Pan Jiezi (1915 – 2002) was the Head of the Art Division of the Chinese History Museum, editor of the monthly magazine “Fine Arts,” the editor-in-chief of “Chinese Painting,” a professional painter of the Beijing Academy of Painting, President of the Beijing Meticulous Style Brush Painting Association and the Chinese Gongbi Painting Society, and the Vice-Chairman of the Chinese Artists Association (Beijing Branch).
Before working at the Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province, Pan copied the murals of Fanming Temple in Pengxi, Sichuan. News about the discovery of the Dunhuang Grottoes frescoes aroused his enthusiasm and yearning to study the paintings. To go to Dunhuang, he had to save for two years before meeting the travel expenses.
In early 1945, he moved to Dunhuang through untold hardships and joined the National Dunhuang Research Institute. At that time, the grottoes were dark, and kerosene lamps could only illuminate a small part of the wall. On the other hand, the murals were huge.
It took a long time for Pan Jiezi to complete copying the murals from the ceilings. He had to look up for a long time made his neck stiff and sore. He copied many works in-depth. Such efforts led him to create a piece that depicted how the grottoes were painted during the Tang Dynasty. He named the painting “Creators of Grotto Art” in the 1950s. It aimed to show how many unknown artists created the ancient grotto murals.
The painter uses exquisite, delicate lines and colors to depict Buddhist stories and history with numerous figures and magnificent scenes. The figures in the murals (especially those intricately decorated standing Bodhisattvas statues, ladies, and the thousands of miniature Buddha statues) are all life-like. In the painting, there is a high official sent by the court to inspect the progress of the painting work. He wears an official hat, a red robe, and a beard. His wife and maid behind him also look amazed by the murals being created.
The artistic style of Pan’s artwork appears deeply influenced by that of the Mogao Grottoes. Viewers from different eras have appreciated this work. It won the first prize in the 1982 Paris Spring Salon Art Exhibition. It has also been recognized and praised by Western audiences.
Please enjoy several exquisite paintings of human figures and scenery by Pan Jiuzi and works depicting flying apsaras in various poses in the grottoes. A former colleague (who worked in the hospital) acquired the painting of a young woman in white dress with her hair in a long braid, seated on the floor facing a magnolia tree in full bloom outside the door, and playing the guqin. It is now hanging on a wall next to the grand pianos in her living room.
NOTE: Dunhuang is a city in China’s northwestern Gansu Province, on the edge of the Gobi Desert. Once a frontier garrison on the Silk Road, known today for the Mogao Caves, a complex of 492 grottoes adorned with Buddhist carvings, statues, and frescoes, carved into the cliffs above the Dachuan River, the caves were created between the 4th and the 14th centuries.
Tan It Koon
Before retirement, Dr Tan It Koon was, among many appointments, Head of Clinical Biochemistry at SGH’s Dept of Pathology. He was the Deputy Chairman of the National Theatre Trust and Chairman for Grants and Scholarships of the Spore Cultural Foundation. He received the National Day Awards, PBM, and PPA, for his contribution to cultural and community development and excellence in Public Administration.
