敦煌：絲綢之路重鎮(zhèn) 文明永恒價值

徐艷文

金秋十月，乘大巴車從蘭州出發(fā)，沿河西走廊一路西行，過武威、張掖、嘉峪關(guān)，到達敦煌，全程約1100公里。

敦煌位于甘肅省西北部，全境面積3.12萬平方千米，東峙峰巖突兀的三危山，南枕氣勢雄偉的祁連山，西接浩瀚無垠的塔克拉瑪干沙漠，北靠嶙峋蛇曲的北塞山。這里曾經(jīng)是絲綢之路河西道、羌中道（青海道）、西域南北道交匯處的邊關(guān)要塞，連接漢唐盛世與西域文明，手挽長安城與波斯灣，以石窟及壁畫聞名天下，見證了歷史的繁華與滄桑。

到達敦煌時，華燈初上。來不及洗去一路風(fēng)塵，我們直奔著名的沙州夜市。這是敦煌最大的夜市，有著鮮明的地方特色和濃郁的民俗風(fēng)情，被譽為敦煌“夜景圖”。十月，正是敦煌的旅游旺季，沙州夜市游人如織。

品幾種特色小吃，喝兩杯冰鎮(zhèn)啤酒，仰望星空，頓覺神清氣爽。敦煌的夜空格外清朗，明月灑下一地清輝。久居城市的我，從未見過如此多星星，好像滿天星辰都集中到這里來了。敦煌不大，沒有高樓林立，也沒有現(xiàn)代立交橋，但建筑有序、干凈整潔。漢唐的建筑、街頭的飛天雕塑、墻上的生動壁畫，讓人仿佛置身歷史與夢幻之中。

第二天一早，來到鳴沙山。陽光下，沙浪如大海中的波濤，奔涌起伏，甚為壯觀。登山而上，聽到山與泉的同振共鳴，猶如鐘鼓管弦齊奏，動人心魄?！逗鬂h書·郡國志》引南朝《耆舊記》云：敦煌“山有鳴沙之異，水有懸泉之神”?！杜f唐書·地理志》載，鳴沙山“天氣晴朗時，沙鳴聞于城內(nèi)”。相傳，古時候有一位將軍，在此打了敗仗，全軍覆沒，積尸數(shù)萬，忽狂風(fēng)四起，飛沙走石，天昏地暗，伸手不見五指。一夜之間，吹沙覆蓋成丘，后沙丘內(nèi)時有鼓角聲相聞，人們就稱其為鳴沙山。鳴沙山的沙粒有紅、黃、綠、黑、白五色，當(dāng)?shù)厝朔Q“五色神沙山”。

被譽為“沙漠第一泉”的月牙泉，千百年來不為流沙所淹沒，不因干旱而枯竭。茫茫大漠中有此一泉，是大自然造化的神奇，令人心醉神迷。導(dǎo)游介紹，月光下的月牙泉更加美麗，最好在農(nóng)歷十五月圓之夜時來，露宿鳴沙山可以見到夢幻般的仙境。

到敦煌不能不去莫高窟。莫高窟，也稱千佛洞，坐落在敦煌城東南25公里處、鳴沙山東麓的崖壁上。進入莫高窟，猶如到了神圣殿堂。1600多年的開鑿與修復(fù)，彩塑、壁畫、飛天，集佛家思想和天馬行空的藝術(shù)于一身，靜下心來欣賞，仿佛能聽到風(fēng)中飄蕩的斧鑿聲。

洞窟門一打開，歷史的韻味撲面而來。這些栩栩如生的佛像用千年不變的平靜面對游人，微微揚起的嘴角仿佛述說著樂觀與豁達。

我們參觀的洞窟中，最讓人震撼的是莫高窟第一大佛，它鑿建于唐朝，造型宏大、體態(tài)豐滿、面容雕刻細致精巧，大佛的腳下有兩個洞口，人們可以鉆過佛像的兩只腳，傳言古人用鉆佛腳的方式祈求平安。大佛完全是在石壁上鑿出來的，使人不得不佩服古人的耐力和智慧。

敦煌文化源遠流長。公元前111年，漢朝正式設(shè)立敦煌郡，為防御匈奴侵?jǐn)_，漢朝廷從令居（今永登）經(jīng)敦煌直至鹽澤（今羅布泊）修筑了長城和烽燧，并設(shè)置了陽關(guān)、玉門關(guān)，敦煌成為中原通往西域的“咽喉”“鎖鑰”和邊防軍事重鎮(zhèn)。

漢代絲綢之路自長安出發(fā)，經(jīng)過河西走廊到達敦煌，繼出玉門關(guān)和陽關(guān)，沿昆侖山北麓和天山南麓，分為南北兩條道路。南線從敦煌出發(fā)，經(jīng)樓蘭，過蔥嶺到安息，西至大秦（古羅馬）;北線由敦煌經(jīng)高昌、龜茲，越蔥嶺至大宛。敦煌成為絲綢之路上的重要商貿(mào)城市。

漢唐之際，又沿天山北麓另開一條新路，由敦煌經(jīng)哈密、巴里坤湖，越伊犁河至拂林國（東羅馬帝國）。沿著絲綢之路，中國的絲綢及先進技術(shù)不斷向西傳播到中亞、西亞甚至歐洲，來自西域的物產(chǎn)亦傳播至中原地區(qū)。絲綢之路上，各國使臣、將士、商賈、僧侶絡(luò)繹不絕。西域胡商與中原漢族商客在此云集，從事中原絲綢、瓷器，西域珍寶，北方駝馬以及當(dāng)?shù)丶Z食交易。這些繁榮景象，莫高窟的壁畫上都有描述。

敦煌莫高窟，始建于前秦建元二年（公元366年）。僧人樂尊路經(jīng)敦煌附近的鳴沙山，忽見金光閃耀，如現(xiàn)萬佛，于是便在巖壁上開鑿了第一個洞窟。此后歷經(jīng)隋、唐、五代、元等朝代修鑿造像，數(shù)量之多蔚為壯觀。隋唐時期，隨著絲綢之路的繁榮，莫高窟開窟數(shù)量多達1000余窟，保存至今的有232窟，壁畫和塑像都達到非常高的藝術(shù)水準(zhǔn)。

1900年6月，敦煌莫高窟下寺道士王圓箓在清理積沙時，發(fā)現(xiàn)藏經(jīng)洞，并挖出公元4世紀(jì)至-11世紀(jì)的佛教經(jīng)卷、社會文書、刺繡、絹畫、法器等文物50000余件。從此敦煌不再平靜，它在被掠奪中走向世界。面對敦煌遭遇的重重劫難，中國知識分子義無反顧地站了出來，段文杰、樊錦詩、王旭東……在保護敦煌的路上跋涉前行。

如今，莫高窟保護已從常規(guī)保護轉(zhuǎn)為科學(xué)保護，數(shù)字技術(shù)被引入遺產(chǎn)保護，將洞窟、壁畫、彩塑及與敦煌相關(guān)的一切文物加工成智能數(shù)字圖像。同時將分散在世界各地的敦煌文獻、研究成果等相關(guān)資料，通過數(shù)字化處理匯集成電子檔案，向世界展現(xiàn)敦煌的永恒價值。

In October， we took a bus in Lanzhou and went westwards along the Hexi Corridor through Wuwei， Zhangye， and Jiayuguan， to Dunhuang， about 1，100 kilometers away.

Dunhuang， situated in northwestern Gansu Province， covers an area of 31，200 square kilometers. The towering Sanwei Mountain rises in the east， the magnificent Qilian Mountain stands in the south， the vast Taklamakan Desert lies in the west， and the jagged Beisai Mountain settles in the north. It was a stronghold connecting Hexi Corridor， Qiangzhong Route （Qinghai Route）， Southern Route， and Northern Route of Xiyu （Western Regions）， witnessed the exchanges between Han and Tang dynasties and Xiyu （Western Regions）， and brought Chang’an， capital of Tang dynasty， and the Persian Gulf closer. It is renowned for grottoes and murals， which withstood the vicissitudes.

Night fell when we arrived in Dunhuang. The famous Shazhou Night Market was our first destination， even before we recovered from the tiring journey. As the largest night market in the city， it enjoys distinctive local features and rich folk customs and is reputed as the “night view photo” of Dunhuang. October was the peak season for tourism， and Shazhou Night Market was swarming with visitors.

Tasting local snacks， drinking iced beer， looking into the starry sky — how amazing！ The night sky of Dunhuang was particularly clear， with the bright moon showering its silvery light on the ground. I have been living in cities for so long that I cannot remember if I’ve ever seen so many stars. Dunhuang was not large， without soaring skyscrapers and flyovers， but neatly-arranged buildings and clean streets. I felt like I had traveled back to ancient times， as being surrounded by constructions of Han and Tang dynasties， the statues of Flying Apsaras on streets， and vivid murals.

Early the next morning， we came to Mingsha Mountain （Singing Sand Dune）. In the sunlight， the sands were like waves， rushing and undulating in a spectacular way. Climbing up the mountain， I heard sands and spring water echoed with each other， just like the orchestra played beside my ears. History of the Later Han-Administrative Geography， citing Xiangyang Qijiu Ji， said， “In Dunhuang， ‘it is strange that sands on the mountain can sing; it is amazing that there are waterfalls.’” According to the description of Mingsha Mountain in the Old book of Tang-Geography， “in sunny days， the sound of sand can be heard within the city.” It’s said that once upon a time， a general lost a battle here. The army， with tens of thousands of soldiers， was annihilated. Suddenly， fierce winds came， and flying sands and rocks blotted out the sky and covered the sun. Dunes sprout up overnight， and people heard the sound of drums and horns came from inside of such dunes. Hence the name Mingsha Mountain （Singing Sand Dune）. Local people call it “Five-color Sacred Sand Mountain”， as the sands are in red， yellow， green， black， and white.

Crescent Spring， known admiringly as “First Spring in the Desert”， neither has been swallowed by quicksand nor dried up by drought for thousands of years. It’s a natural miracle to have such a spring in the desert. The guide told us Crescent Spring was even more appealing in the moonlight. Camping on Mingsha Mountain on full-moon nights， you might see dreamlike scenes.

Mogao Grottoes is a must-visit destination in Dunhuang. Also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes， it is located on the eastern foothills of the Mingsha Mountain， 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang. I felt like entering a hall of Buddhism when visiting the Mogao Grottoes. Over 1，600 years of discovery and repairing present colorful statues， murals， and flying apsaras， which embody Buddhist thoughts and art， to the world. Immersed in them， you seem to hear a chisel in the wind.