距今已有300多年历史的甘肃拉卜楞寺今年将实施壁画保护修复工程。请看本报周五的报道：

    Restoration work on the frescoes at Labrang Monastery, a prominent Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Northwest China’s Gansu Province, will begin in April.

    The project, which has been allocated 10 million yuan (US$1.6 million) by the government, is scheduled to take two years, according to Sonam Je, who is in charge of relic protection at the monastery.

    Natural erosion over the past 300 years has left the frescoes in dire need of repair, said Sonam Je.

    He said the plan was drawn up by the Dunhuang Academy, which specializes in the research and restoration of wall murals.

    报道中的fresco是“湿壁画”，即在未干的石灰墙壁作画，这个词来自意大利语“新鲜的”，意大利文艺复兴时期的壁画大都是这一类。另一种干壁画是secco，干壁画需要粘合剂把颜料固定，于是其中一种用蛋清调颜料的称为tempera，壁画通称是mural。