The prosperity of the Tang Dynasty and its grace and generosity are also embodied in the policy of peace and affinity between ethnic minorities in the border areas. In the history of Chinese painting, there is a painting that reproduces a period of history and pro history of that year.
Tang Dynasty Yan Liben "Step Map"
The famous Tang Dynasty painter Yan Liben's "Step Map" is based on the scene of Tang Zhenguan's fifteenth year (641), Tang Taizong Li Shimin, receiving Tubo Zampong Zanzan Gampo sent to Tang Chang'an to marry Princess Wencheng's envoy Lu Dongzan. "Step Map" is also the earliest surviving work of art in China that reflects the unity and friendship of the Han and Tibetan nationalities.
Life of Yan Liben:
Yan Liben (601-673), a native of Wannian, Yongzhou (present-day Lintong, Xi'an). Tang Dynasty prime minister and painter. Born from a noble family, his father Yan Bi was a horse of Northern Zhou, and his maternal grandfather Yuwen Yong was Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou. Yan Liben was the most important painter in the early Tang Dynasty, and he painted a wide range of subjects, and he was best at painting figures, carriages and horses, and taige, especially good at figure painting. Therefore, Yan Liben also has the reputation of "crowning the ancient and modern". Yan Bi, Yan Lide, Yan Liben father and son are famous for their craftsmanship and painting. Yan Liben's representative works include "Step Map" and "Portrait of Emperors of Past Dynasties".
Tang Dynasty Yan Liben 'Step Map' partial
Background of the creation of "Step Map":
In the fourteenth year of Tang Zhenguan (640), Tubo Daxiang Lu Dongzan, sent by Zangpu Songzan Gampo, went to Tang to seek relatives. The position of Grand Chancellor in Tibet was equivalent to the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. After Lu Dongzan arrived in Chang'an, he presented the purpose of his trip and his relatives to Emperor Taizong of Tang. At that time, the Tang Empire was prosperous, and there were five tribal leaders who expressed their willingness to marry and make good friends with the Tang Dynasty. This made Tang Taizong Li Shimin make it difficult, why should I do it? The five tribal leaders all had to compete to marry the Tang Dynasty, but Emperor Taizong had only one Princess Wencheng?
Therefore, a cadre of people left and right waited, and they offered an idea to Emperor Taizong. In order to select the best candidates, Emperor Taizong asked five envoys to take the exam together, and whoever won, married the princess to their leader. It is said that the Tubo Grand Xianglu Dongzan passed the pass and finally won the first place for Songzan Gampo. As soon as Emperor Taizong of Tang was happy, li Shimin promised Princess Wencheng to Songzan Gampo.
Yan Liben, a famous painter of the Tang Dynasty, created a painting by Liu Fang's later generations - "Step Map".
"Step Diagram" analysis:
In ancient times, the step generally refers to the human-powered push-pulled car that the emperor rides, shaped like a table, with a pair of handles in front and behind, and when riding, it is carried by four people, and the emperor sits on top instead of walking. In the Tang Dynasty, the footsteps were not wheeled, but were carried by human hands, so they were called "steps".
On the right side of the "Step Diagram", Tang Taizong Li Shimin sat on the step. On the right side of the picture, there are nine palace girls dressed in the same clothes and similar postures, one palace girl holding a flag, two palace women holding a screen fan, and six palace women carrying a step. These nine palace ladies were clustered around the emperor in the middle of the steps, and Li Shimin, who was sitting on the steps, was calm and self-assured, with a huge form and sat cross-legged, surrounded by a group of small palace women. Behind him, Tang Taizong Li Shimin, who was holding a canopy, looked very sleek and his eyes were wise, showing that he had extraordinary foresight and great talent.
There are three people standing side by side on the left side of the "Step Map", and the person wearing national costumes in the middle is Lu Dongzan. The former is a ceremonial officer, and the latter is a translator. Lu Dongzan was being introduced to Emperor Taizong by a ceremonial officer dressed in red robes. The ceremonial officers added red robes and dressed in a harmonious and festive marriage atmosphere. Lu Dongzan wore a small group of flowers in the style of the Persian Sassanids and paid tribute to Tang Taizong. The costumes and manners of the Tibetan emissary Lu Dongzan, especially the facial expression of the Japanese, are meticulously depicted and are full of national characteristics. The last official dressed in a white Tang costume should be the translator, and the painter tilts his center of gravity slightly back to illustrate his haste to come and go.
Yan Liben focuses on the personality characteristics of the two main historical figures of the Tang Dynasty Emperor Li Shimin and Lu Dongzan. The Tang Taizong Li Shimin in the painting not only has the imperial spirit and style, but also makes people feel a kind and sincere. As a Tibetan emissary, Lu Dongzan emphasized his steady and respectful demeanor and demeanor, making people feel that he was a friendly emissary who was loyal to his duties. The whole picture is solemn and harmonious, highlighting the theme of national unity.
There are some mysterious speculations about the "Step Map". It is rumored that there is a hidden mystery in the "Step Map", and Tang Taizong and Wu Zetian are in the same frame? According to historical records, the etiquette of meeting guests carried by palace people was performed after wu Zetian's advent in the Tang Dynasty. Some researchers have analyzed that among these nine palace women, it is very likely that one of them is the later Wu Zetian. Because the marriage between Princess Wencheng and Tubo occurred in the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, Wu Zetian, who was a wumei lady in this period, just entered the palace, and was only later canonized as a martial artist, which coincided with the time.
Artistic value of "Step Map":
The "Step Chart" is 38.5 cm in length and 129 cm in width. The color of "Step Map" is elegant and gorgeous, the lines are round and smooth, the composition is orderly and orderly, and it is full of changes, showing Yan Liben's skillful realism skills. Some similarities with the Dunhuang murals are also faintly visible in the paintings, and it is clear that they were also influenced by the Buddhist art that prevailed in the Tang Dynasty.
"Bu Yuan Tu" is a representative work of Yan Liben, a famous painter of the Tang Dynasty, and also a model of Tang Dynasty painting, "Bu Yuan Tu" is also a documentary historical portrait art work, and also a historical masterpiece that successfully depicts the friendly exchanges between Tibet and the Central Plains. Because the "Step Map" was written by Yan Liben, and because it was the subject of expressing major historical events, it was widely respected by later generations, and there were many inscriptions on the paintings, including the inscription of the famous Northern Song Dynasty calligrapher and painter Mi Fu, the famous Qing Dynasty painter Liang Qingbiao, the literary scholar Naran Zhide, and the Qing Renzong Ai Xinjue Luo Yan, all of whom had collected the "Step Map".
It is said that in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the "Step Map" was secretly taken out of the palace by the people in the palace, and was collected as the most precious treasure in Tianjin, and did not change hands, but gave the original copy of the "Step Map" to his daughter-in-law as a dowry. In the end, the collectors of the "Step Map" donated it to the Palace Museum in Beijing to treasure it to this day.
With its precious historical and artistic value, "Step Map" is known as "Danqing Deification", and is also known as one of the "Top Ten Famous Paintings in China", and its artistic value is the best in ancient and modern times. The "Step Map" is also listed as a top cultural relics in the country and banned from leaving the country.