Dunhuang Manuscript Forgeries

Book excerpt: The discovery in 1900 of a cave at Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China containing tens of thousands of pre-11th century manuscripts scrolls has been of enormous significance for Buddhist, central Asian and Chinese history. Yet it appears that some of the manuscripts reportedly from the cave and now in collections in London, Beijing, St. Petersburg, and Japan are forgeries, produced in the decades following the discovery by both local forgers at Dunhuang and at the home of a Chinese bibliophile, Li Shengduo, who acquired many original manuscripts in 1910. Professor Fujieda from Kyoto University, Japan was the leading figure in bringing the problem of forgeries to light and the results of his work and that of leading scientists, conservators, and scholars in the fields - using analysis of the calligraphy, use of ancient words, chemical testing of the dyes and paper fibres - are brought together in this discussion of this issue.