Marc Aurel Stein with Special Reference to South and Central Asian Legacy: Recent Discoveries and Research

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

IGNCA initiated a couple of projects in the past with the intention of maximizing access to Central Asian antiquities from the earliest period and over as wide as contemporary territorial distribution as viable. The International Conference on- Marc Aurel Stein with Special Reference to South and Central Asian Legacy: Recent Discoveries and Research held in March 2015 provided opportunity for scholars and students to know about this great personality who devoted his life in understanding the great civilization Le. India, Central Asia, and China. This conference was a tribute to a legendary figure in the annals of Oriental study. Through this book, we are attempting to communicate the vision and the distinctive approach of Stein to this great monument of world cultural heritage.

Dr. Radha Banerjee Sarkar has done Post Doctoral Research on Buddhist Art of China, Peking University, Beijing, China; Ph. D (Buddhist Art), Delhi University, India; M. Phil, Buddhist Art, Delhi University, India and Post-Graduate Diploma in Archaeology from Institute of Archaeology, Archaeological Survey of India, Delhi, India.

Dr. Sarkar was awarded Associate Fellowship, Centre for Studies in Religion and Society (CSRS). University of Victoria, Canada: She was appointed as Indian Research Coordinator for a Collaborative Project between India, China, Russia and UK on Silk Road, IDP, British Library, London, 2006-2008 Hirayama UNESCO Silk Road Fellowship Programme on Silk Route Art, 1996-1997 and Advanced Research Scholarship on Chinese Buddhism and Art under CEP, 1993-1995. She has written a couple of books on India and Central Asian art. She has travelled extensively in India and Abroad. She delivered lectures at Harvard and many Universities in India and abroad. She is the head of East Asia Programme Unit, IGNCA.

Marc Aurel Stein led a fascinating life and wrote about his explorations and discoveries in a lively style. Stein who like, Xuanzang- the traveller and scholar travelled through the inhospitable Silk Road; encircling the Taklamakan Desert, and unearthed a great civilization which remained hidden in the sand dunes for centuries.

His archacological expeditions in the Taklamakan laid base to many hidden chapters of Central Asia. We know from his early days till death Stein was greatly fascinated by the campaign and travels of Alexander the great.

Small pebbles often create large ripples in life. One of these events occurred in the life of young Aurel when in Dresden one of his teachers gave him a copy of The Campaigns of Alexander by Arrian. From that moment, according to his biographer Annabel Walker, Aurel "began to read of the great Macedonian conqueror and his exploits in the East. [and] he was gripped by a fascination that lasted all his life and inspired many of his happiest excursions into the mountains and deserts of Asia Recognizing it as more than just the story of Alexander's battles, he became interested in what had happened to the Greeks- and to Greek culture-as Alexander's army penetrated into Afghanistan, then Turkestan, and eventually into India".

Like the Hungarian Orientalist, Csoma de Koros, Stem too was subconsciously drawn to Central Asian studies. Like Sven Hedin, Stein had a great interest in ancient topographies. All these qualities made Stein a prodigious explorer. Stein was keen to put Csoma's pioneering work in Asia in proper perspective.

Stein was the first among Europeans to understand the ethos of Kashmir's culture. This greatl savant explored the inner essence and beauty of Sanskrit literature especially the Rajatarangini of Kalhana. Stein proved his utmost dedication and devotion by editing and translating Kalhana's chronicle and made his debut as a historical topographer.

Stein was not the first westerner to reach Dunhuang, China but he was the first to reach the sealed library (library 17 of Dunhuang Caves, Gansu, NW of China) and to acquire a large part of its contents from this library.

Stein was a meticulous record-keeper and took notebooks and field diaries to record all aspects of his expeditions. And his record keeping has been invaluable for the study of the sites he explored and the excavated artefacts.

Stein was an extraordinary man, an explorer, archaeologist, topographer, geographer and a linguist who pursued his arduous adventures with a scientific purpose. However, Sir Aurel Stein is well known today as the outstanding.

We are happy to place in the hands of scholars the erudite collection of papers, presented in an International Conference on "Marc Aurel Stein with Special Reference to South and Central Asian Legacy: Recent Discoveries and Research" in 2015.

Stein was an extraordinary man, an explorer, archaeologist, topographer, geographer and a linguist who pursued his arduous adventures with a scientific purpose. He was the first among Europeans to understand the ethos of Kashmir's culture and Kashmir's contribution to the history of world culture. He collected many Sanskrit manuscripts from Kashmir. Though Sir Aurel Stein is well known today as an outstanding European explorer and archaeologist of the remote deserts of Central Asia, not much attention have been paid for his fascination with Kashmir's history and culture. Stein was interested in the meeting points of the great civilizations of the East and West. In the scholarly world, Stein's expeditions have been hailed as the most outstanding contribution to the Central Asian study. Sir Leonard Wooley has called Stein's expeditions as the most daring and adventurous raid upon the ancient world that any archaeologist has attempted.

Stein led three expeditions (1899-1916) to Central Asia. He visited and explored over a hundred sites in the Tarim Basin, which includes Dunhuang. He excavated some of these sites to pursue a scientific study on the art and culture of the region. His finds include a vast range of antiquities. Among them are the mural fragments, Kharoshthi documents on wood, paper and leather, wood carvings, manuscripts, textiles, silk paintings, and banners. These art objects were divided between the British Museum, London and Archaeological Survey of India.

According to Owen Lattimore Stein was "the most prodigious combination of scholar, explorer, archaeologist and geographer of his generation." There are many issues addressed by the scholars through their erudite articles. Through this volume, we are paying tribute to this legendary figure in the annals of Oriental Studies.

The first article "The Relevance of "India" for Aurel Stein's Expeditions in Xinjiang" by Dr. Jacobs examines the relevance of Stein's "Indian connections," both professional and scholarly, to his expeditions in Xinjiang Of course, all of the famous explorers and archaeologists of the ancient Silk Road brought with them a certain amount of baggage, both cultural and otherwise. Stein's, however, was unique than most. More importantly, Stein's singular background in India ultimately shaped and infused his experiences in Xinjiang in ways that are of considerable interest to the historian.

**Contents and Sample Pages**