The use of different pigments is related to artistic concepts in addition to objective factors such as the place of origin. Therefore, the pigment trade is not only a material exchange, but also reflects the exchange, collision, and development of different artistic concepts between China and foreign countries.

　　◎Our reporter Jie Manbin

　　As a golden section of the ancient Silk Road, the Hexi Corridor has a large number of exquisite grottoes.

In addition to the world-famous Mogao Grottoes, there are also many grottoes such as the Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui.

A large number of exquisite murals and life-like painted Buddha statues are preserved in the grottoes. So, where do the paints for murals and Buddha statues come from?

　　The use of mineral pigments in my country has a long history and a long history.

In the Neolithic Age, people have been able to make mineral pigments such as cinnabar, chalk, gypsum, red bauxite, lime and earth yellow.

　　Recently, at the "Five Liangs" Cultural Forum held in Dunhuang, Gansu, Yao Xiaojuan, the deputy dean of the School of Humanities, Shanghai Normal University, a member of the Chinese Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties History Society, and a member of the Expert Group of the Shanghai CPPCC Ethnic and Religious Committee, discussed the Wei, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties The origin of the pigments used in the grottoes in the Hexi Corridor is discussed.

Yao Xiaoyu believes that from the situation of the grotto paintings in the Hexi area, it can be seen that the grottoes in the Hexi Corridor area use more types of pigments than the caves in Ajanta in India and Bamiyan in Afghanistan; compared with contemporary paintings The pigments used in the writings or paintings are also richer.

　　It was learned that the artisan painters in the Hexi Corridor area had gradually figured out a complete and systematic method of making pigments, and mastered the techniques of making mineral pigments and extracting plant pigments.

So where do these pigments come from?

Yao Xiaoyu’s research found that, in addition to some of the pigments from Hexi, some pigments were obtained through trade with other regions in China, and some were imported. These imported raw materials were imported from Southeast Asia via the Maritime Silk Road. , Or along the Silk Route to Central Asia to the Western Regions and then to the Central Plains through the Hexi Corridor.

　　Unique "local color"

　　Researchers once discovered a large amount of yellowish ore in a mine on the Sanwei Mountain not far from the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang.

"Professor Li Bailing from the Academy of Fine Arts of Southwest University has collected a small number of specimens here, and compared the color of the yellow ore with crystals collected on site with the yellow color of the bodhisattva headdress and the 璎珞 in the wall paintings of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes 325 (Sui). The comparison shows that the hue and brightness of the two are very similar, which strongly proves that some of the yellow pigments used in the murals are collected from Sanwei Mountain, which is relatively close." Yao Xiaoyu said.

　　The self-produced mineral pigments in the Hexi area include chlorocopper ore, orpiment, loess, laterite, cinnabar, etc. The production area is mainly distributed along the Qilian Mountains.

　　It was written in the "Taiping Huan Yu Ji" in the Northern Song Dynasty that there was a place in Dunhuang called Orpiment Chau, because "orpiment and cinnabar excavated in the soil are very wonderful, and the product is named Yan".

The Compendium of Materia Medica compiled by Tao Hongjing in the Southern Dynasties also recorded the local pigments: "Empty green...There are many green hills in Xiping County, Liangzhou." Ingredients of blue pigment.

　　In addition, ancient craftsmen also mastered the extraction methods of pigments.

Relevant experts analyzed the green pigments on the painted cultural relics and found that the green pigments used in my country before the Five Dynasties were mainly natural patina, while the synthetic patina was widely used after the Five Dynasties.

There is a record of the method of making synthetic patina in "Xinxiu Materia Medica" compiled by Su Jing of Tang Dynasty: "Bright salt, sand, and red copper scraps are made into blocks, and green is used to fill it." That is, pure copper powder, sodium chloride , Ammonium chloride is placed in the air doped with carbon dioxide for a long time to synthesize chlorocopperite.

In the book "Mo'e Xiaolu" in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties, another method of making synthetic patina was also recorded in the book of Yuecheng: adding sand and alum to pure vinegar, burning the copper tube red, and dipping it in the medicated vinegar. , And then continue to burn the copper tube red.

Repeat the above actions until the medicated vinegar is completely dry, stop the operation, put the vinegar lees in a cup according to the proportion, and then wrap the burned copper tube with a straw board, bury it in the vinegar lees, and let it stand for 3 days before scraping off the copper. Green rust on the surface of the tube.

　　The "Chinese Color" of Business Integration

　　my country has a vast territory, vast land and abundant resources, and a large amount of pigments are produced in each region, which meets the large demand for the use of pigments in grottoes in the Hexi Corridor.

For example, the Dunhuang Cave 275, which was excavated in the Northern Liang Dynasty, has red as the background color on all walls. This background color is realized by red clay.

There are also many murals with red clay to depict the background in Cave 272 excavated in the Northern Liang Dynasty.

Red was also used extensively in the grottoes excavated during the Northern Wei Dynasty in Dunhuang as the background color.

　　According to the results of the detection and analysis of the mural pigments, the copper chloride ore as a green pigment was found in the wall paintings of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and the tombs of the Sixteen Kingdoms period in the Hexi Corridor.

The green pigments in the early murals of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes were mainly chlorocopperite, with a small amount of stone green added.

Wang Jinyu, a researcher at the Conservation Institute of Dunhuang Research Institute, pointed out: “Only about one-third of the caves use stone green, and the actual ratio of stone green and chlorocopperite pigments should be 1:4.”

　　Qiuci (in today's Xinjiang region) is the producing area of ​​hufen, red soil, green salt, orpiment and realgar; the northern edge of the Tarim Basin, the sulfur mountain in Tuokexun County of the southern Tianshan, the copper deposit in the Nileke area of ​​the western Tianshan, Hami City The Tuwu copper deposit and the copper deposits in the eastern Tianshan area on the southern margin of the Turpan-Hami Basin are the main producing areas of copper chloride deposits; the Huayuan copper deposits in Wuqia County and the Kashgar Sag in the western margin of the Tarim Basin are the main producing areas of malachite.

　　Due to the close distance between Xinjiang and the Hexi region and the Silk Road connection, these pigments from all parts of Xinjiang are continuously imported into the Hexi region along the land Silk Road and are used in large quantities in the Hexi region grottoes.

　　"Imported Color" from Silk Road

　　Some mineral or plant pigments used in the grottoes in the Hexi Corridor are only produced in specific areas, and Garcinia is one of them.

Garcinia is a pigment made of resin. Due to the limitations of the natural environment, this tree grows in tropical or subtropical areas.

Therefore, most of Garcinia is imported from Southeast Asia.

　　"Guangzhi" written by Guo Yigong of the Jin Dynasty records: "Garcinia...According to what is called copper yellow today, it is absurd. Covered with copper rattan, it is no different from Shi Leicai, the painter and the Danzao family. Use it at the same time." American scholar Xue Aihua called Garcinia "the only herbaceous pigment used extensively by Chinese painters in the Middle Ages."

　　In the first scientific test report on the pigments used in the Dunhuang Grottoes murals completed in 1935 by the American scholar Rosserford Gates, it was mentioned that Garcinia is one of the three organic pigments used in the Dunhuang Grottoes murals; 2008; In 1991, the research institute of the National Museum of Fine Arts in France discovered the fabric pigments Garcinia and Rouge on Dunhuang paper and silk paintings and linen fabrics.

　　Lapis lazuli deposits have not been found in our country so far, but they have been found in the Kizil Grottoes, Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Maijishan Grottoes, and the tomb murals in the Central Plains. This also confirms that lapis lazuli is located along the route of silk. It was introduced from Asia to the Western Regions and then passed through the Hexi Corridor to the Central Plains.

　　Li Zuixiong, former deputy director of the Dunhuang Academy, pointed out that the chlorocopper ore used for the green pigments used in the early murals of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang was also introduced to Dunhuang from Central Asia. It has been produced, but "the above-mentioned areas are still being introduced"; the cinnabar and lead pellets from Dunhuang before the Tang Dynasty were also introduced from India and Afghanistan along with Buddhism.

　　At the same time, because the Hexi Corridor is relatively close to the Central Asian countries, the transportation cost is lower, and the price of pigment products is relatively cheap, so it has a more price advantage than the pigments in the Central Plains.

In addition, because the quality of the paint produced in each region is different, and the quality of the paint will directly affect the rendering of the picture, with the financial support, painters will often import high-quality paints at any cost.

　　Imported pigments have enriched the types of ancient pigments in our country.

Their introduction not only enriched the means of color expression, but also gave a greater impetus to traditional Chinese painting and decorative arts.

Although many pigments are directly used by grinding minerals into powder, there are still a large number of pigments, such as Hu powder, Mi Tuo monk, etc., which need to be manually produced through more complicated processes. The introduction of these pigment production methods has expanded The Chinese people's understanding of pigment preparation technology and related chemical knowledge has greatly promoted the development of related technologies.

　　“The use of different pigments is not only related to the artistic conception, except for objective factors such as the place of origin. Therefore, the pigment trade is not only a material exchange, but also reflects the exchanges and collisions between different Chinese and foreign artistic concepts, as well as mutual reference and mutual reference. Integration and development." Yao Xiaoyu said.