Wang Yuanlu - Ouenroku

...The largest of the four cave groups in the vicinity of Dunhuang, including the Xiqianfo Caves, the Yulin Caves, and the Shuixiakou Caves, it was built over a thousand years, beginning in the 4th century, and contains a great number of excellent murals, statues, and other remains. In 1900 (Guangxu 26), the Taoist Wang Yuanlu discovered 40,000 to 50,000 ancient manuscripts and scrolls in one small cave (now Cave 17), which sparked the rise of Dunhuang studies worldwide. The Mogao Caves were introduced in 1737 (Qianlong 2) by Chang Jun in his "Dunhuang Miscellany," but academic research into the caves began in 1823 (Daoguang 3) when Xu Song recorded inscriptions and inscriptions in his "Records of Water Supply in the Western Regions" and examined the origins of the Mogao Caves. ...

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "Wang Yuanlu" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…敦煌周辺にある西千仏洞，楡林窟，水峡口窟とあわせて四つの石窟群のうち最も規模が大きく，造営期間が4世紀より千年の長さに及び，壁画，塑像など優れた遺品がすこぶる多い。1900年(光緒26)道士王円籙によって，一小窟(現在の第17窟)から4～5万点にのぼる古写本等の古文書や画巻が発見され，世界的に敦煌学が起こるきっかけとなった。莫高窟は1737年(乾隆2)常鈞が《敦煌雑抄》で紹介しているが，その学術研究は1823年(道光3)徐松が《西域水道記》に碑文と銘を記録し，莫高窟の草創を考証したのが始まりである。…

※「王円籙」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

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