PAINTED WALL 画 壁
This work draws inspiration from Painted Wall (画壁), a haunting tale from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (聊斋志异) by Pu Songling.
In the story, a scholar becomes entranced by a mural of beautiful women in a temple. His longing draws him into the painting itself, where fantasy becomes indistinguishable from reality.
Though briefly immersed in desire and illusion, he returns changed — weakened, disoriented, but still longing for what was never real.
The tale reveals a quiet truth: fantasy, once indulged, often feels more vivid than life itself.
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-3D art
- 14s
- 2025
- Cinema 4D.Zbrush, Octane Render
Painted Wall – Story
From Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (聊斋志异) by Pu Songling
In this tale, a scholar named Zhu Xiaolian visits an old temple and becomes mesmerized by a mural of heavenly maidens. One girl in the painting seems to return his gaze with a faint smile. Drawn by longing, he suddenly finds himself immersed in the world of the painting.
Inside this dreamlike realm, Zhu walks through winding corridors, enters the girl’s chamber, and shares quiet intimacy with her. Her companions even playfully alter her hairstyle from that of a young girl to a married woman. But the illusion quickly collapses — guards arrive, the girl hides him beneath her bed, and he awakens back in the temple, weak and disoriented.
The mural remains, but now the girl’s painted image bears the same adult hairstyle from the dream. A monk reveals: none of it was real. It was a projection of his own desire — not ghosts, not magic, but the mind’s longing made visible.
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