China Report

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Sunday, August 31, 2008

Silk and painting


Silk was once used as a main material for writing and painting. before being replaced by paper upon the latter`s invention. However. the tradition of painting on silk was kept. used not only for professional artistic works. but also as decorations on silk clothes.
A hand-painted colored gauze (thin. transparent silk fabric) was unearthed at the Mawangdui Relics Site of the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). By the Tang Dynasty (618-907). more hand-painted silk appeared. such as those excavated from the Famen Temple in Fufeng County of Northwest China`s Shaanxi Province. and the Dunhuang Grottoes in Northwest China`s Gansu Province.
The largest excavation to date has been from the Tomb of Yelu Yu in the Liao Dynasty (916-1125). In addition. the unique flowing-style painting technique of the excavated silk is of very high artistic quality.

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