The era of the Three Kingdoms (三国时代), which followed the Han Dynasty (206 BCE—220 CE) and preceded the Wei and Jin periods, was marked by intense warfare and political fragmentation. As a result, many Han people migrated from the war-torn Central Plains to the Western Regions (西域), establishing new settlements. The state of Wei, one of the three kingdoms, eventually prevailed and founded the Wei Dynasty, bringing a brief period of stability. After the short-lived Wei Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty reunified China, but this unity quickly collapsed amid invasions by nomadic groups during the period known as the “Five Barbarians’ Invasions” (五胡乱华). It was against this turbulent historical backdrop that the Wei–Jin tomb paintings were created.

These tomb paintings were typically rendered on individual bricks measuring approximately 30 by 15 centimeters (about 12 by 6 inches), with one painting per brick, lining the walls of underground tombs. They served both decorative and symbolic functions, intended to support the deceased in the afterlife. The paintings offer a rare and vivid window into the social, cultural, and artistic life of the period, depicting everyday activities, customs, mythological stories, as well as clothing and food. Many of the tombs were looted in antiquity, leaving few burial objects intact. By the time of my visit in 2018, a total of 660 painted bricks had been excavated from 13 tombs.

Most Wei–Jin tombs were family tombs, often containing the remains of several generations. Aside from a small exhibition hall, only one tomb—No. 6, which accommodates just three or four visitors at a time—was open to the public. The brick paintings in this tomb are rich in subject matter, portraying scenes of daily life such as farming, animal husbandry, hunting, music-making, dancing, cooking, dining, feasting, reproduction, and brewing. Simple and restrained in style yet vivid and colorful, these images stand in refreshing contrast to later, more formalized Chinese painting traditions. Created by anonymous craftsmen rather than professional artists, they are free from rigid aesthetic conventions, ignoring strict perspective and proportion. Although the exhibition is modest in scale, it was the most exciting experience of my entire Silk Road journey, allowing me to step back in time and glimpse the intimate world of Wei–Jin families.

One of the most iconic images from these tombs is the Postman on Horseback, excavated from Tomb No. 5 (the image below is from the Gansu Provincial Museum). By the Wei–Jin period, a national network of postal relay stations (驿站) had been in place for over four centuries. In the painting, a mounted courier clutches a letter in one hand and the reins in the other, while his horse gallops at full speed, its tail streaming behind—an eloquent symbol of urgency and efficiency.