Rewriting the Silk Road: a New Chapter for Dunhuang Manuscript Studies

This article examines how the Dunhuang manuscripts, discovered in 1900 and gradually published throughout the twentieth century, have fundamentally reshaped our understanding of Silk Road networks during the fifth through eleventh centuries. While traditional Chinese sources have long provided a basic framework for understanding trans-Eurasian exchange during this period, the Dunhuang materials offer unprecedented insights into the actual mechanisms of cultural and commercial interaction. Drawing on both Chinese and non-Chinese documents from the Dunhuang corpus, this study focuses on four key aspects: the westward transmission of Chinese textual traditions, particularly Buddhist manuscripts; the eastward spread of multiple religious traditions including Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Manichaeism; the establishment and operation of Sogdian trading networks; and the maintenance of Silk Road commerce under Tibetan and Guiyi Circuit administration during the ninth and tenth centuries. Through analysis of these materials, this article challenges the conventional view that Silk Road exchange was severely disrupted after the An Lushan rebellion, demonstrating instead the continuation of vigorous commercial and cultural interactions throughout this period. The Dunhuang manuscripts thus provide crucial evidence for understanding the Silk Road not merely as a trade route but also as a complex network facilitating multi-directional cultural exchange across medieval Eurasia.