Early in 2012, I was approached by Northampton University and commissioned to act as one of the leaders in a student research expedition to Lijiang in South West China.

The primary objective of the expedition was to travel to Leaping Tiger Gorge in a remote area beyond the City and, using drawing, painting, photography, video and archaeological techniques, to record and analyze a group of prehistoric cave-dwellings and the remains of the wall paintings made by their inhabitants.

Based on my long experience of working exclusively on location as an investigative landscape painter, I was tasked (alongside inherent pastoral involvement) with making drawn and painted studies of the caves and the immediate and regional terrain in which the cave-dwellers had lived.

Variously estimated between 10 and 20 thousand years old these cave paintings were at one stage under threat of being flooded as part of a major hydro-electric development.

The gorge itself has been carved out by the Jinsha River, a primary tributary of the upper Yangtze and is one of the world’s deepest river canyons.  The working time on site was somewhat restricted, partly due to its remoteness, rugged terrain and difficulty of access, as well as other objectives incorporated within the expedition

The students, studying variously for Degree, MA or PhD were allocated tasks according to their particular disciplines, interests, skills and previous archaeological experience.

FIRST DESCENT INTO THE GORGE.  19^th OCTOBER 2012

The Group about to begin the first descent into the gorge.
Photo above, courtesy of Zoe Plummer and Northampton University.

 Left to right 1, Paul Middleton, Dean of the School of the Arts, Northampton University, Expedition Director.
2, Jane Bingham, Deputy Dean. 3, Nicky Hendy, TV camera operator. 4, Andras Schein-Illes, MA Fine Art.
5, Frazer Sheppard, TV Producer/director. 6, Graham Needham, School Transition Manager, School of the Arts.
7, Hannah Foad, BA Graphics. 8, Karla Alexander, BA English/creative writing. 9, Amy Waldman, BA Fine Art
10, Tom George MA Design/photographic Communication. 11, Robert Perry RBSA, Fine Artist.
12, John Sunderland, PhD Photography,  13, Zoe Plummer. MA Photography. (Expedition Photographer Designate)

 

           

The Leaping Tiger Gorge and Jinsha River.

 

           

The descent into the Gorge

 

           

Arrival and briefing session at the cave site

 

             

 

              

Initial responses and exploratory photographic survey

 

On completion of the initial survey, there followed an exhausting climb out of the gorge and a hair-raising drive back to Lijiang over very rough and precipitous roads in darkness, including a major mechanical failure which left the second group stranded for some 2 hours. The students, however, managed to turn this set-back to their advantage by producing some superb experimental photographs of the night sky which was totally free of atmospheric and light pollution.
When the group, the interpreters and the Lijiang liaison representatives were finally reassembled at the hotel, discussions were held regarding the next trip to the site. This had been scheduled by our hosts (with a certain degree of Chinese vagueness) to be at some indeterminate time in the future and would apparently involve lengthy negotiations before finalization.

SECOND DESCENT INTO THE GORGE. 23 OCTOBER 2012

For this descent we set out earlier to get as much time as possible on site. We were told that this was the only opportunity we would have. Visits, even by Chinese nationals, could only be made to this national park with a Government Permit which had to be obtained in advance.

The students set to work on their various projects, usually in groups or pairs, some drawing, some photographing, some plotting out the precise locations, dimensions and heights of the paintings, some trying to analyze or decipher the meaning of the symbols and marks, some continuing the searches they had been making in a wide geographical area for sources of minerals and clays which might have provided pigments used by the cave dwellers and some simply recording the progress of the expedition in video or journalistic text
These caves are not extensive like those at Altamira or Lascaux, indeed some are hardly more than shallow depressions in the rock face. The paintings have therefore been exposed to constant changes of climate and humidity and are not in such a good state of preservation.
The main chamber is very large and could have provided shelter and security for a number of individuals or family groups. In the inner recesses there was a smaller but still substantial cave. Vestigial remains of paintings and what appeared to be small inscribed marks were to be found on some of the walls of the main chamber

Acutely conscious of time constraints, I confined myself to making monochromatic drawings (size A3) using swift drafting techniques combining charcoal, graphite and ink.

12.15pm 23 October 2012.   Prehistoric cave dwelling in Leaping Tiger Gorge near Lijiang.
Exterior View from the right.   Size A3. Charcoal, pencil & ink

 

1.30pm 23 October 2012.   Prehistoric cave dwelling in Leaping Tiger Gorge near Lijiang.
Exterior View from the left. Size A3. Charcoal, pencil & ink

 

2.45pm 23 October 2012. Prehistoric cave dwelling in Leaping Tiger Gorge.
Interior view of the main chamber and the smaller rear chamber.  Size A3. Charcoal, pencil & ink

 

3.30pm 23 October 2012. Prehistoric cave dwelling in Leaping Tiger Gorge.
Interior view looking outwards into the gorge.  Size A3. Charcoal, pencil & ink

 

One of the prehistoric paintings studied by the students. Note the scythe- like shape which could possibly be the remains of the drawing of the head of a horned animal. Note also the groups of parallel lines, some straight, some curved, painted with considerable precision of spacing. There were a number of these groups of lines which provoked considerable discussion and a range of theories and interpretations.

 

THE NAXI PEOPLE and the DONGBA RELIGION

China is made up of a huge number of different ethnic groups and this region is dominated by the Naxi who have their own culture, traditions and religion. Lijiang is the major city and has been their stronghold for millennia.
An important aspect of the Naxis’ DONGBA religion is their ancient written language which uses symbols and pictograms, and one of the objectives that the students were set, was to look for any evidence of connection between Dongba calligraphy and the symbols observed in the cave paintings.

Example of Dongba script

Our Chinese hosts treated us with the utmost generosity and provided us with insights into the culture and traditions of the Naxi people and the Dongba religious rituals.

 

THE DONGBA RELIGION and the SACRED SNOW MOUNTAIN

Photograph of an information panel displayed in the studio Yong Yu, Naxi Sculptor.
(Note the striking parallels with todays perilous environmental situation)

 

THE GREEN JADE DRAGON SNOW MOUNTAIN

First rays of the sun touching the Snow Mountain. 5.40am, 20 October 2012. From the hotel bedroom.

 

From time immemorial The Snow Mountain has been regarded as the home of one of the Dongba Gods and as such is revered as a sacred place. It dominates Lijiang and is visible from most parts of the city. One of my painting trips took me a few miles up the Lijiang Valley where I made studies looking towards the mountain and back towards the city.

         

Robert Perry at work in the Lijiang Basin. 24 October 2012

 

11.40am, 24^th October 2012. The Green Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Size A3. Gouache

 

 

3.25pm, 24 October 2012.View towards Lijiang.  On the skyline, the “Camel Mountain”
and the twin peaks of “The Saddle”  which overlook the City.    Size A3. Gouache.

LIJIANG – THE CITY

LIJIANG – VIEWED FROM “THE ELEPHANT MOUNTAIN”

The city of Lijiang is situated in a wide basin and is surrounded by mountains. Panoramic views have always held a particular fascination for me so I selected a mountain on the eastern side of the city known as “The Elephant” and, accompanied by Wang Lu, one of the interpreters, Yong Yu, one of the Naxi Woodcarvers (of whom more later) and Andras Schein-Illes, MA Student, I set off with my rather heavy backpack of painting equipment and easel on the extremely arduous climb to the summit.

Whilst Andras continued his search for possible sources of pigments which the cave painters of Leaping Tiger Gorge might have used, I produced the following A3 Gouache studies of the city and the slowly changing afternoon light.

3.30pm 22 October 2012.    View of Lijiang from the Elephant Mountain.
On the skyline L to R, Camel Mountain and twin peaks of Saddle Mountain. Size A3.  Gouache.

 

5.00pm 22 October 2012. View of Lijiang from the Elephant Mountain.
Late afternoon light. On the skyline, the twin peaks of Saddle Mountain. Size A3. Gouache.

THE NAXI WOODCARVERS

During our stay in Lijiang we were invited to visit the studios of a number of practicing artists all of whom made us extremely welcome. Most of them were continuing the age-old local tradition of woodcarving, working mainly, but not exclusively, on low relief panels.

“Flying Fish” Woodcarving by Ah Dong

An exhibition of Naxi Woodcarvings will be brought over and

shown at the following venues in 2013

Title:

‘China’s forgotten Kingdom’

 

 Avenue Gallery, Northampton University

18th March – 12th April 2013

 

 Bankside Gallery, London

22nd April – 28th April 2013

 

RBSA Gallery, Birmingham

6th May – 18^th May 2013

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 Paul Middleton, Dean of the School of the Arts, Northampton University,

Dr Yan Junqi, Director of Media Innovation and Industry Development Communication, University of China

 for the conception and implementation of this project.

 

CONCLUDING NOTE

I could not conclude this essay without paying tribute to the ordinary people of China whose simple life of struggle, sheer hard work, improvisation and ingenuity is both breathtaking and humbling.