Chinese Art Treasures

294 Pages·1961·28.034 MB·English

by  Collective

CHINESE ART TREASURES
Frontcover: Anonymous: Noble Scholar under a Willo
Eleventh century, Sung dynasty. (No.26)
Backcover: Wen Cheng-ming: Old Trees by a Cold Waterfall.
Dated 1549, Ming dynasty. (No.98)
t
U
._^
:.._
CHINESE ART TREASURES
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 in the United States by
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA
at
The National Gallery of Art, Washington
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Art Institute of Chicago
1961-1962 The M. H. De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco
HONORARY PATRONS
The Honorable John F. Kennedy
PresidentoftheUnited StatesofAmerica
and Mrs. Kennedy
His Excellency Chiang Kai-shek
Presidentofthe Republic of China
and Madame Chiang
HONORARY COMMITTEE
For the Republic ofChina:
His Excellency Chen Cheng
Vice Presidentofthe Republic of China and concurrently Presiden ofthe Executive Yuan
His Excellency Wang Yun-wu
Vice President of the Executive Yuan
His Excellency Shen Chang-huan
Minister of Foreign Affairs
His Excellency Mei Yi-chi
Minister of Education
His Excellency George K.C. Yeh
Chinese Ambassadortothe United Statesof America
For the United States ofAmerica:
The Honorable Dean Rusk
The Secretary of State
The Honorable C. Douglas Dillon
The Secretary ofthe Treasury
The Honorable Everett F. Drumright
American Ambassadorto the Republic of China
The Honorable William C. Bullitt
The Honorable Walter S. Robertson
The Honorable Henry R. Luce
/
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE '
for the Republic ofChina:
Wang Shih-chieh, chairman Han Lih-wu
Chang Tao-fan Li Chi
Chang Chun Chiu Nien-tai
Hu Shih Kung Teh-cheng
Lo Chia-luen
For t/ie United States ofAmerica:
Walter Heil
Director, The M. H. de Young Memorial IVIuseum, San Francisco
John Maxon
DirectorofFineArts, TheArtInstituteofChicago
Perry T. Rathbone
Director, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
James J. Rorimer
Director, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Yorl<
John Walker
Director, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
SELECTION COMMITTEE
For the Republic ofChina:
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 ofAmerica:
John A. Pope, chairman
Aschwin Lippe
Tseng Hsien-ch'i
\
CATALOGUE COMMITTEE
John A. Pope, Chairman James Cahill
Aschwin Lippe Chuang Shang-yen
CHINESE OFFICIAL 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
downto posteritythe masterpieces oftheirgreatartistsinasingle
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 overthe pasteight hundred years. Its scope is compre-
hensive, with paintings, calligraphies, porcelains and bronzes
as its dominant features. The fine quality of the objects included
in the collection has set standards of evaluation for scholars
and art experts alike. In the current exhibition many of the best
items of the collection are presented to a foreign public for
the firsttime.
Founded in 1925 by the Government ofthe Republic of China, the
Palace Museum inherited its collection from the former imperial
courtat Peiping. Its long-established policy is to provide a good
representation of Chinese art for the study of all art lovers. An-
other of its responsibilities is to preserve this invaluable collec-
tion. Its success in saving it from the scourge of war during the
pastthirty years alone has been no mean achievement. This has
been mainly due to thefarsightedness ofthe Museum's Board of
Directors and the Chinese Government. Shortly before the out-
breakoftheSino-JapaneseWarin 1937,theChineseGovernment
moved the art treasures from Peiping to Nanking, and later re-
transportedthemtothesouthwestern provinces ofSzechwanand
Kweichowwheretheywere keptfortheduration ofthewar. When
the Communist revolt spread over many parts of the country in
1948-1949, the Chinese Government and the Museum decided to
movethemto safety,thistimetoTaiwan. Duringthe pastdecade,
some good work has been done in cataloguing this great accu-
mulation of the fmest products of Chinese culture.
As early as 1953 a movementto exhibit a choice selection ofthis
collection in the United States got under way. Frequent visits by
leading American and European authorities on Chinesearttothe
Palace Museum at its site in Taiwan have greatly encouraged the
movement. Much is also owed to Mr. 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 supportthe current exhibition would
not have materialized.
I deeply feel that introducing Chinese art to the Western world
carries a manifold meaning. To begin with,there is intrinsic value
in presenting Chineseartperse, as well as in presenting Chinese
art as one of the fmest parts of the Chinese people's cultural
heritage. Furthermore, Chinese art is singularly reflective of the
traditional Chinese philosophy of life. Many a masterpiece of
ancient Chinese art, especially in the field of graphic art, may be
described as being ultramundane. This characteristic, venture
I
to suggest, may lend nota littlecomfortand solacetothe modern
man who often feels himself entrapped in a materialistic world.
It is my beliefthat ifthe essence ofancient Greek art is its quality
of harmony and symmetry, it could perhaps be said that that of
ancient Chinese art is its ability to impart a high sense of tran-
quillity and peacefulness. The serene world the ancient Chinese
artist labored to depict was, however, not a world void of pas-
sions; it was rather a world where passions had found sublima-
tion. Moreover, I also feel strongly that, in these troubled times
of ours a fuller understanding of Chinese art and culture by the
American people, on whose shoulders largely rests the future of
the free world, assumes a new significance. This exhibition may
also serveas a reminderthatthefree Chinesearefighting to save
their cultural heritage as much as to recover lost territories.
Forthe currentexhibition, sometwo hundred and fifty items have
been chosen. They are necessarily a mere fraction of the vast
collection in the Chinese Palace Museum. However, much care
has gone intotheir selection. In presenting themtothe American
people, major emphasis is laid on paintings and porcelains. At
the same time, all selected objects are highly representative of