Having first obtained official approval, staff from the Museum of Aohan Banner undertook a proper study of the three Liao tombs which had previously been subjected to illegal excavations and identified important frescos.

Hanjiawopu Village lies 4 kilometers north of Wu’an City. It is in this hilly region that the imperial mausoleum of the Liao Dynasty can be found.

The three brickbuilt tombs involved are all family graves. They have frescos in the burial chambers themselves and also in the passages leading to these chambers. The frescos in No.1 and No.3 tombs have deteriorated and parts are missing. The fresco in the No.2 tomb shows the image of the lotus lamp together with those of a peony and a seated devotee in a traditional Buddhist greeting pose. The lotus lamp image with its connections to Indian Buddhism is considered particularly significant. Lamps of this type have been excavated before but this is the first time an image of the lamp has been discovered in a fresco.

The No.2 tomb is well preserved. The entrance to the burial chamber features finely worked wood. On either side of the chamber are images of guards standing sentinel with their ancient weapons to give their master a grand send-off. Horses ready to take their master hunting are shown to both sides of the passageway leading to the chamber. The frescos demonstrate the use of refined techniques and vividly illustrate this style of painting from a thousand years ago. Archaeologists point to only one percent of Liao tombs having any frescos at all and say these represent a rare find indeed.

The fresco with the lotus lamp provides evidence that Wu’an City, as the private city of Yelu Abaoji, must have played an important role during the Liao Dynasty. Taken together, the frescos are indicative of the high level which Han culture had reached by that time.

In addition, the frescos represent significant resources for the study of the religion, living habits and painting techniques of the Liao Dynasty.

(china.org.cn by Tang Fuchun, August 13, 2002)