Huashan Cliff Painting, Guangxi,travel guide China

The Huashan (Flowery Mountain) Cliff Paintings in the southwest of Guangxi are a major attraction in the region.

The paintings on the Huashan Cliff are found on a pyramidal rock hill located on the east bank of the Mingjiang River, about 25 kilometers, from the country town of Ningming. The cliff facing the river is ashen in color, and as step as if some deity has chopped off its surface with a sharp hatchet. On the cliff, at a height of about 40 meters from the water level, there is a group of fabulous paintings not only grandiose in scale but rich in content. The pictures cover an area 125 meters broad and 44 meters high, all done in a red dye. The dye, having undergone some 2,000 years, is still well preserved without any fading. There are about 1,300 figures which can still be seen clearly. The tallest human figure is about five meters in stature, whereas the smallest is the region of 30 centimeters. The figures are seen involved in different activities, some dancing, some leaping, some riding and animal, some brandishing a knife, some holding a shield, some carrying objects, and so on ???all vivid in depiction.

When It Was Done???the Mystery
     It remains a mystery when these art works were created. One of the Zhuang tales, “Mengka’s Revolt”, seems to relate to their origin.
     The story tells that Mengka, a Zhuang youth with superhuman strength, tried to revolt against the king. Since he did not have troops of his own, he began to draw them on paper. It was believed that the soldiers and horses he drew would, after 100 days, come to life. Unfortunately, by the 99th day, his mother slipped into his room and opened a chest to see what was kept inside. The soldiers and horses Mengka had drawn all of a sudden flew away. Because they were not yet mature, they were attracted by the pull of the cliff and got stuck onto it. It was in this way that they became the paintings on Hushan Cliff.
     Regarding the actual date of the paintings, some believe it should be between the late Spring and Autumn Period (770???476B.C.) and the Western Han Dynasty (206B.C.???A.D.24).

How It Was Done???Incredible
     Tourists, as they stand in front of the perilous and inaccessible cliff marveling at the ancient paintings cannot help wondering how the figures were so miraculously painted onto the rock so steep and high above. Some suggest that bamboo scaffolding was put up at the foot of the cliff to allow the artists to climb upwards ; others imagine that they painted from a boat when the water level of the river higher than it is now. However, these conjectures are challenged???it is possible to put up a scaffold to reach the lower part of the paintings, but it is next to impossible to put up scaffolding reaching the higher part. And water marks left on the cliffs of the Zuojiang River rarely have reached even the bottom line of the paintings???the flooding theory is also refuted.
     Historical records about burials in cliff???side cave might hold the key to the mystery. In addition, in ancient times there was also a means of access to the middle of a cliff???by planting pegs into the rock and laying planks of wood on the supports. In the proximity of the paintings, in fact, indented holes consistent with this kind of hanging path have been found. They might have been used by the ancient artists.
    The Contents???Still Controversial
     What is the subject of the Huashan paintings? The continued studies and research of scholars have come up with several different hypotheses: hunting scenery of the primitive society; a sacrifice to please the Gold of the water; a ceremony to inspire the warriors before the Zhuang ancestors set for a battle; and a celebratiory to commemorate victory in war. There is even the conjecture that the paintings are groups of linguistic signs marking the transition from the picture to the pictogram. However, none of these is yet firmly established as a convincing explanation.
     One scholar studying the paintings put forward a interesting hypothesis: The paintings are in effect series of episodes. The first group represents a procession being gathered. The second group depicts a scene in which warriors are selected. The third group depicts the troops being trained and, in due course, gathering together for the pre???combat encouragement ceremony. The last episode is the triumphant celebration ceremony with men and women dancing

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