Inoue Yasushi's Dunhuang
Japanese literary master Inoue Yasushi (1907-1991), a recipient of the Akutagawa Prize, authored the novel Dunhuang in 1959, which was published by Kodansha. Yasushi visited China 27 times throughout his life, conducting field research in regions such as Xinjiang and Gansu. He is known for works inspired by the Western Regions including Ro-ran (Lou-Lan), Tonkō (Tun- huang), and Silk Road Poetry Collection. Both Ro-ran and Tonkō won Japan's Mainichi Art Award in 1960 and have several Chinese translations.
Dunhuang recounts the story of Zhao Xingde, a scholar during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty. On his way to the capital for the imperial examination, Zhao accidentally sleeps in and misses the exam. His journey leads him to the war-torn and sandy lands of Dunhuang, where his fate takes a dramatic turn. A mysterious piece of cloth inscribed with Tangut script leads him through a series of misadventures. The novel is set against the historical backdrop of the Tangut occupation of Dunhuang and connects the protagonist's story to the mystery surrounding the closure of the Dunhuang Caves, which were said to have been sealed to escape the threats posed by the Tangut.
Countless readers began to focus on western China and embark on the long journey to Dunhuang through this novel. Inoue Yasushi had a deep affection for Chinese culture, and through Tonkō (Tun-huang), he expressed unique reflections on life and history while inheriting and referencing the narrative patterns of Chinese historical literature. In 1988, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, a Sino-Japanese co-production film titled Tonkō (Tun-huang), directed by Junya Sato and adapted from this novel, found its way to the big screen. The film won the Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor awards at the 12th Japan Academy Prize, becoming an important testament to the Sino-Japanese friendship.
井上靖《敦煌》
日本文壇巨匠、芥川龍之介獎得主井上靖于1959年在講談社首次出版長篇小說《敦煌》。井上靖（1907—1991）一生27次訪問中國，曾到新疆、甘肅等地實地考察，著有以西域為題材創作的《樓蘭》《敦煌》《絲綢之路詩集》等作品， 其中《樓蘭》《敦煌》在 1960 年獲得日本“每日藝術大獎”，并有多個中譯本。《敦煌》講述了宋仁宗天圣年間，書生趙行德進京趕考，卻因瞌睡錯過了考試，前往刀兵四起、黃沙漫天的敦煌，命運由此發生了劇烈的轉折。一塊寫有西夏文的神秘布片，牽引出北宋書生趙行德一路踉蹌的人生。小說以西夏占領敦煌前后為歷史背景，采用了敦煌藏經洞封閉為“避西夏之難”的說法，將主人公與敦煌藏經洞封閉之謎聯系到一起。
無數讀者從這部小說開始關注中國西部并踏上前往敦煌的漫長旅程。井上靖對中國文化的感情至為深厚，他通過《敦煌》對人生和歷史寄予了獨特思考，對中國史傳文學的敘事模式亦有秉承和借鑒。1988年，為紀念中日邦交正常化十周年，由佐藤純彌擔任導演，改編自這部小說的中日合拍同名電影《敦煌》上映，該片當年即榮獲第12屆日本電影金像獎最佳影片、最佳導演和最佳男主角獎，成為中日友好交往的重要見證
