What little-known legendary stories did Li Ding write in his Dunhuang treasure hunt and communication art?

Li Dinglong, whose ancestral home is in Longxi, Gansu Province, was born in Xincai County, Henan Province. When he was young, he studied under Liu Haisu at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts. He was a leader among students and was later praised by Liu Haisu as the "Second Eighth Mountain". people?. He was famous for his long scrolls and masterpieces throughout his life, and he was particularly fond of Dunhuang art. He once walked thousands of miles through hardships and dangers to hunt for treasures in Dunhuang, and wrote a little-known legendary story.

Li Dinglong moved from Hong Kong to the north in 1938 and set off from Xi'an in early winter. A group of 3 women and 10 men formed an "exploration team to Dunhuang", with Li Dinglong as the captain, and followed the route of Tang Xuanzang's westward journey to learn Buddhist scriptures. When the group arrived at Jiayuguan, most of them withdrew due to the bad weather. Li Dinglong never changed his long-cherished wish and said: "I will die on the way to Dunhuang too!" He and another young man Liu Fang, who lived in Dunhuang, put on the fur coats and felt boots they bought temporarily and hit the road again.

After more than a month of hard marching westward on the cold and windy deserted wasteland outside the Great Wall, they successfully arrived at Dunhuang with extraordinary perseverance. In a dark and cold cave in Mogao Grottoes, he made a bed with straw and settled down. The next day, I wrapped myself in a shabby quilt and started copying the murals like crazy. He painted in the cave for seven or eight hours every day, and he almost died from the cold and high fever. He also learned to climb trees into caves and fell down countless times. Due to long-term malnutrition and no haircut, Li Dinglong became tangled, covered with lice, and looked like a beggar.

The locals spread rumors that there was a savage living in the temple. With astonishing perseverance, he persisted in copying until May of the following year. It took him 8 months to complete the grand and voluminous copying draft of "The Picture of Elysium" and more than a hundred single paintings, as well as countless flying, Caisson and bergamot pattern.

In August 1939, Li Dinglong returned to Xi'an after all the hardships and held the "Dunhuang Grottoes Art Exhibition". The huge scroll of "The World of Elysium" and nearly a hundred exquisite single copy paintings were displayed at the exhibition. It caused a sensation at the time. In Dunhuang, Li Dinglong saw with his own eyes the large number of broken walls that had been cut up and stolen exquisite pictures by Pelliot, Warner and others, as well as the serious damage caused by the lack of management of the Mogao Grottoes. He felt very sad and distressed.

The purpose of his exhibition is to urge the government to take measures to protect it as soon as possible. In early 1941, Li Dinglong went to Chengdu and Chongqing to hold exhibitions and met Zhang Daqian. It was due to his influence that Zhang Daqian also had the intention to go to Dunhuang. While the exhibition was being held, Li Dinglong repeatedly wrote to the Executive Yuan, the Ministry of Education and the Cultural Committee of the Chongqing National Government to take measures to protect Dunhuang cultural relics, but there was no response. He also wrote to Yu Youren, Chen Lifu, Zhang Daofan and other important Kuomintang officials, but still received no response.

Later, he and Zhang Daqian planned and jointly appealed for help. Through Zhou Bomin, an important member of the Kuomintang (Yu Youren’s nephew, who knew calligraphy and painting), he persuaded Yu Youren to go to Dunhuang for an on-the-spot investigation. In addition, a photographer from the Central News Agency Yuan Congmei's joint appeal with Chongqing's "Ta Kung Pao" yielded results. In 1943, the National Government established the "National Dunhuang Art Research Institute" preparatory committee. In 1944, Li Dinglong went to Dunhuang again, carefully reviewed and numbered the paintings he copied for the first time, and copied a batch of new works.

In 1946, Li Dinglong held another exhibition of copied murals in Lanzhou. At that time, Zhu Shaoliang, the top military officer in the northwest, Yu Youren, the veteran of the Kuomintang, patriotic general Feng Yuxiang, literary giant Guo Moruo and many other dignitaries and celebrities happily titled the exhibition He, Shao Lizi and other dignitaries also published articles in the Republic of China Daily about the voice of protection, which had a huge impact. In 1948, Li Dinglong was invited to hold exhibitions in Nanjing, Shanghai and other places, spreading Dunhuang art far and wide.