Cave murals were left by the ancients, so what does it mean?

Mural painting is one of the oldest forms of painting. People in primitive society painted various figures in caves, the main purpose of which was to describe the events and people's mood at that time. This is the earliest mural. According to historical records, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty painted gods like Ganquan Palace and heroes like Qilin Pavilion, all of which were murals.

At present, many ancient murals have been preserved in ancient civilizations such as Egypt, India, Babylon and China. During the Italian Renaissance, mural creation was very prosperous, and many famous works were produced.

In China, palaces and even tombs have been decorated with murals since the Zhou Dynasty. With the prosperity of religious belief, murals are widely used in temples and grottoes (such as Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and Ruicheng Yongle Palace).

There are still a large number of famous Buddhist murals and Taoist murals in China. Some of these cultural relics have been included in the protection list of world cultural heritage as a witness of our ancient civilization.

The existing prehistoric paintings are mostly cave and cliff murals, the earliest of which was about 20,000 years ago.

Fragments of Qin Gong mural in Xianyang, Shaanxi, China, 2300 years ago. Murals in the Han Dynasty, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties are also very prosperous, and many people have been unearthed since the 20th century. The heyday of Dunhuang murals, Qizil grottoes and other murals was the peak of mural art at that time. After the Song Dynasty, murals gradually declined.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, scrolls prevailed and murals declined.

Dondero wrote the poem "Seven Passes on April 8th": "The inscription is not in Jin, but the mural is in Liang."

Shi Cheng and Zhang Xifu in Tang Dynasty's Interview with Chang'an Temple Lian and Hua Lian: "It's a pity that murals don't die in the world, so why should future generations sweat over new paintings! "

Song Luyou's Notes on the Old Learning Temple Volume II: "There are mural calves in the west wing of Jiangdu Temple."

Guo Moruo's Religious Beliefs of Li Bai and Du Fu: "There is a wall in the Taiwei Palace, which was written by the famous painter Wu Daozi."

To put it bluntly, the murals in ancient caves are just like the notes we are taking now, but they are just records. However, when people show them in the form of paintings, they have formed certain artistic achievements, just like the murals in Dunhuang Grottoes are an indescribable wealth of mankind. They let us know the living conditions of people at that time, as well as the details of life such as clothing, diet, life and culture, which played a great role in our understanding of the lives of the ancients.