This book focuses on an introduction of the Dunhuang art, consisting of a preface written by Duan Jianshan, son of Duan Wenjie, the body part, and a chronology of the author’s scholarship. The body part is a collection of the research papers of Mr. Duan Wenjie, which is subdivided into three sections. Section I introduces the Mogaoku art from the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty; Section II focuses on the mural art at Dunhuang, introducing the stylistic features and artistic achievements of the early murals at Dunhuang, as well as wall paintings in the Sui and Tang dynasties. Section III studies the clothing and dress in the murals and Monk Xuanzang’s Journey to Ancient India for Buddhist Sutras, demonstrating in details the artistic journey of Dunhuang murals and sculptures and the birth and development of Buddhism.

Professor Duan Wenjie graduated from the Department of Chinese Painting at Chongqing National College of Fine Arts (now the Central Academy of Fine Arts) in 1945 and joined the National Dunhuang Art Institute in July 1946 as Acting Head of the Archaeological Group; in 1950, he became Head of the Fine Arts Group of the Dunhuang Institute of Cultural Relics and acting director of the Dunhuang Institute of Cultural Relics; in 1980, he became First Deputy Director of the Dunhuang Institute of Cultural Relics. He was appointed honorary professor at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1986 and retired as honorary director of the Dunhuang Academy in 1998. He died in 2011. Twelve years after his decease, he is still considered the doyen of the Dunhuang Studies in China. He has spent a lifetime preserving, studying, documenting, and propagating the art of Dunhuang.