Title: Fascinating work of historical fiction
Review: A deep, moving work about an area of history unknown to me. An 11th century Chinese academic risks life and limb on the borders of the Chinese Empire out of curiousity about an enemy's language. His adventures as a soldier, scholar and lover of a Uighur princess are all a prelude to his acceptance of Buddhism.His gift to history (the historic basis for the novel) is hiding thousands of rare Buddhist Sutras in the caves at Tun-Huang, where they were to reside for more than 9 centuries. Their discovery helped scholars to understand not only early Buddhism but also language and history from a forgotten era.The translation is a bit stilted (a normal feature with Asian translations, I find) but the story comes through. Well worth reading, both as a story of adventure and devotion as well as for the historical context.
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