Paul Pelliot

Paul Pelliot (1878-1945) was a French sinologist and explorer known for acquisition of the finest artifacts from the Library Cave in Dunhuang through deceptive purchases. He was commissioned multiple times to travel to China to purchase ancient books. In 1905, he was appointed leader of the French Central Asian Expedition. From 1906 to 1908, he took Louis Vaillant, a surveyor and Charles Nouette, a photographer on a journey across the northern route of the Silk Road to excavate Buddhist sites in regions such as Bachu and Kucha.

In 1908, Pelliot arrived in Dunhuang and visited the Mogao Caves, where he systematically numbered all the caves, transcribed inscriptions, and took numerous photographs of the murals. Fluent in Chinese and well-versed in classical Chinese literature, he quickly won the favor of Wang Yuanlu and access to all the artifacts in the Library Cave. Pelliot specifically sought texts excluded from Chinese Buddhist Canon, non-Chinese literature, and documents with dated inscriptions. He defrauded Wang and removed many high-quality artifacts from the Library Cave including silk paintings and textiles that Stein had missed. In 1909, Pelliot provided Chinese scholars access to some Dunhuang manuscripts at his residence, leading to growing interest in the Library Cave.

The collected items were transported to Paris, and the manuscripts are now housed in the National Library of France, while the silk paintings and textiles are held in Guimet Museum. Pelliot documented his discoveries in Dunhuang in letters which were later compiled into the work titled Une bibliothèque médiévale retrouvée au Kan-su. After returning to France, Pelliot compiled the photographs of the Dunhuang murals he had taken into a six- volume catalog titled Les grottes de Touen-Houang (1920-1924). Collaborating with various experts, he researched the Dunhuang manuscripts he brought back, which resulted in Mission Paul Pelliot (Documents conservés au Musée Guimet et à la Bibliothèque Nationale). Following his death, French scholars edited and published his notes under the title Grottes de Touen-houang: carnet de notes de Paul Pelliot.

伯希和

伯希和（Paul Pelliot，1878—1945），法國人，他是騙購敦煌藏經洞出土品精華的探險者，曾多次奉命前往中國購買古籍。1905年，被委任為法國中亞探險隊隊長，與測量師瓦揚（Louis Vaillant）和攝影師努埃特（Charles Nouette）一起，于1906年至1908年間進入絲綢之路北道，發掘巴楚、庫車等地的佛教遺址。

1908年，伯希和一行到達敦煌并來到莫高窟，對全部洞窟進行編號、抄錄題記、拍攝大量壁畫照片。伯希和精通漢語并熟悉中國古典文獻，很快取得王道士好感。王道士允許伯希和在藏經洞中翻閱全部文物，伯希和重點選取佛教大藏經未收的文獻、非漢語文獻和帶有紀年題記的文獻。他廉價騙購走大量藏經洞文獻中的精品及斯坦因遺漏的絹畫絲織品。1909年，中國學者在北京伯希和住處看到了他攜帶的敦煌文獻，敦煌藏經洞才引起關注。

這些收集品運回巴黎，文獻入藏法國國家圖書館，絹畫絲織品等入藏吉美亞洲藝術博物館。伯希和把在敦煌的發現寫成書信，后編為《甘肅發現的一個中世紀文庫》一文，漢譯文名為《敦煌石室訪書記》。回法國后，他將所攝敦煌壁畫照片編為《敦煌石窟圖錄》全六冊（1920—1924）；他與各科專家研究帶回來的敦煌文獻，形成《伯希和中亞探險隊叢刊》；他去世后，由法國學者整理出版了《伯希和敦煌石窟筆記》。