Rock Paintings of Alashan or Rock Paintings of Alxa (simplified Chinese: 阿拉善岩画; traditional Chinese: 阿拉善岩畫; pinyin: Ālā shàn Yánhuà), also known as Alxa Rock Art or Alashan Rock Art,[2] are images carved into the rocks of Alashan, Inner Mongolia.[3] These rock paintings have distinctive characteristics, mainly in the dense images and fresh carvings, and the subject matter is mainly the expression of human activities.[4]
| Location | Alashan, Inner Mongolia[1] |
|---|---|
| History | |
| Periods | Upper Paleolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age |
The census of cultural relics conducted in Alashan in 1985 brought Rock Paintings of Alashan into the public eye.[5] As of March 2020, more than 50,000 groups of Alashan Rock Art have been discovered.[6]
Distribution
editRock Paintings of Alashan are mainly distributed in Alashan Left Banner and Alashan Right Banner of Alashan League in the western part of Inner Mongolia,[7] including Yinshan Rock Paintings, Rock Paintings of Helan Mountains (贺兰山岩画) and Rock Paintings of Mandela Mountains (曼德拉山岩画).[8] Alashan Rock Art is called "Historical Picture Scroll of the Northern Peoples" (北方民族的历史画卷).[9]
Creation periods
editThe creation periods of Alashan Rock Art can be divided into three major periods, namely Upper Paleolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age.[10]
Conservation
editIn February 2019, the Administrative Office of Alxa League (阿拉善盟行政公署) issued and implemented the Measures for the Protection and Management of Alashan Petroglyphs (阿拉善岩画保护管理办法), which provides a legal basis for the protection of Alashan Petroglyphs.[11]
Style Characteristics
editThe content of the subject matter of Alashan Rock Art includes hunting, herding, dancing, wars, vehicles, tents and villages made up of tents, in addition to various animals. In addition, there are various patterns and Tibetan characters.[12]
These petroglyphs reproduce the colorful life scenes of the primitive clan tribes, as well as Xiongnu, Qiang, Dangxiang, Mongolian and other ethnic groups that used to be active on the Alashan grassland in ancient times.[13]
References
edit- ^ Wang Xiaodun (2008). Studies on early Chinese thoughts and symbols. Shanghai People's Publishing House. pp. 590–. ISBN 978-7-208-07620-4.
- ^ China Archaeology and Art Digest. Art Text (HK) Limited. 1996. pp. 156–.
- ^ Chinese Archaeological Integration: Northeast China Volume. Beijing Publishing House. pp. 1072–.
- ^ "172 ancient rock paintings found in western Inner Mongolia". Xinhua News Agency. 2020-03-04. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020.
- ^ "Unfold the historical picture of the northern peoples from the rock paintings" (PDF). China Culture Dailly. 2019-08-08.
- ^ "New rock painting site discovered in Helan Mountain area of Inner Mongolia named "Shuimangu Rock Painting"". China Network Television. 2020-03-14.
- ^ Chinese Art History. Hebei People's Publishing House. 2006. pp. 86–. ISBN 978-7-202-02499-7.
- ^ "Beauty in Alashan". Xinhua News Agency. 2018-11-22.
- ^ "Rock Paintings of Alashan: A Spectacular Historical Painting of the Northern Peoples". China National Radio. 2019-12-04.
- ^ "Research on Rock Paintings of Alashan". CNKI. 2020-01-14.
- ^ "Notice of the Office of the Administrative Office of Alxa League on Printing and Distributing the "Measures for the Protection and Management of Alxa Rock Paintings"". www.als.gov.cn. 2019-02-15.
- ^ Chen Zhaofu (1991). History of Rock Art Discoveries in China. Shanghai People's Publishing House. pp. 106–. ISBN 978-7-208-01240-0.
- ^ Li Xuejun (1 July 2017). Time and space years: the roots and soul of Helan Mountain. Ningxia People's Publishing House. pp. 201–. ISBN 978-7-227-06698-9.