Jingzhi Temple Pagoda Murals

CHINA, Hebei, Baoding; Northern Song dynasty

These murals were discovered in 1969 in the underground palace which is the only surviving part of the Jingzhi Temple Pagoda. The palace was used to hide relics taken from ruined pagodas since the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534). Its murals were completed during the early Northern Song dynasty (960–1127), before the palace was sealed in 977. In 2006, the Jingzhi Temple Pagoda Underground Palace was listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site.
There are murals on all four walls of the underground palace. Seated Heavenly Kings are painted beside the arched door in the south wall. One of the Heavenly Kings has a sword in his right hand, supports a pagoda with his left hand, and sits atop two struggling ghosts. The other Heavenly King has a sword in his right hand, a spear in his left, and sits on the back of a small ghost with his right foot on another ghost.
Images of Brahma and Sakra are painted on the east and west walls respectively. Most of Brahma’s face has worn away, but his regal robes are still visible. He is accompanied by two female attendants. Sakra is depicted as a female heavenly being wearing an ornate headdress. Her left hand holds a feather fan, and her right arm is held up by an attendant. The image of Brahma resembles Tang dynasty (618–907) paintings of the emperors. Sakra and her attendants have the rounded faces that are characteristic of females in Tang artworks.
In the center of the north wall, there is an inscription within a cartouche upon a lotus. Five mourning disciples stand to each side. This scene is a representation of the Buddha’s parinirvana. The illustration is dotted with numerous yellow leaves, enhancing the bleak and desolate atmosphere.