A Northern Song Dynasty mural known as "Along the River During the Qingming Festival"

The mural in Kaihua Temple is titled "Cool and Cool Hermitage" and was painted between the seventh year of Yuanyou reign of Emperor Zhezong of the Song Dynasty (1092) and the third year of Shaosheng reign (1096). The painter was named "Guo Fa". This kind of mural has both the accurate painting time and the author's name. Very rare. 1⃣️The murals cover an area of ​​about 88 square meters. From west to east, they are from "The Great Convenient Buddha Repaying Gratitude Sutra", "The Maitreya Sutra", "The Great and Vast Buddha Avatamsaka Sutra", and "The Great and Vast Buddha Avatamsaka Sutra". The paintings not only contain various Buddhist stories, such as the prince's previous life, the chakravartin who sacrificed his body for Buddha, and the king who cut off his flesh to save his mother, but also depictions of court life: the music, singing and dancing scenes are magnificent, and the court musicians have all kinds of musical instruments in their hands and the dancers are vivid. 2⃣️In addition, in the "Sutra of Repaying Gratitude" we can also see a scene of Song Dynasty market life: tourists watching fish, beautiful women leaning on the wall to look at handsome men, women weaving, ships, etc. Even the depiction of various tools such as various farm tools is meticulous, making people feel as if they are wandering in the streets of the Song Dynasty and integrating into the lives of the people in the painting. 3⃣️The murals in Kaihua Temple are the only existing large-scale temple murals from the Northern Song Dynasty in my country! The painter's technique and skills are so sophisticated that he used a green color similar to that in "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" and matched it with gold leaf gilding, making it even more magnificent and colorful. It can be said to be a masterpiece of Song Dynasty mural art. The main hall is not accessible, but the side halls on both sides are digitally displayed. The murals inside the hall have been restored, and with the help of cultural relics protection staff, you can go into the hall to admire them up close. I feel so lucky to be there. Address: Sheli Mountain, Chenqu Town, Gaoping City Time: 9:00-11:00, 15:00-17:00 Tickets: Free Parking: 10 yuan