Jinnan Treasure Yuan Dynasty Murals | Yongle Palace, Ruicheng, Shanxi

Arriving at the most famous Taoist temple in Jinnan—Yongle Palace, it is famous for its mural art. The murals here are the treasures of existing mural art in China, comparable to Dunhuang murals. Yongle Palace is the largest existing Yuan Dynasty Taoist temple in our country, one of the three ancestral homes of Quanzhen Sect, and a palace-style Taoist architectural complex built in memory of the famous Taoist figure in the Tang Dynasty, who was later hailed as one of the Eight Immortals, Lu Dongbin. The Yongle Palace was started in the second year of the Yuan Dynasty Dingzong Guiyou (1247 AD), including murals, and it was completed in the eighteenth year of the Yuan Dynasty Zhizheng (1358 AD), and the construction period lasted for more than 110 years. The "Chao Yuan Tu" mural in the Sanqing Hall of Yongle Palace is a treasure of the Yuan Dynasty, with a grand scene and many characters. Photography is prohibited, and a few pictures have been downloaded from the guide, the colors are obviously P, and the actual effect is much darker. However, it is not easy for the murals of 700 years to be preserved to this day. Tips: "Chao Yuan Tu" was completed in the second year of Yuan Taizheng (1325 AD), and was painted by Ma Junxiang and his son Ma Qi and others from Luoyang, Henan. The picture is 4.26 meters high and 94.6 meters long, depicting a grand scene of 290 Taoist gods and earth gods worshiping the highest respected god Yuan Shi Tianzun. The total area is 429.56 square meters. The mural is centered on eight 3-meter-high main gods (Nanji, Beiji, Dongji, Jade Emperor, Gou Chen, Mu Gong, Hou Tu, Jin Mu), with Qinglong and Baihu two star monarchs in front, and Tian Peng and Tian You two yuan generals behind, surrounded by immortal officials, celestial soldiers, strong men, Taiyi, servants, golden boys, jade girls, twenty-eight nights, thirty-two emperors, etc., gathering the great achievements of Tang and Song mural art, it is the peak masterpiece of the development of ancient temple murals in our country.