A Journey to Dunhuang

Name: A Journey to Dunhuang
ISBN: 9787563398140

Chen Shunchen (Chin Shunshin)Guangxi Normal University Press2010

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Word count: 110 words
Chapters: 1
Series: Works by Chen Shunchen
ISBN: 9787563398140

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Summary

A Journey to Dunhuang is a representative collection of essays by the Japanese-Chinese writer Chen Shunchen (Chin Shunshin), and it won Japan's Osaragi Jiro Prize. In August 1975, Chen and his companions set out from Jiuquan, traveled along the Gansu-Xinjiang and An-Dun highways, crossed Jiayuguan and the Gobi beyond the passes, and finally reached Dunhuang. He cross-checks his travel observations against a wealth of historical records, archaeological materials, and on-site observation, using a novelist's imagination and reasoning to reconstruct how Dunhuang came to be: from Emperor Wu of Han's administration of the Hexi region and the coming and going of Silk Road merchants, to the carving of the Mogao Caves and the faith and daily life reflected in the painted sculptures and murals, and further to the discovery and dispersal of the documents from the Library Cave. The book is not a conventional guide to scenic spots but a ramble from present-day landscape into historical time. Walking between the Mingsha dunes and the caves, the author writes both of the texture of deserts, passes, and local features and of the thoughts that arise before images of the cross-ankled bodhisattva, the asuras, and the sculptures of the Manjusri Cave. After the Japanese edition appeared, it drew many young Japanese to follow its route to Dunhuang, creating an influential "Dunhuang boom." The Chinese edition was translated by Yu Xiaochao and belongs to the "Works of Chen Shunchen" series.

Editor's review

很少有人能像陈舜臣这样，把游记写成一部有纵深的历史叙事。他走在从酒泉到敦煌的路上，目光却始终穿过眼前的戈壁与洞窟，落到两千年的时光里：汉武帝为何要经营河西，丝路上的商队带来了什么，敦煌的僧侣与工匠如何在崖壁上留下一窟窟造像，藏经洞的经卷又怎样流散四方。作者是写推理小说出身的高手，讲究材料之间的钩稽与推理，凡有史料可依处必注明出处，凡属想象处也坦承是想象，因此全书既有散文的从容，又不失史家的分寸。值得一提的是，本书日文版当年打动了大批日本年轻读者，令无数人踏上西行之路，“敦煌热”由此而起。中文读者今天读它，既能当一部出行前的文化准备书，也能当作一次纸上的河西走廊漫游。书中对关隘、沙山、洞窟光影的描写颇有质感，尤其适合在出发前读一半，归来后再读一半。

Who it's for

A good fit for

计划前往敦煌、河西走廊旅行，希望行前补充历史文化背景的读者
喜欢陈舜臣历史随笔与散文笔法的读者
对丝绸之路、佛教石窟艺术和敦煌学有兴趣的入门读者
想通过一本轻松的游记了解汉代至唐代敦煌兴衰的人

Not a good fit for

期望获得详细景点攻略、交通住宿信息与实用路线的读者
需要系统考古报告、壁画图像专业解读或学术考证的研究者
偏好完全客观史料梳理、不接受作者想象性叙述的读者

Reading tips

先读《敦煌前史》《到鸣沙山》几章建立时空框架，再读涉及洞窟与造像的篇章
配合敦煌地图或河西走廊路线图阅读，作者的行进路线会清晰许多
书中的历史推断带有作者个人的想象成分，宜与正史、敦煌学论著参照阅读
若亲赴敦煌，可在莫高窟、鸣沙山现场对照书中描写，体会四十余年的景物变迁

About the publisher

Guangxi Normal University Press China · Founded in 1986

Guangxi Normal University Press is a publisher known for literature, foreign literature and history titles. Its 1,175 books in the database show a solid accumulation in classics and prose collections, including foreign literary works such as Les Fleurs du mal: Annotated Poems of Baudelaire, Snow Country, Dubliners and The Wild Palms, as well as modern prose compilations like The Complete Prose of Zhou Zuoren. History and philosophy also hold a notable share, with titles such as Running Dogs: Clerks and Runners in Qing County Yamen and The History and Thought of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom reflecting attention to Qing local administration and modern history. In art literature there is the 16-volume Ten Bamboo Studio Painting and Calligraphy Manual. Its author resources include foreign writers Charles Baudelaire and Yasunari Kawabata, translators and annotators Liu Nanqi and Zou Bo, and scholars such as Zhong Shuhe, Bradly W. Reed and You Chenjun. As public information is limited, this characterization is based only on the books in the database, which together present a profile balancing Chinese and foreign literary classics with academic works in the humanities and social sciences.

Works of Chen Shunchen

FAQ

这本书是旅游攻略吗？

不完全是。它更接近一部以旅行为线索的历史文化散文，写的是沿途见闻与敦煌的历史脉络，没有交通、住宿、门票等实用攻略信息，宜作为行前的背景读物。

陈舜臣是谁？

陈舜臣是生于日本神户的华裔作家，代表作横跨推理小说、历史小说与随笔游记，曾获江户川乱步奖、直木奖、吉川英治文学奖、大佛次郎奖等多项日本文学奖项。

这本书获过什么奖？

《敦煌之旅》曾获日本大佛次郎奖，该奖主要表彰优秀的散文、纪实类作品，这也是陈舜臣散文创作的代表性成果之一。

中文版有哪几个版本？

流传较广的是2010年广西师范大学出版社出版、余晓潮翻译的版本，属“陈舜臣作品”丛书；此外生活·读书·新知三联书店香港分店曾有怡洪翻译的版本。

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About the author

Chen Shunchen (Chin Shunshin) Author · Japan · 1924–2015

Chen Shunchen (1924–2015) was a Japanese writer of Chinese descent, born in Kobe with ancestral roots in Taiwan. He made his debut in 1961 with The Root of Withered Grass, which won the Edogawa Rampo Prize, and later received the Naoki Prize for The Blue Jade Incense Burner, becoming the first author in the history of Japanese detective fiction to win the three major mystery awards. He subsequently turned to Chinese historical novels and essays, with representative works including The Opium War and A Novelistic Outline of the Eighteen Histories. His writing spans mystery, history and literature; he is known for tracing Chinese history with a calm touch and portraying the complex relationship between individuals and their times in accessible narratives, and is regarded as a bridge for Sino-Japanese cultural exchange. Thirteen of his works are included in the collection, among them Chen Shunchen on the Records of the Grand Historian, The Land Endures: The Burning Chinese Soul, Qin Shi Huang and Cao Cao.