The hunt for an emperor's face
Filmmaker Chen and a team of researchers used AI-assisted 3D scanning and nondestructive testing to identify and digitally reunite a missing fragment of an emperor’s face from the Longmen Grottoes in Shanxi province, uncovering a decades-long smuggling trail. The project, documented in Chen’s series *Hello AI*, combined technology with cultural preservation to authenticate a single genuine piece among fakes and virtually reconstruct the ancient reliefs without physical reassembly.
Filmmaker Chen first encountered the Longmen Grottoes project in 2022 while filming *Hello AI*, her documentary series exploring AI’s role in cultural heritage. Collaborating with remote sensing expert Huang Xianfeng, she traced a missing emperor’s relief fragment to a 1930s Harvard University archive, where a letter and sketch confirmed American curators had also sought the same piece. The fragment, later found in Longmen’s storeroom, had been smuggled overseas decades earlier. In 2024, the Longmen Grottoes Research Institute launched a digital restoration effort led by Gao Junping. Researchers used nondestructive testing to analyze five candidate fragments, with Tian Hengci of the Chinese Academy of Sciences identifying only one—H05—as chemically matching the original cave wall. The tiny piece, roughly the size of a palm, was the sole authentic fragment amid counterfeits. To locate its original position, the team employed high-precision 3D scanning and AI-assisted surface matching, a process Chen calls ‘digital reunion.’ This method virtually reassembles scattered fragments without physical movement, creating a digital archive for future generations. Chen frames the project as a ‘civilization backup,’ ensuring cultural heritage survives beyond physical decay. The documentary highlights how AI bridges technology and humanities, with Chen describing the fusion as essential to modern cultural preservation. ‘Hard technology plus soft humanities’ defines the trend, she says, emphasizing that digital tools now play a critical role in safeguarding artifacts like the Longmen reliefs.
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