Children in Chinese Art

1. Introduction: Children in Chinese Art

Depictions of children have had a prominent place in Chinese art since the Song period (960–1279). The number of works commissioned at all levels of society indicates that child imagery was exceptionally meaningful to generations of people across China. Yet one would be hard-pressed to find in the carefully preserved historical documents of imperial China any significant discussion of children in art. Neither has contemporary scholarship given the subject much coverage, despite the rich materials available for research. Very little has been published in the way of serious study of the iconography or meaning of images of children. This volume begins to fill that gap by bringing to the forefront of scholarship themes and motifs that have crossed social boundaries for centuries but have been overlooked in scholarly treatises on Chinese art. That attention is now given specifically to depictions of the child in Chinese art is as much a comment on our own times as the disregard of the subject is a comment on the past. Children in contemporary middle-class American society command respect nearly equal to adults. The changing power structure in many American families has shifted to give mothers a voice more equal to fathers. With fewer models of obedience to authority in the family (i.e., mother to father), children have also found a voice. Combined with Americans’ emphasis on democracy and the rights of special interest groups, shared family power has given rise to an especially strong focus on children. In this context, the study of children and their place in society is naturally appealing. While not comprehensive in coverage of the subject, the essays in this book introduce and elucidate many of the issues surrounding child imagery in China. 1 1 Introduction: Children in Chinese Art Ann Barrott Wicks and Ellen B. Avril These issues include the pervasive use of pictures of children for didactic reinforcement of social values as well as the amuletic function of these artworks to encourage the birth of sons. The objectives of this volume are to (1) establish the study of child imagery as a viable pursuit in the field of Chinese art history, (2) begin to document the historical development of the iconography of the child in Chinese art, (3) explore multiple aspects of style and meaning through the analysis of specific works of art, and (4) make available to interested readers recent historical research of the art. Together the essays provide a unique means to explore aspects of Chinese private life through visual representations of ideas about gender, family roles, and social goals. E R  C Possibly the earliest identifiable representation of a child in Chinese art is a small jade plaque dating from the fourth century .., excavated from the royal Zhongshan tombs in Hebei province (fig. 1.1). Found along with similar jade plaques of three female adults, the child is depicted frontally, wearing a skirt with an unusual checkered pattern that matches the clothing of the adults. The child’s facial features are not distinguished from those of the adults; the short stature and hairstyle are the only indications that the figure is indeed a child. The head appears to be shaved except for a small tuft of hair, or topknot, in a style that was common for young boys throughout most of China’s long history; thus the child is presumably male. The function of the four jade figures is unknown. Representations of children are found in more significant numbers in the context of Han dynasty (206 ..–.. 220) tomb decoration and furnishings, yet still represent a trivial percentage within the corpus of Han figurative art. In general, these images are 2 A   B     W       E     B . A     Figure 1.1 Four human figures, one in the form of a child. Eastern Zhou, fourth century .., Zhongshan state. Brown and black jade plaques; 2.5 x 1.2 cm (child). Institute of Cultural Relics, Hebei province. After Jessica Rawson, ed., Mysteries of Ancient China: New Discoveries from the Early Dynasties (New York: G. Braziller, 1996), pl. 75. related to the instruction of the descendants of the deceased in their familial duties. Made for didactic purposes, they rarely describe the playful gestures or endearing characteristics associated with children in later periods. The negligibility of childhood demonstrated by the infrequent portrayals of children is consistent with the attitude toward children that is reflected in Han burial practices, as...