Documentary: Digital Restoration of the Empress Procession
For additional details on the restoration of the Empress Procession, see
Digital Restoration of the Empress Process (article)
Restoring the Former Life of Dismembered Cultural Artifacts, delivered by Jia Zhuofei and Ouyang Zhenyu at the 2023 Advancing Digital Exhibition of Cultural Heritage Symposium
Film production
Host of the Digital Restoration of the Empress Procession Project:
Longmen Grottoes Research Academy
Participating institutions and individuals:
3D Plastic Art Modern Technology Application Research Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Center for the Art of East Asia, University of Chicago
General Counsel Shi Jiazhen
General Producer Jia Zhuofei
Project Coordinator Wang Jianhua
Producer Gao Junping
Chief Producer Hou Xintian
Producer Li Yang Yang Qian
Chief Director Hou Xintian
Director Wang Ye Wang Xiaoyi
Animation Video Jia Zhuofei Wang Xiaoyi
Chief Photographer Hou Xintian
Photographer Wang Ye Wang Xiaoyi Yang Qian Yang Songbai
Photographing Assistant Wang Ming Chen Junsheng
Post-production Director Wang Ye Wang Xiaoyi
Post-production Wang Ye
Produced by:
Beijing Miaodao Dahua Communication Co., Ltd.
Sichuan Haofeng Miaodao Cultural Communication Co., Ltd.
Images cited in video
02:51 - Photo taken by French sinologist Édouard Émmannuel Chavannes in 1907
02:59 - Line drawing made by Japanese archaeologist Mizuno Seiichi in 1936
03:14 - Photo taken by American collector Charles Lang Freer in 1910
Timeline of restoration process as shown at 12:10
February 7, 2019 - Relief scanned at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
January 29, 2020 - Center for the Art of East Asia, The University of Chicago, Illinois, USA, project coordinator
November 17, 2020 - Remaining wall portions scanned at Longmen Grottoes Academy, Luoyang, Henan, China
November 30, 2020 - Virtual coordinate system set up on computer, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shannxi
January 5, 2021 - Aggregated computational study on Binyang Central Cave relief-related data
March 10, 2021 - 3D models of relief fragments in both Nelson-Atkins and Longmen Grottoes Academy collections printed (one month)
April 7, 2021 - Director of Longmen Grottoes Academy, Shi Jiazhen, visited Xi’an Jiaotong University studio
May 4, 2021 - Authenticated the fragments in Longmen Grottoes Academy storage and researched their position on the original relief (two weeks)
June 30, 2021 - Made actual reduced-size model of the relief based on reworked outlines reconstructed with measurements of the remaining wall
August 30, 2021 - Concluded reduced-size actual model simulation, scanned to proceed with virtual reconstruction simulation September 3, 2021 Began sculpting actual full-sized relief on the model of remaining wall portions, with outlines of original positions of the relief fragments. In the meantime, constantly compared actual model and computer, remaining wall, and old photos in order to correct errors.
February 5, 2022 - Concluded first round of actual full-sized modeling, machine extracted the outlines of fragments in Nelson-Atkins collection
April 10, 2022 - Director of Longmen Grottoes Academy, Shi Jiazhen’s second visit to the Xi’an Jiaotong University studio
May 22, 2022 - Commenced second round of actual modeling; data imported into computer to be matched again with related digital models in order to reduce errors for the reconstruction. In the meantime, fragments in Nelson-Atkins collection were virtually marked out and repositioned on the virtual reconstructed model
July 20, 2022 - Actual model and virtual model were compared for the third time for precision in figures’ facial features and dresses as well as precise positioning of the fragments
August 31, 2022 - Actual model completed, inscribed, and signed
September 15, 2022 - Scanned the actual full-sized model, imported into computer to be combined with 3D models of the remaining wall portions and cave for virtual reconstruction
November 30, 2022 - Completed the reconstruction research of Offering Procession of the as Donor with Her Court relief