Taoism and the arts of China

419 Pages·2000·31.2 MB·English

by  Little, Stephen, 1954-

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TAOISM
AND THE Arts of China
iniMi.
jK89-}Cnfi9Wl9htedmaterial

AND THE Arts of China
Stephen Little
WITH Shawn Eichman
WITHeSSAYSBY
PatriciaEbrey
KristoferSchipper
NancyShatzmanSteinhardt
WuNunc
TheArtInstituteofChicago
INASSOCIATIONWITH
UniversityofCaliforniaPress
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ThisbookwaspublishedInconjunellonwiththeahibMon'IMsm ProducedbydiePuMcatlonsDepartmentofTheArtInadtuKof
andtheArtsofChina.'organizedbyTheArtInstituteofChicagoand Chicago,SusanF.Rossen,ExecutiveDbMlar
presentedinthemuseum'sRegensteinHallfromNovember4,2000, EditedbyRobertV.Sharp,AssociateDirectorofPublications,and
tojanuiiy7,2001.TheexhibitionwasalsopresentedattheAsiWiArt CatherineA.SteinnwHi,SpecialProjectsEdltoi;assistedbyF^Kh
MineiMnofSanFranciscofromFebruaryaitoMay13,aooi. BrsbenecHart
ProductionbySarahE.Guernsey,ProductionCoordinator,assistedby
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^nnismandtheArtsofChina"wassupportedbytheE.Rhodesand Utde,Stephen,19^4-
LeonaB.GwpenlerFoHndation,theEstateofWiliiamBronsonMitchell TaoismandtheartsofChina/byStephenLittlewithShawnEkhman;
aFnmdnMCfraFyocuendSaltoivoent,MiatncdheTlhl,etWh.eLHeSn.rSypLeuncoearFoFuoru»nddaattiiono,n.theFreenriari withpe.scsamy.sbyPatriciaEbregr...^al.]
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Contents
fi FQrp^A/orH CaTAIOCUF ofTHg EXHIBITION
JamesN.Wood
7 Acknowledgments I.TTahoeisFtorTmraatdiitoinonofthe
StFPHFN1ITTIF
q NotestotheReader 115 1. LaoztandtheOriginsofTaoism
io MapofChina 127 ^-HeavenandEarth:TaoistCosmology
n ChronologicalTableofChinesePeriods 147 ^.tShaic*rIemdmMnorutnatkainsandCultsof
andDynasties
II ThfTaoistCHiiprH
1^ TaoismandtheArtsofChina 163 1.TheBeginningsofReligiousTaoism
StFPHFMIITTIP 180 2.TaoistRitual
33 TKaRoIiSsTQmF:ETRhSeCHSItPoPrPytfoftheWay 227 I.TheTaoistPantheon
S7 TaoistArchitecture III.TheTaoistRenaissance
2SS 1-TaoismandPopularReligion
77 oMfapWpuidnogumEalrlDyaToaoistArt:TheVisualCulture 27S 2.aDinvdinFeemMaalneifSeasitnattsionsofYin:Goddesses
W'lHiiMr.
2qi -j.Zhenwu.thePerfectedWarrior
9S TaoismandArtattheCourtofSongHuizong
PatriciaFrrfy y-j A.TaoistImmortals
337 5.InnerAlchemyandItsSymbolism
357 6.TheSacredLandscape
384 ChineseNamesandTerms
392 Bibliography
406 Contributors
407 LenderstotheExhibition
408 PhotographyCredits
409 Index
Foreword
JamesN.Wood
TaoismandtheArtsofChinaisoccasionedbythefirst TheArtInstituteofChicago.Inordertoprovideasolidintellec-
majorcxhibftioneverheldonthethemeofTaoismanditsin* tualandhistoricalcontextfcrtheworksofartpresentedhere,
fluenceinChineseartThiscatalt^eandtheexhibitionitac- Dr.Littlebroughtt^etherleadingscholarsofChinesereligion,
conripan hnvedrawnuponseveraidecadesofpioneering history,andartasparticipantsintheplanningoftheexhibition
researchonTaoismbyscholarsofChinesereligionworkingin andascontributorstothispublication.Tofindandarrangeto
America,Europe,andJapan.BothexplorethepivotalroleTao- ImrrowthemostsignificantTaoistartobjects,hecrisscrossed
ismhasplayedintraditionalChina,wherechangehasalways theglobe,makingnumerousvisitstoAsiaandEurope,where
beenseenasafundamentalaspectofreality.Taoismisofpri- cooperationandhospitalityweregrantedtohimandwherethe
maryimportanceInChinesesocialandpoliticalhistory,andthe understandingshegainedorovcdinvaluable.—Dr.1itt'e'sskillsas
exhibitionhasbeenorganizedinthebeliefthatanunderstand- acurator,arthir^torian,historian,andlinguist togetherwithhis
ingofTaoismintradMonaiChinawiHenableusbettertocom- sheerIndefatigaoility—endiiedhimtoachievewhatheretofore
prehendmodemChina.Thisgoalseemsparticularlyrelevantas mighthaveseemedimpossible,andforthiswethankhim.
TaoismenjoysarenascenceinChinatodayandasAsian-based Finally,suchanundertakingrequiredmajorfinancialsupport,
religionsattractincreasinginterestandfollowingintheWest. whichwasprovidedbygenerousgrantsfromanumberoffoun-
ThroughoutthehistoryofTaoism,worlcsofartofthehighest dationsandculturalagencies.Fortheirhelpinrealizingthis
qualityhavebeencreatedf»rdidacticandrituaipurposes,liio- project,wearedeeplygratefultotheE.Rhodesandleorw6.
ismandtheArtsofChinaexplorestwocomplementarymodes CarpenterFoundation;theEstateofWilliamBronsonMitchell
ofTaoistpractice:Taoismthatservesthespiritualneedsofthe andGrayceSlovetMitchell;theHenryLuceFoundation;the
community,andTaoismthatservesthespiritualneedsofthe FreemanFamilyFoundation;andtheW.L.S,SpencerFounda-
individual.Theover150worksofartpresentedhereenableusto tion.ThefederalculturalagerKies.theNationalEndowment
explorekeyconceptualandartisticachievementsinthehistory fortheHumanitiesandtheNationalEndowmentfortheArts,
ofTaoism. awardedmajorgrantstothisproject,providinganimportant
TheArtInstitutede€ply appreciatesthemanyindividualsand endorsementofourefforts.
institutionswhosegenerousloans,financialsupport,andintel- Atamomentwhennewpathsofcommunicationandex-
lectualguidancehavemadethisexhibitionpossible.Theyare changearebeingforgedbetweenChinaandtheUnitedStates,
thankedinmoredetailintheAcknowledgments.HereIcanack- weofferthispublicationandtheexhibitionitaccompaniesin
nowledgeonlyafew.First,I\tou\dlikotoexpressmygratitude thehopethatvisitorsandreaderswillcomeawaywithnewun-
toDr.EmilySano,Director,AsianArtMuseumofSanFrancisco, derstandingoftherolethevisualartshaveplayedinTaoistbelief
theonlyothervenueforthisexhibition.Thepartnershipofthis andpracticeoverthelasttwomillennia,andanewappreciation
museum,givenItsoutstandingholdingsandtheimportanoeof foroneoftheworld'smostinfluentialphilosopMcalandreli-
ChinesecultureinnorthernCalifornia,isparticularlygratifying. gioustraditions.
Theideaofthispathbreakingexhibitionwaspresentedtome
fiveyearsagobyStephenLittle,PritzkerCuratorofAsianArtat JamesN.Wood,DirectorandPresident
TheArtInstituteofChicago
6
Copyrightedmaterial
AlknowLfcDGMhnts
StephenLittle
TaoismandtheArtsofChina"wasanundtrtakingoF TheinsightsandsuggestionsofRogerKeyes,thelateDavid
suchmagnitudethatitoouMneverhavebeenachievedwithout Kidd.LiuDan,MorimotoYisuyoshi,andRichardPeggallhelped
thehelpofmanyindividualsandinstitutions.Mydeepestthanks meenormously.PatriceFavakindlymadehisfilmsofTaoist
gotoJamesN.Wood,DirectorandPresidentofTheArtInstitute ritualsandsitesinChinaavailabletome;mythanksgotohim
ofChicago,fortheenthusiasticsupporthehasgiventheproject andtotheCentreNationalpourlaRechercheScientifique,Paris,
fromitsicKeption.Iamprofoundlygratefultohimforproviding forallowingustousefootagefromhisfilmsintheexhibition.
metheopportunitytorealizethisexhibition. InBeijingthanksgotoWangLimei,DeputyDirectorofthe
TwomeetingsoftheCommitteeofHumanitiesSperia''Sts, ForeignAffairsSectionoftheAdministrativeBureauof
fundedbyaPlanningGrantfromtheNationalEndowmentfor M'jseumsandArchaeologicalDataintheMinisir\'ofCulture;
theHuimnHies,allowedforextensivediscussionoftheexhibi- YangYang,ChenXiaocheng,LeiCongyun,andZhangJianxianof
tion'sconceptualstructure.Theexhibitionowesagreatdeal theDepartmentofForeignAflairs,ArtExhibitionsChina:Sun
toadistinguishedgroupofadvisors:CharlesHartman,Terry TongchuanandVMngYi'eroftheBaiyunCuan;YangXin,Shan
Kleeman.LotharLedderose,KristoferSchipper,NathanSivin, Cuoqiang,KongChen,andShiAnchangofthePalaceMuseum;
WuHung,andEricZurcher.ShawnEichman,coordinatorfor andYuQinoftheChinaNationalMuseumofFineArts.Iam
theexhibitionattheArtInstitute,wrotemanyofthecatalogue gratefultoChenSongchangoftheHunanProvincialMuseum,
entries.HisvastknowledgeofTaoismmadeitpossibleto Changsha;T.T.TsuiandCatalinaChoroftheTsuiArtFoundation,
exploreaspectsofTaoistartthatwouldhaveremainedthor- HongKong;StephenMcCuinnesiofPlumBlossoms
oughlyesotericwithouthisinvolvement. (International)Ud.,HongKong;ShanCuolin,ZhongYinglan,
Wearealsodeeplygratefultomanyrenownedscholarsof andZhouYhnchunoftheShanghaiMuseun^ChenZhuoofthe
Chineseculturewithwhomwediscussedtheproject,andwho TianjinMunidpalArtMuseum;BaWuoftheShanxiProvincial
freelysharedtheirknowledgewitHjs:RichardBarnhart.T.H. Museum.Taiyuan;andZhangTongofthetheAdministrative
Barrett,StephenR.Bokcnkdt-;:;,Phylii!:[jrooks.Picrrc-Hcnryde BureauofMuseumsandArchaeologicalDataofShaanxiProv-
Bruyn,SuzanneCahill,JonathanChaves,PatriciaEbrcy,Donald ince,Xi'an,InTaipeiIthankChinHstao-i,ChangLin-sheng,Lin
J.Harper,StanleyE.Henning,SusanHuang,KobayashiMasa- Po-fing,andWrngXho-fingoftheNationalPalaceMuseum.
yoshi,UviaKohn,PaulKroll.JohnLagenvey^ThomasLawton,Lin inJapanIamgrateful,inTokyo,toHayashiOnandSuzuki
S^pnpjh' OliverMoore,JuliaMurray,Su<!anNaquin,Isabelle NoriooftheAgencyforCulturalAffairs;andNishiolfsYasuhiro
Roblnet,HaroldD.Roth,MichaelSaso,NancyShatzmanStein- andMinatoNobuyukioftheTokyoNationalMuseum.Alsoto
hardt,JasonSteuber,StephenTelser,FrartdscusVerellen,Ann bethankedareYUyamaKen'khl,NakagawaHisayasu,Nishl-
Waltner,andJudithZeitlin.iwouldliketothankAngelikaBor- gamiMinoru,andMelissaM.RinneoftheKyotoNational
chert,SimoneCriessmeyer,PetraRoesch,andJoachimOsse, Museum;NobuoMiyajiandMoriyasuOsamuoftheOkayama
graduatestudentsattheUniversityofHeidelberg,andDe-nin PrefecturalMuseumofArt;andMinoYutakaandNakagawa
Lee,agraduatestudentatStanfordUniversity,fortheirmany KenichioftheOsakaMunicipalMuseumofArtIamalsograte-
contributionstotheinitialresearchthatledtothecatalogue fultotheabbotsoftheChlon-JLl^oto,andtheReiun-ji,Tokyo.
7
CopyrightedmalBriai
InEnglandIwouldliketoacknowledge,inLondon,thehelpof Albert,RyanGregg,BemdJesse,i>eflnnaLee,CraigMcBride,
FrancesWbodandBethMcKillopoftheOrientalandIndiaOffice PratapadityaPal,ElinorPearistein,BettySeid,BettySiffert,and
CollectionsattheBritishLibrary;RobertKnox.AnneFarrer, BethTekell.IamdeeplygratefultoEdwardWHorner,Jr.,Karin
JessicaHarrison-Hall,andCarolMichaelsonoftheBritish Victoria,MeredithHayes,andJenniferHarrisoftheDevelop-
IMuseum;andRoseKerr,VerityWilson,andMingWilsonofthe mentDepartment,whowereinstrumentalinsecuringthees-
VictoriaandAlbertiuluseum.TobethankedinParis,France,are sentialfinancialsupport(orthisundertaking.DeniseGardner
JacquesCi^sandLaureFeugereoftheMus^eNationaldesArts andJuliaPerkinsconductedvaluableaudienceresearchforthis
AsiatiqucsCuimetandMoniqueCohenandNatalieMonetof project.Inaddition,IextendmygratitudetoDorothySchroeder
theBibliothequeNationaiedeFrance.InGermanyIamgrateful mtheOff\ceoftheDirectorandPresident;MarySolt,Martha
toAdeleSchlombsoftheMuseumfiOrOstasiatischeKunst, Sharma,andtheinstallationcrewoftheRegistrar'sOffice;
Cologne;andBrunoRiehtritidoftheStattlichesMuseumftlr ChristopherGallagher,RobertIHashlmoto,RobertLiison,AlanB.
VBllcerlcunde,Munirh.InSwitzerlandIthankAlbertL'jtzand Newman,andGregoryA.WilliamsoftheDepartmentofImag-
HelmutBrinkcrofMuseumRietberg,Zurich.InCanadaIam ing;BarbaraJ.Hall,SuzanneR.Schnepp,andEmlyP.Dunn
gratefultoKlaasRuitenbeeckandKa-boTsangoftheRoyal InConservation;HarrietStratisandBrigitteYehinPrintsand
OntarioMuseum,Ibronto. Drawings;LynDelliQuadriandherstafFinGraphicDesignand
IntheUnitedStatesIwishtothankHiramWoodwardofthe CommunicationServices:JackBrownandhisstaffintheRyer-
WMtersArtGallery,Baltimore:MrandMrs.Wan-goH.C.Weng; sonLibrary;andEileenHarakalandherstaffinPublicAffairs,
RichardandNancyRosenblum;WuTungandErinBennettof inparticular,JohnHmdmanandChaiLee,
theMuseumofFineArts,Boston;RobertMowiy^AnneRose IamdeeplygratefultothePublicationsDepartment'sRobert
Kitagawa,andMelissaMoyoftheArthurM.SadderMuseum, V.SharpandCatherineA.Steinmann,who,assisiedbyl^iith
HarvardUniversity,Cambridge;JamesK.M.ChengandChun BrabenecHa-t.editedthisdauntingandfengtHyr^anuscript
ShumoftheHarvard-YenchingLibrary;Benne;Bronsonand withdeepcomrritncnt,exactingcare,andtirelessdedication;
Chui-meiHooftheFieldMuseum,Chicago;EllenAvriland SarahE.Guernsey,whoexpertlymanagedtheproductionoftfiis
BarbaraICCibbs,bothfonmerlyoftheCincinnatiArtMuseum; beautifulbook;andStaceyA.Hendricks,whomannedphotog-
Chouju-hsioftheClevelandMuseumofArt;GeorgeEllisand raphyeditingandassistedwithproduction.SusanKellyand
JuliaWhiteoftheHonoluluAcademyofArts;MarcWilsonand EdMarquandofMarquandBooks,Seattle,wereresponsiblefor
YangXiaonengoftheNelson-AtkinsMuseumofArt,Kansas thesuperbdesignofthecatalogue.ThanksarealsoduetoPat
Gty;J.KeidiWilson,JuneU,andVictoriaBiythHilloftheLos GoleyofProfesslonaiGraphics,Rockfeid,whocreatedout-
AngelesCountyMtiseumofArt;RobertJacobsenoftheMinne- standingseparationsforthiscatalogue;thanksgoalsotoCyndi
apolisIr^tituteofArs;LaurelKendallandAnnPo'terofthe Richards,whoassistedhim.JohnVincip'oducedanequally
AmericanMuseumofNaturalHistory,NewYoric;WenFong, outstandinginstallationdesignfortheexhibition.Finally,special
MaxwellHearn,andJudithSmithoftheMetropolitanMuseum thanksgotoJaneClarkeoftheDepartmentofMuseumEduca-
ofAlt.NewYork;IHowardRogersandArnoldChangofKaikodo, tion,whoactedasliaisontoanenthusiasticstafftodevelopa
NewYork;AmyHeinrichoftheC.V.StarrEastAsianLibrary^ richvarietyofinterpretiveprogramsfortheexhibition.
ColumbiaUniversity.NewYork;ZhouYuanandWilliamAls-
paughoftheUniversityofChicagoLibrary;FeliceFischerand StephenLittle,PritzkerCuratorofAsianArt
AdrianaProzerofthePhiladelphiaMuseumofArt;CaryY.Uu TheArtInstituteofChicago
oFtheArtMuseum,PrincetonUniversity;CaronSmith,David
Kencik.andSongYuoftheSanDiegoMuseumofArt:Emily
Sano,MichaelKnight,HeLi,PaulineYao,andHanniForester
oftheAsianArtMuseumofSanFrancisco;MimiNeillGates
andJayXuoftheSeattleArtMuseum;andMiloBeach,Joseph
Chang,JanStuart,andStephenAlleeoftheArthurM.Sackler
Gallery.SmithsonianInstitution,Washington,DC.
SpecialthanksgotothemembersoftheArtInstitute's
AsianArtDepartmentfortheirsupportofthispraject:Maiy
t ACKNOWUOCMENTS
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