Research on Tang Dynasty Tomb Murals

Author: Li Xingming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: This book is a comprehensive study on Tang Dynasty tomb murals. The main body of the book is divided into three parts: Upper, Middle, and Lower, each part consisting of 3 chapters, totaling 9 chapters. The Upper Part organizes and studies the form and arrangement of murals in Tang Dynasty mural tombs from an archaeological perspective, focusing on the diachronic changes in the form and arrangement of mural tombs in the Tang Dynasty capital region of Guanzhong, Shaanxi, providing a systematic material of physical evidence for in-depth research with a symbolic control background of Tang Dynasty historical and cultural evolution. The Middle Part explores the content and layout of Tang Dynasty tomb murals from the perspective of iconology, dividing them into different image systems based on their nature and function, and attempts to uncover the cultural connotations within different image systems, revealing Confucian ritual thought, divination and sorcery thought, and Taoist cultural elements in Tang Dynasty tomb murals, and interpreting the basic characteristics of funeral concepts at that time. The Lower Part places Tang Dynasty tomb murals as artworks within the original context of Tang Dynasty painting history, discussing the formal styles, drawing language, and aesthetic interests of figure painting, landscape painting, and flower-and-bird painting in murals, and comparing them with documented records and handed-down Zheng axis paintings, aiming to further expand the understanding of the state of Tang Dynasty painting art. Although these three aspects of research have different perspectives and methods, they are interrelated and constitute an experimental research from a theoretical point of view.