The Five Bulls is a jute color painting on paper created by Han Di in the Tang Dynasty, also known as the Five Bulls of Tang Han, which is now in the Palace Museum in Beijing.
The five cows in the "Five Bulls Diagram" are lined up from right to left, each with different shapes and postures. The whole picture has no background except for a small tree on the last right, so each cow can be divided into a separate chapter.
"Five Bulls" is one of the top ten famous paintings in China, one of the few authentic paper silk paintings passed down from the Tang Dynasty, and it is also the oldest Surviving Chinese painting on paper.
《Five Bulls Diagram》
This work of white linen paper, 20.8 cm in length and 139.8 cm in width, draws five cows with different looks, personalities and ages on the horizontal scroll.
There is no author name on the scroll of the "Five Bulls", and on the back paper of the tail, there are inscriptions of Zhao Mengfu, Kong Kebiao, Xiang Yuanbian, Hongli, Jin Nong, and other fourteen families from the Yuan and the Ming to the Qing. Books such as "Qinghe Calligraphy and Painting Ship", "Coral Net", "Yu's Calligraphy and Painting Inscription", "Notes on LiuYanzhai", "Records of the Great View", and "Continuation of Shiqu Baoji" have been included. The identity of the "Five Bulls" should be clear and unambiguous. Qianlong's inscription in the painting is "One cow and four cattle, between the lofty imagination of Hongjing; the licking of the gong is only exaggerated, and it is difficult to understand the people because of the questions."
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, there were gradually more painters who created with cattle and horses as the main objects of expression, and by the middle and late Tang Dynasty, they reached a climax, and many painters were famous for painting cows and horses.
The "Five Bulls Diagram" is said to have been painted by Han Di who witnessed the scene of cultivating cattle in the field when he was traveling, and Han Di saw several cultivating cattle eating grass with their heads down, and a shepherd boy riding on the back of the cow playing the flute. In the distance, I saw a cultivating cow running forward, and several other cultivating cattle chirping on their toes. Some turn their heads and lick their tongues, some look down for grass. Han Di then ordered his entourage to take out a pen and paper and concentrate on quickly writing out a picture of cultivating cattle. After more than a month of repeated revisions, Han Di finally painted five cows with different shapes and named the painting "Five Bulls Map".
Some experts have researched that Han Di's "Five Bull Diagram" is permeated with strong personal feelings, and the five bulls refer to their five brothers, with the character of a heavy-handed, hard-working and docile cow, expressing the true feeling of loving tongzhongjun. The history books record that during Han Di's tenure as prime minister, he paid great attention to the development of agriculture, and his painting of cattle is also likely to contain the intention of encouraging farming.
The "Five Bull Map" once flowed into the Southern Song Dynasty, and was collected by Zhao Bo'ang, Zhao Mengfu, Prince Yuan and others in the Yuan Dynasty, and was collected by Xiang Yuanbian in the Ming Dynasty, and was hidden in the Wang Clan Qiushi Zhai in Tongxiang, Zhejiang Province, and Jin Nong twice watched the "Five Bull Diagram", the last time in December of the eleventh year of Qianlong (1746). Since then, the "Five Bulls" has flowed into the Qing Palace. In 1900, the Eight-Power Alliance sacked the Forbidden City, and the "Five Bulls" was robbed abroad, and there has been no news since.
"Five Bulls" was bought by Hong Kong entrepreneur Wu Yusun after several turns. In the early 1950s, Wu's enterprises were on the verge of bankruptcy and decided to sell "Five Bull Chart". After the news broke, Premier Zhou Enlai received a letter from a patriot saying that the "Five Bull Map" appeared in Hong Kong and he could not afford to buy it, hoping that the central government would pay for the recovery of the national treasure as soon as possible. Premier Zhou immediately issued instructions to the Ministry of Culture to identify the authenticity and buy them back at all costs, and instructed reliable personnel to be sent to escort them to ensure the safety of cultural relics. After receiving the instructions, the Ministry of Culture immediately organized experts to go to Hong Kong to verify that the "Five Bull Map" was indeed authentic, and after many negotiations, it was finally sold for HK$60,000.
Although the famous paintings returned to the motherland, they experienced upheavals and displacements, and the picture was covered with dust and scars, and there were hundreds of large and small holes. On January 28, 1977, the volume of "Five Bulls" was sent to the Cultural Relics Restoration Factory of the Palace Museum, and was presided over by Mr. Sun Chengzhi, an expert in mounting painting. After washing the dirt, the painting heart is washed, revealed, scraped, supplemented, made innings, cuts, supporting the heart and other steps, and then the color of the hole in the painting heart is completed, and then it is mounted, covered, polished, etc., and framed into a roll with Xuanhe-style collision edges. Eight months later, the acceptance team gave a high evaluation, believing that the picture scroll was fully colored and the pen did not show the slightest trace at the supplement, and it maintained unity with the original painting, the mounting was excellent, the mounting was flat and beautiful, and it reached a high level of mounting and restoration.
Han Di (723–787), courtesy name Taichong, was a native of Chang'an (present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi) during the Tang Dynasty. After four generations from Emperor Xuanzong to Emperor Dezong, he was the son of Han Xiu, the chancellor of the Tang Dynasty, and served as the prime minister and the envoy of the two Zhejiang Jiedushi during the Tang Dynasty, and was made the Duke of Jin. He is a politician of the landlord class who supports reunification and opposes separatism and division. He is good at painting people and animals, writing about cattle, sheep, donkeys and other animals with vivid looks, especially painting cows "to the fullest". The cows he painted, with a real and vivid posture, have a thick and simple style. It is famous for the customs of the Eida family and cattle and sheep.
"Five Bulls" special stamps
In order to reflect the long and splendid art of Chinese painting, China Post is scheduled to issue a set of 5 special stamps of "Five Bulls" and 1 miniature sheet (without perforations) on March 20, 2021.
(5-1) T Five Bull Diagram (Partial)
(5-1) T depicts an old brown cow biting something while rubbing and tickling next to a miscellaneous tree, with a leisurely attitude.
(5-2) T five-bull diagram (partial)
(5-2) T depicts a black and white hybrid cow with a strong body, a wagging tail, and a steady walk.
(5-3) T Five Bull Diagram (Partial)
(5-3) T depicts a dark ochre old cow, with rugged bones, a longitudinal roar, a white mouth and eyebrows, and an old dragon bell.
(5-4) T Five Bull Diagram (Partial)
(5-4) T, depicting a scalper with a tall body and towering horns, looking back.
(5-5) T Five Bull Chart (Partial)
(5-5) T, the fifth cow, stands tall, has a rich posture, is thoughtful, and his eyes flow with a stubborn personality.
Miniature sheet five-cow diagram
The set of stamps "Five Bulls" was designed by Wang Huming, and according to the layout of the five cows in the original painting, a variety of ticket frames were adopted, and the small sheets adopted large-sized tickets, which fully demonstrated the characteristics of the five cows with different shapes and attitudes.
The overall design is simple and elegant, and the stamp micro-carving die-cutting perforation process is combined with the small sheet-free perforation design, which reproduces the delicate and subtle artistic characteristics of the "Five Bull Diagram" and the combination of shape and spirit in the square inches.