Zhou Hexuan and others rested in Dunhuang County for one night, and went straight to Mogao Grottoes early the next morning.

The open space in front of the Mogao Grottoes seems to have been turned into a large construction site, with many tents set up and many miscellaneous items piled up. Not only that, but the sandy land next to it is also used to cultivate vegetables, and a shed has even been built not far from the vegetable field to raise ducks.

Zhang Daqian has moved his home......

According to legend, in order to copy the Dunhuang murals, Zhang Daqian transported various mineral pigments from India (also said to be Myanmar), and purchased daily necessities from Xining, Lanzhou and other places, and used 78 donkey carts to transport them to Dunhuang. He also hired a few lamas who were skilled in making canvases, and hired troops to ensure safety.

After staying in Dunhuang for two years, Zhang Daqian not only sold his antique calligraphy and paintings, but also owed a huge debt of 5,000 taels of gold.

"Stop, stop!"

As soon as Zhou Hexuan's truck approached the Mogao Grottoes, a group of soldiers greeted them with guns raised.

Zhou Hexuan got out of the car and shouted: "Master Jun, we are here to visit Dunhuang. ”

A soldier leader said sharply: "Dunhuang has been controlled by the military, and you can't visit and play, and now I order you to leave immediately!" ”

Zhou Hexuan asked with a smile: "Which unit are you from, and I'll take a look at the military management procedures." ”

The soldier leader didn't seem to want to talk nonsense, so he raised his gun and said, "If you don't leave, I'll shoot." ”

Zhou Hexuan took out two documents and said: "This is a note from the Ministry of Education and the Central Museum, and we are members of the Northwest Temporary Historical and Geographical Investigation Group." Judging by your appearance, it should be the garrison of Dunhuang or Guazhou, do you want me to go back and talk to your chief? ”

The soldier leader hesitated, whispered a few words to his subordinates, and then lowered his gun and shouted, "Wait a minute." ”

A small soldier ran into the cave to report, and soon a young man came out and asked: "I am Zhang Yifan, a disciple of Mr. Daqian, and you are an inspection group sent by the Ministry of Education?" ”

"I'm Zhou Hexuan." Zhou Hexuan didn't have a good airway.

Zhang Yifan was quite surprised, and hurriedly clasped his fists and said, "It turned out to be Mr. Zhou, it's rude." ”

Zhou Hexuan introduced all the entourage, walked into the camp and said, "The conditions here are very difficult. ”

Zhang Yifan said: "Hardship is certain. Don't look at it, it's autumn, but the night is very cold, and the nearby firewood has been picked up, so you have to go to the desert hundreds of miles away to pick up dead wood and make a fire. Mr. Zhou, don't be upset, there are too many bandits here, so we have to hire an army to guard them. A few days ago, a group of bandits came, and it took several rows of guns to scare them away. ”

"I'd like to go in and have a look." Zhou Hexuan pointed to the cave and said.

"I'll take you in," Zhang Yifan asked as he walked, "Did Mr. Zhou hear any gossip?" ”

Zhou Hexuan asked knowingly: "Is there one?" ”

Zhang Yifan explained with a smile: "Someone in Guazhou learned that the Dunhuang murals had a lower layer, so they wanted to pay for the copy scroll, but the family teacher could only politely refuse. The other party held a grudge, so he published a newspaper to smear it, which was really a villain's move. ”

Zhou Hexuan didn't speak, he wanted to see the situation first. Zhang Daqian's confused lawsuit over the destruction of Dunhuang murals has been going on for decades, and it has not been settled until the 21st century, and no one can say what the truth is.

The group was led into a cave that was dimly lit and the mottled murals could be faintly seen.

Lin Fengmian approached to take a closer look, and said sadly: "It's all artistic treasures, it's a pity that it's so broken." ”

Zhang Yifan said: "The Dunhuang murals are not well preserved, and many places have been naturally weathered. and successively experienced the Bai Yanhu Rebellion and the destruction of foreigners, and the situation was miserable. Look at the smoke marks on the walls, which were smoked by the White Russians who lit the stove in the cave. ”

Zhou Hexuan nodded, acknowledging this explanation.

Some people condemn Zhang Daqian for burning the mural with a torch, whether it is true or not, but there must also be a foreigner's pot.

Everyone visited several caves one after another, and Zhou Hexuan suddenly said: "I want to see the place where Mr. Daqian has copied." ”

"Please follow me." Zhang Yifan led the way.

Soon came to a cave, everyone lit the lanterns, Xia Nai, Wu Zuoren and Lin Fengmian immediately came up to take a closer look.

"The outermost layer of the mural has been stripped away." From the perspective of an archaeologist, Xia Nai was very dissatisfied with Zhang Daqian's move.

Wu Zuoren looked at it with a magnifying glass for a while, and suddenly said, "This line seems to have been newly outlined." ”

Lin Fengmian also came over to take a closer look, and said suspiciously: "No." ”

"Look at the color of the paint." Wu Zuoren said.

Lin Fengmian observed for a while and said with a wry smile: "Mr. Daqian is very good. ”

Zhang Yifan explained with some pride: "Due to the severe weathering of the outer layer, some lines of the murals on the second layer are also slightly damaged. The master and the five painting monks carefully prepared the pigments, and after repeated comparative research, they personally repaired the damaged part of the mural. If you are not the top professional scholars, you can't see it at all. ”

Xia Nai said angrily: "These are all antiquities, how can you destroy the original appearance at will?" ”

Zhang Yifan was unhappy: "Dr. Xia's words are wrong, this is not destruction, but repair." ”

Although Zhou Hexuan didn't speak, he was still biased towards Zhang Daqian in his heart. Just like the restoration of the Forbidden City in later generations, antiquities also need to be maintained and repaired, and they must not be seen to be damaged little by little.

As long as you don't mess around, Zhang Daqian personally repairs the murals is still very reassuring. After a long time, the new pigment and the old pigment are mixed, and it is estimated that even Wu Zuoren will not be able to see it.

After walking through a few caves in succession, Xia Nai's complexion suddenly changed drastically, and he pointed to a painting wall and said, "What's going on here?" ”

Not to mention professionals, Zhou Hexuan, a layman, found out that the mural was peeled off a large piece.

Zhang Yifan smiled bitterly: "This is really not about Mr. Daqian. ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "Who did it?" ”

Zhang Yifan patiently explained: "At the beginning, no one knew that some cave paintings had several layers, otherwise they would have been scraped away by foreigners. Some time ago, the family teacher and Mr. Yu Youren visited the Mogao Grottoes, and Ma Chengxiang, the commander of the Fifth Cavalry Division, accompanied them. When the tutor saw that there were hidden paintings on the lower floor of the mottled frescoes, he said to his husband, 'There must be paintings on the lower floors. Master Ma ordered his subordinates to shoot down the burned murals on the upper layer with stones, and found the previous painting layer, so the family teacher stayed in the Mogao Grottoes to copy. ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "That is to say, this mural was damaged by the soldiers of the division commander Ma?" ”

Zhang Yifan nodded and said, "Exactly." ”

"It's just a mess!" Xia Nai was already so angry that his neck was thick, "I don't know what to do when I am a soldier, can Yu Youren and Zhang Daqian still be unclear?" Even if a professional archaeologist peels off the painting, he must consider and deal with it carefully and carefully, how can he let the soldier be smashed with a stone? ”

Zhang Yifan didn't say anything more, and it is estimated that he himself felt that he was at a loss.

Zhou Hexuan asked: "How many caves did the soldiers break?" ”

Zhang Yifan said: "Only this one." ”

"That's fine." Zhou Hexuan nodded and said.

At this moment, Zhou Hexuan was also very dissatisfied with Zhang Daqian and Yu Youren. It is estimated that these two didn't take the mural seriously at the beginning, and let the big head soldiers mess around, and only stopped it when they saw the second layer of murals.

The more caves visited, the more ugly Xia Nai's face became, because some of the cave murals were in the Wei and Jin styles.

According to Xia Nai's speculation, Zhang Daqian not only stripped off the Song Dynasty murals that had been seriously damaged, but also peeled off the Tang Dynasty murals on the second floor, the purpose of which was nothing more than to see more of the content.