Generations of those before me devoted their whole life to preserving, studying, and promoting the art of Mogao Grottoes. My greatest happiness is to carry on the flame and give my all to Mogao.
I know I am tied to Mogao for life.
My fascination with the historical site started at a tender age when I first read about it in the textbook. In 1962, I made my first trip there for an internship as a student of the Archaeological Program of the History Department of Peking University. Before embarking on the trip, I looked forward to it with great excitement. But reality was nothing like what I had imagined. The living conditions were much tougher than I had anticipated.
But none of it mattered when I entered the caves. For a whole week, Mr. Shi Weixiang took us to see the caves one by one. We were so enthralled by the wall paintings and painted sculptures, the beautiful ancient attire and the changing light and shades on them. But when I learned I was assigned a job there, I hesitated because I had always been frail. My fieldwork at Mogao ended prematurely as the local conditions worsened my health. However, I made a second trip there; the intention was to stay there for a three-year research and join Peng Jinzhang, my boyfriend at that time who later became my husband, in Wuhan where he worked. But little did I know that was the beginning of my lifelong pursuit in Dunhuang.
It was followed by 19 years of me working alone in Dunhuang, away from my family. I repeatedly asked myself whether I should quit. Faced with a difficult choice, one always goes back to the bottom of his or her heart for the strength of conviction. For me, I felt like I were a twig on the giant tree of Dunhuang. If I were to leave, it would be like spiritually uprooting myself. Peng knew I would not be able to do that; so he came to me, leaving behind the Archaeological Department of Wuhan University he personally founded. Without his support, I would not be the person I am today.
There was a time when I loved climbing to the top of Sanweishan Mountain at sunset--it was the perfect spot for a bird’s eye-view over the entire caves. Looking at its riveting beauty, I thought to myself what a crime it would be to fail to protect them. There has been a long line of diligent scholars who dedicated their life to preserving, uncovering, and promoting Mogao’s art. At the early stages, they had to brave the barren desert for years and start from scratch. But that did not prevent them from rescuing Mogao from a state of ruin and restoring its ancient glory. When it is my turn, I have to do my best to push on.
At the age of 60, I found myself on a new starting point as the President of the Dunhuang Research Academy, a duty I honored for 17 years. Over this period, Dunhuang has acquired rising public funding and advanced technology for its conservation; it is increasingly involved in international exchange and cooperation. But its protection has also become more challenging: natural erosion threatens the paintings and crumbles the rock mass; surging arrivals of tourists endanger the caves and its surrounding environment; the paintings and sculptures themselves were irreversibly decaying and vanishing. The conservation effort was a race against time; and the focus had to be shifted from “salvage-based protection” to “preventive protection” in order to preempt problems.
As time changes, the conservation approach has also been updating. On a business trip to Beijing in the late 1980s, I saw for the first time someone working on a computer. I asked, “Are the pictures on your screen gone when the computer is turned off?” He explained to me, “No. The pictures are stored in the computer in a digital form.” What a great idea! For a long time I had been deeply worried about the aging and degeneration of the paintings. If digitalization can permanently preserve their glory, then that should be the way to go, and it must be high fidelity and high definition. The colors and images cannot be compromised. In 2010, we succeeded in building such a digital archive. We did not know at that time that we were pioneering an approach the UNESCO would later adopt for its Memory of the World Program in a few years’ time.
“Digital Dunhang” has two functions: it is a research database of the caves, paintings, and sculptures where students of Dunhuang can access basic information and the research works about Dunhuang produced around the world; it is a museum as well where tourists can admire the caves, paintings, sculptures, and all relevant artifacts in their digital forms and even watch movies about them. We have now put in place a set of technical standards and specifications for digitalizing wall paintings and trained a team of nearly 100 professionals permanently based in the desert but equipped with the most up-to-date knowledge in digital technologies.
As we keep working on the program, I realize Dunhuang should be digitalized not only for its own life, but also the life of the general public. This is why I proposed to make Mogao Grottoes forever preserved and used. We must do better in digitalization to make it smart and intelligent. The key is to have the right persons with the requisite knowledge.
In May 2016, I attended a government conference on the development of philosophy and social sciences in China. President Xi Jinping made important remarks at the gathering. He urged us to develop a system of philosophy and social sciences that is interdisciplinary and muti-dimensional and to protect the endangered disciplines that carry important cultural value and are worth preserving for future generations. I was deeply impressed and encouraged. We must keep improving our database to build a comprehensive conservation system and pass on to our children an intact Mogao. Dunhuang studies must also reach out into new areas, not only to solve its own academic mysteries, but also to advise the development of the Belt and Road Initiative.
I have once been asked a question, “How can one find happiness in life?” I believe it is in the things we do. Real happiness is found when we stay true to our heart and become the person we are meant to be. From the wilderness of the desert to a world-renowned institute, generations of scholars sacrificed their youth and energy for Dunhuang’s art. I would be most happy if I can say with full confidence that I have also done my best for Dunhuang and that I did not fail our ancient forefathers or my predecessors.
