Ancient murals restored with labors of love

Ancient Murals Restored with Labors of Love

Clouds and mist shroud the magnificent ancient buildings of an imperial palace, with incense permeating the corridors before wafting beyond the city walls. This magnificently detailed scene forms part of a mural discovered at the Tomb of Prince Yide, the grandson of Emperor Li Zhi and Empress Wu Zetian during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Located in Xianyang, Shaanxi province, the tomb is more than 85 kilometers from downtown Xi'an, the provincial capital. The mural is in a collection that has been housed at Shaanxi History Museum in Xi'an for more than two decades.

In September, replicas of this mural and more than 40 others from the museum were featured in an exhibition that formed a tour at universities in Taipei, Taichung and Taoyuan in Taiwan.

Liu Jia, a project manager for the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Exchange Association and a curator for the exhibition, describes the murals as " time capsules" . " They reveal the prosperity during the Tang Dynasty, enabling us to explore, research and verify how politics, society, art and culture developed at that time, " Liu said.

Murals discovered in underground graves were often badly affected by moisture, mold and bacteria. They needed to be restored and cared for before going on display. Yang Wenzong, 57, deputy director of the museum's mural collection base and a graduate from the School of Culture and Museology at Northwest University in Xi'an, started work on restoring cultural relics immediately after joining Shaanxi History Museum in 1986.