This volume investigates the cultural and literary significance of the manuscripts discovered in the Dunhuang caves, focusing on their role in preserving vernacular Chinese traditions. Arthur Waley, a renowned scholar of Chinese and Japanese literature, provides a curated selection of these texts, translating them to reveal the intersection of religious narrative and popular storytelling. By examining these ballads and stories, the work argues for the importance of non-canonical texts in understanding the social and linguistic evolution of medieval China.

Scholars and historians regard this collection as a vital resource for understanding the vernacular literature of the Tang Dynasty. Readers frequently note the scholarly precision of Waley's translations, which remain a standard reference for those studying the Dunhuang manuscripts.