By logging onto http://idp.nlc.gov.cn, the Chinese digital Dunhuang
website that officially opened Monday, Chinese viewers can scan the
huge collections of ancient Buddhist Dunhuang documents held by the
National Library of China (
NLC) and the British
Library (
BL).
The Dunhuang Library Cave in northwest China was accidentally found
by a Taoist priest when he was clearing sand from the No.16 grotto
on June 22, 1900. The cave, sealed for 850 years, holds more than
50,000 relics dating from the 4th to 11th centuries.
However, these documents became scattered around the world. The NLC
has collected over 16,000 pieces and the BL more than 13,000.
Ren Jiyu, director of the National Library of China, said the
situation had been "very inconvenient for Dunhuang research."
"To make Dunhuang documents accessible to scholars and let many
more people know about Dunhuang as well as share these treasured
resources and promote the development of Dunhuangology, in March
2001 the NLC and BL signed an agreement to collaborate on the
International Dunhuang Project (IDP) to present images of Dunhuang
documents and information on scholars and their researches on the
website," he said.
Nearly 10,000 titles of digitalized Dunhuang documents, and more
than 50 actual documents and 300 images are available on the
Chinese website. The two libraries plan to post all their Dunhuang
collections on the website.
The IDP English website was opened in 1998 and more than 10,000
images are now accessible.
Archaeologists say that the Mogao
Grottoes in Dunhuang are the most complete repository of
Buddhist art in the world. The United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) listed it on the
World Heritage List in 1987.
(Xinhua News Agency November 11, 2002)