On the morning of the 14th, the "Reproduction of Restoration and Convergence of Huaguang - Special Exhibition of Data Aggregation Achievements of Longmen Grottoes Dispersed Cultural Relics", hosted by Longmen Grottoes Research Institute and co-organized by Luoyang Museum, School of Humanities and Social Sciences of Xi'an Jiaotong University and Cultural Heritage Research Institute of Zhejiang University, opened at Luoyang Museum.
This exhibition focuses on the cultural relics of Longmen Grottoes at home and abroad represented by the "Queen's Rite Buddha Map", and for the first time systematically presents the digital achievements of Longmen Grottoes Research Institute in recent years using three-dimensional digital technology to realize the "integration of body and head and digital reset" of diaspora cultural relics through "data aggregation", opening up a new path of "digital return" of diaspora cultural relics in the new era, and creating the "Longmen Model" of "friendly cooperation, multi-track integration, data aggregation and achievement sharing" of the protection and utilization of diaspora cultural relics. A new chapter in the digital protection and utilization of Longmen Grottoes has been opened.
The exhibition is divided into four sections, namely "Death in Troubled Times: Theft and Looting of Longmen Grottoes", "Prosperous Chapter: Restoration and Integration of Diasporic Cultural Relics", "National Treasure Reproduction: Data Aggregation of Emperor and Empress Rite Buddha Maps", and "Exquisite Collection: An All-Encompassing Art Temple".
Unit 1: "Troubled Times: The Looting of Longmen Grottoes"
This unit outlines the history of the theft, looting, and exquisite cultural transport of Longmen Grottoes in the first half of the 20th century. For the first time, the historical facts of scholars, explorers and photographers from home and abroad who came to Longmen Grottoes to investigate in the form of a timeline were systematically presented. It presents the historical situation of Longmen Grottoes stolen and looted in the form of new and old photos of Longmen Grottoes in the form of a century of light and shadow, and intuitively presents the current situation of the stolen cultural relics of Longmen Grottoes scattered around the world in the form of world map distribution, instantly bringing the audience into the stormy historical years of the first half of the 20th century.
Unit 2: "The Glory of the Ages: The Restoration and Integration of Diasporic Cultural Relics"
This unit tells the story of 8 lost overseas cultural relics returned to the hometown of Longmen Grottoes since the new era. Longmen Grottoes Research Institute actively promotes the new proposition of "digital return" through digitalization, informatization and other high-tech means. The institute uses three-dimensional digital technology to carry out "body and head integration, digital reset" of the above physical return and digital return cultural relics, among which the seven diasporic cultural relics that can be confirmed in situ are "integrated and digitally reset", and they are fully presented in the form of 3D printing. At the same time, in carrying out the research and display of digital reset of diaspora cultural relics, Longmen Grotto Research Institute has also explored the technical method of using three-dimensional digital technology to explore the in-situ location of diaspora cultural relics, and scientifically evaluate and confirm the in-situ position by accurately evaluating the quantitative value of the registration and compliance. In the form of 20 exhibits combined with pictures, the exhibition tells the extraordinary journey of diasporic cultural relics from the ups and downs to the return of the prosperous era to the "unity of body and head", witnessing the great leap of the Chinese nation from standing up, getting rich to becoming strong.
Unit 3: "Reproduction of National Treasures: Data Aggregation of Imperial Buddha Maps"
This unit focuses on the data aggregation and digital restoration of the "Empress Rite Buddha Map" of the Northern Wei Dynasty of Longmen Grottoes, Binyang Middle Cave, and tells about this national treasure-level cultural relic in the history of the development of Buddhism, sculpture and art in mainland China. It tells the painful experience of being stolen and sold overseas more than a thousand years after its birth.
In recent years, Longmen Grottoes Research Institute, together with the Center for Modern Technology Application of Three-dimensional Plastic Arts of Xi'an Jiaotong University, the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas, USA, and the East Asian Art Center of the University of Chicago, under the grand concept of common cultural heritage of mankind and the international cooperation academic platform, through the application of remote modeling data collection and discrete data aggregation technology, in the way of "data aggregation", across time and space, strive to complete the attempt to recover cultural and artistic treasures. The current situation and related information investigation of the "Queen Rite Buddha Map" were presented in detail, the reverse data aggregation, digital model reconstruction - virtual modeling restoration research, and the construction of the data chain of overseas diaspora cultural relics were deeply explained, and the transnational cross-border interdisciplinary cooperation background, complex and rigorous restoration procedures and the stories behind the virtual restoration research of the Queen Rite Buddha Map were deeply interpreted.
Unit 4: "Bringing the Best of Art: An All-Encompassing Temple"
This unit is presented in 15 exhibits as national engineering and artistic representatives of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty. It displays the architectural art, decorative patterns, Taoist themes, style elements and other Chinese and foreign styles contained in the Longmen Grottoes that reflect the traditional culture of Greece, India, Central Asia, the Western Regions and China. Through architectural elements, relief art, painted art, etc., it presents a visual feast for the public, so that the exquisite figurative art that originally lived deep in the inner wall of Longmen Mountain cave and is difficult to see on weekdays is presented to the audience through 3D printing high-tech means.
The highlights of this unit include the large-scale relief sculpture of the Eastern Prince and the Western Queen Mother reflecting the Taoist theme, the multi-shaped pagoda niche reflecting the architectural elements, and the painted restoration of the top of the cave in Binyangzhong by means of three-dimensional digital technology, scientific and technological archaeology, and artistic reproduction, reproducing the essence of the painting of Longmen Grottoes 1500 years ago. According to reports, these exhibits are all exhibited for the first time.
"For the first time, this exhibition collectively presents seven diasporic cultural relics and statues of 'body and head unity, digital reset' statues, and for the first time interprets the story behind the digital restoration of the "Queen Rite Buddha Map" to the public." Shi Jiazhen, president of Longmen Grottoes Research Institute, said that this exhibition opens a new chapter in the protection and utilization of Longmen Grottoes diaspora cultural relics in the new era, creates a "Longmen Model" of "data aggregation" for the protection and utilization of diaspora cultural relics, and shows the new results of digital technology applied to the research and display of the restoration of diaspora cultural relics in Longmen Grottoes. (Luoyang News Financial Media Luoyang Network reporter Liang Xiaoyu correspondent Gao Junping/Wen reporter Zhang Yixi/Photo)