The History and Spirit of Chinese Art: From the Song to the Qing Dynasty

212 Pages·2015·4.125 MB·English

by  Fa Zhang

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A Journey Through the Arts e

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of Dynastic China is
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Art is always a product of cultural evolution. For the old civilization of China, a
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its unique art forms were born out of and constantly shaped by a cultural ethos d

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embedded in the political ebb and flow of a dynastic empire. In The History and
p
i
Spirit of Chinese Art, aesthetics expert Zhang Fa analyzes the most definitive art r
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forms of each historical period, tracing a consistent, though not constant, Chinese o
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metaphysical worldview from time-specifi c works of visual art, architecture, dance
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and music, calligraphy, and literature. In two volumes, The History and Spirit of h
i
n
Chinese Art reveals how sovereigns had manipulated art to legitimize rule, men
e
s
of letters had coped with the vicissitudes of life through aesthetic outlets, and e

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commoners’ folk art had unwittingly infl uenced the artistic mainstream.
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Volume 2 looks at the development of Chinese art in light of the cultural V
o
transformation that gained strength in the Song dynasty, starting from when l
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“mundane,” “vulgar” art forms increasingly made their way into the realm of m
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high culture, challenging as well as diversifying the aesthetic taste of the literati. It
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concludes with a detail investigation into the “literati painting” of the Yuan, Ming, :
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and Qing periods, which epitomizes the response of independent-minded scholar- r
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offi cials to the currents of change.

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Zhang Fa is Professor of the School of Art and President of the Institute of t
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Aesthetic Research, Renmin University of China, and has been a Visiting Fellow t
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of Harvard University (1996–1997) as well as the University of Toronto (2002– e

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2003). He currently sits on the Board of the Chinese Association for Aesthetics
i
n
and Chinese Comparative Literature Association. He has published influential g

research papers and books on aesthetics and Chinese art, including The Elements D
y
of Aesthetics (1999), A History of Chinese Aesthetics (2000), and Art, Literature, n
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and the Modernity of China (2002). s
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Chinese Art Studies n
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The History and Spirit of Chinese Art

The History and
Spirit of Chinese Art
Volume 2
From the Song to the Qing Dynasty
ZHAng FA
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Chinese original edition © 2003 China Renmin University Press
By Zhang Fa
English edition © 2016 by Enrich Professional Publishing, Inc.
With the title The History and Spirit of Chinese Art Volume 2: From the Song to the Qing Dynasty
Translated by Barbara Cao, Li Tong, Charlie Ng, Phoebe Poon, and Yu Lun
Edited by Phoebe Poon
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ISBN (Hardback) 978-1-62320-127-2
ISBN (pdf) 978-1-62320-128-9
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services of a competent professional person should be sought.
Contents
Chapter 4 The Artistic Mentality of the Song Dynasty ................................. 1
Chapter 5 The Artistic Interest of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties .... 75
Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 189
Index ............................................................................................................. 199

4
Chapter
The Artistic Mentality of
the Song Dynasty
The hisTory and spiriT of Chinese arT VoLUMe 2
The General Cultural Atmosphere and Four Artistic Sites
In the history of Chinese culture, the Song dynasty is the most enigmatic. As the
key period of cultural transition, the practices and creations of the Song greatly
influenced the progress of Chinese culture. This is a dynasty that cannot be pinned
down by a particular set of theory or logic. The artistic activities and creations of
the Song people were the organic constituents of the enigmas of the Song dynasty.
First, the location of the capital of the Song dynasty at Bianjing (modern-
day Kaifeng) at the beginning of the regime was a peculiarity. Before the Song,
Chang’an was the common stable capital of the Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang, while
after, Beijing served stably as the capital of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing. Bianjing,
as the capital of the Northern Song, was deliberately constructed but transient. As
臨安
the capital moved to Lin’an in the Southern Song era, what it had to offer was
as the literal meaning of its name suggests: “provisional security.” Bianjing was
structurally a deliberate construction. That the outer city wall, the inner city wall,
and the palace at the center formed the three enclosures of the city was traditional
for capital cities. What distinguished it from the other Chinese capitals was its size:
the perimeter of the outer city wall was only 29,180 meters — three fifth that of
Chang’an of the Tang and significantly shorter than Beijing of the Ming and Qing
(32,700 meters); the total area of the palace was less than a twentieth that of the
Taiji Palace of the Tang (1.92 square meters) and much smaller than the Forbidden
City of the Ming and the Qing (0.7 square meters). Most importantly, however, was
that despite its small size, the Song capital much exceeded Chang’an and Beijing in
economic prosperity. By ending the separation between residential precincts (fang
坊 市
) and marketplaces (shi ), shops could be opened on any streets. The Song also
lifted the time limit on commercial activities, so night markets were available. This
structural difference of the capital city marks the watershed between the early and
late periods of Chinese culture. The smallest in size but economically the most
prosperous, Bianjing of the Northern Song dynasty became the capital model for
later dynasties. Meng Yuanlao so describes Bianjing in his preface to the Dongjing
東京夢華錄
meng Hua lu (A Record of Dreaming of Hua Xu in the Eastern Capital):
Peace stretched on day after day; people were many and all things were in
abundance. Youths with trailing locks practiced naught but drumming and
dancing, the aged with white speckled [hair] recognized neither shield nor
spear. Season and festival followed one upon the other, each with its own
sights to enjoy. Lamplit nights there were and moonlit eves, periods of snow
and times of blossoming, beseeching skills and climbing heights, training
reservoirs and gardens to roam in.
Raise the eyes and there were green bowers and painted chambers,
2
The Artistic Mentality of the Song Dynasty
embroidered gates and pearly shades. Decorated chariots vied to park in
the Heavenly Avenue and bejeweled horses competed to spur through the
Imperial Street. Gold and kingfisher dazzled the eye, silky cloth and silken
gauze let float their perfumes. New sounds and sly giggles were found in
the willowy lanes and flowered paths, pipes were fingered and strings were
harmonized in the tea districts and wine wards.
The eight wilds strived to assembled [in Bianlang], the myriad states
were all in communication [with the capital]. Gathered together were the
valued and the rare from the four seas — all found their way to market
for trade. Assembled were the rare flavors of the whole world — all were
in the kitchens [of Bianliang]. The radiance of flowers filled the roads —
what limit to spring excursions? Pipes and drums sounded in the empty
air — night feasts in how many households? As for skills and crafts — they
startled a person’s eyes and ears; as for the waste and extravagance — they
prolonged a person’s spirit.1
Even Lin’an of the Southern Song was also a prosperous city. It is recorded in the
夢粱錄
Meng liang lu (Dreaming Over a Bowl of Millet):
Generally Hangzhou was the location of the subsidiary capital where all
things gathered. There were various industries and hundreds of markets.
From the wooden barrack of the Gate of Harmony and Tranquility
和寧門 觀橋
(Heningmen ) to the Bridge of Observation (Guanqiao ), not a
single shop was not in business and the variety of industries was greater
than ever…. Things rarely seen in the past were all available…. The weight
of goods sold in the daily market was unknown.2
里
In the outer city of the city of Hangzhou, within dozens of li on each of
the four directions, the population proliferated and the wealth of the people
thrived, while shops and stalls in the markets and on the streets abounded
— they could not be walked through in several days! Each [community]
路
was comparable to a small county in other circuits (lu ) — the prosperity
of Hangzhou is sufficiently evident.3
1. Meng, preface to Dongjing meng Hua lu; translation from West, “The Interpretation of a
Dream: The Sources, Evaluation, and Influence of the Dongjing meng Hua lu,” 67–69.
2. Wu, Meng liang lu, scroll 13, “Tuanhang” 團行 [Associations and Guilts].
3. Ibid, scroll 19, “Tafang” 塌房 [Storage of Goods].
3