The Most Mysterious Side of Chinese Culture

Hey guys, welcome to my channel. Today I would like to show you something special. When I say Chinese culture, what do you think of? Let me ask some of my foreign friends. I feel like food is a very important aspect of Chinese culture. Food for first and then architecture. Was martial arts, kung fu, wushu. The four inventions. Guys, write down your answer in I think you guys must have seen red lanterns, Chinese dragons, lotus flowers in every Chinatown or restaurant in Europe. Then of course we have the tea ceremonies, kung fu movies, lovely pandas and elegant ladies in silk qipaos. They are indeed all important elements of Chinese culture. However, with thousands of years of history and vast territory, China is truly a melting pot of various ethnicities and cultures. There are many more facets to its cultural heritage. What if I told you there is more to Chinese culture? Something like this. Three, two, one, go. When I show this costume to my foreign friends, their reaction are like some kind of a Japanese cosplay costume. I thought that it was Indian. I thought of something related to Buddhism but I don't know which period and which region it's related to. I'm feeling a little bit lost actually. I can say this is one of the most mystery sites of China, Dunhuang. Located nowadays in Gansu province in China in the Gobi Desert, it's a hidden gem in the sand of time, showcase the depth and diversity of China's rich heritage. Most of my foreign friends don't know this part of China. Even friends who are interested in Chinese culture and learning Chinese. Have you ever heard of Dunhuang? No, no, no. I've heard of it, yes, through classes in art history. Tell me in the comment if you have ever heard of Dunhuang. Dunhuang was more than just a remote desert spot. It was a green spot along the Silk Road where many different cultures, religions and ideas came together. It started in 111 BC when Emperor Han Wudi of the Han dynasty set it up as a protective camp to keep away the Xiongnu invaders. Dunhuang also became an important door to the west, a busy place for trade and a spot where people of different backgrounds and beliefs like Buddhism could meet. The most important site there is the Mogao caves, often called the caves of the Buddhas, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. It was created in the 4th century AD and turned into a key place for Buddhist prayer and visit. These 492 caves are an amazing set of galleries cut into the cliffs. They are filled with over 400,000 square feet of wall paintings and statues making up one of the biggest collections of Buddhist art in the world. Over a thousand years, the caves have been decorated with beautiful wall paintings, statues and writings, each telling stories about faith, culture and everyday life. If you ever get a chance to visit China, don't forget to add the Mogao cave in your list. Okay, I'm personally very obsessed with Dunhuang culture. I like all kinds of Asian wall paintings, objects, costumes, music and dance. Among all the I would like to introduce my favorite cave, the library cave. It was closed up for over a thousand years and kept an amazing bunch of writings, texts and objects, giving us a special peek into history. Most of the found writings are handwritten with a few carved ones. Around 5 out of 6 of these writings are in Chinese and the rest are in the ancient languages like Tibetan, Sanskrit and a few others. This is amazing for a language lover like me. The writings are mostly about Buddhism but also some about Taoism and Confucianism. These writings are super important for learning about the history of China in Central Asia and led to the start of Dunhuang studies, which is all about studying these writings and the arts in the Dunhuang caves. I was using a program called Yunyou Dunhuang on WeChat and a gaming platform called Shuzi Tangjingdong Digital Library Cave to learn more about it and visit the site online. And I was surprised to find out that English and French versions are now available. I just have to recommend it to you all. And it's free. It's not like a conventional video game you think. The creator Tencent in their collaboration with the Dunhuang Research Institute has used cutting-edge game technology to bring the caves to life. They use special camera techniques and 3D designs to make a digital version of the library cave and all is cool stuff. And it looks super real and it's like taking a walk through history. The amazing thing is that what you see in the game is exactly the same as what you see in real life now and even clearer, more natural and with a wider range of views. I've played it all in English version. It was very fun. I can travel between the modern and ancient Mongol caves conversing with historical characters like the famous Mongol Hongbian, participating in stories from different eras of the Mongol caves and even trying on Dunhuang-style clothing. Look at this one. This character is me. This platform isn't about profit. I'm so proud that we have this kind of product to preserve and promote our culture in a new and innovative way. If you are interested in the digital library cave and want to discover Dunhuang culture, just click the link in the description box. I would like to help my friends discover more about China. I've introduced them to this platform and show them Dunhuang. Let's see what they have learned from it. It's like in real life. I'm going to shoot this one. Yeah. Wow. Oh my god. So cool. Really. Okay guys, so what are your first impressions of this platform? Very beautifully done. It has very gorgeous landscapes in it and like these cute little characters and I love this guiding character that kind of guides you through the game and tells you what to do. So that was really lovable. The gameplay is easy to catch and second, the photogrammetry, the models of the inner cave is very accurate and very nice to travel through. The first impression was how stunning the visuals were because it looked so realistic. Technically, this game is really well made. What have you learned about the Dunhuang culture? Since you make a lot of time leaps in the game, you really get the feeling like there's a lot of history in there. Well, I've learned about the architecture, the sculpture and the paintings that are associated to this period of Buddhism in China. Were there any details during this experience that you like? What I like the most is the missions we had to complete like looking for historical objects or writing the Jing Dang Jing, the sutra. Well, the good thing is that it gives you a very immersive impression of these caves by a sense, something that surrounds you. What do you think about using games to showcase culture? Do you like this method for experiencing and learning new knowledge? Yeah, I definitely am a huge fan of this, especially since I know humans in general are like playful beings. So I think the best thing or a great win-win is to combine learning with playing and fooling around or exploring a bit. Yeah, so I think it's a great opportunity to even get some outcome of it and learn about history, which is, in my opinion, very important. I think this is a very smart way because you can get a large portion of the society. You can get to young people. Sometimes young people are really bored. They're not interested in books. I think playing game would be more interesting for people to learn. Would you recommend the digital library cave to friends? Yes, definitely. And actually, I already did. So I already told a friend and was like, oh, that looks so interesting and I love the graphics. Let me try as well. So, yep. Of course, it's the first catch on Chinese history, on Buddhism and history of art in China. It's a great way and something entertaining to approach the country in this region. Yes, definitely. I would recommend it to my friends and also my teacher because really it's a fun way to learn about the culture and history of China. Yes, I would definitely recommend that to my friends. I have a group of friends who are actually interested in the same things as me and they are also learning Chinese and they probably never heard about this part of China, this part of Chinese history. I think they will be very, very interested that we could go maybe on a trip together and visit the site. When I saw the pictures and the video, I could not believe that something like that existed inside of China. I think it will be a great sight to see in real life. From my personal experience, Shuzi Tang Jing Dong digital library cave has truly evolved me. It's like it built a bridge for folks like us to stroll right into the heart of an unfamiliar culture, making everything so much more approachable and real. Even though I grew up with Chinese culture all around me, I know there is still a lot, a lot to discover and to learn. Diving into this digital world opened my eyes to facets of my heritage I never fully appreciated before. If you've got even a spark of curiosity about the wonders of Dunhuang culture, you can start to discover it with this platform. Let me know in the comments what you think about Dunhuang culture. Catch you in the next video and until then, happy exploring! See you guys soon, bye!