Kucha Mural Art Exhibition at Zhejiang University

200 years earlier than Mogao grottoes in Dunhuang murals, Kucha murals represent the peak of painting art in Central and West Asia with mature skills, unique style and distinctive colors. Recently, “Kucha Ancient Charm – Mural Art Exhibition of Kucha Caves, Xinjiang” was held in Xixi Art Mesuem, Zhejiang University. The event was co-hosted by Kucha Research Institute, Department of Fine Arts and Cultural Heritage Research Institute of Zhejiang University. The exhibition features 80 boutique masterpieces of Kucha murals copied by generations of painters in 3 decades, which are all treasured by Kucha Research Institute, Xinjiang.

Kucha is one of the ancient capitals of the Xinjiang region. Located in the transportation hub of the ancient Silk Road, it once was the political, economic, military and cultural center in the Western, and also the place with interaction of four great civilizations including Han and Tang Dynasties, India, Persia and Greece. Though it disappeared after thousands of years, the imprints of civilization are saved with Kucha caves mural art as one of the important representatives.

Executive Vice Dean of the Institute of Cultural Heritage of Zhejiang University Cao Jinyan said, “Similar to Dunhuang murals, Kucha murals are also characterized by the combination of sculptures and paintings. Statues are painted with colors and murals are painted on the walls inside caves to create a gorgeous atmosphere of the liturgy and religion. Kucha murals are known to the world for distinctive national characters, the wide range of subject matters, rich regional and sophisticated decorations with superb artistry.”

Kucha murals cover themes with a wide variety of sources, mainly Buddhist stories, beasts, animals, patterns, ornamentations and so on. Among them, Buddhist stories take the majority. Appreciating the murals is much like reading stories. In these murals, there have been a large number of images of Maitreya Bodhisattva. Ancient Indian Buddhist statues were mostly standing and seated Buddha. The emergence of Maitreya Bodhisattva greatly enriched the pedigree of Chinese Buddhist statues.

At the exhibition, there is a mural derived from Qizil No. 30 cave depicting a scene of mourning after Buddha’s Nirvana. These gods of music named Gandharvas are playing the harps, pipa, blowing panpipes or strewing flowers. Their postures are carefree or bursting with vitality. Two flying apsaras, one static and the other lively, are especially charming.

One of the regional features of Kucha murals is the pattern of diamond lattice. In the works on display, a diamond lattice mural derived from the top of Qizil No. 17 cave is composed of 3 beautiful pictures relating a Buddhist story about self-cultivation. The overall composition is filled with the beauty of rhythm and order.

Kucha murals are rich in decorative value and are unique. At the exhibition, geometric patterns can be seen everywhere, mainly diamond lattice patterns, lotus patterns, animal images and etc.

“We hope that this exhibition will help more people to understand Kucha murals and bring the Kucha mural art to the world.” said the Vice-Dean of Kucha Research Institute.

Site Description

VIP Service

How to Use VIP Service

Make Payment:

Bank of China

Kucha Mural Art Exhibition at Zhejiang University

News&Opinion

Top University

Policy＆Laws

Hanban sets guidelines for Mandarin teachers

Special Skills in Sports and Arts are required i...

Regulation of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control at...

	Search by School Name