Chinese Art Treasures (Art Ebook).pdf

CHINESE ART TREASURES

Front cover

:

Back cover:

Anonymous: Noble Scholar under a Eleventh century, Sung dynasty. (No.

Wen Cheng-ming

Willo 26)

Old Trees by a Cold Waterfall. Dated 1549, Ming dynasty. (No. 98) :

t

:.._

CHINESE ART TREASURES

._^

U

61

Waiting for Guests by Lamplight, by

Ma

Lin (ca. 1246,

Sung

dynasty)

CHINESE ART TREASU RES

A

Selected Group of Objects

from

THE CHINESE NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM and

THE CHINESE NATIONAL CENTRAL MUSEUM

TAICHUNG, TAIWAN

,^,jf^

^'***»-*-i4,

i--. Exhibited

the United States by

in

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA at

The National

The Metropolitan Museum The Museum The Art

1961-1962

The M.

of Fine Arts,

Institute of

H.

Washington

Gallery of Art,

of Art,

New York

Boston

Chicago

De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco

HONORARY PATRONS The Honorable John

Kennedy

F.

President of the United States of America

and Mrs. Kennedy

His Excellency Chiang Kai-shek President of the Republic of China

and Madame Chiang

HONORARY COMMITTEE For the Republic of China:

His Excellency

Chen Cheng

Vice President of the Republic of China and concurrently Presiden

His Excellency Vice President

His Excellency

Wang Yun-wu of the Executive

Yuan

Shen Chang-huan

Minister of Foreign Affairs

His Excellency Mei Yi-chi Minister of Education

His Excellency George K. C. Yeh Chinese Ambassador

United States of America

to the

For the United States of America:

The Honorable Dean Rusk The Secretary

of State

The Honorable C. Douglas The Secretary

The Honorable

of the

Dillon

Treasury

Everett F. Drumright

American Ambassador

to the Republic of

The Honorable William C. The Honorable Walter

The Honorable Henry

Bullitt

S. Robertson

R.

Luce

China

of the Executive

Yuan

/ EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

'

for the Republic of China:

Wang

Shih-chieh, chairman

Han Lih-wu

Chang Tao-fan

Li

Chang Chun

Chiu Nien-tai

Hu Shih

Kung Teh-cheng

Chi

Lo Chia-luen

For

t/ie

United States of America:

Walter Heil Director,

The M.

H. de

Young Memorial

IVIuseum,

San Francisco

John Maxon Director of Fine Arts,

The Art

Perry T. Rathbone Director, The Museum

James

J.

Director,

Institute of

of Fine Arts,

Chicago

Boston

Rorimer The Metropolitan Museum

of Art,

New

Yorl<

John Walker Director,

The

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

SELECTION COMMITTEE For the Republic of China:

Wang

Shih-chieh

Ma Shou-hua

Lo Chia-luen

Chuang Shang-yen

Kung Teh-cheng

Tan T'an-chiung

Chiang Ku-sun

Na

Chih-liang

For the United States of America:

John A. Pope,

chairman

Aschwin Lippe Tseng Hsien-ch'i

\ CATALOGUE COMMITTEE John A. Pope,

Chairman

Aschwin Lippe

CHINESE OFFICIAL

James

Cahill

Chuang Shang-yen

IN

CHARGE OF THE EXHIBITION

Yang Yun-chu

/

V,

Preface

The Chinese Palace Museum's collection of objects of art is unique. Few other ancient civilizations of the world have handed down to posterity the masterpieces of their great artists in a single collection that is comparable in size and value. The formation of this famous court collection may be said to have started from the very beginning of the Southern Sung dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.). Miraculously, it survived the invading Mongols in 1276, the Manchus in 1644, and the fall of Peiping in China's disastrous foreign wars in 1860 and 1900. Though it inevitably suffered some losses

in

each upheaval,

it

has been

in

the main expanding con-

tinuously over the past eight hundred years.

Its

scope

is

compre-

hensive, with paintings, calligraphies, porcelains and bronzes

dominant features. The

as

its

in

the collection has set standards of evaluation for scholars

and

experts alike.

art

In

fine quality of the objects included

the current exhibition

many

of the best

items of the collection are presented to a foreign public for the

time.

first

Founded Palace

in

1925 by the

Museum

court at Peiping.

Government

inherited Its

of the

Republic of China, the

collection from the former imperial

its

long-established policy

is

representation of Chinese art for the study of

other of

its

tion. Its

success

responsibilities in

saving

is it

to provide a all

good

art lovers.

An-

to preserve this invaluable collec-

from the scourge

of

war during the

mean achievement. This has farsightedness of the Museum's Board of

past thirty years alone has been no

been mainly due to the

Directors and the Chinese Government. Shortly before the out-

break of the Sino-Japanese

moved the

art

War

in

1937, the

Chinese Government

treasures from Peiping to Nanking, and later

re-

transported them to the southwestern provinces of Szechwan and

Kweichow where they were kept for the duration of the war. When Communist revolt spread over many parts of the country in 1948-1949, the Chinese Government and the Museum decided to

the

move them to safety, this time to Taiwan. During some good work has been done in cataloguing

the past decade, this great

accu-

mulation of the fmest products of Chinese culture.

As

movement

early as 1953 a

to exhibit a choice selection of this

collection in the United States got under way. Frequent visits by

leading American and European authorities on Chinese art to the

Palace

Museum

Taiwan have

at its site in

movement. Much

also

is

owed

to Mr.

greatly

encouraged the

Henry R. Luce, Mr. Walter

S. Robertson, Mr. William C. Bullitt, Mr. Everett F. Drumright, Dr. Hu Shih, Mr. Han Lih-wu and Mr. George K.C. Yeh, without whose strong advocacy and support the current exhibition would

not have materialized. I

deeply feel that introducing Chinese art to the Western world

carries a manifold meaning. in

To begin

presenting Chinese art per

with, there

as well as

se,

in

is

intrinsic value

presenting Chinese

as one of the fmest parts of the Chinese people's cultural

art

heritage. Furthermore,

Chinese

art is singularly reflective of the

Chinese philosophy

traditional

ancient Chinese

art,

especially

of in

Many

life.

a masterpiece of

the field of graphic

art,

described as being ultramundane. This characteristic,

I

may be venture

may lend not a little comfort and solace to the modern man who often feels himself entrapped in a materialistic world. It is my belief that the essence of ancient Greek art is its quality

to suggest,

if

of

harmony and symmetry,

ancient Chinese art quillity

could perhaps be said that that of

it

to impart a high

is its ability

sense

of tran-

and peacefulness. The serene world the ancient Chinese

artist

labored to depict was, however, not a world void of pas-

sions

;

tion.

of

it

was

rather a world

Moreover,

ours a

fuller

I

where passions had found sublima-

also feel strongly that,

understanding

of

American people, on whose shoulders the free world,

assumes

a

new

in

Chinese

these troubled times art

and culture by the

largely rests the future of

significance. This exhibition

may

also serve as a reminder that the free Chinese are fighting to save their cultural heritage as

For the current exhibition,

much as to recover lost territories. some two hundred and fifty items have

been chosen. They are necessarily a mere fraction collection

in

the Chinese Palace

people, major emphasis

same

time,

all

care

In

presenting them to the American

is laid

on paintings and porcelains. At

has gone into their selection.

the

of the vast

Museum. However, much

selected objects are highly representative of

each

of the categories of objects in the collection.

Many

of the

exhibits are so unique that they are not to be found elsewhere;

nor have they been given photographic reproduction anywhere before.

we

For such a careful selection

work

John A. Pope,

are indebted to the

Aschwin Lippe, and Tseng Hsien-ch'i as well as to the staff of the Palace Museum and the Central Museum. The latter museum has also contributed a number of items from its collection to this exhibition. On behalf painstaig;A;iitf^i]

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32

AUTUMN OVER

HILLS

AND RIVER Sung dynasty)

Attributed to Emperor Hui-tsung (reigned 1101-1125, Hanging

and

scroll in ink

Wooded

light colors

peaks are seen

the valley and haze.

The

mist.

Some

its village.

on paper, 38;^

x 21

autumn

rising out of the

The pagoda

of a

temple

53

cm)

mist,

which

is faintly

veils

visible

most

color tinges the

autumn

foliage and

some

is

used

in

of

through the

trees fade into ever lighter shades of ink until they disappear

boats and background peaks. For the most in

in. (97 x

in

the

the figures,

part, hov\/ever, the picture is

done

shades of w/et ink, with little emphasis on line and contour. The drawing on tree trunks and rocks is realistically painted. The soft

delicate

interior

outlines of the trunks disappear in washes. The human figures are carefully and precisely handled. The hazy, atmospheric quality of the whole scene, sensitively captured, gives a poetic aura to the painting.

The

picture

is

signed with the emperor's cipher and seal, but the style of the

painting suggests a thirteenth century)

;

somewhat and

later date,

this is not

one

probably Southern Sung (twelfth-

of the types of

work usually associated

with the emperor.

The

painting bears the palace inventory seal of the years between 1373-1384

and

later

was

in

the collection of Liang Ch'ing-piao (1620-1691).

85

33 BIRDS

BAMBOO

A THICKET OF

IN

AND PRUNUS Anonymous, ^^^_^

scroll in ink

W^^^Pf^^

(258.4 X

08.4

The

1

Sung dynasty

ca. 1100-1125,

Hanging

and colors on

silk,

101%x42%in.

cm)

static birds are

latticeworl<

of

branches and

placed within an intricate

bamboo

and plumage

blooming

stalks,

briers.

tall

Every

detail

of

drawn with an extraordinary refinement, and is the result of

foliage

is

patient observation.

compositions relationship

is

which perch

in

In

contrast to earlier

Po No.

T'sui

(cf.

23),

no

implied between the birds, isolation, in their

assigned

places.

The

outline of the foreground bank

is

broad,

wavering and partly broken, of uneven width

;

the tree trunk has an irregular, soft, knotty

contour.

Bamboo

drawn

thin

in

brier stalks. tifully

leaves

and

outline as are

The

birds'

reeds

some

plumage

is

are

of the

beau-

individualized.

The painting can probably be ascribed to some member of the Painting Academy of Emperor Hui-tsung. The picture bears Mongol imperial seals of the T'ien-li period (1328-1329), of the K'uei-chang Ko Academy (1329-1340)

and the palace inventory seal

of the years

between 1373-1384.

in

the collections of

and

86

his

Sung

Later,

it

was

Ch'iJan (1598-1652)

son Sung Lao (1634-1713).

34

SHRIKE By

Li

Album

The

An-chung leaf in ink

exquisitely

Sung dynasty)

(ca. 1110,

and color .on

silk,

10

drawn shrike

is

x 10'/i

in.

(25.4 x 26.9

cm)

perched on a dry twig over outlined bamboo.

and

a sense of perfection, the bird is "distilled" own, separate reality, in an elegant and timeless

Depicted with crystalline

clarity

from nature and creates

its

arrangement. Li

An-chung

first

served

in

the Painting

Academy

of

After the defeat by the Chin Tartars (1127), the court

the Painting

Academy was

re-established

in

the

new

Hui-tsung at Pienliang.

moved

to the south,

capital, first at

and

Nanking

later at Hangchow. Li An-chung was an official also of the Hangchow Academy, where he was decorated with the "Golden Belt". The painting is signed by the artist, who uses a title he received some time before 1119 when he was promoted. The remaining half of an official seal

and

carries a date corresponding to 1107-1110.

There also

is

the seal of a Ming

dynasty collector.

87

35

CLOUDS AND MIST

MOUNTAINS

IN

By Mi Yu-jen

(before 1135,

Handscroll

in ink

The rhythmic

on paper, 10%

x

83%

flow of verdant

Sung dynasty) 212.6

in. (27.2 x

and

hills

cm)

rolling

clouds builds up to a climax

marked by the pagoda on the highest peak, and then ebbs out gracefully. The sparse details of trees and houses are sketched in the most essential way. Soft, wet, horizontal dots give accent to the blurred and hazy shapes, produced by painting with very watery ink on

dampened

paper.

Mi Yu-jen (1086-1165), son of the famous Mi Fu (No. 28), was a scholar-official, calligrapher and painter. his father, piling

use of contour or other

88

He painted

up layers

of ink

line.

in

the impressionist style inaugurated by

tones to obtain soft misty effects, with

little

.^'^'

The

painting

is

not signed, but

lias

tions finding this worl< of his in the

The

early history of this scroll

century. is

painting

is

house

in

which he men-

of a friend in 1135.

cannot be established beyond the seventeenth

representative of the artist's style and the attribution

entirely plausible.

The the is

The

a postscript by the artist

picture carries

Hung-wu

two seals attributed one of a

era (ca. 1368), and

a colophon by

Tseng

Southern Sung period one of Ming collector (Wu T'ing). There

to the later

;

Ti (1162) attributing the picture to Mi

Fu

;

another

Wu

K'uan (1503); others by Tung Ch'i-ch'ang (1555-1636) and Lou Chien (1598) several by Ta Chung-kuang (between 1681 and 1684) and Kao Shih-ch'i (1690). The history of the early inscriptions is confused. The scroll

signed

;

was

in

the collections of

Ta Chung-kuang and Kao

Shih-ch'i.

89

36

WHISPERING PINES By

T'ang (dated

Li

Hanging

A

scroll in

]nV.

IN

1124,

and colors on

THE MOUNTAINS Sung dynasty) silk,

powerful rocky mountain dominates

(No. 18).

The same

cm)

x 55 in. (188.7 x 139.8

74X

tlie

way recalling Fan K'uan way the mountain is crowned

picture in a

tradition is also evident in the

by scrubby vegetation and certain tree groups stand out the clouds, as well as

in

silhouette against

in

the thin silvery bands of waterfalls

in

front of

somber,

shadowed gorges. The whole composition has been moved closer

to the

observer.

The

texture strokes

show

the most conspicuous change. Fan K'uan's "rain-

drop" dabs have developed into

Li

T'ang's characteristic, somewhat mannered

"axe-cut" strokes which are applied with the brush held

Slender peaks is

used

in

in light

the trees,

blue and grey rise

some

pink and

brown

in

an inclined position.

the distance. Green and blue color

in

the rocks and tree trunks. Broad,

in

strong, nearly unbroken outlines of slightly varying width and with

sure accents hold

cliffs

Li

T'ang

of

Emperor Hui-tsung

(ca. 1050-1130), a native of at

some

pres-

and rocks together.

Honan

province, served

Pienliang (Kaifeng).

A

in

Academy

the

year or two after the exodus

T'ang managed to follow, and was awarded the highest and honors, including the "Golden Belt". Though nearly eighty, he

to the south (1127) Li titles

dominated the new Academy and imposed until

the end of the dynasty.

The

painting

is

his style

on

it

in

a way that lasted

signed and dated (on one of the distant pinnacles).

the seal of Chia Ssu-tao (died 1276) and a Southern

Sung palace

as the palace inventory seal of the years between 1373-1384. Later, collection of Liang Ch'ing-piao (1620-1691).

90

It

carries

seal as well it

was

in

the

91

37

MOUNTAINS BY THE RIVER By

Li

T'ang

Handscroll

in ink

(ca. 1050-1130,

Sung dynasty)

and colors on

^9%x^3'A

At the beginning

slll(,

hills

from the opposite shore

introduce a slowly unrolling river landscape.

wooded

follow the path threading through the

l^nolls of

We

the foreground. Beyond

a vast expanse of water enlivened by the sailing boats.

The

roofs of the temple buildings are of the early type,

out the pronounced curvature that

Sung and

later paintings.

There

and green on the rocks and color for the

92

(49.7x186.7 cm)

of the scroll, a spit of land extending

and some distant blue is

in.

more

is

is

flat

and

straight, with-

characteristic of temples in Southern

blue color on the roofs and yellow, brown

cliffs;

distant trees, with

the richly varied foliage patterns are

some

ink for the foreground ones.

in

Tree

trunks and rocks have strongly drawn contours which are slightly modulated and have longish sections. At the same time, the graded washes, the feathery drawing of foliage, the concentration on mass and texture, soften the whole and give it a more painterly aspect. The texture strokes are of the same "axe-

cut" pattern we recognized on the previous picture, but less formalized or mannered. The whole mountain landscape is tightly built up and richly shaded in ink and color, contrasting with the unlimited space of water and sky behind. Boats with their masts and ropes are freely drawn, without a ruler. The waves are done

drawn

The

in

in

painting

has been cut is

A

an archaizing fish-net pattern with the right side of each wave

a double line. is

not signed— an entire section including the signature probably and made into a separate scroll. The artist's hand, however,

off

unmistakable

in all details.

long appreciation by

Tung Ch'i-ch'ang is dated 1633; a colophon by the who later owned the painting was written in 1660. the collection of Sung Lao (1634-1713).

painter Ch'eng Cheng-k'uei

The

scroll also

was

in

%

93

38

TEMPLE BY THE CLIFF PASS By Chia Shih-ku Album

In

leaf in ink

(ca. 1150,

and color on

a scene of dusk, a

silk,

Sung dynasty)

\0y, x

dense group

10%

in.

(26.4

of pines

which two bearers approach from the

right.

x26 cm)

firs surmounts the rocky knoll Temple buildings are visible in the

and

distance behind the trees. Using a device very popular during the Southern

Sung

period, the composition

is concentrated in one corner of the picture empty space, broken only by a single distant hill painted in dilute blue-grey wash. The format of the album leaf fits the new tendency toward a more intimate character in the landscape. Stylistically, the painting is very close to Li T'ang (Nos. 36-37), but the rock texture is elaborated in a more mannerist way, with furry growths of long grass adding to the feeling of density and compression.

while the rest

is

Chia Shih-ku, a native of Pienliang (Kaifeng) served as an

Academy The

at

painting

Hangchow is

signed.

official in

the Painting

during the Shao-hsing period (1131-1161). It

carries an official seal, probably of the Yiian dynasty

;

the palace inventory seal of the years between 1373 and 1384; and another official seal of

94

the Ming dynasty.

39

CAT By

Li

Album

Ti (dated 1174, leaf in

color on

silk,

Sung dynasty) 9%

x

9%

in.

(23.6x24.1

This portrait of a ginger colored cat

which seems

to

show

is

cm)

painted

in

an unbelievably fine

detail

every single hair of the animal's fur. In spite of the meti-

culous treatment, the artist has managed to convey the sensuous and feline charm, the essential character of the cat to a point where the "idea" of a cat is

actually portrayed.

The

picture

is

signed and dated.

was a native of Honan province. During the Shao-hsing era (1131-1161) he became Assistant Director of the later Painting Academy at Hangchow, and was awarded the "Golden Belt". He was apparently still alive in 1197. Li

Ti

95

4Q

HERDBOYS AND BUFFALOES By

Li

Ti (dated 1174,

Hanging

Two

scroll in ink

THE RAINSTORM

IN

Sung dynasty)

and colors on

silk,

*T/,xW/,

in.

(120.7x102.8 cm)

herdboys on water buffaloes are rushing homeward, fleeing the sudden is lashing the old willow tree; one of the boys holds onto

storm. The wind

his hat the other has already lost his, and is about to jump down to retrieve it. The genre element is rendered with a definite sense of humor. The buffaloes are carefully drawn in fine brushwork that shows each hair. The competently painted landscape setting, with its suggestions of murky atmosphere in sky and ground, captures well the mood of the rainstorm. The ;

foreground bank

is

depicted mainly

in

rocks have stronger, broad contours. trunks, where

some

A

washes, with a

light outline,

broad, blunt brush

ink is applied fairly dry.

is

used

while the

for the tree

Dense green covers the weeping

willow.

The

picture

is

signed and dated to the same year as the previous work. The

painting, was written by Emperor Li-tsung between 1234 and 1264. On the painting are several seals of a son of the first Ming emperor (fourteenth century), and the palace inventory seal of the years

inscription,

mounted above the

between 1373-1384.

96

97

^ 2 S

98

a *i i fit x f « * A t ^ * * -ft

•

41

CHILDREN AT PLAY By Su Han-ch'en Hanging

Two

(first

half twelfth century,

and colors on

scroll In Ink

silk,

77%

x

42%

Sung dynasty)

In. (197.5 x 108.7

princely children are playing with a toy balance

Another

cm)

made

of jujube fruits.

two mounted archers spinning around, is placed on the second stool. There is also a small shrine in the form of a stupa, and bowls made of red lacquer. The eight auspicious symbols ornament a board and the toy, with

The stools are decorated in silver, imitating lacquer work, in chrysanthemum and vine pattern. A gold design adorns the red robe, and the children wear gold ornaments. All these details are delicately drawn, as are the hair and hands of the children and their lively eyes. The fold lines

tray of the toy.

a stylized

of their robes are moderately angular, with

are heightened

in

The ground

indicated only by

is

angular rock

some

"nail-head" strokes;

some

white.

done

some

long grass around the rock.

The

tall,

shaded washes, and with a few longlsh texture strokes. The flowers are shaded in pink and white, with very fine outlines; leaves and stems are executed in the same manner. The large format used for this genre motif gives the picture a strongly decorais

in

wet ink with

slightly

tive character.

Su Han-ch'en was

a native of the northern capital,

tsung's Painting Academy. Later, he was again an court under Kao-tsung and

He was famous

was

still

where he served official

at the

in

Hui-

southern

active under Hsiao-tsung (after 1063).

for his figure paintings,

and especially

for

scenes

of playing

children.

The

painting

attribution.

It

no reason to doubt the traditional

is

not signed, but there

is

the best of several paintings of this subject

Museum which

are attributed to

is

in

the Palace

Su Han-ch'en.

99

42

THE HAN PALACE Chao

Attributed to Fan-shaped album (24.5

leaf

Po-chij (ca. 1150,

(mounted as a hanging

Sung dynasty)

scroll) in Ink

and colors on

silk,

diameter

9'/, in.

cm)

This twilight scene takes place on the day of the Double Seven (seventh day of the seventh

moon), the autumn

During the night, the legendary

festival.

meeting of the herdsman and the spinning maid (Altair and Vega) place In

when she crosses

the Milky

Way

take

will

on a bridge of magpies.

the foreground courtyard, servants and retainers are gathered with oxen

and

carts, saddled

tion, a long

horses and banners. Beyond the temporary, tent-like

parti-

procession of court ladies moves from the lamplit palace through

a natural tunnel in the fantastically eroded rock toward a tower in the upper

Musicians and a sheep precede the empress and her maids, who hold

The

last light is fading,

and they

tall

left.

fans.

ascend the tower to engage in the tramoon. The details of architecture

will

ditional pastime of this evening, gazing at the

and furniture give us a fascinating glimpse

of the material

life

of the

Sung

aristocracy.

Chao

Sung emperor, grew up in Hangchow where he became a favorite

Po-chiJ, a distant relative of the

but followed the court to

Emperor Kao-tsung (reigned 1127-1162) and a for his archaizing

T'ang dynasty

The

painting

is

of the subject

(cf.

Tung Ch'i-ch'ang

in

2).

not signed.

account

painter of

He was known the manner of the

military official.

blue-and-green pictures of palaces

No.

the north,

The archaic

flavor of the

for the attribution to

composition and the nature

Chao Po-chu, which was made

by

above the painting. However, the picture differs in style from other works attributed to Chao Po-chiJ. Certain features such as the twisted plum trees and the blue mountains

beyond agree

The

100

picture

(1555-1636) in his inscription

Ma Yuan (Nos. Keng Chao-chung

better with the school of

was

in

the collection of

51-61).

(1640-1686).

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101

^ f ^

102

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if in it

6

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I

43

SNOWY MOUNTAINS AT DUSK Anonymous Hanging

(twelfth century, and some color on

scroll in ink

The landscape has the

Sung dynasty) silk,

40>ix22

In. (102.1 x

intimate character which

55.9

cm)

we encounter

in

compositions

from the same period. The poetic atmosphere is enhanced by the hazy middle distance animated by a flight of birds. This area shows the influence of Chao Ling-jang (ca. 1100) while the sparse wet "axe-cut" texture of smaller size

strokes are In

(No. 36) at

in

manner

the

of Li

T'ang (Nos. 36-37). The

fairly

prominent pinnacle

the center, topped by pines, preserves something of the

one

thern

in

side, giving the picture the diagonally divided

Sung

latter time,

period.

as

is

ink

In

T'ang design

The large areas given over warm and poetic feeling.

is

placed

composition of the Sou-

to mist also are a feature of the

the

The banks have darker

Li

the tradition of Fan K'uan (No. 18). But the tallest mountain

light,

slightly

the distant vales.

Some

hesitant contours; the

color (green and brown)

washes over sky and water make the white

wash shading turns in

the trees, and the

stand out

hills

in

delicately

handled contrast.

The temple

Japan they are nearly straight, slope, and the characteristic outer reinforcements appear above the principal rafters which terminate, at both ends of the ridge, in bird-headed finials facing inward. The painting has been in the collection of An Ch'i (born 1683). roofs remind us of the Toshodaiji

with only the suspicion of a curve

in

the

in

;

downward

103

44

BREAKING THE BALUSTRADE Anonymous Hanging

(twelfth century,

scroll in ink

and colors on

silk,

Sung dynasty)

68>$ x

40X

(173.9x101.8 cm)

in.

The painting illustrates an edifying historical anecdote concerned with the Han emperor Ch'eng-ti (reigned 46-5 B.C.), his loyal magistrate Chu YiJn, and the marquis Chang Yii of An-ch'ang. Chu YiJn's indignation against the and insincere marquis overcame his prudence, and he asked permission to put him to death with the Imperial sword. The emperor, outraged by this arrogant demand, ordered instead that Chu YiJn himself be beheaded,

flattering

and asked to be killed on the spot, as another The emperor was moved by Chu's courage, and by the pleas of his general, Hsin Ch'ing-chi; he relented, cancelled the death sentence for Chu, and commanded that the balustrade, broken in the scuffle, be left unrepaired as a memorial to the event. The tense and dramatic scene is shown in a well interrelated composition: but

Chu clung

loyal

to a balustrade

subject had once been executed.

the pleading

official in

the foreground center between the static group of the

scowling, booted emperor and his attendants including the cringing

Chang

Yii

and Chu YiJn struggling against two officers on the left. The trunk and branches of a tall pine frame the main group at the right both groups are reinforced by large ornamental rocks. Some white heightening is used along the fold lines of the robes which are on the

right,

;

and rather angular, with small "nail-head" ends. The fantastic rocks have concave contours the cavities are shaded in black and grey. Bamboo and other leaves have ink outlines the feathery green needle clusters are done in color only. Some long, wet texture strokes are used in the shading

fine

irregular, broken,

;

;

of the bank.

104

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105

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4

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