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<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > crossed to the Ming Dynasty, how to be a painter?
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Text/ Zhao Jing
"The Way for Painters to Enter the Academy"
First, the imperial court took the initiative to extend the recruitment through the talent recommendation reserve mechanism. In the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu (1393), he decreed: "All those who perform the arts of astronomy, geography, medicine, poetry, master and witchcraft, music, etc., must be prepared for the use of them." Among the people of all arts, there should also be painters, who are also in the reserve.
The second is to enter the painting academy on the recommendation of an official, a king of the domain, or a eunuch. For example, Guo Chun and Fan Xian of the Yongle Dynasty were recommended to Cheng Zu by Huang Huai and Yao Guangxiao respectively. Dai Jin of the Xuande Dynasty was "recommended by the eunuch of Zhen Shoufu to the Xuanmiao Temple". Jiang You was recommended to enter Beijing by "Inspector Du Yushi Zhu Xuan". Lin Liang was admired by Chen Jin, the envoy of Guangdong Province, and then "the great eunuch of the great circle, and the Hall of Zhiren Zhi", the eunuch Xiao Jing ,啖, hoped to befriend him by recommending him to become a court painter who was given the official position of Jinyi Guard. Wu Bin "recommended the Zhongshu Sheren with the ability to paint in wanli", Meng Sixian wanli was presented by the eunuch Zhang Hongjin, Deng Xiangfeng "was known to Wugang Domain and recommended to enter the painting garden" and so on.
National Palace Museum, Taipei, Ming Daijin's "Spring Tour and Late Return"
The third is to select court painters through the painter examination held in the capital. Guangxu's "Chronicle of Jishui County" records the experience of the painter Li Zichang entering the painting academy:
Li Zichang, zi mo kuang, Zhonghu Township Dongyuan people, painting things are extraordinary, incompetent and incompetent. Taste the thin tour under the capital, will paint the garden to select people, try to be the second in the world, famous art forest, a moment of competition, treasure such as arch Bi. The son's deeds, the spirit of the spirit is far out, the elixir is broken, and he is full of life, although his family is extremely imitative, he is the same as Qi Qi.
Qianlong's "Chronicle of Guangzhou Fu" also records that Lin Jiao, the son of the court painter Lin Liang, passed the examination to enter the painting academy:
Lin Jiaozi is far away, and the son of Liang is also good at ink feathers. In the seventh year of Hongzhi's edict, he selected the world's painters, the first in the suburbs, and conferred the title of Zhiwu Yingdian Jinyi Wei Zhenfu.
This way of selecting painters through examinations is sometimes also related to the first two methods, painters who have been actively visited or recruited by recommendation still need to take examinations in Beijing, and although Xie Huan was recommended to be recruited to the Beijing Division, he still needs to pass the examination, because his "school art is at a high level, so he is favored".
Ming Linliang's "Autumn Water Crane Chart Axis"
The fourth is to be selected into the painting academy through the craftsman service system. In the Ming Dynasty, local craftsmen with craftsmanship had to serve in the capital for several months every certain number of years, and some of them may be assigned to royal projects or inner government agencies, and the local craftsmen who belonged to the artisan's nationality in the capital were often managed and served by the inner government, and the better painters among them had the opportunity to stay in the palace and become court painters.
Fifth, father and son inherit or master and apprentice to enter the painting academy. In the Ming Dynasty, court painters were mostly given the post of Jinyi Guard, and the official position of Jinyi Guard could be inherited by father and son, which provided conditions for the son to inherit his father's business and enter the painting academy. Although the Ming Dynasty did not see the situation that the Ma Yuan family of the Song Dynasty painting academy served in the painting academy for five consecutive generations, there were also quite a few generations of painting families who served in the painting academy. Father and son served in the academy for both generations, including Yongle, Dai Jingxiang and Dai Jin in the Xuande period, Bian Wenjin and his sons Bian Chufang and Bian Chushan; between Chenghua and Hongzhi, there were Lin Liang and Lin Jiao father and son. More than three generations of the family have served in the academy, and there is the Yin Shan family between Yongle and Zhengde, including his sons Kai, Yin Shun, sun Ganghong and so on.
In addition to father-son inheritance, master-apprentice inheritance was also a source for court painters in the Ming Dynasty. For the painters with great influence, there are many generations, and many of them also enter the painting academy with their teachers. For example, Dai Jin's disciple Xia Kui, Lü Ji's disciples Xiao Zeng and Hu Zhen all entered the painting academy.
"The Daily Work of a Painter"
The daily work of painters varies greatly according to the specific conditions of each person's official position, status, and artistic skills, but in general, the daily work of court painters mainly includes the following.
1. Carry out job painting creation activities
Judging from the Ming Dynasty court paintings that remain today, the themes are diverse, such as landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, and loujie paintings. However, it is obviously difficult to strictly distinguish which of them are the job works created by the court painters in their daily work and which are the works they create in their spare time.
(1) Preliminary judgment on job paintings
Many Ming Dynasty court paintings were not paid, but they should obviously be the work of the ming dynasty at that time, Shang Xi's "Ming Xuanzong Xingle Tu", the famous court painter's "Ming Xuan (Xian) Zong Gong Xing Le Tu", "Ming Xian Zong Lantern Xing Le Tu", "Royal Garden Appreciation Map", "Police Out Map", "Entering the Foot Map" and a large number of existing portraits of ming Dynasty empresses, etc., most of these works reflecting the daily life of the emperor are the work of court painters.
The National Palace Museum in Taipei has a part of the Ming Anon. "Police Map"
In the works of the painter, in addition to the name, the painter often indicates his place of entry, official position, place of origin, etc., such as the Palace Museum's "Fish Algae Diagram" and Wang Chen's "Double Hook Bamboo Diagram", which are "Wuying Hall Zhijinyi Town Fusu County Miao Fu Writing" "Zhiren Zhidian WensiYuan Deputy Envoy Wuyun Wangchen Writing Title".
Collection of the Palace Museum, Ming Miaofu's "Fish Algae Diagram"
However, more often than not, only three or two of the above four contents are written in the fallen section, such as the "Writing of The Dog In the Spring Garden" of the Kurokawa Institute of Ancient Culture in Japan, the "Writing of the Straight WenhuaDian Jinyi Qianhu Kijin" in the "Straight Wenhua Temple" of the "ZhiwenhuaDian Jinyi Qianhu Kijin", the "Dongguang Linliang" of the Palace Museum's "Shrub Collection bird map", and the signature "Jinyi Du Directing Liu Jun's Writing" in Liu Jun's "Snow Night Visit to Putu".
The Palace Museum collects part of Ming Linliang's "Shrub Collection of Birds"
From the difference in the payment, we may be able to roughly distinguish which are their job works and which are non-job works. Internally, the place of entry and the official position are obviously an important basis for the distinction between court painters, and those paintings that clearly indicate the place of entry of the painter and indicate the official position at the same time are more serious and formal, and most of them should be regarded as the work of the painter for the court. In addition to the name, the works that only sign the official position or place of origin are mostly non-professional works of the painter.
The works signed by court painters with the character "subject" are all works of service, indicating that they were written on order in relation to the identity of the king. For example, Wang Chen's "Treading snow in search of plums" is signed "Written by The Emperor Chen" and the "Record of the Imperial Palace Drawing", and the "Hongzhi" round seal and the "Treasure of Guangyun" square seal are also placed above the picture, which is undoubtedly a work of service created for the court.
The Palace Museum collects Ming Wangchen's "Treading on the Snow in Search of Meitu"
(2) The content of job paintings
Generally speaking, the service paintings of court painters in the Ming Dynasty mainly include the following aspects:
1. Paintings that reflect the daily life of the royal family
In this regard, there are "Ming Xuanzong Xingle Tu", "Ming Xuanzong (Xian) Zong Palace Xing Le Tu", "Ming Xuanzong Shooting Hunting Map", "Ming Xian Zong Lantern Xing Le Tu", "Ming Xian Zong Imperial Garden Appreciation Map", etc., although there is no painter's signature, but it is obvious that they are all the work of court painters.
The Palace Museum collects Ming Shangxi's "Xuanzong Xingle Tu"
2. Paintings that reflect the major ceremonies and important events of the time
These paintings have historical significance, such as the "Police Map" and "Entering the Foot Map" that reflect major ceremonial activities, and it is possible to depict the grand situation of the Wanli Emperor's tomb, drawing many figures from the entire honor guard into the map.
On the third day of the first month of June in the fourth year of the orthodox era (1439), the Western Regions of Samarkand offered horses, and Emperor Yingzong gave the horse the name "Rui" and ordered him to "draw a historical map". In addition, the Ruiying tu, which reflects the Xiangrui incident, also belongs to this category, such as the existing "Ruiying Qilin Map" depicting the situation of the "Qilin" (i.e., giraffe) dedicated by Zheng He when Zheng He followed Zheng He's fleet to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty during the Yongxuan Period.
Collection of the Palace Museum Ming anon. "Qilin Song RuiyingTu"
3. Portraits of empresses and ministers
A large number of existing portraits of ming emperors are also the service paintings of ming court painters, and the existing works include the old ming emperor statues and busts of the ming emperors in the Southern Xuan Hall of the Qing Palace in the Forbidden City of Beijing and Taipei. In addition to the empress and other members of the royal family, court painters were also ordered to paint portraits of court ministers, which was also a means for the monarch to enlist courtiers to show favor.
National Palace Museum, Taipei, Ming Anon. "Seated Statue of Emperor Mingxi"
4. Stories of historical figures with missionary significance and paintings of heroes
These historical theme paintings mostly depict famous historical stories or Ming Junxianchen in ancient times to achieve the purpose of mission, in addition to depicting ancient historical events and characters, there are also historical story paintings depicting the founding story of the dynasty. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, he "summoned the painters of the world to Beijing and depicted the heroes of the past dynasties". Zhu Yuanzhang "ordered the painting of ancient filial piety and the hardships he had experienced to start a family and war as a picture to show his descendants, and said to his attendants: 'Rich and noble are easy to be proud, difficult and easy to overlook, and easy to forget in the long run.' Future generations of descendants, growing up in the deep palace, only see the rich, accustomed to luxury, do not know the difficulty of the ancestors accumulated, so show this, so that day and night to watch, Shu has some vigilance. ”
The existing Palace Museum's Shang Xi's "Guan Yu Capture General Map" and Liu Jun's "Snow Night Visit to Putu", as well as the portraits of Ming Dynasty court painters painted by Ming Dynasty court painters in the two places of the Palace Museum in Beijing and the National Palace Museum in Taipei, belong to this category.
The Palace Museum's Collection Of Ming Shangxi's "Guan Yu Capture General"
5. Decorative paintings and murals of palaces and royal temples
Mural paintings for the court and the Taoist temples of the royal monasteries were also a common task of Court painters in the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang, the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, ordered Zhou Wei to "paint the "Map of the Rivers and Mountains under heaven" on the wall of the Ben Temple", and the court painter Sheng Shu was ordered to "paint the shadow wall of the Heavenly Realm Temple" during the Hongwu period. Ming Chengzu Zhu Di sent court painters to create murals for the important royal temple Bao'en Temple, and court painter Shangguan Boda participated in the creation of the temple murals. He also ordered the painter to paint the statue of the true martial god on the two walls of the Fengtian Temple.
The Zhi zhongzhi also records that "the brocade pot pile painted by the painter of the Imperial Supervisor Wu Yingdian is called flowers and miscellaneous fruits; or the goods Lang Dan, then the hundred things are completed." Or the whole set of songs such as 'March Shaoguang' and 'Fuchun Shan Zi Lingju' will be divided into titles, drawn into a screen, and installed according to the seasons. The existing Zhiwenhuadian painter Ji Sheng's "Cargo Lang Tu" and the painter Lü Wenying's Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter Four Scenes "Cargo Lang Tu" are exactly the depictions of the cargo Lang Dan of The Hundred Things Bi Chen, that is, the decorative theme paintings in the Ming Dynasty court, especially the four scenes of Lü Wenying's "Cargo Lang Tu", whose role is the same as that of "painting a screen and installing it according to the seasons".
The Palace Museum collects Ming Jisheng's "Cargo Lang Tu"
6. When accompanying the envoy, he is responsible for drawing the wind objects, mountains and rivers of different places, or specially drawing maps for royal reference
Diplomatic missions often accompanied by painters when envoys, responsible for mapping local customs and geographical conditions, with a certain reconnaissance function, this function has been around for a long time, and the Ming Dynasty is no exception. Zheng He's fleet, which sailed seven times to the West, also traveled with painters, "and painted the true book of heaven and country to return to Beijing". Some existing large-scale maps of the Ming Dynasty, such as the "Ming Dynasty Mixed Map" and the "Mongolian Landscape Map", were also ordered by court painters to draw for the imperial reference.
7. Rewards of the relevant festivals and other paintings required by the court
Some of the objects awarded to courtiers during the festivals often included drawings by court painters. The Court of the Ming Dynasty had the custom of rewarding the Folding Fan of the Qunchen during the Dragon Boat Festival, and most of the paintings on it were written by the Scholars of the Wenhua Hall of The Good Book or drawn by the court painters, and the pictures on the folding fans of the Qunchen folding fan given by the Tianshun Dynasty Dragon Boat Festival were often drawn by Lin Liang. In the Ming Dynasty, various "heavens and hells in disguise" paintings in the Baoguo Temple painted 120 scrolls, which were also painted by court painters and were rewarded by the palace. The surviving "Crown Statue of bhikkhu females", "Ten Bodhisattva Diagrams of equal enlightenment", "Eight Pictures of heavenly dragons and eight luocha female figures", as well as many water and land paintings of the merits of Empress Dowager Cisheng in the Capital Museum, were also painted according to the royal requirements and used for donation to temples and offerings.
Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Usa, Ming Anon. "Statue of the Ten Bodhisattvas of Equal Enlightenment"
2. Restoration and appraisal of paintings collected by the Inner House
The identification, sorting, restoration and mounting of court painting and calligraphy collections require specialized talents, in addition to professional mounting personnel, court painters are often the leading force in this aspect of work, and are also an important part of the daily work of some court painters.
In addition to restoration, court painters will also further decorate the collection of ancient paintings collected in the palace upon request. Zhan Jingfeng mentioned that the Wanli Emperor had ordered court painters to color the white paintings of Li Gonglin and others collected in the palace. The "Nine Song Diagrams" written by the Song Yuanren who have been handed down to the generation are basically white paintings, and Gai Li Gonglin was originally used as a white painting, and each book was born from this life, but the Song Ren's "Nine Song Diagrams" of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston today are colored, which is different from his original, this picture is the work of Li Gonglin, which has the Tibetan seal of the Wanli Neifu, and the color of this picture should be the work of the Wanli Court Painter.
Some court painters were both good at painting and good at identifying calligraphy and painting works, so they often identified calligraphy and paintings in the collection of calligraphy and paintings in the Inner House. The painter Bian Jingzhao was conscripted into the palace at the beginning of Yongle, and Ming Chengzu placed him in the "secret palace to distinguish famous paintings". In addition to painting, an important part of Bian Jingzhao's daily work is the identification of a large number of paintings in the royal collection.
Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Northern Song Dynasty Zhang Dunli (biography) "Nine Songs Book Picture Scroll"
3. Participate in the palace's calligraphy and painting tasting activities
In the spare time of official duties, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty often commented on calligraphy and painting works with the calligraphy and paintings to be edicted, and talked about the creation of calligraphy and painting. The Records of the Ming Dynasty records that Zhu Yuanzhang and his attendants in the leap july of the first year of Hongwu (1368) viewed the portraits of ancient emperors hidden in the palace and discussed the story of whether their merits were gained or lost. In addition, the court painter Xie Huan was deeply appreciated by Ming Xuanzong, and many of the Ming Dynasty classics recorded the story of Xie Huan accompanying Xuanzong to appreciate paintings at the Renzhi Hall, and although his words about Dai Jinhua were not fully trusted, it also showed that it was also an important function for the favored court painters to accompany the emperor to appreciate calligraphy and painting.
4. Paint for the emperor to modify or ghostwrite
Emperor Huizong of Song was good at painting, and sometimes only sketched lines when painting, and let the court painters at that time paint it to complete, the so-called imperial dyeing", which is similar to the situation in which Wu Daozi did not personally paint and deliver it to his disciples to complete the painting in the Tang Dynasty. Ming court painters also have records of polishing the emperor's works, according to records, Xuanzong every painting, "must summon the history of painting to the side, slightly unsatisfactory, that is, order to modify." In the early Qing Dynasty, Song Xi also pointed out that Shang Xi often painted ghostwriters for Ming Xuanzong.
Excerpt from Zhao Jing, "Research on the Ming Dynasty Painting Academy", Zhejiang University Press, 2020
Source: China Treasure Museum
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