Note: This is a painting produced in the last fifty years by an artist who is presumably still alive. I do not have copyright in any way over this artist’s work. I’m reproducing it here because (a) these images are of ethnographic interest, (b) I’d hope that shining more light on contemporary mural and scroll painters will ultimately be good for their trade, and (c) frankly, these people seem unlikely to sue me. To that last point: It’s possible to commission murals and scrolls from village painters. If you’re interested, email me and I’d be happy to give you the contact information of several painters we met.
Structure Type: Village temple 村廟.
Location: South Jia [Family] Fort, Ying County, Shanxi Province 山西省應縣南賈寨村. The temple is located outside of the west-facing gate of the fortress, and slightly to the south. It is faced to the south by an opera stage, now rebuilt.
Period: 2002. The artist has signed and dated the work.
Artist: Tian Huren 田虎仁, of Tian [Family] Fort Village, Peaceful-Cliffs Township, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province 山西省榆林市安崖鄉田寨村. Mural-painting traditions have survived much better in northern Shaanxi province than they have anywhere else I’m familiar with; it’s not surprising to me that these artists are now working elsewhere in China.
Mural Contents: The temple contains front-wall shrines to Lord Guan 關公, the Dragon Kings 龍王 (i.e., the Mother of Water 水母), and the Horse King 馬王. The side-walls show the procession of the Dragon Kings out to dispense rain on one wall, and on the other wall, panel-narratives depicting the Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三國演義. Besides this, there’s a little shrine out front to the Ghost King 鬼王, as well as some pleasant wooden plaques hung up over the gate.
Other Notes: I put this up mainly because it’s an example of a contemporary painter traveling around northern China whose paintings, however folky, do seem to partake of the basic spatial logic of the older compositions. Particularly interesting is Tian Huren’s attention to the hidden space behind the altar, where he has painted a spring of water welling up around a red sun. This symbol is a very important one in the pre-Revolution iconographies, but this is the only contemporary temple I’ve seen which still includes it. I’d actually hoped to track this artist down in northern Shaanxi when I was there to ask him about this, but didn’t have time.
Full Gallery
