A new exhibition of Tang Dynasty relics is now being shown at the Shaanxi History Museum. The collection consists of 16 pieces and paintings, and presents a vivid picture of China's cultural past. (Photo/CCTV.com)
Xi'an is home of the Terracotta Warriors, but they're not the only ones reeling in visitors these days. A new exhibition of Tang Dynasty relics is now being shown at the Shaanxi History Museum. The collection consists of 16 pieces and paintings, and presents a vivid picture of China's cultural past.
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These sixteen pieces of Tang Dynasty frescoes were elaborately selected from the Shaanxi History Museum's collection of over six hundred mural paintings unearthed in 14 Tang Dynasty tomb complexes.
This one, depicting singing and dancing scenes, presents a vivid image of China's ancient art world.
"Normally, we find murals inside a tomb with only one band performing or one person dancing. But this time we've found two bands depicted on one mural, one female and one male band. And there's two people dancing opposite to each other. We can see one musical band is comprised of different ethnic groups, including Han musicians and people from western regions," said Wen Jun, from Shaanxi History Museum.
The fresco is one of the best preserved ones. It was found on the east wall of the tomb of Han Xiu, a scholar and prime minister during the Tang dynasty.
Another one, unearthed from the same tomb, is a landscape mural.
"On the mural, there's rivers, mountains, a pavilion and the sun. We can tell from the layout and the strokes the landscape matured during Tang dynasty," Wen said.
Also on show is rarely-seen two-layered fresco discovered at the tomb of Prince Li Xian. The first layer is a portrait of three maids, including a dwarf maid, and the second layer is the portrait of two maids.
