Note: Part or all of this painting has now been cut off the wall and stolen. If you see this or a fragment of this in a gallery or collection, you should inform the auction-house, local police or Interpol as appropriate.

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 above photos are a nice illustration of architectural progression in this area of China; the building on the left is probably 16th century, the building on the right probably 18th. The murals are in the right-hand building.

Location: Yu County, Hebei Province 河北蔚縣. The buildings sit outside of the east-facing gate of the fort. Originally there was a Temple to Lord Guan 關公廟 and a Temple to the Goddesses 娘娘廟 next to each other. Both buildings faced an opera stage across a wide courtyard.

Period: Undated. 18th century on style.

Artist: Unknown.

Mural Contents: The murals show scenes from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三國演義, although not a single such scene now survives intact. The remnants though are very pretty.

Other Notes: These buildings were plastered over and used as schoolrooms during the Cultural Revolution. Later on the roof caved in and someone cut most of one wall out, presumably to get at the murals. Were someone to do a careful restoration on these buildings, the plaster could presumably be scraped away to reveal most of the murals beneath.

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