Temple of Multiculturalism

As a window through which various ethnic groups, regions, and Eastern and Western cultures converged and blended in ancient China, Dunhuang itself serves as a temple of multicultural integration. Renowned Chinese scholar Ji Xianlin (1911-2009) claimed that only four, rather than five, cultural systems in the world were ancient, extensive, self-contained, and far-reaching: Chinese, Indian, Greek, and Islamic. The only place where all four converged was the regions of Dunhuang and Xinjiang in China. Nowhere else shows evidence of the presence of all of them.

Dunhuang culture is the crystallization of long-term exchanges and integration among various civilizations. Rooted in Chinese civilization, Dunhuang has never stopped absorbing the diverse cultural achievements of other regions and ethnic groups. Ancient texts preserved in Dunhuang include not only Buddhist scriptures but also records of Daoism, Nestorianism, Manichaeism, and Zoroastrianism, reflecting the coexistence and exchanges of diverse religious cultures. The Dunhuang caves have preserved examples of interaction of various arts from Greece, India, Persia, and Sogdiana as they fused with indigenous Chinese art.

Due to the long-term coexistence of multiple ethnic groups, religions, and cultures there, various aspects of Dunhuang's social life reflect characteristics of multicultural integration. These include commercial activities shaped by specific geographical conditions, an urban residential layout accommodating both Han and non- Han communities, dietary structure and practices combining agriculture and pastoralism, gorgeous and varied clothing styles, and the traditional yet adaptable customs surrounding marriage and funerals. The fundamental reason the four major cultural systems of the world were able to coexist and integrate in Dunhuang was the inclusiveness of Chinese culture, which has also been a crucial cornerstone of Chinese civilization's longevity.

多元文化圣殿

敦煌作為中國古代各民族各地區以及東西方文化匯聚、融合的窗口，其本身就是一座多元文化交融的圣殿。中國的國學大師季羨林稱：“世界上歷史悠久、地域廣闊、自成體系、影響深遠的文化體系只有四個：中國、印度、希臘、伊斯蘭，再沒有第五個，而這四個文化體系匯流的地方只有一個，就是中國的敦煌和新疆地區，再沒有第二個。”

敦煌文化是各種文明長期交流融匯的結晶，敦煌始終以中華文明為根基，不斷吸收來自其他地域和民族多元文化成果。在留存于敦煌的古代文獻當中，不僅有佛教典籍，還包括道教、景教、摩尼教典籍和祆教的記錄，反映了多元宗教文化交流共存的面貌。在敦煌石窟當中，也可以看到來自希臘、印度、波斯、粟特等的多元藝術與中國本土藝術交流融合的實例。

由于敦煌地區多個民族、多種宗教、多樣文化長期并存，其社會生活的各個方面都體現出多元融合的文化特點。如特定地理條件下發達的商業經濟生活形態、漢胡兼顧的城市居住布局、農牧結合的飲食結構、華美多姿的服飾、不棄傳統善融新俗的嫁娶喪葬等。世界上的四大文化體系能在敦煌互融共生，最根本的原因在于中國文化的包容性，這也是中華文明能長期繁榮發展的重要基石。