There are two magnificent murals in China gallery. They are works from the Yuan Dynasty of Wansheng Taoist Temple in Shanxi. The figures in the two murals are arranged correspondingly, with the east and west worshiping the Taoist deity Yuanshi Tianzun who was originally enshrined in the north.
There are 28 figures on the east wall and 31 on the west wall. The characters in the two murals are all graceful and elegant, with smooth lines, fine drawing and exquisite details.
We divide the East mural into three parts. On the left, 11 figures are led by General Zhenwu and Marshal Tianpeng. Marshal Tianpeng has three heads and six arms, with a ferocious face. The upper right index finger spins a hot wheel, and the upper left hand holds a carpenter's ruler; the middle right hand holds a sword, the middle left hand holds a rope, and the lower left hand holds a long seal (there is also a right arm that is not drawn).
General Zhenwu is majestic, with disheveled hair, bare feet, and a black robe. He steps on a snake on his right foot and a turtle on his left foot. He holds a sword in his right hand and a finger reaching to the sky in his left hand.
Then there were seven civil servants who are the Big Dipper (the Big Dipper in Jin Yong's novel has a woman, and here they are all teenagers who have not yet grown beards).
Then there are a boy and a girl at the altar.
In the middle of the east wall, there are three gods who have halos. The Jade Emperor in the middle is flanked by Ziwei Emperor and Houtu Emperess who help him manage the heaven. There were four jade girls in front and behind them who were in charge of the guard of honor.
On the right side of the east wall are five stars and five elements. The five stars are Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn. The five elements are metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Venus is a woman, dressed in white, wearing a chicken comb on her head, holding a pipa wrapped in cloth. Jupiter, the civil prime minister, wears green clothes and a pig crown on his head, holding a plate of peaches in his left hand and a peach in his right hand. Mercury, female form, dressed in white, wearing a monkey crown, holding paper in her left hand and a pen in her right hand, as if thinking. Mars has bronze teeth and a red face, wears a donkey crown on his head, holds a sword in one hand, and fire in the other. Saturn is an old man, wearing a cow crown on his head and straw sandals on his feet, holding a seal in his right hand and a cane in his left hand.
There are five male gods behind the five stars, all holding a board, having beards. Although not as easy to identify as the Five Stars, it is inferred that they are the gods of the Five Elements. Together with the Five Stars, they form the gods of the Ten Heavenly Stems, which correspond to the twelve earthly branch gods on the west wall. The one wearing red is considered fire, the blue one is water, the white one is metal, the green one is wood, and the yellow one is earth.