Chinanews.com, Chengdu, September 1st, title: "Mural Doctor" in a race against time: Three generations of relays "continue life" for millennium cultural relics
China News Network reporter He Shaoqing Zhang Lang
"Every mural we see today is incomplete. Because of the timeliness of the raw materials, they will chalk, fall off or even be destroyed due to disease in the course of the years." Sitting in the Juehuang Hall of Mingjiao Temple, Qingbaijiang District, Chengdu On the simple scaffolding, "Mural Doctor" Li Xiaoyang is carefully using a repair knife to remove contaminants on the surface of the mural.
In his view, although all the murals that have witnessed the development of human civilization will disappear in this world one day, his mission is to race against time and continue the life of cultural relics through restoration.
Li Xiaoyang and grandpa Li Yunhe.
Photo courtesy of Li Xiaoyang
Li Xiaoyang is currently repairing murals in the Juehuang Hall of Mingjiao Temple in Qingbaijiang District, Chengdu.
Photo by Zhang Lang
As the "three generations of Dunhuang repairers", Li Xiaoyang spent his childhood watching his grandfather Li Yunhe repairing murals in various caves of Mogao Grottoes.
Li Yunhe is a leading figure in the field of Chinese mural restoration. He spent 60 years repairing nearly 4,000 square meters of murals.
Li Xiaoyang's uncle Li Bo is also a senior "doctor" repairing murals for more than 20 years.
Under the influence of his grandfather and uncle, Li Xiaoyang chose to return to the Dunhuang Academy to practice after graduating from university, becoming a "mural doctor" running around like his grandfather.
Grandpa Li Yunhe is repairing the Dunhuang colored sculptures.
Photo courtesy of Li Xiaoyang
The murals have 18 common diseases such as nailing, hollowing, succinate, and microorganisms. For this reason, Li Xiaoyang's toolbox with him contains balances, glasses, and dozens of repair tools.
The “mural doctor” needs to prescribe “customized prescriptions” for mural restorations based on different diseases. After the “prescriptions” are approved by the national cultural protection expert team, the “mural doctors” then repair the murals based on the principle of “repair as old as the old”. .
After Li Xiaoyang and his grandfather Li Yunhe restored the wall paintings of Cave 386.
Photo courtesy of Li Xiaoyang
The mural currently being restored by Li Xiaoyang is located in the Juehuang Hall of Mingjiao Temple built in the 17th year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty.
"Since its completion, the Palace of Juehuang has undergone several repairs and reconstructions, and it was even used as a school for a time. Therefore, many of the murals were covered with lime, and some of the murals had staples on them. The inclination of ancient buildings also caused the murals. Squeeze.” Li Xiaoyang introduced that before the restoration was officially started, he and his team had visited Juehuangdian ten times to inspect the environment, temperature and humidity. After several months of demonstration and detection, the restoration plan was finalized in May 2020.
Li Xiaoyang's uncle Li Bo is repairing the murals in Dunhuang.
Photo courtesy of Li Xiaoyang
"Mural paintings are the focus of art, history, science, and society in an era. Chinese murals become fewer as they go to the south. Although Juehuangdian murals are not well-known, they still convey a wealth of historical information to everyone." Li Xiaoyang said, murals Although there are differences in time and artistic level, the "mural doctor" will not treat the cultural relics he repaired differently because of the difference in value.
The murals in the Palace of Juehuang use bamboo weaving technology unique to Sichuan. The team regards the restoration as scientific research. After the end, the team will systematically summarize the bamboo weaving mural repair technology.
The wall paintings of Mogao Grottoes suffered from the disease caused by succinate.
Photo courtesy of Li Xiaoyang
For more than ten years in the industry, Li Xiaoyang has followed in the footsteps of his fathers and ancestors, repairing murals from different periods in the Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties. He has traveled throughout Dunhuang, Gansu, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, and Tai'an, Shandong.
"Grandpa did not have any instruments to assist in the analysis and testing when he restored the murals in the 1950s and 1960s. He could only rely on soil methods to imitate the natural environment for experiments. Sometimes it may take two or three years to get a slightly more accurate data. "Li Xiaoyang introduced that when he first entered the industry, Chinese "mural doctors" had already begun to use X-ray and other instruments proficiently. At present, many "mural doctors" are also trying to combine digitization with murals to leave more light and shadow materials for murals.
Li Xiaoyang is carefully using a repair knife to remove contaminants on the surface of the mural.
Photo by Zhang Lang
Through the efforts of several generations of cultural relics protection workers, China has not only greatly improved the mural restoration skills, but also the protection concept-from rescue to prevention.
According to Li Xiaoyang, the restoration of the murals in Juehuangdian was originally a conventional protection and restoration, but the team's preliminary inspection found that the building of Juehuangdian has been displaced, which may cause serious damage to the murals in the future, so the team also invited ancient buildings Experts participate together.
Li Xiaoyang and his grandfather Li Yunhe repaired the murals of the Mogao Grottoes that suffered from the disease caused by Dizhonine.
Photo courtesy of Li Xiaoyang
The mural restoration emphasizes "slow work and meticulous work". It took more than two years for the nine "mural doctors" of Li Xiaoyang's team to complete the restoration of more than 140 square meters of murals in the Juehuang Palace. The same steps are repeated for thousands of times in the same place every day. The second is normal work.
The wall paintings of Cave 386 in Mogao Grottoes suffered from nailing of the paint layer.
Photo courtesy of Li Xiaoyang
Li Xiaoyang said that when he first participated in mural restoration, he felt very boring, but after a few months and years, I found that participating in mural restoration has indeed become much better than when he first took over, and he felt very fulfilled.
"Grandpa is 90 years old, and he is still involved in the restoration of murals on the front line. Maybe the cultural relic is like this. The longer you stay with it, the more you love it." (End)