Chapter 12 Chapter Eleven Sesshu Painting Saint——The Exchange of Chinese and Japanese Paintings in the Ming Dynasty

In 1956, the World Peace Council decided to commemorate 10 world cultural celebrities, one of which was the famous Japanese painter Sesshu Toyo in the 15th century.This master artist known as the saint of painting has made outstanding contributions to the development of Japanese painting. His masterpieces are the crystallization of the art exchange between China and Japan in the Ming Dynasty. Sesshu et al., whose common surname is Oda, was born in Akahama (now Soja City, Okayama Prefecture) in Bitchu, Japan in 1420.Because I saw the word "Xuezhou" written in ink by Chu Shi Fanqi, a monk from the Yuan Dynasty, I felt that the artistic conception of the snow boat was very consistent with my inner pursuit. From then on, I used Xuezhou as my name and signed my name on the work.

Sesshu was born in a low-level samurai family, and at the age of 12, he went to the local Zen temple Baofu Temple to become a monk.His talent for painting was appreciated by his master, who encouraged him to practice at Xiangguo Temple in Kyoto.He learned Zen from Chunlin Zhou Teng in Xiangguo Temple, and learned ink and landscape painting from Tianzhang Zhouwen, a famous painting monk who happened to be the capital of Xiangguo Temple. During the era of the Muromachi shogunate in Japan, the Zen painting monk Ru Zhuo and his disciple Zhou Wen tried to introduce the popular Chinese ink landscape painting method in the Song and Yuan Dynasties to Japan and integrate it with Japanese painting.Xuezhou received Zhou Wen's guidance, and his ink painting techniques and painting skills improved rapidly.After Zhou Wen's death, he once went to Kencho-ji Temple in Kamakura, and followed Zen Master Yuyin Yongyu, practicing Zen and painting at the same time.

In 1463, Sesshu accepted the invitation of the daimyo (vassals) Ouchi clan, who had become rich through trade with the Ming Dynasty, to go to Shuboguo (present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture) in the western part of Honshu, his territory.Xuezhou hopes to have the opportunity to go to China from here and learn directly from the painters of the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, he can also see more ink paintings from China here.He founded the studio Yunguxuan in Zhoufang, engaged in painting creation, and gradually spread his reputation. At that time, the Muromachi Shogunate of Japan and the Ming Dynasty government carried out an official monopolized Sino-Japanese joint trade for economic and cultural exchanges. In 1467, when the envoys of the Muromachi shogunate organized a trade fleet to China, due to the lack of financial resources of the shogunate, they decided that the third ship would be operated by Ouchi.Therefore, Sesshu and Zen monk Keian Genki and others were able to take the ship to China as monks of the Ouchi clan.Although Xuezhou was 48 years old at that time, when he was sailing on the sea, looking to the west, and saw that his long-cherished wish was about to come true, he couldn't help feeling very excited.He hopes to truly understand the true meaning of painting in China, the hometown of ink painting.

In March 1467, the Ming ship arrived at Mingzhou (now Ningbo) in Zhejiang, China.After Xuezhou landed, he first went to Jingde Temple in Tiantong Mountain in the east of Mingzhou to pay homage.This is a temple that has a deep relationship with Sino-Japanese cultural and Buddhist exchanges.During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Japanese monks Eisai and Dogen, as well as Chinese monks Lanxi Daorong and Wu Xuezuyuan who went to Japan, all once studied Zen here.Xuezhou was deeply respected by the monks in Tiantong Mountain, and won the honorary title of "The First Zen Class in Tiantong Mountain".Therefore, his paintings were often inscribed with the words "Simingtong's first snow boat pen".In the winter of this year, Xuezhou and his party traveled northward on the canal to Beijing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.On the way, he roamed the famous mountains and rivers in China, visited famous teachers and painting friends, admired and copied masterpieces of his predecessors, and painted pictures to depict the magnificent scenery of Chinese mountains and rivers, which greatly improved his artistic level.

In May 1468, Sesshu and his party arrived in Beijing.In addition to participating in some ceremonial activities of the mission, he mainly visited teachers and friends, learned Zen and painted.He once learned the techniques of coloring, ink splashing and smudging in Chinese ink painting from Li Zai and Zhang Yousheng, famous painters of the Ming Dynasty.Li Zai belonged to the painters of the Zhejiang School of Painting in the Ming Dynasty.This school mainly focuses on painting landscapes, absorbing the brushwork of famous Song and Yuan ink painters such as Ma Yuan and Xia Gui, and was very popular at that time.If you compare Sesshu's "Four Seasons Landscape Map" collected in the Tokyo National Museum today with Lee Jae's "Landscape Map", you can find that there are indeed many similarities.Sesshu's ink paintings are majestic and have reached a very high level. The exquisite painting skills amazed the Chinese painters at that time.The emperor and ministers of the Ming Dynasty also admired Xuezhou's paintings very much. Ming Xianzong once praised his paintings as rare treasures of the country, and even ordered that unless there was an edict, no one should paint casually.Officials from the Ministry of Rites also specially asked Xue Zhou to paint on the wall of the nave of the newly built hall.Yao Kui, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, said to him: "At present, there are almost 30 foreigners paying tribute, but I have never seen someone with a painting level like yours. Besides, this department is in charge of the imperial examination. Those who belong to the hall. At that time, you must call all the students to point to the paintings on the wall and say to them: This is the painting of the Japanese master Sesshu. There are still such masters in foreign countries. Shouldn’t you all work hard to achieve this goal? level!"

Sesshu's vision was not limited to the Chinese painting circle at that time. While studying Buddhism, he also deeply explored the essence of ink painting.The long-standing Chinese cultural tradition and majestic Chinese mountains and rivers have profoundly influenced Sesshu's philosophy and view of nature.He also formed profound friendship with many Chinese literati, painters and monks.During his stay in China, Sesshu once made "Fuji Miho Kiyomi Sanjue Scenery", depicting the snow-capped Mount Fuji and Miho Matsubara, a resort in Japanese legend where the goddess descends to earth.The Chinese poet Zhan Xi specially wrote a poem for the painting, the last four lines of which read:

In February 1469, Xuezhou accompanied the Ming envoys to leave Beijing and head south to return home.On the way to the south, he used the scenery he saw along the way as the material to paint many sketches of landscape paintings such as "Real Scenery on the Way Back" and "Pictures of the Yangtze River".When Mingzhou was about to board a ship to say goodbye, his friend Jinshi Xu Lian saw him off and wrote "Send Xuezhou Back to the Country Poem" to express his reluctant farewell. Sesshu's visit to Ming Dynasty was an important turning point not only for his personal artistic path, but also for the development history of Japanese art.The outstanding achievements he made during his two-year visit to China have earned Sesshu great prestige in the Japanese painting and Zen circles.Various forms of Chinese painting, such as splash-ink landscape paintings and antique fan paintings, were all brought back to Japan by Sesshu after his visit to Ming Dynasty.Moreover, Sesshu also used the theory of "learning from nature" in Chinese painting to guide Japanese painting practice, helping the Japanese painting circles at that time to get rid of religious shackles, overcome the old customs of the same layout, and strive to create new styles, making pure and natural landscape paintings a Japanese Muromachi era. The mainstream of the painting world.Sesshu is not only good at landscapes, but also good at painting figures, flowers and birds.His figure paintings, such as "Statue of Masuda Kanyao" and "Huike's Broken Arm", are lifelike in both form and spirit, overcoming the long-standing shortcomings of improper proportions and sluggish images in Japanese portraiture.

Sesshu et al. are the masters of Japanese ink painting, the founder of the Yungu School, and had a great influence on the painting styles of Japanese painting schools such as the Kano School and the Hasegawa School.His paintings are both elegant and popular. Everyone from nobles and warriors to scholars and merchants invited him to paint. He was revered by the Japanese people as "one of the eternal people" and "the saint of painting in ancient and modern times".His masterpieces such as "Four Seasons Landscape Map", "Flyover Bridge", "Splashed Ink Landscape Map" and "Autumn and Winter Landscape Map" have been preserved by the Japanese government as national treasures.

In June 1469, Sesshu and the Ming envoy set off from Mingzhou, crossed the sea and returned to Hakata, Kyushu, Japan, and then returned to Zhou Fangguo by himself. In 1476, he moved to Bungo Country (now Oita County, Kyushu), and worked in a studio called Tiankai Tuhualou.He introduced the beautiful natural scenery of China to the Japanese people through paintings. For example, "Drawings of Scenic Views of Tangshan" depicts the vibrant scene of Mingzhou Port in the Ming Dynasty. There are also Japanese merchant ships in the painting, which reflects the economic and cultural exchanges between China and Japan at that time. .In his later years, Sesshu often traveled around Japan, sketching and painting in front of nature.Finally, he returned to the mountain pass of Zhou Fang and built his own Tiankai Picture Building. He died in 1506 at the age of 87.

Sesshu has made outstanding contributions to the exchange of culture and art between China and Japan, and is respected by the people of China and Japan. In 1956, not only a grand commemorative event was held in his homeland Japan, but also a memorial meeting and exhibition of Sesshu was held in China, his album was published, and a delegation of Japanese painters was invited to visit China, which became a symbol of contemporary Sino-Japanese cultural exchange. A great event in history.