Location info and some photos withheld. As of my last visit, this mural site is vulnerable to theft or destruction. I have withheld the location beneath the county level and any photographs (of steles, signs, scenery, etc.) that might identify the place. If you are an accredited scholar and you have a good reason to want to see this information, email me and we’ll talk about it.
Structure Type: Village temple 村廟. The temple is faced to the south by an opera stage 戲台.
Location: Yu County, Hebei Province 河北省蔚縣. The complex is located south of the main gate of the old village fort; presumably this area was once open fields, although it is now closed in by the newer village.
Period: 18th Century. A stone stele exists at the site explains that the temple was moved from elsewhere and rebuilt at this site in the year 1710. At this time, statues were installed and murals were painted by an artist of the surname Wang 王. A second stele records that the site was renovated again in 1785. The statues were repaired at this time, but no mention is made of murals, and no “painter” 畫工 appears in the list of workers. There are other steles at the site, but they are not legible. If we accept either of these dates (and I do think the style points to that period), these images are evidence for extremely early spread of Western-influenced images beyond the imperial court (see below).
Another painting in a very similar style (particularly the female figures) is located about 80 kilometers away in Zhuolu County 涿鹿縣, although this is not dated and in ruinous condition.
Artist: An artist is given on the 1710 stele, but only the surname Wang 王 is visible.
Mural Contents: The goddesses are not now labeled, but the usual trinity is the central Primordial Worthy of Resplendent Mists 碧霞元君, plus the Goddess who Gives Children 送子娘娘, and the Goddess of Vision 眼光娘娘. The three would have been depicted on statues along the central (northern) wall of the room. These images were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, but places where the altars would have stood are still visible. The murals on the wall behind the altar depicts the screens that stood behind their thrones, around which beautiful servant girls peak out, playing genteel instruments. The two side walls depict the demonic procession of the Goddesses across the world to grant children, out and back from the Traveling Palace of Mt. Tai 泰山行宮.
The opera stage across from the temple also has murals, which depict screens.
Other Notes: The architecture in the temple murals betrays clear European influence, with tall towers, wide porticos, and a sense of receding perspective. If we accept either of the two 18th century dates, this represents an extremely early example of Western-influenced art away from the coasts or the imperial court. This temple is now used to store coffins, and photography inside is difficult.
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