Wang Yuanlu

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Wang Yuanlu (Traditional Chinese: 王圓籙; Simplified Chinese: 王圆箓; pinyin: Wáng Yuánlù) (c.a. 1849 - 1931) was a Taoist priest acting as an abbot of the caves in Dunhuang at the beginning of the 20th century.

He discovered ancient Buddhist scriptures in a temple there, and, failing to appreciate their cultural value, sold them to various visitors from Europe. The first was Sir Aurel Stein, who took a largely random selection of the works. One source states that "To gain access to the caves, Stein had to hoodwink their slightly mad, self-appointed guardian Wang Yuanlu, a subterfuge for which the Chinese haven't forgiven him."^[1] Later Paul Pelliot would come to purchase the most valuable among them.

[edit] References

• Hopkirk, Peter (1980). Foreign Devils on the Silk Road: The Search for the Lost Cities and Treasures of Chinese Central Asia. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 0-87023-435-8.

[edit] External links

• The Oldest Printed Text in the World - The Diamond Sutra
• The David Middleton Reed Collection of Chinese Studies

1. ^ Dick Heimovics, (1999). Connecting and Disconnections on the Silk Road.