poetic feeling in a thatched pavilion attributed to the chinese y

University of IowaIowa Research Online

Theses and Dissertations

2013

Poetic feeling in a thatched pavilion attributed tothe Chinese Yuan artist Wu ZhenSicong ZhuUniversity of Iowa

Copyright 2013 Sicong Zhu

This dissertation is available at Iowa Research Online: http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/4983

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Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons

Recommended CitationZhu, Sicong. "Poetic feeling in a thatched pavilion attributed to the Chinese Yuan artist Wu Zhen." MA (Master of Arts) thesis,University of Iowa, 2013.http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/4983.

POETIC FEELING IN A THATCHED PAVILION ATTRIBUTED TO THE

CHINESE YUAN ARTIST WU ZHEN

by

Sicong Zhu

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the

Master of Arts degree in Art History

in the Graduate College of

The University of Iowa

December 2013

Thesis Supervisor: Associate Professor Robert Rorex

Copyright by

SICONG ZHU

2013

All Rights Reserved

Graduate College

The University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL

_________________________

MASTERS THESIS ____________

This is to certify that the Masters thesis of

Sicong Zhu

has been approved by the Examining Committee

for the thesis requirement for the Master of Arts

degree in Art History at

the December 2013 graduation.

Thesis Committee: ___________________________ Robert Rorex, Thesis Supervisor

___________________________ Dorothy Johnson

___________________________ Wallace Tomasini

ii

To my parents, Lihua Leng and Xiaogang Zhu

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am especially thankful to Professor Robert Rorex, my advisor and MA thesis

committee chair who offered me a lot of valuable advices not only on my thesis in

particular, but also on the proper and efficient ways to do research on dynastic Chinese

art in general. I am also very thankful to Professor Dorothy Johnson, whose 19-century

art classes and whose suggestions on my papers and thesis offered me significant

inspiration and direction during the two-year process of my art history study in Iowa City,

and to Professor Wallce Tomasini, whose viewpoints on Chinese art from the perspective

of a Renaissance scholar provided me very interesting insights and enlightment, and

whose constant support and encouragement as a senior scholar and graduate advisor of

the Art History Department helped me through many difficult moments in my study.

I also owe a lot of thanks to Professor Joan Stanley-Baker, whose monograph Old

Masters Repainted: Wu Zhen, 1280-1354: Prime Objects and Accretions (Hong Kong:

Hong Kong University Press, 1995) which I encountered in 2011 opened my eyes to the

field of connoisseurship study in Chinese art and initiated my interest to study Wu Zhen

in my MA thesis.

Sincere thanks goes to Professor Qingsheng Zhu, my advisor in college and the one

who brought me into the world of art history with his intellectually stimulating classes

and his gentle and humble personality as an art historian.

I thank my parents who supported me in studying art history and in pursuing my

graduate study in the United States. I thank them so much for their unfailing love and

tolerance all these years, for their understanding and open-mindedness not only as parents,

but as trustworthy friends.

iv

I also want to thank my husband and my best friend Renyu Zhang, whose constant

love and enduring patience has always been my great comfort, and without whom this

thesis would not have been possible.

Most of all, I thank my Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, who is my hope and

cornerstone, and whose love and faithfulness accompanied me through all my dark times.

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES..... vi

LIST OF GLOSSARY AND CHINESE TEXTS........ xvi

INTRODUCTION. 1

Literature Review.. 2

CHAPTER

I. POETIC FEELING IN A THATCHED PAVILION.. 9

About the Handscroll.. 9 Inscriptions, Calligraphy and Sealing. 12

Visual Analysis... 26

II. POETIC FEELING IN A THATCHED PAVILION IN THE TRADITION OF

GARDEN PAINTING................................................................................... 39

III. CONCLUSION 45

APPENDIX

A. A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF WU ZHEN. 48

B. DOCUMENTED WU ZHEN STYLE... 51

C. AN INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE LANDSCAPE PAINTINGS. 63

D. ILLUSTRATIONS.. 73

BIBLIOGRAPHY.... 164

vi

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure D 1 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion, dated

1347. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. .................................... 73

Figure D 2 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), inscription of Poetic Feeling in a Thatched

Pavilion, dated 1347. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. ........... 74

Figure D 3 Wu Zhen, Fishermans Idyll, 1342. Palace Museum, Taipei. Inscription. ..... 75

Figure D 4 Wu Zhen, Bamboo and Rock, 1347. Palace Museum, Taipei. Inscription.

................................................................................................................... 76

Figure D 5 Wu Zhen, Twin Junipers, 1328. National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Inscription and signature. .......................................................................... 77

Figure D 6 Wu Zhen, Central Mountain (or Mountain among Mountains), National

Palace Museum, Taipei. Inscription and seal. ........................................... 78

Figure D 7 Zhao Mengfu, Autumn Colours on the Qiao and Hua Mountains, detail

of inscription, 1295. National Palace Museum, Taipei. ............................ 79

Figure D 8 Wang Hui. Snowy Studio in a Mountain Village after Wang Youcheng.

1674-77. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Detail of

inscription. ................................................................................................ 80

Figure D 9 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), the character gou in the inscription of Poetic

Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion, dated 1347. The Cleveland Museum

of Art, Cleveland. ...................................................................................... 80

Figure D 10 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), the character duan in the inscription of

Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion, dated 1347. The Cleveland

Museum of Art, Cleveland. ....................................................................... 81

Figure D 11 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), the character qing (clear) in the inscription

of Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion, dated 1347. The

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. ..................................................... 81

Figure D 12 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), the character gong in the inscription of


Museum of Art, Cleveland. ....................................................................... 82

vii

Figure D 13 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), the character qing (emotion) in the

inscription of Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion, dated 1347.

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. .............................................. 83

Figure D 14 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), the character he in the inscription of Poetic


of Art, Cleveland. ...................................................................................... 83

Figure D 15 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), the character sha in the inscription of Poetic


of Art, Cleveland. ...................................................................................... 84

Figure D 16 Wu Zhen (attributed to), 1st leaf of Manual of Bamboo in Monochrome

Ink, dated 1350. Album leaf, ink on paper, 41.3x52 cm. National

Palace Museum, Taipei. ............................................................................ 84

Figure D 17 Wu Zhen (attributed to), leaf 17 jing shen zhu yi (the bamboos in a

deep alley) of Manual of Bamboo in Monochrome Ink, dated 1350.

Album leaf, ink on paper, 41.3x52 cm. National Palace Museum,

Taipei. ....................................................................................................... 85

Figure D 18 Wu Zhen (attributed to), leaf 19 qing feng wu bai gan (500 bamboos in

clear wind) of Manual of Bamboo in Monochrome Ink, dated 1350.

Album leaf, ink on paper, 41.3x52 cm. National Palace Museum,

Taipei. ....................................................................................................... 86

Figure D 19 Wu Zhen (attributed to), characters zhu and fang in leaf 20 xuan

miao guan zhu (the bamboos in the Xuanmiao Temple) of Manual of

Bamboo in Monochrome Ink, dated 1350. Album leaf, ink on paper,

41.3x52 cm. National Palace Museum, Taipei. ........................................ 87

Figure D 20 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), the character zhu and fang in the



Figure D 21 Wu Zhen (attributed to), the characters mei, fang, and wei in

Bamboo and Rock, 1347. National Palace Museum, Taipei. .................... 88

Figure D 22 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), the character mei, fang and wei in the



viii

Figure D 23 Wu Zhen (attributed to), the characters nian, yue, shu and the

phrase xi zuo in Central Mountain, 1366. National Palace

Museum, Taipei. Detail of artists seals.................................................... 89

Figure D 24 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), the character nian, yue, shu and the

phrase xi zuo in the inscription of Poetic Feeling in a Thatched

Pavilion, dated 1347. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. ........... 90

Figure D 25 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), inscription (the characters nian and zuo) of

Twin Junipers, dated 1328. Hanging scroll, ink on silk, 180.1 x 11.4

cm. National Palace Museum, Taipei. ...................................................... 91

Figure D 26 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), inscription (the characters nian and zuo) of


Museum of Art, Cleveland. Detail of artists seals. .................................. 92

Figure D 27 Wu Zhen (attributed to), inscription of Fisherman Recluse on Lake

Dongting, dated 1341. Hanging scroll, ink on paper, 146.4x58.6 cm.

National Palace Museum, Taipei. ............................................................. 93

Figure D 28 Wu Zhen, detail of inscription (the phrases Zhizheng, xi zuo and

the character mei) of Fishermans Idyll, 1342. Hanging scroll, ink

on silk, 176.1x95.6 cm. National Palace Museum, Taipei. ...................... 94


1347. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Detail of artists

seals. .......................................................................................................... 95

Figure D 30 Wu Zhen (attributed to), Central Mountain, 1366. National Palace


Figure D 31 Wu Zhen (attributed to), Bamboo and Rock, 1347. National Palace


Figure D 32 Wang Meng (1308-1385), detail of Bamboo Cottage by Lake

Tai/Retreat at Ju-qu, not dated. 68.7x42.5 cm, ink and color on

paper. National Palace Museum, Taipei. .................................................. 98

Figure D 33 Zhao Mengfu, The Mind Landscape of Xie Youyu, ca. 1287.

Handscroll, ink and colors on silk, 27.4 x 117.0 cm. Princeton Art

Museum, Princeton. .................................................................................. 98

ix

Figure D 34 Ni Zan, detail of Panoramic View of the Lion Grove Garden, 1373.

Handscroll. Repository unknown.............................................................. 99

Figure D 35 Wen Zhengming, detail of East Garden, 1530. Handscroll, ink and

color on silk, 30.2 x 126.4cm. Palace Museum, Beijing. ....................... 100

Figure D 36 Xu Ben, the Lion Grove Garden (shi zi lin). Album leaf, ink on paper,

22.5 x 27.1 cm. National Palace Museum, Taipei. ................................. 101

Figure D 37 Wen Zhengming, Garden of the Inept Administrator (Zhuozheng Yuan

tu shi), leaf D, 1551. Album leaf, ink on paper, 26.4 x 27.3 cm. The

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. .............................................. 102

Figure D 38 Qian Gu, The Small and Tranquil Garden (xiao zhi yuan). Album leaf,

ink and color on paper, 28.5 x 39.1 cm, from the album Travel

Sketches (Ji xing tu ce). National Palace Museum, Taipei. .................... 103

Figure D 39 Wu Zhen, detail of fisherman in Fisherman (Lutan diaoting), ca. 1350.

Handscroll, ink on paper, 24.8 x 43.2 cm. The Metropolitan

Museum of Art, New York. .................................................................... 104

Figure D 40 Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322), detail of Autumn Color on the Qiao and

Hua Mountains, not dated. Handscroll, ink and color on paper, 24.8

x 93.2 cm. National Palace Museum, Taipei. ......................................... 105

Figure D 41 Zhao Mengfu, detail of River Village: Fishermans Joy, 1279-1322.

Fan painting mounted as album leaf, ink and color on silk, 28.6cm x

30cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. ................................. 106


1347. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Detail of pavilion. .... 107

Figure D 43 Wu Zhen, Fishermans Idyll, 1342. National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Detail of thatched gate. ........................................................................... 107

Figure D 44 Wu Zhen (attributed to), Fisherman after Jing Hao, dated 1342. Freer

Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Detail of pavilion. .............................. 108

Figure D 45 Wu Zhen (attributed to), Fishermen (Liu Zongyuan Zhuan Yufutujuan),

Shanghai Museum of Art, Shanghai. Detail of pavilion. ........................ 109

Figure D 46 Ni Zan, detail of pavilion in Rongxi Studio, 1372. Hanging scroll, ink

on paper, 74.7 x 35.5 cm. National Palace Museum, Taipei. ................. 110

x

Figure D 47 Ni Zan, Rongxi Studio, 1372. Hanging scroll, ink on paper, 74.7 x 35.5

cm, National Palace Museum, Taipei. .................................................... 111

Figure D 48 Chu Te-juns Playing the Chin beneath Pines. National Palace

Museum, Taipei. ..................................................................................... 112

Figure D 49 Xiang Yuanbian (attributed), River Landscape, dated 1578.


Figure D 50 Tang Yin, The Thatched Hut of Dreaming of an Immortal, early 16th

century. The Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. ............................ 113

Figure D 51 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), Twin Junipers, dated 1328. Hanging scroll, ink

on silk, 180.1 x 11.4 cm. National Palace Museum, Taipei. .................. 114

Figure D 52 Wu Zhen (1280-1354, attributed to), left part of Mountain among

Mountains, dated 1336. Handscroll, ink on paper, 26.4 x 90.7 cm.

National Palace Museum, Taipei. ........................................................... 115

Figure D 53 Wu Zhen, Fishermans Idyll, 1342. Hanging scroll, ink on silk.


Figure D 54 Wu Zhen (attributed to), Fisherman (Lutan Diaoting), ca. 1350.

Handscroll, ink on paper, 24.8 x 43.2 cm. The Metropolitan


Figure D 55 Wu Zhen (attributed to), Spring Dawn on a Clear River, undated.

National Palace Museum of Art, Taipei. ................................................ 118

Figure D 56 Wu Zhen (attributed to), Painting of Latter Ode on the Red Cliff,

undated. National Palace Museum, Taipei. ............................................ 119

Figure D 57 Wu Zhen (attributed to), Fishermen (Liu Zongyuan Zhuan Yufutujuan),

Shanghai Museum of Art, Shanghai. ...................................................... 120

Figure D 58 Wu Zhen (attributed to), Fishermen after Jing Hao (section 1 and 2),

ca. 1342. Handscroll, ink on paper, 32.5 x 565.6 cm. The Freer

Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. ........................................................... 121




xi




Figure D 61 Wu Zhen, detail of Bamboo and Rock, 1347. Hanging scroll, ink on

paper, 90.6 x 42.5 cm. National Palace Museum, Taipei. ...................... 124

Figure D 62 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), detail of Twin Junipers, dated 1328. Hanging

scroll, ink on silk, 180.1 x 11.4 cm. National Palace Museum, Taipei.

................................................................................................................. 125

Figure D 63 Wu Zhen (1280-1354, ascribed to), detail of Mountain among

Mountains, not dated. Handscroll, ink on paper, 26.4 x 90.7 cm.


Figure D 64 Wu Zhen (1280-1354, ascribed to), detail of Autumn Mountains.

Hanging scroll, ink on silk, 150.9 x 103.8 cm. National Palace

Museum, Taipei. ..................................................................................... 127

Figure D 65 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), detail of Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion,

dated 1347. Hanging scroll, ink on paper, 23.8cm x 99.4cm. The

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. ................................................... 128

Figure D 66 Wu Zhen (1280-1354), detail of Spring Dawn on a Clear River,

Hanging scroll, ink and light color on silk, 114.7x100.6 cm.


Figure D 67 Wu Zhen (1280-1354), detail of Hermit Fisherman on an Autumn

River, not dated. Hanging scroll, ink on silk, 189.1x88.5 cm.


Figure D 68 Li Gonglin, detail of Gathering at the West Garden, 1080. Handscroll,

ink on paper, 26.5 406cm. Unknown repository. ................................ 130

Figure D 69 Wang Fu, one section of the Study by Lake Tai at the Foot of a Hill

(hu shan shu wu), 1410. Handscroll, ink on paper, 27.5 x 820.5 cm.

Liaoning Provincial Museum, Shenyang. ............................................... 130

Figure D 70 Du Qiong (1396-1474), one section of Befriending the Pines (you song

tu). Handscroll, ink and color on paper, 28.8 x 92.5cm. Palace

Museum, Beijing. .................................................................................... 131

xii

Figure D 71 Qiu Ying (ca. 1494-1552), Orchid Pavilion. Fan painting, blue and

green on gold dusted paper, 21.5 x 31.2cm. Palace Museum, Beijing.

................................................................................................................. 131

Figure D 72 Qiu Ying, detail of Garden for Self-Enjoyment, 1515-1552. Handscroll,

ink and slight color on silk, 27.8 x 381 cm. Cleveland Museum of

Art, Cleveland. ........................................................................................ 132

Figure D 73 Wen Zhengming, detail of Tea Party at Mount. Hui, 1518. Handscroll,

ink and color on paper, 21.9 x 67cm. Palace Museum, Beijing. ............ 133

Figure D 74 Wen Zhengming, detail of Purification Ritual at the Orchid Pavilion,

1542. Handscroll, ink and color on gold dusted paper, 24.2 x 60.1cm.

Palace Museum, Beijing. ........................................................................ 134

Figure D 75 Obstructive scene made through the Taihu rock, Gate of Benevolence

and Longevity (Renshou men), Summer Palace, Beijing. ...................... 135

Figure D 76 Qu Ding (attributed to, active ca. 1023-1056), detail of Summer

Mountains. Handscroll, ink and light color on silk, 44.1 x 116.8 cm.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. ....................................... 136

Figure D 77 Zhang Zeduan, detail of Spring Festival on the River (Qingming shang

he tu), early 12th

century. Handscroll, in and color on silk, 25.5 x

525 cm. Palace Museum, Beijing. .......................................................... 136

Figure D 78 Qian Xuan, detail of Wang Xizhi Watching Geese, ca. 1295.

Handscroll, ink, color and gold on paper, 23.2 x 92.7 cm. The


Figure D 79 Xia Yuan, detail of The Yellow Pavilion, ca. 1350. Album leaf, ink on

silk, 20.6 x 26.7 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. ..... 138

Figure D 80 Leng Mei, the Mountain Resort in Chengde (bi shu shan zhuang tu),

1713. Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, 254.8 x 172.5cm. Palace

Museum, Beijing. .................................................................................... 139

Figure D 81 Wang Yun, one section of Xiu Garden, 1715-1720. Handscroll, ink

and color on silk, 54 x 1294.9 cm.The Lvshun Museum, Dalian,

China. ...................................................................................................... 140

xiii

Figure D 82 Anonymous, right half of View of a Garden Villa, after Yuan Jiang

(active ca.1680-ca.1730), 18th

century. Handscroll, ink and color on

silk, 52.1 x 295 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. ...... 140

Figure D 83 Tang Yifen, detail of Love Garden (Aiyuan tu), 1848. Handscroll, ink

and color on paper, 59 x 160 cm. The British Museum, London. .......... 141

Figure D 84 Shen Zhou (1427-1509), one leaf of East Village. Album leaf, ink and

color on paper, 28.6 x 33 cm. Nanjing Museum, Nanjing. ..................... 142

Figure D 85 Wen Zhengming, one leaf of Garden of the Inept Administrator

depicting the Small Flying Rainbow Bridge (xiao fei hong), dated

1551. Album leaf, ink on paper, 26.6 x 27.3 cm. .................................... 143

Figure D 86 Sun Kehong, detail of Stone Table Garden, dated 1572. Handscroll,

ink and color on paper, 12 3/4 x 272 1/2 inches. Asian Art Museum

of San Francisco, San Francisco. ............................................................ 144

Figure D 87 Sun Kehong, detail of Stone Table Garden, dated 1572. Handscroll,

ink and color on paper, 12 3/4 x 272 1/2 inches. Asian Art Museum

of San Francisco, San Francisco. ............................................................ 145

Figure D 88 Zhang Fu (1546-ca. 1631), one leaf from West Grove. Album leaf, ink

and color on paper, 35 x 25 cm. Wuxi Museum, Wuxi, China. ............. 146

Figure D 89 Zhang Hong, Painting of Zhi Garden, 1627. Album leaf, ink and color

on paper, 32.39 x 34.29 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art,

Los Angeles. ........................................................................................... 147


on paper, 32.4 x 34.6 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los

Angeles. .................................................................................................. 148


on paper, overall including mount: 38.7 x 43.8 cm. Los Angeles

County Museum of Art, Los Angeles. .................................................... 149

Figure D 92 Li Gonglin, one section of Gathering at the West Garden, 1080.

Handscroll, ink on paper, 26.5 406cm. Unknown repository. ............. 150

Figure D 93 Li Gonglin, detail of Gathering at the West Garden, 1080. Handscroll,

ink on paper, 26.5 406cm. Unknown repository. ................................ 151

xiv

Figure D 94 Wu Zhen (ascribed to), detail of Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion,

dated 1347. Hanging scroll, ink on paper, 23.8cm x 99.4cm. The

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. ................................................... 152

Figure D 95 Guo Xi (1001-1090), Early Spring, not dated. 158.3 x 108.1 cm, ink

and color on silk. National Palace Museum, Taipei. .............................. 153

Figure D 96 Wang Meng (1308-1385), Bamboo Cottage by Lake Tai/Retreat at Ju-

qu, not dated. 68.7x42.5 cm, ink and color on paper. National Palace

Museum, Taipei. ..................................................................................... 154

Figure D 97 Wang Meng (1308-1385), The Simple Retreat, not dated. 136 x 45 cm,

ink and color on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New

York. ....................................................................................................... 155

Figure D 98 Guo Xi (1001-1090), Old Trees, Level Distance (Left section), not

dated. 35.6 x 104.4 cm, ink and color on silk. The Metropolitan


Figure D 99 Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322), Twin Pines, Level Distance, ca.1300. 26.8

x 107.5 cm, ink on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New

York. ....................................................................................................... 156

Figure D 100 Xia Gui, Sailboat in Rainstorm, about 1189-94. Ink and light color on

silk, 23.9 x 25.1 cm. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. .............................. 157

Figure D 101 Ni Zan, Woods and Valleys of Mount Y, dated 1372, upper section.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. ....................................... 158

Figure D 102 Zhao Mengfu, left section of Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua

Mountains, 1295. Handscroll, ink and color on paper, 24.8 x 93.2

cm. National Palace Museum, Taipei. .................................................... 159

Figure D 103 Dong Yuan (attributed to, d. 962), Wintry Trees by a Lake, not dated.

Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, 178 x 115.4 cm. Kurokawa

Institute of Ancient Cultures, Nishinomiya, Japan. ................................ 160

Figure D 104 Xia Gui (active ca. 1195-1230), Mountain Market, Clear with Rising

Mist, 13th

century. Album leaf, ink on silk, 24.8 x 21.3 cm. The


xv

Figure D 105 Ma Yuan (active ca. 1190-1225), Scholar Viewing a Waterfall, late

12th

century, early 13th

century. Album leaf, ink and color on silk,

25.1 x 26 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. ................ 162

Figure D 106 Yujian, Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist, late Southern Song

and early Yuan dynasty. Handscroll, ink on paper, 33.182.8cm.

Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo. .......................................................... 163

Figure D 107 Muqi (late 13th

century), Wild Geese on a Sandbank, late Southern

Song and early Yuan dynasty. Handscroll, ink on paper,

33.0109.5cm. Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo. ................................ 163

xvi

LIST OF GLOSSARY AND CHINESE TEXTS

A

B

C

D

E

xvii

F

G

H ()

I

""

J

K

L

,

M

xviii

N

1

INTRODUCTION

In the following thesis, I intend to explore the textual, calligraphic and visual nature

of the handscroll Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion dated 1347 and ascribed to the

Chinese artist Wu Zhen (1280-1354), an important Chinese landscapist and bamboo

painter1 who lived in the Yuan dynasty, who was admired by later generations of

Chinese literati painters and connoisseurs as one of the four great masters of the Yuan

dynasty (together with Huang Gongwang, Ni Zan and Wang Meng), and who was the

relatively least intensively studied one among the four masters of Yuan2. A comparison

of Poetic Feeling in the Thatched Pavilion with other garden paintings will offer more

context for understanding the handscroll and its theme: literati gathering in a private

garden.

Although bearing the signature and seals associated with the name of an artist so

highly esteemed in later generations, the work (painting with colophon mounted as a

handscroll) has received relatively slight scholarly attention in recent times. The

following pages present my efforts to bring together what can be known about the scroll

from historical sources and the critical literature. In addition, the historical, cultural, and

artistic evidence presented by the scroll itself is described and analyzed. The question of

what place the work may occupy in the known body of work, and therefore the career, of

the artist Wu Zhen in the history of Chinese painting is also explored. The fundamental

1 The summation is borrowed from James Cahills PhD dissertation. See Cahill, James. Wu Chen, a Chinese Landscapist and Bamboo Painter of the Fourteenth Century. PhD diss., University of Michigan, 1958.

2 For example, Wus name did not appear in the 17th century connoisseur Chang Ch'ous painting and

calligraphy catalogue Ch'ing ho shu-hua fang , while the other three masters (Huang Gongwang, Ni Zan

and Wang Meng) all found their place in it.

2

questions raised by scholarly inquiry and those appropriate to connoisseurship are thus

addressed, with evidence brought forth which may serve as a foundation for further

inquiry in the future.

Literature Review

Studies on Wu Zhen published in the 20th

century include (in chronological order

within each category):

1) Researches on individual works or aspects of the Wu Zhen oeuvre: Wu Hufans

Wu Zhonggui yu fu tu juan [Wu Zhens Fisherman Handscroll] (Shanghai: Commercial

Press, 1936), William Lews The fisherman in Yuan painting and literature as reflected

Wu Chen's Yu-Fu T'u in the Shanghai Museum (PhD diss., Ohio University, 1976), Wu

Hufans Wu Zhen Yu fu tu [Wu Zhens Fisherman Handscroll] (Taipei: Taiwan

Commercial Press, 1977), Jiang Zhaoshens tei gyoin [The handscroll Hermit

fisherman on Lake Tung-ting (T y Nigensha, 1980), Sungmii Lee Hans Wu Chen's

"Mo-chu pu" Literati Painter's Manual on In Bamboo (PhD diss., Princeton

University, 1983);

2) General and artistic biographies: Zheng Bingshans Wu Zhen (Shanghai:

Shanghai Peoples Fine Arts Publishing House, 1958), National Palace Museums The

Great Four Masters of the Yuan: Huang Gongwang, Wu Zhen, Ni Zan, Wang Meng

(Taibei: National Palace Museum, 1975), Hironobu Koharas b , ei an, ,

Go Shin [Huang Gongwang, Ni Zan, Wang Meng, Wu Zhen] (T y Ch K ronsha,

1979), Chen Qingguangs Yuan dai hua jia Wu Zhen [Wu Zhen the Yuan dynasty Painter]

(Taipei: National Palace Museum, 1983), Du Zhesen and Song Xiaoxias Wu Zhen

(Shanghai: Shanghai Painting and Calligraphy Press, 1999), Shou Qinzes Dan qing

3

sheng shou: Huang Gongwang, Wang Meng, Wu Zhen zhuan [Biographies of Huang

Gongwang, Wang Meng and Wu Zhen] (Hangzhou Zhejiang Peoples Publishing House,

2007), Yuan Jianxias Wu Zhen, Ni Zan (Zhengzhou Henan Peoples Fine Arts

Publishing House, 2011).

3) Anthologies of (attributed) Wu Zhen writings (poems, essays, inscriptions and

painting manuals): Ge Yuanxus Mei dao ren yi mo [Wu Zhens Posthumous Writings

(Shanghai: Ge shi xiao yuan, 1876), Wen Huzhou zhu pai [Tong Wens Bamboo Painting

School] (Shanghai: Shang wu yin shu guan, 1939), Meihuadaoren yi mo [Wu Zhens

Posthumous Writings] (Taibei: Taiwan xue sheng shu ju, 1970), Zhuang Shens Yuan ji si

hua jia shi jiao ji [Poetry of the Four Landscape Masters of the late Yuan Period] (Hong

Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong, 1973), Ying yin Wu Zhen zhu

pu [Photocopied Wu Zhens Bamboo Manual] (Taibei: Gu gong bo wu yuan, 1976),

Yuan Wu Zhen Xin jing (Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1977), Xu Bens

(1335-1393) Mei hua dao ren yi mo /bei guo ji [Ben Xus Collection of Wu Zhens

Posthumous Writings] (Taibei: Student Book, 1985), Zhao Yue and Duan Pings Wu

Zhen shi ci xuan zhu [Selected Annotations of Wu Zhen Poems] (Lanzhou: Gansu

Peoples Publishing House, 1992), Shanghai Boo store Publishing Houses Meidaoren yi

mo: 1 juan [Wu Zhens Posthumous Writings 1st Volumn] (Shanghai: Shanghai

Bookstore Publishing House, 1994);

4) Connoisseurship studies: Joan Stanley-Ba ers Old Masters Repainted: Wu Zhen,

1280-1354: Prime Objects and Accretions (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press,

1995).

Besides these studies on Wu Zhen, a number of catalogues are also dedicated to (or

4

include) Wu Zhens (attributed) wor s Lao Tianbis (edited) Yuan Wu Zhen shan shui

zhen ji [Authentic Landscapes of Wu Zhen of Yuan Dynasty] (Hong Kong: Xiao Su,

1963), Wai-kam Ho, William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum

of Fine Arts, Cleveland Museum of Art et al, Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: the

Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and the Cleveland

Museum of Art (Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana

University Press; Bloomington, Ind.: Distributed by Indiana University Press, 1980), Wu

Zhonggui mo zhu pu, Li Fangying mo lan ce, Jin Dongxin mo mei ce he ce [Combined

Leaves of Wu Zhens In Bamboo, Li Fangyings In Orchid, Jin Dongxins In Plums]

(Chengdu: Chengdu Ancient Books Publishing House, 1989), Yuan si jia hua ji: Huang

Gongwang Wu Zhen Ni Zan Wang Meng [Four Great Masters of the Yuan: Huang

Gongwang, Wu Zhen, Ni Zan, Wang Meng] (Tianjin Peoples Fine Arts Press, 1994), Mo

zhu pu tu [Leaves of Ink Bamboo Paintings] (Tianjin Tianjin Peoples Publishing House,

2007).

Among all these, monographs on Wu Zhens single or multiple wor s include:

James Cahills 1958 dissertation at the University of Michigan Wu Chen, a Chinese

Landscapist and Bamboo Painter of the Fourteenth Century, William Lews 1976

dissertation at Ohio University The fisherman in Yuan painting and literature as

reflected Wu Chen's Yu-Fu T'u in the Shanghai Museum, Sungmii Lee Hans 1983

dissertation at Princeton University Wu Chen's "Mo-chu pu" Literati Painter's Manual

on In Bamboo, and Joan Stanley-Ba ers 1995 boo Old Masters Repainted: Wu Zhen,

1280-1354: Prime Objects and Accretions (Hong Kong University Press).

In James Cahills dissertation, he pictured Wu Zhens biographical and artistic

5

career in general and outlined Wu Zhens landscape and bamboos paintings as his

specialty in particular. In William Lews dissertation, he particularly focused on the Yu-

F T (attributed to Wu Zhen) as a reflection of the Yuan poetic and artistic ideal about

fisherman, a long-standing beloved topic of Chinese literati literature and paintings. In

Sungmii Lee Hans dissertation, she paid special attention to the images in Wu Zhens

(attributed to) ink bamboo manual. In Joan Stanley-Ba ers boo , she analyzed in detail

sixteen attributed Wu Zhen works (including landscapes and bamboo paintings) while

referring to the fifty-odd current attributions of Wu Zhen, and determined that only four

of these are from the hand of Wu Zhen (prime objects).

Among all these above-mentioned monographs on Wu Zhen, none of them

mentioned the handscroll Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion. It is understandable

since each of the three dissertations has a particular thematic focus. As for Stanley-

Ba ers boo , she did not make a connoisseurial evaluation regarding Poetic Feeling in a

Thatched Pavilion since the number of ascribed Wu Zhen paintings is so great (The

National Palace Museum, Taipei, where most of Joan Stanley-Ba ers researches too

place, alone houses more than 70 pieces of paintings ascribed to Wu Zhen) that not every

work can be taken a close look at individually in terms of connoisseurship study.

The handscroll Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion has been recorded by several

Chinese connoisseurs and scholars since 1616. In Zhang Chous Qing he shu hua biao

(n.d.), the list of paintings and calligraphy works in the family collection of Zhang Chou,

the handscroll was recorded as part of his collection of Yuan works3; in Wang Luoyus

Shan hu wang (preface 1643), the handscrolls name, author as well as the first two

3 Zhang Chou (1577-1643), Qing he shu hua fang: wai si zhong (Shanghai: Shanghai gu ji chu ban she: Xin

hua shu dian Shanghai fa xing suo fa xing, 1991), 611.

6

inscriptions (from Wu Zhen and Shen Zhou respectively) are recorded4; in Pei wen zhai

shu hua pu (1702, commissioned by the Kangxi emperor of the Qing dynasty), the

handscroll was recorded as hua ting shi yi, a handscroll on paper made by Taoist Plum

Blossom5.

Since the 19th

century, the handscroll also appeared in another eleven anthologies or

scholarly articles. In J. C. Fergusons Li dai zhu lu hua mu [recorded paintings in Chinese

history] (1934), the author presents the handscrolls recording history in various books

and the exact place where the handscroll appeared in each compilation (in Yu Fengqins

Yu Fengqing Shu hua ti ba ji, in Zhang Chous Qing he shu hua fang, in Wang Luoyus

Shan hu wang, in Zhang Chous Qing he shu hua biao, in the Kangxi emperor-

commissioned Pei wen zhai shu hua pu, in Bian Yongyus Shi gu tang shu hua hui kao,

in Zhang Chous Zhen ji mu lu chu ji); in Zhu Xingzhais Zhong guo shu hua [Chinese

painting and calligraphy], the handscroll was chosen together with 37 other paintings and

calligraphy pieces from Tang to Qing dynasties all of which have undergone personal

examination of the editor (Zhu Xingzhai) at one time or other6 in order to present

selected works in Chinese paintings and calligraphy to art lovers of the world for their

study and appreciation7; in Sherman E. Lees Literati and Professionals Four Ming

Painters (1966), Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion was used to illustrate the single-

4 Wang, Luoyu (b. 1587), Shan hu wang (Taipei: Taiwan shang wu yin shu guan, 1968, volume 2, chapter

9), 919.

5 Sun Yueban, Pei wen zhai shu hua pu: 100 juan (Shanghai: Tong wen shu ju, 1883, volume 16, chapter

100), 6. 6 Zhu Xingzhai, Zhong guo shu hua [Chinese Painting and Calligraphy] (Hong Kong: Chinese Painting and

Calligraphy Press, 1961), index page.

7 Zhu Xingzhai, Zhong guo shu hua [Chinese Painting and Calligraphy] (Hong Kong: Chinese Painting and

Calligraphy Press, 1961), index page. The handscroll appeared on page 21.

7

stroke, brusque shorthand8 of Wu Zhen, from whom Wen Zhengming learned a lot; in

Handbook, the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978 (1978), the handscroll appeared in the

section on Chinese Art; in Fu Shens Traces of the Brush: Studies in Chinese

Calligraphy, the handscrolls inscription was used to demonstrate Wu Zhens cursive

script which is a painters calligraphy that lac s the professionals expertise9; in

Chinese Painting: An Escape from the sty World (1981), Marjorie L. Williams

deployed Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion to illustrate Wu Zhens (as well as the

Chinese literatis) wish to live as a recluse away from the dusty world10; in William S.

Talbots Visions of Landscape East and West. (1983), Poetic Feeling in a Thatched

Pavilion acts as an example of the Chinese landscape whose natural detailing was not as

intense as the west11; in Masterpieces from East and West /The Cleveland Museum of

Art (1992), the handscroll appeared in the section on the east as a representative of

scholar-artists pursuit of conceptual visions through calligraphic line12; in Shouqian

Shis Cong Feng ge Dao Hua Yi: Fan si Zhongguo Mei shu Shi [from style to the idea of

painting: a reflection on Chinese art history] (2010), the author used the handscroll as

part of the Wu Zhen oeuvre to illustrate the hermit painters quiet life and his literati

8 Sherman E. Lee, Literati and Professionals Four Ming Painters, The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum

of Art 53, no. 1 (1966): 4.

9 Shen Fu, Marilyn W. Fu, Mary G. Neill, and Mary Jane Clark, Traces of the Brush: Studies in Chinese

Calligraphy (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1980), 87, 104.

10 Marjorie L. Williams, Chinese Painting: An Escape from the sty World (Cleveland, Ohio:

Cleveland Museum of Art; Bloomington, Ind.: Distributed by Indiana University Press, 1981), 53-56.

11 William S. Talbot, Visions of Landscape East and West, The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art

70, no. 3 (1983): 119.

12 Evan H. Turner and John Russell, Masterpieces from East and West/ The Cleveland Museum of Art (New

York, NY: Rizzoli International, 1992), 49.

8

painting style.13

14

13

Shouqian Shi, Cong feng ge dao hua yi: fan si Zhongguo mei shu shi [from style to the idea of painting: a

reflection on Chinese art history] (Taibei Shi: Shi tou chu ban, 2010), 192-193.

14 For the list of literature history see Wai-kam Ho, William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary

Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Cleveland Museum of Art et al, Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: the

Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and the Cleveland Museum of Art

(Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press; Bloomington,

Ind.: Distributed by Indiana University Press, 1980), 134.

9

CHAPTER I POETIC FEELING IN A THATCHED PAVILION

About the Handscroll

Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion (Figure 1), currently in the collection of the

Cleveland Museum of Art, is a handscroll attributed to the Yuan Dynasty landscape and

bamboo painter Wu Zhen, and a work that has received relatively little attention among

the attributed Wu Zhen oeuvre by modern scholarship15

. Based on my interest in Wu

Zhen and the current status of research on Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion, I chose

this handscroll as my MA thesis topic.

Regarding the provenance of Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion, it was owned

successively by the Lees in Hong Kong and the Hos of Macau before it was brought by

someone in London to the United States16

, and was purchased by the Cleveland Museum

of Arts Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund in 1963 from Chiang Er-shih (1913-1972), painter-

collector and art dealer who came to the United States from China in the early 1960s17

,

and has been ept in the Museums collection ever since. In terms of formal and

historical studies, it has served as visual evidence (but not the object in question) of

15

Two major works devoted to Wu Zhens works are James Cahills 1958 dissertation at the University of Michigan, Wu Chen, a Chinese Landscapist and Bamboo Painter of the Fourteenth Century and Joan Stanley-Bakers 1995 book Old Masters Repainted: Wu Zhen, 1280-1354: Prime Objects and Accretions (Hong Kong University Press). However, both these studies did not mention Poetic Feeling in a Thatched

Pavilion.

16 For provenance history see Zhuang Shens Yuan ji si hua jia shi jiao ji [Poetry of the Four Landscape

Masters of the late Yuan Period] (Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong, 1973),

69.

17 James Cahill, Chiang Er-shih (From 7/18/07 letter to Hong Zaixin), July 18, 2007, Running Down Blog

(blog), http://jamescahill.info/the-writings-of-james-cahill/responses-a-reminiscences/163-41-chiang-er-

shih. Accessed July 5, 2013.

10

several pieces of scholarship18

; in respect of connoisseurial inspection, this work has not

yet received specific attention from the academic world.

The handscroll is made of paper, with monochrome ink images. The height and

width of the handscroll are 23.80 cm (9 5/16 inches) and 99.40 cm (39 1/8 inches)

respectively (width including frontispiece, 1 inscription, 3 colophons and 35 seals19

).

According to the inscription, the handscroll painting was composed in the seventh

year of Zhi-zheng (the third era name/reign title of Toghun Temr, Emperor Huizong,

11th

emperor of Yuan dynasty, who ruled from 1333 to 1370), namely 1347.

In terms of the visual character of the painting, it agrees with the undecorative,

unrealistic, and often ambiguous in expression and ambivalent in feeling20 nature of

Yuan literati paintings. The representational aspect is largely diminished, and the playful

character of the literatis in play is revealed. Though the handscroll may loo clumsy or

amateurish upon first sight due to the seemingly less virtuoso brushwork displayed, it is

consistent with many other attributed Wu Zhen paintings and the Yuan literati painting

style. The size being small (23.8 x 99.4 cm) and the format intimate (a handscroll), the

painting presents itself more as a follower of the private garden painting tradition and

carries on the legacy of the Confucian scholars retreat from worldly concerns instead of

as representative of the Northern Song monumental landscape tradition. The thatched

pavilion is not only a building in the painting, but also a recurring motif in the history of

Chinese literati painting which acts as a haven for the literatis hermit life in the woods,

18

See for example, T.C. Wang, Wu Zhen's Poetic Inscriptions on Paintings, in Bulletin of The School of Oriental and African Studies-University of London 64, no. 2 (2001): 208-239.

19 The inscription has been translated by Wai-kam Ho, who also identified the 3 colophons and 27 seals (6

seals still remain to be identified) on the handscroll. See http://www.clevelandart.org/art/1963.259.

20 Wen C. Fong, Beyond Representation: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 8th-14th Century (New York:

Metropolitan Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992), 431.

11

by the side of a hill or a lake and allows the literati to enjoy the company of nature,

cultivate his temperament, purify his morality and improve his literary and artistic

learning.

The title cao ting shi yi (poetic feeling in a thatched pavilion) composed in the

seal script by Li Dongyang (1447-1516) on the frontispiece suggests the theme of the

painting: literati enjoying the poetic meditation/conversation/company of each other in a

modest but romantic place far from the world.

The visual part of the handscroll depicts a thatched pavilion set on a stage-like

platform in the horizontal center between the foreground and the middle ground. Though

small in size in relation to the objects around it, the pavilion is safely surrounded yet not

crowded by groves of trees, rocks, and several cottages on a gentle slope, leaving

abundant space for the two literati in the pavilion to enter and exit the pavilion as well as

to take a walk in the paths between the pavilion and the natural environment, and

allowing the view to take an imaginative tour effortlessly from the beginning to the end

of the handscroll without losing his/her way.

The highly succinct nature of the brushwork reduces the mimetic character of the

painting to the lowest and as s for the viewers imagination, understanding of the

painting as an allegory of the hermit scholar, and comprehension of the inscription in

which the incentive, title and purpose of the handscroll is explained in detail.

12

Inscription, Calligraphy and Sealing

Inscription

The artists inscription is recorded in the following literature (in the chronological

order of composition): Wu, Zhen, and Qian Fen(late 17th century), Meidaoren

yi mo [Posthumous Writings of Taoist Plum Blossom] in Cong shu ji cheng

xu bian, Ji bu, Bie ji lei, vol. 109 (Shanghai: Shanghai shu

dian, 1994); Zhen Wu, and Sili Gu (1669-1722), Mei hua an gao: 1 juan [1

volume of Writings in the Hut of Plum Blossom] 1 (Suzhou: Changzhou

Gu shi Xiu ye cao tang, 1702); Bian Yongyu (1645-1712), Shi gu tang shu hua

hui kao [Assembled Shigu Hall Paintings and Calligraphies

Examination] (Wuxing: Jiang shi Mi jun lou cang ben: Jian gu shu she ying yin ren chen,

1922), volume 19; Yu Fengqing (17th century), Shu hua ti ba ji [Records of

Inscriptions on Paintings and Calligraphies] (Shanghai: Shen zhou guo

guang Press, 1911), volume 8; Wang Luoyu(b. 1587), Shan hu wang

(Taipei: Taiwan shang wu yin shu guan, 1983), volume 33.

The inscription, an essential component of a painting, is integral to the work in terms

of not only its literary content, but also its calligraphic merit. The erudite scholar-official

has been an ideal pursued by thousands of years of educated Chinese (from the 2nd

to the

early 20th

century), in the evaluation of whose political talent the mastery of the classic

Chinese prose and poems, history as well as philosophy weighs substantially21

. Aside

21

A more detailed discussion see Patricia Eichenbaum Karetzky, Lehman College Art Gallery and Fisher

13

from the literary virtuosity, the calligraphic aptitude is also deemed crucial in picking out

the qualified intellectual officials and judging the self-cultivation of a scholar-official.

Since the 4th

century, calligraphy rose to become an art in itself after the advent of the

earliest Chinese characters, the oracle bone script from 14th

BC to 11th

BC.

It gradually became a common practice to compose self-inscriptions on paintings

since the Southern Song and Yuan dynasty. Nevertheless, the self-fashioning function

of Chinese painting may have begun far earlier even than artists started to leave their

names on the painted surfaces on a regular basis: it began as early as the 4th

century, with

the emergence of representational paintings22

.

The inscription (Figure 2) of Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion has been

translated by Wai-kam Ho, Chinese art curator at Cleveland Museum of Art from 1959 to

1983, as follows:

By the side of the hamlet I built a thatched pavilion. Balanced and squared, it

is lofty in conception. The woods being deep, birds are happy; the dust being

distant, bamboos and pines are clean. Streams and rocks invite lingering enjoyment,

lutes and books please my temperament. How should I bid farewell to the world of

the ordinary and the familiar, and let my heart go its own way for the gratification

of my life? In the tenth month of winter, in ding-hai year, the seventh year of Chih-

cheng [1347], I did this Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion playfully for Yan-

Gallery (Bard College), Contemporary Chinese Art and the Literary Culture of China (Bronx, N.Y.:

Lehman College Art Gallery, 1998), 10.

22 For more discussion on the comparison between Chinese artists self-fashioning and that of the artists

in other cultures, see Jonathan Hay, The Functions of Chinese Painting Toward a Unified Field Theory. In Anthropologies of Art, 116, edited by Mari t Westermann Williamstown, Mass. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute; New Haven: Distributed by Yale University Press, 2005.

14

tse. Written by Mei sha-mi [Novice of the Plum Blossom].23 K

An artists own inscription, which serves as a kind of personal dedication, will

occasionally, though not always, surpass the work of art itself (whether it be a

handscroll, hanging scroll, album leaf or fan painting) in respect of offering clues to

the appreciation and interpretation of the work and attaching to the original visual

significance another stratum of contextual connotation24

, as is the case with Poetic

Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion:

The inscription offers the subject who built the pavilion (I), the incentive for

building the thatched pavilion (to bid farewell to the world of ordinary and the familiar),

the location and surrounding environment of the pavilion (by the side of the hamlet, in

the deep woods), the activities being conducted in the pavilion (playing the lute and

reading books), and whom the painting is for (Yan-tse/Yuan Ze).

Regarding the person who is responsible for building the pavilion, it is possible that

it was Wu Zhen who built it, and it is also possible that the pavilion may be built by

someone else, and the artist may have composed the painting in memory of the event (as

Ni Zan did with his hanging scroll Rongxi Studio). Though it is unknown who the person

named Yuanze to whom the painting is dedicated is, it is likely that he may have been

the one who built the pavilion (given that Wu Zhen is quite poor himself) and that Wu

Zhen has made this intimate handscroll to celebrate his friends newly-built pavilion. As

the artist noted in the inscription, I did this Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion

playfully for Yan-tse, this might be a reminder that the inscription should not be ta en

23

Wai Kam Ho, http://www.clevelandart.org/collections/collection%20online.aspx?pid={91ADCD8F-

992A-45A5-8599-70835467DF5E}&coid=5701641&clabel=highlights. Accessed November 27, 2012.

24 For a further discussion see Wu Hung, The Double Screen: Medium and Representation in Chinese

Painting (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), 45.

15

literally and that the viewer should make allowance for the artists lighthearted humor

and equivocal expression regarding the builder of the pavilion.

The 40-character octave and the 22-character background information (author,

receiver, date, title) produce two rectangular formations (one by the octave, the other by

the background information) that join as an integrated whole.

Regarding the relative position of seals and inscription in Poetic Feeling in a

Thatched Pavilion, similar to several other ascribed Wu Zhen paintings (Fishermans

Idyll, Bamboo and Rock, Twin Junipers, and Mountain among Mountains) in which the

inscription and the seals form a neat whole block (figure 3, figure 4, figure 5, figure 6),

the seals on Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion (the two seals adjacent to and on the

left of the last three characters in the inscription) also form an integrated block formation.

Such formation of the inscription (and seals) agrees with what is commonly seen in

Southern Song and Yuan paintings: the inscription consists of characters confined in a

block, forming a regular unity, with the bottom of each column almost on a same

horizontal line. For example in Zhao Mengfus (1254-1322) Autumn Colors on the Qiao

and Hua Mountains (Figure 7), eight columns of dedication in kaishu (standard script, or

regular script) including the signature Zhao Mengfu zhi (made by Zhao Mengfu) are

included within the last column in order to preserve the block formation, and stress is

placed on the invisible but palpable outer contours or the block25

.

In another work, Mount. Lu (in todays Jiangxi Province, southeast China), painted

by a Southern Song (1127-1279) Zen painter Yujian Rofen, we see that the inscription,

though not as regular as that in Zhao Mengfus painting, is nonetheless placed in clear

25

For more discussion on the shape and formation of the inscriptions see Joan Stanley-Baker, Old Masters

Repainted (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1995), 160-164.

16

and neat columns, forming a block, with only one character outside the block. Another

example is a mid-14th

century work by the Yuan master Huang Gongwang: Dwelling in

the Fu-ch n o ntains, where the inscription of the artist lies in a matrix-like formation.

Inscriptions of artists of later generations are composed in a more self-expressive,

irregular non-conformity, for example the one in a 17th

century artist Wang Huis Snowy

Studio in a Mountain Village after Wang Youcheng (Figure 8), where the characters form

irregular heights of columns, separated according to the pauses of the meaning groups

(column one to five from right: Youweng laoren [Wang Shimin] gave me a blank album

and asked for some paintings. At the time I was traveling in Yangzhou and wasn't able to

comply. This spring I received an express letter [from him] so I quickly did these small

scenes after various masters; column six to seven: Your disciple's embarrassing brush and

ink is not worthy of entering your collection; column eight to ten: Done by a rainy

window on the 5th

day of the 2nd

month of jiajin year [March 5, 1674]")26

.

Regarding the signature right after the inscription, we noticed some changes in the

signatures of the works ascribed to Wu Zhen. In the 1328 hanging scroll Twin Junipers,

the signature was Wu Zhen; in the 1342 hanging scroll Fishermans Idyll, the

signature became meihua daoren(literally: Taoist Plum Blossom); in the 1347

handscroll Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion, the signature was mei shami

(literally rmaera27 Plum Blossom). Wu Zhens lineage with Taoism and Buddhism

was recorded in his posthumous anthology meidaoren yimo compiled by his

26

It is contended by Joan Stanley-Baker that it was a practice throughout Yuan for inscription blocks to be

modest and deferential in appearance. See Joan Stanley-Baker, Old Masters Repainted (Hong Kong: Hong

Kong University Press, 1995), p. 161.

27 A rmaera is a novice Buddhist monk.

17

younger countryman and literati scholar Qian Fen (late 17th century):

Wu Zhen [style name: Zhonggui], with an upright and noble character, was a

master painter in landscapes, bamboos and rocks. His inscription of poems on the

paintings, together with his painting and calligraphy were praised by his

contemporaries as san je (literally: three perfections). He would refuse the rich

who offered to buy his works, yet gifted them to the poor literati. He called himself

meihua daoren (Taoist Plum Blossom) and inscribed on his tombstone pagoda of

meihua heshang (Buddhist Mon Plum Blossom). He died in the middle of the

Hongwu Emperors reign (1368-1398) of the Ming dynasty (Zhongguis pass-

away-year was actually under the Zhizheng Emperors reign from 1341-1370; the

detailed account Duanbei Annals lacked identification text.) The scholar Gao

Xunzhi28

commented that Wu Zhens paintings are li e experienced generals

pluc ing up the banner [of the enemys army , bearing a courageous and heroic

momentum that no man can resist. [I thin [Gaos observation was right to the

point. The word goes that the Wu-district people cherished Zhongguis posthumous

works. [Viewing his works several centuries later, we are impressed with] their

magnificence; one can naturally imagine how striking they once were in the time of

Zhonggui. Suffering from the Yuan invasion, Zhonggui withdrew from the society

and came off as a Taoist. Maybe being a Taoist was his original intention? The

word also goes that Zhongguis elder brother Yuanzhang once studied divination

practice with Tianji Liu, and that Zhonggui also told the good and bad fortune for

people in Wuchuan with the help of I-Ching (Yi-ology) and that his words were

28

Gao Xunzhi , a scholar living in the Chia-ho area at the end of the Yuan dynasty, was called upon in 1370 in the early Ming dynasty as one of the contributors of the History of Yuan.

18

always cautionary. Was Zhonggui not the group of Junping Yan29

and his like?30 L

The changes in signatures may be explained by the fact that Buddhism,

Confucianism and Taoism merged more in the Yuan dynasty towards a syncretism due to

the Yuan rulers preference for Lamaism, or Tibetan Buddhism. As a nomadic tribe in

northern Asia, the Mongols, conquerors of the Southern Song dynasty and founders of

the Yuan dynasty, like many other nomadic people, held initially a Shamanism belief

filled with rituals and magic, bearing much resemblance to Tibetan Buddhism, which was

soon adopted by the new dynasty.31

Such a preference for Tibetan Buddhism made it

practical for the other three major religions: Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism to

unite rather than fight with each other. Further, since the Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.),

Buddhism discarded more of its Indian origin and adapted itself more to the earthly and

materialistic character of Chinese philosophies such as Confucianism and Taoism, and

became more and more secularized.32

Actually the assimilating process started as early as

29

Yan Junping was a Taoist scholar and thinker in the Western Han (202 BCE-9CE) dynasty. He lived in seclusion in Chengdu during the reign of Emperor Cheng (r. 33BC-7BC) of Han dynasty as a

fortune-teller. Known as guiding people in the light of their fateful trend, the people of Shu liked him.

30 Wu Zhen, and Qian Fen(late 17th century), Meidaoren yi mo in Cong shu ji

cheng xu bian, Ji bu, Bie ji lei, vol. 109 (Shanghai: Shanghai shu dian, 1994), 486.

31 For a detailed description see Tsun-yan Liu and Judith Berling, The Three Teachings in the Mongol-

Y an Period, in Y an Thought: Chinese Thought and Religion Under the Mongols (New York: Columbia University Press, 1982), 481-482.

32 Though Indian Buddhism advocated an ascetic life for its believers consisting of no labor and begging

for basic necessities of living; nevertheless, during the Tang dynasty, through the efforts of Huineng, the

sixth Patriarch, and others, Buddhism gradually transformed itself into a religion that repudiates not so

much of profane life: it even encouraged Chinese industriousness (For a detailed description of the

transformation of Buddhism in Tang dynasty China see Yingshi Yu, Zhongguo wen hua shi tong shi, Hong

Kong: Oxford University Press, 2010, 61-67). Another transformation of Buddhism in the Tang dynasty is

the development of Zen Buddhism (which came into being in China in the 6th century A.D.) through

Huinengs teaching that zhi zhi benxin (point directly to the human mind) and jian xing cheng fo (see ones nature and become a Buddha); which, according to the sociologist Robert Bellah, is one of the features of

modern religion, viz. the direct relation between the individual and the transcendent reality (Robert N. Bellah, Religious Evolution, in William A. Lessa and Evon Z. Vogt, Reader in Comparative Religion,

19

the Western and Eastern Jin dynasty (265-420 A.D.) when many powers fought with each

other and the people who longed for a united and peaceful nation turned to Buddhism for

hope (Buddhism has been introduced into China at latest in the 1st century A.D.).

Wu Zhens choosing of signatures (or those copied or forged signatures) leads us to

the similar experience of the Yuan painter Ni Zan (who studied Buddhism for a long time

before he converted to the Quanzhen School of Taoism), and Bada Shanren (Zhu Da, ca.

1626-1705) and Shi Tao (Zhu Ruoji, 1642-1707) in the late Ming and early Qing dynasty,

who, originally Buddhists, converted to Taoism (we are not sure whether they totally

abandoned Buddhism) during the last decade of the 17th

century33

, which may also have

resulted from the invasion of the Manchus into China who later established the Qing

dynasty.

Despite the plausible reasoning that Buddhism and Taoism merged into each other

during the turbulent Yuan dynasty, and despite Qian Fens records of Wu Zhen inscribing

on his own tombstone pagoda of meihua heshang (Buddhist Mon Plum Blossom), we

have reason to doubt Wu Zhens Buddhist lineage reflected in his signature mei shami

(Buddhist monk Plum Blossom) in Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion because this

signature is rarely seen in other ascribed Wu Zhen paintings: in pre-1347 (the dated time

of Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion) paintings, such as Twin Junipers (1328),

Mountain among Mountains, Fisherman on Lake Dongting (1341), Fishermans Idyll

(1342), and Eight Views of Jiahe (1344), the signature is meihua daoren (Taoist Plum

Blossom), in the Bamboo and Rock scroll dated 1347, the signature is also mei hua

New York: Narper & Row, 1965, 82. Quoted in Yingshi Yu, Zhongguo wen hua shi tong shi, Hong Kong:

Oxford University Press, 2010, 66).

33 For more investigation of the Taoist conversion of Bada Shanren and Shi Tao, see Jonathan Hay, Shitao:

Painting and Modernity in Early Qing China (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 126-128.

20

daoren, and in post-1347 paintings, such as Album of Ink Bamboo Paintings (1348), the

signature is mei lao (the old man Plum Blossom), in the Manual of Ink Bamboo

Paintings (1350), the signature is meihua dao ren. And in paintings without a date,

such as Fisherman on an Autumn River, Spring Dawn on a Clear River, and Fisherman

after Jing Hao, the signature was also meihua daoren. From the representatives of

signatures of the ascribed Wu Zhen paintings, we can see that the most common one is

meihua daoren (Taoist Plum Blossom), and only in Poetic Feeling in a Thatched

Pavilion does the signature mei shami (Buddhist Plum Blossom) appear. This

inconsistency with other attributed paintings signatures is not sufficient for doubting

Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilions authenticity, but it nevertheless renders it more

questionable. If in future there might merge further evidence that might assist in

determining in which period of Wu Zhens life and career this work should fit in terms of

its signature.

Calligraphy

The inscription of the handscroll Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion is written in

the cursive script, consists of 62 characters and has no obvious retouching/reworking

traces. The calligraphic technique called side tip (ce feng) is mostly applied in composing

the inscription, which results in edges and corners in the shape of the characters.

Compared with the visual part of the handscroll in which the mid tip (zhong feng) is

mostly applied, the inscription shows more pointedness than the mellow and round

brushwork seen in the painting (see for example the trees on the left part of the scroll and

the brushstrokes depicting the pavilion). The ink tone of the inscription is also darker

than most parts of the painting. However, the speed with which the artist composed the

21

inscription is higher than that with which he made the painting, since the brushwork of

the calligraphy is smoother, more seamless and more varied in width than that of the

painting which is even in width and which seems to drift more slowly, presenting the

viewer with a sense of clumsiness and awkwardness (which is one of the aesthetic

pursuits of the Chinese literati artists in order to differentiate themselves from the

professional painters). In some characters of the inscription, the flying-white (fei bai)

technique, which features broken connections between strokes and which is unique to

half-dry brushwork, is observable: in the character gou (figure 9), duan (figure 10), qing

(figure 11), gong (figure 12), qing (figure 13), he (figure 14), and sha (figure 15). Though

the characters vary a lot from one another in composition, width of brushstroke and ink

tone, they present the viewer a neat and tidy impression in general since each character

occupies an equal share of space, and the spaces between the six columns are also equal

in width.

Compared with other attributed Wu Zhen inscriptions written in the cursive style,

the one in Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion is more in the tradition of the Wang

Xizhi - Mi Fu style of the modern cursive (jin cao) which consists of less direct

connections between brushstrokes and characters (in Poetic Feeling in a Thatched

Pavilion, only the characters qin and shu have a direct connection in brushstrokes),

whereas many other Wu Zhen calligraphy works in the cursive style follow the Zhang Xu

- Huai Su Huang Tingjian tradition of the wild cursive (kuang cao) style which allows

for more direct connections between brushstrokes and characters and gives more artistic

freedom to the calligrapher (see for example Wu Zhens inscription in Fishermans Idyll,

Figure 5, Manual of Bamboo in Monochrome Ink, Figure 16, 17 and 18). The majority of

22

Wu Zhens calligraphy in the wild cursive style confirms the late Yuan connoisseur Tao

Zongyis comment on Wu Zhens cursive calligraphy that he learned after Gong Guang

who is a follower of the calligrapher Zhang Xu, the Divine Grassist.34

The calligraphy in Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion shows a consistency in the

wielding of the brush and personal style of Wu Zhen, and it also presents some changes

with the time of Wu Zhens artistic career. The uniformity of brush traits can be observed

in comparison with some calligraphy pieces in several other attributed Wu Zhen paintings,

such as the Manual of Bamboo in Monochrome Ink, Bamboo and Rock, Central

Mountains, Fishermans Idyll, and Twin Junipers. The character fang and the character

zhu in both the 20th leaf of Manual of Bamboo in Monochrome Ink (figure 19) and

Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion (figure 20) present similar composition, identical

brush-wielding habit of connections between brushstrokes and the weight-imposing habit

(see the parts in the two characters where the brushstroke become most expansive). The

character mei, wei and fang in Bamboo and Rock (figure 21) and Poetic Feeling in

a Thatched Pavilion (figure 22) also share the similar connection between brushstrokes,

similar omission of certain brushstrokes (the two dots in the character mei and the one dot

in the character wei). Similarly, the characters nian, yue, shu and the phrase xi zuo in

Central Mountains (figure 23) and Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion (figure 24) also

possess consistent composition, simplification and amplification habit (see the position of

the dot in nian in relation to the character, the left part of zuo which is simplified in one

stroke, and the prolonged leftfalling first stroke in yue).

34

Tao Zongyi(fl. 1360-1368), Shu shi hui yao [9 juan, bu yi], Wen yuan ge Si ku quan shu dian zi ban (Xianggang: Di zhi wen hua chu ban you xian gong si; Taibei Shi: Han zhen tu shu suo

ying gong si zong jing xiao, 2006, electronic book, bu yi), 33.

23

The comparison between the inscriptional calligraphy in Poetic Feeling in a

Thatched Pavilion (1347) with that in Fishermans Idyll (1342) and Twin Junipers (1328)

shows that the calligraphic style in Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion (figure 25) and

Twin Junipers (figure 26) (as well as Central Mountains, Bamboo and Rock, and

Fisherman Recluse on Lake Dongting, 1341, figure 27) are more neat and closer to the

tradition of modern cursive style (jin cao) and the inscription in Fishermans Idyll (figure

28) (as well as the Manual of Bamboo in Monochrome Ink) follows more the lineage of

the wild cursive style (kuang cao). The change in the choice of calligraphy might be

explained by the stylistic change in literati landscape paintings (which emerged in the

early Yuan dynasty and matured in late Yuan and Ming dynasty) from the descriptive

style of the Song to the more expressive style of the Yuan dynasty which is sparse of

detail and economic of means35, which resulted from the unfulfilled ambition to serve

the government using ones erudition and thus the self-exile imposed by the literati

painters who used calligraphic ink plays as an outlet for their depression.

Sealing

Regarding the seals on Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion, the two seals (figure

29) closest to the inscription associated with Wu Zhen are identical with those two seals

that appeared on most of the Wu Zhen attributions. The upper seal reads plum blossom

hut (meihua an ), and the lower one reads Jiaxing Wu Zhen Zhonggui Painting

and Calligraphy Seal (Jiaxing Wu Zhen Zhonggui shu hua yin ).

These two seals appeared frequently in attributed Wu Zhen paintings, as can be seen in

35

Wen C. Fong, Beyond Representation: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 8th-14th Century (New York:

Metropolitan Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992), 432.

24

for example Fishermans Idyll (1342), Central Mountain (or Mountain among

Mountains, dated 1336, figure 30) and Bamboo and Rock (1347, figure 31).

Among the total of 33 seals on this handscroll, the earliest is from 15th

century (by

Shen Zhou, 1427-1509), 10 seals are from the 17th

century (1 by Li Zhaoheng, act. 1st

half of 17th

century and 9 by Liang Qingbiao, 1620-1691), 1 is from the 19th

century (by

Wang I-jung, 1848-1900), 15 are from the 20th

century (1 by Li Yanshan, 1898-1961, 1

by Huang Wen, and 13 by Chen Rentao). And the frontispiece was composed by the

Ming dynasty poet and government official Li Dongyang (1447-1516).

As we can see, most of the identified seals (as well as the frontispiece) come from

an age much later than Wu Zhens death in 1354, and the majority of people who

stamped their seals lived in the period in and after the 17th

century (when Dong

Qichangs Northern and Southern school theory has become an established orthodox and

Wu Zhen has been recognized according to this theory as one of the four great masters of

the Yuan dynasty). This may be explained by two circumstances: (1) Wu Zhens

remoteness during his lifetime, as Sun Zuo (ca. 1340-1424) commented in his Cang luo

ji According to my observation, Zhonggui is a hermit. His interest is usually in the

mountains and forests, therefore his brushstrokes bear the peaceful and distant character,

and lac the spirit of the aristocrats and their followers.36 Therefore he may not have had

many acquaintances in his lifetime to share his paintings. (2) The unpopularity of Wu

Zhens paintings during his lifetime, as Dong Qichang commented on one of the

fisherman paintings ascribed to Wu Zhen [Wu Zhen was originally living next door to

36

Sun Zuo (14th century), Cang luo ji. Wen yuan ge Si ku quan shu dian zi ban (Xianggang: Di zhi wen hua chu ban you xian gong si; Taibei Shi: Han zhen tu shu suo ying gong si zong jing xiao,

2006, electronic book, volume 3), 6.

25

Sheng [Mao] Zizhao. The number of people coming from everywhere to purchase [Sheng

Mao Zizhaos paintings with gold and sil is great, whereas [Wu Zhen Zhongguis door

is rarely noc ed on. [Wu Zhens wife therefore laughed at him. [Wu Zhen Zhonggui

said: 'It will not be like this in twenty years.' It turned out to be what Wu Zhen has

predicted.37

The two reasons just cited contributed to the result that when Sun Zuo, a lover of

Wu Zhens paintings, searched in Wu Zhens hometown for three years for his paintings

not long after Wu death, he was frustrated in finding none When I (Sun Zuo) stayed in

Xiuzhou (Jiaxing, Wu Zhens hometown) for three years, and visited all the scholar-

officials to find Wu Zhens paintings, I did not find one. So in the next hundred years,

how few people will know and like his paintings? In the summer of the jiachen year of

the Zhizheng reign (1364), my friend Zhang Xiangnan brought me an ink bamboo

painting from his relative Xuan Los collection and said You have always loved

Zhongguis paintings, please inscribe on it.38 From Sun Zuos recording in his cang luo

ji, Wu Zhen was neither sociable nor well-admired during his life time. Therefore it is

possible that Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion was created by Wu Zhen, but was

little known until Shen Zhou (1427-1509) rediscovered it and composed the colophon

next to the inscription I love the Old Man of the Plum-blossom, who inherited the

secrets of Ch-jan from heart to heart. In cultivating this "water and ink kinship" he was

able to endow everything with a touch of aged mellowness. Trees and rocks seem to fall

37

Yu Fengqing (17th century), Yu Fengqing Shu hua ti ba ji [Records of Inscriptions on Paintings and Calligraphies] (Shanghai: Shen zhou guo guang Press, 1911, volume 8), 8.

38 Sun Zuo (14th century), Cang luo ji. Wen yuan ge Si ku quan shu dian zi ban (Xianggang:

Di zhi wen hua chu ban you xian gong si; Taibei Shi: Han zhen tu shu suo ying gong si zong jing xiao,

2006, electronic book, volume 3), 6-7.

26

from his brush [so effortlessly] that even nature itself could hardly deny their emergence.

So now, under the grove of the oak trees, I am willing to serve him with all humility.

Shen Chou, a later follower.39

Visual analysis

When entering the handscroll from the lower right corner where a series of mounds

with moss on them in the foreground and a grove of trees in the background leave

between them a path in the middle ground for the viewer to travel through, the viewer is

directed to enter a level pictorial plane where the slightly tilted mounds in the foreground

and the sparse vegetation in the background are not far away from each other, which

suggests the shallow depth and intimate character of the handscroll. The viewer then

encounters a comparatively prominent element, a huge Taihu stone in the middle ground

next to the mounds. The porous scholars roc may not be as tall as it seems, but its

position in the middle ground renders it larger than the groves of trees in the background

to its right. Here the natural elements (mounds, trees) meet the human elements (the

scholars roc ). The prominence of the scholars roc may be a hint for the viewer who

will soon discover the true theme of the painting to be the scholars retreat instead of a

larger landscape. Before encountering the thatched pavilion which is the center of the

pictorial plane, the viewers encounter with the scholars roc (which takes the place of

the central mountain that usually occupies the dominant position in a landscape painting

following the high distance scheme) may make him more aware of the intimate nature

of the painting, and thus not expecting any towering elements which are frequently

thought of as essential to a Chinese landscape painting. The rugged contour of the

39

Translated by Wai-kam Ho. http://www.clevelandart.org/art/1963.259.

27

scholars roc resembles the shape of the barren mountains that bear more stones than

vegetation and are typical for the landscape in north China, as depicted in Guo Xis Early

Spring.

The scholars roc immensity and its combination with the thatched pavilion remind

one of Wang Mengs Bamboo Cottage by Lake Tai/Retreat at Ju-qu (Figure 32) in which

the huge and odd-loo ing scholars roc s serve to accentuate the unique scenery by La e

Tai and hint at the hermit scholars life in nature. Similar the foreground rocks in Wang

Mengs Bamboo Cottage by Lake Tai, where the rocks serve as a visual device that acts

as an extension of the mountains around the lake and help shape the waterway (and thus

offers an accessible path for the viewer), the scholars roc in Poetic Feeling in a

Thatched Pavilion also serves as an extension of the mounds and helps lead the viewer to

travel past it and arrive at the thatched pavilion. Here the scholars roc functions as

obstructive scenery (zhang jing) which frequents the plan of the private gardens in

southeast China and which temporarily blocks the view of the visitor so that the sceneries

will be not revealed all at once and adds steps and flavor to the viewing experience.

Though the two scholars are only conversing in the bower, we can imagine them drinking

tea or tasting wine and viewing the distant landscape through the porous surfaces of the

scholars rock in front of the pavilion while the vapor of the hot tea or wine which looks

like mist circling mountainsides blurs the contours of the rock.

When the viewer has passed the scholars roc and travels on, he arrives at the

thatched pavilion in the middle ground in which two scholars are conversing on two stone

stools and two servants are waiting for them outside the pavilion. Here the foreground

elements are reduced to minimum and more trees and vegetation appear in the

28

background which, though taller than the rightmost grove, do not appear protruding for

their crowns reach only up to three-quarters of the vertical space. There is also some

space between the groves of trees which leaves more room for the pavilion. The grove

scene combined with the inscription the woods being deep, birds are happy leads the

viewer to imagine sparrows twittering in the copses and cranes rambling outside the

pavilion and resting beside the rocks.

The brushwork depicting the pavilion and the figures is concise and allusive instead

of representational: several long, dark, continuous strokes sketch the roof and four pillars

of the pavilion; shorter, lighter, denser brushstrokes describe the thatched nature of the

roof and depict the floor and the platform supporting the pavilion made of chunks of

stones; brief, dark brushstrokes are applied to depict the four human figures, their gowns

and headgear and staff, but the brushwork is so concise that no facial features or

expressions are readable.

The two scholar figures are tiny in size and are enclosed in the pavilion in the stage-

like open and spacious middle ground among the trees, mounds and rocks. The figures

are small and surrounded by trees and mounds and thus are reminiscent of Zhao

Mengfus The Mind Landscape of Xie Youyu (Figure 33), where the Western Jin scholar

Xie Youyus (280-322) simple and tiny figure is encircled yet not concealed by the

groves and natural scenery around him. Although the trees and the scholars roc in

Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion are all larger in size than the thatched pavilion, all

the natural elements serve as a backdrop of the pavilion and the human figures inside it,

for all the trees and the rock seem to be making way for the pavilion, receding and

poetic feeling in a thatched pavilion attributed to the chinese y

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