Dunhuang topography were found in the three
pieces of writings of Dunhuang Manuscripts in the collections of London and Paris respective: S.788?S.5448?P.3721. The three pieces of Dunhuang Manuscripts had recorded a story about ZHANG Xiao-
song who had killed a dragon at a
place near Dunhuang(then known as Shazhou) named the Spring of Jade Maid and this story had prevailing in Dunhuang for a long time and it was gradually grown more and more perfect in plot and complete in detail and had become very familiar with the local folks. With a profound historic background, it was found to be started from ZHANG Huai-shen, then the second generation of Dunhaung
Governor, who had made false claims of that they were the offspring of ZHANG Xiao-song, therefore, the prestigious clan of ZHANG
family had
taken a shift from previously claimed 'origin of ZHANG Family of the Qinghe River' to 'the origin of Nanyong ZHANG'. By a careful study, this article viewed that the event of change family name had taken place for a political purpose. By the time that the event had taken place while ZHANG Yi-chao, then the first generation of Dunhuang Governor, was dead leaving the governor position in blank, ZHANG Huai-shen had no other alternative than to get his commission as the new Dunhuang Governor from the Tang Court, he was so urgent to making a request for a decorated staff used by ancient emissaries as credentials and the officially rank of governor conferred by the central government of the Tang Empire.
More abstracts about the The Study of History Background to prevailing the Legend of ZHANG Xiao-song Killing the Dragon