What are the main areas where the existing murals in China are located?

Shanxi is one of the provinces with the most developed Buddhist and Taoist activities in the Central Plains of China, so Buddhist temples, Taoist temples and other religious buildings are extremely prosperous. The number of murals attached to these temples, the long history, and the essence of art are all unique in the country. As far as we know, the temple murals of the province reach 27,259 square meters, from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, stretching continuously, colorful.

The murals of the Tang Dynasty of Foguang Temple in Shanxi, the murals of the five dynasties of Dayun Temple are the only murals of the temple in China, the murals of the Song Dynasty of Kaihua Temple, the murals of the Jin Dynasty of Yanshan Temple, the Taoist murals of Yongle Palace in Ruicheng, etc., are all masterpieces in ancient Chinese murals, which have been well preserved so far.

A mural is a painting made on a natural or artificial wall by means of drawing, sculpture or other modeling means. As an ancillary part of the building, its decorative and beautifying functions make it an important aspect of environmental art. Mural painting is one of the earliest forms of painting in human history.

Most of the existing prehistoric paintings are cave and cliff paintings, the earliest of which is about 20,000 years ago. Fragment of a mural painting in the Qin Palace in Xianyang, Shaanxi, China, dating back 2300 years. Murals were also flourishing during the Han Dynasty and the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and many have been unearthed since the 20th century.

The Tang Dynasty formed a prosperous period of murals, such as Dunhuang murals and Kizil Grottoes, which were the peak of mural art at that time. After the Song Dynasty, the murals gradually declined. After 1949, the frescoes were restored and developed.

1. Ancient Chinese murals can be divided into three forms according to their uses, tomb murals, cave temple murals and temple murals. Paintings are painted on the walls of burial chambers, grottoes, and temples, which are also the most common uses of ancient murals.

2. According to the different production processes, it can be divided into two categories: hand-painted and relief.

3. According to the different materials of the murals, they can also be divided into dry murals, frescoes, and tempera paintings.

Wax painting, oil painting, acrylic painting.

Mosaic murals, ceramic murals, wall carvings and other types.

Mural refers to the painting made on the natural or artificial wall surface by painting, sculpture or other modeling means, which is an accessory part of the building and is a combination of decorative and artistic.

Mural painting is one of the earliest forms of painting in human history, the Tang Dynasty was the prosperous period of mural painting in China, and after the Song Dynasty, mural painting gradually declined. After the modern era, it has re-emerged, and modern murals involve many categories, and have become a marginal art among the disciplines of painting, sculpture, craft, architecture and modern industrial technology.

The existing murals in China are mainly distributed in regions with a long history and culture, such as Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan and other provinces. Among them, the hinterland of the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi Province is the main area, including Dunhuang, Mogao Grottoes, Longmen Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes and other places. The murals in these areas have an irreplaceable position in terms of painting techniques, subject matter, and historical value.

What are the characteristics of murals in the hinterland of the Qinling Mountains.

The murals in the hinterland of the Qinling Mountains are mainly in the Tang Dynasty, and the total number of murals has reached tens of thousands. Its characteristics are mainly reflected in the following three aspects: First, in terms of painting techniques, these murals are mainly painted in color, based on lines, and the colors are rich, bright and bright.

Second, the subject matter is extensive, these murals not only contain the content of Buddhism and Taoism, but also include the content of politics, culture, military and other aspects, reflecting the appearance of the whole society at that time. Third, the historical value is high, these murals are a true portrayal of the society, culture and art of the Tang Dynasty, and are important material evidence for us to study the history, culture and art of the Tang Dynasty.

What are the dilemmas faced by mural conservation?

However, the conservation of murals today faces many difficulties. One of the biggest difficulties is how to balance the relationship between cultural relics protection and social development. For example, due to the pressure of economic development, some places have been cautious about the protection of cultural relics, resulting in serious damage to some murals.

In addition, there are also some foreign buyers and private collectors who buy Chinese murals privately, resulting in a large number of murals being lost overseas. All these circumstances have greatly damaged the preservation and inheritance of Chinese murals.

How to strengthen the protection of murals.

Strengthening the protection of Chinese murals requires the joint efforts of the whole society. First of all, it is necessary to strengthen the formulation of laws and policies for the protection of cultural relics, and increase investment in conservation work. Second, it is necessary to strengthen the personnel training and scientific research strength of national cultural relics protection units, museums and other institutions, and increase the technical strength and professional knowledge of mural protection.

In addition, expanding the public's awareness of protection and advocating everyone's participation in the protection of cultural relics is one of the important means of mural protection.

What is the cultural value of the murals?

Mural is an important carrier of history, culture and art, which not only has aesthetic value, but more importantly, it carries rich historical and cultural information. In the murals, we can see the style of ancient Chinese society, culture and art, and understand the development of culture, the changes in people's lives, and the evolution of the political system at that time. To a certain extent, the murals are also a record of the social ideology and culture of the time.

Therefore, the value of the mural is irreplaceable.

Epilogue. Chinese murals are a treasure of Chinese culture and play an immeasurable role in our historical research and cultural and artistic inheritance. To strengthen the protection of murals, we need the joint efforts of the whole society, only in this way can these precious cultural heritage be better inherited and carried forward.

The existing murals in China are mainly distributed in the central and western regions.

For example, in Gansu, Shanxi, and Luoyang in western Henan, there are many Buddhist and Taoist buildings and many murals in these places. At the same time, due to the relatively dry climate in the Midwest, the murals are easy to preserve.

Murals are one of the oldest forms of painting, such as primitive society human beings carved various figures on the cave wall to remember expressions, which is the earliest mural painting. Egypt, India, Babylon, China and other ancient civilizations have preserved many ancient murals. During the Italian Renaissance, mural painting flourished, and many famous works were produced.

Since the Zhou Dynasty in China, the palaces and even tombs of all dynasties have been decorated with murals; With the prosperity of religious beliefs, murals are widely used in temples and grottoes (such as Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Ruicheng Yongle Palace, etc.). There are a large number of famous Buddhist murals and Taoist mural relics in our country. Some of these relics have been included in the World Cultural Heritage List as a testimony to our ancient civilization.

Types of murals

The murals on the building can be roughly divided into rough floor murals, brushed murals, painted murals, relief murals, mosaic murals and other craft material murals. The traditional floor painting is divided into wet murals and dry murals.

Ancient Chinese murals are generally distinguished by the different places where they are painted, including hall murals, temple murals, cave murals, tomb murals, and residential murals. The main purpose of modern murals is to build and decorate, and the coordination and integration with the building and the surrounding environment is the most important, and the materials are more diverse and durable.

Cave murals are an important part of ancient Chinese art, mainly distributed along the Silk Road in central and northwest China, among which Dunhuang in Gansu Province, Shigu Mountain in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, Famen Temple in Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, Yungang Grottoes in Datong City, Shanxi Province and Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang City are the most famous. In addition, the cave murals are also distributed in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia and other regions. These cave murals not only reflect the political, economic, cultural, and religious conditions of the time, but are also outstanding representatives of Li Xin in ancient Chinese painting, sculpture, architecture and other art forms.

Grotto murals are one of the important forms of traditional Chinese art, widely distributed, mainly in the following areas: Dunhuang, Gansu Province: Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes is the world's largest and richest treasure trove of grotto art, and is one of the representatives of Chinese grotto art.

Shaanxi Province: Shaanxi has the famous Maijishan Grottoes, Longmen Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes and so on. Henan Province:

Henan's Longmen Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes, Big Buddha Temple Grottoes, Shaolin Temple Grottoes, etc. are China's famous grotto art heritage. Anhui Province: The Jiuhuashan Grottoes and Xuancheng Rock Paintings in Anhui are all famous grotto art heritage.

Hubei Province: The Yellow Crane Tower Grottoes, Macheng Grottoes, and Maoshan Grottoes in Hubei Province are also important grotto art heritage in China. Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region:

Xinjiang's Thousand Buddha Caves, Kuqa Da Ji Lead Pure Buddha Temple, Kashgar Buddha Yin Temple, etc. also have famous grottoes and fierce art heritage.

The frescoes date back to the Stone Age. The Stone Age is the embryonic period of Chinese painting, accompanied by the improvement of stone tool production methods, and the development of primitive arts and crafts. But a few years ago, the only examples of Chinese painting we had were Neolithic ornamentation depicted on ceramic vessels.

But in recent years, rock art has been discovered in many provinces of China, leading historians to push the origins of Chinese painting back to the Paleolithic period.

There are two forms of murals, one is to paint the work directly on the wall, and the other is to paint the work on canvas and cover it on the wall. The earliest murals, due to the limited tools and conditions, were carved on the wall, and this kind of mural was carved murals. The carvings of the murals are relatively rough, and the content is generally large animals, and people expect to catch more, which is a symbol of a good life.

With the advent of various pigments, the forms of frescoes began to be enriched, and by the 14th century, Italians gradually began to paint frescoes on wet plasterboard, which could penetrate into the plaster.

After drying, the color of the mural is more vivid, which greatly improves the quality of the mural and is known as a mural. Murals were widely adopted after they appeared, and many famous murals were painted in this way. The evolution of painting has created writing, the earliest writing comes from, and over time, some of the ** that describe things have become more readable hieroglyphs, gradually forming different branches and texts, representing Sumerian murals, painted on the walls or ceilings can be said to be the first to appear in the world.

They built temples, made Buddha statues, and painted murals in them. The murals of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang represent the artistic achievements of that era. Mural painting is one of the art of human beings, originated in the Five Dynasties and Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern Wei Dynasty, further developed in the Wei period, gradually matured, its heyday was the Tang Dynasty, the subject matter is rich, the image is vivid, in the form of the pure land in disguise, the picture and story of Jingbian painting, reflecting a large number of social reality, due to historical reasons, Dunhuang art in the Song Dynasty to decline.