National Geographic Treasure Seekers China s Frozen Desert
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In westernmost China |
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lie 100,000 square miles of |
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Once cities thrived here, |
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oases enriched by China's |
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until war and the desert did them in. |
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It's a wasteland so cruel |
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'Taklimakan' means |
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Two courageous men entered |
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one in search of truth, |
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Both battled for their lives |
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and in the grip of death |
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found treasures |
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Budapest, Hungary, 1872. |
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A studious 10 year old explores |
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Fascinated by the exotic East, |
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young Aurel Stein |
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Alexander the Great. |
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The first world's conqueror |
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from the Mediterranean |
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The land where Alexander's conquest |
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Much of the region |
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was so wild and remote |
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Here treasures from a secret past |
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The shy young scholar's obsession |
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So lost in ideas was the boy that |
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What no one could guess |
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how firmly this region |
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would shape Aurel Stein's life. |
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And how alone, |
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he would take on some of the |
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of the 20th century. |
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His favorite place was this place |
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which was a field up in Kashmir |
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that was only free from snow |
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And he would go up there with some |
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all day long. |
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I think at one point |
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so he didn't see to need to be |
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25 August 1891. |
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The tribal people who pasture |
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gave me a real serenade. |
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Some of the songs were very melodic |
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You have to be solitary |
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because the thing is |
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is you've got to be at peace |
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You've got to be content |
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in order to do something like that. |
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You couldn't sit doing |
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sitting in the middle of a vast |
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with nobody to speak to |
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except for your dog, |
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but you're not going to get |
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Stein's boyhood obsession |
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flowered at universities |
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He studied ancient languages |
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to understand the ruins |
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and translate documents |
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A Ph.D. in oriental languages |
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He landed a position with |
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which was then part of British India. |
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His home base for the rest of his life |
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in India's Punjab, |
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the farthest point reached by |
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in his bid to conquer the world. |
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At the Lahore Museum, |
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Stein discovered the artistic legacy |
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Images of the Buddha |
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How far east, he wondered, |
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It was a question Stein would pursue |
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all the way to China's |
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Aurel Stein was interested in the |
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He was fascinated by the remnants |
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and that he felt there was |
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between that and the art |
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Before Stein came here, |
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He had very special training in |
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At the time, Sanskrit is |
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I mean, people are so excited |
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Sanskrit and Latin and Greek, |
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So, today, I think, when people study |
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but for Stein it was computer science |
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it was the computer science |
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Armed with Sanskrit, |
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around colonial India |
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Stein accompanied army maneuvers as |
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He had done a year of |
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and he learned how to survey, |
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and that proved to be crucial |
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because when he went out |
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In some cases |
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his maps are still the most accurate |
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In India, Stein put |
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He began closely examining a book |
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By a long dead Chinese monk |
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Around 630 A.D., on a quest |
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the holy man had trekked some 10,000 |
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His account of his travels called |
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gave Stein an authoritative guide |
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temples that had been living centers |
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When Aurel Stein was in Kashmir |
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to see whether his topographical |
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So for all three of his expeditions |
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The monk proved to be |
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But Xuanzang had also written about |
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in China's Taklimakan desert. |
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About this wasteland the modern world |
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Had Xuanzang given Stein a treasure |
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And he realizes that he can go into |
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and discover a past, |
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and that's what becomes his real |
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And Stein makes a case to the |
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that they should fund him to go out |
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And I think Stein is saying |
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and I will come back and tell you |
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In 1900, financed by England, |
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Stein headed east to seek |
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His goal to track down the cities |
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written about by Xuanzang. |
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With a crew of translators |
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Stein crossed the Pamir Mountains |
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From there he followed |
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the ancient trade rout |
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on his return from India |
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The thousand mile journey was |
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from man and beast alike, |
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The morning of the 7th December. |
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Starting the campaign in the desert. |
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My goal: Dandan uilk. |
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Most of the time Stein worked during |
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and that was always the driest |
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He had to carry a huge amount of ice |
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so he could leave it behind |
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to ensure there was enough |
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Also the cold and dryness |
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One could easily get lost and die. |
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It was the most difficult terrain |
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I think the best modern equivalent |
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Now Stein's navigation skills |
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for he had entered the Taklimakan, |
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one of the most dangerous deserts |
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About this desert, |
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It is all the work of demons |
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When the winds rise, both man and |
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Sad and plaintive noise are heard, |
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Combined with the site of this place |
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where nothing lives, |
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Characteristically, |
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and even the haunted desert's |
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The Chinese call it 'the Desert |
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The name Taklimakan translates as |
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The temperature of the desert |
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the temperature can |
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It is also a winter desert, |
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when Aurel Stein was excavating |
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he did record snow in the desert |
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The worst part about the desert is |
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in places they are 1,000 feet high. |
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So it is very difficult |
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because they are soft sand. |
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When you're walking through |
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it is very difficult to think that |
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But it is also very inspiring |
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where you know it is virgin sand and |
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Yet Stein was convinced that people |
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some 1,000 years before. |
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Xuanzang had written about |
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that had been thriving centers |
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now buried somewhere in the desert. |
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If Stein could find them |
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of a vast |
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But at what cost? |
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100 miles into the Taklimakan |
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the temperature plunged to |
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Hobbled by the loose sand, |
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Was the monk Xuanzang guiding them |
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or a dusty grave? |
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Finally, on the 11th day hope. |
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Traces of a ruin natives called |
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It was the first in a series of |
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where Stein would find evidence |
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Stein excavates. |
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And he finds pictures of Westerners |
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They saw pictures of angels in this |
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He also finds some Chinese written |
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And you could date the slips to |
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And that it was going to be possible |
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of the different Silk Road oases |
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and by taking all the documents |
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and sending them to scholars |
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For Stein the remarkable discoveries |
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First, the civilization that he found |
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Alexander the Great's influence |
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Second, he'd uncovered scrolls |
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dating from the 5th and |
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On his return trip from India, |
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Xuanzang would probably have visited |
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buried by the desert. |
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Perhaps he'd even poured over |
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Stein must have felt how his own |
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mirrored that of the solitary holy man. |
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One year after he'd set out, |
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With him, cases of artifacts |
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They would set the world |
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and make his name. |
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But they would also give him a |
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that would haunt him |
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Stein had the approval of |
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But on his travel papers it didn't |
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and would carry on excavations |
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A British diplomat had told Stein, |
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"Never tell the Chinese |
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In time, Stein's disregard for Chinese |
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but now he had more |
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Because of his discoveries |
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knew what lay |
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The race is on. |
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Stein goes digs in the ground, |
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and then a kind of race starts to |
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languages and documents |
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of this very remote region |
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And it becomes, kind of, |
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to have an expedition |
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In 1907, a German archeologist |
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from what was said to be |
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A French orientalist was scheduled |
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Spurred by competition, |
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Stein set out on a course |
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Once more his company traced the |
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But this time the grueling trip |
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He wrote to a friend: |
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What a desolate wilderness, bearing |
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On two expeditions the desert |
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His crew had quarreled |
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One of his most trusted assistants |
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Now, without warning, |
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Finally, Stein's own health gave out. |
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Malaria racked his exhausted body. |
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And worse, |
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the French team of explorers |
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As he packed his new finds |
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Stein was anxious about |
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a cave complex called Dunhaung |
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where he hoped to find |
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It is an anxious thought, |
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whether I shall find the French there |
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Crossing the Taklimakan to the north, |
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Stein had the eerie experience of |
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I could quite distinctly recognize |
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of seven years before. |
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I could even make out those of |
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the ever faithful companion |
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More shocking, was evidence of |
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Where Stein carefully protected his |
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his competitors left theirs open |
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Artifacts whose value they dismissed |
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were recklessly tossed aside |
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Near Dunhaung, |
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to explore the westernmost section |
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Of this crew Stein remarked: |
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They're the craziest crew |
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So turbulent and feeble |
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Yet the discovery of Great Wall |
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If his second expedition |
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it would have been enough to secure |
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I feel, as I ride along the wall, |
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as if I were going to inspect posts |
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2000 years seems so brief a time. |
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At the Wall, |
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just days away from his greatest |
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Perhaps he through that |
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was literally guiding his journey. |
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Perhaps he knew his competitors |
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his stamina or his scholarship. |
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In any case, his devotion to the |
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beyond his greatest expectations. |
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And still ahead, at a place |
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he would find one of the astonishing |
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Aurel Stein heard that |
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there were some very valuable |
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and he went there and he met somebody |
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who was sort of a curious moody monk, |
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who had sealed up the caves so that |
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So when Stein finally met him, |
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I've been following in the footsteps |
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He's my patron saint. |
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So the moody abbot sort of softened |
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The priest proved, in fact, quite as |
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of Xuanzang as I am. |
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He proudly showed the series of |
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representing scenes from the |
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The fantastic legends there depicted |
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which had transformed Xuanzang |
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throughout China as a sort of |
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He negotiates four silver horseshoes |
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for thousands and thousands of |
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and Wong goes for it. |
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And Stein knows that it is |
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He knows. |
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He writes a letter saying I've gotten |
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because one of the Sanskrit |
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would be worth that price. |
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But most of all was the apprehension |
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shifty priest |
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would be moved in a sudden fit |
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or distrust to close down his shell |
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before I had been able to extract |
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Stein was a devoted scholar |
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It was unthinkable to him |
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not to be interested in the things |
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and it is just natural for him to try |
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He and Abbot Wong were |
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Stein was very educated |
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while Abbot Wong was relatively |
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They were just piles of waste paper |
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Like a chip of broken glass to me, |
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The ancient scrolls Stein took from |
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stories and correspondence a portrait |
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One of the fragments has since been |
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which Xuanzang himself is known to |
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between 645 and 664 AD. |
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I felt quite sure that |
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within a few years of the debris |
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Stein was able to get many of the |
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take them back to the British Museum, |
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and one of them is the Diamond Sutra, |
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which is the world's oldest |
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It sits in the British Museum |
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So Stein really |
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For misleading the abbot, |
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He reasoned the scrolls he salvaged |
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would have remained lost forever |
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You know, the easy answer to |
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the very PC answer is, sure, |
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and they were never returned. |
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But if you judge him |
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he wasn't a thief; |
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He published everything he found. |
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If we judge Stein |
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by the person who discovered them, |
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if you were found by the Chinese, |
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You were a lucky manuscript |
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because people today can see you, |
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on the Web. |
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For his astounding discoveries, |
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Stein would receive a knighthood from |
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But the comforts and adulations |
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paled against the call of the East. |
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Again and again he would return to |
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to try and slake his thirst from |
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At 81, Stein would die as he lived |
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in the saddle while exploring |
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But he would never again match the |
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that put him on the trail of Xuanzang |
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and the lost treasures |
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The Dunhaung Scrolls made |
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His Chinese translator speculated |
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finding the rare Buddhist text |
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They were a gift from the monk |
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Xuanzang, like Stein, had risked |
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but many times for the sake of |
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One of history's most remarkable |
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China, 620 A.D. |
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As the great Tang Dynasty begins, |
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Bandits beseech cities within, |
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while neighboring kingdoms |
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China's golden age is born |
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In a remote trade depot, |
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takes advantage of the chaos |
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He's a monk on a suicidal mission |
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In the crisis, the Tang emperor has |
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but the monk has ignored the ban. |
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He hopes his disguise will fool |
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But there's no disguising |
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Xuanzang was supposed to be |
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There may be some difference |
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but he was very tall |
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You know, the descriptions of him |
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make him sound like some |
00:29:15 |
From boyhood, Xuanzang |
00:29:22 |
By age 13 he had mastered |
00:29:28 |
By 20, he had humbled the faith's |
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in debate. |
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Xuanzang's virtuosity |
00:29:41 |
'The shining of the sun of wisdom,' |
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they had told the young monk, |
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In fact, Xuanzang would light the way |
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for generations of Buddhists |
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There is no question |
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about the historical judgments |
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By any standards he is a hero. |
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He is a hero in many ways. |
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He is a very inspiring figure |
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not just for people in his age, |
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At age 26, Xuanzang wasn't yet a hero, |
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a holy mission. |
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His study of Buddhist texts |
00:30:31 |
His solution to travel to India |
00:30:39 |
He is frustrated that |
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he had multiple versions of |
00:30:43 |
and that nobody in China could |
00:30:47 |
His thirst for knowledge is so great, |
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he decides the only way out of |
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and find the original teachings. |
00:31:01 |
The devout Buddhist had another |
00:31:05 |
He wanted to make the pilgrimage |
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the birthplace of his beloved Buddha. |
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600 years before Christ, |
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to search for a solution of death |
00:31:30 |
After six years of spiritual discipline, |
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supreme enlightenment |
00:31:36 |
while meditating at a place |
00:31:42 |
For the rest of his life, |
00:31:43 |
the gifted teacher was known |
00:31:46 |
which means 'the enlightened one.' |
00:31:50 |
There are four places that every |
00:31:54 |
where the Buddha was born, |
00:31:58 |
where he preached his first sermon, |
00:32:01 |
So Xuanzang was a pilgrim. |
00:32:04 |
He wanted to go to |
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just as a Christian might want to |
00:32:13 |
Yet the trip came with unholy risks. |
00:32:17 |
When the Chinese Emperor Taizong |
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he ordered the monk's arrest. |
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Under this threat, |
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the monks accompanying Xuanzang |
00:32:34 |
Perhaps it was just as well. |
00:32:36 |
According to caravan traders, |
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the road to India was choked with |
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And the worst threat lay just ahead |
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Somebody called it |
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It is a place where you go in |
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Even Aurel Stein talks about |
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as being tame deserts. |
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By day its temperatures can reach |
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and by night plummet to 20 below. |
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According to legend, thriving cities, |
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in the thousands, |
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had vanished in its black hurricanes, |
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Caravan traders warned the |
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but the pilgrim replied: |
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I intend to visit the holy places |
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I will not regret |
00:34:04 |
But years of monastic study |
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for the desert's special tortures. |
00:34:12 |
Of this desolate badlands he wrote: |
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There are no birds in the sky, |
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no water or vegetation anywhere. |
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So he's alone. |
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And he started across the desert, |
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and his water bag fell down |
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The water spills. |
00:34:44 |
And he travels for four and a half |
00:34:49 |
and he is hopelessly lost. |
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Now Xuanzang considered turning back, |
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but he no longer knew |
00:35:06 |
According to his biographer, |
00:35:07 |
the monk was assailed by the |
00:35:13 |
By day, the wind whipped up |
00:35:18 |
By night, demons and goblins |
00:35:23 |
are as many in number as the stars. |
00:35:29 |
The monk prayed to Buddhist guardian |
00:35:44 |
It was kind of what some Christian |
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call a dark night of the soul. |
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He ran out into the unknown, |
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He has this dark night of the soul. |
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This is a typical's hero's journey |
00:36:08 |
In the dream a spirit called out, |
00:36:12 |
"Why are you resting when you should |
00:36:20 |
It was the horse |
00:36:27 |
He set off in his own direction, |
00:36:40 |
After four miles, the horse broke into |
00:36:44 |
as a green oasis came into view. |
00:36:50 |
And this old and sickly horse, |
00:36:54 |
because it has done the trip |
00:36:58 |
and he falls into this pool of water |
00:37:04 |
He was able to survive. |
00:37:05 |
He was able the find water |
00:37:09 |
This must have meant a lot to him. |
00:37:11 |
I think in his mind this must be |
00:37:17 |
Buddha himself. |
00:37:23 |
The stories about people finding water |
00:37:27 |
It happens to Xuanzang; |
00:37:29 |
it happens to Sven Hedin, |
00:37:32 |
Anybody who goes into the desert |
00:37:35 |
and then the ones who live |
00:37:38 |
The ones who die, |
00:37:44 |
Safely across the Taklimakan, |
00:37:50 |
Again, he was proceeded |
00:37:53 |
but as a holy man, not an outlaw. |
00:37:58 |
The king and queen of Turfan |
00:38:01 |
to have such a renowned scholar |
00:38:05 |
"From the first day I heard your name," |
00:38:07 |
"I've been in a state of ecstasy. |
00:38:10 |
I couldn't keep my hands and feet |
00:38:17 |
But when Xuanzang told him of |
00:38:23 |
He demanded the monk cease |
00:38:30 |
He wanted Xuanzang to be |
00:38:33 |
He wanted him to stay there |
00:38:38 |
He got very angry at Xuanzang |
00:38:44 |
You've got to stay here. |
00:38:49 |
Xuanzang objected. |
00:38:52 |
I came here on my way |
00:38:57 |
You can imprison my flesh and bones, |
00:39:05 |
So he decided to starve himself. |
00:39:08 |
He fasted for four or five days. |
00:39:17 |
Each day the king brought him |
00:39:20 |
but Xuanzang wouldn't touch a morsel. |
00:39:26 |
Again he almost died, and the king of |
00:39:30 |
And then the king of Turfan gave him |
00:39:36 |
and 24 letters of introduction |
00:39:39 |
to all the kings and khans |
00:39:43 |
So he had protection. |
00:39:45 |
He was going to be taken care of |
00:39:50 |
The king provides servants |
00:39:55 |
The most crucial thing the king |
00:39:59 |
who control the region west of China |
00:40:04 |
So suddenly Xuanzang has gone from |
00:40:09 |
through the desert |
00:40:09 |
to having a retinue with him |
00:40:16 |
With India almost in sight, |
00:40:18 |
Xuanzang approached the fulfillment |
00:40:21 |
and the greatest trials of his life. |
00:40:32 |
By now, Xuanzang had trekked |
00:40:37 |
He had become a skillful traveler, |
00:40:39 |
falling in step with the merchants |
00:40:42 |
whose precious goods enriched the |
00:40:50 |
He grew into the roles of accidental |
00:41:00 |
And throughout, the always hearty |
00:41:07 |
After he leaves Turfan, he doesn't |
00:41:10 |
He's bankrolled and he has |
00:41:13 |
But then he has the problems that |
00:41:16 |
like robbers. |
00:41:22 |
There are a bunch of robbers |
00:41:25 |
That is interesting. |
00:41:26 |
He's robbed twice of his own clothes. |
00:41:38 |
He was not just once robbed |
00:41:40 |
he was robbed many times. |
00:41:43 |
Because of his inner strength |
00:41:48 |
he was able to escape from |
00:41:55 |
Finally a year after plunging into |
00:41:58 |
the pilgrim set foot on Indian soil. |
00:42:07 |
He'd proved wrong all predictions |
00:42:11 |
and reached the country |
00:42:22 |
Guided by priests, he visited sacred |
00:42:27 |
examining the stories painted on the |
00:42:36 |
Assisted by as many as 20 scribes, |
00:42:41 |
translating and copying |
00:42:46 |
The most significant contribution |
00:42:49 |
is to translate a large amount of |
00:42:55 |
Scholars are amazed at how accurate |
00:43:02 |
His reputation seems, by this time, |
00:43:05 |
so that when he got to a new place |
00:43:12 |
It was customary for the kings, |
00:43:14 |
when he got to the border, |
00:43:17 |
They would give him a big elephant |
00:43:23 |
Seven years passed like a dream. |
00:43:26 |
Xuanzang's celebrated knowledge |
00:43:29 |
and his scribes from one monastery |
00:43:34 |
At each awaited new Buddhist texts |
00:43:40 |
It was customary in many of |
00:43:43 |
in northern India |
00:43:45 |
There are several kinds of Buddhism, |
00:43:47 |
and so an exponent of one kind would |
00:43:57 |
And he studied the other guys' beliefs |
00:44:01 |
so that he knew their arguments |
00:44:04 |
And that may be one of the reasons |
00:44:08 |
Xuanzang never loses a debate |
00:44:12 |
even if he's debating in Sanskrit |
00:44:15 |
on arcane points of Buddhist |
00:44:18 |
It's just not credible. |
00:44:19 |
Every time that he meets somebody, |
00:44:32 |
At last it came time for Xuanzang |
00:44:40 |
He and his followers traveled by boat |
00:44:45 |
their destination, Bodh Gaya, |
00:44:47 |
the place of the Buddha's spiritual |
00:44:55 |
But on the river, according to his |
00:45:01 |
A whole mess of pirates came in and |
00:45:05 |
and shoved them ashore. |
00:45:07 |
They wanted a sacrifice |
00:45:11 |
They said, oh, there's that handsome |
00:45:21 |
They decided he's the |
00:45:23 |
They tell him this, and he has |
00:45:27 |
which is he doesn't wanted |
00:45:28 |
but if he's going to be killed, |
00:45:31 |
he wants to be allowed to meditate. |
00:45:35 |
If this cold body is suitable |
00:45:40 |
then I dare not crush the offer. |
00:45:44 |
But if you kills this body of mine, |
00:45:52 |
At that moment a tremendous gale came |
00:45:55 |
that scared the hell |
00:45:58 |
And so they said, who is this man? |
00:46:08 |
He was really not afraid of death. |
00:46:09 |
He was prepared for death. |
00:46:12 |
He is not just a courageous person; |
00:46:14 |
he was also a very calm person, |
00:46:17 |
Whenever he faced difficulty, he |
00:46:22 |
So, of course, |
00:46:24 |
they threw away their weapons, |
00:46:26 |
and they became good Buddhist, |
00:46:29 |
This is another story that follows |
00:46:33 |
which is that a representative |
00:46:36 |
encounters the representatives |
00:46:39 |
and the Buddha bests the local deity |
00:46:41 |
the Buddha proves that he's more |
00:46:45 |
So, did it happen? We don't know! |
00:46:50 |
These are just stories, I think, |
00:47:00 |
Finally, Xuanzang arrived at |
00:47:04 |
Here the Buddha had achieved |
00:47:09 |
But for the wandering pilgrim, |
00:47:14 |
Xuanzang's trials and years of |
00:47:18 |
even a taste of the sublime unity |
00:47:23 |
Instead, under the sacred tree |
00:47:27 |
Xuanzang could only weep at the |
00:47:32 |
When Xuanzang finally got there, |
00:47:39 |
"In what cycle of life was I |
00:47:45 |
And then he wept. |
00:47:46 |
And there were lots of other |
00:47:49 |
and they were all very moved |
00:47:53 |
At a time when the Buddha |
00:47:57 |
I know not in what condition |
00:48:00 |
but in the troublesome world |
00:48:07 |
It's very rare for an enlightened |
00:48:11 |
and he was crying almost, prostrating. |
00:48:17 |
This kind of gesture was witnessed |
00:48:25 |
Where Xuanzang saw unworthiness, |
00:48:31 |
The most virtuous among them |
00:48:37 |
This is somebody |
00:48:38 |
whose whole travel description |
00:48:43 |
He has, for him, |
00:48:47 |
bursting into tears and saying that |
00:48:53 |
as good as the Buddha. |
00:48:57 |
In a remarkable adventure, |
00:49:02 |
He was perfectly humble |
00:49:09 |
At last he arose more determined |
00:49:12 |
to pursue his destiny on the wheel |
00:49:29 |
On his return trip through |
00:49:32 |
Xuanzang anxiously awaited word |
00:49:39 |
How would he receive the monk |
00:49:40 |
who flagrantly disobeyed him |
00:49:52 |
At Dunhaung's 'Caves of a Thousand |
00:49:57 |
probably to let monks copy the |
00:50:04 |
While he waited, the holy man studied |
00:50:09 |
and sculpture in the cave's |
00:50:16 |
Little did he know that |
00:50:19 |
would someday join |
00:50:27 |
Eventually word would come to |
00:50:29 |
waiting on the lip of the Taklimakan |
00:50:38 |
The Emperor Taizong said he wanted |
00:50:42 |
And then, of course, |
00:50:45 |
"Why did you go on this trip?" |
00:50:48 |
Emperor Taizong at the very beginning |
00:50:51 |
probably had a kind of |
00:50:55 |
as he realized that someone who has |
00:51:00 |
traveling through Central Asia |
00:51:04 |
about these regions and the region |
00:51:06 |
that he always had a great |
00:51:10 |
Afterwards, |
00:51:11 |
they gradually developed this kind of |
00:51:18 |
The emperor invited the prodigal monk |
00:51:23 |
But Taizong would settle instead for |
00:51:27 |
in which Xuanzang described each step |
00:51:34 |
There are plenty of bookworms |
00:51:36 |
and there are lots of great trekkers, |
00:51:39 |
and there are some good diplomats, |
00:51:43 |
but he was all of them. |
00:51:46 |
And I think he was a real man |
00:51:51 |
The monk's last bit of uncommon good |
00:51:57 |
It permitted Xuanzang to spend the |
00:52:01 |
translating the treasures he wagered |