The Jataka murals in the ambulatory of Qutan Temple are important examples of extant Ming-Qing mural art, and they have attracted a great deal of interest among art historians. In the past, the study of these murals mostly comprised descriptive work undertaken by local archaeological workers, and no overall correct understanding of their significance was completed. Nor had any consideration of the murals' artistic style and its position within the context of the history of Chinese art even been undertaken. This article examines the history of the construction of Qutan Temple, firstly, by completing an identification of the content of the Jataka murals in the temple's ambulatory and reconstructing the sequence in which the paintings of different periods were completed, and only then by presenting an analysis of the style of the murals.
