多元文化圣殿
敦煌作为中国古代各民族各地区以及东西方文化汇聚、融合的窗口，其本身就是一座多元文化交融的圣殿。中国的国学大师季羡林称：“世界上历史悠久、地域广阔、自成体系、影响深远的文化体系只有四个：中国、印度、希腊、伊斯兰，再没有第五个，而这四个文化体系汇流的地方只有一个，就是中国的敦煌和新疆地区，再没有第二个。”
敦煌文化是各种文明长期交流融汇的结晶，敦煌始终以中华文明为根基，不断吸收来自其他地域和民族多元文化成果。在留存于敦煌的古代文献当中，不仅有佛教典籍，还包括道教、景教、摩尼教典籍和祆教的记录，反映了多元宗教文化交流共存的面貌。在敦煌石窟当中，也可以看到来自希腊、印度、波斯、粟特等的多元艺术与中国本土艺术交流融合的实例。
由于敦煌地区多个民族、多种宗教、多样文化长期并存，其社会生活的各个方面都体现出多元融合的文化特点。如特定地理条件下发达的商业经济生活形态、汉胡兼顾的城市居住布局、农牧结合的饮食结构、华美多姿的服饰、不弃传统善融新俗的嫁娶丧葬等。世界上的四大文化体系能在敦煌互融共生，最根本的原因在于中国文化的包容性，这也是中华文明能长期繁荣发展的重要基石。
Temple of Multiculturalism
As a window through which various ethnic groups, regions, and Eastern and Western cultures converged and blended in ancient China, Dunhuang itself serves as a temple of multicultural integration. Renowned Chinese scholar Ji Xianlin (1911-2009) claimed that only four, rather than five, cultural systems in the world were ancient, extensive, self-contained, and far-reaching: Chinese, Indian, Greek, and Islamic. The only place where all four converged was the regions of Dunhuang and Xinjiang in China. Nowhere else shows evidence of the presence of all of them.
Dunhuang culture is the crystallization of long-term exchanges and integration among various civilizations. Rooted in Chinese civilization, Dunhuang has never stopped absorbing the diverse cultural achievements of other regions and ethnic groups. Ancient texts preserved in Dunhuang include not only Buddhist scriptures but also records of Daoism, Nestorianism, Manichaeism, and Zoroastrianism, reflecting the coexistence and exchanges of diverse religious cultures. The Dunhuang caves have preserved examples of interaction of various arts from Greece, India, Persia, and Sogdiana as they fused with indigenous Chinese art.
Due to the long-term coexistence of multiple ethnic groups, religions, and cultures there, various aspects of Dunhuang's social life reflect characteristics of multicultural integration. These include commercial activities shaped by specific geographical conditions, an urban residential layout accommodating both Han and non- Han communities, dietary structure and practices combining agriculture and pastoralism, gorgeous and varied clothing styles, and the traditional yet adaptable customs surrounding marriage and funerals. The fundamental reason the four major cultural systems of the world were able to coexist and integrate in Dunhuang was the inclusiveness of Chinese culture, which has also been a crucial cornerstone of Chinese civilization's longevity.
