Introduction: In a long article published under the pseudonym "Fang Hui", Xiang Da bitterly pointed out the great destructiveness of Zhang Daqian's behavior. Fu Sinian and Li Ji wrote to Yu Youren: Zhang Daqian's destruction of murals in Dunhuang is very serious. Many people have defended Zhang Daqian's destruction of murals in Dunhuang. Recently, a couple was denounced by public opinion for "painting hearts and lettering to show their love" on the 3-year-old bronze cylinder of the Forbidden City. However, celebrities have done a lot of things about history, destroying cultural relics for personal preference, but they are either taboo for the honorable person or linked by real interests, and most of them are hidden. Zhang Daqian's destruction of Dunhuang murals in the 194s is a typical case. At the beginning of 1941, Zhang Daqian led his wife and children to Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes for "inspection". I stayed for two years and seven months. During the period, many murals were destroyed. However, there are still many fallacies about Zhang's behavior. For example, someone published an article as a "witness": "I have worked in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes for more than ten years. According to my own eyes, Mr. Zhang Daqian not only did not destroy Dunhuang murals, but on the contrary made an undeniable contribution to the restoration and collation of Dunhuang mural art." Xie Zhiliu, a friend of Zhang's, argued: "If you were in Dunhuang at that time, you would have agreed to abort it. Since the outer layer has been peeled off and there are definitely murals inside, why not remove the outer layer to expose the essence inside?" (1)

Zhang Daqian's depiction of murals in Dunhuang is untenable. Zhang Daqian not only stripped the murals indiscriminately, but also scribbled on them, and even wrote his own name. The reason why the above defense words are "fallacious" is that the core files of Dunhuang murals destroyed by Zhang Daqian are still there, which is indisputable. I quote a letter from Fu Sinian and Li Ji to Yu Youren on December 5, 1942 as follows: "Dean You Ren gave me a lesson: At the end of last year, Ji (Li Ji) received a letter signed by Feng Hanji, curator of Sichuan Provincial Museum, and Zheng Dekun, curator of West China University Museum, saying that Juxian Wei Jun returned from Dunhuang archaeology and gave a public lecture in Chengdu. It is said that the Thousand Buddha Caves in Dunhuang still have Northern Wei, Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties. However, the murals of various dynasties were not on the same plane, but the earliest ones were in the innermost part, and later people painted mud on their upper layers and repainted them. Mr. Zhang Daqian wanted to copy the handwriting of people in different dynasties, so he first painted the top layer, stripped it off after painting, and then painted the next layer, gradually painting and peeling it off, hoping to get the painting method of each generation. Feng and Zheng Erjun think that Mr. Zhang's move failed to take into account the preservation methods of antiquities. Stripping off one layer of the mural, that is, destroying one layer, has made great progress in Mr. Zhang's art, but it is an irreparable loss to the whole culture. I hope the Ministry of Education and the Central Antiquities Preservation Committee will stop it as soon as possible. After receiving this letter, Fu Sinian, etc., expressed deep sympathy for the opinions of Feng and Zheng Jun. However, in the case of Mr. Zhang's peeling off the murals, Feng and Zheng did not see them personally, and they did not dare to lead them to listen to the truth only because of Wei Jun's words, or because they were inaccurate and afraid of hurting the sages. Later, those who indirectly heard that the Ministry of Education sent personnel to make the same statement, and Si Nian and others did not give it. In the summer of this year, a delegation of northwest history and geography was formed, and Professor The National SouthWest Associated University was hired to participate in Mr. Xiang Da, who is the authority of the history circle, and his achievements in studying the history of Chinese and Western traffic have long been known by Chinese and foreign people. In September, I went from Fei Lan, Chongqing to Dunhuang in the west, and received his letter, saying that I had visited the Thousand Buddha Cave and met Mr. Zhang Daqian. Mr. Zhang hired four lamas, with the help of his sons and nephews and students, to copy murals in the stone room all day. Murals have a single layer and several layers; Several layers were accumulated by adding paintings in past dynasties ...' Xin Si discovered in August that this compound wall had paintings of the Tang Dynasty, so he ordered his son to take care of it, led his fellow painters to talk about it and Li Fu, and stripped off the outer layer after three days' work, which was quite old-fashioned, and he was delighted and amazed because of the topic. The capital of Shu is full of beards. " In addition, when copying, the original painting was arbitrarily hooked, and the ladder table easel was put on the wall, so how to damage the picture was not spared. Xiang Jun thinks that if this kind of action is allowed to continue, the murals of the Thousand Buddha Cave will be destroyed in two or three years. Because the paper "Study on the Management of the Thousand Buddha Cave in Dunhuang and Other Associated Issues" was drafted and sent here, Si Nian deeply felt that this article was of great significance to Xiang Jun, but it was a pity to bury it. Therefore, more than 2 copies were mimeographed and distributed to friends related to art .. As for Xiang Jun's proposal to nationalize the Thousand Buddha Cave and set up management. Yu Youren (left in the front row), Zhang Daqian (middle in the front row) and Zhang Qun (right in the front row) took a group photo in 1959. From this letter, we can see that Zhang Daqian's destruction of murals has attracted the attention of academic circles since he led his team to Dunhuang in 1941, and the letter of complaint was handed to Fu Sinian and Li Ji very early. However, because of Zhang Daqian's deep relationship in politics and science, and because he and Yu Youren are close friends, Fu and Li did not take action without direct evidence. It was not until Xiang Da, a famous historian, went to Dunhuang with a delegation in 1942 that he witnessed Zhang Daqian peeling off the outer murals, smearing them at will, and even inscribed his own name "Zhang Daqian, the capital of Shu" ... Xiang Da was deeply impressed that "the murals in the Thousand-Buddha Cave will be destroyed" and wrote a detailed report to Fu and Li. In the form of a joint letter, Fu and Li Er asked Yu Youren to stop Zhang Daqian through private channels. Xiang Da, a famous historian, is the greatest hero who prevented Zhang Daqian from destroying Dunhuang murals. The delegation of the Ministry of Education witnessed that Zhang Daqian did not copy the outer murals according to the original drawings, and the destroyed murals could never be reproduced. Fu and Li Xinzhong mentioned that "those who heard it indirectly from the Ministry of Education also said the same thing", referring to the delegation of northwest art and cultural relics of the Ministry of Education headed by Wang Ziyun. When Zhang Daqian led his team to "inspect" the Mogao Grottoes, the delegation also made an investigation in the Mogao Grottoes. Wang Ziyun witnessed Zhang Daqian's way of copying murals, and he was very disapproving. Wang said: "Our purpose is to preserve the original appearance and faithfully copy the original painting according to its existing colors, while Zhang Daqian is not to preserve the existing appearance, but to' restore' the original appearance. He hired three lama painters from Ta 'er Temple in Qinghai to restore the original appearance of the murals of the Thousand Buddha Cave, which have faded over the years, by using the painting methods and colors of the Tibetan murals in Ta 'er Temple. However, whether it is really the original appearance still needs further study, which only makes people feel red, green and harsh, as if they were looking at the newly built temple, and it seems a little' artisan' and angry. " (3) In other words, although Zhang left a copy when he destroyed the outer murals, his copy was not a faithful record of the destroyed murals. On the contrary, it was just a "reduction map" drawn according to his personal understanding, which directly led to the fact that there was no possibility of any reproduction of the destroyed murals, but Zhang Daqian had a unique "reduction map" with a strong personal imprint. Xiang Da witnessed Zhang Daqian's "drastic cutting of murals in Song and Yuan Dynasties" because of his personal preference. Xiang Da reflected Zhang Daqian's destruction of cultural relics to Fu and Li, and Fu and Li made a weakening treatment when they relayed it to Yu Youren. Gu quoted a letter from Xiang Da to Fu Sinian: "Zhang Daqian, as a Jianghu painter, has been entrenched here for more than a year. He has assembled more than ten people to do copying work, sketching the original painting at will, so as to describe and damage the picture without pity. And the cave is used as a bedroom, the town is closed every day, and tourists are wrapped in feet. Especially outrageous, for stripping murals without authorization. Zhang worships the Northern Wei Dynasty, Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, so he thinks that nothing is desirable below the Song Dynasty. Anyone who was originally opened in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty and rebuilt in the Song and Yuan Dynasties will take drastic measures to cut down the murals in the Song and Yuan Dynasties in order to find out the titles and inscriptions of the works of Sui and Tang Dynasties. It seems that in 22 or 23, the Thousand-Buddha Cave was devastated, and I don't know what it is! " (4)

The Dunhuang mural "Sui Wenshu Asking about Diseases" copied by Zhang Daqian was completely destroyed, and most of the new murals exposed were broken because of no stripping technology. In the letter to Zeng Zhaosui, Xiang Da described Zhang Daqian's act of destroying cultural relics in more detail: "It is a good thing to have a painting, and it is beyond reproach. However, this generation sketched the murals at will for description. That is to say, the cave is used as the family bedroom, and the town is locked every day, and the viewers are bound. The most resentful person is to peel off the murals at will. The caves in the Thousand-Buddha Cave are often originally opened in the Northern Wei, Sui and Tang Dynasties and rebuilt by the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The picture occasionally peels off and is damaged, and the original appearance is exposed. Zhang Ku was fond of the Northern Wei, Sui and Tang Dynasties, so he cut off the upper floor drastically. When later people rebuilt it, the 19th cut the original painting to make the plaster stick easily. Therefore, after the upper layer is cut off, the income is still only residual water, and sometimes there is no residual water in this residual mountain. For example, Cave 32 compiled by Zhang was rebuilt by the Song Dynasty, and Zhang stripped off the Song paintings. Now, the statues of the two heavenly kings painted by the Tang Dynasty have been destroyed, and there is nothing underneath, but the paintings of the Song Dynasty have been broken and out of control. And so on, to name a few. The Thousand-Buddha Cave is a collection of ancestors' spirits, a treasure of China's art, and is owned by the state, not privately owned by local individuals. Who is Zhang, and what right does he have to regard the Thousand Buddha Cave as a private property and destroy it at will? As for this? This can be tolerated! " ⑤ In a long article published later under the pseudonym "Fang Hui", Xiang Da bitterly pointed out the great destructiveness of Zhang Daqian's behavior: "Many caves in the Thousand Buddha Cave were originally opened in the Northern Wei, Sui and Tang Dynasties, but were rebuilt by Xixia in the Five Dynasties and even Song and Yuan Dynasties. The first layer of the picture occasionally peels off, and it can be seen that there are traces of one or two layers below. An artist who preferred the Northern Wei, Sui and Tang Dynasties and even the Five Dynasties became obsessed with history, slashing the upper layer and exposing the lower layer for their appreciation. However, when the murals are rebuilt, the lower layer is often cut and chipped, and then the mud can be stuck. After peeling, the income is just some residual water. Even if the lower layer is not peeled off, but stuck by the soil above for too long, once peeled off, the color and ink of the lower layer picture are often stuck together. Therefore, peeling off murals is technically a very difficult problem. Before the technical problems are satisfactorily solved, my personal opinion is that it is better not to peel them off easily. If you peel it off casually, you will often lose more than you gain, and you will regret it endlessly. As for the painting, you should not sketch the original painting at will, and you should not lean against the murals, such as tables and ladders, so as not to damage the picture. That is the minimum precept and morality for people who study painting, and there is no need to elaborate on them one by one. But unfortunately, this work of peeling off murals and painting is still going on. No one can stop it, and no one will stop it. Seeing the murals of the Thousand Buddha Cave, it will be destroyed in two or three years. What a sad thing. " ⑥ Although it was exposed at the end of 1942, Zhang Daqian left Dunhuang as late as November 1943, but he didn't get an immediate effect by crying out to Da. It was not until April 1943 that Gu Zhenglun, the chairman of Gansu provincial government, called Chen Ruxue, the county magistrate of Dunhuang, and asked him to "tell Zhang Jun Daqian that the murals should not be slightly defaced to avoid misunderstanding." At the same time, Zhang was hired as a member of the Preparatory Committee of Dunhuang Art Research Institute. In November of that year, Zhang Daqian left Dunhuang with his team. As far as the existing materials are concerned, the destruction of Dunhuang murals by Zhang Daqian and his team lasted at least from the end of 1941 to the beginning of 1943. As for the total amount of destruction, it is difficult to make a detailed textual research today because of the scattered statistical data of that year. ⑦ In view of this matter, the academic circles had a feeling on that day: "Recently, Chinese people have talked about developing the northwest, and Dunhuang art is often noticed by celebrities. However, one of its institutions, with Yu Xun (Yu Youren) as the protector and Zhang Daqian as the mainstay, is doubtful whether the historical sites in the northwest can last forever." In fact, apart from destroying murals, Zhang Daqian also took away an unknown number of Dunhuang cultural relics. According to He Shizhe, a senior scholar of Dunhuang Research Institute, "As far as I know, Mr. Zhang Daqian only handed Zhang Junyi to the former Dunhuang Art Research Institute, and now it is still kept in Dunhuang Research Institute. The rest of the cultural relics were taken away by Mr. Zhang Daqian and later dispersed to the Japanese tenri university Library." Pet-name ruby Note ① Li Yongqiao, Chronicle of Zhang Daqian, Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, 1987, P482-483. ② The original of this letter is now in Taiwan Province Academia Sinica; The letter mentioned Feng Hanji, curator of Sichuan Provincial Museum, and Zheng Dekun, curator of West China University Museum, which was written on December 2, 1941, and the original was also kept in Taiwan Province Academia Sinica. ③ Wang Ziyun, From Chang 'an to Athens: Travels of Chinese and Foreign Art Archaeology (I), Yuelu Bookstore, 25, P7-71. (4) (5) to Fu Sinian letter, November 5, 1942. Letter to Zeng Zhaowei, November 5, 1942. ⑥ Xiang Da, On the Study of the Management of the Thousand Buddha Caves in Dunhuang and Other Associated Issues, Chongqing Ta Kung Pao, serialized on December 27th, 28th and 3th, 1942. ⑦ Xiang Da once wrote an Outline of Stripping and Damage of the Caves in the Thousand Buddha Cave in Dunhuang, but I don't know where it exists. See Rong Xinjiang, "Shocking the Sand and Shaking the Desert —— Investigation of Dunhuang in Xiangda and Its Academic Significance", included in Xueji of Xiangda, Sanlian Bookstore, 21. Today Tang Yongtong to Hu Shixin, January 19, 1943. Pet-name ruby He Shizhe, Query on Zhang Daqian's "Never Destroying Dunhuang Murals", Dunhuang Studies, No.1, 21.