Museum collections (1-4)
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E-mail China.org.cn, June 3, 2019
1.Handscroll: Portrait of the Disciples of Confucius (by Yan Liben of the Song dynasty)
Calligraphy and Painting
Ink and Color on Silk
Song Dynasty: 960 to 1279 A.D.
Width×Length: 32.3cm×870cm
The preserved handscroll portrays the standing posture of 59 disciples of Confucius in total. The title label on the protective and decorative backing reads “Portrait of the Disciples of Confucius by Yan Liben”. The handscroll uses the technique of line drawing to vividly feature the disciples, each with their own mien that conveys a sense of seriousness or amiableness. Their vesture and accessories, depicted in different colors, radiates the qualities of elegance and self-possession. The frontispiece bears an inscription of Emperor Qianlong, “the Legacy of Poise of Confucius Disciples ”. The artwork in the middle carries a complete set of eight seals of the emperor: the Seal of Treasure Imperially Viewed at the Sanxi Hall (literally three rarities), the Seal of Blessings to Offspring, the Seal of Emperor Qianlong's Treasure, the Seal of Treasure Imperially Viewed by Emperor Qianlong, the Seal of Shiqu Baoji (an i nventory-catalog of works of painting and calligraphy in the collection of Emperor Qianlong), the Seal of Treasure Imperially Viewed in Shiqu, the Seal of Baoji Chongbian (a continuation of the inventory-catalog), and the Seal of Treasure Imperially Viewed at the Qianqing Palace (literally heavenly purity), along with his other seals, such as the Seal of Emperor Qianlong at Seventy, the Seal of Emperor Qianlong at the Wufu Wudai Hall (literally five happiness and five generations), the Seal of Ba Zheng Mao Nian Zhi Bao (literally the eighth way of governing the country is to care about commoners), and the S eal of Grand Emperor's Treasure. In addition, it bears the seals of connoisseurs such as S ong Quan and his son. The artwork was postscripted by Jiang Fu, son of Jiang Tingxi, an official painter and grand secretary to the imperial court in the Qing dynasty, together with Wang Jie, Cao Wenzhi, Peng Yuanrui and Dong Gao, all political figures in at that time. According to research on the postscript and inscription, it is Confucius’s disciples depicted in the painting. The artwork comes with a story of many twists and turns. It was first awarded by Emperor Shunzhi (the third emperor of the Qing dynasty) to Song Quan, and after nearly 100 years came into the possession of Jiang Fu. Jiang then presented it to the Qianlong emperor, which was recorded in the S hiqu Baoji Xubian, a continuation of the inventory-catalog. The Qing administration then lost it to Japan during the World War II. After exchanges of possession, the handscroll was eventually returned to China, where it belongs.
2.Handscroll: Autumn Hunt (by Li Zongwan of the Qing dynasty)
Calligraphy and Painting
Qing dynasty
Width×Length: 21.1cm×194cm
Li Zongwan (1705-1759), who styled himself as “Zida”, “Yiyuan” and “Zhuxi”, originated in Jinghai, Zhili (now Jinghai County, Tianjin City). Fathered by Li Tingyi, a minister of the Qing dynasty administration, Li Zongwan was known as a bibliophile and a court painter. He became a jinshi (imperial scholar) in 1721, the sixtieth year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign, and w as admitted to the Hanlin Academy. In his finest moments, Li was appointed the assistant minister of Justice. Adept at landscape painting, and bird-and-flower painting, Li carried elegance and exquisiteness into his every stroke. His penmanship, vibrant and graceful, put him on par with Zhang Zhao, another prominent calligrapher of his time. Li was also an enthusiast of poetry and book collection.
In the autumn hunt at Mulan Paddock in 1745, Emperor Qianlong ordered his entourage to poetize the grand event. With his fine technique of traditional Chinese realistic painting, Li reproduced the grandeur of the hunt down to the very last detail: an army of hunters on horseback, armed with bows and arrows, chased after panicked preys. Li postscipted the painting with a neatly lettered poem. The painting bears a series of seals for imperial appreciation and collection, such as the Seal of Treasure Imperially Viewed by Emperor Qianlong, the Seal of Treasure Imperially Viewed at the Sanxi Hall (literally three rarities), the Seal of Blessings to Offspring, the Seal of Emperor Jiaqing’s Treasure, the Seal of Treasure Imperially Viewed by Emperor Jiaqing, the Seal of Emperor Xuantong’s Treasure, the Seal of Shiqu Baoji (an inventory-catalog of works of painting and calligraphy in the collection of Emperor Qianlongliterally treasured bookcases of the imperial libraries), and the Seal of B aoji Sanbian (literally a second continuation of the inventory-catalog of works of painting and calligraphy in the collection of Emperor Qianlong).
3.Handscroll: Streams Amidst Mountains (by Dong Bangda of the Qing dynasty)
Calligraphy and Painting
Qing dynasty
Width×Length: 26.7cm×245cm
Dong Bangda (1699-1769), who styled himself as “Fucun”, “Feiwen” and “Dongshan”, originated in Fuyang, Zhejiang. As a court painter in the Qing dynasty, Dong was adept at landscape painting. He became a Jinshi (imperial scholar) in 1733 and was admitted to the Hanlin Academy as an editor in 1737. Ranking up to the Minister of Rites, Dong once took part in the compilation of imperial inventory catalogs, such as Shiqu Baoji (an inventory-catalog of works of painting and calligraphy in the collection of Emperor Qianlong), M i Dian Library of Palace Treasures (a large collection of Buddhist and Taoist calligraphies and paintings) and X iqing Gujian (a 40-volume catalog of Chinese ritual bronzes in the collection of Emperor Qianlong). Enthusiastic about calligraphy and painting, Dong fell heir to the ancient techniques of seal script and clerical script. Inspired by artists of the Yuan dynasty, Dong exceled at the use of painting techniques such as dry brush, o utlining, texturing, and rubbing in landscape painting. His painting style, ethereal and exquisite, dwells somewhere between the Loudong School and Yushan School, equaling him with Dong Yuan and Dong Qichang, both reputed landscape painters in ancient China.
Streams Amidst Mountains is a long handscroll of ink wash painting modeled after that of Jing Hao, a Chinese landscape painter and theorist of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Northern China. The work employs Jing's texturing, and rubbing techniques to compress the landscape into layers of jutting rock-pillars between streams. In his inscription, Dong paid tribute to Jing. The handscroll bears seals for imperial appreciation and collection, such as the Seal of Emperor Qianlong’s Treasure, the Seal of Treasure Imperially Viewed at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Seal of Treasure Imperially Viewed by Emperor Qianlong, the Seal of Emperor Jiaqing’s Treasure, the Seal of Emperor Xuantong’s Treasure, the Seal of Treasure Imperially Viewed at the Sanxi Hall (literally three rarities), the Seal of Blessings to Offspring, the Seal of Shiqu Baoji, the Seal of Baoji Sanbian (literally a second continuation of the inventory-catalog), The Seal of Shiqu Dingjian , and the Seal of Baoji Chongbian (a continuation of the inventory-catalog).
4.Hanging Scroll: At Mount Li Escaping the Heat (by Yuan Jiang of the Qing dynasty)
Calligraphy and Painting
Qing dynasty
Ink and Color on Silk
Width×Length: 134cm×224cm
Yuan Jiang (1671-?), who styled himself as “Wentao”, originated in Yangzhou, Jiangsu. Yuan was known in the Qing dynasty for his sophistication in jiehua (p ainting executed with measuring devices such as ruled lines), landscape painting and brushwork of palatial gardens. Following the footsteps of Qiu Ying, a Chinese painter who specialized in gongbi (a careful realist technique), Yuan incorporated the craft of blue-green landscape painting into his works, where he portrayed elaborately-structured sumptuous palaces and pavilions with brilliant colors.
Completed in 1702, the hanging scroll draw inspiration from the stories where Emperor Xuanzong of Tang dynasty spent his holiday at the summer resort–Mountain Li, which is now in Lintong, Shaanxi. F rom a panoramic view, Yuan reproduced the intricate spectacle of history. Luxuriantly emerald trees were scattered among the rocks of the rugged mountain. A lake lay at the foot of the mountain and joined the misty sky at a far end. A flight of stepstone led up to the secluded yet lofty Jiucheng Palace, the main building in the scroll. With a grand landscape in the background, Yuan carefully arranged the pavilions and palaces to bring out the grandeur of the summer holiday retreat. The brilliantly colored palace attendants, a xe-cut textured mountain rocks and dot-stained emerald trees also helped bring this gongbi masterpiece to life. In his inscription, Yuan paid homage to the artists of the Southern Song dynasty. The hanging scroll bears both an intaglio seal and an embossed seal.
