Along the Border of Heaven: Sung and Yüan Paintings from the C. C. Wang Collection
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art | 1983 | ISBN: 0870992910 | English | PDF | 191 pages | 34.52 Mb
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art | 1983 | ISBN: 0870992910 | English | PDF | 191 pages | 34.52 Mb
From the tenth century to the end of the Manchu Ch'ing dynasty early in this century, the dominant concern of the Chinese painter has been the natural world of landscape, trees and rocks, birds and animals, flowers and bamboo— "the myriad phenomena occasioned by consciousness," in the words of the eleventh-century art historian Kuo Jo-hsü. The older figure and narrative traditions remain vital for a time, during the period of the Sung (960–1279) and Yüan (1279–1368) dynasties, then rapidly declined, becoming the concern only of journeymen artisans and court chroniclers.
It is this watershed of Chinese art from the tenth through the fourteenth centuries, when the new art of landscape painting and bird and flower painting was born and the ancient traditions had their final flowering, that provides the historical context for this book. No attempt has been made, however, to provide a full historical background for the works discussed. A selection of some of the finest Sung and Yüan paintings from the collection of Wang Chi-ch'ien provides the only focus. These works have been grouped by subject matter and period, described and analyzed, and allowed to form their own network of relationships. Inevitably, there are imbalances and gaps. It is remarkable, nonetheless, that so complete a survey of Sung and Yüan painting can be written based on the collection of one connoisseur-collector. Few great museums outside of China could offer so rich and complete a selection.
List of Illustrations
Foreword (in English and Chinese)
C. C. Wang
Preface
Richard M. Barnhart
1. The Idea of Eternity
Landscape Paintings of the Five Dynasties (907–60) and Northern Sung (960–1127) Period
The Riverbank
Attributed to Tung Yuan
Summer Mountains
Attributed to Ch'ii Ting
The Classic of Filial Piety
Li Kung-lin
Cloudy Mountains
Mi Yu-jen
2. Gods, Sages, and Mortals
Figure Paintings of the Sung Dynasty (960–1279)
Procession of Taoist Immortals to Pay Homage to the King of Heaven
Attributed to Wu Tsung-yiian
The Classic of Filial Piety
Li Kung-lin
Duke Wen of Chin Recovering His State
Attributed to Li Tang
Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute
Unknown artist
Odes of the State of Pin
Ma Ho-chih
3. Lyric Moments
Album Leaves of the Southern Sung Dynasty (1127–1279)
Cottages in a Misty Grove
Li An-chung
"On Visiting a Taoist Master at the Tai-t'ien Mountains and Not Finding Him"
Ma Yuan
Chickadee, Plum Blossoms, and Bamboo
Unknown artist
4. Patriots and Dreamers
Figure Paintings of the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368)
The Nine Songs of Ch'ii Yuan
Attributed to Chao Meng-fu
Liu Cb'en and Yuan Chao Entering the Tien-t'ai Mountains
Chao Ts'ang-yiin
5. Return to the Past
Landscape Paintings of the Early Yuan Period
Wang Hsi-chih Watching Geese
Ch'ien Hsiian
Twin Pines, Level Distance
Chao Meng-fu
Crows in Old Trees
Lo Chih-chuan
6. The Iconography of Virtue
Trees, Bamboo, and Rocks of the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368)
Leafless Tree, Bamboo, and Rock
Chao Meng-fu
Bamboo After Wen Tung
Ko Chiu-ssu
Fragrant Snow at Broken Bridge
Wang Mien
7. The Earth Transformed
Landscape Paintings of the Late Yuan Period
The Su-an Retreat
Wang Meng
Two Trees on the South Bank
Ni Tsan
River Pavilion and Distant Mountains
Ni Tsan
The Romantic Spirit of the Eastern Chin
Fang Ts'ung-i
Notes
Appendix 1: Selected Signatures, Inscriptions, and Colophons
Appendix 2: Comments by C. C. Wang
Index
Foreword (in English and Chinese)
C. C. Wang
Preface
Richard M. Barnhart
1. The Idea of Eternity
Landscape Paintings of the Five Dynasties (907–60) and Northern Sung (960–1127) Period
The Riverbank
Attributed to Tung Yuan
Summer Mountains
Attributed to Ch'ii Ting
The Classic of Filial Piety
Li Kung-lin
Cloudy Mountains
Mi Yu-jen
2. Gods, Sages, and Mortals
Figure Paintings of the Sung Dynasty (960–1279)
Procession of Taoist Immortals to Pay Homage to the King of Heaven
Attributed to Wu Tsung-yiian
The Classic of Filial Piety
Li Kung-lin
Duke Wen of Chin Recovering His State
Attributed to Li Tang
Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute
Unknown artist
Odes of the State of Pin
Ma Ho-chih
3. Lyric Moments
Album Leaves of the Southern Sung Dynasty (1127–1279)
Cottages in a Misty Grove
Li An-chung
"On Visiting a Taoist Master at the Tai-t'ien Mountains and Not Finding Him"
Ma Yuan
Chickadee, Plum Blossoms, and Bamboo
Unknown artist
4. Patriots and Dreamers
Figure Paintings of the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368)
The Nine Songs of Ch'ii Yuan
Attributed to Chao Meng-fu
Liu Cb'en and Yuan Chao Entering the Tien-t'ai Mountains
Chao Ts'ang-yiin
5. Return to the Past
Landscape Paintings of the Early Yuan Period
Wang Hsi-chih Watching Geese
Ch'ien Hsiian
Twin Pines, Level Distance
Chao Meng-fu
Crows in Old Trees
Lo Chih-chuan
6. The Iconography of Virtue
Trees, Bamboo, and Rocks of the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368)
Leafless Tree, Bamboo, and Rock
Chao Meng-fu
Bamboo After Wen Tung
Ko Chiu-ssu
Fragrant Snow at Broken Bridge
Wang Mien
7. The Earth Transformed
Landscape Paintings of the Late Yuan Period
The Su-an Retreat
Wang Meng
Two Trees on the South Bank
Ni Tsan
River Pavilion and Distant Mountains
Ni Tsan
The Romantic Spirit of the Eastern Chin
Fang Ts'ung-i
Notes
Appendix 1: Selected Signatures, Inscriptions, and Colophons
Appendix 2: Comments by C. C. Wang
Index
Richard M. Barnhart is John M. Schiff Professor Emeritus of Art History at Yale University.
Chao Kan | Fang Congyi (Chinese, ca. 1301–after 1378) | Li Kan | Li Kung-Lin | Li Tang | Lu Guang (Chinese, ca. 1300–after 1371) | Luo Zhichuan | Ma Hezhi | Ma Lin (Chinese, active ca. 1180–after 1256) | Ma Yuan (Chinese, active ca. 1190–1225) | Mi Youren (Chinese, 1074–1151) | Qian Xuan (Chinese, ca. 1235–before 1307) | Qu Ding (Chinese, active ca. 1023–ca.1056) | Tang Di | Wang Meng (Chinese, ca. 1308–1385) | Wang Mian | Wu Zhen (Chinese, 1280–1354) | Xia Gui (Chinese, active ca. 1195–1230) | Yan Ciyu | Zhao Mengfu (Chinese, 1254–1322) | Zhao Mengjian (Chinese, 1199–before 1267) | Zhao Yuan