An Unprecedented Historical Scroll of the Song Dynasty--Kaifa Temple's 'Qingliang Tu'

Kaifa Temple is located on the mid-slope of Sheli Mountain in the central part of Chenqu Town, Gaoping City, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province, about 17 kilometers from Gaoping City. The temple was founded in the second year of Wuping of the Northern Qi Dynasty (571 AD) and was originally named Qingliang Temple. It was a famous ancient temple during the 'Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms' period. In the Zhishun year of Emperor Mingzong of the Yuan Dynasty (1330 AD), it was renamed 'Kaifa Zen Temple', and after the Ming Dynasty, it was again called 'Kaifa Temple'. According to the inscription on the stele 'Record of Meritorious Deeds in the Repair of Kaifa Temple on Sheli Mountain in Zezhou', the content of the murals in Kaifa Temple is as follows: the west sequence is 'The Sutra of the Great Convenience and Buddha's Repayment of Kindness', the Yuan wall (west) is 'The Universal Gate Chapter of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva'; the east sequence is 'The Avatamsaka Sutra', and the Chen wall (east) is 'The Sutra of Maitreya Bodhisattva's Ascension to the Tushita Heaven'. The murals were completed by two groups of painters: the west sequence and the Yuan wall (west) were painted by Guo Fa and others, while the east sequence and the Fan wall (east) were completed by Wang Daran and others. The murals of Kaifa Temple are masterpieces of mature painting from the period of Emperor Zhezong of the Song Dynasty and are extremely important representative works of Chinese painting 'Danqing'. This work had no name for a long time until 2019, when Wang Zan, the vice president of the China Academy of Art, named the mural 'Qingliang Lanruo Tu', now known as 'Qingliang Tu'. 'Qingliang Tu' more directly shows the past and present of Kaifa Temple. 'Qingliang Tu' depicts the Buddhist scenes in the mansion of a prince, a grand narrative work that is a microcosm of Chinese social life over nearly a thousand years. Its painting techniques, visual appreciation, linear expression, dynamic and static relationships, and spiritual connotation are all very superb, pushing Chinese painting to the peak of world painting art. It is an unprecedented and unparalleled mural of a temple from the Song Dynasty in China. Kaifa Temple was announced as a key cultural relic protection unit in Shanxi Province by the People's Government of Shanxi Province in May 1965. In June 2001, it was announced as a national key cultural relic protection unit by the State Council of the People's Republic of China. Ticket price: Free Opening hours: Winter 9:00-11:30 AM, 2:00-5:00 PM; Summer 9:00-11:30 AM, 3:00-6:00 PM; during national statutory holidays 9:00-6:00 PM. Transportation information: Take bus No. 3/401 from Gaoping City and transfer to bus No. 901, then walk 3.5 kilometers to reach. It is recommended to drive by yourself.