Zhou Lang, Zi BoGao, Curling Painting Cain. During the reign of Emperor Yuan Shun, he was a court painter who was good at painting Kurama and also painting women. The painted lady has a plump and dignified face, a fluttering belt, graceful and colorful, and the clothes are delicately fluttered with a pen, which has a Tang dynasty heritage. Regarding Zhou Lang's life and deeds, there are few historical records. The most famous of these is the second year of the Reign of the Yuan Shun Emperor (1342), when the Pope of Rome sent emissaries to Dadu (present-day Beijing) to offer the Flang state horse, and Zhou Lang was entrusted with a picture.
Zhou Lang "The Falang Kingdom Dedication Horse Figure" Mingren facsimile
Among the works painted by Zhou Lang, "Du Qiu Tu" is the only surviving masterpiece of his today, and it is also a representative work of his female paintings.
"Du Qiu Tu", colored on paper, 32.5 cm in length and 28.5 cm in width, depicts a Tang dynasty woman standing with a row of flutes. The paper at the end of the volume is kangli wei (1295-1345) writing Du Mu's "Du Qiu Niang Poem", Zhi Yun: To the second year of the Yuan Dynasty, on the twenty-fourth day of the first month of the first month, curling for Yu painted Du Qiu Niang, and wrote Du Muzhi's poems after it. On February 17, Zi shan zhi. According to this, this picture was made by Zhou Lang for Kangli in the second year of the Shun Emperor (1336).
Kang Li Wei Wei Title Zhou Lang "Du Qiu Niang Picture Scroll"
The painting was created on the 24th day of the first lunar month of the second year of the Yuan Dynasty, and is a portrait made by Zhou Lang for the characters in Du Mu's "Du Qiu Niang's Poems". Du Mu took advantage of Du Qiuniang's encounter to lament the impermanence of honor and humiliation, from "two dynasties honoring motherhood" to "being a concubine spring and yellow rice", and associating it with "Xiao Hou went to Yangzhou, suddenly Que became a Fu clan, the woman was uncertain, and the Shilin was also difficult", in order to lament the bleakness of his prospects. Among the literati and inkers of later generations, there are also many people who borrow Du Qiuniang's story as a metaphor for sentimentality, so she has also become a well-known image.
The fate of a legendary life
Du Mu wrote in the "Preface to Du Qiuniang's Poems": "Du Qiuniang, Jinling people also. In the fifteenth year, she was a concubine of Li Qi. Hou Hao rebelled and borrowed it to enter the palace, and was favored by Jingling (referring to Tang Xianzong). Emperor Muzong ascended the throne and made Qiu the Crown Prince Fu Mu. Crown Prince Zhuang, Fengzhang King. Zheng Zhu used things, falsely accused those who wanted to go to themselves, and pointed out that the king was the root. The king was abolished by sin, and Qiu Yin returned to his hometown. After giving Jinling, feeling poor and old, he wrote poetry for it. Autumn returned to his hometown. According to the "Preface to Du Qiuniang's Poems", it can be understood that Du Qiuniang was a Jinling woman, and when she was fifteen years old, Zhenhai Jiedu made Li Kun buy her into the palace as a song and dance prostitute with heavy money. Du Qiuniang was multi-talented and composed a song "Golden Silk Dress", which won the love of Li Kun and took her as a concubine, and changed Du Li's original name to "Du Qiu Niang". Later, Li Kui raised an army against Tang and was killed, and Du Qiuniang entered the palace as a slave. Once Du Qiuniang performed "Golden Silk Dress" for Tang Xianzong, and Xianzong was deeply infected. The two fell in love, and Du Qiuniang was given the title of Qiu Concubine. Unexpectedly, in the fifteenth year of Yuan He, Emperor Xianzong suddenly died in the palace, and some people rumored that the internal servant Hongzhi deliberately plotted to kill, but at that time, the eunuch had exclusive power, and the matter was not resolved. The twenty-four-year-old crown prince Li Heng was enthroned as Emperor Muzong of Tang, and Du Qiuniang was responsible for taking care of his crown prince Li Zhao. Li Heng was and absurd, addicted to sound and color dogs and horses, and died before he was thirty years old. The fifteenth crown prince Li Zhan succeeded to the throne as Emperor Jingzong of Tang, who only knew how to hunt and play, ignored state affairs, and was soon assassinated in the palace. By this time, Li Zhuo had already been made the Prince of Zhang, so his brother Li Ang succeeded him as Emperor Wenzong of Tang. Du Qiuniang saw the three emperors dying violently in succession, and they would be killed by eunuchs. In the first year of Emperor Wenzong's reign (828), there was a conflict between the eunuch Wang Shoucheng and the chancellor Song Shenxi's faction. Therefore, he conspired with the chancellor Song Shenxi and decided to get rid of the eunuch Wang Shoucheng and make Li Zhuan emperor. The eunuchs had many eyes and ears, and the plan was known to Wang Shoucheng, and the result was that Li Zhuo was demoted to a commoner, Song Shenxi was made Sima of Jiangzhou, and Du Qiuniang was also reduced to a civilian and returned to her hometown of Jiangnan, where the situation was sad and ended her years of "folding flowers".
The New Book of Tang and the Biography of Li Deyu says: "Du Zhongyang, the adoptive mother of King Zhang, returned to western Zhejiang, and there was an edict in question. The Old Book of Tang, Biography of Li Deyu, says: In the eighth year of Yamato (834), Li Deyu went to Runzhou, "And the edict arranged for du Zhongyang, a palace man, to be supplied to the Taoist Temple... In March of the ninth year, Zuo Cheng Wang Bian and Hubu Shilang Li Hanjin, on Deyu in the town, Hou Zhao Zhongyang, Jietuo Zhangwang, the picture is wrong." It can be seen that after Du Qiuniang was released and returned to Runzhou, she had no relatives, no children, no daughters, and no home, and could only live in the Taoist Temple and rely on the government to provide for her. Most scholars believe that when Li Deyu was in Runzhou, Du Qiuniang's life may have been guaranteed. After Li Deyu was relieved of the zhejiang western observation envoy for the crime of "generous bribes to Zhongyang", the successor officials must have some scruples even if they wanted to "supply", so it was inferred that Du Qiuniang's life must have been very hard at this time. When Du Mu passed through Runzhou, he "felt that he was poor and old, and wrote poetry for it." The poem says: "Return to the four neighbors to change, Maoyuan grass Feifei." The blood is not exhausted, yang tianzhi asks whom? Winter clothes a horse, night to borrow neighbors machine. "Du Qiuniang has to rely on her own weaving and sewing clothes, but the loom has to borrow from the neighbors, and can only weave at night when the neighbors do not use the loom. She was poor and bored, and you can imagine it.
Zhou Lang Du Qiu Niang of "Du Qiu Tu"
Du Qiuniang, who is endowed with imagery
In Zhou Lang's "Du Qiu Tu", Du Qiu Niang wears Tang costumes, combs high buns, and has a plump body, which has the characteristics of a Tang Dynasty lady. She holds the hoop in her hand, her expression is calm, and her heart is worried. The painter Zhou Lang uses thin and smooth lines to depict the long belt of the figure's tunic, presenting his superb painting skills and flowing style. At this time, it was a portrait of her entering the palace to serve the crown prince, to dispel the depressed state of mind with a flute. The characters are rich in appearance and beautiful in appearance, and the image portrayal is concise and evocative. The overall color of the picture is clear and dull, which is different from the Tang People's previous heavy color method, and more appropriately highlights Du Qiuniang's indifferent life.
From the perspective of creation, "Du Qiu Tu" is thematically prominent, without any lining embellishment, and only depicts Du Qiu's sideways contemplation. The author uses the artistic technique of metaphor to successfully create a vivid image of Du Qiu according to poetry. Her graceful and plump posture and Tang costumes show the characteristics of Du Qiu's era, the elaborate headdress on the bun hints at her identity and status, and the flute in her hand reveals her inner cultural accomplishment.
"Du Qiu Tu" is similar to the characters in Zhou Fang's "Fan Lady Figure" in the Tang Dynasty in terms of character modeling. Du Qiu's thick hair was neatly combed, the forehead was not loose, the duck egg-shaped face, Dan phoenix eyes, the high bridge of the nose, the lips were small and plump, and the face did not have too much expression. The body is plump, and the straight-barreled long skirt covers the curve of his waist, showing the aesthetic consciousness of the Tang Dynasty women's paintings.
Zhou Fang, "Fan Lady Picture Scroll"
In terms of expression techniques, "Du Qiu Tu" is influenced by the white drawing method since the Song Dynasty, Zhou Lang through the "lettuce drawing" and "iron line drawing" expressive techniques, combined with the Tang Dynasty Zhang Xuan, Zhou Fang's "qin string drawing" and Wu Daozi's "orchid leaf drawing", the Du Qiuniang who had experienced a political storm was portrayed beautifully, fully demonstrating the author's understanding of lines and skillful use ability. The contours of the characters' faces are outlined with fine and uniform ink lines, and the lines are soft and rigid on the outside, full of elasticity, which has the charm of "Wu Belt Dangfeng". With simple and condensed lines, the characters' eyebrows and cheeks are outlined, the eyes that are full of thoughts are pointed out, and the high bun dyed with thick ink blends together set off Du Qiu's fair face and delicate smooth skin. The pattern of the clothes is expressed by two kinds of lines, curved and straight, and the straight lines are decisive, fluttering, strong and powerful, and the curves are continuous and graceful. The organic combination of the two lines successfully expresses the soft and falling texture of the lining. The shawl on the shoulders of the characters is outlined with fine and flowing lines, which not only shows the light and flowing beauty of the ribbon, but also makes the picture more lively with its movement, which is quite in harmony with the theme of the tang dynasty women.
In the Yuan Dynasty, historical figure painting was not developed, and it can be said that in the figure painting at that time, Daoshi character painting became the big end. Therefore, Zhou Lang's "Du Qiu Tu" has a special value: it is very precious as an example.