Part of “Rebound Pipa” at Cave 112 of Dunhuang Data Picture
The tracing of the image of “Rebound Pipa” is one of the results of the project “Research on the Civilization Attributes of Foreign Images of Dunhuang Murals”. Recently, the National Social Science Fund’s project “Study on the Civilization Attributes of Foreign Images of Dunhuang Murals” was held at the Dunhuang Academy. The project is jointly organized by the China Cultural Heritage Research Institute, Shaanxi Normal University and Dunhuang Research Institute, with Ge Chengyong as the chief expert. Using Dunhuang murals as the starting point for research, he cracked the codes of extraterritorial civilization in Dunhuang art.
Promote the specific practice of unpopular and eccentric research
“The state has set up special research projects for unpopular and unique studies, which is to open up the joints through these projects, promote academic development, and ultimately promote cultural progress.” said Sun Yinggang, a professor of history at Zhejiang University, an expert on the opening review.
“The purpose of academia is to solve problems through people’s thinking, and the core meaning of academia is to develop national wisdom.” said Yang Fuxue, an expert on the opening review and director of the Humanities Research Department of the Dunhuang Academy. Promoting the development of academics, especially unpopular scholarship, means Promoting a nation’s innovative consciousness and comprehensive thinking ability is related to the prosperity and development of the country. From this perspective, the establishment of a special project for unpopular and unique studies by the state has long-term considerations and important significance.
In 2020, the National Social Science Fund set up an unpopular team project for the first time, and only 20 projects nationwide were selected, including oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, bamboo slips documents, Dunhuang posthumous writings, etc. As one of the selected projects, the subject of “Study on the Civilization Attributes of Foreign Images of Dunhuang Murals” is undoubtedly a concrete practice that promotes unpopular and unique studies.
“To study Dunhuang today, Sino-foreign cultural exchange is a very important aspect. This subject will definitely have an important impact on our understanding of the ancient Silk Road, Sino-foreign cultural exchanges, and the promotion of Dunhuang studies.” Party Secretary Zhao Shengliang said.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of modern Chinese archaeology. As far as Dunhuang studies are concerned, according to statistics, there are more than 3000 catalogues of various Dunhuang works published at home and abroad, but there are still not many cutting-edge achievements. The problem of “high precision and lack of precision” still exists, and archaeological achievements have been transformed into civilization. The international influence of history is not enough.
Pursue international academic influence, and put the cutting-edge issues in Dunhuang research as the top priority; deeply integrate into international academics, so that the world can better understand Dunhuang art, Chinese culture, and Chinese civilization-“Dunhuang Mural Paintings and Foreign Image Civilization At the beginning of the establishment of the project, “attribute research” included “outputting research results with international influence” into the opening report.
“In today’s world, which is undergoing great changes unseen in a century, overseas Dunhuang studies are gradually declining. The project team has taken advantage of the situation to build a platform and strive to open up and master the right to speak in the new era. I believe in the power of cultural self-confidence and the combination of Chinese and foreign The advantages will advance the Dunhuang research in the past century to continue the pace of’going out’.” said Song Xinchao, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
Out of Dunhuang to see Dunhuang
According to Ge Chengyong, “Study on the Civilization Attributes of Foreign Images of Dunhuang Murals” mainly discusses the two-way interactive relationship between foreign art creation and Chinese local art creation, that is, how foreign art affects local Chinese art creation represented by Dunhuang, and how local Chinese art creation spreads Affected outside the domain.
“Dunhuang studies need to interpret many issues related to Sino-Western exchanges. There are many artistic models and patterns that are still unsolved mysteries. Therefore, without foreign cultural references, it is difficult for us to see the differences and integration of different cultures.” Ge Chengyong said, “Ours The subject of research is to reveal the cultural codes hidden in the Dunhuang art, decode the cultural genes from the rich cultural accumulation, and explore the foreign cultural value from multiple angles.”
As one of the project leaders of the sub-project, Sha Wutian, a professor at Shaanxi Normal University, believes: “Without the Silk Road, there would be no Dunhuang. This is a basic idea for conducting research. Doing research on Dunhuang cannot be limited to Dunhuang. On the basis of understanding the relevant knowledge and background in other places, look back and think about Dunhuang again.”
“The study of Dunhuang Studies has been more than a hundred years old. To further develop, we must go out. Under the framework of Sino-foreign cultural exchanges, we will discuss the influence of foreign civilizations on Dunhuang’s image art, so as to demonstrate the openness of Chinese civilization and prove that Dunhuang is a A bridge connecting Chinese and foreign civilizations. This topic will ultimately not only allow us to deepen our understanding of Chinese history and culture, but also reinterpret the meaning and value of Dunhuang.” Sun Yinggang said.
Yang Fuxue believes that the project breaks through the limitations of previous Dunhuang studies. “In the past, we always looked at problems from our own standpoint, but rarely talked about the influence of Western culture on us. Today’s Chinese scholars dare to acknowledge the influence of foreign culture on China, which shows that China has an inclusive mind. This is cultural confidence. A manifestation of .”
The project “Research on the Civilization Attributes of Foreign Images of Dunhuang Murals” finally plans to form a five-volume research monograph, publish a series of academic papers, and make contributions to the history of Sino-foreign cultural exchanges and the theoretical method innovation of Dunhuang grotto archaeological research. As an interdisciplinary research topic, the project puts forward strict requirements on the academic ability and knowledge reserve of researchers.
The project team is composed of three academic units, the China Cultural Heritage Research Institute, Shaanxi Normal University and Dunhuang Research Institute. It has gathered the strength of three generations of old, middle and young people and foreign experts. The four sub-projects are led by experts who have been engaged in research in this field for a long time.
“Whether it is the phased results or the final results of the project, I have expectations and confidence, because the team has gathered the backbone of the academic community.” said Liu Yi, an expert in the opening review and dean of the School of History of Capital Normal University, looking forward to seeing The project has made innovations in the talent training model, and has cultivated a group of new young talents, so that unpopular people will succeed.
(Our reporter Wang Bingya and Song Xiqun)