Portrait of Xing Wu Temple

The front hall, Sakyamuni Buddha Hall, is three rooms wide and three rooms deep, with a small cloth tile hanging from the top of the mountain and a treasure hall in front. The front of the temple is a statue of Sakyamuni, and the wall is painted with 83 square meters of murals. The content is China Buddhist stories and folk fairy tales. The drawing level is not as good as that of Houtang, and the preservation is not complete enough. The back hall is also the main hall of the temple. It is built on a platform with a height of 1 m, with three rooms wide and three rooms deep. There are buildings before and after, and the plane is cross-shaped. At both ends of the temple ridge, there is a kiss from the dragon head and phoenix tail. The cornice is far-reaching and the slope of the tile roof is gentle, so it has a comfortable appearance and a special shape, commonly known as Wuhua Octagonal Hall. There are 120 square meters of heavy color murals in the temple, among which the four-wall murals are the most wonderful. There are three rows from top to bottom, and there are more than 500 statues of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, such as Heaven, Earth, Earth, Lohan, Bodhisattva, Chenghuangdi and loyal ministers. They are divided into more than 120 small groups, and each group has a title list next to it, which forms the artistic characteristics of mural painting in the integration of the three religions. The north wall is 2.8 meters high and 3.95 meters wide. The murals are mainly based on Buddhist themes, including Dishi, Brahma, Tianlong Babu, Four Heavenly Kings, Jade Emperor, etc. 120 more than 20 Taoist and Buddhist figures who are now angry. The east and west walls are 2.8 meters high and 7.6 meters wide, and the murals are mainly Taoism. On the east wall, there are figures above *** 130, such as Antarctic Daxian, Dafusang, Daejeon Xuan, Bodhisattva and Gui Mu. Western murals include Arctic Emperor, Dabana and others, Dragon Gods of the Five Lakes and others, and Zhenjun who worships Ning to protect the country, with more than 40 figures/kloc-0. The height and width of the south wall are the same as those of the east and west walls, and the murals are mainly secular figures. On the east side, there are portraits of kings and bodhisattvas, martyrs who died for their country, 900 or 600 streets and lanes, and more than 80 bodies. However, there are many people on both sides of the picture, such as the ghost king, the city god and so on. In ancient times, there were more than 60 sages, wives, empresses and imperial secretaries. Although these paintings are all religious themes, we can still see the shadow of real life through the curtain of religion, and some even directly depict the image of working people.

The mural painting style of this temple inherits the traditional painting method of ancient murals in China, with skillful techniques, natural and unrestrained lines, bright colors, vivid characters, clear priorities and orderly levels. The color of murals is based on stone green and vermilion, and harmony is obtained from strong contrast, and the colors are rich and harmonious. The pigments used are mainly minerals. These pigments have good stability and long storage time. Although they have gone through hundreds of years, their colors are still very bright. The mural also uses a lot of powder and gold, and the whole mural looks gorgeous, magnificent and dazzling. Describing objects with ink lines is a major feature of China's paintings. There are abundant descriptions of lines in Xing Wu temple murals, and the types of "lines" are relatively complete and properly used. On the basis of inheriting the excellent tradition of line drawing in Tang and Song Dynasties, it has made new development. Starting from the actual needs of the object, the author skillfully uses the arrangement and combination changes of lines such as rhythm, strewn at random, reality, rigidity and softness, thickness and exhibition, and depicts the characters very vividly, giving people a feeling of soul and life. The content and texture of the object are also very good. Murals are rich in content, all-encompassing, exquisite in skill and of high artistic value. They are of great significance to the study of ancient social life, customs, ancient art history and traditional painting art. They are precious treasures in the remains of ancient murals in China and are listed as national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council.