卷轴画未出现之前,壁画是美术史上最主要的画种之一,它的产生和发展经历了漫长的历史时期,寺观壁画为其中一大宗。秦汉以后,佛刹广布,道学隆盛,如此始有寺观壁画。众多著名画家都曾进入寺观绘制壁画,文献记载,顾恺之曾为瓦官寺画维摩诘像,另有张僧繇、曹仲达、吴道子等专为寺观绘制壁画的能手巧匠。宋元以降,寺观壁画的制作渐渐成为民间画工之事,但壁画技艺经历漫长历史的洗练,艺人们从创作实践中总结出完备的制作方法和宝贵的心得,并将其编成简明易懂的口诀,仅凭师徒传承,口耳传授。尽管如此,不外传、无著录的特点并未阻碍画诀的流传,经过世代的积累,内容愈加丰富,语言愈加生动,技法愈加充实。 Before the scroll painting did not appear, the mural painting was one of the most important paintings in the history of fine arts. Its generation and development have undergone a long historical period and the temple mural painting is one of the major paintings. After the Qin and Han dynasties, Buddhas brake cloth, Taoism Longsheng, so the beginning of temple murals. Many well-known painters have entered the mural painting murals, documented history, Gu Kaizhi once painted for Wadu Temple Vimalakirti, and Zhang Seng, Cao Zhongda, Wu Daozi and other temples designed specifically for murals craftsmen. Song and Yuan dynasties, temple murals gradually become the production of folk painter, but murals experienced a long history of practice, artisans from the practice of writing to sum up a complete production methods and valuable experience, and compiled into concise and easy to understand Formulas, the only mentoring, imparting ear. Nonetheless, no biography, no record of the characteristics did not hinder the spread of the tactics, after generations of accumulation, the content is more rich, the language is more vivid, more substantial techniques.