Rong Xinjiang 榮新江 is a Professor at the Department of History and Director of Center for the Study of Ancient Chinese History, Beijing University. His main research interests include China's cultural contacts with the outside world during the Han-Tang period, the Silk Road (overland and maritime), the history of the Sui and Tang dynasties, and the history of Central Asia. In addition to numerous Chinese publications, he has also published a series of articles in Western languages. He has been the editor of the Journal of Tang Studies since 1995.Imre Galambos, Ph.D. (2002), UC Berkeley, is University Lecturer in Chinese at the University of Cambridge. He specializes in Chinese manuscript culture, with a particular emphasis on Dunhuang. His new book Manuscripts and Travellers (deGruyter, 2012) came out last year.

"[...] appropriate readings for undergraduates, and the book as a whole is a very good introduction to the history of Dunhuang and to Dunhuang studies."– Brandon Dotson, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, in The Journal of Asian Studies 74.1 (2015), p. 217-218.

• Introduction 1. What is “Dunhuang Studies”?2. The Current State of Affairs in Dunhuang Studies3. Objectives and Difficulties in Dunhuang Studies: The Case of the History of the Guiyijun4. Summary of This BookLecture 1 Dunhuang in Chinese History 1. Dunhuang during the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties2. Dunhuang during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties3. Dunhuang during the Sui and Tang Periods4. Dunhuang during the Tibetan Period5. Dunhuang during the Guiyijun Period6. Dunhuang during the Xixia, Yuan, Ming and Qing PeriodsLecture 2 Dunhuang and the Silk Road1. Zhang Qian’s Journey to the West and the Beginnings of the Silk Road2. Cultural Prosperity and Cave Building at Mogao3. The Sui-Tang Prosperity and a Cosmopolitan City4. Buddhist Dominance and the Significance of the Tibetan and Guiyijun Periods5. Shift in the Course of the Silk Road and Dunhuang’s DeclineLecture 3 The Discovery of the Dunhuang Cave Library and its Early Dispersal1. Abbot Wang2. The Discovery of the Cave Library3. The Early Dispersal of the Original Collection4. The Fate of the Dunhuang Collection and the End of Abbot Wang’s storyLecture 4 The Nature of the Dunhuang Library Cave and the Reasons for its Sealing1. The Original Collection2. Monastic Collections in Dunhuang during the Guiyijun Period3. The Types of Materials in the Cave Library4. The Reasons for the SealingLecture 5 Major Collections of Dunhuang Manuscripts1. The Stein Collection2. The Pelliot Collection3. The Oldenburg Collection4. Chinese Collections5. Japanese Collections6. Other CollectionsLecture 6 Scramble for the Treasures of Khotan, Kucha, Loulan and Gaochang1. “Prelude” to the Scramble for the Antiquities of Central Asia2. Archaeological Exploration of Central Asia at the Beginning of the 20th Century3. The Archaeology of Central AsiaLecture 7 Dunhuang Studies and Oriental Studies in the West1. Russia2. Britain3. France4. Germany5. Other CountriesLecture 8 Dunhuang Studies in China and Japan1. China2. JapanLecture 9 The Political and Economic History of the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties in Light of Dunhuang Studies1. The System of Official Correspondence2. Administrative and Legal Institutions3. Military System4. The Institutions of Juntian and Corvée Labor5. Political HistoryLecture 10 Dunhuang Studies and the Social History of the Medieval Period1. Population and Family2. Aristocratic Clans and Grassroots Society3. Buddhist Communities and the Life of the Clergy4. Folklore Material among the Dunhuang ManuscriptsLecture 11 The History of Central Asian Peoples and China’s Contacts with Her Neighbors in Light of Dunhuang Studies 1. The Tibetans2. Dunhuang under Tibetan Rule3. The Spread of Chan Teachings to Tibet and Sino-Tibetan Cultural Contacts4. The Ganzhou and Xizhou Uighurs5. The Kingdom of Khotan6. Sogdian Colonies7. The Three Foreign Religions8. Records of Buddhist PilgrimsLecture 12 The Significance of the Buddhist and Daoist Manuscripts from Dunhuang1. Overview of Buddhist Texts from Dunhuang2. The Value of Buddhist Texts from Dunhuang3. Daoist Texts from DunhuangLecture 13 Dunhuang Copies of Traditional Chinese Texts and Medieval Intellectual History1. The Classics (jing)2. The Histories (shi)3. The Philosophers (zi)4. The Belles-Lettres (ji)Lecture 14 Language and Literature in Light of Dunhuang Studies1. Chinese Language2. Central Asian Languages3. Popular LiteratureLecture 15 Dunhuang Studies and the History of Science and Technology1. Astronomy2. Mathematics3. Medicine4. Paper Making and Printing TechnologyLecture 16 Dunhuang in Light of Art and Archaeology1. Types of Caves and their Artistic Style2. Sculpture3. Dunhuang Murals4. Decorative Patterns in the Caves5. Other Cave Complexes besides the Mogao CavesLecture 17 Dunhuang and Manuscript Studies1. Paper and Layout2. Dating Based on Calligraphy3. Relationship between the Manuscripts’ Recto and VersoLecture 18 Forgeries and the Authentication of Dunhuang Manuscripts1. A New Theory of Forgeries2. The Authentication of Dunhuang ManuscriptsEpilogue