Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Mural Art Museum

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Mural Art Museum

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom mural art museum is located at 108 Tangzi street, Nanjing. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom mural was discovered in 1952. According to the research of historical experts, there are still 18 murals.

Historical evolution

Located at 108 Tangzi street, Nanjing, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom mural art museum was originally the office of an official under Yang Xiuqing. On the night of September 4, 1856, Nanjing was full of noise and boiling. Due to his dissatisfaction with Yang Xiuqing, Hong Xiuquan secretly ordered the North King, the wing king and the Yan king to eradicate the East King, which was known as the "Tianjing incident". Not only Yang Xiuqing was killed, but also his subordinates were cleared of the charge of "Eastern party". The owner of 108 Tangzi street was not spared.

The Tianjing incident was the turning point of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom from prosperity to decline. Since then, the imperial government gradually collapsed, and the imperial code was abandoned. The "Wanfeng of more than 2000 kings" was just one of the manifestations. No. 108 Tangzi street became the palace of one of the "little kings".

Zhang tiebao, a researcher at the History Museum of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, said that after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom established its administration in Nanjing, murals became the main art means for the decoration of royal government offices at all levels. Doors, windows and walls were all painted. But after the failure of the movement, the murals were destroyed by the Qing government, and most of them disappeared.

In January 1952, the cultural relics department found more than 10 murals with bright colors and clear ink marks in two ancient buildings at 108 Tangzi street, which caused a sensation in the academic circles. According to the research of Luo Ergang, the leader of the history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, these murals were painted during the period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the first group of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom murals discovered after the founding of new China.

protective measures

As early as 1956, the murals of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in Tangzi street were listed as cultural relics protection units in Jiangsu Province, and were upgraded to the national key cultural relics protection units in 1988. However, except for the trial opening during the Spring Festival in the 1950s, 1980s and 2013, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Mural Art Museum has never been officially opened to the public.

According to the cultural relics department, for a long time, due to multiple reasons such as environmental conditions and protection technology, the diseases of murals that have gone through more than 150 years are becoming more and more serious, which makes it difficult to meet the requirements of daily exhibition. At the same time, due to the demolition problem, the project is in a state of stop and go. Before the opening of the museum, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom History Museum invited experts to carry out a scientific restoration of the murals, which was implemented by the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of archaeology. The restoration and protection work was completed, and the murals were finally ready for the exhibition.

The Yangtze Evening News was the first media to appeal for the protection of the murals of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. As early as August 24, 1986, the Yangzi Evening News, which was just published less than a year ago, published the news "three murals of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are in danger of being destroyed", written by reporter Liu Shouhua (now the general manager of Xinhua Daily) and photographed by sun Xiaowei, on the front page of the front page, calling on Nanjing authorities to protect them properly.

Works on display

On May 16, 2016, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom mural art museum opened in Tangzi street, Nanjing.

There are 24 original murals of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom on display, including 18 Tangzi Street murals and 6 murals previously found in Zhuqiao. To visit here, the first one is a picture of fangjiang watchtower. In the painting, a five story watchtower towering over the intersection of rivers, surrounded by red hurdles and banners, sailboats dot the river and go unimpeded, warships erect masts, like reeds, and mountains in the distance. The whole picture is dynamic and static, with the combination of far and near. The picture is full of ink outline, heavy color, appropriate layout and magnificent.

Watchtower is a defensive building, which is used for lookout and reconnaissance in peacetime, and for commanding attacks or calling for a call to stop troops in wartime. The watchtower is five stories high, equipped with four-color flags and lights. In case of enemy's situation, it is necessary to raise the flag during the day and hold the light at night. The soldiers and civilians from far and near judge the position according to the signal. The target is accurate and the attack is quick, so they often win. This mural vividly reflects the real scene of the army and the people in Tianjing defending the security of the capital at all times. It has high historical and artistic value. The famous painter Fu Baoshi called it "an excellent realistic masterpiece in the murals of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom". According to textual research, the "watchtower" in the painting is located in today's Nanjing Yifeng gate to Yuanmen river.

The exhibition hall introduces a battle of fangjiang watchtower through Multimedia: once, the Qing fleet disguised as a grain merchant ship and prepared to land and attack on the Xiaguan River in Nanjing. However, the soldiers of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom on the watchtower had already noticed the difference. Through the "flag language", they secretly mobilized the army in the city and laid an ambush. When the Qing warships approached, they launched a surprise attack and annihilated the enemy completely.

Address: 108 Tangzi street, Chaotiangong West Street, Qinhuai District, Nanjing

Longitude: 118.768605

Latitude: 32.039508

Ticket information: market price: 20.0 yuan