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A Morphological Study of Bamboos by Vascular Bundle Sheath (대나무류(類)의 유관속초(維管束鞘)에 의(依)한 형태학적(形態學的) 연구(硏究))

  • Kim, Jai Saing
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.25 no.1
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    • pp.13-47
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    • 1975
  • Among the many species of bamboo, it is well known that the dwarf-type is widely distributed in the tropical regions, and the slender type in temperated zone. In the temperated zone the trees have extensively differentiated into one hundred species in 50 genera. In many oriental countries, the bamboo wood is being used as a material for construction and for the manufacture of technical instruments. The bamboo shoot is also regarded as a good and delicious edible resource. Moreover, recent medical investigation verifies that the sap of certain species of the bamboo is an antibiotic effect against cancer. Fortunately, it is very easy to propagate the bamboo trees by using cutting from southeastern Asian countries. This important resource can further be used as a significant source of pulp, which is becoming increasingly important. The classification system of this significant resource has not been completely established to date, even though its importance has been emphasized. Initiated by Canlevon Linne in the 18th century, a classification method concerning the morphological characteristics of flowers was the first step in developing a classification. But it was not an easy task to accomplish, because this type of classification system is based on the sexual organs in bamboo trees. Because the bamboo has a long life cycle of 60-120 years and classification according to this method was very difficult as the materials for the classification are not abundant and some species have changed, even though many references related to the morphological classification of bamboo trees are available nowadays. So, the certification of bamboo trees according to the morphological classification system is not reasonable for us. Consequently, the classification system of bamboo trees on the basis of endomorphological characteristics was initiated by Chinese-born Liese. And classification method based on the morphological characteristics of the vascular bundle was developed by Grosser. These classification methods are fundamentally related to Holltum's classification method, which stressed the morphology of the ovary. The author investigated to re-establish a new classification method based on the vascular sheath. Twenty-six species in 11 genera which originated from Formosa where used in the study. The results obtained from the investigation were somewhat coordinated with those of Crosser. Many difficulties were found in distinguishing the species of Bambusa and Dendrocalamus. These two species were critically differentiated under the new classification system, which is based on the existence of a separated vascular bundle sheath in the bamboo. According to these results, it is recommended that Babusa divided into two groups by placing it into either subspecies or the lower categories. This recommendation is supported by the observation that the evolutional pattern of the bamboo thunk which is from outward to inward. It is also supported by the viewpoint that the fundamental hypothesis in evolution is from simple to complex. There remained many problems to be solved through more critical examination by comparing the results to those of the classification based on the sexual organs method. The author observed the figure of the cross-sectional area of vascular trunk of bamboo tree and compared the results with those of Grosser and Liese, i.e. A, $B_1$, $B_2$, C, and D groups in classification. Group A and $B_2$ were in accordance with the results of those scholars, while group D showed many differences, Grosser and Liese divided bamboo into "g" type and "h" type according to the vascular bundle type; and they included Dendrocalamus and Bambusa in Group D without considering the type of vascular bundle sheath. However, the results obtained by the author showed that Dendrocalamus and Bambusa are differentiated from each other. By considering another group, "i" identified according to the existence of separated vascular bundle sheath. Bambusa showed to have a separated vascular bundle sheath while Dendrocalamus does not have a separated vascular bundle sheath. Moreover, Bambusa showed peculiar characteristics in the figure of vascular development, i.e., one with an inward vascular bundle sheath and the other with a bivascular bundle sheath (inward and outward). In conclusion, the bamboo species used in this experiment were classified in group D, without any separated vascular bundle sheath, and in group E, with a vascular bundle sheath. Group E was divided into two groups, i.e., and group $E_1$, with bivascular sheath, and group $E_2$, with only an inward vascular sheath. Therefore, the Bambusa in group D as described by Grosser and Liese was included in group E. Dendrocalamus seemed to be the middle group between group $E_l$ and group $E_2$ under this classification system which is summarized as follows: Phyllostachys-type: Group A - Phyllostachys, Chymonobambus, Arundinaria, Pseudosasa, Pleioblastus, Yashania Pome-type: Group $B_2$ - Schizostachyum, Melocanna Hemp-type: Group D - Dendrocalamu Bambu-type: Group $E_1$ - Bambusa ghi.

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A Study on Historicity of 《Three Purities Album (三淸帖)》 in the Kansong Art Museum (간송미술관 소장 《삼청첩(三淸帖)》의 역사성에 대한 고찰)

  • Baik, In-san
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.46 no.2
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    • pp.186-205
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    • 2013
  • ${\ll}$Three Purities Album${\gg}$ in the Kansong Art Museum is an album of poems and pictures of apricot tree, orchids and bamboos drawn by Lee Jeong. Given that the poems and pictures in the album were drawn by Lee Jeong who has been recognized as a person who established the standards of ink bamboo drawings in the Joseon Dynasty, the album is highly valuable. Nevertheless, there are more values and meanings that Three Purities Album has. The production circumstances and transmission processes of Three Purities Album include the historical characteristics and meanings of the time so that it is also worthwhile as a historical material. During the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592, Lee Jeong was stabbed with a sword by Japanese invaders and got injured. After he suffered, he tried to make his masterpiece in his lifework and finally created Three Purities Album. For the work, Lee Jeong received memorial writings from Choi Rip, Cha Cheon-ro and Han Ho, and asked them writings. They were the best literary men in the poem and calligraphy fields at that time. Yu Geun, Lee An-nul, and Yu Mong-in made writings and poems to praise his work. Likewise, ${\ll}$Three Purities Album${\gg}$ is the 'treasure of the time' created through the participation of the best literary men at that time. Given the aspects, it is fair to say that ${\ll}$Three Purities Album${\gg}$ is not simply a personal artwork of Lee Jeong, but is a comprehensive artwork and also a cultural monument created through the skills and capabilities of the literary artists in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty. After the death of Lee Jeong, Three Purities Album was handed over to Hong Ju-won. But, during the second Manchu Invasion into Korea in 1636, the album was in danger of disappearance by fire. As of now, there are still signs of fire in it, which vividly shows the urgent situation at that time. After the second Manchu Invasion into Korea in 1636, Hong Ju-won recovered some damaged writings with the help of Yoon Shin-ji. Since then, the album had been handed down as a family treasure over the next 7 generations. It can be found in the writings by Song Si-yeol and Uh Yu-bong. Unlike the literary men who praised Three Purities Album in terms of its work when Lee Joeng was alive, they focused on the transmission courses of the album and involved persons. That seems to be because the stories and characters appearing in Three Purities Album impressed the later literary men and were meaningful to them rather than the album itself. It strongly reflected the positions of Hong Jung-gi and Hung Sang-han who asked for writings as the descendants of Hong Ju-won. That is because the traces of the persons involved in Three Purities Album are the causes for admiring their ancestors and enhancing their political legitimacy and family dignity. Therefore, in this aspect, it is possible to witness the fundamental causes of the unique artistic awareness by East Asian people who consider their historical meanings as well as the aesthetic value of artworks significant. Unfortunately, during the Japanese invasion at the end of the Joseon Dynasty, Three Purities Album was handed over to Japanese Tzuboikouso. But, fortunately, Jeon Hyeong-pil who made an effort to regain our cultural assets by investing his entire property during the Japanese Imperialism regained the album, which is now preserved in the Kansong Art Museum. ${\ll}$Three Purities Album${\gg}$ truly includes the whole processes to overcome national crises that Korean people experienced during the Japanese Invasion in 1592, the second Manchu Invasion of Korea in 1636, and the Japanese Imperialism, and it shows the sufferings of our cultural assets and the history of preservation. Also, the album shows that one artwork is able to accumulate its historical meanings in the process of transmission and thus enhances its meanings and values. ${\ll}$Three Purities Album${\gg}$ features accumulative and constant historical meanings and it is a typical case showing that an artwork is plenty of aesthetic and historical values. It is expected that this work will contribute to promoting more studies on finding historical meanings and hysteresis of artworks.

A Comparative Study on Buddhist Painting, MokWooDo (牧牛圖: PA Comparative Study on Buddhist Painting, MokWooDo (牧牛圖: Painting of Bull Keeping) and Confucian/Taoist Painting, SipMaDo (十馬圖: Painting of Ten Horses) - Focused on SimBeop (心法: Mind Control Rule) of the Three Schools: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism -nd Control Rule) of the Three Schools: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism - (불가(佛家) 목우도(牧牛圖)와 유·도(儒·道) 십마도(十馬圖) 비교 연구 - 유불도(儒佛道) 삼가(三家)의 심법(心法)을 중심으로 -)

  • Park, So-Hyun;Lee, Jung-Han
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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    • v.40 no.4
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    • pp.67-80
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    • 2022
  • SipWooDo (十牛圖: Painting of Ten Bulls), a Buddhist painting, is a kind of Zen Sect Buddhism painting, which is shown as a mural in many of main halls of Korean Buddhist temples. MokWooDo has been painted since Song Dynasty of China. It paints a cow, a metaphor of mind and a shepherd boy who controls the cow. It comes also with many other types of works such as poetry called GyeSong, HwaWoonSi and etc. That is, it appeared as a pan-cultural phenomenon beyond ideology and nation not limited to Chinese Buddhist ideology of an era. This study, therefore, selects MokWooDo chants that represent Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism to compare the writing purposes, mind discipline methods and ultimate goals of such chant literatures in order to integrate and comprehend the ideologies of such three schools in the ideologically cultural aspect, which was not fully dealt with in the existing studies. In particular, the study results are: First, the SipWooDo of Buddhist School is classified generally into Bo Myoung's MokWooDo and Kwak Ahm's SimWooDo (尋牛圖: Painting of Searching out a Bull). Zen Sect Buddhism goes toward nirvana through enlightenment. Both MokWooDo and SimWooDo of Buddhist School are the discipline method of JeomSu (漸修: Discipline by Steps). They were made for SuSimJeungDo (修心證道: Enlightenment of Truth by Mind Discipline), which appears different in HwaJe (畫題: Titles on Painting) and GyeSong (偈頌: Poetry Type of Buddhist Chant) between Zen Sect Buddhism and Doctrine Study Based Buddhism, which are different from each other in viewpoints. Second, Bo Myoung's MokWooDo introduces the discipline processes from MiMok (未牧: Before Tamed) to JinGongMyoYu (眞空妙有: True Vacancy is not Separately Existing) of SsangMin (雙泯: the Level where Only Core Image Appears with Every Other Thing Faded out) that lie on the method called BangHalGiYong (棒喝機用: a Way of Using Rod to Scold). On the other side, however, it puts its ultimate goal onto the way to overcome even such core image of SsangMin. Third, Kwak Ahm's SimWooDo shows the discipline processes of JeomSu from SimWoo (尋牛: Searching out a Bull) to IpJeonSuSu (入鄽垂手: Entering into a Place to Exhibit Tools). That is, it puts its ultimate goal onto HwaGwangDongJin (和光同塵: Harmonized with Others not Showing your own Wisdom) where you are going together with ordinary people by going up to the level of 'SangGuBori (上求菩提: Discipline to Go Up to Gain Truth) and HaHwaJungSaeng (下化衆生: Discipline to Go Down to Be with Ordinary People)' through SaGyoIpSeon (捨敎入禪: Entering into Zen Sect Buddhism after Completing a Certain Volume of Doctrine Study), which are working for leading the ordinary people of all to finding out their Buddhist Nature. Fourth, Shimiz Shunryu (清水春流)'s painting YuGaSipMaDo (儒家十馬圖: Painting of Ten Horses of Confucian School) borrowed Bo Myoung's MokWooDo. That is, it borrowed the terms and pictures of Buddhist School. However, it features 'WonBulIpYu (援佛入儒: Enlightenment of Buddhist Nature by Confucianism)', which is based on the process of becoming a greatly wise person through Confucian study to go back to the original good nature. From here, it puts its goal onto becoming a greatly wise person, GunJa who is completely harmonized with truth, through the study of HamYang (涵養: Mind Discipline by Widening Learning and Intelligence) that controls outside mind to make the mind peaceful. Its ultimate goal is in accord with "SangCheonJiJae, MuSeongMuChee (上天之載, 無聲無臭: Heaven Exists in the Sky Upward; It is Difficult to Get the Truth of Nature, which has neither sound nor smell)' words from Zhōngyōng. Fifth, WonMyeongNhoYin (圓明老人)'s painting SangSeungSuJinSamYo (上乘修真三要: Painting of Three Essential Things to Discipline toward Truth) borrowed Bo Myoung's MokWooDo while it consists of totally 13 sheets of picture to preach the painter's will and preference. That is, it features 'WonBulIpDo (援佛入道: Following Buddha to Enter into Truth)' to preach the painter's doctrine of Taoism by borrowing the pictures and poetry type chants of Buddhist School. Taoism aims to become a miraculously powerful Taoist hermit who never dies by Taoist healthcare methods. Therefore, Taoists take the mind discipline called BanHwanSimSeong (返還心性: Returning Back to Original Mind Nature), which makes Taoists go ultimately toward JaGeumSeon (紫金仙) that is the original origin by changing into a saint body that is newly conceived with the vital force of TaeGeuk abandoning the existing mind and body fully. This is a unique feature of Taoism, which puts its ultimate goal onto the way of BeopShinCheongJeong (法身淸淨: Pure and Clean Nature of Buddha) that is in accord with JiDoHoiHong (至道恢弘: Getting to Wide and Big Truth).

Territorial Expansion the King Võ (Võ Vương, 1738-1765) in the Mekong Delta: Variation of Tám Thực Chi Kế (strategy of silkworm nibbling) and Dĩ Man Công Man (to strike barbarians by barbarians) in the Way to Build a New World Order (무왕(武王, 1738-1765) 시기 메콩 델타에서의 영토 확장 추이: 제국으로 가는 길, '잠식지계(蠶食之計)'와 '이만공만(以蠻攻蠻)'의 변주)

  • CHOI, Byung Wook
    • The Southeast Asian review
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    • v.27 no.2
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    • pp.37-76
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    • 2017
  • $Nguy{\tilde{\hat{e}}}n$ Cư Trinh has two faces in the history of territorial expansion of Vietnam into the Mekong delta. One is his heroic contribution to the $Nguy{\tilde{\hat{e}}}n$ family gaining control over the large part of the Mekong delta. The other is his role to make the eyes of readers of Vietnamese history be fixed only to the present territory of Vietnam. To the readers, $Nguy{\tilde{\hat{e}}}n$ Cư Trinh's achievement of territorial expansion was the final stage of the nam $ti{\acute{\hat{e}}n$ of Vietnam. In fact, however, his achievement was partial. This study pays attention to the King $V{\tilde{o}}$ instead of $Nguy{\tilde{\hat{e}}}n$ Cư Trinh in the history of the territorial expansion in the Mekong delta. King's goal was more ambitious. And the ambition was propelled by his dream to build a new world, and its order, in which his new capital, $Ph{\acute{u}}$ $Xu{\hat{a}}n$ was to be the center with his status as an emperor. To improve my assertion, three elements were examined in this article. First is the nature of $V{\tilde{o}}$ Vương's new kingship. Second is the preparation and the background of the military operation in the Mekong Delta. The nature of the new territory is the third element of the discussion. In 1744, six years after this ascending to the throne, $V{\tilde{o}}$ Vương declared he was a king. Author points out this event as the departure of the southern kingdom from the traditional dynasties based on the Red River delta. Besides, the government system, northern custom and way of dressings were abandoned and new southern modes were adopted. $V{\tilde{o}}$ Vương had enough tributary kingdoms such as Cambodia, Champa, Thủy $X{\tilde{a}}$, Hoả $X{\tilde{a}}$, Vạn Tượng, and Nam Chưởng. Compared with the $L{\hat{e}}$ empire, the number of the tributary kingdoms was higher and the number was equivalent to that of the Đại Nam empire of the 19th century. In reality, author claims, the King $V{\tilde{o}}^{\prime}s$ real intention was to become an emperor. Though he failed in using the title of emperor, he distinguished himself by claiming himself as the Heaven King, $Thi{\hat{e}}n$ Vương. Cambodian king's attack on the thousands of Cham ethnics in Cambodian territory was an enough reason to the King $V{\tilde{o}}^{\prime}s$ military intervention. He considered these Cham men and women as his amicable subjects, and he saw them a branch of the Cham communities in his realm. He declared war against Cambodia in 1750. At the same time he sent a lengthy letter to the Siamese king claiming that the Cambodia was his exclusive tributary kingdom. Before he launched a fatal strike on the Mekong delta which had been the southern part of Cambodia, $V{\tilde{o}}$ Vương renovated his capital $Ph{\acute{u}}$ $Xu{\hat{a}}n$ to the level of the new center of power equivalent to that of empire for his sake. Inflation, famine, economic distortion were also the features of this time. But this study pays attention more to the active policy of the King $V{\tilde{o}}$ as an empire builder than to the economic situation that has been told as the main reason for King $V{\tilde{o}}^{\prime}s$ annexation of the large part of the Mekong delta. From the year of 1754, by the initiative of $Nguy{\tilde{\hat{e}}}n$ Cư Trinh, almost whole region of the Mekong delta within the current border line was incorporated into the territory of $V{\tilde{o}}$ Vương within three years, though the intention of the king was to extend his land to the right side of the Mekong Basin beyond the current border such as Kampong Cham, Prey Vieng, and Svai Rieng. The main reason was $V{\tilde{o}}$ Vương's need to expand his territory to be matched with that of his potential empire with the large number of the tributary kingdoms. King $V{\tilde{o}}^{\prime}s$ strategy was the variation of 'silkworm nibbling' and 'to strike barbarians by barbarians.' He ate the land of Lower Cambodia, the region of the Mekong delta step by step as silkworm nibbles mulberry leave(general meaning of $t{\acute{a}}m$ thực), but his final goal was to eat all(another meaning of $t{\acute{a}}m$ thực) the part of the Mekong delta including the three provinces of Cambodia mentioned above. He used Cham to strike Cambodian in the process of getting land from Long An area to $Ch{\hat{a}}u$ Đốc. This is a faithful application of the Dĩ Man $C{\hat{o}}ng$ Man (to strike barbarians by barbarians). In addition he used Chinese refugees led by the Mạc family or their quasi kingdom to gain land in the region of $H{\grave{a}}$ $Ti{\hat{e}}n$ and its environs from the hand of Cambodian king. This is another application of Dĩ Man $C{\hat{o}}ng$ Man. In sum, author claims a new way of looking at the origin of the imperial world order which emerged during the first half of the 19th century. It was not the result of the long history of Đại Việt empires based on the Red River delta, but the succession of the King $V{\tilde{o}}^{\prime}s$ new world based on $Ph{\acute{u}}$ $Xu{\hat{a}}n$. The same ways of Dĩ Man $C{\hat{o}}ng$ Man and $T{\acute{a}}m$ Thực Chi $K{\acute{\hat{e}}}$ were still used by $V{\tilde{o}}^{\prime}s$ descendents. His grandson Gia Long used man such as Thai, Khmer, Lao, Chinese, and European to win another man the '$T{\hat{a}}y$ Sơn bandits' that included many of Chinese pirates, Cham, and other mountain peoples. His great grand son Minh Mạng constructed a splendid empire. At the same time, however, Minh Mạng kept expanding the size of his empire by eating all the part of Cambodia and Cham territories.

The State Hermitage Museum·Northwest University for Nationalities·Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House, 2018 (아라사국립애이미탑십박물관(俄羅斯國立艾爾米塔什博物館)·서북민족대학(西北民族大學)·상해고적출판사(上海古籍出版社) 편(編) 『아장구자예술품(俄藏龜玆藝術品)』, 상해고적출판사(上海古籍出版社), 2018 (『러시아 소장 쿠차 예술품』))

  • Min, Byung-Hoon
    • MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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    • v.98
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    • pp.226-241
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    • 2020
  • Located on the right side of the third floor of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the "Art of Central Asia" exhibition boasts the world's finest collection of artworks and artifacts from the Silk Road. Every item in the collection has been classified by region, and many of them were collected in the early twentieth century through archaeological surveys led by Russia's Pyotr Kozlov, Mikhail Berezovsky, and Sergey Oldenburg. Some of these artifacts have been presented around the world through special exhibitions held in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Korea, Japan, and elsewhere. The fruits of Russia's Silk Road expeditions were also on full display in the 2008 exhibition The Caves of One Thousand Buddhas - Russian Expeditions on the Silk Route on the Occasion of 190 Years of the Asiatic Museum, held at the Hermitage Museum. Published in 2018 by the Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House in collaboration with the Hermitage Museum, Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia introduces the Hermitage's collection of artifacts from the Kuche (or Kucha) region. While the book focuses exclusively on artifacts excavated from the Kuche area, it also includes valuable on-site photos and sketches from the Russian expeditions, thus helping to enhance readers' overall understanding of the characteristics of Kuche art within the Buddhist art of Central Asia. The book was compiled by Dr. Kira Samosyuk, senior curator of the Oriental Department of the Hermitage Museum, who also wrote the main article and the artifact descriptions. Dr. Samosyuk is an internationally renowned scholar of Central Asian Buddhist art, with a particular expertise in the art of Khara-Khoto and Xi-yu. In her article "The Art of the Kuche Buddhist Temples," Dr. Samosyuk provides an overview of Russia's Silk Road expeditions, before introducing the historical development of Kuche in the Buddhist era and the aspects of Buddhism transmitted to Kuche. She describes the murals and clay sculptures in the Buddhist grottoes, giving important details on their themes and issues with estimating their dates, and also explains how the temples operated as places of worship. In conclusion, Dr. Samosyuk argues that the Kuche region, while continuously engaging with various peoples in China and the nomadic world, developed its own independent Buddhist culture incorporating elements of Gandara, Hellenistic, Persian, and Chinese art and culture. Finally, she states that the culture of the Kuche region had a profound influence not only on the Tarim Basin, but also on the Buddhist grottoes of Dunhuang and the central region of China. A considerable portion of Dr. Samosyuk's article addresses efforts to estimate the date of the grottoes in the Kuche region. After citing various scholars' views on the dates of the murals, she argues that the Kizil grottoes likely began prior to the fifth century, which is at least 100 years earlier than most current estimates. This conclusion is reached by comparing the iconography of the armor depicted in the murals with related materials excavated from the surrounding area (such as items of Sogdian art). However, efforts to date the Buddhist grottoes of Kuche must take many factors into consideration, such as the geological characteristics of the caves, the themes and styles of the Buddhist paintings, the types of pigments used, and the clothing, hairstyles, and ornamentation of the depicted figures. Moreover, such interdisciplinary data must be studied within the context of Kuche's relations with nearby cultures. Scientific methods such as radiocarbon dating could also be applied for supplementary materials. The preface of Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia reveals that the catalog is the first volume covering the Hermitage Museum's collection of Kuche art, and that the next volume in the series will cover a large collection of mural fragments that were taken from Berlin during World War II. For many years, the whereabouts of these mural fragments were unknown to both the public and academia, but after restoration, the fragments were recently re-introduced to the public as part of the museum's permanent exhibition. We look forward to the next publication that focuses on these mural fragments, and also to future catalogs introducing the artifacts of Turpan and Khotan. Currently, fragments of the murals from the Kuche grottoes are scattered among various countries, including Russia, Germany, and Korea. With the publication of this catalog, it seems like an opportune time to publish a comprehensive catalog on the murals of the Kuche region, which represent a compelling mixture of East-West culture that reflects the overall characteristics of the region. A catalog that includes both the remaining murals of the Kizil grottoes and the fragments from different parts of the world could greatly enhance our understanding of the murals' original state. Such a book would hopefully include a more detailed and interdisciplinary discussion of the artifacts and murals, including scientific analyses of the pigments and other materials from the perspective of conservation science. With the ongoing rapid development in western China, the grotto murals are facing a serious crisis related to climate change and overcrowding in the oasis city of Xinjiang. To overcome this challenge, the cultural communities of China and other countries that possess advanced technology for conservation and restoration must begin working together to protect and restore the murals of the Silk Road grottoes. Moreover, centers for conservation science should be established to foster human resources and collect information. Compiling the data of Russian expeditions related to the grottoes of Kuche (among the results of Western archaeological surveys of the Silk Road in the early twentieth century), Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia represents an important contribution to research on Kuche's Buddhist art and the Silk Road, which will only be enhanced by a future volume introducing the mural fragments from Germany. As the new authoritative source for academic research on the artworks and artifacts of the Kuche region, the book also lays the groundwork for new directions for future studies on the Silk Road. Finally, the book is also quite significant for employing a new editing system that improves its academic clarity and convenience. In conclusion, Dr. Kira Samosyuk, who planned the publication, deserves tremendous praise for taking the research of Silk Road art to new heights.