Zhou Changming

Zhou Changming, Henan traditional architectural polychrome painter, studied at the Art Department of Henan University, and in 1983 became a disciple of Zhu Yanlin, a renowned expert in traditional architectural polychromy at the Henan Institute of Ancient Architecture—the first-generation disciple of the Zhu family’s polychrome painting tradition! For over thirty years, he has been engaged in polychromy, sculpture, and mural painting, with projects spanning the entire country, including the Wudang Mountains, Shaolin Temple, Tangyin Yue Fei Temple, Zhengzhou City God Temple, Xuchang Guandi Temple, and other polychrome restoration works!
  Ancient Chinese Architectural Polychromy The traditional polychromy of Chinese wooden architecture has a long history and is one of the essential methods used by ancient people to decorate their living environments, as well as a defining characteristic of Eastern Chinese architectural style. People often use beautiful phrases such as “carved beams and painted rafters,” “golden and dazzling,” “embroidered cloud-decorated eaves,” and “blue gates and red pillars” to describe the splendor and variety of ancient Chinese architecture, fully demonstrating the vital role of architectural polychromy in artistic expression. Ancient Chinese polychromy has been passed down through generations, each era exhibiting its own distinctive style: Tang dynasty polychromy was simple, Song dynasty was ornate, Yuan dynasty was bold, Ming dynasty became systematic and decorative, and Qing dynasty further formalized it, creating numerous compositional patterns, thus showing a continuous lineage of evolution. Since architectural polychromy is hand-painted with pigments, it is vulnerable to erosion by harmful substances in the atmosphere and can retain its vibrant beauty for no more than a few decades before requiring repainting. Moreover, as people's pursuit of aesthetic beauty constantly evolves and seeks to reflect contemporary trends by introducing novel compositions and color schemes, it is impossible to preserve the original styles and patterns. Consequently, very few examples of Song or Yuan dynasty polychromy have survived; even Ming dynasty examples are scarce. Although more Qing dynasty polychromy has been preserved, early and mid-period pieces still constitute only a small fraction. Therefore, preserving and researching examples of Ming dynasty and earlier polychromy remains an important field in the study of ancient Chinese architectural art. Due to China’s vast territory and diverse ethnic groups, artistic traditions and aesthetic preferences vary widely. Thus, in addition to the rich variety of palace architectural polychromy centered around Beijing, many regions and ethnic groups across the country have developed their own artistically distinctive architectural polychromy. Therefore, in the study of architectural polychromy, full attention should be given to Qing dynasty imperial architectural polychromy, pre-Ming historical architectural polychromy, and regional and ethnic polychromy, in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of this precious heritage of Chinese architectural art.