This paper reviews the arduous course of years over which various academics of Dunhuang studies compiled the Dictionary of Dunhuang Studies and Dunhuang Art Dictionary. These works can be considered monumental achievements for a wealth of reasons: the categories covered, number of items contained and the innovation of the contents; the fact that these works were compiled and edited by three generations of researchers, and the stylistic features of the annotative text and effective application of high-definition digital color images. The publication of these dictionaries not only fills a large blank in the canon of Dunhuang art reference texts, it also serves the noble goal of introducing Dunhuang art to a wider audience. For the value of these texts within the discipline and beyond, these compendiums truly exemplify the merit of passing on knowledge-teaching men to fish truly feeds for a lifetime.
