Drawing Boundaries: Architectural Images in Qing China

6 Transmitting History and Myth: Yangzhou Representations II

Transmitting History and Myth y a n g z h o u r e p r e s e n ta t i o n s i i professional JIEHUA painters working outside the court, like their counterparts at court, were also inspired by history and myth in architectural representation. The Yuan school, for instance, had experimented with a wide spectrum of historical and mythical themes in order to meet the diverse market demands. Relying on private patronage, Yuan Jiang and Yuan Yao were exposed to commercial environments that governed their artistic productions . To them diversification was an economic strategy, and they differed from court painters who might have to constantly transform a specific painting theme (such as “spring morning in the Han palace”) in order to fulfill the special requirements of a single patron.1 In this chapter, I discuss how paintings of the Yuan school were inspired by history and myth, how they were conditioned by the painters’ representational modes and by the preferences of the anticipated audiences. The Splendid Past As noted in chapter 4, “spring morning in the Han palace” was a classical theme in Chinese figure painting but was transformed into an architectural theme during the Qing. To jiehua specialists such as Yuan Jiang and Yuan Yao, this was a pure architectural subject. Although these painters might include a few court ladies in their architectural compositions , there was no attempt to focus on the refined activities of court ladies, which were symptomatic of the didactic overtone of this traditional theme. By presenting a Han palace at different times—such as on a spring morning or an autumn night—the Yuans managed to introduce some variety.2 Certainly, the Yuans could not succeed in the commercial art market if they simply repeated this theme again and again. How could they compete with 6 other professional painters, such as specialists of figural subjects, who preferred a detailed depiction of human activity in a palatial setting? How could they compete with the other jiehua specialists? In fact, a Han palace was only one of the many historical themes favored by the Yuan school. Within the category of historic architecture were various themes adopted by the Yuans, including the Afang Palace (Afang gong) of the Qin (221–207 b.c.); the Liang Garden (Liang yuan) of the Han; and the Palace of Nine Perfections (Jiucheng gong), the Palace of Flowers of Purity (Huaqing gong), the Deep Fragrance Pavilion (Chenxiang ting), and the Hall of Green Wilderness (Luye tang) of the Tang (618–906). The Palace of Nine Perfections, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is one of Yuan Jiang’s earliest renderings of a historic palace (fig. 6.1). It depicts the summer palace, long since destroyed, of the Tang emperor Taizong (r. 627–648). From the contents of a famous calligraphic work by Ouyang Xun (557–641), Inscription of the Palace of Nine Perfections and the Sweet Wine Spring,3 we get some information about the lost grandeur of the palace . The Qing painter might have been inspired by literature, but how closely did the pictorial representation follow the textual account? Transmitting History and Myth 134 A section of the Inscription of the Palace of Nine Perfections and the Sweet Wine Spring reads, Palaces crown the hills, Ponds flow through the ravines. Pillars are hoisted above waters, Watchtowers are erected on craggy cliffs. Lofty pavilions stand on all sides, Long corridors ascend from the four directions. Beams stretch far and wide, Terraces and kiosks form an irregular pattern. A hundred vistas are offered When viewing from below; A thousand ren4 of the precipitous slope are admired When making a descent. Fig. 6.1. Yuan Jiang (active ca. 1690–ca. 1740): The Palace of Nine Perfections . 1691. A set of twelve hanging scrolls, ink and color on silk. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase,The Dillon Fund Gift, 1982 (1982.125a-1). This is probably the earliest dated work by the artist so far known. Transmitting History and Myth 135 Pearls and jades shine upon each other, Gold and green colors add radiance to themselves. The Inscription also records the discovery of the Sweet Wine Spring at the palace site. Since this area did not have any source of water, the discovery of the spring was interpreted as an auspicious sign of benevolent rule. Spring water gushes out, Contained by stone balustrade And...