The book represents the academicessence of Dunhuang expert, Mr. Duan Wenjie, who was the Director of DunhuangAcademy China (1984-1998). It can be looked as both a concise history ofBuddhist arts and a minimalistic history of Buddhism, because it teases outthe artistic development of Dunhuang murals and sculptures mingling with thehistory of Buddhism production and spreading, illustrated with 32 beautiful andclassic paintings of Dunhuang murals by Mr. Duan Wenjie, which characterizesthe book in both artistic and academic style.