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More than a thousand years ago, an extraordinary trove of early Buddhist sutras and other scriptures was secreted away in caves near the Silk Road city of Tun-huang. But who hid this magnificent treasure and why? Innbsp;Tun-huang, the great modern Japanese novelist Yasushi Inoue tells the story of Chao Hsing-te, a young Chinese man whose accidental failure to take the all-important exam that will qualify him as a high government official leads to a chance encounter that draws him farther and farther into the wild and contested lands west of the Chinese Empire. Here he finds love, distinguishes himself in battle, and ultimately devotes himself to the strange task of depositing the scrolls in the caves where, many centuries later, they will be rediscovered. A book of magically vivid scenes, fierce passions, and astonishing adventures,nbsp;Tun-huangnbsp;is also a profound and stirring meditation on the mystery of history and the hidden presence of the past.… (more)
User reviews
It’s a short novel, and in some ways I wish it had been longer. The author literally takes his reader over a lot of ground and a large period of time, and Tsing-te experiences a lot (from distinguishing himself in battle to falling in love). The story itself was interesting, but the author spent a lot of time describing battles, over and over again. There’s also a lot of melodrama to the story, which I didn’t really find believable. The author is better at character development, though, and I really enjoyed in many places the theme of one young man’s journey (literal and figurative) to find himself. I’m not sure I totally “get” it, though, which is why I’m reserving judgment on it and giving it only 3 stars.
Throughout is a Buddhist theme of the desire for earthly acquisition that is never fully obtained because of the power of impermanence, represented by dreams. This can be seen when the main character, Hsing-te, seeks to become a Chinese civil servant, but is denied entry after he falls asleep and misses the exam, having spent his time in a dream. Or when the captured barbarian princess, who finds security as a concubine, takes her life for the sake of her dream of being loved by the spirit of her long-dead groom. The strong and heroic character Wang-li seems invincible in battle, but his life is undercut when he falls in love with a woman he can never obtain nor forget. The arrogant Kuang is destroyed by his avarice for certain gems which hold a mysterious power over him and he can never obtain. Finally it is the physical manuscripts themselves, gateways to another world, that continue to fascinate. They are a material connection to the impermanent nature of life.