Luoyang City is busy building an ancient tomb mural museum, with
the main block almost finished. All the wall paintings excavated
from ancient tombs in Henan will be displayed once the museum is
completed.
This museum will be the first of its kind in Henan and one of
only a few in the country. It will not only present ancient tomb
murals to the public in its 1,500-sq-m halls, but will also
undertake the restoration and protection of these precious cultural
relics.
Luoyang is the best choice for the museum, being home to one of
the 2 earliest ancient tomb paintings found in the country, dating
back to the Warring States Period. Besides that, Luoyang has an
abundant collection of these wall paintings as part of a vivid
record of this old form of art and its decline, particularly the
ancient tomb murals of the Han Dynasty (with 17 tombs containing
wall paintings of that time).
The ancient tomb murals here are famous for their delicate
artistic style and various source materials. It can be estimated
that the museum will play a pivotal role in the lives of both the
general public and academics.
(Chinanews.cn November 22, 2006)