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74 years ago, the development and protection of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes were far less than they are now. All the treasures were covered in dust, looking vicissitudes and mysterious. An American woman named Irene Vincent left home and traveled alone. She stayed in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes for 10 days and took a total of 168 black-and-white photos, freezing the Dunhuang we have never seen on film.

Erin Vincent

The protagonist of the story is an American woman named Irene Vincent.

She lived in China half a century ago and traveled to many places in Asia with her husband. In 1948, she returned to China and settled in Beijing.

Irene with her husband and two daughters in Beijing in 1948

That summer, 29-year-old Irene decided to leave home and hit the road alone. She was already a mother of two children, but she still decided to embark on an adventure trip.

The place she was heading towards was one of the greatest caves in the world, known as the "Louvre of the East", with its brilliant civilization, numerous art and religious treasures, and countless bizarre adventure stories - the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang.

The entrance to the Sutra Cave of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang. In 1900, Wang Yuanlu, a Taoist priest guarding the caves, discovered this entrance and found the world-famous treasure of the Mogao Grottoes.

Irene's yearning for the Dunhuang Ganfo Caves began when she was in college. She wrote in her book: "Deep in everyone's heart, there must be a place they must visit once in their lifetime.

During this trip to Dunhuang, Irene stayed in Mogao Grottoes for 10 days and took a total of 168 black-and-white photos.

When Irene was 20 years old, she was in a summer camp at the University of Michigan, where she came into contact with the knowledge of Bashensi's trip to Dunhuang in 1935. After a quick three-month visit, the Ganfo Caves in Dunhuang became a place she longed for.

At that time, she had never thought that she would be able to go to Dunhuang in person one day, because that was something that only old scholars could do. "They could go to Dunhuang under the organization of a special organization, drive a horse-drawn carriage, and spend weeks touring the area. When she returned to Beijing after years of migration, she once again heard the call from Dunhuang in her heart.

Irene realized she had to go.

Irene's journey to Dunhuang was not easy. She got off the plane in Lanzhou, Gansu. At that time, the northwest of China was still a vast desert or simple farmland.

Irene met a large family named Liu. At that time, the fashion was for men to wear long gowns with round hats, and for women to wear long coats and permed hair.

Locals are busy with farming

Irene squeezed into a truck full of people and bumped along the vast northwestern land.

The group included foreigners, students, engineers, and Chinese Muslims, including men wearing black robes and headscarves, and women with their faces covered.

Irene saw the developing Yumen Oilfield and some temples and pagodas along the way.

Irene saw the developing Yumen Oilfield

The abbot of a temple learned that Ailinte came to Dunhuang and welcomed her warmly, giving her eggs and tea as gifts.

When they were about 20 kilometers away from Mogao Grottoes, the truck Irene was riding in broke down.

Irene changed to another truck halfway through the journey, but the truck broke down when it was about 20 kilometers away from Mogao Grottoes.

She travelled the rest of the way on a camel.

She found a local guide and traveled the rest of the way on camel.

When the Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang finally appeared from the yellow sand, Irene's eyes were filled with tears.

Irene in Mogao Grottoes

She stopped outside the Mogao Grottoes and looked at it for a long time.

“This is my paradise.”

Irene was so attracted that she felt she couldn't leave.

Nine-story Buddhist shrine on the cliff

In front of the solemn entrance of Mogao Grottoes, a group of students from Lanzhou Baili School were ready to go. One of the students, with awe of history and a desire for knowledge, embarked on a research trip. When she gently stepped over the threshold and stepped into this ancient and mysterious land, every step seemed to be on the vein of time.

In the vast space of Mogao Grottoes, she is often deeply attracted by a cave or a mottled wall, and stays there for a long time, forgetting the passage of time. These murals and statues that have experienced thousands of years of wind and rain are not only treasures of art, but also living fossils of culture. Every stroke carries a heavy history and story. She knows the preciousness of this cultural wealth, so she uses the camera as a pen and black and white film as paper to carefully record all of it, striving to let this beauty continue, so that future generations can also feel the shock and touch that transcends time and space.

Through Irene's lens, Dunhuang is no longer an exquisite painting that has been carefully modified by modern technology, but has a charm of time, old but solemn, and more quaint in fading. The colors on the murals may no longer be as bright as before, but they have added a sense of vicissitudes and heaviness of history; the statues may have lost some details, but the solemnity and solemnity have not diminished at all, but have become more touching. What she recorded is the most authentic appearance of Dunhuang, a work of art carved by history and nature, and a unique charm given by time.

Through this way of recording, Irene not only left precious memories for herself, but also left a precious cultural heritage for future generations. Her photos are not only a visual enjoyment, but also a spiritual touch. While appreciating them, people can't help but have a deep respect and yearning for this ancient land.

Cave 98 West Wall

West wall of Cave 159

Cave 254 mural, flying celestial beings dancing around the Buddha's head

At that time, the development and protection of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang were far less than they are now. All the treasures were covered in dust, looking weathered and mysterious, even like mummies in a deep cave.

West wall of Cave 283

Cave 250 Shrine

Cave 285 mural depicting cavalry fighting

Cave 400 murals

Cave 217 Caisson

North wall of Cave 390

Irene stayed in Dunhuang and took many black and white photos. In her photos, we can see that she often pointed the camera at the goddess in the cave murals.

In her photos, you can see that she has repeatedly pointed the camera at the goddess in the cave murals.

Irene's soul was stirred in the quiet night of Dunhuang, and it was difficult for her to find a good night's sleep. She delicately engraved her feelings of these sleepless nights on the pages of the book: "As the night fell, I curled up in the cocoon-shaped warm sleeping bag on the earthen platform, and heard the whisper of the wind blowing through the poplar leaves, gently plucking the bell hanging on the roof, playing a clear and melodious nocturne. The monks from the neighboring temple, accompanied by hymns, crossed the barriers of time and space, and intertwined with the remaining gongs and drums in the evening to form a series of pious paintings, making me feel as if I were in the grand scene thousands of years ago.

At that moment, I seemed to be able to transcend the boundaries of time and space and feel the deep and broad resonance - just as I have experienced countless times in Mogao Grottoes. Countless monks and nuns, devout pilgrims and generous donors, wise scholars and teachers who enlighten future generations, and those craftsmen who devoted their efforts to art, their figures gradually became clear in my mind, weaving together endless love and dedication to this holy place.

Every morning, I wake up to the first rays of sunlight rising in the east. Those short but precious two hours are a gentle dialogue between sunlight and ancient caves. I witness this process with joy, watching the sunlight slowly penetrate like a thread, awakening the caves sleeping in the shadows one by one. In certain caves, when the first rays of sunlight penetrate the heavy historical dust and accurately fall on the solemn Buddha statues in the center, the entire space seems to be given new life, and the light and faith complement each other, shocking the soul and making people unable to control themselves for a long time. "

Cave 257 niche

At that time, many Chinese and Western scholars had visited the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang. Irene collected a set of 35mm slides, the photographer of which is unknown, which should be considered the earliest color photos of the Mogao Grottoes at that time.

Irene collected a set of 35mm color slides of Mogao Grottoes

When Irene returned to Beijing, she showed the photos she had taken to her husband, John Vincent.

John is an excellent photographer. He was shocked by the beauty of Dunhuang and decided to go to Dunhuang in person.

In the autumn of the same year, he visited Dunhuang with Irene and took the first batch of large-scale color photos of Dunhuang, a total of 164 photos, including colored sculptures and murals in 49 caves.

John Vincent's images of Dunhuang

The couple's visual records of Dunhuang were eventually published in the United States as two books: "The Sacred Oasis: Dunhuang Thousand Buddha Caves" and "Dunhuang Buddhist Grottoes Murals".

"That was their proudest achievement," their daughter, Brownie Vincent, recalled of her parents.

Images of Dunhuang taken by Irene

Half a century later, Vincent's family's connection with Dunhuang remains unbroken.

From October 7 to 9, 2013, Brownie Vincent and her friends visited Mogao Grottoes in accordance with her father's wishes.

When she walked into the caves that her parents had visited, tears welled up in her eyes, just like her mother had done back then.

She said: "Here, I seem to have found the souls of my parents."

Images of Dunhuang taken by Irene

Brownie Vincent donated the photos of Mogao Grottoes taken by her parents and the book "Sacred Oasis" published by her mother to the Dunhuang Research Institute, and donated 12,000 yuan together with her friends.

She hopes that the beauty of Dunhuang can be passed on to future generations and known by more people.

Nowadays, photographic equipment and technology are becoming more and more advanced, and the images recording Dunhuang can show its beauty more and more clearly.

Cave 130 Reclining Buddha

For today's tourists, they can generally visit 8-10 caves when visiting the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang. Taking photos inside the caves is no longer allowed during the tour to prevent strong light from damaging the murals.

More than half a century ago, the photographs taken by early travelers such as Irene Vincent and John Vincent provided important geographical materials for understanding the history of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang and the appearance of the grottoes before protection.

Through their books and images, many Westerners learned for the first time that there was a sacred cave in China, half a world away.

Irene at the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang

Probably everyone will hear a call from time to time in life, there is a mysterious place in the distance attracting you and waiting for you. But many times, there is a lack of a strong reason for people to set off immediately.

Irene completed her pilgrimage.

After she returned to the United States, she often talked about Dunhuang with her husband and daughter with great enthusiasm, and introduced Dunhuang to her friends around her, without regretting that she had not visited the place.

If there is a place you have longed to go, go there.

【International Art Panorama】

74 years ago, an American female photographer took photos of Dunhuang that we have never seen

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