Text / Zhang Yuqing
Abstract: During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the creation of "Washing Images" acquired richer connotations in religion, humanities and even philosophy. Although there is a tendency to be stylized, a series of dynamic interpretations and reinterpretations by painters such as Ding Yunpeng, Cui Zizhong, Wu Bin, and Ding Guanpeng constitute the driving force for the evolution of the image of "Washing the Image", reflecting their different imaginations and understandings of the hazy source of the same theme.
Keywords: Ming and Qing dynasties, "Washing the Image", Emperor Qianlong, Ding Yunpeng, Cui Zizhong, Wu Bin
"Painting" is called "pictorial meaning" in Guo Ruoxu's brush, such as exemplary, high festival, scene painting, beauty, etc., which can be used as a project for creation. "Painting" comes from both the artist and the viewer, and is formed between their interactions. [1] The purpose of the painting is to "wash the image", which means to remove the illusory delusion from the phenomenal world. [2] "Fuxian Bodhisattva Wishes" and "Buddha Says Guan Fuxian Bodhisattva Xingfa Sutra" talk about the allusion of "Fuxian's Ten Great Wishes", which has a certain relationship with the meaning of "Washing the Image". [3] At present, the research on "Washing Elephants" mainly focuses on the preliminary interpretation of the meaning of "Washing Images" [4], the identification of specific paintings [5], the analysis of style painting methods [6], the compilation of literature and literary poems [7], and the research on official elephant breeding [8], etc., and there is a lack of systematic research on the pictorial meaning of "Washing Images" in the restoration of the creative context. Julia Andrews studied Cui Zizhong's "Washing the Image" and deduced that the "Washing Image" had a self-washing effect for Cui Zizhong, but ignored Cui Zizhong's motivation for adding the Taoist dragon king and dragon girl to the "Washing the Image". [9] Chen Youhua paid attention to the influence of political factors on the creation of "Sweeping Images" during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, pointing out that it had a political propaganda role, overemphasizing political factors and ignoring the literati pleasure of the original intention of image creation. [10] In short, the study of the Ming and Qing dynasties needs to go back to the initial context of the authors' creation of the Washing Images in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and explore the differences in the pictorial expression of these different works.
1. Buddhism Piety - The Pictorial Meaning of Ding Yunpeng's "Washing the Image".
"Washing the Image" appeared from the time of Zhang Seng and Yan Liben, and continued to evolve in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and was quite popular, with Ding Yunpeng, Cui Zizhong, and Ding Guanpeng as the representative to create many "Washing Elephant Pictures" paintings. Ding Yunpeng added the image of Fuxian Bodhisattva for the first time in the Sweeping Elephant Picture created in the 16th year of Wanli (1588), while the inscription written by Hongdao in the 21st year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1388) shows that the Washing Elephant Picture was already associated with the Buddhist allusion of "incense elephant crossing the river" in the early Ming Dynasty. The addition of the image of Fuxian in the "Washing Elephant Picture" enriches the interpretation of the elephant theme in the Buddha scroll painting, while the "Washing the Elephant" has not yet taken shape into a Buddhist-themed painting in the Yuan Dynasty and before.
Fig.1 [Ming] Ding Yunpeng, Sweeping image, ink and color on paper, 140.8×46.6 cm, 1588, Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
The image of a bodhisattva sitting on a stone platform in a skirt may point to a separate system of depictions. In the biography of Ding Yunpeng's "Washing Elephants" in the 25th year of Wanli (1597), these figures are placed in a more open mountain and forest scene, and the images of bodhisattvas and Confucian scholars in skirts are added. Comparing Ding Yunpeng's "Washing Image" in the collection of the Shanghai Museum, Ding Yunpeng's "Washing the Image" in the collection of the National Art Museum of China, and Ding Yunpeng's "Washing the Image" in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, there are images of Fuxian, Wei Tuo and Confucian in the paintings. In this group of works, Fugen wears a skirt and sits on a stone platform covered with straw-like material, holding a dust whisk in his hands. Ding Yunpeng's "Washing Elephant Picture" inherited Qian Xuan's "Washing Elephant Picture" painting, completely interpreting the early "Washing Elephant Picture" with the attribute of professional tribute into a work with great Buddhist connotation.
It is a question whether there is still a Yuan Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty before the Yuan Dynasty. The existing image system is full of many imitations of the images, and the characters and scenes also have very similar roles, such as the elephant in the four "Washing Elephants" by Qian Xuan and the feudal slave holding a broom beside him and half-hiding his body behind him, the four figures in this whole group of images also appear in Ding Yunpeng's works, at first glance, they seem to have a common source, which can be regarded as a facsimile of a more ancient book, which may not be all copied according to the ancestral book, but to a certain extent, it has joined the imagination of the Ming Dynasty. More of a story in the Buddhist sense. In addition, the addition of the content of the "Sweeping Image" to the volume of the "Luohan Tu" may have started in the Ming Dynasty. [11] In fact, the elephant depiction in the Washing of the Elephant was often added to the portraits of Arhats in the Ming and Qing dynasties, for example, the Ming and Qing Dynasty works "Fahai Lingshan Tu" depicts a combination of Arhat monks and elephants, and the elephants are richly decorated and draped in elephant drawers.
Ding Yunpeng has outstanding achievements in white painting, inheriting ancient times, moving lines, and making outstanding achievements. Regarding the stylistic characteristics of Ding Yunpeng's paintings, roughly speaking, they can be divided into two periods: early and late, "In 1590, the style changed and he painted with broad brushes. In the part of the strokes, the early brushstrokes are meticulous, the lines seem to be flowing water, round and extended, fine and powerful; In the later period, he painted with a thick brush, with undulating brushwork, heavy brushwork, light brushwork, strong and powerful, and rough handling of stones" [12]. In this regard, Ertrin pointed out that the change in Ding Yunpeng's painting style occurred in the 90s of the 16th century, which was the period when he had a close relationship with the Venerable Zibai. [13] Ding Yunpeng's "Washing Image" created in the 16th year of Wanli, in addition to the delicate and subtle brush and ink depictions, the depiction of the Bodhisattva image uses "shell patterns", which reminds people of the wind of "rolling clouds and flowing water" in ancient times. [14] In addition to visual intuitive appreciation, we can better understand the beauty of this flowing line like a cirrus cloud:
When my Buddha was middle-aged, the king of the bottle of sand in the country of Tianzhu, was a friend of the distant world, and begged to be the world's honorable painting, which was the beginning of the statue. Shi Gong was shot by the light of the Buddha, dazzling can not be gazed, but please the world to order to sit on the riverbank, and take the water shadow as the style, depict the holy face, because of the microwave, by the composition of the bend of the appearance, so called: water silk cloth Buddha. 〔15〕
For Chinese painting, there is no reason for the form in the image to exist alone, and the form must always be meaningfully combined to be the complete presentation of the image. The complete presentation under this understanding is, in traditional Chinese terms, a variety of different "paintings". [16] Understanding painting from this perspective also seems to make sense of what Zaxel said: "In this way, or in a similar way, an art historian can discuss Picasso's paintings." Will that help one appreciate it better, and will this kind of historical explanation enrich one's emotional experience?" 〔17〕
The artist's creation has always been based on reference and change, and it is very important to reconstruct the changes that have occurred in the pattern of the "Washing Image" in the past dynasties. In the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing (1547), Ding Yunpeng was born in Xiuning, Anhui Province, and his family practiced medicine. Later, Ding Yunpeng had the opportunity to become Zhan Jingfeng's disciple, and indirectly inherited Wen Zhengming's painting style. In Huizhou at that time, with the development of papermaking, inkstone and ink-making technology of the Xin'an School, the painter group participated more in printmaking activities than before, and Ding Yunpeng joined the ink merchant group and participated in printmaking under the influence of this atmosphere. [18] In "Fang's Ink Spectrum", "Cheng's Ink Garden", and "Gu's Painting Spectrum", there are "Sweeping Elephant Pictures" recorded under the names of Li Gonglin and Yan Li. The elephant's body is blackened with letterpress processing, but the patterns on the elephant's body belong to the method of yin engraving, "which is a new way of using the use of different painting tools and painting effects to 'rewrite'" [19]. Although the paintings are often not easy to preserve and are scattered everywhere, and printing them can be circulated in large quantities and ensure the performance of the paintings, it is clear that in the turbulent twists and turns of history, it is unlikely that the real "Sweeping Image" painted by Li Gonglin and Yan Liben will be lucky to be circulated at this time, and it will be engraved into a plate by the Huizhou printmakers at that time. "Not every painting on which the score is based is genuine, but these paintings have a very good origin, because we can experience the style and appearance of some ancient painters." 〔20〕
As the painter of Cheng's Ink Garden, Ding Yunpeng must be familiar with the style of the Elephant Washing Picture in Cheng's Ink Garden, as well as the origin and origin of this elephant image system. Zheng Zhenduo concluded that the Zilantang edition of Cheng's Moyuan was engraved in the 33rd year of Wanli (1605) [21] in the book "The Words of the Western Truth", and in "Cheng's Moyuan", there was already a painting of an elephant that was later shown on the side in Cui Zizhong's "Washing the Elephant Map" with an extremely curved body. The "Gu's Painting Spectrum", which preceded "Cheng's Ink Garden", recorded this set of image system, under the name of Li Gonglin, and Ding Yunpeng participated in the compilation of "Cheng's Ink Garden" and "Gu's Painting Spectrum", and was actually familiar with the elephant image painted by Cui Zizhong, which echoed the side end to end, but he did not adopt this painting style, but adopted the elephant style of "Taiping Youxiang" and "Xuanxiang" in "Fang's Ink Spectrum". Ding Yunpeng's choice may be related to his Buddhist beliefs, the image of the elephant in "Fang's Ink Spectrum" is more in line with Ding Yunpeng's understanding of "Washing the Elephant", because the elephant schema in "Fang's Ink Spectrum" is closer to the image of the elephant in the Buddhist mural paintings, and has a sense of continuity, while the elephant image in "Cheng's Ink Garden" and "Gu's Painting" is slightly contrived between dynamic twists and turns, and has no sense of naturalness.
Second, the legend of the fairy road - Cui Zizhong's "Washing the Elephant Picture" of the painting
Cui Zizhong believed in Taoism, he was sure that there were encounters with immortals in the world, and once drew the "Trace of the White Rabbit" recorded by Zhang Tingdeng in the "White Rabbit Gongji" of the incident of the sudden encounter with the white rabbit in Changbai Mountain, and also had no doubt about Zhang Tingdeng's "The White Rabbit Gongji". [22] Cui Zizhong's "Washing the Image", there are two pieces in the National Palace Museum in Taipei and one in the Shanghai Museum. Comparing the written records related to this work in Cui Zizhong's Washing Elephant (fig. 2) in the Shanghai Museum's collection and Fang Junyi's Catalogue of Paintings and Calligraphy in the Dream Garden, we can better understand the specific content of the painting. 〔23〕
Fig.2 [Ming] Cui Zizhong, Washing the image, ink and color on silk, 507×177.7 cm, No year, Collection of Shanghai Museum
There are three groups of characters in Cui Zizhong's painting "Washing Elephants" in the Shanghai Museum: one is the two barbarian slaves washing elephants around the elephant; the second is the six people represented by Fuxian Hu Seng on the left, and Fuxian holds Munizi and other objects in his hands; The third is a group of characters represented by the dragon girl at the bottom of the picture. Cui Zizhong's painting of the elephant is a side angle, the head turned back, and the head and tail echo each other. This group of figures does not appear in the two Cui Zizhong's "Sweeping Images" in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei. The characteristic of Cui Zizhong's elephant is that the elephant is an image with a side angle, a head turned back, and a head and tail that echo each other. This method of capturing and depicting elephant forms can also be seen in Chuan Qiuying's Vimo Diagram. The elephant has a throne on which Vimo travels, and a man holds a broom beside him. Draw the elephant in a sideways and sideways posture. This "Vimo Narrative Diagram" reverses the previous fixed program of Vimo's speech at home, placing the main characters in the background of a green landscape, and the main scene of the statement only occupies a part of the picture.
In Cui Zizhong's "Washing the Elephant" in the Shanghai Museum, Cui Zizhong painted a dragon girl holding a coral in her hand and a bearded star palace guiding the dragon king to walk on the waves, and the new characters have never appeared in other paintings. "The real incentive to draw a newcomer into the ranks of an established 'tradition' interpretation is probably not the 'greatness' of that 'tradition', but the attractiveness of the meaning of the 'change' itself constituted by the new interpretation." [24] The addition of the Dragon King and Dragon Maiden gives the picture more legendary color, revealing the immortal meaning of "Washing the Elephant".
To understand Cui Zizhong's "Washing Image", it is important to analyze the picture firstly, and secondly, to analyze the function and creative situation of the painting according to the information in the inscription. There is an inscription in Cui Zizhong's "Washing the Elephant" in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, "Yu Congjin realized this image from the fifty-three statues of the Jin Dynasty." Self-confidence is indispensable. The brother of my hometown villa has no color, and the surname of the proposition is on the top, which can be described as the deep ear of love, and it is to try to do it". Cui Zizhong's "Washing Image" is far from the commodity trading attribute of "a high-priced and famous man" [25], and the collector of this painting is likely to be the "Shu Sect Brother" mentioned in the inscription. Because of the "deep love" for the theme of "Washing the Elephant", Cui Zizhong "tried his best to try it". This "Brother Shuzong" is Cui Zizhong's fellow villager from Laiyang, Shandong. The "Washing Image" here plays more of a role as a medium for the inner communication between the two. Cui Zizhong's creative inspiration comes from the "Fifty-three Portraits of the Jin Dynasty", which may also be an important schematic source of Cui Zizhong's "Washing the Image", perhaps the meaning of the inscription is only to indicate that this is a work that contains "Jin Dynasty style", which reflects the common pursuit of a certain Jin Dynasty style by the creator and collector. This common love for classical themes and "retro" creation constitutes a touching story, and today's viewing is more emotional, lamenting that Cui Zizhong gave his paintings to his confidant, but did not accept the high price of strangers.
Cui Zizhong's "Washing Images" is full of the artist's personal understanding and allegory of objects, but it is not, as Gao Juhan said, "the chiaroscuro learned from the works of European copper engravings" or "fascinated by the technique of illusion",[26] "he used a very patterned way to deal with the light and shade of the folds of clothes, and this technique was undoubtedly learned from European copper engraving works; This strong chiaroscuro reflects the degree of fascination with the illusionary technique of seventeenth-century painters" [27]. But the question of shadow in this work should not be a question of whether or not it exists, but how it exists. Because of its line engraving, copper engraving is different from the European chiaroscuro method for the expression of volume, and Cui Zizhong's "Washing the Image" is even more different from the above two, it is a way to express the pursuit of danger with traditional dyeing.
Indeed, in Cui Zizhong's "Washing the Image", there is a strange sense of pretentiousness everywhere, and those extremely unnatural shapes may not be expressed out of "fascination with illusion techniques", but the author's painting concept of "rather clumsy than coincidental, rather ugly than flattering": in practice, European copper engraving uses lines to express the depth of light and shade, and uses lines to imitate block surfaces, and its lines are dense and short, which is completely different from the way Western painting uses intermediate tones or light and dark tones to express the sense of volume. These two methods are different from Cui Zizhong's pursuit of a sense of volume or the way he expresses objects, which is not only manifested in the technical level, but also in the painter's way of understanding the transcendence of objects.
3. Governing the world and enjoying the pleasure - the painting of the "Washing Image" in the Qianlong period
"Emperor Qianlong's Washing Image" is an imitation of Ding Yunpeng's "Washing Image", and the image of the Bodhisattva is replaced with the face of Hongli, which may be related to the Buddha-making movement propagated by Qianlong, and it is also a kind of image recreation with political implications in the new appreciation system, which reflects Qianlong's concept of governing the world. But how much of a role can painting play in this? Maybe it's just a pastime and pastime.
Ding Guanpeng's Washing the Elephant of the Qianlong Emperor is obviously a parody of Ding Yunpeng's Washing of the Elephant made in the 16th year of Wanli, but the image of the Bodhisattva is replaced by the portrait of the Qianlong Emperor Hongli (fig. 3). From a pictorial point of view, there seems to be a sense of political conquest, because at this time, the image of the Bodhisattva who was taken refuge and praised became the image of the emperor. In addition, from the point of view of painting, the face of the figure has the characteristics of Western realism, and the face should be from the hand of the Western painter Lang Shining, while the rest of the monks, heavenly kings and other figures are painted by Ding Guanpeng. The emphasis on the realism of the Qianlong Emperor's figures shows a kind of secular sentiment, which is related to the court painting style of the Qianlong Dynasty at that time, and the Qianlong Emperor often ordered court painters to paint his figures dressed as Buddhist figures. The lower left paragraph of the painting of "Emperor Qianlong's Washing Image" is signed: "In June of the fifteenth year of Qianlong (1750), the minister Ding Guanpeng Gong painted. So far, the former religious symbolism of the "Washing Elephant Picture" exposes the Qing Dynasty's court paintings to praise the allegiance of the monarch, reflecting that it is indeed the mentality of the Qianlong Emperor who vassal the ancient masterpiece to entertain himself.
Fig.3 [Ming] Ding Guanpeng, Emperor Qianlong's Washing Image, ink and color on paper, 132.3×62.5 cm, Collection of the Palace Museum
When Ding Yunpeng created "Emperor Qianlong's Washing Image", the Qianlong Emperor was forty years old, and his face painting method was realistic, and researchers generally believe that it was painted by the Western painter Lang Shining, while the slightly exaggerated and deformed jade girl, golden boy, heavenly king, and monk came from Ding Guanpeng's pen. Nie Chongzheng of the Palace Museum once pointed out: "The realistic painting of the emperor's face exposes Lang Shining's handiwork. [28] Ding Guanpeng's level of face painting in at least the sixteenth year of Qianlong (1751) has been affirmed by Qianlong, and there seems to be no very definite basis as to which painter painted the Hongli face in the "Washing Portrait of the Qianlong Emperor".
The drawing of "Emperor Qianlong's Washing Image" is obtained from the historical masterpieces collected by Emperor Qianlong, and the character dynamics and clothing of Hongli have not changed, while the sacred face of Fuxian has been transformed into a realistic Qianlong imperial face, and its secular side is thus revealed. The secular character overcomes the religious significance, but the sacred aspect is somewhat diminished, so it seems to be more ornamental. In addition, Ding Guanpeng's attempt to paint clothing patterns, with shaky and curved lines, seems to be the focus of his creation.
"Emperor Qianlong Washing Image" under the "Minister Ding Guanpeng" white text square seal, "Gong painting" Zhu Wen white seal, Emperor Qianlong ordered the court painter to paint the past paintings, the face of Manjushri Bodhisattva was replaced with his own face, claiming to be the reincarnation of Manjushri Bodhisattva, expressing the idea of divine authority of the monarch. This is related to the ruling strategy of the Qing Dynasty, which did not adopt the Confucian strategy of the previous Han system, but referred to the cosmology with the Manjushri belief in Tibetan Buddhism as the core and the thought of the Bodhisattva King of Tibetan Buddhism to build the common faith of the Manchu and Tibetan peoples. By copying past works and rewriting and recording them, the Qianlong Emperor was able to integrate himself into the mainstream of Han culture. [29] During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, Qianlong created a propaganda and Buddhism movement, that is, "I am Manjushri and Tsongkhapa", which meant that he not only became the emperor of the world, but also wanted to become an important god in the Buddhist world. He ordered people to draw many "Lama Portraits of the Qianlong Emperor", appropriating the image features of Manjushri and Tsongkhapa, such as wearing a yellow hat, presenting Dharma quotations, meditating on seals, holding wisdom swords, and Prajna Sutras. Emperor Qianlong practiced the Gelug Tantra and practiced the Yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa, visualizing the image of the deity Tsongkhapa. This Manjushri-Tsongkhapa-Emperor "Trinity" idea was applied to the Qing court's strategy of multi-ethnic governance. In Ding Guanpeng's "Washing the Elephant of Emperor Qianlong", it touches on the issue of the concept of governing the world embodied in Emperor Qianlong's disguise. In the research of his predecessors, he mostly discussed the relationship between Buddhist art and political power, and talked about the Qianlong Emperor's method of governing the world. Under the multi-ethnic factor of the Qing Dynasty, the Qianlong Emperor compared himself to Manjushri. However, what is the role of painting? Such a painting can reflect such a concept of governing the world, but the common people can't see the painting, how to govern the world?
In the picture of Hongli Guan Tu, Hongli is dressed as a Bodhisattva and watches the scene of washing the white elephant from the side, the picture space and background treatment are similar to those of the Qianlong Emperor's Washing of the Elephant, and the zigzag composition of the river is also very similar (Fig. 4). In the form of a "picture-in-picture", "Hongli Guan Painting" expresses the literati's pleasant role of painting. More precisely, the depiction of Hongli ornamental antiquities reflects Hongli's eagerness to integrate into the Han cultural circle.
Fig.4 [Ming] Ding Guanpeng et al., Hongli Guanguan, ink and color on paper, 136.4×62 cm, Collection of the Palace Museum
Wu Hung proposed in the article that the emperor's clothes, trees and stones in the "Hongli Guan Painting" were probably painted by Ding Guanpeng. [30] Comparing the specific painting methods of the picture, there are indeed similarities. In this regard, Wang Zhongxu in the article through the comparison of images, believes that in the "Hongli View Painting", not only Qianlong's face, together with the face of the red-clothed boy on the right side of Qianlong, is also much finer than the face of other boys, should be Ding Guanpeng's own handwriting, and the clothing lines of the characters in the picture and Ding Guanpeng's "Qianlong Emperor's Washing Image" appear stiff, should not be painted by Ding Guanpeng, but from Lang Shining or his apprentice's pen. 〔31〕
In the picture, Emperor Qianlong put on ancient costumes, ordered people to put out his collection of rare antiques one by one, and painted Ding Yunpeng's "Washing Elephant Picture" in the form of "picture in picture", and Qianlong made a state of viewing the painting. In the picture, Emperor Qianlong and other figures are not the Manchurian hairstyle of the Qing Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty hairstyle and Ming Dynasty clothes. The author believes that perhaps we can draw on Wu Hung's point of view in his analysis of the Ping'an Chun Xintu: "The 'disguise' of these two Manchu emperors actually denied the image of the Manchus as invading foreigners to capture Chinese culture, and established the legitimacy of their possession and control of Chinese cultural traditions." [32] The literati of the Han nationality have always had the pursuit of "morality" and "knowledge", and Qianlong paid special attention to this, so Qianlong also tried his best to enter the mainstream of the art and literary circle, and this idea is reflected in the antiques of the past dynasties displayed in this "Hongli View Painting". As the ruler of the country, Emperor Qianlong not only wanted to be in charge of this land, but also to become a real participant and creator of the history and culture of this land.
4. Artistic Innovation: Wu Bin's Image Representation of the Scriptures
In Wu Bin's works, elephants also appear together with Fuxian statues. In terms of the treatment of elephant images, Wu Bin is almost the most creative and personal painter who has depicted elephant images in all dynasties. Only he can flexibly use and transform the traditional schema of elephants to create an elephant image that is suitable for the form of the picture. Other painters, such as Cui Zizhong and Ding Yunpeng's "Washing the Elephant", however, used the elephant style to be followed by many followers during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and did not make more innovations and changes.
Wu Bin's treatment of elephants is very special, for example, in the statue of Fuxian in the Album of Buddha Statues of the Twenty-five Yuantong of the Painting of Lengyan Yan Twenty-five Yuantong, an elephant standing and offering lotus flowers to Fuxian, and in the Statue of Fuxian in the collection of the Palace Museum, the elephant resembles a huge stone (fig. 5). Wu Bin's works "Five Hundred Arhats" and "Sixteen Arhats" both have very vivid elephant images. In "Luohan Picture", the full-sided image of the elephant is added to the painting technique of trembling brush. In short, Wu Bin's creation of Buddhist paintings on the theme of elephants seems to be able to turn the past into the present and wield his brush in a chic manner.
Fig.5 [Ming] Wu Bin, Portrait of Fuxian, ink and color on paper, 127.5×66.2 cm, 1662, Collection of the Palace Museum
The Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) has Wu Bin's "Washing the Image" (fig. 6), signed "Wu Bin painted in Chang'an Yandi on the 8th day of the Qing Dynasty in the 20th year of Wanli (1592)". Wu Bin entered Beijing from Fujian from 1591 to 1592 as a scholar and painted for the ruling group of the Qing Dynasty. Wu Bin did not go to Shu until 1603 and returned to Nanjing in 1607. Therefore, when the predecessors studied Wu Bin's "Washing the Elephant Map", it was proposed that Wu Bin may have seen the Washing Elephant Pond in Emei Mountain, Sichuan, and this place is just a pretext, which is not beneficial to Wu Bin's actual creation, so Wu Bin's residence in Shu may have no influence on his creation of "Washing the Elephant Picture" at all, unless there is a reliable "Washing the Elephant" schema for Wu Bin to create the "Fuxian Statue" in the "Painting Leng Yan Twenty-five Yuantong Buddha Statue Book".
Fig.6 [Ming] Wu Bin, Material, size, time unknown, collection of the Central Academy of Fine Arts
Therefore, this article speculates that after Wu Bin arrived in Beijing, he had the opportunity to see the elephant washing custom of the "Eight Days of Qinghe". Wu Bin's "Washing Elephant Picture" refers to Cui Zizhong's "Washing Elephant Picture" style, and has a high degree of similarity with the latter. Wu Bin was forty-two years old when he painted this work, and the mountain and stone painting method was still in the early style, which was obviously different from the famous giant mountain fairy mountain in the later period, and also very different from the mountain stone in the "Painting Lengyan Twenty-five Yuantong Buddha Statue Album" ten years later. However, in the treatment of elephants, although the ancient schema is followed, Wu Bin obviously subjectively processed the elephant's demeanor, and the depiction method is more flexible, especially the action of the elephant holding the broom monk, which is also in the previous "Sweeping Elephant" schema, which is very vivid, and should belong to Wu Bin's own creation.
The "Twenty-five Yuantong" in the "Painting Lengyan Twenty-five Yuantong Buddha Statue Book" refers to the twenty-five Yuantong methods, that is, how to reach the realm of Yuantong to the true nature. "At the request of the Buddha, these twenty-five 'Yuantong' who have attained this state have revealed their means of attaining this realm." [33] The date of Chen Jiru's Bawen in the "Album of Painting Lengyan Twenty-five Yuantong Buddhas" is "Wanli Gengshen (1620)", and the year of Dong Qichang's Bawen is "Xinyou (1621) March". The Album of Buddha Statues of the Twenty-five Yuantong of the Painting of Lengyan Yan is mostly judged to be the work of Wu Bin's old age, and it is pointed out that it was painted between 1617 and 1620. [34] Fang Wen also agreed. [35] In the picture, Fuxian is painted in light color and sitting on a futon on a stone wall, with a white elephant standing in front of him, and a lotus flower rolling in his nose as an offering. This standing elephant posture should be Wu Bin's first creation.
The Twenty-Five Circles of the Painting of Lengyan deals with the issue of "graphic and textual conversion" between scriptures and images. How does Wu Bin deal with this problem in the specific process of painting? In the Wuxing area, there was a man named Pan Langshi, "who was probably a monk who personally instructed Wu Bin on how to design the layout and how to correctly represent the hairstyles and faces of these Buddha statues" [36]. But combined with Chen Jiru's upper and lower texts:
Those who have not written the 25 Yuantong of Lengyan have been covered since Wu Wenzhong. Wu Xing Pan Langshi personally instructed the management, so Hu looked like a fan, and his attitude appeared to the end of the pen. 〔37〕
In fact, this text can be understood in this way, Wu Bin mainly accepted the guidance of Wu Xingren Pan Langshi in the face modeling of the characters, but in terms of specific painting concepts, the management of the content of the picture and the arrangement of the composition of the picture mainly rely on Wu Bin's own efforts.
According to "Pan Jitao's Chronology":
On June 5 of the nineteenth year of Wanli (1591), Pan Dafu's second son and second grandson Pan Zhan (originally with Wu Shisheng) was born. 〔38〕
According to the "Huzhou Mansion Chronicle": "Pan Zhan, the word Langshi, taming the shadow with Zuji, successively served as Langzhong of the Criminal Department, and Qingjie is not A." [39] Therefore, according to the painting time of the above-cited "Painting of the Buddha Statue of Lengyan Twenty-five Yuantong", Wu Bin is almost in his prime, and Pan Langshi is about thirty years old. Pan Langshi was not a monk as Gao Juhan said, nor was he a professional painter as we speculate, but a real court official, at that time, Wu Bin was a scholar in the capital, and Pan Langshi was in the Zhejiang Criminal Department. Wu Bin's works are more flexible, and are subjective creations of the painter interpreting the Buddhist scriptures after understanding the content of the scriptures. Chen Yunru compares Wu Bin's work with Fu Kun's Painting of the Twenty-five Yuantong Portrait of Lengyan in the late Ming Dynasty, and concludes: "Fu Kun's approach shows his mastery of the storyline, while Wu Bin chooses to obtain Yuantong's demeanor as the focus of his expression." ”〔40〕
Gu Qiyuan's inscription in the Album of Buddha Statues of the Painting of Yan Yan Twenty-five Yuantong is not signed, but it is juxtaposed with Jiao Hong's inscription in 1602 and Dong Qichang's inscription in 1603, "After Gu Qiyuan completed the inscription, Dong Qichang also attached an inscription to it, so it is likely that the inscription time of Gu Qiyuan's painting was written at the same time as Dong Qichang's painting" [41]. Gu Qiyuan once recorded: "On the banks of the Nilian River, there are eighty-one good looks, and twenty-five circles are written in Luojia Mountain." [42] If this is the case, around 1602, it can be speculated that Wu Bin had already made a "Album of Buddha Statues of the Painting of Lengyan Twenty-five Yuantong". [43] Looking at the figure paintings of Wu Bin that can be seen at present, the appearance of the world depicted in the "Painting of the Buddha Album of the Twenty-five Yuantong" is obviously close to Wu Bin's "Arhat" axis in 1601 in the National Palace Museum in Taipei and the "Bodhidharma Portrait" axis in 1602 in the Palace Museum. Therefore, Wu Bin's "Painting of the Buddha Statue of Lengyan Twenty-five Yuantong" should have been completed around 1602, and it is likely that it is the one recorded by Gu Qiyuan. So the story of Wu Bin learning from Pan Langshi is even more unreasonable, because Pan Langshi was only about eleven years old at this time, and after Pan Langshi instructed Wu Bin in the painting method of "Hu Maung Fanxiang", Wu Bin's two paintings before and after "Painting Leng Yan Twenty-five Yuantong Buddha Statue Book" have been greatly changed.
Among the works seen today, there is also a "Picture of the Refuge of the Incense Elephant" (fig. 7) in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, which I believe is a copy of Wu Bin's "Painting of the Buddha Statue of Leng Yan Twenty-five Yuantong", which may not have been painted by the Wentai, but a forgery under the name of later generations. [44] The figures and elephants in the Sixteen Arhats in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York are very similar to Wu Bin's Arhats in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, and they should belong to the same painting language system of Wu Bin's elephant image. In the Sixteen Arhats, Wu Bin uses the "Baker pattern" that flows like cirrus clouds to depict elephants, and the brushwork is the same as Wu Bin's painting of elephant wavy lines ten years later, but the characteristics are not so obvious, which may be due to Wu Bin's understanding of Buddhist teachings. It can be seen that the elephant lines in the wavy and trembling pen in "Painting the Buddha Album of the Buddha Statue of the Twenty-five Yuantong and the Statue of Fuxian" are Wu Bin's personal creation. Perhaps, with his flexible schematic processing ability, Wu Bin whimsically adopted the posture of "elephant standing and offering lotus flowers", which is creative and makes the viewer feel relaxed and happy.
Fig.7 [Ming] Wentai, Incense Elephant Refuge, ink and color on paper, 66.5×32.8 cm, Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
epilogue
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Ding Yunpeng, Cui Zizhong, Ding Guanpeng, Wu Bin and others created a number of paintings of "Washing Images". However, the motives of the ancients for creating and appreciating the "Washing Image" were different, which constituted the different pictorial meanings of "Washing the Image". Whether it is out of religious piety or the ancient style of the literati who are a spectacle of elephants, the re-creation of the traditional image of the "Washing Elephant" is a difficult problem that every creator of "Washing the Elephant" in the late Ming Dynasty has to face.
Ding Yunpeng's painting "Washing the Image" mostly uses the "shell pattern" flowing like cirrus clouds in the brush and ink depiction, "The Buddha's light shoots his eyes, and he can't dazzle his eyes, so he takes the image in the water and depicts the victory". Cui Zizhong's painting "Washing the Elephant", which includes a dragon girl holding a coral and a dragon king walking on the waves, is full of Taoist connotations, and he gave the painting to his confidant rather than accept a high price, because the creator and collector shared the same pursuit of Jin style. In the Qianlong period's "Washing Elephant Picture", the image of the Bodhisattva was replaced by a portrait of the Qianlong Emperor Hongli, reflecting the Qianlong Emperor's aesthetic taste for the adaptability of classical literati. In a "picture-in-picture" form, Hongli Guan Pictorial depicts the scene of Hongli viewing antiquities, expressing the literati pleasure function of painting and the urgent mentality of the Qianlong Emperor to integrate into the Han cultural circle. Wu Bin had the opportunity to see the elephant-washing custom of the "Eight Days of Qinghe" in Beijing, which may be an important reason why Wu Bin interpreted the scriptures in a unique way and innovated the elephant schema art. Their "Washing Elephants" is not only a direct depiction of the scene of washing images, but also reflects the imagination of Ming and Qing painters, their respective living circumstances and their understanding of the theme of "washing elephants". The collation and discussion of the question of "pictorial meaning", which implies such multiple possibilities, can be regarded as a necessary precondition for rethinking the so-called "ultimate care" of Chinese painting. 〔45〕
Exegesis:
[1] Shi Shouqian, From Style to Painting: Reflections on the History of Chinese Art, Life, Reading, New Knowledge, Joint Books, 2015, p. 11.
〔2〕Oertling, Sewall Jerome, “X.T.: A Chinese Artist of the late Ming Dynasty”, (PhD Diss. Michigan University, 1980), p. 222.
[3] [Southern Dynasty] Tan Wumi Duo translated "The Buddha Says Guan Puxian Bodhisattva Xingfa Sutra", Taisho Xinxiu Tripitaka Sutra, vol. 9, No.277, p. 390.
[4] Ibid. [2].
[5] Wang Zhongxu, "Authenticity Examination of the Selected Elephant Washing Diagram of Chuan Qian - Understanding of the Washing Elephant Diagram before the Late Ming Dynasty", Journal of the Palace Museum, No. 3, 2017.
[6] Lan Yujing, "Research on the 'Washing Image' in the Late Ming and Early Qing Dynasties", Master's thesis, Taiwan Normal University, 1997, pp. 22-26.
[7] Chen Youhua, "Research on Washing Images", master's thesis, Institute of Fine Arts, Central University, Taiwan, 2010, pp. 1-76.
[8] [Japanese] Masaichi Fukumoto, "Choi Sei-worm Washing Image", edited by Yujiro Nakata in Commemorative Essays on Birthday Celebrations, edited by Yujiro Nakata, Tokyo Heibansha, 1985, pp. 599-625.
[9] Ibid. [8], pp. 599-625.
[10] Ibid. [7], pp. 6-22.
[11] Liu Jingjing, "The Secret of the Great Xuan: An Examination of the Images of Fang's Ink Spectrum", Ph.D. dissertation, China Academy of Art, 2017, p. 157.
[12] Li Yumin, "The Guanxiu Tradition and Its Influence in the Late Ming Dynasty Arhat Paintings", Palace Museum Academic Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2004.
[13] Ibid. (2), pp. 264–286.
[14] Gao Juhan, translated by Wang Jiaji, Beyond the Mountains: Painting of the Late Ming Dynasty, 1570-1644, Life, New Knowledge, Reading Sanlian Bookstore, 2009, p. 288.
[15] [Qing] Gongbu Chabu Translation of "The Buddha Says the Statue Measurement Sutra", Taisho Xinxiu Tripitaka Sutra, vol. 21, No.1419, p. 938.
[16] Ibid. [1], p. 9.
[17] [Austria] F. Zaxel, translated by Li Benzheng, Why Should There Be Art History, New Art, No. 1, 2010.
[18] Ding Yunpeng's Hui School printmaking works are identified as the authentic works of Ding Yunpeng's paintings, including Fang Yuluji's "Fang's Ink Spectrum" by Ming Fang Yu Luji, "Cheng's Ink Garden" by Ming Cheng Yueji, "Boruzhai Rebuilding Xuanhe Bogu Catalogue", "Boruzhai Rebuilding Archaeological Map", "Yangzheng Illustration", etc. In addition, during the Ming Dynasty, Cheng Youbo Shi published "Guanyin Bodhisattva Thirty-two Phases of Great Compassion Confession", another title is "Guanyin Thirty-two Disguises", Xu Chengyao found this book engraving during the Republic of China, reprinted and made a preface, through the comparison of "Cheng's Ink Garden", Xu Chengyao judged that "Guanyin Thirty-two Disguises" is painted by Ding Yunpeng, the picture is very exquisite, and the pen of the sword comes from Qiucun Huang, which is close to the magic pen.
[19] Fu Huimin, "The "Powder Book" in Late Ming Dynasty Printmaking: A Case Study of Gu's Painting Spectrum in the Wanli Period", Journal of Fine Arts, No. 6, 2012.
[20] Zheng Zhenduo, A Brief History of Ancient Chinese Woodcuts, Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House, 2006, pp. 97-127.
[21] Zheng Zhenduo, "The Words of the Western Truth", Shanghai Joint Publishing Co., Ltd., 1998, p. 236.
[22] Chen Xiejun, ed., South Chen and North Cui, Shanghai Museum, 2008, p. 13.
[23] [Qing] Fang Junyi's "Dream Garden Calligraphy and Painting Record" "Volume 14", the third year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, the Yuanfang family Chengdu carved book, Ye 37 Zheng. "Dream Garden Calligraphy and Painting Record" records as follows: Ming Cui Zizhong washes the image of the picture of the vertical frame, the upper picture is painted with bay leaves, the middle picture is an image in the right column, the elephant stands on the back of a barbarian slave, poured with water, and a slave next to it is brushed with a broom. Zuohu monk Fuxian three people with more punches and bearded nose and swarthy eyes, a barefoot Mu Nizi, a little philosopher, when it is Fuxian. A Zhuo tin holds the shell scriptures, and a Zhu robe hangs on the arm of the Muni. There is also some attachment in the hand. Two children stand next to him, a crown scarf, a bay leaf book in his hand, a forehead brush, and a bowl in both hands. There is a star official Zhu Lu bowing, like the following treasure bottle, a pot, and a person who feeds and drinks. Then under the repetition of the bay leaf, a layer of silk droops, under which there is a dragon girl Yan Rou Jiao, strange clothes and treasure clothes, holding a coral plant, and there is a beard like a star palace to guide the dragon king to step on the waves. Aya Su fell off slightly, and the handwriting was fine and the color was precise, and it was also the author's deliberate pen of the day. From the fifty-three phases of the Jin book, he realized this phase and painted it for the brother of Yuzhong Window. Cui Zizhong. Gengchen Autumn Day (1640) imitates Shun's brushwork.
[24] Ibid. [1], p. 66.
[25] [Qing] Wu Weiye's "Plum Village Family Collection Manuscript" "Volume 14", the third year of Xuantong of the Qing Dynasty, Dong's recitation of the Fen room inscription, Ye Shizheng.
[26] Ibid. [14], p. 305.
[27] Ibid. [14], p. 305.
[28] Palace Museum, ed., Qing Dynasty Court Paintings, Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1992, p. 270.
〔29〕Patricia Berger, X.T., University of Hawaii Press, 2003, p. 3.
〔30〕Wu Hong. “Emperor’s Masquerade ‘Costume Portraits’ of Yongzheng and Qianlong”, Orientations 26: 7, July and Angust, 1995, pp. 25-41.
[31] Wang Zhongxu, "Qianlong Imperial Appearance Painting and Its Empty Physiognomy - Ding Guanpeng's 'Sweeping Image' and Lang Shining's Qianlong Viewing and Painting Map", Palace Museum Journal, No. 1, 2017.
[32] Ibid. (30), pp. 25–41.
[33] Ibid. [14], p. 295.
[34] Taipei National Palace Museum, ed., Exhibition of Late Ming Metamorphist Painters, Taipei National Palace Museum, 1977, p. 225.
〔35〕Wen C. Fong, James C. J. Watl, Possessing the Past: Treasures from the National Palace Museum. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1996, p. 408.
[36] Ibid. [14], p. 295.
[37] [Qing] Lu Shihua's "Catalogue of Calligraphy and Painting Seen by Wu Yue" "Volume 4", engraved by Huaiyan Pavilion of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, Ye One Hundred and Three Positives.
[38] Lu Dingyan, "Chronology of Pan Jitao's Major Events", Lu Dingyan and Wang Xuqiang, "Pan Jitao's Academic Thought and Celebrity Effect Research and Application Research Results Data Collection", Zhejiang Association for Science and Technology, 2005, p. 20.
[39] [Qing] Hang Shijun wrote "Qianlong Wucheng County Chronicles" "Volume 6", engraved in the eleventh year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, Ye 28 back.
[40] Chen Yunru, "Research on the Album of Buddha Statues in the Painting of Lengyan Twenty-five Yuantong", Art History Research Collection, No. 13, 2002, p. 171.
[41] Ibid. [14], p. 351.
[42] [Ming] Gu Qiyuan, ed., "Painting the Five Hundred Arhats Dream Duanji", [Ming] Ge Yinliang, He Kaorong, "Jinling Fansha Zhi", Volume 4, Tianjin People's Publishing House, 2007, p. 195.
[43] Ibid. [40], p. 171.
[44] "Incense Elephant Refuge Map" is very similar to Wu Bin's "Painting Lengyan Twenty-five Yuantong Buddha Statue Book", and the inscription of the "Heart Sutra" written by Yuan Zunni, a monk of Wumen, is attached to the painting, and the two seals of "Yuan Lu Wangshi" and "Jiayuguan" are attached. Yuan Zunni, the word Lu Wang, a native of Changzhou, Jiajing Yichou Jinshi, and the deputy envoy of the official to Dongtixue. "Jiayu Pavilion" is the collection of books of Yuan Johnnie's father, Yuan Yuan. There is also a seal of "Mao Song Qingquan Chen's Must" on the painting, and the author consulted Gao Shiqi's eye-catching calligraphy and painting records, and there was no relevant record of this image. The seal here is obviously not the same as the seal of "Maosong Qingquan Chen" commonly used by Gao Shiqi, which is really a doubtful point. The two seals of "Yuan Lu Wang's" and "Jiayuguan" are not the same as Yuan Johnny's "Yuan Lu Wang's" and "Jiayuguan" seals in "Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Seal Appreciation", the latter pen is weak, especially the position of the first stroke of the word "Lu" is obviously wrong, and the author also thinks that this square seal is unreliable. In addition, the signature on this painting is Wentai, although in the record of Wenhan's "Wen Family Genealogy Sequel", it can be known that Wentai is also good at calligraphy and painting: "Wentai character Yuncheng, number Zhu Feng, can also paint, teacher Li Longmian." However, the above may be used as a gesture of "standing on an elephant and offering lotus flowers", which should be a proof of Wu Bin's initiative.
[45] Ibid. [1], p. 9.
Zhang Yuqing is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Art and Archaeology, Zhejiang University
(This article was originally published in Art Observation, Issue 4, 2024)