The Ningxia grottoes found "double-layered" murals, but experts say that the ancients were violently destroyed
The Dunhuang murals in Lanzhou are the world's top cultural heritage. However, Mount Meru in Ningxia also has many precious ancient murals. In June 2020, two very precious murals appeared in a grotto of less than 60 square meters in Mount Meru. Experts said bluntly: Thanks to the ancients' "painting snakes and adding feet" to create such a spectacle, is there any unknown mystery in this?
This has caused the phenomenon that there are actually double-layer murals in the Ming and Qing dynasties in the Lingguan Cave. Many authoritative archaeologists in Ningxia believe that among the cave murals they know, the phenomenon of double-layer murals is relatively rare. First, this is because, if there were murals in the cave earlier, the murals were already in ruins. Later generations of craftsmen still cover it up by applying grass mud and white ash, filling it all up, which saves more time. It is not clear why, during the Kangxi Dynasty, these mural craftsmen chose to use the method of covering and copying, and repainted a lifelike mural work on their original paintings.
According to common sense, these mural craftsmen are all tasked, and once the top boss finds that the paintings in the cave do not meet the requirements, these craftsmen cannot eat and walk. Recreating the original painting should be the easiest thing to create, and it will not affect the best way to create a new painting. Therefore, experts believe that perhaps these craftsmen in the Qing Dynasty "painted snakes and added feet", or that they were in awe of the gods in the murals and did not dare to cover them up, but re-created new murals through other methods. This is why in the Lingguan Cave, there are precious double-layered murals.
The author feels that if it were not for the reverence of these ancient craftsmen for the shrine of the Buddha, it would be difficult for future generations to appreciate the charm of the double-layer murals. In the next step, the Ningxia Bureau of Culture and Tourism will re-protect and reinforce all the caves in Mount Meru. The double-layered murals in Lingguan Cave will be listed as key protection objects.
Reference: Excerpt from Xinhua Net