Dunhuang Manuscripts

The Dunhuang manuscripts are a cache of important religious and secular documents discovered in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China in the early 20th century. Dating from the 5th to early 11th centuries, the manuscripts include works ranging from history and mathematics to folk songs and dance. Most of the religious manuscripts are Buddhist, and other religions including Daoism, Nestorianism and Manichaeism are also represented. The majority of the manuscripts are in the Chinese and Tibetan languages. Other languages represented are Khotanese, Sanskrit, Sogdian, Tangut and Uyghur. The manuscripts are a major resource for academic studies in a wide variety of fields including history, religious studies, linguistics, and manuscript studies.