Liaoyang Mural Tombs

This book is the first authoritative monograph on the Liaoyang mural tombs, the largest and earliest painted tomb complex of the Han, Wei, and Jin dynasties in Northeast Asia. Drawing on more than thirty years of firsthand excavation records, original photographs, and statistical data, the author reconstructs the murals in their entirety and analyzes their unique architectural techniques, artistic qualities, and cultural value. With the publication of over 300 original color images- released here for the first time- and the use of modern mapping technologies, the volume fills a major gap in the study of ancient Chinese and Northeast Asian mural art. It demonstrates that the Liaoyang murals, predating the Dunhuang murals by more than three centuries, represent the highest achievements of classical realism in early Chinese art and hold an irreplaceable place in both archaeology and art history.