When did Dunhuang culture originate?

Dunhuang culture originated in the pre-Qin period of the Sixteen Countries, and formed a huge scale after the Sixteen Countries, Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Five Dynasties, Xixia and Yuan Dynasty.

Dunhuang, located at the western end of Hexi Corridor, is famous for its exquisite murals and statues. Dunhuang culture and art, also known as Mogao grottoes culture and art, is called the art museum of the eastern world. It has preserved 735 caves, more than 3,000 colored sculptures, 45,000 square meters of murals and five wooden structures from the 4th century to 1 1 century in the Tang and Song Dynasties. As early as 1944, the National Government established the National Dunhuang Art Research Institute here. After the founding of New China, it was renamed Dunhuang Cultural Relics Research Institute and later expanded to Dunhuang Research Institute. This is a systematic and uninterrupted protection and research work that has never been done in the history of cultural relics protection in China.

Dunhuang is a key point on the Silk Road, which is of specimen significance to Chinese civilization and even world civilization.

In fact, Dunhuang has a harsh environment and a small population. According to historical records, the population of Dunhuang in the Western Han Dynasty was more than 38,000, and that of Dunhuang in the Eastern Han Dynasty was more than 29,000, which were not as good as Jiuquan, which is adjacent to it. The population of Jiuquan in the Western Han Dynasty was more than 76,000, while the population of Jiuquan in the Eastern Han Dynasty was omitted, with only 6.5438+0.27 million households and a population of more than 50,000. In ancient times, people were productive forces. Dunhuang, a northwestern county with a small population, will never be the richest place, but it has become a metropolis of Huarong Road and created a splendid culture. Dunhuang is the brightest pearl on the Silk Road. At the westernmost end of Hexi Corridor, the endless Gobi and oasis complement each other, and the desert is beyond the mountains. The road connecting the oasis is the channel for communication between East and West. Dunhuang railway station is in the center of the East-West Avenue, and further on is the Western Region, a more magical land, which is also the key for the Han Empire to go global. The Xiongnu's administration of the Western Regions was at least 100 years earlier than that of the Han Dynasty. Tarquin crisscrossed the western regions, controlling east-west traffic.

Zhang Qian tried his best to escape the detention of Huns and went to Ren Yue, but he was captured by Huns on his way back. It can be seen that the vast western regions and Hexi places are under the strong control of Xiongnu. If the Han empire wants to go global, it must develop the western regions and recapture them from the Huns. The difficulty can be imagined. Dunhuang, as the window of the Han Dynasty to govern the western regions, has unparalleled importance, and the empire has indeed given Dunhuang such authority. Therefore, although Dunhuang is weak, its strategic position is very important, and it is the front line for the empire to govern the western regions. Li Guangli cut Dayuan for the first time and failed. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered him to open up wasteland in Dunhuang and then make an expedition to the West. In the preparation time of Dunhuang, Dunhuang's position became more important. At this time, Dunhuang is both the front and the rear. Today, people think that the eastern and southern parts of the motherland are centers and hubs. In fact, before the Song Dynasty, especially during the Han and Tang Dynasties, that is, the most glorious era of Chinese civilization, the northwest was the hub and core of the empire, which was more important than the east and south. A large number of sites and remains left on the Silk Road are their brilliant testimony, and also the testimony of the exchange, integration and agitation between Chinese civilization and Chinese and foreign civilizations. In a word, Dunhuang is not a remote town in the eyes of future generations, but the gateway, window and front line of the empire, where achievements can be made.

In the middle ages, Dunhuang celebrities came forth in large numbers, and it was common to reach the position of three officials. Even if there was a war in the Central Plains and even a change of dynasty, Dunhuang was stable in Hexi, and this group of people who took root in West Shu gradually formed a family handed down from generation to generation. Although most Dunhuang clans started with military exploits, they attached great importance to the practice of Confucianism and passed on its classics to become real Confucian clans. In fact, the Dunhuang clan was the first group of people to open up the atmosphere. They live in different cultures. They first came into contact with various foreign cultures from the west, and they first completed the integration and sublimation of foreign cultures and Central Plains cultures. When these people with different cultures entered the Central Plains, they introduced the barbarian military customs that had already been integrated into the Central Plains. These so-called heterogeneous cultures and barbarian military customs are just fresh air, which breaks the calm lake. Dunhuang is lucky. Since the establishment of the county in the Western Han Dynasty, the Central Plains has experienced Wang Mang's rebellion, the dispute between the Three Kingdoms, the turn of the crown and the south, and the coexistence of the north and the south. Dunhuang, far away from the Central Plains, has never been extensively damaged. Instead, it became a paradise because it was far from the Central Plains. Refugees live here and enjoy peace alone. Then in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, from Yang Di to Emperor Taizong, from Tang Gaozong to Wu Zetian, and then to Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, several emperors attached great importance to the management and development of the northwest, and Dunhuang, as the gateway to the northwest, has maintained prosperity. Later, the Anshi Rebellion broke out, and the dragon fell into Tubo, and the cultural tradition of the Han nationality in Dunhuang was cut off.

From Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the Chinese culture in Dunhuang has never stopped for thousands of years. This Millennium is connected with the Han and Tang Dynasties, the most prosperous period of Chinese civilization. The essence of Han and Tang civilizations is gathered here. The roots of Han and Tang civilizations are deeply rooted in Dunhuang, which will create an incomparably splendid Dunhuang culture, showing the exquisite craftsmanship of grotto art, the profoundness of cultural civilization and the mystery and magic of Tibetan scriptures. The prosperity of culture has given Dunhuang foundation, confidence and hope. Without the historical inheritance of nearly a thousand years and the persistent struggle of this group of cultural Dunhuang people, how can Dunhuang be brilliant? Without cultural self-confidence, it is impossible to create such an inclusive and splendid civilization.