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5. The Emperor and the Ink Plum: Tracing a Lost Connection between Literati and Huizong’s Court
- University of Washington Press
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chapter TheEmperorandtheInkPlum: TracingaLostConnectionbetweenLiteratiand Huizong’sCourt ronaldegan Accountsofpaintingduringthelateeleventhandearlytwelfthcenturiesin China(thelastfourdecadesoftheNorthernSongdynasty)havetraditionally featured a dichotomy between two groups of painters and their distinct styles: the amateur, or literati artists and their“professional” or imperial PaintingAcademy counterparts. The latter are known for their technical mastery,abundantuseofcolor,andattentiontonaturalisticdetail,asin thestunninglybeautifulpaintingsofflowersandbirdscreatedbyEmperor Huizong徽宗(r.–)andthecourtpaintersworkingunderhim.The formeraredistinguishedbytheirevocativeapproachthateschewedcolor andpreoccupationwithformalbeautyandsoughtinsteadtocapturethe subject’s inner“idea” (yi 意) or“spirit,” (shen 神) and use painting as a vehicletoexpresstheartist’spersonalityandcharacter. Thevalidityofthisdichotomyhasrecentlybeenchallengedbyseveral art historians, who point out that assertions of the existence of sharply contrastivestyles,oneatthecourtandanotheramongliterati,aredifficult toreconcilewiththeextantrecordofpaintings.1 Thepurposeofthischapter paintings themselves. This examination is undertaken, moreover, against thebackdropofpoliticalrealitiesofthedaythataresometimesgivenlittle attention in art historical scholarship. Foremost among these is the split betweenthereformandanti-reformpoliticalparties(thatis,betweenthe supportersofWangAnshi’s王安石 NewPoliciesandtheconservatives,or Yuanyou元祐 eraofficials),asplitthatdominatesthepoliticsoftheperiod fromthroughtheendofHuizong’sreignandwhichledtonoendof recriminationsoneitherside. EmperorHuizongandtheInkPlum Webeginourexplorationbytracingoneindicationofthemigrationof artisticidealsfromthepagesoflate-eleventh-centuryliteratiwritingstothe hallsoftheimperialcourt,asseeninaparticularincident:Huizong’sreaction toasetofshortpoems.Thisincident,asparticularandunremarkableasit mayfirstappear,revealssomesignificantattitudesandironiesinthehistory oftherelationshipbetweenthetwogroupsofpainters. In,theyoungscholarChenYuyi陳與義wasrecommendedtothe courtbytheprefectGeShengzhong葛勝仲.Atthetime,Chenwasliving in Ruzhou, observing a period of mourning. Previously, he had been an instructor in the Preparatory Branch of the National University but had neverheldofficeinthecapitalitself.AspartofGe’srecommendation,heis saidtohavesentasetoffivequatrainsthatChenhadwrittenon“ink-plum paintings”(momei墨梅).ThesepoemscametotheattentionofEmperor Huizong,whowasgreatlyimpressedbythem,especiallyonecouplet,which hesingledoutforpraise.Consequently,ChenYuyiwasrecalledtothecapital andpromotedtotherankofProfessorintheNationalUniversity.Ayear later, after a personal interview with the emperor, Chen was promoted to be Editorial Director in the Palace Library, where he remained until theJurcheninvasionofandtheflightsouth.Hislaterlife,underthe SouthernSong,neednotconcernushere.Asstereotypedastheanecdote involvingEmperorHuizongmaysound,thesequenceofeventsitdescribes seemsactuallytohavehappened.Theemperor’scelebrationofChen’sinkplum poemsiswidelyreportedincontemporarysourcesandnoaccountof [54.159.116.24] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 09:50 GMT) toprominencefromhisrelativelyundistinguishedpost. The ink plum was a new genre of painting, having appeared right aroundtheturnofthetwelfthcentury,thatis,justbeforeHuizongacceded. Remarkably,theoriginofthegenreistracedtotheeffortsofasingleperson, theBuddhistmonkZhongren仲仁(ca.–),alsoknownasHuaguang Zhongren華光仲仁, named for the Huaguang Monastery in Hengzhou (Hengyang,Hunan),wherehespentthelastthirtyyearsofhislife.Inkwash hadbeenusedallbyitselfbeforeforotherplantsubjects,andtheexampleof WenTongandhiscelebrated“ink-bamboopaintings”(mozhu 墨竹)must havebeenanimportantprecedentforthemonk.Butitwas,byallaccounts, Zhongrenwhotooktheboldstepofusingblackinktorepresentthedelicate white blossoms of the plum, thereby initiating a painting tradition that wouldeventuallybecomeoneoftheprimarygenresofliteratipaintingin China.3 It is said in Southern Song (-) andYuan dynasty...