Dunhuang Studies

Dunhuang Studies is an academic field focused on the history, culture, and artifacts of Dunhuang, an ancient city in China known for its strategic location on the Silk Road. This area is famed for the Mogao Caves—cliffside monasteries housing thousands of Buddhist statues, paintings, manuscripts, and religious texts dating from the 4th to 14th centuries. Scholars analyze these relics to understand early Buddhism, cross-cultural exchanges, and Chinese art and history. The field combines archaeology, art history, religious studies, and textual analysis, offering insights into China's historical interactions with Central Asia, India, and beyond.