从月牙泉走到莫高窟

这个问题很容易懂。

This question is easy to understand.

今天，从北京坐飞机来敦煌，只要几个小时。

Today, it only takes a few hours to fly to Dunhuang from Beijing.

以前的人没有飞机，也没有今天这样的车。

People in the past did not have airplanes or cars like today.

他们要走很长的路，天气热的时候身体很累，水喝完了就要马上找水。

They have to walk a long way, and their bodies are very tired when the weather is hot. They have to look for water as soon as they finish drinking it.

路上有水，人可以休息，马也可以休息。

There is water on the road, where people can rest, and horses can also rest.

路上没有水，人很难继续走下去。

There is no water on the road, making it difficult for people to continue walking.

所以，先看看敦煌的水，就能懂这个城市为什么会在这里。

Therefore, if you first look at the water in Dunhuang, you can understand why this city is here.

游客想到这里，拿起水喝了一口。

Thinking of this, the tourist picked up the water and took a sip.

他现在有水，也有车，还是觉得天气很热。

He now has water and a car, but he still feels the weather is very hot.

以前的人走在这条路上，一定更想早点看见一个可以吃饭、喝水和睡觉的地方。

People who walked this road in the past must have wanted to see a place where they could eat, drink and sleep as soon as possible.

看见水，他们就知道今天可以停下来，明天可以继续向前走。

When they see water, they know they can stop today and keep going tomorrow.

这也是很多人来到敦煌时最需要的事情。

This is also what many people need most when they come to Dunhuang.

他决定先把著名的莫高窟留到第二天，第一站去鸣沙山和月牙泉。

He decided to leave the famous Mogao Grottoes until the next day and go to Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring as his first stop.

鸣沙山位于敦煌城南，连绵的沙丘在风里不断改变形状。

Mingsha Mountain is located in the south of Dunhuang City. The continuous sand dunes constantly change their shape in the wind.

游客刚开始爬坡就感到吃力，因为脚踩进细沙以后会向后滑，走三步的力气也许只能前进两步。

Visitors find it difficult when they first start climbing, because their feet will slip backwards after stepping into the fine sand, and they may only be able to take two steps forward if they take three steps.

当他终于走到较高的沙脊，月牙泉出现在下方。

When he finally reached the higher sand ridge, Crescent Moon Spring appeared below.

这片弯月形的泉水被沙丘包围，面积不大，却让整个地方的意义发生了变化。

This crescent-shaped spring is surrounded by sand dunes. It is small in area, but it changes the meaning of the entire place.

在干旱地区，稳定的水源决定人能不能停留，也决定一条路能不能继续使用。

In arid areas, a stable water source determines whether people can stay and whether a road can continue to be used.

敦煌位于河西走廊西端，向西连接中亚，向东通往中国中原地区。

Dunhuang is located at the western end of the Hexi Corridor, connecting Central Asia to the west and the Central Plains of China to the east.

今天人们把这片跨越不同地区的交通网络统称为丝绸之路。

Today, people refer to this transportation network across different regions as the Silk Road.

丝绸很有名，路上运输的货物却远远超过丝绸，还有茶、香料、金属、玻璃和许多生活用品。

Silk is famous, but the goods transported on the road far exceed silk, as well as tea, spices, metals, glass and many daily necessities.

旅行者带来的语言、宗教、音乐和绘画方式同样在这里相遇。

The language, religion, music and painting methods brought by travelers also meet here.

游客坐在沙坡上看日落时，终于理解了敦煌的第一个特点：它是一座让人停下来补充水和食物，再选择下一段方向的城市。

When tourists sat on the sandy slope and watched the sunset, they finally understood the first characteristic of Dunhuang: it is a city where people stop to replenish water and food before choosing the next direction.

傍晚回到市区，沙州夜市呈现出另一种敦煌。

Returning to the city in the evening, Shazhou Night Market presents another kind of Dunhuang.

摊位上摆着杏干、葡萄干、烤肉和面食，店员招呼游客，本地居民也来吃夜宵。

Dried apricots, raisins, barbecued meats and pasta are displayed at the stalls. Shop staff greet tourists and local residents also come for late-night snacks.

游客点了一碗敦煌黄面，面条有嚼劲，通常配上肉和蔬菜做成的酱。

Visitors ordered a bowl of Dunhuang yellow noodles, chewy noodles that are often served with a sauce made from meat and vegetables.

这种食物很适合干燥地区的小麦生活，也把古代壁画与今天的餐桌悄悄连在一起：莫高窟部分壁画中就出现了做面和吃面的场景。

This kind of food is very suitable for wheat life in dry areas, and it also quietly connects ancient murals with today's dining tables: scenes of making and eating noodles appear in some murals of Mogao Grottoes.

第二天，他乘车前往城外大约二十五公里的莫高窟。

The next day, he took a bus to the Mogao Grottoes, about 25 kilometers outside the city.

一排洞窟开凿在鸣沙山东侧的崖壁上，从公元四世纪开始，后来的人持续修建了一千多年。

A row of caves was excavated on the cliff on the east side of Mingsha Mountain. Starting from the fourth century AD, later generations continued to build it for more than a thousand years.

莫高窟现存大量洞窟、壁画和彩塑，内容当然包括佛教故事，同时也记录了音乐、舞蹈、服饰、交通、农业和家庭生活。

There are a large number of caves, murals and painted sculptures in the Mogao Grottoes. The content of course includes Buddhist stories, but also records of music, dance, clothing, transportation, agriculture and family life.

它在一九八七年被列入 UNESCO 世界文化遗产名录。

It was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List in 1987.

这个事实说明了莫高窟的保护地位。

This fact illustrates the protected status of Mogao Grottoes.

游客走进洞窟，目光往往停在具体细节上。

When tourists enter the cave, their eyes often stop at the specific details.

某个乐器的样子、商队使用的交通工具、不同人物穿的衣服，都能说明古代敦煌从来没有与外界隔开。

The appearance of a certain musical instrument, the means of transportation used by the caravan, and the clothes worn by different characters all show that Dunhuang was never isolated from the outside world in ancient times.

当时的商人和旅行者经过长途跋涉来到绿洲，有些人捐资开凿洞窟，希望旅途平安，也有人把家乡的艺术习惯带进画面。

At that time, businessmen and travelers traveled long distances to the oasis. Some donated money to dig caves in the hope of a safe journey, while others brought the artistic habits of their hometown into the painting.

一代又一代画师继续工作，来自不同地区的图案和表现方法便留在同一片崖壁上。

Generation after generation of painters continued to work, and patterns and expression methods from different regions remained on the same cliff.

游客在参观中也会遇到今天的保护规则。

Visitors will also encounter today's conservation rules during their visit.

洞窟内限制拍照，开放数量和参观时间受到管理，因为人的呼吸、光线和大量游客都会影响脆弱的壁画。

Photography is restricted in the cave, and the number of openings and visiting hours are managed, because human breathing, light and large numbers of tourists will affect the fragile murals.

数字敦煌等项目用高精度影像记录洞窟，让研究者和普通观众能在屏幕上看清暂时不开放的内容。

Projects such as Digital Dunhuang use high-precision images to record caves, allowing researchers and ordinary viewers to clearly see content that is temporarily closed to the public on the screen.

保护并没有把敦煌变成一座只活在过去的城市。

Preservation has not turned Dunhuang into a city that only lives in the past.

回到市区以后，游客仍会经过学校、居民区和普通商店，晚上也能在夜市看到年轻人用手机直播、朋友聚餐和游客挑选纪念品。

After returning to the city, tourists will still pass by schools, residential areas and ordinary shops. At night, they can also see young people live broadcasting on their mobile phones, friends gathering for dinner and tourists picking souvenirs at the night market.

沙漠绿洲、交通节点和文化保存共同解释了敦煌今天的样子。

Desert oases, transportation nodes and cultural preservation combine to explain what Dunhuang looks like today.

前一天，游客在月牙泉看见水怎样让人停留；第二天，他在莫高窟看见停下来的人怎样留下自己的世界。

The day before, the tourist saw at Crescent Moon Spring how the water made people stay; the next day, he saw at Mogao Grottoes how people who stopped left their own world behind.

当飞机再次起飞，沙漠又铺满窗外，他已经不会再问“这里为什么会有城市”。

When the plane took off again and the desert filled the window again, he would no longer ask "Why is there a city here?"

他想问的是：在一座不断送人远行的城市里，什么东西最后会被留下？

What he wants to ask is: In a city that keeps sending people away, what will be left behind in the end?