Qiu Ying's only surviving large-scale panoramic landscape "Autumn River To Be Crossed" is on display again!
Exhibition posters
The last time was at the 2017 Taipei National Palace "The Formation of National Treasures" calligraphy and painting essence exhibition, together with Wang Xizhi's "Qing Ti in the Fast Snow", Wu Zhen's "Double Pine Diagram", Wen Tong's "Ink bamboo map" and other 45 works were exhibited together.
From April 2 to June 29, it will be exhibited in "solo" in Room 208 of the North Campus of the National Palace Museum in Taipei – a painting can be used exclusively in an exhibition hall, which may become a blessing for the "museum fatigue" patients.
Ming Qiuying, "Autumn River To Be Crossed", 155.4x133.4cm Silk Now in: National Palace Museum, Taipei
If the most "eye-catching" of all the exhibitions in the National Palace in Taipei some time ago is Tang Xuanzong's only surviving inkblot "Ode to the Partridge", then from April 2, "Autumn River To Be Crossed" may be able to help "Ode to the Partridge" to "share" some of the enthusiasm of the audience.
Part of Tang Li Longji's "Ode to the Partridge" Is in the collection: National Palace Museum, Taipei
Compared with the imperial work "Ode to the Partridge", "QiuJiang To Be Crossed" also shows a kind of grandeur that spans the times.
It can be seen that on the picture with the water feature as the center of gravity, the river bank is flat and far away, the distant mountains are majestic, and the landscape space is extended diagonally in a Z-shaped direction, highlighting the compositional characteristics of the panoramic landscape painting of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Part of "Autumn River To Be Crossed"
The mountain stone is written nearly axe splitting, and the color is strong. Qiu Ying applied a light and quiet turquoise color on the surface of the mountain, making the mountain stone as clear as jasper. The waterline of the mountain is interspersed with red and green trees, which vividly reflects the texture of the mountain stones and the colorful autumn day.
Part of "Autumn River To Be Crossed"
In the thick autumn colors, "Autumn River Waiting to Be Crossed" takes the wild ferry port under the high mountain as the stage and stages a drama of tourists crossing the river.
In the foreground, the white-clad scribe sitting on the edge of the mountain stone looked happy and thoughtful, and the family, fans and children leading the horse formed a set of homely conversations around them.
Part of "Autumn River To Be Crossed"
Echoing them were the ferrymen on the other side: the two passengers who had boarded the ship were discussing something, one saying and the other listening; a backpack of young men on the shore striding forward, as if just in time to catch the boat, and laughing.
Part of "Autumn River To Be Crossed"
As the invisible protagonist of the whole story, "hope on both sides of the river", the boatman reveals a vivid back of a young man who is reaching out and shouting for a young man to get on the boat.
The clear mountains, the panoramic composition full of pride, the rich and flexible characters... Qiu Yingrong's superb painting skills and the poetry of the scribes are integrated into the "Autumn River To Be Crossed", forming a new panoramic style that transcends tradition, which is refreshing.
But behind this national treasure calligraphy and painting, what stories are hidden? Did you know that it is also related to qiu Ying's artist struggle history? During the Republic of China, it was actually watched by tens of thousands of people? After 500 years, how did it become a national treasure?
■The counterattack of the painter! All-powerful professional painter in ancient times
There is a very special place in the "Autumn River To Be Crossed" - there is no inscription on the painting by the painter himself, and the only thing that can prove its identity is the seal of Qiu Ying and his contemporary collector Xiang Yuanbian. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, it was rare for literati to paint without inscription, why is this? This may start with Qiu Ying's profession.
Qing Li Yueyun's Portrait of Qiu Ying
There is a way that birth does not determine everything. Qiu Ying, who came from a lacquer, knew this well. Unlike other literati painters who have deep family roots, his parents are the most ordinary small craftsmen in the Jiangnan region. If placed in today's examination and research boom, Qiu Ying must be those struggling young people who hope to change their lives by pursuing a master's and doctoral degree.
He was not only diligent and studious, but also extremely talented, and when he was a teenager, he went to Suzhou alone to learn art, and gradually achieved a small success in painting, which was also appreciated by the local painter group. Under the introduction of Wen Zhiming, a senior in the painting world, he met Zhou Chen, a painter in Suzhou who mainly focused on the direction of figure and landscape painting, and while studying from famous teachers, he also obtained the opportunity to enter the Jiangnan art market as a famous disciple and literati painter.
Qiu Ying's "Song Yin Qin Ruan Tu" is in the collection: National Palace Museum, Taipei
Qiu Ying's "Map of the Upper River of the Qingming Dynasty" Is in the collection: Liaoning Provincial Museum
He sells paintings while improving himself. Driven by the aesthetic needs of the market and his own experience of reading Song and Yuan calligraphy and paintings, he became an all-round professional painter, who could compose no matter the landscape of the characters or the freehand brushwork. This comprehensive development has brought many business opportunities to his career, and he has also met an important patron, Xiang Yuanbian.
Ming Matu"Xiang Yuanbi Image Page" Now in the collection: Shanghai Museum
As the "resident painter" of the Xiang family, Qiu Ying tailored many works for Xiang Yuanbian, such as "Xiang Molin's Small Portrait", "Linsong Xiaozhao Gaozong RuiyingTu", "Filial Piety Diagram", "Sword Pavilion Diagram" and so on.
Qiu Ying's "Sword Pavilion Diagram" In the collection: Shanghai Museum
At the same time, only Qiu Ying himself and Xiang Yuanbi's seal of the "Autumn River To Be Crossed Map" was most likely also made by Qiu Ying when he was in XiangFu. So, in this work, why is there no painter's knowledge? Is this more common in Qiu Ying's paintings?
"Autumn River To Be Crossed" Part Qiu Ying Seal "Ten States"
"Qiu Jiang to be crossed" part of xiangyuan bian seal "xiangshi zijing"
An Qi, a Qing Dynasty collector who once collected 18 works by Qiu Ying, believes that in the works he saw, as long as they were copied paintings of the ancients, there was no inscription.
The "Autumn River To Be Crossed" does have traces of ancients in terms of composition and brushwork: mainly Wang Yi, there are also the shadows of Song Dynasty masters such as Li Tang and Liu Songnian. From the perspective of themes, the theme of "waiting to be crossed" also has ancient meanings.
"Waiting to be crossed" refers to the specific behavior of pedestrians waiting for ships to cross the river on the shore, and has a relatively rich cultural connotation in poetry and painting, such as expressing the loneliness of travel, the lack of talent of the magi, the ideal life of seclusion and so on.
It began to sprout from the fifth generation, and by the Song Dynasty it has become a relatively mature painting subject, such as Dong Yuan's "Xia Jing Shan Pass To Be Crossed", Zhao Lingyong's "Spring River To Be Crossed", Song Ren's "Autumn Creek To Be Crossed", "Cold Forest to Be Crossed", Li Tang's "Autumn River To Be Crossed", qian Xuan's "Autumn River To Be Crossed". It can be said that "to be crossed" is actually a more traditional theme.
Yuan Qianxuan's "Qiu Jiang To Be Crossed" is now in the collection: The Palace Museum in Beijing
Therefore, Anqi's judgment may be preferable. "Qiu Jiang To Be Crossed" may also be a very wonderful "commercial manuscript" with an antique nature created by Qiu Ying in his career.
■ More than 400,000 people watched: a transnational tour of calligraphy and painting in the Forbidden City
During the Years of the Republic of China, how many people can watch a piece of Forbidden City calligraphy and painting at most?
You know, before that, the treasure of the court's calligraphy and paintings could only be enjoyed by the emperor alone. And back to the time before entering the Qing Palace in Tibet, the "Qiu Jiang To Be Crossed" seems to have only been handed over by Xiang Yuanbian, Cai Qi, and An Qi. That is to say, the previous "exposure rate" of "Autumn River To Be Crossed" is actually not high.
The inscription of the Qianlong Emperor in the "Autumn River to Be Crossed"
However, around 1935, nearly 400,000 people saw this royal collection of Qiu Ying calligraphy and painting in public places, because it participated in three exhibitions of Chinese cultural relics held in Shanghai, London and Nanjing that year and the following year.
On December 29, 1935, a reporter from the North China Daily excitedly reported on the grand event of the "London International Exhibition of Chinese Art" in London. After holding a preview in Shanghai and garnering 60,000 visitors, the exhibition crossed the ocean to London and welcomed nearly 80,000 visitors in just three weeks.
Around Christmas, even if people are busy shopping for "New Year goods", nearly 1,500 spectators still come to visit every day.
Among these exhibitions, which cover the collections of the Palace Museum and the antiquities exhibition, the "Autumn River To Be Crossed" is prominently listed.
In 1935, the Beiyang Pictorial newspaper reported on the "Autumn River To Be Crossed"
With these figures alone, it is difficult to concretely imagine the excitement of the exhibition and the attractiveness of Chinese cultural relics at home and abroad. But there is a viewer named "Kang Jun", perhaps his words can lead us closer to this "traveling exhibition" that is watched by thousands of people.
In June 1936, "Kang Jun" bought tickets for the Nanjing Station of the China Art Exhibition in London for 5 dimes. It is also the last stop on the exhibition's world tour.
Kang Jun "went to the antiquities exhibition with a warm mood." In the exhibition hall, following the exhibition line, Kang Jun walked into the first exhibition hall. This exhibition hall is the exhibition room of Ming and Qing Dynasty calligraphy and paintings, and many fine products are dazzling, so that Kang Jun can't help but sigh "good multi-pole mile!" ”
Scene of the Chinese Art Exhibition in London Image source: "Declaration Monthly", Vol. 4, No. 5, 1935
Kang Jun was like a green walker surrounded by a hundred flowers, counting the flowers one by one. "Like Tang Bohu's "Songsheng of mountain roads", Cui Zizhong's "Tongyin Bogutu"... Qiu Ying's "Autumn River to Be Crossed" is so precious... Qiu Ying's works are exquisitely precious, and people can't bear to let him go. ”
Kang Jun's visit to the flowers also means that the identity of "Qiu Jiang To Be Crossed" has changed from a collection that can only be enjoyed in private occasions to a "modern" exhibit in the modern museum exhibition mode. Landscape paintings that were once possible to touch and play with in one's hands can now only be viewed from a distance across a police cordon.
Shanghai Preview of The Chinese Art Exhibition in London "Ming and Qing Dynasty Calligraphy and Paintings" Exhibition Hall Picture source: Zhonghua (Shanghai), No. 34, 1935
From the emperor's private collection to the public display in the exhibition, what has "Autumn River to Be Crossed" experienced?
The story of the overthrow of the monarchy and the confiscation of the royal collection need not be repeated. In 1934, the National Government in Nanjing decided to accept the British government's proposal to select a batch of Chinese cultural relics to be exhibited in London. They organized a group of experts such as Wu Hufan, Ye Gongqiu, Xu Bangda, Rong Geng, etc. to serve as committee members and be responsible for the selection of exhibits, hoping to show the best cultural relics in China and the most representative of the essence of Chinese civilization to the world.
Wang Shijie, the minister of education at the time, was in charge of the project, and after many letters with Cai Yuanpei, who was then the chairman of the National Beiping Palace Museum, he collected 170 pieces of Forbidden City calligraphy and paintings, and the "Autumn River To Be Crossed" was also among them.
However, once the news of the upcoming London Art Fair was announced, it caused some doubtful voices in China. Some experts and scholars are worried that the selection is not a fine product, and some people are worried that cultural relics will be directly sold to other countries after going to sea.
In order to dispel people's doubts, the National Government in Nanjing decided to hold a preview exhibition in Shanghai before launching in London, so that the Chinese people can feast their eyes first. They promised to continue the exhibition in Nanjing after the exhibition in London.
Shanghai Preview Entrance of The London China Art Fair Image source: Zhonghua (Shanghai), No. 34, 1935
On April 7, 1935, the Shanghai Preview of the Chinese Art Exhibition in London opened as scheduled. It is strange that people come to the former site of the Bank of China on Renji Road on the Bund and find that the collections of the Palace Museum and the Antiquities Exhibition Hall are open to the public!
The more bizarre things are, the more they can arouse people's attention. As a result, the exhibition attracted nearly 60,000 visitors in the 29 days after its opening. But this short period of 29 days really can't satisfy people's desire to learn the paintings of the ancients.
With the shanghai preview closing and the cultural relics shipped to London, "Autumn River To Be Crossed" also began its European journey. As mentioned earlier, overseas journalists reported on the unprecedented pomp and circumstance of the London exhibition, and according to the statistics after the exhibition, nearly 420,000 people "clocked in" for this rare exhibition of Chinese cultural relics.
That is to say, perhaps around 1935, more than 400,000 people admired Qiu Ying's "Autumn River To Be Crossed".
■500 years of waiting, Isasai "National Treasure"
After hundreds of years of ups and downs, several ferrymen waiting to cross the river may have left by boat, and "Autumn River Waiting to Be Crossed" has entered the warehouse of the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Now it has some traces of age: the mounting aya is slightly damaged, and this painting also has some creases, water stains, mildew and insect moths, but it is still difficult to hide its "beauty".
Part of "Autumn River To Be Crossed"
In 2015, the "Autumn River To Be Crossed" was designated as a "national treasure".
So, how did it get this honor?
First of all, it is large in scale, and at the same time, in the style of Song painting, it depicts panoramic landscapes, which is unique in Qiu Ying's surviving works.
Secondly, the judging experts believe that "Qiu Jiang To Be Crossed" reflects Qiu Ying's appreciation and reinterpretation of the landscape paintings of the two Song Dynasties, in which Qiu Ying shows super high skills for characters, mountain stones, composition and other aspects, which should be the work of Qiu Ying's ingenuity.
Because it meets the several major criteria of the national treasure evaluation - with special artistic attainments, excellent quality and rare quantity, with special historical, cultural and artistic value, "Qiu Jiang To Be Crossed" has won its "national treasure" seat, which has attracted more people's attention and research.
Part of "Autumn River To Be Crossed"
On April 2, 2022, it was a new day for the "National Treasure Focus" special exhibition of the National Palace Museum in Taipei. The special exhibition is an exhibition set up by the National Palace Museum in Taipei to show its achievements in promoting the grading of antiquities, and from 2020 onwards, each time 2 pieces (groups) of national treasure-level calligraphy and paintings are exhibited, and the exhibition period is based on the principle of three months, and the exhibits are replaced regularly.
"National Treasure Spotlight" special series posters
All the calligraphy and paintings that have been exhibited are familiar to everyone, such as the calligraphy erzha of the great poet Lin Kui, known as "Mei Wife Crane", the "Book Ruler" of Cai Xiang, the calligrapher of the Song Dynasty, and the "Splash ink immortal" of Liang Kai, the founder of stick figure painting, Huang Tingjian's "Flower Smoke People's Thesis" and Wu Zhen's "Ink Bamboo Spectrum"...
Southern Song Dynasty Liang Kai's "Splashing Ink Immortals" Now in the collection: National Palace Museum, Taipei
However, this exhibition broke the exhibition pattern that lasted for 2 years, and only exhibited a painting and calligraphy of "Autumn River To Be Crossed".
When you stand in Room 208 of the Northern Branch of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, looking at this only exhibit across the glass, I don't know what kind of mood you will have? Indulge in the jade-like clear mountains, or marvel at the grandeur of the panoramic landscape, or enter the perspective of the waiting for the ferry and take a look at the landscape?
Part of "Autumn River To Be Crossed"
But in any case, after 500 years of "Autumn River To Be Crossed", it has remained unchanged, whether it is in Xiang Yuanbian's private collection, Qianlong's warehouse, the London Chinese Art Exhibition, or in this quiet exhibition room of the National Palace in Taipei today, it silently uses a leaf boat to ferry the author, the viewer, and the person in the painting to the other shore between the high mountains and the wide water.
Resources:
1. The special page of the official website of the National Palace Museum in Taipei "Autumn River to Be Crossed"
2. Xu Ke, "Crossing the Water: The Schematic Characteristics and Spiritual Purpose of Qian Xuan's "Waiting to Cross" Diagram"
3. Chang Deqiang, "The Fusion of "Literary Atmosphere" and "Morale": The Social Generation of Qiu Ying's Painting Style"
4. Guo Hui, "Journey to National Treasures: 1935-1936 London International Exhibition of Chinese Art and Its Shanghai Preview"
5. North China Daily, December 29, 1935, fourth edition of "London Chinese Art Exhibition"
6. Xijing Daily, July 2, 1936, the fifth edition of "London Antiquities Visit"