"This...this, how...how is this possible?"
Dr. Ren picked up a scroll, carefully unfolded it about four or five centimeters, and looked at it under the light. He immediately opened his mouth wide, completely forgetting his original intention to protect the scroll.
"Brother Ren, what's wrong?"
Zhuang Rui was puzzled by Dr. Ren's appearance. His senior brother was quite knowledgeable, so why was he so stunned by an ancient book?
"call……"
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Dr. Ren immediately realized what was happening. He quickly shut his mouth, closed the scroll, and carefully walked sideways to the cave entrance, letting out a loud breath.
"Zhuang Rui, look at this... how is this possible?"
When Dr. Ren handed the scroll to Zhuang Rui, the look of surprise on his face had not yet faded, clearly indicating that the contents of the scroll had greatly impacted him.
"Brother Ren, this is a Taoist scripture, the *Taiji Zuoxian Gong Wendao Jing*. What's wrong with it?"
After Zhuang Rui opened the scroll, a line of vertical characters appeared in front of him. Although Zhuang Rui had no knowledge of Buddhism or Taoism, he knew from the title of the scripture that it should be a Taoist scripture.
Dr. Ren waved his hand and said irritably, "Who said it's not a Taoist scripture? Look at the font..."
"Font?"
Zhuang Rui was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then looked at the open scroll in his hand, his eyes gradually brightening, "This...this is a handwritten sutra scroll?"
The term "scripture copying" refers to the act of transcribing and writing Buddhist scriptures. It originated around the first or second century BC, during the early Buddhist period in India. In India, scriptures were written in Sanskrit, while in the Western Regions, Sanskrit and other languages were used together. In Ceylon and other places, scriptures were written exclusively in Pali.
Later, after Taoism became popular, the term "copying scriptures" was also used. Any scripture scroll that was handwritten or copied by hand was given this name. Before the development of printing technology, copying scriptures truly had the significance and merit of spreading and disseminating them.
The story of Tang Sanzang's journey to the West, as depicted in the mythological Journey to the West, actually involved many of the scriptures that Xuanzang brought back from the Western Regions in real life. Most of these scriptures were handwritten copies. The fact that the handwritten scrolls became known to the world was only after the discovery of the Dunhuang Mogao Caves a hundred years ago.
The ancient scriptures and books unearthed from the Dunhuang Mogao Caves were almost all handwritten copies. Because very few handwritten scriptures survived from before the Ming and Qing dynasties, handwritten scrolls have almost become synonymous with the documents unearthed in Dunhuang.
Zhuang Rui reacted quickly, and after reviewing the origins of the sutra in his mind, he immediately asked, "Brother Ren, this... this could be a Dunhuang manuscript?"
"I...I don't know either. This scroll of 'The Scripture of the Left Immortal of Taiji' is copied in regular script. Look, each line has seventeen characters, and the lines are separated by light ink lines. It should be in the style of the Sui Dynasty..."
Dr. Ren took the sutra from Zhuang Rui, examined it for a while, dated the scroll, and then said, "Almost all the sutras before the Ming and Qing dynasties came from Dunhuang. I think... it's very likely a part of the Dunhuang documents..."
Although he made a deduction, Dr. Ren couldn't understand why such a scroll of scripture would appear here, given that the Dunhuang manuscripts had been around for a century and the known ancient scrolls and scriptures had been lost to various countries around the world.
Moreover, judging from the current situation, it is estimated that not only what he has, but also the items inside the Buddha statue that are tightly wrapped in oiled paper are probably ancient scriptures.
"Why think so much? Didn't Brother Mengzi say that more than a hundred years ago, a Taoist priest from Dunhuang came here? Maybe it was that Taoist priest Wang who hid here..."
Zhuang Rui was unaware that what he casually uttered was actually a historical fact, and that these scriptures were indeed hidden by the Taoist priest Wang.
At the beginning of the last century, Wang Daoshi became friends with the abbot of this ancient temple. After discovering the Dunhuang Mogao Caves, he transported a batch of more than 30,000 scriptures to this place. However, a few years later, before the abbot passed away, he invited Wang Daoshi to come here again.
The abbot originally intended to return these scriptures to Wang Daoshi, but Wang Daoshi was seeking help everywhere to protect the Dunhuang heritage without success. There were still more than 50,000 scrolls of scriptures in Dunhuang that he did not know what to do with, so he had no intention of dealing with these scriptures.
In addition, desertification around the temple was already quite severe at that time, and transportation was also a big problem. After much deliberation, they decided to hide the scriptures in the temple.
Nearly a century has passed, and those who knew these secrets back then have long since passed away. If Zhuang Rui and others hadn't stumbled upon this place, these precious Dunhuang documents would probably have remained buried for who knows how many years.
Chapter 1119 Significance
“What you said makes some sense, but why did Wang Daoshi hide these scriptures here? And was it before or after he sold the Dunhuang documents?”
Archaeology is similar to police investigation; after encountering some clues, one enjoys reasoning and analysis. The sense of accomplishment is very strong when one proves a piece of history through one's own research.
After hearing Zhuang Rui's analysis, Dr. Ren momentarily forgot about the scroll in his hand, eager to immediately uncover the truth of history and reconstruct the scene at that time.
"Brother Ren, these are just my guesses, they can't be taken seriously. If you ask me, Nakagawa definitely knows something..."
The photocopy obtained from Nakagawa only showed the main hall and the library. As for the records written by Wang Daoshi himself, Nakagawa did not bring them to China. Based on this photocopy, Zhuang Rui could only guess at these details.
"Damn it, that little Japanese guy must know something. Should we ask Peng Fei to give him a taste of his own medicine?"
Dr. Ren, who always appeared gentle and refined in public, couldn't help but swear at this moment.
Having touched upon the truth of history yet unable to enter it, Dr. Ren felt an itch in his heart, much like the frustration of knowing his wife's period had started after taking three Viagra pills. He wanted nothing more than to drag Nakagawa in and beat him up.
"Hehe, Brother Ren, let's keep that kid quiet for a day and see if he talks..."
Zhuang Rui laughed upon hearing this. He had already been plotting against Zhongchuan by kicking him out. Now it was clear that Zhongchuan had traveled all the way to China to find these scriptures. If he found them and prevented Zhongchuan from seeing them, Zhuang Rui did not believe that Zhongchuan could hold back.
"You little brat..."
Dr. Ren also realized what was going on, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "What if Nakagawa keeps refusing to tell us?"
"That's easy. We'll do as you say and have Peng Fei use some tricks on him. At worst, we can just throw him in the quicksand when we get back..."
Zhuang Rui said nonchalantly.
"No, I was just saying, please don't, this is terrible..."
Ren Chunqiang was startled by Zhuang Rui. After spending so many days together, he knew that Peng Fei was no pushover and might actually do something like destroying the body to cover up the crime.
"Alright, Brother Ren, I'm a model citizen, I was just kidding. Let's get these things out first, then notify the teacher and the comrades from the Dunhuang Cultural Relics Bureau..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head with a smile. His senior brother was such a bookworm that he couldn't tell the difference between truth and lies, which scared him so much that his face turned pale.
"Don't take this seriously, kid..."
Dr. Ren glanced at Zhuang Rui suspiciously. He knew that Zhuang Rui had a powerful background, and if he really wanted to make Zhongchuan disappear from the country, it wouldn't be a difficult task.
"Of course it's true, Xiao Jia, what are you laughing at? Come and help..."
Seeing that Dr. Ren was taking it seriously, Zhuang Rui changed the subject, both amused and exasperated. Sure enough, when Ren Chunqiang heard that they were going to start moving the scriptures out, his expression immediately became serious.
Because the cave entrance is behind the Buddha statue, and there is a base more than a meter high, these scrolls can only be handed to Xiao Jia and the others one by one by Zhuang Rui, and then placed on the ground.
There were nearly two hundred scrolls of ancient books wrapped in oiled paper. Taking them out one by one was both tedious and inefficient. More than an hour later, the first book wrapped in oiled paper was finally taken out.
"Brother Ren, this won't work, it's too inefficient..."
There are thirty or forty oil paper boxes inside this Buddha statue alone. It would probably take at least two days to take them out. Moreover, it would be very difficult to preserve the scroll after it was taken out of the oil paper.
"What should we do then? We can't just leave it here, can we? If something goes wrong, no one can afford the consequences..."
Dr. Ren stopped what he was doing, frowned, and thought for a moment before saying, "This road is too difficult to travel. If we notify outsiders to come in, there might be danger when we pass through the quicksand area. We currently have sixteen or seventeen camels; let's find a way to get them out..."
"We can't take it apart and take it out; that would damage the scroll too much..."
Zhuang Rui nodded and said, "Brother Ren, come out. Let's widen this opening a bit more so I can go in and move it..."
After Dr. Ren came out, the two of them removed a lot of the blue bricks from the entrance of the cave, making the entrance large enough for Zhuang Rui to walk in and out upright.
"Slow down, be careful, don't let the oil paper open, don't drop it..."
After Zhuang Rui entered the Buddha statue, he directly grabbed a package wrapped in oiled paper with both hands and lifted it up. Dr. Ren, who was standing outside, looked at him with concern, afraid that Zhuang Rui might drop... those scriptures.
Zhuang Rui carefully handed the neatly wrapped oiled paper scroll to Xiao Jia and the other person standing below the base, and joked with Dr. Ren, "Hey, Brother Ren, are you afraid of dropping me or these scriptures?"
Don't be fooled by the fact that these are all paper books; the central axis is made of high-quality solid wood, making them quite heavy. This bundle probably weighs sixty or seventy pounds. Although Dr. Ren can carry it, he's not as steady as Zhuang Rui when walking on it.
With Zhuang Rui's tireless labor, the efficiency of retrieving the scriptures from the Buddha statue was greatly increased. By noon, all forty-three scriptures wrapped in oiled paper had been taken out of the Buddha statue and neatly placed on the ground in the middle of the main hall.
Zhuang Rui has spiritual energy that can relieve physical fatigue, but Xiao Jia and the others can't. They're already so tired that they're sitting on the ground and can't get up. Even Dr. Ren's arms are weak, so he went out and called Peng Fei to come and take over the shift of carrying things.
As for Nakagawa, he spent the entire morning craning his neck to peer into the temple, though of course, standing at the bottom of the steps, he couldn't see anything happening inside the main hall. ...
"Zhuang Rui, I've called the teacher. He booked a flight for this afternoon and will contact the Dunhuang cultural relics department to come over together..."
Dr. Ren, holding Zhuang Rui's satellite phone, excitedly ran into the main hall. During his phone call with his mentor, he could sense that even Professor Meng, who was known for his calm and rationality, had become excited.
"Brother Ren, without someone to lead the way, it will be difficult for them to get in. Let's think about how to get these things out first, shall we?"
Zhuang Rui frowned deeply as he looked at the mountain of scriptures in front of him.
This bundle of scriptures weighs about 60 to 70 pounds, and 30 bundles would weigh more than 2,000 pounds. A camel can carry 200 to 300 pounds without affecting its normal walking. This means that they cannot take all these scrolls of scriptures out at once.
Dr. Ren also noticed the problem and said, "That's true. Not to mention there aren't enough camels, there aren't many baskets either. We can't put all these scriptures on the camel humps, can we?"
During this trip into the desert, including Erdan and the others' camels, there were only six camels carrying supplies, each with two baskets on its back. It would be almost impossible for these six camels to transport the scriptures out on their own.
After thinking for a moment, Zhuang Rui said, "How about this, Brother Ren, let Brother Mengzi lead the way. You, Xiao Lei, and Peng Fei go out and return to town to meet up with the teacher, then bring the camel caravan in..."
Dr. Ren shook his head and said, "You should lead the team out. I'll stay and guard these scriptures..."
It wasn't that Ren Chunqiang was being pretentious or afraid of making an extra trip; the key was that once they left the desert, countless domestic and international media outlets would be waiting to interview them, and even CCTV would likely be following up with reports. This would be a huge opportunity to make a name for themselves.
It is important to know that the discovery of this batch of Dunhuang documents caused a sensation comparable to dropping an atomic bomb in the domestic scientific research community, and its importance even surpassed that of Zhuang Rui's discovery of Peking Man fossils.
The documents in the Dunhuang Mogao Caves date back to the Eastern Han Dynasty and span more than ten dynasties, including the Three Kingdoms, Jin Dynasty, Northern Wei Dynasty, Western Wei Dynasty, Sui Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Five Dynasties, and Northern Song Dynasty, covering more than 700 years.
Its contents encompass dozens of disciplines, including politics, economics, military affairs, transportation, geography, calendar, contracts, household registration, medicine, mathematics, calligraphy, and music. It is a vast ancient library.
Although the exact number of these scriptures has not yet been determined, Zhuang Rui roughly estimated that the total number of documents inside the three Buddha statues should not be less than 30,000 volumes, which is almost two-thirds more than the Dunhuang documents unearthed from the Mogao Caves 100 years ago.
Therefore, this archaeological discovery will become a milestone for Chinese archaeology and will certainly be remembered in the history of world archaeology. The names of the people in the archaeological team will also be recorded in relevant textbooks.
If the archaeological team received such recognition, then the first person to discover these documents and scrolls would naturally receive even more honor. That's why Dr. Ren suggested that Zhuang Rui lead the team out, since these documents and scrolls were originally discovered by Zhuang Rui.
Zhuang Rui understood Ren Chunqiang's meaning, smiled, and said, "Brother Ren, I don't need these things. As the leader of this archaeological team, I'll have everything I need. But you're about to be evaluated for the researcher title, so you'll really need these..."
Given Zhuang Rui's current wealth and reputation in the antique and jade industry, he certainly doesn't need the hype of discovering Dunhuang documents to gain any benefit for himself.
And as Zhuang Rui said, as the leader of this archaeological team, he will share in all the honors.
However, this discovery was purely accidental and not Zhuang Rui's main purpose for coming here. In fact, Zhuang Rui was still planning a more significant discovery, but that idea would seem too absurd to others, and Zhuang Rui had never told the other members of the archaeological team.
Zhuang Rui then looked at Xiao Jia and the others, and said, "By the way, as those of you who participated in this archaeological excavation, it won't be difficult for you to stay at the university after graduation. You can reconsider your job assignments..."
Chapter 1120 Rogue Logic
Such a major archaeological discovery deserves the primary credit, of course, to certain government leaders, even if those leaders had no idea that such an archaeological team existed or that this archaeological expedition took place.
Of course, given the significance of such an archaeological discovery to the history of world archaeology, the level of leadership involved would be correspondingly high. At the very least, this achievement is not something that lower-level leaders from local cities can claim. Perhaps even a high-ranking official from Beijing would come here.
The leaders are trying to gain political achievements, so those who are doing the work below will naturally not be neglected. Issues such as Dr. Ren's professional title and the employment problems of Xiao Lei and others will be given priority in being resolved. That's why Zhuang Rui asked such a question.
For Xiao Lei and others, being able to stay and teach at Peking University is definitely a secure job with no worries about income. These days, it's not like the days when being a professor is less profitable than selling tea eggs. Which university teacher doesn't have a car, a house, and plenty of money?
“Brother Zhuang, I…I would like to stay at the university, but…we’ve already signed a contract with the Dingguang Museum, so…it might be difficult to arrange…”
The one who spoke was Xiao Wu, who was usually very quiet. He came from a rural area in Jiangxi, and a job like teaching at a university and being able to stay in Beijing was undoubtedly the most attractive thing for him.
Another reason for his hesitation was that when Huangfu Yun recruited them from Peking University, he had signed contracts beforehand, and the benefits in the contracts were very generous. Of course, the breach of contract clauses were something they couldn't afford to pay now.