Paper chase opens chapter on history

No uniformed worldwide catalog of these documents have been established. Consequently, a project was started in 2012, seeking to introduce a system to digitally categorize the collections of Dunhuang documents in institutions at home and abroad.

It was jointly led by Dunhuang Academy, an institution in charge of protection and studies of Mogao Caves and several other key grotto sites in Gansu province, and a computing science team of Hangzhou-based Zhejiang University.

According to Ma, uniting Dunhuang documents worldwide can be realized through the new digital platform, cooperating with institutions like the National Library of China, the British Library, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the French National Library, and so on.

For instance, the project registering new data of Dunhuang documents in France is ongoing. It is also a preparation for the upcoming publishing of the full collection of Dunhuang documentations.