives. In 1995, the author first discovered the original manuscript of Stein's travel diary from his Fourth Chinese Expedition at the University of Oxford. Over the past decade, the author has meticulously organized, translated, and annotated the rough and unclear manuscript of Stein's diary, combining it with his own research to finally form the scope of this book. The book covers Stein's diary from August 11, 1930, to July 2, 1931, and is divided into twenty major parts based on his itinerary. Each major part consists of two sections: the Chinese translation of the diary and its annotation. This book fills a gap in the study of Central Asian archaeological history and represents a new achievement in international Dunhuang studies. For the first time in the world, the manuscripts of Western scholars or writers have been published in Chinese, a truly unprecedented event.