18 DAILY | EDITION Tuesday, November 12, 2019 | 19 LIFE Inspired by an ancient muse

The — part of the ancient Road — provide endless inspiration for designer Xiong Ying, helping her to take her fashion house, Heaven Gaia, to new levels on the international stage, Chen Nan reports.

Great Hall History set in stone

Digging in designs reflect • In 366, the first cave is carved by Yuezun, a Bud­ dhist monk who happens to visit Dunhuang. inspiration from • The first large­scale boring of grottoes begins in Dunhuang during the Northern Liang (401­439) caverns kingdom period. • Rulers of the (386­534), (535­556) and Northern Zhou (557­581) By LIN dynasties follow and contribute to the [email protected] expansion of the grottoes.

When construction of the Great Hall of the Peo­ • Booming trade along the ancient gradu­ ple began in 1958, then­premier Zhou Enlai sug­ ally helps the Mogao Caves become prominent in the gested while overseeing the project that talented seventh and the eighth centuries. During the reign of young Chinese have the opportunity to partici­ empress of the (618­907), pate. more than 1,000 caves exist at the site. Chang Shana, then 27, was among the artists chosen. A teacher at the Central Academy of Arts • Dunhuang is ruled by the Tibetan Tubo regime and Design (now Tsinghua University’s Academy from 781 to 848, who dig 56 caves. of Arts and Design) at the time, Chang got the chance after being noticed in China’s art world for • Local warlords govern Dunhuang from 848 to her accurate copies of the mural paintings inside 1036, creating many family grottoes. Dunhuang’s caves in Gansu province. Chang’s studies of the intricate patterns and • The Western (1038­1227) regime of the Tan­ motifs on the murals and Buddhist statues led her gut people control Dunhuang, carving 77 new to incorporate these elements when designing art­ caves. works that used traditional Chinese crafts, such as porcelain, enamel ware and silk items. • About 10 surviving caves are carved after Mon­ Chang was assigned to gols conquer the Western Xia in 1227. The carving the team designing the ceil­ of new caves stops following the decline of the Silk ing of the state banquet Road in the 14th century. room at the Great Hall. Her designs of the ceiling pat­ Outsiders look in terns employed the sym­ • 1900: The “library cave” is found by Wang ­ metrical floral motifs and lu, a Taoist guarding the Mogao Caves at the time, the color scheme of Dun­ followed by swarms of Western explorers, who later huang, and stood out scatter documents around the world. among other proposals. Chang Shana But despite the elegance, • 1907: British scholar Marc Aurel Stein visits Dun­ her drawings were viewed huang for the first time, taking 24 boxes of docu­ as “not functional”. ments and five boxes of other cultural relics back “Zhang Bo, one of the architects, said the home with him to “study”. designs looked quite beautiful but didn’t meet the practical requirements of a banquet space,” Chang cons from the relics in Dunhuang — one of China’s big­ toes at Mogao that span over a millennium. In 1987, the caves Qiang’s designs, where he combined it with elements of tra­ She also dedicates the brand to Chinese women, who she says • 1908: French Sinologist arrives in recalls. gest treasure troves of art, dating back a millennium — were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. ditional Chinese ink paintings. are “full of love and wisdom”. Dunhuang and develops the first numbering sys­ “He said I should take into consideration the were taking on a new, chic look on the runway as Chinese During her 10­day journey, Xiong took photos, visited muse­ “Gaia is the ancestral mother of all life, and she represents tem for the caves. He also takes away key manu­ ceiling’s air vents and lights, and the overall archi­ fashion designer Xiong Ying presented her spring/sum­ ums and drank in the gorgeous murals, which later served as Skills passed down over generations the beauty of women. For me, Chinese women are beautiful scripts, estimated to be in the “thousands” by tecture and the materials to be used.” Imer collection for 2019 at the Hotel Salomon de Rothschild in her muse. Xiong is a native of Changde, Hunan province, and says and have unique fashion tastes,” says Xiong, who loves fashion the Chinese government. Chang, now 88, says she later worked closely Paris on Sept 28, 2018. Two years later, she returned to Dunhuang with her design that her interest in the fashion industry started from an early styles from across the ages but especially the Tang Dynasty with architects and engineers for months to inte­ Elements from Dunhuang’s murals, including nine­colored team in tow to begin preparations for her 2019 collection. age. When she was 4 years old, she watched her mother and (618­907). • 1914­15: Russian scholar Sergei Oldenburg visits grate the patterns with the building’s structure, deer, flying apsaras (angel­like beings known as feitian in Chi­ The collection received positive feedback on social media. grandmother sewing and making clothes together at home. Dunhuang and takes away manuscripts and murals. including its bases. nese) and ancient musicians playing the pipa, or Chinese Fans were wowed by Xiong’s talent for bringing the ancient From flowers to butterflies, themes in their Homage to traditional The Great Hall opened in 1959. lutes, all came alive through Xiong’s contemporary­design aes­ murals alive and her dedication to showing Chinese culture to patterns kept changing and developing over time, which By 2008, Xiong had made a name for herself as a fashion • 1924: Langdon Warner from the United States The project helped Chang’s career to reach a thetics in 78 sets of outfits and accessories. the world. always surprised Xiong as a child. stylist and had a regular client base of artists, celebrities and steals 26 murals and several Buddhist statues. new height as a designer and educator. She retired Xiong’s collection was delicate, light and breezy. It featured The 78 outfits and accessories were chosen from over 300 Xiong learned embroidery and sketching skills from her TV hosts, including Chinese singer­songwriter Huo Zun. as the dean of the Central Academy of Arts and such techniques as dip­dyeing, embroidery, tapestry works that took Xiong and her team about a year to finish. She mother and grandmother, and enjoyed designing and mak­ “Her designs bring traditional Chinese culture to life • 1920s: Dunhuang studies begin to appear as a Design in 1998. She also designed decorations for work and hand painting on textiles, such as silk and chiffon. returned to Dunhuang again after the fashion show in Paris, ing clothes for her dolls. through her contemporary aesthetic. I love the variety of ele­ new discipline in parts of the world. In China, scholar some other spaces at the Great Hall in 2006 and “It is a different approach, and I drew my inspiration from “to pay respect to the holy site”. “For me, it’s an accessible craft to start, and hand embroi­ ments in her works, such as the (traditional ethnic Han Chen Yinke uses the term “Dunhuang studies” for 2008. Again, she adopted the patterns from Dun­ my trip to Dunhuang,” the ­based designer says. “There She adds that her exploration of Dunhuang will never end, dery is both fun and relaxing,” says Xiong. attire) and her use of gradually fading ink,” says Huo, who has the first time in 1930, while in the English­speaking huang. are personal involvement and memories, and there are all since the site provides her with infinite inspiration for imagi­ “I have never formally studied fashion design, but it was a been wearing Xiong’s designs for around two years. world, it becomes known as “Tunhuangology”. It was her father, Chang Shuhong (1904­94), a these other layers intermingled, which make the idea of luxury nation and creativity. skill that I picked up and mastered naturally.” In 2016, Xiong presented her 2017 spring/summer collec­ painter and the founding director of the Dunhu­ even more interesting. The collection is not just about expen­ Xiao Qiang (pseudonym) is one of 50 designers working at Before launching her fashion brand, Xiong also traveled to tion at Paris Fashion Week. The series, which featured a mix • 1941­43: Renowned painter Zhang Daqian stays ang Academy, who inspired her to follow Dun­ sive materials and complicated techniques but also history Xiong’s fashion brand. In 2017, the 30­year­old traveled to and provinces to learn Suzhou embroidery, of ceramics and silk, was inspired by Yuanmingyuan, the roy­ in Dunhuang and makes replicas of the murals. huang’s art. and personal experience.” Dunhuang with Xiong to seek inspiration. one of the oldest and most­famous embroidery techniques in al summer resort in Beijing during the (1644­ Chang Shana was born in France, and her par­ Xiong launched her own fashion label, Heaven Gaia, in 2013 His first impressions of Dunhuang were of the paintings of China. 1911). • 1942: A large­scale scientific exploration orga­ ents returned to China amid wars. They went to to present traditional Chinese culture to the world through Zhang Daqian, an artist who traveled to the cave complex to She still has a large wooden box stored in her home in Chang­ In 2017, Xiong staged a fashion show on the theme of inher­ nized by the government is completed in Dunhu­ Dunhuang, where Chang Shuhong decided to cat­ fashion design. Traveling to Dunhuang had been a dream of study Buddhist murals in the 1940s. Outfits and accessories designed by Xiong Ying de, in which her mother and grandmother put all their pre­ itance at the Opera de Paris, presenting designs inspired by ang. alog and study the art. hers ever since, Xiong says. “I was about 13 years old when I first saw his paintings in my feature iconic elements from the ancient murals cious embroidered clothes and ornaments. the stories of the “four famous ancient Chinese beauties” — Chang Shana, then 12, had to first cope with “I wanted to go on a journey and get out of my comfort zone. school textbook. The murals conveyed the site’s power and his­ and statues of Dunhuang. The collection was “Those clothes and ornaments were handed down from Xi Shi, Diao Chan, Yang Yuhuan and Wang Zhaojun. • 1944: The Dunhuang Academy (called the Dun­ the harsh natural environment of Northwest Although I had read many stories about Dunhuang and had tory,” says Xiao Qiang, who joined Xiong’s company in 2012. presented in Paris in September 2018. generation to generation in my family, and my mother used On Sept 30, she presented her latest summer/spring collec­ huang Art Institute then) is set up by the govern­ China and later the agony of her mother divorc­ seen lots of photos and videos about this mysterious place, I set One of the most impressive paintings Xiao Qiang saw in PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY to air them in the sun once a year to prevent them from being tion for 2020 in Paris on the theme of traditional Chinese ment to better protect and study the caves. Chang ing her father. But Chang Shana’s spiritual world aside all the preconceptions I had about Dunhuang before I set Dunhuang was the mural, Deer King Jataka, in Cave 257, from destroyed by moths. It’s like a family tradition, which I find opera. She based her ideas on pieces, includ­ Shuhong becomes its first director and serves in was enriched by the murals and figurines in off,” recalls Xiong. the Northern Wei Dynasty (386­534). It shows influences from fascinating,” Xiong says. ing the , Farewell My Concubine, and the Kun­ the post for 40 years. Dunhuang. “I wanted to gain inspiration from what was happening at India and in terms of content and technique. She named her fashion brand Heaven Gaia after Gaia, the qu Opera, The Peony Pavilion, which she watched as a child She learned painting from her father, an artist the moment, so I decided to embark on a road trip to take An image of Buddhist nirvana, which features an 18­me­ personification of the Earth and one of the earliest Greek dei­ with her grandfather. • 1964: The current numbering system of the who graduated from Ecole nationale superieure beautiful photographs. It’s important for me, as a designer, to ter­long reclining Buddha in Cave 158, inspired one of Xiao ties, as a way to pay tribute to her mother and grandmother. “Chinese culture provides me with endless inspiration for Mogao Caves is established. des Beaux­Arts in Paris, the prestigious fine­arts dedicate time to creativity.” my designs. Chinese traditional arts and crafts — from making school. porcelain to ink painting and dyeing by hand — allow me to • 1979: The caves open to the public. For six years, she made copies of the cave Trip back in time along the Silk Road create new designs for a contemporary audience,” she says. murals, learning also from staff members of the Xiong made her first trip to Dunhuang in 2015. She set off “Those great cultural elements speak for themselves. Through • 1984: The Dunhuang Academy upgrades facilities academy and dozens of artists who researched alone from her home in Beijing and first arrived at Xi’an, fashion design, which is a mutual language like music, inter­ at the site. Duan Wenjie becomes the director. Dunhuang art. province, the city that was the starting point of the national audiences can gain a better insight into China.” Chang Shana didn’t receive systematic training ancient Silk Road. Dunhuang was also an important stop on • 1987: The caves are inscribed on the UNESCO at a formal art school. However, Dunhuang was the the Silk Road network and is home to a collection of 735 grot­ Contact the writer at [email protected] World Heritage List. first and most important “school” she attended. She moved to Beijing in the 1950s. But through­ • 1998: Fan becomes director of the acade­ out her life, she revisited Dunhuang many times. my. She regards it as her second hometown, her infi­ nite source of inspiration. • 2014: The current tourist center of the Mogao Chang Shuhong dedicated decades to the preser­ Those great cultural elements speak for 45,000 3,000 1.95 Caves opens, setting a cap of fewer than 6,000 visi­ vation of Dunhuang art until he was transferred to themselves. Through fashion design, square meters statues million visits tors a day. Wang Xudong becomes director of the Beijing in the 1980s. In a letter to his daughter, he academy. which is a mutual language like music, The total area of murals is More than 3,000 The site received over wrote: “Shana, don’t forget you are from Dunhu­ 45,000 square meters. The statues are in the 1.95 million visits in 2018. ang. It is time to raise the profile of Dunhuang to a international audiences can gain biggest mural is caves. The largest is In 1979, the number was • 2019: Zhao Shengliang becomes director of the higher level.” a better insight into China.” 47­sq­m. 35.5 meters tall. 26,271. academy. See Caves, page 20 Xiong Ying, designer SOURCE: DUNHUANG ACADEMY Source: Dunhuang Academy & National Library of China