I collect cultural relics in the human world

Chapter 216: Split into Two Groups (Part )

He Si has been to Dunhuang three times. The first time was when she traveled alone at the age of eighteen. At that time, she just took a quick look at the scenic spots and historical sites. Instinctively, she fell in love with the exquisite and mysterious murals and sculptures. She listened to some anecdotes from the tour guide that were difficult to distinguish between true and false. She vaguely knew that a large number of priceless treasures had been lost abroad due to specific historical reasons, the ignorance of managers and the greed of plunderers. She felt a little regretful, but did not delve into it and did not remember the names of the people involved.

The second time was an internship project during the summer vacation of her junior year. At that time, she had already decided on the research direction for her master's degree, but she had not yet started. She could only be considered a half-apprentice. Relying on her taciturn and hardworking nature, she followed her seniors to help out, and still watched more than learned. The theme of this trip to Dunhuang was much clearer than the first time. It was mainly aimed at the study of grotto architecture, and to be more specific, it was the study of the function of grotto architecture as a carrier of Buddhist art. In order not to slow down the progress of her seniors, He Si read some simple documents and documentaries before going. The construction that lasted for thousands of years, the fusion of multiple civilizations, and the inheritance that has lasted for a long time, everything in this sand is breathtakingly beautiful. So when she saw Stein proudly recounting in his book "Records of Western Archaeological Discoveries" how he stole the treasures of Dunhuang across the border and shipped them to Britain through deception and bribery, forcing tens of thousands of treasures to leave their homes and wander around, and even glorifying the theft as "restoring the Dunhuang cultural relics to the light of day" and receiving great praise from the international community for it, He Si's original regret turned into heartache and anger, and she was also impressed by those names.

The third trip to Dunhuang was He Si's own project. Dunhuang's ancient buildings are very distinctive. In addition to grotto buildings and religious buildings, there are also desert oasis architectural settlements formed in the cultural integration of dynasties. But this time she did not come for these buildings, but to study the large number of ancient architectural images and patterns in Dunhuang murals. From the Sixteen Kingdoms to the Tang and Song Dynasties, from single buildings to magnificent building complexes, pavilions, temples and pagodas, prisons and tombs, bridges and plank roads, the architectural images in Dunhuang murals are extremely rich, numerous and all-encompassing. But what really shocked He Si that time was not the objects, but the people, the Dunhuang guardians who chose to live with hardship and loneliness all their lives, doing difficult work day after day, and dedicated to the restoration of cultural relics in the vast desert. Their efforts made the image of those complacent cultural relic thieves even more hateful. As He Si recalled, the Buddha's lowered eyes seemed to appear before her eyes again, as did his back as he carefully climbed up and down, cleaned the murals, painted and glued them, and pasted and flattened them under his compassionate gaze.

As the figures of those guardians became increasingly clear, He Si once again recalled the names of the destroyers she had seen. Unfortunately, she still failed to find the Otani expedition team.

"Who is the Otani Expedition Team?" He Si asked seriously.

Fan Yu raised his eyebrows, his smug look reappearing, but before he could say anything, Qin Jian's disdainful voice came: "It's not a person, but an organization. Compared with Stein, Pelliot and these thieves, these people have no academic accomplishments, no knowledge of archaeology, and are only interested in plundering. Under the banner of Buddhist exploration, they are doing petty thefts. They are just a bunch of rubbish following behind the Europeans to pick up leftovers. Calling them an expedition team is really flattering them."

"But they were lucky," Fan Yu shrugged helplessly. "How could Xiao He know about the Li Bai Documents that shocked the world? They found it during their exploration of the ruins of the ancient city of Loulan."

"What is that?" He Si shook her head honestly, her face full of curiosity.

"It is the only document of an important figure in the Former Liang Dynasty that can be verified in historical books. It is the most concentrated and richest document among the bamboo slips of the Former Liang Dynasty. It is also the earliest physical specimen of Chinese paper letters discovered so far." Qin Jian's voice became deeper and deeper as he spoke. Finally, he sighed and talked about the current storage location of this cultural relic. "It is now stored in the Ryukoku University Library in Kyoto, Japan."

"this!"

He Si was really upset, but Fan Yu continued to make her feel upset: "This discovery is of course a stroke of luck for them, but it is a disaster for the study of literature and history, because these people have no archaeological training at all. Not to mention the necessary cultural relics, they didn't even record the most basic site of discovery, making the specific origin of the Li Bai Documents a complete historical mystery."

"What rubbish!" He Si was furious, but she knew that complaining would be useless. She could only take a deep breath and shift her attention to the batch of cultural relics that might be recovered now. "Then... what are these cultural relics you found this time? Do you have any idea?"

"The initial guess is that it is the Buddhist scriptures scattered in the Dunhuang Buddhist caves. There are no other details. You know, compared to the group of Europeans, the part stolen by the Otani expedition team is the most mysterious among the Dunhuang cultural relics scattered overseas," Fan Yu shook his head helplessly. Seeing He Si glaring at him, he immediately continued to explain, "One reason is because of the huge number. The initial estimate of the cultural relics they looted in Dunhuang is more than 100,000 pieces, which caused devastating damage to many Buddhist relics. It is difficult for us to locate what it is. Another reason is the same as mentioned before - the quality of archaeology is too poor, and the records of obtaining cultural relics are vague. I am afraid that even they themselves don’t know what they stole."

"I want to go too!" He Si made the decision immediately after hearing this. But Fan Yu kept it a secret: "You don't even know where we are going yet."

"I'll go wherever you go."

"Oh my, is this still the Miss He who hid behind Uncle Qin and stuttered when we first met?" Fan Yu teased, but then he restrained his expression and shook his head, "But I'm afraid it won't work this time."

"Why? Is it dangerous? I have the ability to protect myself. Besides, am I not also a non-staff member of the Special Cultural Relics Protection Department?" He Si did not expect that she would be rejected. Since the Susha Zenyi incident, she has been involved in almost all cases of the Special Protection Department. Fan Yu has never rejected her. Sometimes, in order to make use of her ability, he even has the intention of inviting her into a trap. Is there any special reason this time? He Si thought and said angrily, "What does this mean? Zhong Wuyan is there when there is trouble, and Xia Yingchun is not?"

Qin Jian didn't expect to hear this unexpected usage. Seeing He Si's angry look, a smile finally appeared on her gloomy face. Fan Yu naturally couldn't resist and kept saying, "What kind of usage is this? In front of Uncle Qin, it seems like I'm just a traitor."

He Si blurted out the words in a fit of rage, and thinking back on the implications behind them, she naturally felt guilty, but she still forced herself to stare at Fan Yu fiercely with her eyes wide open, and said with her hands on her hips, "Then tell me why you can't go."

"You also said that you are half a member of the Special Security Department, so you must follow the organization's arrangements."

"Does the organization have other plans for me?"

He Si just asked casually out of spite, but she didn't expect Fan Yu to nod his head like crazy: "Smart."

"Eh?"

"Protect the flowers of the future." Fan Yu said, and winked at He Si happily.

Dunhuang is the sad history of our country's academic research. The fine works discovered there either flowed into foreign countries or were hidden in private hands. The more than 8,000 scrolls in our country are probably the remnants of what was abandoned at that time. The essence has been lost, and only the dregs remain. These fragments and old papers may not really be of any importance to academic research. The compilation of this record today is just to express my indignation. - Chen Yinke