There are 1,600 Dunhuang manuscripts in this sequence, currently numbered BD13801 to BD15400. Most of them are fine specimens that were dispersed in the years following the discovery of the Dunhuang ‘Library Cave’. This includes more than 600 pieces obtained by the Japanese Otani expedition, as well as the former collections of Xu Chengyao, Liu Tingchen, Luo Zhenyu, Li Shengduo, Feng Shu, Zheng Zhenduo and various others. These are mostly long scrolls with rich content. There are many examples of non-Buddhist texts or manuscripts with dated colophons and prefaces, and they hold outstanding documentary value and cultural significance.
In January 2023, with the support of Bei Shan Tang Foundation in Hong Kong, the National Library of China launched a project to digitise the “New Shelfmarks” Collection of Dunhuang Manuscripts. This project is part of the International Dunhuang Programme (IDP) with the digital outputs appearing immediately on the IDP database. The NLC has been collaborating on the IDP since 2001. Together with the British Library and other key holding institutions around the world, it has been helping to bring together digital images of documents from many ancient sites along the eastern Silk Roads for the benefit of scholars and the wider public.
The support of Bei Shan Tang Foundation will breathe new life into the IDP database at the National Library of China. This will drive the stable development of the Programme and the digitisation of more Dunhuang manuscripts in the collection, thereby facilitating further research in the field of Dunhuang studies.
