Mural painting art, a combination of architecture and fine arts, has infinite charm.

During the art form's development, it experienced a period of resplendence before gradually declining. However, with the development of architecture, the mural painting is slowly making a comeback. The mural painting, which has been applied in construction frequently, is paid great attention to and accepted by most people.

The content of the mural painting

The mural painting's content in the primeval period mainly reflected real life, such as hunting, grazing, planting, domestic animals, houses, dance, festivals, totems, and even witchcraft. It is said that heroic figures and historical stories appeared in the mural paintings as early as the time of the Yellow Emperor (Huang Di) and the Xia Dynasty (c.21st-c.16 century BC). Figures of Yao and Shun, both known as benevolent mythical Chinese rulers, and Jie, the atrocious emperor of the Xia Dynasty were painted with for propaganda and educational purposes.

The main mural painting artworks of the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) were later exvacated from the grave, which also reflected real life, historical figures and stories and fairy tales.

The content scope of modern mural painting, which often reflect the flavor of the ethic customs, splendid mountains and rivers, human civilization and science and technology apart from the traditional themes like historical figures and stories is larger than the traditional one.

The composition of mural paintings

The composition of the Han Dynasty's carved stone mural paintings were not restricted by the space-time For example, the "war", unearthed in Yinan County in East China's Shandong Province, portrays the picture of the war incisively and vividly. The bridge is the main axis in the picture. On the right of the bridge is the leader driving the carriage and on the left is the fighting scene. Under the bridge there are marines boating in the river.

Grotto and temple mural paintings of different dynasties ranging from the Wei Dynasty (220-265AD) to the Ming (1368-1644BC) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties, varied a lot in composition. In the Kezier Grotto of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region, the mural paintings within feature a rhombic (parallelogram of equal side and slanting angles) composition of the Buddhism stories. The NO.21 grotto of the Kumutula Grottos has a radiant composition, with a round design pattern in the ceiling as its center and 13 trapezoid-shaped grids radiating from it. Within each grid there is a figure of Bodhisattva.

The "Deer King" (section) cave 257 of Dunhuang Grotto in Northwest China's Gansu Province, features a horizontal composition. Mural paintings retelling the story of the deer king are arranged from left to right. The other type of Dunhuang mural paintings usually feature grand scene of various activities, with the Buddha at the center and Bodhisattva, music players, dancers, ponds and water lilies surrounding it.

The composition of the temple's mural paintings also has unique characteristics. For example, the Mandala mural painting in one of Tibet's Buddhist temple , with its combination of the round and square shapes, expresses the principle of the natural life and death cycle that humans can't exceed, and has kind of unique artistic charm.

The mural painting in the Yongle Palace of the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368) has the same type of composition with those in the Ming Dynasty in Fahai temple in Beijing , which features a parallel composition.

Some modern mural paintings use traditional composition forms. For example, the rhombic composition form of the mural painting in the Kezier Grotto in Xinjiang Uigur Autonoumous Region has been applied in "The Beautiful Land of the Country ", which is a modern mural painting, and the way of expression of the Han Dynasty's stone mural paintings are also employed in modern mural painting.

The techniques of the mural painting

Only two techniques are employed in traditional mural painting: rock carving and strong-colored painting; while the modern mural painting uses many new kinds based on the traditional ones, such as ceramic firing, casting, marble sculpting and the inlaying of mosaic and purl. With the various modern techniques and materials, China's mural painting art has entered a prosperous and innovative era.

The function of the mural painting in city life

The mural painting in the cities, as a kind of visual arts, which is in the public environment and enjoyed by the public, actively participates in constructing the current city. Its function in the city life is irreplaceable by other kinds of visual arts.

1.Convey the feeling and the concept

The mural painting, as a way of beautifying the city, not only satisfies people's visual feeling, but also educates them. The artists along with the mass come to realize the various amorous feelings of life, nature and society through the mural painting and improve themselves through vibrant communications. The mural painting, like other artworks, can exert a subtle effect on people's minds.

2. The share of the aesthetic resources

The mural painting, as the public art, takes the smooth communication between people as its highest goal. The mural painting shows itself in the public environment where people can enjoy freely, which reduces the distance between the art and the common people indeed. No matter which type the society is, its operation can benefit from mural painting.

3. The sign of the environment space

The mural painting can be enjoyed anywhere, both inside and outside because of its large and graceful pictures, which makes whatever it is painted on -- a room, a storied building, a wall -- become a striking sign.

3. Promote the tourism and entertainment

The completion of the large-scale mural painting especially the mural painting clusters attracts many tourists, which makes the place where the mural painting is located become a new scenic spot. Thus, with the proper layout and management of resources, mural painting can generate tourism and economic growth as well as culture.