The "National Treasure Exhibition" originated from two historical events that are extremely important in the history of Japanese culture. First, in 1897, Japan promulgated the first cultural relics protection law, the Koshaji Temple Preservation Act, to establish a grading standard for the concept of "national treasures", and in May of the same year, the Imperial Kyoto Museum (the predecessor of the Kyoto National Museum) was established. These two landmark events doomed 1897 to be an insurmountable and important year in the history of Japanese cultural preservation.
Autumn view of Kyoto Temple
The Shosoin Exhibition in Nara, Japan, is a four-season waiting for one session and one meeting, and the Kyoto National Treasure Exhibition is simply a rare opportunity. The exhibition is divided into thirteen categories according to different categories of artworks: Buddhist paintings, scrolls, portraits, medieval paintings, modern paintings, Chinese paintings, sculptures, metalworking, ceramics, dyeing fabrics, lacquerware, calligraphy, and archaeological artworks, spanning the entire development of Japanese art history from the Jomon period to the Edo period. In addition to the collection of 210 national treasures from major museums, art galleries, and various private foundation art galleries in Japan, the collection of ancient temples and temples with a long history should not be underestimated. First of all, the outline of Japanese art history is summarized as follows, and I believe that such information can better help the viewer to better understand the works and curatorial concepts.
Exterior view of the main hall of Horyu-ji Temple, Japan's first World Heritage Building
From the outline of Japanese art history, we can see the exhibits of the "National Treasure Exhibition"
The primitive era (pre-pottery culture, Jomon culture) was produced about 10,000 years ago. Most of the cultural objects that survived at this stage were all kinds of practical stone tools. Jomon-decorated stone pottery is the most typical artifact of this stage, made by the wheel method or painted with a painted watch.
Iron and bronze appeared in the Yayoi period, Japanese iron crafts preceded bronze, and Chinese bronze, treasure mirrors and other objects were excavated in ancient tombs in the Kyushu area. Yayoi's pottery is also representative, most of them are bright brown, solid and delicate in texture, and rich in shape.
Typical of the kofun period is the burial product, and the mound configuration of the wheel is the most typical, including the consumption of people, houses and other living expenses. Jade and metal craftsmanship are gradually enriched in materials and shapes. Techniques such as gilding, through-carving, inlaying, and fine-line craftsmanship and Chinese characters were gradually popularized from China.
Kyoto National Museum 120th Anniversary "National Treasure Exhibition" poster
The Asuka and White Phoenix era began in the first half of the 6th century and ended in 710 AD. The culture of the mainland, dominated by Buddhism and Confucianism, flourished under the influence of the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Wei and Jin Dynasties and the Sui and Tang Dynasties in China. Typical buildings represent the introduction and popularization of Chinese Tang Dynasty architectural styles by AsukaJi Temple and BanyuJi Temple (the predecessor of Horyu-ji Temple). Representative sculptures include the Asuka Buddha, the three statues of Shakya in the Golden Hall of Horyu-ji Temple, the Guanyin statue of the Dream Hall, the bronze statue of the Baekje Guanyin Statue, the golden bronze Statue of guanyin Bodhisattva at Guanxin Temple, and the three statues of the Medicine Master of the Golden Hall of the Medicine Master Temple. At this stage, Japanese calligraphy and Chinese characters were introduced, and the Chinese Wei and Jin Dynasties and Southern Dynasties were popular in the Asuka era. Prince Shengde's Hokage Yoshitsune (615) is the earliest japanese manuscript.
During the Nara period, the Tang Dynasty culture was introduced by The Tang Dynasty, and the indian and Iranian cultures introduced to Japan's first Flourishing. The major temples in Nara (Todaiji Temple, Tangzhaoti Temple) and the Shosoin Treasure are the best evidence. The sculpture pays attention to the realistic, solemn and rational creation of ancient exemplary styles, and the representative works include: the birth of Shakya Buddha at Dongda Temple, the Bukong Soguanyin in The Fahua Hall of Dongda Temple, the Pilusena Buddha in Tangzhaoti Temple, the Eleven-sided Guanyin of Shenglin Temple, and the Four Heavenly Kings of The Altar Courtyard of Dongda Temple. Sending Envoys to the Tang Dynasty, all kinds of monks carried each other's handwritings from the two countries, and the Guangming Empress's "Treatise on Le Yi" copied Wang Xi's calligraphy style. A large number of hand-copied Tang classics appeared in Buddhism, such as the "May 1st Sutra" (740), the "Sutra of Painted Cause and Effect" and other masterpieces.
The Heian period began in 794 and ended in 1185. Generally, it is bounded by the suspension of the Tang envoys in 894 and is divided into two periods. In the early stage, after the long-term introduction of Sheng Tang culture, it reached an unprecedented peak at this stage, and at the same time, there was also a transition to the local national style culture. It is embodied in the most clear, empty sea into the Tang Dynasty to seek the Dharma and the creation of the Shingon Sect, promoting the emergence of local religious relics. In the later period, the national culture of the country was suddenly revived, and the representative of the dynastic culture, the "Ancient and Modern Waka Collection", was born, leading to the prosperity of "Waka". The gorgeous colors and white painting techniques of esoteric buddhism were fully implanted into Buddhist painting, opening up a new situation for Japanese Buddhist painting. In terms of secular painting, art forms such as "Tang Painting", "Yamato Painting", "Monogatari Painting", "Diary Painting" and "Painting" have emerged, and the poetic and delicate depiction techniques that are popular with the Japanese people have been integrated into their localization special names, laying the classical style of Japanese national painting. Representative works include the Twelve Heavenly Statues (1127) in the Collection of the Kyoto National Museum, Mt. Koya's "Amitabha's Coming to Greet The People" (12th century), "The Tale of Genji Picture Scroll", and "Bird and Beast Character Drama Scroll". During this period, the Statue of King Fudomin at Tofuku-ji Temple (1006), the Seated Statue of Senju Kannon at Guanglong Temple (1012), and the Statue of Amitabha Rulai (1053) in the Phoenix Hall of Kodan-in Temple were full of the expectations of secular civilians for the Pure Land of Buddhism.
Uji-ei-in Temple, Flying Wood Carving North No. 9 and No. 15
The Kamakura period ended in 1333 in 1185, revealing the confrontation and fusion of the public culture represented by the Kyoto Imperial Court and the samurai culture of the Kamakura shogunate, and it was also a period of change in the era. The influence of Southern Song Dynasty painting was formed, and the court characteristics in secular painting achieved realistic portrait painting "like painting", and gradually produced the "Gexian Painting" that flourished with song learning. The masterpiece "Purple Style Department Diary Scroll" exudes uneasiness and resentment with witty composition, delicate line drawings and delicate colors. After the 13th century, the Southern Song Dynasty style and traditional Japanese techniques were integrated to produce the special Buddhist painting style of "Manjushri Sea Map" (Daigo-ji Temple), which accompanied the revival of Chinese and Japanese religions, and the Zen Temple collected a large number of Southern paintings, forming an opportunity for the development of Zen ink painting. The gold decoration art of Buddhist vessels and armor uses exquisite gold carving techniques such as through carving, bas-relief and high relief to express the sense of quality and realism. The exchange of Chinese and Japanese Zen monks imported Tang objects, Tang Jin and Tang Aya were copied in large quantities, and Seto became the main producer of ceramics, imitating Chinese celadon and Tianmu glaze.
Longguangyuan Obscure Tianmu Tea Bowl, Southern Song Dynasty
During the Muromachi period, which ended in 1573, the fall of the Muromachi shogunate, the Ashikaga clan was unified and replaced by a samurai culture. The Zen-like architecture formed by Muromachi has penetrated into the temple buildings dominated by peace, and the transition from the dormitory style of secular residences to the popular shoin style of the temple is represented by the famous Hokusanden Golden Pavilion and Higashiyamaden Silver Pavilion. The interest of the common people shifted to various aspects such as academies, gardens, tea ceremonies, and flower ceremonies. The garden was first valued in the Zen Temple, and the gardening technique of the Dream Window Thorn Stone created the most representative dry landscape garden in Japan in the future. In terms of painting, Song painting is still the standard, and the religious painting genres "top picture painting" and "Taoist interpretation painting" have risen, led by Zen monk painters such as Ke Weng and Mo An, and ink painting has risen. With the rise of Kyoto's Five Mountains culture, Zen monks revered landscape paintings of the poetic scroll type. Religious sages such as Ming Zhao, Ru Hun, Zhou Wen, Xue Zhou, and Xue Cun have a profound influence on the Japanese painting world, and their common feature is that they all find inspiration from the examples of landscape paintings of the Southern Song Dynasty of China and the Lee Dynasty of Korea, and create unique Japanese ink paintings. Subsequently, during this period, Japanese painting completely broke away from the shackles of religion and turned to the secular and decorative form of barrier screen painting. As a successor, Kano Masanobu founded the "Kano School", and his son Kano Motonobu integrated the "Yamato-e" technique, and completed the "Tosa School" after tosa Mitsunobu absorbed the Chinese painting technique, and various giants emerged at this stage, and the stars of the Japanese painting world shone brightly.
The Momoyama period, which ended in 1615 in 1573, contrasted the extravagant decorative arts favored by the rulers with the simple, leisurely aesthetic consciousness advocated by the commoner tea people. Barrier screen painting ushered in the golden age and became the flower cluster of the times. Private residences such as Tea Liao and Shuyuan tend to have dry water ink themes. The backbone of the barrier screen painting, the Hunting School, represents the characters of Kano Nagatoku, Kano Mitsunobu, Kano Yamaraku and others. Hasegawa and others, Haibei Yumatsu, Yungu and other Yan and other people are self-contained. The Dzongda Guanglin school pioneered civic art based on secular life. Portuguese missionaries who came with ships brought Western paintings, and "Southern Man Painting" became popular. Gold and silver craftsmen, seven treasures of gold, etc., craftsmen emerged. Qianlixiu's pursuit of the aesthetic style of idleness in the tea ceremony has become a characteristic of the times.
During the Edo period, which began in 1603 and ended in 1867, the vigorous development of modern industry and commerce led to the expansion of popular power to form a popular art represented by ukiyo-e. Under the influence of the Qing Dynasty and the Netherlands in China for a long time, Japanese literati paintings and foreign style paintings became popular. Traditional decorative arts and crafts have reached the extreme in Ogata Mitsurin, representing the characters of Ogata Kanzan, Sakai Hoichi, Watanabe Shiko, etc. In Edo (present-day Tokyo), Ryokawa Shishi announced the creation of ukiyo-e, reflecting the ordinary people and the peaceful and comfortable atmosphere of ukiyo-e. The ukiyo-e technique developed from the original meat pen color dan-e to Suzuki Harunobu, who excelled in "nishiki-e" multi-color overprinting, and the technique was perfected day by day. Ukiyo-e beauties were represented by famous artists such as Kiyonaga Torii, Katsutagawa Katsuma, and Katsushika Hokusai, thus initiating the heyday of ukiyo-e. At the same time, the chinese Ming and Qing dynasty literati had a deep influence on the paintings, and the Zhejiang painter Shen Quan was in Nagasaki, and his lifelike sketching techniques had a profound impact on the local schools. Flourishing Japanese literati paintings in recent times, including Yanagisawa Kien, Chi Daya, and Xie Wucun and other famous artists.
Kyoto National Museum Exhibition space
From the two works, we can see the inheritance of Japanese and Chinese culture
As the crowd struggled to advance and browsed, I was shocked by the scale of the exhibition, and the representative works of the above periods were presented to varying degrees in this national treasure exhibition, allowing me to relive almost everything in The history of Japanese art. Although I have seen some of these works of art before, such as the "Guanyin Ape Crane Diagram" by Muxi when I was painting at Dadeji Temple in 2013, and I have also explored the tail-shaped "Swallow Flower Screen", but the exhibition of all the works are national treasures is really the first time, and it is worth seeing again. Due to the limited space, it is impossible to count each of them here, so I have selected two of them to talk about, Japanese culture originated from the Chinese Tang and Song dynasties, the whole art history is complex and diverse, both of which are masterpieces deeply influenced by Chinese traditions and have local characteristics, and such situations are also common in the history of Japanese art.
Ru Humble, Catfish Chart, 1410
One is the monk's clumsy "Lady Catfish Diagram", the main body of the picture shows a strange-looking man holding a gourd-shaped water scoop trying to scoop a catfish in the flowing river, surrounded by a mysterious and deep ink painting picture, near the qingjian bamboo, meandering babbling water, and in the distance is a faint mountain shadow shrouded in clouds and fog. The upper part of the hanging scroll is a calligraphy inscription of thirty-one famous Zen monks and monks of the Muromachi period. It is worth noting that the original form of this painting was not a calligraphy and painting hanging scroll, but a group of screens. The clear basis is derived from the inscription of Ōgaku Zhou Chong(1345-1423): "The Great Xiang Gong ordered the monk to paint a new form on the small screen on the right side of the seat, so that the jianghu group wrote a sentence to clarify his aspirations..." At least two points can be determined through this article, this painting was commissioned by the samurai general Ashikaga Yoshizumi in the seventeenth year of Ying Yong (1410), and was originally formed as a small screen. As for why and when it was restructured into the style of the calligraphy and painting scroll in later generations, it may be necessary to consult more japanese original materials or be determined, but the artistic presentation form originating from the Chinese poetry and painting axis at that time won a large degree of admiration and love in the social circles of Japanese literature, Zen Buddhism, and the mainstream ruling class. The poetry scroll first appeared at the end of the 14th century, thanks to the prosperity of Wushan literature, the opportunity for its emergence was poetry, which does not mean that its status of landscape painting is subordinate to Chinese poetry literature. The relationship between the inscription and the picture should be: "silent poetry, sound painting" complementary nature of the logical relationship, although the painting can not be chanted, but the picture depicted the artistic conception is rich in poetry, as Huang Tingjian said" "light ink to write silent poetry" is the highest realm pursued by traditional Chinese literati painting. The picture is not limited to the limited scale, and the pursuit of the profound artistic conception created by the painting itself is the essence. The influence of Chinese Song and Yuan literati painting is profound, Japanese Zen painting, into the Muromachi period, represented by the five mountain monks, with the Song Dynasty courtyard paintings Ma Yuan and Xia Gui as models, advocating Zhuangzi's ethereal and scattered thoughts, and loving to depict the deep mountains and valleys close to nature.
At the same time, "Lady Catfish Diagram" is not an ordinary ink painting, and the picture and inscription cover a wealth of Zen machines, which is actually a Zen ink painting full of mysteries. The theme of the "Catfish Diagram" is "How to Catch a Scaleless and Slippery Catfish with a Gourd Scoop", which seems to be an objective and physically impossible task. Here the word "catfish" is "catfish", catfish is also known as bearded silver carp, sticky fish, pond lice, raw fish. The distinctive features of this fish are no scales around the body, mucus on the surface of the body, a white belly and a black back, a flat head and a wide mouth, four whiskers on the upper and lower jaws, a round and short tail, no forks, a small dorsal fin, living in rivers and lakes, lurking in cement during the day, swimming and moving at night, feeding on small fish, shellfish and frogs. The best time to eat catfish is between mid-spring and midsummer. Thirty-one zen monks, including Yu Qi Fanfang, wrote their personal views to echo this theme, and judging from these inscriptions, they either quoted scriptures, or quoted from the side, or joked about games, or wisdom and reason. A few of them are transcribed for reference: the fourth song by the author (鄂隠) Hui Jie, "葫葫蘆、縮項坦腹、擬得鮜鮎魚,待跳上竹 (鮎魚を得んと擬せば、竹に跳び上るを待て)". The seventh author (Taibai) Zhenxuan "bamboo pole road slippery, yande fish". The content of the poem is relatively obscure, and the literal meaning has evolved with the East Crossing, and sometimes the meaning is far from being inconclusive. The famous Zen case: "Seeking the Heart Cannot Be Obtained (えか)" may be used as a reference. Legend has it that there is a famous question and answer between Dharma and Erzu Huike (Divine Light) (see Gonglan Gong 3, Dharma Chapter), and the dialogue is as follows:
Hui-lai: "诸诸鞰鞰闻乎? (The buddhist signs of the Buddhas, get to hear them)" Soto-do: "The Buddhist Seal, the (non)Yin( non)The buddhist signs (the buddhist signs are not obtained from men. ）”
"Selfishness, begging Yoyasu (My heart is not yet ning, begging master, rest on give). "From the spirit of his will, Yotha-an (come and hold the heart, thou shalt rest in the give. "Wisdom answer: "It is not possible to obtain it at the end of the mind) without the mind. "So-so-so answer: "I am reassured by yee(My thou shalt rest your heart on the give)".
The above public case tells the philosophical idea of "unattainable heart". In fact, there is no real heart to be gained, and there is no real "uneasy" heart to be at ease. So, peace and uneasiness are all delusions. Most of the contents of public cases are closely related to daily meditation life. When the Zen master is giving the Fa, he uses questions and answers, or movements, or both, to enlighten the disciples in order to achieve enlightenment. These contents are recorded, that is, Zen public cases, there are as many as thousands of recorded public cases, commonly used about 200 kinds. The details of the public case of the "Lady Catfish Diagram" are very extensive, and the main theme is "how to use the gourd scoop to catch the scaleless and slippery catfish" As for the inscription and individual views of the Zen monks, or according to the "Records of the Monks of Tianmu Zhongfeng", the public case is not a conjecture of personal knowledge, nor is it a stereotypical interpretation of the text, but the essence is the essence of the spirit spring, the purpose of the qimiao, the breaking of life and death, and the amount of emotion. There have been detailed and extensive academic research in Japanese academic circles on Ru Shu and "Lady Catfish Diagram", and those who are interested can consult more detailed original materials for themselves.
Hasegawa et al., "Pine Forest Picture Screen", Tokyo National Museum Collection, Azuchi Momoyama Period, 16th century
The second thing that impressed me was the "Pine Forest Picture Screen" by Hasegawa and other Bo in the Momoyama period, when He was a teenager, he threw himself under the door of the Kyoto barrier painting giant Kano School, but his painting style was very different from the golden splendor and luxury of the Kano School, and became a hero in the Painting Circle of the Momoyama Period after advocating the simple artistic style of the earlier Chinese painter Monk Muxi and the ink master Xuezhou. While absorbing the ink painting techniques of the Chinese Song and Yuan dynasties, he did not stick to the mainstream hunting luxury of Momoyama, thus forming the "Han Painting School" that belonged to the obvious characteristics of Hasegawa's personal style. In his "Pine Forest Screen", the personal characteristics of this hybrid technique are the most obvious, six curved and a pair of paper screens, different shades of ink depict the pine forest scenery scattered in the smoke and rain mist, and the jin pines with different postures stand around, roughly similar in outline, but under close inspection, they are staggered, the plants are vigorous and green, and the thick ink is used to dot the lush pine canopy, and the ink color gradients down with the whole plant. Some of the branches in the vista are only covered with light ink ash, and the smoke and rain are rendered in ink, spreading fog, haze, smoke clouds, and the transparency of the intersection of smoke and rain on the slightly yellowed paper. The painting in front of you is derived from the essence of Chinese ink painting, but it also integrates the delicate and subtle aesthetic taste of creative Japanese native, and it is rare to lay out the situation of ink painting so appropriately. The early training of the Hunting School also appeared in this painting type, and Waitber abandoned the thick gold technique used by Huntingo, and cleverly applied the seemingly light gold clay as the base, and the contrast between the ink colors of each order produced a distinct color scale effect that was impressive, and the original gold and ink colors belonged to completely different orders, and there was no sense of violation under the clever brushstrokes of Waiting for Bo, and perfectly complemented each other, creating an aesthetic pleasure of "seeing light luxury in ancient clumsiness". The variety of weather before the original work is amazing, and I personally think that this national treasure exhibition is one of the most worthy of personal viewing. The National Treasure Exhibition, which runs from October 3 to November 26, is only eight weeks old, and the daily market is full of doors, remembering the vision of the secular saying "every day is a good day" invited in the 33 halls, and meandering through the queues and the crowds of people watching the exhibition.
Part of "Pine Forest Picture Screen"
(The author is a researcher at the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, and the small label is added after the editor)