Reflections on a Field Investigation of Classic Silk Road Cave Art

Abstract

This paper examines how embodied on-site experience shapes the understanding of classic cave art along the Silk Road. Based on the author’s participation in the Professional Field Investigationcourse at the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, and the 2024 field trip to Gansu, Qinghai, and Shaanxi, it offers a reflective and practice-based account of four dimensions of field experience: environment, state of mind, empathy, and understanding. The paper argues that geographical conditions, lighting, materiality, spatial scale, and bodily responses generate forms of knowledge that photographic and textual representations cannot fully convey. It further contends that cross-temporal empathy and sensitivity to place are essential to both art historical interpretation and contemporary art creation. By presenting field investigation as an embodied pedagogical method, the study contributes to art education and suggests that outstanding artworks are inseparable from their cultural and geographical contexts.