The Stein Dunhuang collection: unravelling its provenance, history and contemporary significance in a decolonisation context (Coleridge Fellowship)

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Wang Yuanlu, the first curator of the Stein Collection [preprint]
(2025-06-26)
Doumy, Mélodie
This is the manuscript submitted to Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. It has since been accepted for publication. The accepted version is also available in the BL research repository: https://doi.org/10.23636/2ewe-t971. This final version of this article will be published in revised form by the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-royal-asiatic-society. Wang Yuanlu çŽ‹åœ“ç±™, the individual who accidentally stumbled upon the ‘library cave’ or Cave 17 at the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang in June 1900, is behind one of the world’s most significant discoveries. Yet, in the years that followed, he was also responsible for the scattering of the cave’s contents, selling large chunks to Marc Aurel Stein in 1907 and to Paul Pelliot in 1908. How could the self-appointed guardian of this major Buddhist complex part with one of what is often described as its crowning jewels? This article, by critically examining the published writings of Marc Aurel Stein, highlights Wang Yuanlu’s agency and seeks to demonstrate that he was instrumental in shaping the now so-called Stein collection. It starts by examining Wang’s relationship to the Mogao Caves and their wider ecosystem, then looks at the way he drove the transactions with Stein during his first visit in 1907, and finally examines the subsequent dispersal of the newly found hoard and the acquisitions made by Stein when he returned to the site in 1914.
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Wang Yuanlu, the first ‘curator’ of the Stein collection’s Dunhuang corpus
(2025-12-05)
Doumy, Melodie
Wang Yuanlu 王圓籙—the individual who accidentally stumbled upon the ‘library cave’ or Cave 17 at the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang in June 1900—is behind one of the world’s most significant discoveries. Yet, in the years that followed, he was also responsible for the scattering of the cave’s contents and selling large chunks to Marc Aurel Stein in 1907 and to Paul Pelliot in 1908. How could the self-appointed guardian of this major Buddhist complex part with one of what is often described as its crowning jewels? This article delves into Wang Yuanlu’s motivations and highlights his agency, demonstrating that he was instrumental in shaping the now so-called Stein collection. One of the key sources for this investigation are the published writings of Marc Aurel Stein, which provide the most detailed descriptions of Wang and his activities during the period of the dispersal of the contents of Cave 17. These are supplemented by information drawn from the relevant parts of Stein’s diaries, Paul Pelliot’s writings, and primary sources and recent scholarship in Chinese that shed a different light on Wang’s doings. The article starts by studying Wang’s relationship with the Mogao Caves and their wider ecosystem. It then looks at the subsequent dispersal of the newly found hoard through his transactions with Stein in 1907 and 1914, which are contrasted with his dealings with Pelliot.
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The Stein Dunhuang Collection: Unravelling its Provenance, history and contemporary significance in a decolonisation context
(2023)
Doumy, Mélodie
This talk delivered to British Library staff reported on Doumy's Coleridge Research Fellowship, which investigated the provenance of the Stein Dunhuang collection at the British Library. The talk discusses the research undertaken, key findings, and outputs from the project.
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Wang Yuanlu, the first curator of the Stein Collection [AAM]
(2025-09-15)
Doumy, Mélodie
This is the Accepted Manuscript of an article scheduled for publication by the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. This article will be published in revised form by the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-royal-asiatic-society. Wang Yuanlu çŽ‹åœ“ç±™, the individual who accidentally stumbled upon the ‘library cave’ or Cave 17 at the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang in June 1900, is behind one of the world’s most significant discoveries. Yet, in the years that followed, he was also responsible for the scattering of the cave’s contents, selling large chunks to Marc Aurel Stein in 1907 and to Paul Pelliot in 1908. How could the self-appointed guardian of this major Buddhist complex part with one of what is often described as its crowning jewels? This article, by critically examining the published writings of Marc Aurel Stein, highlights Wang Yuanlu’s agency and seeks to demonstrate that he was instrumental in shaping the now so-called Stein collection. It starts by examining Wang’s relationship to the Mogao Caves and their wider ecosystem, then looks at the way he drove the transactions with Stein during his first visit in 1907, and finally examines the subsequent dispersal of the newly found hoard and the acquisitions made by Stein when he returned to the site in 1914.
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The Stein Dunhuang collection: unravelling its provenance, history and contemporary significance in a decolonisation context (Coleridge Fellowship)

The Stein Dunhuang collection: unravelling its provenance, history and contemporary significance in a decolonisation context (Coleridge Fellowship)

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