Shanxi restoration of a Tang Dynasty mural tomb Mysterious "scissor hand" eye-catching

This is a figure of a figure under a tree, and the man's left hand is in the shape of a "scissor hand". (Courtesy of Taiyuan Cultural Relics Protection Research Institute)

Taiyuan, 17 Dec (Xinhua) -- This reporter learned from the Taiyuan Northern Qi Mural Museum that the Tomb of Guo Xing's murals in the Tang Dynasty has been basically restored, and diseases such as cracks, empty drums, and surface pollution in the murals have been "cured." They will be exhibited to the outside world when conditions are ripe.

In August 2019, Guo Xing's mural tomb was discovered during the construction of a campus wall at a primary school in Taiyuan City. The cultural relics department immediately carried out rescue excavations and relocated them to the Taiyuan Northern Qi Mural Museum for protection and restoration.

This tomb is a brick chamber tomb, which has not been stolen, and the four walls of the tomb, the top of the tomb, the coffin bed, the yongdao, the tomb door, etc. are decorated with exquisite murals. According to the epitaph, the owner of the tomb was Guo Xing, a tang dynasty knight. The tomb is nearly square in plan, with a length and width of 4.4 meters and a height of 4.2 meters, and the four walls are stacked and adducted from a height of 1.6 meters, and the top is pointed on all sides.

The murals are painted directly on the white gray surface, first with ink lines, drawing outlines, and then filling in color. The top is painted with astrological charts, four gods, draperies, etc.; the four walls of the tomb are painted with door officials, ladies, performances, and figures under trees; and there are kurama preparation maps, ox cart preparation maps, painted doors, maids, male attendants, etc.

What is particularly striking is that in the tomb maid figure, the man under the tree, and the yongdao male waiter figure, there are "scissor hand" gestures with the middle finger and index finger erected, and the rest of the fingers clenched, which modern people feel familiar and mysterious after seeing it.

Feng Gang, a research librarian at the Taiyuan Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics Protection, said that the murals of this tomb are exquisite, and the composition and painting style of the murals are similar to high-grade tombs such as the tomb of Prince Zhanghuai in the Shengtang Period in Xi'an, showing the more noble identity of the tomb owner and having important historical, artistic and scientific value.