The "Northern Dynasties" refer to the

A gatekeeper as depicted in a mural found in a tomb of the Northern Qi Dynasty.

This mural depicts the occupier of a Northern Qi Dynasty  tomb, whose name is Cui Feng, and his entourage.

Xuan Wu, the God of the Northern Sky, as depicted in a mural found in Cui Feng's tomb.

    Murals constitute a most salient feature of tombs built during the Northern Dynasties period which, in recent years, have been repeatedly found in Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi and Ningxia. The most representative are murals found in a tomb at Zhangwan of Cixian County in Hebei which was possibly occupied by one of the Northern Qi emperors. The walls of the tunnel leading to the chamber where the occupier's coffin is placed, which is 17 meters long, are painted with murals bright in color and magnificent in artistic style. The murals can be divided into four parts.

    Immediately after entering the tunnel we come across huge dragons and tigers on the walls which, facing outward, are against a background consisting of clouds, honey-sucker flowers, as well legendary birds and animals. An imperial guard of honor is painted on walls of the middle section, and the ground is painted with designs of lotus and other flowers - obviously an imitation of a carpet. As we go deeper, we find pictures of the Scarlet Bird - the legendary bird supposedly guarding the south of the Earth - above the gate of the chamber, along with legendary animals on either side of the gate. Near the gate of the coffin chamber we also find the tomb occupier's guards and attendants. We are now inside the chamber, and we find a portrait of the tomb's occupier looking squarely at us, on the wall behind the coffin in front of us. On the walls flanking the coffin there are murals depicting the tomb occupier's travel outfit, guards and male and female servants. The ceiling is in fact an astronomical chart, and below it there are images of the Blue Dragon (guardian god for the east), the White Tiger (guardian god for the west), the Scarlet Bird, and the half tortoise half snake Black Warrior (guardian god for the north).

    Murals inside a Northern Qi Dynasty tomb near Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, are a life-like portrayal of the tomb's occupier, a nobleman named Lou Rui, leaving home for travel and coming back amid a huge number of flag-waving horsemen. These are acclaimed for composition and successful employment of the line-drawing techniques characteristic of the traditional Chinese painting, and should be the handwork of a most prominent painter at the time.

    Murals inside the tomb of a Northern Qi aristocratic couple in Linxu, Shandong, are equally beautiful ,if not more. Cui Feng and his wife are pictured

as taking a walk with a group of male and female servants in their company, the

man wearing a tall hat and a loose robe, walking in easy steps. Also found are

images of the Blue Dragon, White Tiger, Scarlet Bird and Black Warrior as well

as scholars drinking wine under trees.