Chapter 10 Chapter Five Sui and Tang Dynasties Paintings (581-907 A.D.)

Before the Northern and Southern Dynasties, natural scenery was only a foil for figure paintings.During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, artists began to be influenced by Taoist thought and paid more attention to the value of nature and natural beauty.They try to draw their own observations and feelings about nature, so as to get the same physical and mental enjoyment as watching nature.So painters began to look for ways to make people feel immersive, that is, to draw profound feelings on a limited plane.After two or three centuries of searching, Zhan Ziqian in the Sui Dynasty finally surpassed the naive stage of early landscape painting "people are bigger than mountains, and water cannot be flooded".Applying the proportional relationship of "zhang mountain, chi tree, inch horse, bean man" to the picture, visually creates a spatial effect of "thousands of miles away from within a short distance".His "Spring Outing" is a typical example.It marks that landscape painting has got rid of the vassal status of figure painting and has become an independent painting genre.

"Spring Outing" is 80.5 cm wide and 43 cm long, and is now in the Palace Museum, Beijing.It depicts the scene of people going on an outing in the bright spring.The wide river is sparkling with blue waves, and there is a canopy boat carrying tourists rippling in it.The green hills on both sides of the strait are covered with several temples and cottages.Some tourists ride horses to tour the mountain trails, and some stop on foot in the shoals on the shore, bathing in the warm spring light.The whole picture is open, with the artistic effect of "far and near mountains and rivers, thousands of miles away".No wonder Huang Tingjian, a poet of the Song Dynasty, looked at this painting and wrote: "There is still a living brush in the world. Things are vast and smoky, and the scene is cold. I often fear that the flowers will fly and the butterflies will disperse. I look at it a hundred times a day through the bright window."

In this picture, mountains, rivers and trees are drawn by outlining and coloring methods, without using the brush [cun village]. The figures, distant trees and flowers in it are directly dyed with color, and the surface of the water is drawn with soft and fine ripples. The whole painting uses a lot of stone Blue and stone green, the so-called "green and heavy color workmanship is exquisite and neat", is called the green method by later generations. Zhan Ziqian's birth and death are unknown. "Famous Paintings of Past Dynasties" said that he "lived in the Northern Qi Dynasty, Zhou Dynasty, and Sui Dynasty.It can be speculated that he lived around 550-604.According to relevant painting history records, many works of Zhan Ziqian were handed down to the Tang Dynasty.He also said that he "touches things with mercy, and everything is wonderful."It means that the reason why Zhan Ziqian can paint everything very well is because he pays attention to observing and experiencing everything around him.His paintings are "very detailed, followed by color halo".This method of expression directly inherited Gu Kaizhi's painting method, but it has also developed and changed.He is also good at painting platforms, pavilions and pommel horses, and his best paintings are rivers and mountains.

Some historians in modern times believe that this volume of "You Chun Tu" is a work of the early or prosperous Tang Dynasty.However, judging from the simplicity of the painting method, even if it is not Zhan's handwriting, it is also a copy of the original manuscript of the Sui Dynasty.It shows people the basic features of early Chinese landscape paintings.Therefore, it still has important value in the history of ancient Chinese painting. Landscape painting developed into the Tang Dynasty, and there were new changes. According to the "Record of Famous Paintings of the Tang Dynasty" by Zhu Jingxuan of the Tang Dynasty, during the Tianbao period (742-755 AD), Tang Xuanzong suddenly wanted to enjoy the scenery of the Jialing River in Sichuan, so he sent Wu Daozi to sketch.Wu Daozi knew by eye and by heart, and did not sketch from life on the scene.After returning to Chang'an, Xuanzong asked him for a painting, and he said: "I have no powder copy (draft), and I will keep it in my heart." Xuanzong ordered him to paint on the wall of Datong Hall.It only took one day for Wu Daozi to paint the beautiful scenery of 300 li of Jialing River.Xuanzong asked Li Sixun to paint the landscape of Jialing River in Datong Hall.It took him several months to finish the painting.Xuanzong compared the paintings of the two and said: "Li Sixun's work for several months and Wu Daozi's work for a day are both extremely wonderful."

Regarding Wu Daozi's paintings of the Jialing River landscape, Dong Fu (youyou) of the Song Dynasty's "Guangchuan Painting Postscript" said that "the picture is based on the book", and the Ming Dynasty's Zhang Chou's "Qinghe Painting Boat" said that it was "please write it plainly". It is not painted on the wall of Datong Hall.Some art historians also pointed out that during the Tianbao period, Li Sixun had long since passed away, so it was impossible for him to paint at the same time as Wu Daozi.Regarding these issues, it can be left to historians to continue research.However, we can learn from this record that the landscape paintings of the Tang Dynasty had different methods of expression.Li Sixun's paintings are blue and green landscape paintings, which are neat, delicate, and resplendent; Wu Daozi's paintings are simplified paintings based on ink and wash, with a little light color, and the momentum is majestic.They respectively represent the two painting styles of early Chinese landscape painting.The emergence of different styles shows that landscape painting began to flourish in the Tang Dynasty.

Li Sixun (AD 651-716), courtesy name Jian, was born in Chengji (now Tianshui, Gansu Province), Tang clan, and was an official to General Zuo Wuwei.Known as General Lee. "Famous Paintings of Past Dynasties" said that he "was known for his art at that time, and the five members of his family (Li Sixun, younger brother Sihui, Zi Zhaodao, nephew Lin Fu, nephew Li Cou) were all good at painting." Ziqian has a painting method with heavy colors without hooks or lines.Emphasis is placed on outlining the shape of mountains and rocks, the texture is not obvious, and it is colored with big green, and the trees are mostly double-hooked for coloring, and sometimes gold and silver are double-hooked, resplendent and resplendent.The landscapes painted are mostly in the imaginary realm of "the clouds and clouds are misty, and the things of gods are seen from time to time".There is a "Jiangfan Pavilion" in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, which is said to be made by Li Sixun.In the painting, the river and the sky are vast, the sails go back and forth, and the winding corridors and terraces in the mountains are set off by long pines, peaches and bamboos.Just like Li Bai's poem "The whole house is full of emerald greens that can be swept away, and Chicheng's rosy clouds are full of smoke."There are also three "Palace and Garden Maps" collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing. The mountains and rivers are complex, and the towers and pavilions are gorgeous and magnificent. They should be the works of the Li's school of painting.

Li Sixun's son, Li Zhaodao, named Xijun, was called Little General Li.Inheriting his family law, the painting method is more refined.Although not as bold as its father, it wins with decorativeness and sophistication.The Palace Museum in Beijing has the "Ming Emperor Xingshu Picture", which is said to be made by Li Zhaodao. The landscape paintings of Li's father and son were the most influential school of landscape painting from the early Tang Dynasty to the prosperous Tang Dynasty, occupying an important position in the history of Chinese landscape painting.Their luxurious and splendid style is one of the basic styles of Tang Dynasty painting.

Wu Daozi in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty changed the painting style of famous painters in the Sui and Tang Dynasties who emphasized color, and expressed objects with rich and powerful lines, developing the so-called "sparse style" painting style.Wu Daozi's landscape paintings are no longer visible. Judging from the fact that he painted the 300-mile Jialing River in one day, it can be inferred that his painting method is mainly ink and wash, or a little light color.Zhang Yanyuan, a historian at the same time, said that Wu Daozi's landscape paintings "strange rocks and collapsed beaches, if you can touch them", have a strong sense of reality.This painting method promoted the growth of the ink painting school and triggered the vigorous rise of ink landscape painting in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties.

There was also a famous poet and painter in the Tang Dynasty named Wang Wei (701-761 A.D.), who was born in Puzhou, Shanxi (where the government is located in today’s Yongji County).A good Buddha, named himself Majie.Proficient in temperament, proficient in poetry and prose, good at calligraphy and painting, and versatile.He once said that he was "a poet of the world and a painter in front of him".In his later years, he encountered the Anshi Rebellion, was captured and given a false post.According to the "Book of Tang", An Lushan once summoned the disciples of Liyuan to play in Ningbi Pool.A musician threw his instrument on the ground and cried bitterly facing the southwest where Xuanzong took refuge. He was killed by An Lushan immediately.Witnessing this tragic scene, Wang Wei recited a poem to himself: "Thousands of households are sad and wild smoke is born, and when will hundreds of officials go up to the sky again. Autumn locust tree leaves fall into the empty palace, and Ningbi Pond plays the orchestra." He was imprisoned for a fake job, and later rescued by Shi and his younger brother's dismissal, and the official was restored to his original post.But since then, he has no intention of fame and fame, and has retired to a villa in Wangchuan, playing the piano and composing poems, entertaining himself with painting, or burning incense and sitting alone in meditation and reciting scriptures.His poems pursue a peaceful and quiet state, and his paintings are lyrical and poetic.Wang Wei's original works are no longer visible, but from the records of painting history, it can be seen that the painting is like a poem, with a profound artistic conception.Su Shi, a great writer in the Song Dynasty, said: "When you taste the poems of Moji, there are paintings in the poems; when you look at the paintings of Moji, there are poems in the paintings." In terms of painting methods, he created the wet brush and ink rendering method, which enriched Chinese painting skills. "Records of Famous Paintings of the Tang Dynasty" said that he "traces like Wu Sheng (Wu Daozi) but has outstanding style and style", "Drawing the picture of Wangchuan, the valley is gloomy, the clouds and water are flying, the meaning is out of the dust, and the pen is strange".

There is another anecdote about "Wangchuan Tu".It is said that Qin Guan, a litterateur in the Song Dynasty, suffered from gastrointestinal problems. A friend brought Wang Wei's "Wangchuan Picture" and hung it on his bedside, saying that he would be cured after reading it.Qin Guan fell ill in bed, feeling depressed, but appreciating this painting every day was like going to a villa in Wangchuan with beautiful scenery and fresh air. Wang Wei is good at painting stones.It is said that he once painted a strange rock for Tang Xuanzong's younger brother Qi Wang Li Fan, which is real and interesting.Li Fan often reads the scrolls.One day, when there was a thunderstorm, a big thunderbolt suddenly pulled up the strange rock in the painting and was swept away by the strong wind.The screen becomes blank.Sixty or seventy years later, when Tang Xianzong arrived, the Korean state sent a stone, which was said to be a strange stone flying from the Songshan Mountain of the Korean god, and the seal of Wang Mojie was engraved on it.Only then did people know that the stone painted by Wang Wei had originally flown to North Korea.The stones in the painting can fly in the air. This is of course not true, but it is enough to show that the stones painted by Wang Wei are lifelike.

In addition, there were famous painters such as Zhang Yu, Wang Mo, and Zheng Qian in the Tang Dynasty, who also painted landscape paintings, which formed their own style.Unfortunately, most of their works are lost.