Mogao Plunder: A Chronicle of the Desolation of Dunhuang's National Treasures

Author: Jiang Jicheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-09-01
Features: In 1900, during the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance, the Anglo-French forces shelled Dagukou, captured Tianjin, advanced into Beijing, and the Qing army was unable to resist. The brave Boxers were brutally slaughtered, Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu fled in panic to the west, and the Qing Dynasty, humiliated and weakened, was forced to cede territory and pay indemnities. At the brink of its death, in the Mogao Caves on the ancient Silk Road, thousands of scrolls, documents, and paintings hidden for millennia were discovered in the "Library Cave." The corrupt and incompetent Qing government, preoccupied with its own survival, was unable to protect these invaluable treasures. Meanwhile, imperialist powers, driven by greed, seized the opportunity, masquerading as "explorers," "researchers," "archaeologists," and "travelers" to rush into Dunhuang. In the sacred and holy Buddhist site, they launched a cultural plundering campaign without the sound of gunfire or smoke, a heart-stirring and shocking spectacle. They performed a series of tragedies that left the Chinese people with indelible memories and eternal pain.
In this quarter-century-long "international struggle for the artifacts of Mogao," major players included Stein, Pelliot, Obolensky, and Erdmann from Britain, France, Russia, Japan, and the United States. The tens of thousands of scrolls, documents, paintings, statues, and murals they looted remain locked away in museums and libraries across Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
During those long, dark decades, the people of Dunhuang faced corrupt and incompetent officials who were obsessed with foreign powers, as well as greedy, ignorant officials who broke the law. From confusion to awakening, from submission to resistance, they loved their homeland and protected the caves with selflessness and courage. They bled and sweated, one after another, sacrificing their lives and blood to compose songs of resistance that would shine through the ages.