The Northern Qi Mural Museum, where 99% of people don't know what they should be looking at

When I visited the Northern Qi Museum in Taiyuan, I noticed that many tourists were clueless about what to focus on, or were overly fascinated by specific moments in the paintings (such as a horse getting startled and defecating), which is actually incorrect. As murals in tombs, they have preserved the art of that time for us, allowing us to understand the culture, clothing, painting, and architectural characteristics and standards of that period. The earliest surviving paintings can only be traced back to the Tang dynasty, while the underground world has captured that era from 1500 years ago for us. The authentic murals in the Northern Qi Museum this time come from the Jiuyuangang mural tomb in Xinzhou, the Northern Qi mural tomb at Shuiquanliang in Shuozhou (the tomb dates from the late Northern Qi period, and the tomb owner should be the military and political commander in charge of defending the Shuozhou area), the tomb of Prince Dong'an of the Northern Qi, Lou Rui, in Taiyuan, and the on-site preservation of the tomb of Prince Wu'an of the Northern Qi, Xu Xianshou. To summarize, the highlights are as follows: ☑️ Look at the 'Simplified Standard Beauty' new painting style of the Northern Qi The overall painting style is simple and brisk, with iron line outlines and heavy color filling. Some paintings have the technique of gradient shading, which is one of the earliest examples. The painters were highly skilled, and the paintings of people, horses, and scenes are orderly in terms of primary and secondary focus, appropriately dense and sparse, with ingenious conception and technique. ☑️ Look at the funeral customs and mythological legends Ascension paintings often feature images of fearsome beasts, swans, immortals, and even mythological figures like the God of Wind, the God of Rain, and the Thunder God. The fearsome beasts in these paintings have similarities with the mythical creatures described in the 'Classic of Mountains and Seas'. ☑️ Look at the scenes of noble life at the time The murals show scenes of travel, banquets, and hunting, vividly depicting the life of the nobility, the status of women, food, etc., reflecting a microcosm of the historical culture and social life of that era. ☑️ Look at the clothing style From the murals, one can discern the clothing characteristics of the local nobility, such as the flying bird hairstyle, etc. These murals and the murals of Gao Huan's tomb in the Hebei Provincial Museum have many similarities and connections, and are important physical materials for studying the Northern Qi. ——Travel tips—— ▫️ Opening hours: 8 AM to 6:30 PM ▫️ Visiting time: About two hours. ▫️ Admission: Free, but advance reservation is required. If you haven't made a reservation, you can also try to get a ticket on-site.