A General History of Chinese Art. Volume 6 A General History of Chinese Art: Qing Dynasty 9783110790931, 9783110789324

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A GENERAL HISTORY OF CHINESE ART

////// Volume 6

VOLUME 1–6 From the Prehistoric Era to the Zhou Dynasty From the Qin Dynasty to the Northern and Southern Dynasties Sui and Tang Dynasties From the Five Dynasties to the Yuan Dynasty Ming Dynasty Qing Dynasty

A GENERAL HISTORY OF CHINESE ART Edited by Xifan Li

////// Volume 6

QING DYNASTY Shouxiang Chen, Yuan Feng, Qiming Huang, Jiang Liang, Fanshu Meng, Jingchen Sun, Shenshen Wang, Tingxin Wang, Wenke Wu, Xiaoyan Yang, and Quanli Zhao

The Chinese edition is published by Beijing Normal University Press (Group) Co., LTD., 2013. No reproduction and distribution without permission. ALL rights reserved.

Overview–Chapter VIII Authors: Fanshu Meng, Jingchen Sun, Shenshen Wang, Tingxin Wang, and Wenke Wu Abbreviated by: Fanshu Meng Translators: Lisa Xiangming Chen, Ana Padilla Fornieles, and Laurence Harper Chapter IX–XIV Authors: Shouxiang Chen, Yuan Feng, Qiming Huang, Jiang Liang, Xiaoyan Yang, and Quanli Zhao Abbreviated by: Shouxiang Chen, and Yanlin Chen Translators: Maya Lindenforest

ISBN 978-3-11-078932-4 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-079093-1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Book production: Kerstin Protz, De Gruyter Cover design: Thomas Bauer, deblik Berlin Cover image: Album of Stories of Empresses throughout History by Jiao Bingzhen, Palace Museum Copyediting: Matt Turner, New York Typesetting: Dörlemann Satz GmbH & Co. KG, Lemförde Printing and binding: Beltz Grafische Betriebe GmbH, Bad Langensalza www.degruyter.com

CONTENTS

Overview

1

Section 1 The High Development and Maturity of Performing Arts in the Qing Dynasty

1

Section 2 The Unprecedented Prosperity and Flourishing of the Arts in the Qing Dynasty

8

Chapter I Overview of Opera in Qing Dynasty and the Prosperity of Chuanqi in Early Qing

15

Section 1 Overview of the Art of Opera in Qing Dynasty 1. The Renewed Prosperity of Chuanqi Writing in Early Qing 2. The Rise of Regional Opera in the Mid-Qing 3. Court Opera and the Late Qing Opera Reform Movement

15 15 17 20

Section 2 Li Yu and the Suzhou Writers 1. The Content of Li Yu’s Works 2. Artistic Characteristics of Li Yu’s Works

21 22 24

Section 3 Hong Sheng and His Palace of Eternal Life 1. The Life and Thought of Hong Sheng 2. Themes and Ideological Content of The Palace of Eternal Life 3. Artistic Achievements of The Palace of Eternal Life

25 25 28 35

Section 4 Kong Shangren and The Peach Blossom Fan 1. Biography of Kong Shangren 2. Ideological Content of The Peach Blossom Fan 3. Artistic Characteristics of The Peach Blossom Fan

36 36 38 40

VI

Contents

Chapter II The Rise of Regional Opera in the Qing Dynasty and the Formation of the Four Major Vocal Tunes Section 1 The Origin and Evolution of the Clapper Tune 1. Origin of the Clapper Tune 2. The Rapid Development and Fierce Competition of the Clapper Tune 3. Formation of the Two Performance Centers 4. Development and Transformation of the Clapper Tune in the Yangtze River Basin 5. Music, Performance, and Stagecraft of the Clapper Tune 6. Formation of Diverse Clapper Operas

43 43 44 46 48 51 54 56

Section 2 Formation and Development of the Pi-Huang Tune 1. Origins of the Xipi Tune and the Erhuang Tune 2. The Formation and Prosperity of the Pi-Huang Tune 3. Formation and Prosperity of Beijing Opera

58 58 61 62

Section 3 Development and Transformation of Kunshan and Yiyang Tunes in the Qing Dynasty

73

Section 4 The String Tune and the Willow Opera

76

Chapter III Achievements in Playwriting and the Performance of Regional Operas in the Qing Dynasty

79

Section 1 Writing the Kunshan Tune and the Yiyang Tune

79

Section 2 Achievements in Playwriting of the Clapper Tune

84

Section 3 Repertoires of the Pi-Huang Tune

88

VII

Contents

Section 4 Achievements in the Art of Performing Regional Operas in the Qing Dynasty 1. Dramatization of Singing and Reciting 2. Detailed Division of Roles and the Refinement of Multiple Role Systems 3. Formation of Performance Styles and Further Theatricalization of Martial Arts and Acrobatics

93 94 96 97

Chapter IV Continuity and Transformation in the Arts of Singing-Storytelling in the Qing Dynasty

101

Section 1 Division and Prosperity of Commentary-Storytelling 1. Rise and Development of Pinghua in the South 2. Formation and Spread of Pingshu in the North

101 101 104

Section 2 The Prosperity of the String Ballad and the Drum Book 1. Various String Ballads of the South 2. The Widely Proliferating Drum Book of the North 3. The Spread and Transformation of the Bamboo Drum Daoist Singing-Storytelling 4. Formation of the Zither Book and Transformation of the Drum Book

Chapter V Arts of Singing and Chanting, Xiangsheng, and Manchu Performing Arts in the Qing Dynasty Section 1 Division and Integration of the Arts of Singing in the Qing Dynasty 1. The Proliferation of Popular Songs and the Emergence of Publications 2. Types of Singing Formed During the Qing Dynasty

106 107 115 119 120

124

124 124 126

VIII

Contents

Section 2 Formation of Xiangsheng and Rise of the Arts of Chanting 1. Formation of Xiangsheng 2. Rise of the Arts of Chanting

131 131 134

Section 3 Manchu Performing Arts in the Qing Dynasty 1. Bannermen Tales 2. The Octagonal Drum

137 137 141

Chapter VI Music in the Qing Dynasty

143

Section 1 Court Music in the Qing Dynasty 1. The Evolution of Court Music in the Qing Dynasty 2. Court Ritual Music 3. Court Entertainment Music

143 143 144 145

Section 2 Religious Music in the Qing Dynasty 1. Buddhist Music 2. Daoist Music 3. Shamanic Music Preserved in the Court

150 150 152 153

Section 3 Folk Music in the Qing Dynasty 1. Qing Dynasty Folk Songs 2. The Growth of Folk Instrumental Ensembles

153 153 155

Section 4 Literati Music in the Qing Dynasty 1. Guqin Art 2. Schools of Pipa Performance and Extant Scores 3. »Thirteen Sets of Stringed Instruments« Ensemble Music

158 158 161 162

Section 5 The Spread of Western Music in China 1. The First Large-Scale Introduction of Western Music in the Late Ming and Early Qing Dynasties 2. The Spread of Western Music in China in the Middle and Late Qing Dynasty

163 163 164

IX

Contents

Section 6 The Start of New Music: School Music 1. The Historical and Cultural Background of School Music 2. The Emergence and Development of School Music 3. Shen Xingong, Zeng Zhimin, and Li Shutong: Compilers of School Songs

165 165 166 167

Chapter VII Dance of the Qing Dynasty

170

Section 1 Elegant Dance and Banquet Dance 1. Elegant Dance 2. Banquet Dancing

170 170 170

Section 2 Theatricalization of Folk Songs and Dances 1. Yangge Opera 2. Tea Picking Opera 3. Flower Drum Opera 4. Lantern Opera

171 173 174 176 176

Section 3 The Spread of European Dance Styles

177

Section 4 Festival Songs and Dances 1. Lantern Festival and Lantern Dances 2. Songs and Dances of Ethnic Festivals

178 178 180

Section 5 Religious Dances 1. The Mysterious Sacrificial Hall 2. Chama Dance 3. The Prevalence of Religious Festival Parades

184 184 185 186

Section 6 Songs and Dances of Livelihood and Labor 1. Dances of Labor and Production 2. Wedding Dances 3. Funeral Dances 4. Social Dance at Festive Gatherings

187 187 187 188 188

X

Contents

Chapter VIII Theories of Performing Arts in the Qing Dynasty

190

Section 1 Opera Theory in the Qing Dynasty 1. Opera Talks of Li Liweng 2. Pear Garden Basics 3. Peasant Chats on Flowery Opera 4. Opera Talks of the Wisteria Pavilion

190 190 193 194 195

Section 2 Music Theory in the Qing Dynasty 1. Singing Theory 2. Qing Scholars’ Compilation of Music History

196 196 203

Chapter IX The Development of Scroll Painting and the Revival of Calligraphy and Seal Carving in the Qing Dynasty I

208

Section 1 The Early Qing Painting Scene as Led by the Four Wangs, Wu, Yun, and the Four Monks 1. The Four Wangs and Early Qing Orthodox Painting 2. Wu Li and Yun Shouping 3. The Four Monks 4. The Painting Scenes of Anhui and Jinling

208 208 215 221 228

Section 2 The Yangzhou School and Court Painting 1. Trends in Painting during the mid-Qing Period 2. Painting in Yangzhou: Zheng Banqiao and Jin Nong of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou 3. Court Painting

235 236 238 246

XI

Contents

Chapter X The Development of Scroll Painting and the Revival of Calligraphy and Seal Carving in the Qing Dynasty II Section 1 The Changing Late Qing Painting Scene 1. An Overview of Late Qing Painting 2. The Shanghai School of Painting from Zhao Zhiqian to Wu Changshuo 3. The First Heralds of Late Qing Painting in Lingnan

257 257 257 260 269

Section 2 The Revival of Calligraphy and Seal Carving 1. The Prevalence of the Modelbook School and Masters of the Cabinet Style 2. The Rise of the Stele School and the Versatile Calligraphers Deng Shiru and Yi Bingshou 3. The Art of Seal Carving: Cheng Sui and Ding Jing

280 287

Chapter XI Sculpture, Folk Products, Folk Painting

299

276 276

Section 1 Changes in Sculpture 1. Transformation and Decline of Large-Scale Sculpture 2. Rich Varieties of Small-Scale Sculpture and Stone, Ceramic, and Clay Sculptures

304

Section 2 A Wide Variety of Folk Products 1. Folk Papercutting and Carving 2. Folk Plastic Works 3. Folk Weaving, Braiding, and Miscellaneous Products

308 309 312 316

Section 3 The Prosperity of Folk Painting 1. Folk New Year Pictures of Yangliuqing and Taohuawu 2. Mural Paintings 3. Thangka 4. Calendar Posters and Other Folk Paintings

318 318 323 325 328

299 299

XII

Contents

Chapter XII Flourishing Craft Arts Section 1 Ceramic Art with Jingdezhen as the Center 1. New Developments in Porcelain-Making Technology and Technique 2. Official Ware of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong Periods 3. Official Kilns of Late Periods and Famous Regional Kilns

330 330 330 331 336

Section 2 Printing, Dyeing, Weaving, and Embroidery 1. Printing and Dyeing 2. Silk, Cotton, Linen, and Wool Weaving 3. Kesi »Cut-Silk« and Embroidery

339 339 340 343

Section 3 Jade, Stone, Lacquer and Metal Work 1. Jade and Stone Carving 2. Lacquerware 3. Metalworking

346 346 348 350

Section 4 Bamboo, Wood, Ivory, Horn, and Other Craft Arts 1. Bamboo, Wood, Ivory, and Horn Carvings 2. Furniture and Studio Items 3. Glass and other Craft Arts

355 355 357 359

Chapter XIII Architecture of the Qing Dynasty

361

Section 1 Continuation and Construction of Official and Ceremonial Buildings 361 1. The Succession of Palace Complexes and Ceremonial Buildings 362 371 2. Religious Architecture: Enrichment and Change Section 2 Vernacular Architecture and Garden Architecture 1. Integrated Creations of Vernacular Architecture 2. Residential Building Systems 3. The Masterful Art of Classical Garden Architecture

379 379 383 390

XIII

Contents

Chapter XIV Art Theory and Connoisseurship

398

Section 1 The Expansion of the Theory of Painting 1. An Overview of Writings on Painting 2. Characteristics and Contributions

398 398 405

Section 2 Theories of Calligraphy and Seal Carving 1. Writings on Calligraphy and Theoretical Achievements 2. Writings and Theories of Seal Carving

407 407 413

Section 3 Art Collections and Written Records 1. Imperial and Private Collections 2. Records of Collections

415 415 420

OVERVIEW

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty in Chinese feudal society, and it established the last powerful feudal empire in Chinese history. From a historical perspective, the Qing Dynasty had many unique features that were different from other feudal dynasties. It was a feudal regime established by the Manchus, who entered the Central Plains and united the Manchu aristocracy with the Han landowning class, which established the most complete and tightly centralized monarchy in Chinese history; not only that, but the success of the ethnic policy also implemented by this regime made this multi-ethnic country achieve unprecedented unity. The Qing Dynasty was once the world’s most powerful state and had the most extensive territory in Chinese history, and its Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong reigns were once the world’s attention. But at the decline of the dynasty, it became the weak prey of various powers, and eventually became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal state. As the last powerful empire of China’s feudal society, it showed for the last time the glorious achievements of feudal society in terms of productivity and superstructure. And as the last era of feudal society, it fully demonstrated the inherent shortcomings of this social system, and misery and desolation while it was dying. As the last feudal dynasty, the culture and arts of the Qing Dynasty are historically unique. This is mainly manifested in two aspects. One of them is comprehensiveness. As the Qing Dynasty was at the end of the feudal society, its culture and arts were duty-bound to the historical task of summarizing and perfecting the culture and arts of the whole of feudal society. This summarization and

perfection were concentrated on the inheritance and development of ancient Chinese culture and arts, with their long history—and there is every reason to believe that the culture and arts of the Qing Dynasty are the epitome of ancient Chinese culture and arts. In the field of the arts, the unprecedented popularity and high prosperity of opera, the great development of music and other performing arts, the prosperity of folk arts, and the great achievements made in the plastic arts, such as painting and calligraphy, all reflect characteristics of Qing Dynasty arts as the epitome of ancient Chinese art. Second, was the pioneering nature. Since the Qing Dynasty not only evolved from a feudal society to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society in terms of political system, but also realized the transformation from ancient China to modern China in the field of ideology and culture, the arts of the Qing Dynasty not only played an important role in this period of great historical change, but also completed a major transformation of the arts, becoming the forerunner of modern Chinese art.

Section 1  The High Development and Maturity of Performing Arts in the Qing Dynasty The various disciplines of the performing arts, marked by opera, singing and storytelling, dance, and music, all saw significant development during the Qing Dynasty. Among them, opera ushered in the third peak of its own development history, a large number of new genres emerged in the arts of

2

singing and storytelling, and new achievements were made in dance and music based on the inheritance of excellent traditions. The long-standing art of opera continued to maintain its vitality after the two artistic peaks of Yuan zaju and Ming chuanqi, and it ushered in a more glorious era with the establishment of the last feudal dynasty in Chinese history. Looking at Qing opera from a historical point of view, it not only collected the greatest achievements of Yuan and Ming operas, but also raised Chinese opera to a new and higher artistic level in a comprehensive manner. In order to adapt to the changes of the times and to meet the needs of a wider audience, Qing opera, marked by the flourishing of local operas, not only created a large number of dazzling vocal tunes rich in local and folk color, but also matured and perfected the art of opera music and performance. In this way, the art of opera, which has the most national characteristics, accomplished construction as a comprehensive performing art on a higher level. The opera of the Qing Dynasty went through three important stages of development, namely, the prosperity of chuanqi creation in the early Qing Dynasty, the flourishing of local opera in the middle of the Qing, and the reformation of opera in the late Qing. The period from the establishment of the Qing Dynasty to the Yongzheng reign, which lasted nearly one hundred years, was a transition period from the era of chuanqi to the era of local opera. During this period, kunqu dominated the theater scene, and its footprint was across the entire country. Yiyang qiang, on the other hand, continued to maintain its folk characteristics and circulated widely in the vast countryside. The emergence of two monumental works, The Palace of Eternal Youth and The Peach Blossom Fan, not only brought chuanqi to its last peak, but also injected new vitality into kunqu and Yiyang qiang. However, while kunqu was struggling to maintain the position of master of the opera world, and to find

Overview

ways to continue former glory, Yiyang qiang had already set a challenge, and eventually the two occupied equal spaces in Beijing. At the time, a new series of vocal styles and repertoires, represented by the bangziqiang, had also emerged, and once it made its mark it showed great vitality. Thus, a fierce artistic competition between the old and the new vocal styles began. From the Qianlong to the Daoguang Period, folk opera flourished and prospered like never. In the history of opera, the emerging folk opera represented by bangziqiang and pi-huang tunes were called local opera during the Qing Dynasty. The local opera of the Qing Dynasty came into prominence as early as the Kangxi period and became an inexorable trend during the Qianlong Period. After two rounds of rivalries with kunqu, it finally replaced it and occupied the leading position in the opera world. At this time, the art of opera entered a new era in which the two musical systems of the fixed tune-sets and the varied rhythms coexisted, and the four major vocal systems of kunqu, Yiyang qiang, bangziqiang, and pi-huang Tunes competed for attention. After the Opium War, Chinese society underwent great changes. In the reform movement initiated by the bourgeoisie, along with the revolution in poetry and fiction, the reformation of opera became the trend of the times. This movement had great impact on the old opera, and started the transformation from the old to the new opera. Since Qing Dynasty opera was the greatest epitome of Chinese opera arts, the unprecedented prosperity of Qing Dynasty opera showed the following characteristics: The trend of diversification of vocal tunes. From historical records, Yuan zaju opera had only the distinction of genres and no division of vocal tunes. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a tendency of diversification of vocal tunes, and the Yuyao and Haiyan tunes used to rival with the kunqu and Yiyang qiang, thus the four major styles coexisted. However, Yuyao and Haiyan tunes gradually lost

3

their advantages in this artistic competition and were eventually absorbed and assimilated by kunqu. Thus, for a long time, chuanqi was sung only by the Kunshan and Yiyang styles. However, after the Qing Dynasty, the situation changed unexpectedly. After the rise of bangziqiang, many new vocal tunes emerged, such as the Luantan tune, the Guniang tune, the Xiansuo tune, the Liuzi tune, the Luoluo tune, the Erhuang tune, and the Xipi tune. At one time, there was a situation where all the vocal styles mixed and competed. In the process of long-term circulation, many transformed, adapting to locales, and thus evolved into many different types of opera belonging to the same tune system. In particular, the Bangzi, Pi-Huang, Kunshan and Yiyang styles formed their own systems. Within the same system, there could be several or even more than a dozen types of operas. For example, those belonging to the Bangzi system include Qinqiang, Shanxi bangzi, Hebei bangzi, Henan bangzi, and so on. And in the Qinqiang system alone, there is the distinction between Xi’an Qinqiang, Xifu Qinqiang, Tongzhou Qinqiang, and Handiao guangguang. The diversification of vocal styles was a product and a sign of the unprecedented development of the art of opera, and a sign of the high degree of maturity of the art of opera. It reflects the demand of the general audience for the greatest possible extent of opera, and shows that the aesthetic status of opera was constantly increasing. Second is the trend of high synthesis. Opera is a comprehensive art, and it was both born and developed in the process of synthesis. However, compared with Yuan zaju and Ming chuanqi, Qing Dynasty opera was clearly more integrated and more complete. If kunqu had developed »storytelling through song and dance« to an unprecedented level, then the Bangzi and Pi-Huang styles were a significant step forward from kunqu. Especially after the formation of Peking Opera, a new level of integration and unification of music, dance, and drama had been achieved. As one of the most

SECTION 1 THE HIGH DEVELOPMENT AND MATURITY OF PERFORMING ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY

complete forms of opera art, the music and dance of Peking Opera were not only fully dramatized, but their combination with drama reached the point of being inseparable and indispensable. In other words, the music of Peking Opera was danced, the dance of Peking Opera was musicalized, and the danced music and musicalized dance of Peking Opera were highly dramatized. In addition, opera in the Qing Dynasty also incorporated various literary arts, as well as singing and storytelling arts, acrobatics, martial arts, magic, and various folk arts, making opera in this highly mature period an encyclopedic and unified body of various arts. Third is popularization. From the day it was born, opera was an art of the masses. The main audience of Yuan zaju opera ranged from princes and nobles to peddlers, and there were no class restrictions. The singing of Ming chuanqi was divided between the elegant and the vulgar, but it was a division of artistic labor. Kunqu gradually became more elegant, and the audience was mainly dignitaries and literati; the mainstream of the Yiyang tune always maintained the characteristics of folk art, and it was mainly appreciated by the working masses. Qing Dynasty opera took another big step forward on this road of popularization. This was firstly demonstrated by the tendency of popularization of the emerging vocal tunes. Whether it was the Bangzi, the Luantan, or the Pi-Huang, they were initially the art of the working masses, and were therefore treated with contempt and ridicule by dignitaries and literati. There was a sense of contempt and rejection in their designation as the Flower Division, in opposition to the Elegant Division. However, the emerging Bangzi and PiHuang styles finally took the place of kunqu as the leaders of the opera world. It is noteworthy that, whether it was the Qinqiang that enthralled the nobles in the capital or the pi-huang qiang that entered the court and became the art of the supreme ruler, they did not lose their tendency to attract labor-based, popular audiences. Even after ­Peking

4

Opera became the national opera, it was still a universal art. What is more interesting is that kunqu, which had always been labeled as an elegant art, also became localized during the Qianlong Period, and the emergence of such genres as Beikun (northern kunqu), Xiangkun (Hunan kunqu), and Chuankun (Sichuan kunqu) are signs of the popularization of kunqu. In order to survive and develop, the Yiyang style developed toward elegance on the one hand, with the Beijing style (jingqiang 京腔) eventually becoming an elegant art on a par with kunqu; on the other hand, the Yiyang style also gained a large audience in a wider arena through further localization. In short, localization and popularization were the overall development trends of Qing opera, the result of which not only made the art of opera attract the widest masses, but also enabled the art of opera to take root in the folk and draw rich nutrients from them. This virtuous circle not only made the opera of the Qing Dynasty grow thanks to its unique ­position, but also enabled the working masses to enjoy the art. Fourth, the trend of adaptability. Adaptability refers to the survival and development of the art of opera in response to changes of the times. When the Yuan zaju opera declined and Ming chuanqi took its place, meeting the new aesthetic needs of the general audience, emerging local opera took stage. All these great changes show that the art of opera was not a rigid and conservative art, but an open, progressive, and adaptable art. If adaptability is the tradition of opera art, then this tradition was most fully developed in Qing Dynasty opera. This was not only reflected in the growth of new types of opera, but also in the process of self-renewal of classical opera. Both kunqu and the Yiyang style changed to varying degrees after they entered the Qing Dynasty. In the course of their circulation in various places, different local genres emerged in kunqu, while the Yiyang style evolved into various high tunes. All these changes were self-adjustments and self-renewals in order

Overview

to adapt to and meet the needs of local audiences, and it gave the ancient genre a new impetus for development. If we look at the art of opera as an organic whole, we will see that the vigor and way in which this art renewed itself is astonishing. It not only renewed kunqu and the Yiyang style to meet the needs of the new era, but also nurtured a large number of new vocal styles, making the field of opera art extraordinarily colorful and splendid. What is even more remarkable is that, after their emergence, the new types of opera were almost completely free from complacency, and they were not content to stay in their birthplace but rapidly developed into a broader world. They were not self-congratulatory or self-pitying, but constantly renewed and improve themselves in the process of seeking development, so that we can see the formation of various bangziqiang and various pihuang qiang. This adaptability is also manifested in the continuous integration and fusion of various vocal types, such as the early bangziqiang of the Yangtze River valley, which was the product of the fusion of Qin qiang with various vocal types, such as the Blowing Tune (Chuiqiang 吹腔), the Siping Tune 四平腔. and the High Tune (Gaoqiang 高腔). What follows was the combination of the Xipi and the Erhuang styles, which led to the birth of the Pi-Huang style. It can be said that without the full play of adaptable traditions, there would have been no unprecedented development or prosperity of Qing Dynasty opera, nor would there have been the emergence of more than 300 vocal styles throughout China. Finally, another important feature of Qing Dynasty opera is the significant change in the relationship between opera literature and opera performance. Yuan zaju and the Ming and Qing chuanqi both belong to eras marked by playwrights, from Guan Hanqing and Tang Xianzu to Hong Sheng and Kong Shangren, whose brilliant masterpieces caught the world’s attention. In other words, Yuan zaju and Ming chuanqi made remarkable achievements in opera literature, and those great

5

works can stand on their own without the slightest doubt among the masterpieces of ancient Chinese literature. However, the local operas of the Qing Dynasty did not produce great writers, nor any amazing scripts. Rather, the local opera of the Qing Dynasty was a theater art marked by actors and the art of performance. Stage-based performing arts reached a fully developed and highly mature stage in the local operas of the Qing Dynasty, represented by the Pi-Huang and Bangzi styles, and the degree of perfection is unparalleled. In contrast, the achievement of script literature is somewhat eclipsed. The reason is directly related to the fact that the literati seldom were involved in the creation of operas. The literati were no longer as keen on the creation of opera as in the eras of Yuan zaju and Ming and Qing chuanqi, on the one hand, partly as the result of the prevailing climate of the times, and on the other hand because the literati at this time regarded local opera as a vulgar and were not willing to be associated with it. Most of the scripts of local operas in the Qing Dynasty came from the hands of artists, and the number of their repertoire was unparalleled in any other era in history. In this sense, it was a great liberation for script writing. Because the artists were living on the stage for so long, they knew best how to make a script suitable for stage performance; so, once they had the power to create and revise a script, they could complete and perfect the script that best suited the stage performance in accordance with the needs of the stage. Practice has shown that the scripts of the Qing Dynasty local operas are very suitable for stage performances, which not only create space and conditions for the full play of performing arts, but also achieved a close combination and organic unity with the performing arts. If this agreement had not been established between the script and the performing arts, the local opera of the Qing Dynasty could not have appeared in its present form, or with such splendor. In other words, it was the high development of the performing arts that propelled the

SECTION 1 THE HIGH DEVELOPMENT AND MATURITY OF PERFORMING ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY

art of Chinese opera to climb to its last, and most glorious, peak. There are always pros and cons in an objective matter, and the development of opera is also unbalanced. In the eras of Yuan zaju and Ming and Qing chuanqi, the development of the art of opera was clearly focused on script literature, so it can be said that it was the high development and dazzling light of opera literature that established the social status of this art. And in the era of highly developed opera literature, the performing arts were not only in a subsidiary position, but also had to submit to the needs of script literature to a large extent, and it is not hard to imagine the sacrifices made. Of course, this phenomenon can also be explained from another perspective, that is, in the eras of zaju and chuanqi, the conditions required for the high development of opera performance were not yet complete, which is why the development of performing arts lagged. The unbalanced development of opera also existed in the Qing Dynasty, and its manifestation was just the opposite: the previously lagging performing arts ushered in a new era of rapid development, while script literature, contrary to the norm, showed its conformity, accommodation, and promotion of the performing arts. Whether it was sacrifice or dedication, the result was the arrival of a more glorious era for the art of opera. The understanding and evaluation of the achievements of local opera literature in the Qing Dynasty should not be confined to whether it produced many great playwrights or left many brilliant plays, but should focus mainly on the organic unity of the opera arts. It should be seen that opera, as a highly integrated art, radiated more brilliantly on the stage of local opera in the Qing Dynasty; opera literature, as an organic part of opera art, not only readjusted its position relative to the organic whole, but also promoted the development of the whole art because of this positive adjustment. The unprecedented prosperity of the Qing Dynasty opera art can be called the second golden

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age in the history of the development of opera art. It was characterized by the new vitality of the old genres and the emergence of a large number of new genres, with a wide variety of types and styles, and a considerable number of genres still active on the contemporary stage. In order to survive and gain new opportunities for development, many old genres tended to localize in the process of transmission, and they mutated to varying degrees through the adoption of dialectal slang and the absorption of folk arts, such as pinghua since the Yuan and Ming dynasties, which had been differentiated into different genres such as Yangzhou pinghua, Suzhou pinghua, Nanjing pinghua and Yixing pinghua in the south alone. Another example is tanci, which was prevalent in the Ming Dynasty, which evolved into Suzhou tanci, Yangzhou tanci, and Qihai tanci during the Qing Dynasty. This shows that the needs of social life in the Qing Dynasty not only provided a new living space for the old genre, but also created good conditions for artistic competition, so the old genre could only rely on its own transformation to grow into a large family to meet the needs of the times. There are two main channels for the emergence of new genres, one is the mutation of the original genre; the other is the marriage between different genres or with folk arts. The former, such as the popular drum-accompanied storytelling (gushu 鼓书) of the north, underwent two kinds of mutations, one being the evolution of the original drum-accompanied storytelling into a drum song (guqu 鼓曲), such as Peking Drums; the second was changing the singing-storytelling performance to only spoken word, unaccompanied by music—and this led to the emergence of commentary-storytelling (pingshu 评书). As for new genres born out of a fusion with new disciplines, the examples are even more abundant, such as Daoqing 道情. which developed from religious singing-storytelling, on the one hand, changing from chanting the scriptures to telling stories, and

Overview

on the other hand merging with different genres to form new types of performing art. For example, the Daoqing popular in Henan Province was combined with the local Three-String Storytelling (sanxian shu 三弦书) and the Warbler-Song Liuzi Opera (yingge liu 莺歌柳), among others, to produce Henan zhuizi 河南坠子. Likewise, the combination of Hunan Daoqing with the tanci popular in Changsha led to the formation of Changsha tanci. When the »Ten without Rest« (shibuxian 十不闲) popular across the country spread to the northeast, it was integrated with local yangge 秧歌 folk songs, leading to the formation of errenzhuan 二 人转. Xiangsheng 相声 and shuanghuang 双簧 are even more quintessentially the result of the great collision and fusion between different genres of music and performing arts in the Qing Dynasty. Qing Dynasty dance can be divided into two categories: court music and dance and folk dance, each of which developed along its own track. Court music and dance can be divided into court ritual music and dance, and banquet music and dance. They were changed and refined with the characteristics of the Qing Manchu regime in different periods. Before their entry into the Central Plains, court ritual music and dance mainly consisted of primitive shamanic music and dance used to »welcome the gods, and offer sacrifices to heaven.« After the Manchu regime entered the Central Plains, court ritual music and dance went through a second stage of development marked by the absorption, creation, and development of the Row Dance (Yiwu 佾舞). The Row Dance shows the Qing court’s absorption and inheritance of traditional Han ritual and music culture. Qing court banquet music and dance changed considerably compared with the Ming Dynasty. It abolished the zaju performance from the celebratory banquet, and used instead the banquet music (yanyue 燕乐) which originated from the Central Plains and belonged to the yayue music system. Among them, there were Virtue and Victory Dance (Desheng wu 德胜舞) and Dance of Centenary Vir-

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tue (Shide wu 世德舞), which belong to the category of »team dance« and were used to praise the emperor’s civil and military achievements; The Python Moves (Mangshi 蟒式), which was loved by the emperor and used for grand ceremonies; and Dance of Promoting Merit (Yanglie wu 扬烈 舞), with the obvious implication of subjugating the world with military achievements. In general banquets, Dance of the Top Five (Wukui wu 五魁 舞) and Dance of the Five Elements (Wuxing zhiwu 五行之舞) were used. The Qing Dynasty was the era when folk dance flourished. The Lantern Dance was one of the most popular folk dances, lending endless fun to festive nights and evoking the countless beautiful aspirations of the laborers who worked hard throughout the year. In Weinan, Shaanxi Province, there was Character and Lantern Combined (He zideng 合字灯), which combined the Lantern Dance and the Character Dance into one, with the lanterns forming a dragon in the darkness, where one can only see lanterns spinning and but no one dancing. Large Sea Turtle Panyu (Panyu ao 番禺 鳌) of Guangdong, Water Tribe Dance (Shuizu wu 水族舞) of Shanghai, Fish Lantern (Yudeng 鱼灯) of Qingtian, Zhejiang, Attracting and Playing with Phoenixes (Yinluan xifeng 引鸾戏凤) of Xiuning, Anhui, and other lantern dances featured fish or animals, and were all favorites of the people. Other programs, such as the Rice Sprout Song (Yangge 秧 歌), Stilts (Gaoqiao 高跷), Running Bamboo Horse (Pao zhuma 跑竹马), Dry Boat (Hanchuan 旱船), Running Donkey (Pao lü 跑驴) and Three-stick Drum (Sanbang gu 三棒鼓) were indispensable to the working masses. Minority dances also developed greatly. The Sandi Festival (Sandi jie 散地节) was a festival for the Yao people to worship the earth, when men, women and children »sing and dance for fun.« The Miao had the Kicking Hall Dance (Chuantang zhiwu 踹堂之舞); the Dai, Achang and Jingpo had the Elephant-Foot-Drum Dance (Xiangjiaogu wu 象脚鼓舞); the Yi had the Sacrificial Crop Dance

SECTION 1 THE HIGH DEVELOPMENT AND MATURITY OF PERFORMING ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY

(Si zhuangjia wu 祀庄稼舞); and the Naxi had the Elephant Dance (Daxiang wu 大象舞)—among others. A wide range of minority dances added more color to the dance of the Qing Dynasty. The introduction of Western dance culture also brought about significant change to the history of Chinese dance, with the emergence of new music and physical education in new-style schools, and the rise of school dance. The classical ballet of Europe was also introduced to China at this time, and once it stepped on the ancient land of China, it gradually spread to all corners, blowing a strong wind. As the last feudal dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing Dynasty had its own unique musical art. One of the outstanding features of the music of the Qing Dynasty was the mixture of music of the various ethnic groups. As early as before the Manchu regime entered China, the Manchu upper class began to learn the musical culture of the Central Plains systematically, with a purpose—especially the yayue of the court passed down through the generations. »Record of Music« in Draft History of Qing states the following: »As [Emperor] Shizu entered the Pass [into China], [he ordered to] restore the old [system of] the Ming.« The Qing court set up the Office of Music Academies (Jiaofang si 教坊司) as a specialized institution to manage the music of court assemblies and banquets. While vigorously promoting yayue, the court also paid attention to retain Manchu folk song and dance traditions, so that the official music of the Qing Dynasty became a mixture of the music of the Han Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan, Hui, as well as the »dependent countries« (Joseon, Annam, Burma, Nepal)—which was similar to the Tang Dynasty. Another characteristic of Qing Dynasty music was the high development of music for the citizenry. With social stability and economic prosperity, civil music ushered in a great opportunity for development and growth, with various music activities taking place everywhere, such as in market-

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place theatres, pleasure quarters, guest houses, taverns, teahouses, streets, and bazaars. At the time, the elegant music of the literati, the popular music of lower-class citizens, and folk music from the countryside converged and integrated to form a new urban music, with folk songs, bangziqiang and pi-huang qiang, string, pipe, and percussion music, and more, all coming to the fore and showing their charm. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the exchange of Chinese and Western music created a new situation, and the emergence of school songs heralded the birth of new music.

Section 2  The Unprecedented Prosperity and Flourishing of the Arts in the Qing Dynasty The arts of the Qing Dynasty constitute the last peak in the history of ancient Chinese arts, with an overall form characterized by intensified change and rich diversity. From the perspective of the development of the arts, the Ming and Qing dynasties were times of maturity in artistic vocabularies and skillful applications of model styles, which led to the enrichment of artistic personalities and changes in artistic style. However, the changes in the arts of the Qing Dynasty differed from those of the Ming Dynasty in that there was a more acute sense of confrontation as the rulers of the Qing Dynasty were ethnic minorities from the north who had entered the Central Plains, and richness was accompanied by a more tedious triviality. The former was prominent in calligraphy and painting, while the latter was more fully expressed in architecture, arts and crafts, and folk art. On the other hand, the Qing Dynasty, as the last dynasty of China’s grand unified feudal society, started its art development on the basis of the accumulation of previous generations. The rulers of the Qing Dynasty, due to cultural differences and governing needs, placed more em-

Overview

phasis on the establishment of model styles and the refinement of craftsmanship, and as such, the arts of the Qing Dynasty logically embodied a summary tendency and presented the epitome characteristics. Broadly speaking, the arts of the Qing Dynasty can be divided into three periods: the early Qing Dynasty was the period of continuity; the middle Qing Dynasty entered the period of prosperity; and the late Qing Dynasty was the period of transformation. Different categories of arts had different trajectories of development and change. Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, painting has become the most important form of plastic arts, and literati painting gradually became a higher level of artistic pursuit, and the mainstream of painting. After the mid-Ming, the perfection of painting vocabulary gave rise to numerous individual schools, resulting in the overall direction of »valuing change« in painting and the characteristics of the times. During the Qing Dynasty, there was even more development. The painting world of the Qing showed a general pattern of prosperous development in landscape and birdand-flower painting, and the decline of figure painting. The prosperity of landscape painting was certainly related to the humanistic atmosphere in the Jiangnan region, but it was also linked to the aesthetic qualities of traditional Chinese culture. From the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming and Qing dynasties, landscape painting clearly highlighted lyrical and expressive qualities, and the interventions of aesthetic interests of the literati were one of the important factors in this transformation. From the mid-Ming period on, landscape painting was dominated by the »Wu School,« which encompassed the Wumen School, the Songjiang School, and other painting schools. In the early Qing Dynasty, the orthodox school represented by the Four Wangs and a group of Ming loyalist painters from Jiangnan were the mainstream of the painting world. As their style was tacitly accepted

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or endorsed by the rulers of the Qing Dynasty, their aesthetic sentiment was also respected and emulated by the people of the time, thus forming a more systematic and complete lineage, which was considered as the Orthodox School style of painting. The Orthodox School revered Dong Qichang and Ju Ran, followed the Four Masters of Yuan and adhered to the Southern School tradition that Dong Qichang advocated. The Southern School tradition, focusing on the charm of brushwork and ink, employed impressive skill and techniques. However, they were overly attached to the origins of their brush and ink techniques and their masters, thus limiting to a certain extent their own creative personalities and the formation of a new style. The Orthodox School was mainly in the north, while a group of southern painters who entered the Qing Dynasty from the Ming Dynasty were not politically cooperative with the Qing rulers, but emphasized expressing their own feelings in their art, and paid particular attention to the development of their individuality in technique, thus forming a style with strong emotional color and unique artistic techniques. Their artistic outlook was often different from that of the Orthodox School, and they were thus regarded as the »Wild School.« Among them, Jianjiang, Kuncan, Shitao, and Bada Shanren, known together as the Four Monks, made the most achievements and had the greatest influence on future generations. Others, such as the Jinling School headed by Gong Xian, were known for unrestrained brushwork, novelty, and unique artistic style. The artistic creation of these painters was the first climax of the Qing Dynasty painting scene, and they gave the arts of the Qing Dynasty a striking outlook from the beginning. The painters of the Wild School were mainly active in the Jiangnan Region, which geographically also stood in opposition with the northern Orthodox School. This landscape of the orthodox and the dissident, the north and the south, roughly indicates the basic dynamics of the early Qing painting scene.

SECTION 2 THE UNPRECEDENTED PROSPERITY AND FLOURISHING OF THE ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY

Continuing from Dong Qichang in the late Ming Dynasty, the painting style represented by Wang Shimin, Wang Jian, Wang Hui, Wang Yuanqi, Wu Li, and Yun Shouping had already formed a wide influence in the imperial court during the Kangxi and Qianlong periods. The Four Wangs were known for their landscape paintings, and their artistic interests and styles were similar, while Wu Li and Yun Shouping, who were equally famous, had their own characteristics. Although Wu Li was known for his landscapes, his style was not like that of the Four Wangs, while Yun Shouping excelled in flowers and developed a school of his own. The Four Wangs were deeply influential, and later there were the »Little Four Wangs« and the »Later Four Wangs.« As for the Yushan School and Loudong School, they were in fact important schools led by the Four Wangs. There were many schools of landscape painting in the early Qing, including the Xin’an School represented by Hongren, the Four Masters of Haiyang, and the Jiangxi School represented by Luo Mu. In bird-and-flower painting, Wang Wu, Jiang Tingxi, Yun Shouping and others all had their own specialty. Among them, the Changzhou School represented by Yun Shouping and the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou in the mid-Qing had the most profound influence. In the late Qing, the Haishang School of Painting, Ju Chao and Ju Lian of Guangzhou, and a group of painters from the modern Lingnan School, were all associated with this lineage. Although figure painting could not compete with the prosperity of landscape painting, portrait painting, stylized painting, and paintings of leisure (xingle tu 行乐图) were still considerable. Yu Zhiding, Jiao Bingzhen, Gai Qi, Fei Danxu, and Gao Qipei were all unique, followed by Ren Yi, who was a pioneer in modern figure painting. In the Qing court, there were many Western painters who produced portraits and large-scale paintings with documentary content and according to the emperor’s wishes. Their series of creative activi-

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ties had significant impact and influence on traditional Chinese painting. Jiao Bingzhen, Leng Mei, and others in court tried to integrate Western methods into a new style of painting that had not been seen before. The prosperity of the mid-Qing, for nearly a hundred years, led to an era of prosperity in the painting world: the Orthodox School and the Wild School both flourished, court painting and folk painting both thrived, and there was an interactive situation in which literati painting penetrated the marketplace and artisans learned from the literati. The stable political situation and affluent economy allowed the rulers to hold various major art events with ease. The number of painters was much larger than that of the previous palace painting academies, painting activities were frequent and standardized, and the status of painters was valued—with a series of creative activities featuring the civil and military achievements of the Qing government being particularly notable. Many missionary painters gathered at the inner court, and the major activities of the court were often recorded and described by them, and many of the masterpieces reflecting the major political events of the time were painted by them. Due to the political purpose of glorifying the civil and military achievements of the court and for documentary purposes, the court painters of this period paid special attention to the depiction of realistic subjects and portraiture, and their fine and realistic painting methods, which integrated Western methods, were highly appreciated by the emperor. The court adopted a tolerant and welcoming attitude towards Western painting, and missionary painters from abroad, such as Giuseppe Castiglione, were highly favored. Of course, Western painting had itself changed to a certain extent to adapt to Chinese viewing habits. Jiao Bingzhen and a group of other Chinese painters who worked in the Ruyi Bureau and the South Study tried to incorporate Western methods to enhance the expressive power of traditional techniques, and this

Overview

combination of Chinese and Western methods spread from the palace outward, even influencing the common people, so that the techniques of folk painting, especially figure painting, changed with the times. In the Qing Dynasty, the technical level of portrait painting reached a high point beyond the previous generation, as evidenced by the many portraits of the emperor and the empress. Chinese and Western art, each excelled at their own strengths and influenced each other, forming a unique landscape in the mid-Qing painting scene. The prosperity of commerce and the supreme ruler’s many long imperial tours of Jiangnan made the high-level painting in Jiangnan even more developed, becoming another highlight in the history of painting. In Yangzhou, the refreshing Yangzhou School of Painting emerged at this time. The so-called Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou were the representative figures of the school. As the »heretics« and »deviant teachers« of the painting world, they were not confined to the established rules of their predecessors, and were brave enough to break the rules and innovate, expressing their true feelings. Whether in terms of artistic concept, style, or brush and ink techniques, they showed a very different appearance from the previous painting style, and had a great influence at the time. As a result, the field of birdand-flower painting developed significantly and comprehensively, the vocabulary of painting was expanded, techniques became simpler and more refined, and the theory of painting was further explored, with a series of theories related to cultural development being established. Furthermore, the perfect combination of poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seal work was promoted, and higher-level and more profound ideas such as »the brush and ink should follow the times,« »there should be no completed bamboo in the chest [before painting]« and »the essay comes first« were put forward. This led to the development of Chinese bird-and-flower painting »in a novel way,« influencing the entire

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painting world. In a way, the Yangzhou School was the further development of the Four Monks in the early Qing. In the late Qing Dynasty, the landscape painting world did not see the old scene of a hundred schools competing for glory. The inheritance of the Orthodox School gradually became schematic copying, while the pursuit of the Wild School gradually revealed a manic and restless rashness, which seemed to conceal the decaying atmosphere of an end-time dynasty. In figure painting, the combination of court and folk paintings resulted in a style that was available to craftsmen and merchants, which became a small and partial, returned to past glories. A great deal of painting exploration was concentrated in flower-and-bird painting, making Qing Dynasty birdand-flower painting a category with many different forms, styles, and a vitality that transcended previous generations. It is noteworthy that, as the gateway to the West began to open during this period, the emerging civil class had become an important force, and in the economically developed port cities of Shanghai and Guangzhou, painters who were in tune with the changing customs of the times gathered. They were boldly innovative and sought change, breaking through the silence that had existed since the Jiajing and Daoguang periods. In the historical turn of modern painting, this group of painters played an important role in carrying forward the past and kindling the future. The Haishang School of Painting and the Lingnan School in Guangdong were the representatives of this period. There were many schools of painting in the Qing Dynasty, but in terms of their basic development, two major trends of thought can be distinguished: conformity and change. The orthodox style of painting of Four Wangs, of the early Qing Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, was highly appreciated by the imperial court and occupied a mainstream position in the painting world, and this lineage was known for its compliance. The Four Monks,

SECTION 2 THE UNPRECEDENTED PROSPERITY AND FLOURISHING OF THE ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY

and other Ming loyalists who entered the Qing Dynasty, and the Yangzhou School afterwards, all distinctly characterized by the pursuit of breakthrough and innovation, represented the most active and dynamic changes in the Qing painting world. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Western powers had entered China, and social, economic, cultural, and technological changes were taking place, with civic consciousness and secular sentiments seeping into art. The painting world was a microcosm of the arts overall, and amid all the complexities, grasping the two major trends of conformity and change is a good way to understand the main features of the changing shape of the arts in the Qing Dynasty. Compared with painting, the art of calligraphy and seal carving in the Qing Dynasty was more restrained by the inherent form of Chinese characters and more subservient to the general requirements of society and culture. They were closely related to the »literary style« advocated by the ruling class in terms of academic ethos and aesthetic requirements. In general, they also had an accumulative scale and an innovative orientation that were similar to painting, with the succession of two major trends of conformity and change. Such characteristics were also more fully expressed in calligraphic and painting theories, which were the most important components of ancient Chinese theories of art. The great changes of dynastic change and revolution had an important impact on changes in culture and art, and in terms of calligraphy, the unrestrained style of cursive calligraphy at the end of the Ming Dynasty was clearly unable to adapt to the climate of the new dynasty in spirit. The standardized running-regular script was promoted in the Qing Dynasty, reflecting the character of the »obedient subject« that the ruler had in mind. In addition, imperial examinations had to strictly follow the requirements of the »eight-legged essay« and the »Secretariat Style,« and this »imperially prescribed« style and script not only clearly defined the direction of study

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and scholarship of the literati, but also reshaped their character and mindset. Originally, since Dong Qichang of the late Ming introduced the shangyi aesthetic style of the Northern Song Dynasty into calligraphy, due to his status, achievements, and influence, the calligraphic world had gradually turned to him as the focus. In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi liked Dong Qichang’s calligraphic style, while Emperor Qianlong had a great affection for Zhao Mengfu. The calligraphic styles of Dong and Zhao were, naturally, most in line with the personal cultivation and behavior norms of the obedient subject. Such a premise foreshadowed the later prevalence of the running-regular script as the main body of the »Modelbook School« (tiexue 帖学) of calligraphy. In the Qing Dynasty, access to a large number of previously unrecorded documents and antiques, stele inscriptions and other carved writings on metal and stone objects of the Han, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, caused calligraphers to borrow widely from tomb epitaphs as well as carvings on the cliffs and statues of the Zhou, Qin, Han, and Wei dynasties. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, a large number of newly discovered oracle bones from the Shang Dynasty, as well as wooden tablets, written scriptures, paper books, and silk books from the Han and Jin dynasties discovered at Dunhuang marked not only major events in the history of archaeology, but also injected a powerful energy into the world of calligraphy. From an objective point of view, the rise of »Stele School« (beixue 碑学) in the Qing Dynasty was the result of a combination of factors. Its greatest achievement in the history of calligraphy is that, first of all, it led to the revival and prosperity of the seal and clerical scripts; second, it established an aesthetic paradigm characterized by rustic beauty and »stone and metal« styles, which logically led to a breakthrough in formal expression. The change from the Modelbook School to the Stele School led to groundbreaking developments in Chinese calligraphy in terms of both the character

Overview

structure and the brushwork, the impact of which is still evident in contemporary calligraphy. The integration of poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seals, as promoted by the literati, as well as the competing applications of connoisseurs and collectors, created favorable conditions for the metamorphosis of the seal, from a practical demonstration of credibility to an object for aesthetic appreciation. Since the Ming Dynasty, the discipline of seal making was separated from the general art of printing and craftsmanship, and incorporated into the unified spiritual life of poetry, calligraphy, and painting. Seal engraving became one expression of scholars’ and literati’s spiritual aspirations, and what was strengthened and highlighted was the aesthetic function. After the Qing Dynasty, seal engraving had outstanding achievements in both theory and practice. There were many famous artists such as Hu Zhengyan, Cheng Sui, and the Eight Masters of Xiling. Not only were there many schools and branches, but each of them also had their own achievements. The emergence of Deng Shiru, Zhao Zhiqian, and Wu Changshuo pushed this discipline to a new peak. In short, there was a tendency of interpenetration, integration, and complementarity among various folk paintings, sculptures, handicrafts, architecture, and other plastic arts of the Qing Dynasty. In terms of the artistic model, there was the tendency of integration and compliance characterized by richness, fineness, and triviality; in the artistic landscape, there was a ponderous, complete, sophisticated, and complex style, showing a kind of interest constrained by urban commerce and oriented by the interests of the civil class. The Qing Dynasty took a series of measures to restore and develop handicrafts, while the development of literature, drama, architecture, and painting also had a clear impact on the crafts of the Qing Dynasty. During the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong reigns, the economy developed greatly. Various government-run and private handicraft workshops were numerous and expanded in

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scale, and varieties, shapes, and production techniques that were not available in the Ming Dynasty appeared at this time—and the function of display and playfulness was prominent. The Imperial Workshop of the court had wall paint workshops, enamel workshops, gold and silver workshops, bamboo and wood workshops, jade workshops, ivory workshops, etc., each of which was managed by dedicated famous and skillful craftsman. The imperial porcelain kilns of Jingdezhen and the imperial textile factories of Jiangning and Suzhou and Hangzhou had large production facilities. Whether it was ceramics, dyeing and weaving, carving, metalwork, or other arts and crafts, they were all pushed to a new scale in the Qing Dynasty. On the other hand, the overemphasis on technical difficulty and decorative techniques at the court led to a tediously overloaded style, a tendency that ultimately contributed to the decline of arts and crafts in the late Qing Dynasty. Rules and Examples of Engineering Practices (Gongcheng zuofa zeli 工程做法则例), issued by the Ministry of Works during the Yongzheng reign, systematically summarized previous building construction methods, and made Chinese architecture more standardized. The construction activities of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong reigns flourished. Large-scale restoration works were completed one after another, and many of the resort gardens and palaces—such as Yuanmingyuan and Chengde Mountain Resort— embodied the typical style of official architecture. Palace gardens tended to imitate famous gardens and sights, and their general characteristics were complex and delicate, with scenery construction and gardening adopting quite unconventional approaches. This feature was particularly reflected at Yuanmingyuan, which was created with the utmost luxury and grandeur. Not only was the scenery of the gardens of Jiangnan transplanted to the north, but foreign Baroque-style architecture was also moved in, creating gardens within the larger garden. Such a grand scale and rich form had not

SECTION 2 THE UNPRECEDENTED PROSPERITY AND FLOURISHING OF THE ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY

been seen before. There were also a number of private gardens in various places, with distinctive characteristics. The unique layout structures and artistic styles of Jiangnan gardens are even more breathtaking, with flowing time being cleverly incorporated into limited spaces. When one is in these garden, the scenery changes with each step taken, and a layers of space enwrap other layers of space, so that one does not feel the smallness of the spaces, but rather is attracted to and bewildered by changing scenery. Tibetan Buddhist temple buildings, which were extremely rich and flamboyant, also appeared in large numbers during the Qing Dynasty, and religious, official, and folk architecture all distinctly reflected the techniques of the mature Chinese architectural art. The vibrancy of folk woodblock prints was a major feature of the Qing Dynasty arts. Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Taohuawu in Suzhou were the two major production and marketing centers for New Year Pictures in the north and south, respectively. There were also Weifang and Gaomi in Shandong, Mianzhu in Sichuan, Wuqiang in Hebei, Zhuxianzheng in Henan, and Foshan in Guangdong, all of which produced New Year Pictures with a strong vernacular style. As an artwork popular in the countryside, New Year Pictures directly reflected the wishes and interests of the general public. The richness of the subject matter and the forms of expression highlight a clear civic consciousness and secular spirit. It was only with the rise of lithography in the late Qing Dynasty that hand-engraved woodblock prints went into decline. In close, although painting, calligraphy, seal carving, handicrafts, folk arts, and the architectural arts of the Qing Dynasty were complex, they still developed on the basis of comprehensively organizing, summarizing, and inheriting traditions— integrating the great achievements of previous generations. Such a trajectory of change and development corresponds roughly to the social and economic history of the Qing Dynasty. The entry

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of Western art, the rise of secular art, and the interpenetration and influence of different concepts and categories all marked the characteristics of this era. The culture of the late Qing Dynasty re-

Overview

flected the afterglow of feudal society, and there were many metamorphoses in the field of arts, where traditional art forms crossed into the modern era.

CHAPTER I OVERVIEW OF OPERA IN QING DYNASTY AND THE PROSPERITY OF CHUANQI IN EARLY QING Section 1  Overview of the Art of Opera in Qing Dynasty 1. The Renewed Prosperity of Chuanqi Writing in Early Qing The approximately one hundred years between the establishment of the Qing Dynasty and the end of the Yongzheng era (1644–1735) was a transitional period between the ages of chuanqi and local opera. During this period, kunshan qiang remained on top of the opera world, with its influence extending almost all over the country. Yiyang qiang, on the other hand, retained its folk characteristics and was deeply favored by the general public. The emergence of two monumental works, The Palace of Eternal Life and The Peach Blossom Fan, not only brought chuanqi creation to its peak, but also injected kunshan qiang and yiyang qiang with new vitality. However, as kunshan qiang strove to maintain its dominant position in theatrical circles and find ways of continuing its former glory, yiyang qiang began to challenge it. A new series of vocal tunes, of which bangzi qiang was representative, had also broken ground at this time, displaying great vitality upon its emergence. Thus began a wide-ranging artistic competition between kunshan qiang and yiyang qiang, causing an intensifying rivalry between the new and old tunes from this point onwards. Although kunshan qiang peaked in the late Ming Dynasty, it remained vibrant into the Qing Dynasty, once more developing and reaching new heights. For kunshan qiang, this development opportunity was due to two factors. One was social.

The social turmoil brought about by the change of sovereignty in the Ming and Qing dynasties caused many of the troupes and actors supported by aristocrats and high officials to be dispersed among the common people. Many among them, either to support their families or due to their dedication to the arts, regrouped or joined folk theater troupes to continue their careers. The positive impact that this recombination of performing arts teams had on kunshan qiang is obvious. Not only did its tunes, which had gradually followed the path of formalism due to its long-standing popularity among the literati, regain an earthy atmosphere, but the increasingly elegant kunshan qiang also changed in terms of singing and performance, encompassing more folk and local characteristics. The stealthy process of kunshan qiang’s localization thereby began. This was in fact a means of survival for kunshu, so that its vitality could be maintained. Another reason for kunshu’s longevity in the early Qing Dynasty was the promotion and support of the Qing court. Although gaoqiang, which evolved from yiyang qiang, was once popular in the capital, the Qing court always regarded kunshu as upright-sounding ceremonial music. This official policy naturally influenced the mentalities and trends of dignitaries and literati, who were not only the main connoisseurs of kunshu, but also the key providers of its new repertoire. By the late Ming Dynasty, yiyang qiang was widespread, maintaining its close ties with the masses into the Qing Dynasty. To adapt to the changing times, yiyang qiang was transformed on two fronts. The first was the creation of »gundiao,« on the basis of which the »gunchang« was developed. The second was its evolution into a localized form

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of drama. Yiyang qiang, which was popular in Beijing, became jing (capital) qiang, which developed very rapidly due to its popularity in Beijing. The expanding influence of jing qiang led to its fierce competition with kunshu, which dominated the world of opera. This artistic competition constituted the first »Huaya contest« in the history of traditional Chinese opera. While this artistic competition took place in various areas throughout which kunshu and yiyang qiang were dispersed, that which took place in Beijing in the early Qing Dynasty was the most concentrated and representative. This so-called Huaya contest, marked by the dispute between kunshu and Beijing tunes, was essentially a battle between elegance and vulgarity. Due to its long history of literati influence, kunshu had become increasingly elegant and weak. Catering to the interests of the literati, its approach had become ever narrower, eventually resulting in its status as a mere plaything of the elites as a result of its highbrow nature. Kunshu’s tendency towards increasing elegance not only limited its own development, but also negatively impacted the healthy development of opera as a whole. Yiyang qiang, as represented by jing qiang, had long been dispersed among the people, thus maintaining its health. Its popular and mass-oriented characteristics represented the direction of operatic development. Thus, while competition was inevitable, its effects were positive. It is clear that this competition broke the mold regarding kunshu’s exclusive prominence on the Beijing stage, which not only raised the social status of yiyang qiang, but also made room for the development of other emerging tunes. Notably, while the Qing court supported kunshu, it did not suppress the development of jing qiang. Instead, following public opinion, it adopted a policy of tolerance towards this popular form. The profound influence of the social turmoil of the Ming and Qing dynasties and the fierce national struggle of the early Qing on chuanqi was largely manifested in the creations of chuanqi writers

CHAPTER I OVERVIEW OF OPERA IN QING DYNASTY AND THE PROSPERITY OF CHUANQI IN EARLY QING

from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Of these, the Suzhou Writers Group is most representative. This refers to a group of Suzhou-based playwrights, among whom were Li Yu, Zhu He, Zhu Zuozhao, Ye Shizhang, Qiu Yuan, Bi Wei, and Zhang Dafu. All of these literati were lower-class, with insignificant social standing. Since they lived in Suzhou, with its developed commodity economy and intense citizen struggles, they witnessed the resistance towards the Qing Dynasty in the late Ming and early Qing, rendering their works full of realistic content. Li Yu was a representative member of this group. As Suzhou Writers Group playwrights were concerned with real life, their works were brimming with emotion. The rich social content and popular expression tof hese works gained them a wide audience, and many were active on the stage at the time. Other influential chuanqi writers of the early Qing Dynasty included Li Yu, You Tong and Wan Shu. Li Yu, courtesy name Li Weng, was a very active figure in the literary world in the early Qing Dynasty (Fig 9.1.1). His works are collectively known as the Ten Kinds of Song by Li Weng (Li Weng shi zhong pu 笠翁十种曲). In contrast to the attention of Suzhou writers to real life, Li Yu’s works demonstrate a tendency to avoid realistic contradictions. His works, which mainly concern love stories of talented and beautiful people, make ample use of misunderstanding. Although Li Yu’s works do not focus on major social issues, they nevertheless endow his characters with positive ideological tendencies within the scope of his subject matter. Li Yu was a dramatist who was well versed in the art of opera. He thought deeply about the characteristics and regulations of opera, and attached much value to practical accumulation of performance experience. His Leisure Notes (Xianqing ou ji 闲情偶记) is a masterpiece on the theory of opera in the Qing Dynasty, and occupies an important place in the history of Chinese opera. Li Yu was greatly focused on putting his theories into practice, and his works were suitable for

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SECTION 1 OVERVIEW OF THE ART OF OPERA IN QING DYNASTY

onstage performance due to their strange, clever plots and their common language. The style and effect of the amorous comedies he wrote was also groundbreaking. With the publication of Hong Sheng’s The Palace of Eternal Life (Chang sheng dian 长生殿), and the subsequent release of Kong Shangren’s The Peach Blossom Fan (Tao hua shan 桃花扇), chuanqi creation in the early Qing Dynasty reached its apex.

2. The Rise of Regional Opera in the Mid-Qing The period from the Qianlong Period to the Daoguang Period (1736–1850) was one of unprecedented prosperity for folk opera. In the history of opera, the emerging folk opera, represented by bangzi qiang and tpihuang qiang, was known as the local opera of the Qing Dynasty. After two battles with kunshu, it finally replaced kunshu as the top form, creating a new era in which the two musical systems, namely the combined qupai and the rhythmic variation musical systems, coexisted, and the four major shengqiang (vocal tunes) competed. The rise of huabu tunes in the early Qing Dynasty and their glory in the mid-Qing was inseparable from the socio-economic development of the time. From historical records, it is known that new folk operas appeared one after the other as early as the Kangxi Period, as seen in the historical material regarding bangzi qiang, qin qiang, xiqin qiang, luantan qiang, xiangyang diao, chu qiang, chui qiang, rhuang diao (also known as huqin qiang), luoluo qiang, xiansuo qiang, wuniang qiang, suona qiang, liuzi qiang, gou qiang, etc. These emerging folk operas were collectively referred to as luantan or huabu. The geographical locations throughout which they spread was extensive, as they touched down in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Beijing, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei and Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan. Of these, Beijing and Yangzhou naturally constituted the two main

9.1.1 Portrait of Li Yu by a Japanese person from Strange Stories of Tang Scholars (Tang Shi Qi Tan) by Mr. Tong Mai (1929) in the Kyoto Rehabilitation Pavilion Edition

northern and southern performance centers. In addition to acting as meeting points for various styles of tunes, they also provided stages upon which they could compete. Of the emerging huabu tunes, bangzi qiang was not only the earliest to appear, but also developed the most rapidly. It was also the most influential in the Qianlong Period, in addition to kunshu and yiyang qiang. In the early years of the Qianlong Period, bangzi qiang took the lead in challenging kunshu on behalf of all huabu tunes. The two performance centers of Beijing and Yangzhou then issued a challenge to kunshu, kicking off the second Huaya contest. If the first Huaya contest was

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a battle between elegance and vulgarity, then the second Huaya contest was not only this, but also a battle between the old and the new. Kunshu and yiyang qiang both belonged to the couplet genre, a traditional form of Chinese opera. Although this new musical system demonstrated many advantages in practice, it not only went unrecognized by the upper classes, but was also suppressed and rejected by many. Compared with yiyang qiang, which was chuanqi opera, bangzi qiang was more vulgar; compared with the musical system of kunshu and yiyang qiang, bangzi qiang’s musical system of rhythmic variation was an innovation. It was these two points that determined the nature of the second Huaya contest, as well as the features of the battle between the old and the new. These two characteristics also determined the intensity and depth of this artistic competition. The second Huaya contest was centered in Beijing, and its momentum was fierce. The first confrontation with bangzi qiang prevailed. In the 9th year of Qianlong (1744), Xu Xiaochang stated in his preface to the play Destiny in Dreams (Meng zhong yuan 梦中缘): »In Chang’an Pear Garden  […] [they] only like the sound of qin qiang, luoluo qiang, and yiyang qiang. [They] hate Wu noise. [They] listen to kunshu, and then boisterously disperse.« After kunshu, the status of yiyang qiang was also shaken. This crisis was caused by the arrival of Wei Changsheng, a master of the qin qiang performing art, in Beijing. The aggressive attack of bangzi qiang (qin qiang) »turned jing qiang into an old book placed upon a high shelf,« and »barely anyone expressed an interest in the six main troupes, or they were scattered.« At this time, the six main groups of artists were unemployed, so they scrambled to join the Qin troupe to avoid freezing and starvation. The plight of kunshu was even more predictable, as it had previously been at a disadvantage in its competition with jing qiang. As is clear from A  Small Book on the Orchids of Yan (Yanlan xiaopu 燕兰小谱), many kunshu actors were forced to switch to qin qiang,

CHAPTER I OVERVIEW OF OPERA IN QING DYNASTY AND THE PROSPERITY OF CHUANQI IN EARLY QING

like the jing qiang actors before them. However, as the elegant kunshu was so far-removed from the rustic qin qiang, this change did not bring them much success. While kunshu and yiyang qiang had deep roots in the Yangtze River valley, bangzi qiang had also spread within this area. This situation was the same in Suzhou, the base of kunshu; and in Yangzhou, another performance center, the Huaya contest was intensifying. At this point, even the Qing court, which had always defended kunshu, could not help but acknowledge its failure. Although the second Huaya contest was originally an artistic competition, this was complicated by the court’s intervention. The Qing court, which had always regarded kunshu as upright-sounding ceremonial music, took a series of measures to protect the interests of the ruling classes. These included the issuance of bans, the establishment of a bureau for the opera’s amendment, the reviewing of melodies, and the compilation of court opera. While openly supporting kunshu, they combatted and rejected huabu tunes represented by bangzi qiang. This harsh attitude of the Qing court towards bangzi qiang demonstrates the defeat of kunshu and yiyang qiang in the performance centers. The court therefore had no option except for violent interference through the power of law. This demonstrated the Qing court’s policy of supporting elegance and suppressing ­vulgarity. The Qing court’s ban constituted a blow to bangzi qiang, which had no way of surviving, despite its popularity on the Beijing stage. One of its representative individuals, Wei Changsheng, had no choice but to join kun and jing troupes, and before long he was sent south to Yangzhou. On the surface, the opera had appeared to die out in the capital. However, it was in fact still performed in secret by other means, and was therefore banned again in the early Jiaqing Period. This ban was a continuation of the Qianlong Period cultural policy, only with new elements added to adapt to the changing times.

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Although the interference of the Qing court dealt a great blow to bangzi qiang, this did not stop it from winning the arts competition. The second Huaya contest greatly boosted the morale of huabu tunes, and paved the way for development of new ones. In addition, the new style-changing opera system of the bangzi qiang was put to the test in this competition, further demonstrating its strength and vitality. This was of great importance to the development of opera. The victory of the bangzi qiang in the second Huaya contest paved the way for the third contest launched by the huabu of Anqing. From material provided in works such as A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur (Zhui bai qiu 缀白裘), it is clear that the Hui troupe of the Qianjia Period sang a comprehensive cadence known as the »bangzi qiang.« This comprehensive »bangzi qiang« is not the same as the bangzi qiang concept widely known as the qin qiang, both of which shared similarities and differences. Briefly, this »bangzi qiang,« mainly popular in the Yangtze River valley, was also known as »yiyang bangzi yang qiang,« a new tune created in Anhui after qin qiang moved south, created by combining qin qiang with kunyi tunes. This was comprehensive, as it was mainly composed of bangzi yang qiang, bangzi luantan qiang and chui qiang, and also included auxiliary tunes such as jing qiang, gao qiang and qin qiang. In A Record of the Painted Barges of Yangzhou (Yangzhou huafanglu 扬州画舫录) (Fig 9.1.2), it is stated that: »Before returning to Sichuan to live a long life, Gao Langting entered the capital. He combined the Anqing huabu with the jin qiang and the qin qiang, and this famous troupe was known forsanqing.« The sanqing troupe was the first Anhui troupe to enter Beijing. Gao Langting’s Anhui troupe included artists from both jing qiang and qin qiang. This troupe, named the Anqing Huabu, performed the »bangzi qiang,« a comprehensive tune popular in the Yangtze River basin. When the qin qiang, which originated in Shaanxi, was severely cracked down on by the

SECTION 1 OVERVIEW OF THE ART OF OPERA IN QING DYNASTY

Qing court in Beijing and Yangzhou, the Anqing Huabu swiftly came forward to fill the vacuum, becoming the leader of huabu after the qin qiang, and bearing the heavy responsibility of the third Huaya contest. During the Jia-Dao Period, the Anhui Hui tunes, popular in Anhui, were combined with the Hubei Han tunes to form pihuang qiang, which developed into Beijing Opera during the Daoguang Period. Competition is the law of artistic development. As the essence of the three Huaya contests lay in operatic art’s active adjustment and renewal of its own mechanisms, their positive impact was obvious. It was through these competitions that the emerging bangzi qiang and pihuang qiang emerged onto the stage of history, becoming leaders in the theater world. Kunshu opera and yiyang

9.1.2 A Record of the Painted Barges of Yangzhou written by Li Dou in the 60th year of the Qianlong era, 1975 edition

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qiang, both of which were being challenged, were constantly adjusted and perfected throughout the competitions. The localization process of kunshu led to the emergence of various different kunshu opera, and development of the gun diao and gun chang of the yiyang qiang greatly improved its expressive power. These were both positive results of the Huaya contest. By the Jiaqing Period, the »nankun, beiyi, dongliu, and xibang« forms were illuminating one another in Beijing. With the formation of pihuang qiang during the Daoguang Period, a new pattern of Chinese opera was formed by the four major styles, namely bangzi qiang, pihuang qiang, kunshu opera and yiyang qiang, and the art of opera entered an era of unprecedented splendor.

3. Court Opera and the Late Qing Opera Reform Movement Performance activities in the Qing court persisted after their introduction. The emperors, whether due to their need to sing and dance, or because of the elegance of opera, regarded acting as an indispensable aspect of court cultural life. These unique conditions rendered court opera extremely powerful. No matter how large-scale or exquisite the performances of folk opera troupes, they constantly lagged behind. In addition to being an important aspect of Qing dynasty opera, court opera also had a positive impact on the development of opera more generally. In the early Qing Dynasty, court performances were mainly undertaken by female performers from the Jiaofang Department. During the reign of Kangxi, the Nanfu was added to the Jiaofang department. The Nanfu, which specialized in acting, not only boasted several outstanding folk artists, but also trained young eunuchs to perform. The Nanfu continued to expand, eventually replacing the Jiaofang Department. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, imperial theatrical institutions became unprecedentedly large. Not only did the scale of the Nanfu expand, but its number of staff

CHAPTER I OVERVIEW OF OPERA IN QING DYNASTY AND THE PROSPERITY OF CHUANQI IN EARLY QING

also increased to 14,500, rendering this the heyday of acting in the Qing Dynasty. After the Qianlong Period, the scale of the Nanfu began to decrease. During the Daoguang years, all folk artists were dismissed, and the Nanfu was downgraded to the Shengping Bureau. After this, only smallscale performances by eunuchs were performed in the palace. During the years of Xianfeng and Guangxu, folk artists were once again selected to perform at court. At the time, artists who did so did not belong to the Shengping Bureau, and could still participate in folk performances outside of the palace. There were two types of court performances. One involved the kunshu and yiyang qiang plays that were in wide circulation among the people; the other involved plays written by the literary courtiers of the inner court. During the Kangxi Period, there were already performances of court-adapted opera and Journey to the West (Xi you ji 西游记), and during the Qianlong Period, preparation of court plays was pushed to the extreme. Cabinet scholar Zhang Zhao and Prince Zhuang Ke were appointed to lead the Jianling Music Department. Under their auspices, Quan Shan Jin Ke 劝善金科. Yue Ling Chengying 月令承应. Jiu Jiu Da Qing 九九 大庆. as well as Shengping Bao Fa 升平宝筏—the story of the Tang monk going to collect scriptures, Ding Shi Chun Qiu 鼎峙春秋—the story of the Three Kingdoms, Zhong Yi Xuan Tu 忠义璇图— the story of Water Margin, and Zhao Dai Xiao Shao 昭代箫韶 —the story of the Yang family, were all performed one after another. The plays performed in the palace were divided into festival plays and grand plays. The content of festival plays, which were performed on special occasions, mainly focused on flattering the gods and begging for good fortune. In reality, this was a form of religious ritual in disguise. The scale of these operas was very large, generally filling ten volumes, each containing 24 plays, and divided into ten days of continuous performance. The content of the opera was divided into supernat-

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ural plays and historical story plays. The supernatural play was mainly intended to entertain the supreme ruler with magical and unpredictable stories of gods and monsters, with little merit in content. Although the historical story play was originally intended to mirror history, because its compilers were wary of violating taboos, they were unable to bring forth new ideas. Its main function was still to create the illusion of peace while singing the praises of the Qing court. The scale of the court drama, however, was unparalleled. Not only did it make use of a magnificent and elaborate stage, but its stage equipment and lighting were also of the highest quality. After the Opium War, the aggression of imperialists against China intensified, gradually reducing the nation to a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society. Faced with the unprecedented intensification of national and class contradictions and the deepening national disaster, rejuvenating politics and rescuing the country became the common goals of the people and any patriotic aspirants. This resulted in a bourgeois reform movement taking place throughout the political, economic, ideological, and cultural spheres. Along with the »revolution in poetry« and »revolution in fiction,« the movement for the improvement of opera swept through the theater world. The opera reform movement began approximately in the 24th year of Guangxu (1898) and ended in the 5th year of the Republic of China (1916), a period of about 18 years. On the one hand, the opera of the late Qing Dynasty, marked by the rise of Beijing Opera, remained prosperous; on the other hand, it was plagued by formalism. Particularly towards the end of the Qing Dynasty, to strengthen its ideological domination, the feudal ruling class consciously transformed opera into a tool for the singing of its own praises and the promotion of feudal orthodoxy and ethics. The art of opera itself also tended to pursue formalism. First, the opera reform movement resulted in the creation of several works featuring progressive ideas. For ex-

SECTION 2 LI YU AND THE SUZHOU WRITERS

ample, early desk dramas included Ai Guo Hun 爱 国魂 by Xiao Boshan, Hai Guo Yingxiong Ji 海国英 雄记 by Yu Risheng, Feng Haichao 风海潮 by Wu Mei, Kaiguo Qi Yuan 开国奇冤 by Hua Weisheng, and Weixin Meng 维新梦 by Xi Qiu and Lu Sheng. New plays in fashion included Xin Chahua 新茶 花. Bolan Wangguo Can 波兰亡国惨. Qiu Jin 秋瑾. Huanhai Chao 宦海潮. and Heiji Yuanhun 黑籍冤 魂. These new operas brimmed with new ideas and concepts, reflecting the political and ideological demands and strong anti-feudal consciousness of the bourgeoisie who had entered the political arena. Second, the advocates of opera reform launched severe criticisms of the old operas—and the feudal consciousness and superstitious ideas that they contained, along with the tendency of an aestheticism that was out of touch with reality, were all swept away. While eliminating the old, the opera reform movement also made many new contributions, such as emphasizing the cognitive role and educational function of opera, attaching importance to its folk and local characteristics so that it could maintain a close relationship with the general public, and so on. All of these aesthetic ideas had positive theoretical and practical significance. Following inspiration from the improvement trend, advanced theaters emerged, replacing the old »tea gardens.« Twentieth Century Grand Stage (Er shi shiji da wutai 二十世纪大舞台), a special theoretical journal for drama, was also launched in Shanghai in 1904. Some new capitalist elements also appeared in old-style troupes. Of course, the opera reform movement was incomplete, and could not fundamentally solve the problems of old opera.

Section 2  Li Yu and the Suzhou Writers Li Yu, courtesy name Xuan Yu, also known as Yuan Yu, referred to himself as »Sumen Xiaoliao« and »Master of Yilian.« He was born in Wu County, Ji-

22

angsu Province. His birth and death dates are unknown. Li Yu was a chuanqi writer from the Ming to the Qing Dynasty. While he took the imperial examination several times in the Ming Dynasty, he only passed the vice examination. By the Qing, he no longer had any intentions of becoming an official, instead concentrating on his chuanqi works and achieving great success. Li Yu was the most prolific playwright in the early Qing Dynasty, with a total of 34 plays published. 18 of these exist today, including A Handful of Snow (Yi peng xue 一捧雪), Between Man and Beast (Ren shou guan 人兽关), Forever Together (Yong tuan yuan 永团 圆), Winning the Prettiest Courtesan (Zhan hua kui 占花魁), Register of the Pure and Loyal (Qinzhong pu 清忠谱), The Slaughter of the Thousand Loyal Ones (Qian zhong lu 千忠戮), Meishan Xiu (眉山 秀), Niu Tou Shan (牛头山), and A Ten- Thousand Li Union (Wan li yuan 万里圆).

1. The Content of Li Yu’s Works Li Yu was an unsuccessful intellectual of the lower classes in feudal society. Living in Suzhou over a long period, he kept close contact with ordinary urban civilians. He was familiar with their lives and understood their aspirations, which greatly influenced his writing. Suzhou was an economically prosperous town in the southeast of China, where there were several outbreaks of civil movements against tyranny and taxation in the late Ming Dynasty. After Qing soldiers invaded, the people of Suzhou struggled against them constantly, and this battle was fierce to the point of being brutally suppressed. Living in such a social environment, Li Yu had profound feelings regarding the great social turmoil of the alternating Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as the prominent class struggle and ethnic conflicts. As a playwright with true concern for reality and peoples’ livelihoods, Li Yu had a strong sense of social responsibility. His works therefore contained substantial social content, as well as a distinct sense of the times. As Li Yu understood the rules of opera, he wrote his

CHAPTER I OVERVIEW OF OPERA IN QING DYNASTY AND THE PROSPERITY OF CHUANQI IN EARLY QING

plays with their stage effects in mind. His works were therefore very popular with the people of his time, and had a great social impact. In addition to writing various chuanqi, Li Yu also authored Yi Li An Bei Ci Guang Zheng Pu 一笠庵北词广正谱 and Yi Li An Ping Ben Yu Zan Ji 一笠庵评本玉簪记. Yi, Ren, Yong, Zhan (一、人、永、占) is one of Li Yu’s early works, and his most famous. A Handful of Snow (一捧雪) is the story of Yan Shifan, the son of Prime Minister Yan Song, who frames Mo Huaigu’s family for possessing a jade cup during the Jiajing Period of the Ming Dynasty. In the play, the author ruthlessly exposes and scorns Yan Shifan’s crimes and disregard for human life, while strongly criticizing the dark politics of the Ming Dynasty. Between Man and Beast (Ren shou guan 人兽关) centers on Guixin and his wife, who transform into dogs as a result of their kindness. This is a pungent satire on the corruption and moral decay of the Ming Dynasty. The story of Forever Together (Yong tuan yuan 永团圆) concerns Wang Na who, suspecting her son-in-law Cai Wenying comes from a poor family, forces him to withdraw from his marriage. Upon hearing this, her eldest daughter throws herself into the river and dies. Gao Yi, the magistrate, gives Wang’s second daughter to Cai Wenying. Through this secular story, the author portrays the hypocrisy of the world in great detail, and criticizes the vulgar notion of disregarding the poor and favoring the rich. Winning the Prettiest Courtesan is a touching love story. Deeply moved by oil minister Qin Zhong’s sincere and persistent love, famous courtesan Wang Meiniang ultimately chooses to redeem herself through marrying her beloved. The unique quality of this love story lies in its portrayal of the rise of the citizen social class, and the necessity of love. In this story, the romantic ideals of city residents are portrayed. A masterpiece by Li Yu, Register of the Pure and Loyal (Qinzhong pu 清忠谱), is a work of great intellectual depth and emotional strength, and it is noteworthy as it breaks new ground in subject matter, character, and themes. As early as

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SECTION 2 LI YU AND THE SUZHOU WRITERS

9.1.3  Painting of the opera Register of the Pure and Loyal from the Qing Dynasty Palace Painting Collection

after the mid-Ming, following the growth of the commodity economy, Suzhou became the most developed city of the textile industry. At the time, there were a large number of silk weavers, as well as thousands of machinists, transforming the citizenry into a political and economic force to be reckoned with. Due to oppression and exploitation by corrupt officials, the citizens remained stoic and resolute in their power struggle against Eunuch Wei. Li Yu, who had lived in Suzhou for a long time, had profound feelings regarding the rise of the citizen class. Not only did he portray the struggle between the Donglin Clique and Eunuch Wei in his play, but also cast the struggle between the citizens represented by Yan Peiwei and Eunuch Wei in an important light, warmly praising their resistance spirit and fearless courage. The scene of the five righteous men leading the angry masses to surround the government office and kill

the lieutenant is vividly written, and their generous sacrifice is very moving. The author carries out the tragic portrayal of the five righteous men with deep emotion, opening up a new field of expression for the creation of chuanqi (Fig. 9.1.3). The main thread of Register of the Pure and Loyal follows the struggle between the Donglin Clique and Eunuch Wei Zhongxian’s party, and the struggle of the citizen class against donations and violence is closely integrated with this. As a representative figure of the Donglin Clique, Zhou Shunchang is the main object of the author’s glorification. Zhou Shunchang was a member of the Ministry of Official Affairs during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Ming. When Wei Zhongxian attacked members of the Donglin Clique, Zhou Shunchang was imprisoned and removed from office. Later, he was framed and killed in prison, and his arrest triggered a civil movement.

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In the play, Li Yu focuses on portraying Zhou Shunchang’s noble, incorruptible character, and his defiance of violence, causing this image of an upright official to practically jump off the page. Zhou Shunchang, who detests evil like an enemy, is furious at Eunuch Wei, and curses incessantly. When Wei Dazhong is arrested by Wei’s party, all of his friends and relatives leave him in fear. Zhou Shunchang, however, caring for neither life nor death, goes alone to Wei’s boat to pay him a visit. Faced with Wei’s arrest, he remains righteous to the point of calmly allowing himself to be arrested. While he is tortured in prison, his »shins broken and fingers cut off,« with »wounds rotting« and »blood pouring from a myriad of orifices,« his determination to fight cannot be shaken. Faced with the tragic deaths of Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and Wei Dazhong, he remains unyielding and uncompromising. When Wei Zhongxian personally interrogates him, he remains upright, angrily rebuking: »You castrated dog! You deceive the king and abuse the people, and you killed Zhongliang. I, Zhou Shunchang, [swear revenge and want to] eat your flesh and sleep on your skin. My great hatred will not die!« He then kicks over the desk, and attacks Wei’s henchmen. Until he is secretly executed, he vows to return as a malicious spirit from beyond the grave to kill the traitors. Through this depiction of Zhou Shunchang, the author portrays the typical image of the Donglin Clique with deep emotion, capturing the noble character and moral integrity of these upright scholars, and expressing the people’s hatred for the dark forces. As a result of his ideological and emotional ties to the late Ming political group, Li Yu pours all his sympathies into the Donglin Clique, with certain progressive historical tendencies. The Donglin Party, which emerged from the landowner class in Jiangnan, raised political slogans against tyranny, eunuchs, and plundering, fighting fiercely against Wei Zhongxian. Because their ideas and actions represented the interests of all classes to a certain extent, especially those

CHAPTER I OVERVIEW OF OPERA IN QING DYNASTY AND THE PROSPERITY OF CHUANQI IN EARLY QING

of the citizens, they were widely supported in society, and the struggles of citizens against donations and violence were often intertwined with the struggles of the Donglin Clique and the eunuch party. In particularly, Li Yu, with his sense of justice and responsibility, was deeply impressed by and respected those who used their time to for the good of the world, and who concerned themselves with the country and its people, regarding them as ideal models. Therefore, the struggle to praise the Donglin Clique members in his work occupied an extremely important position.

2. Artistic Characteristics of Li Yu’s Works Compared to the work of other literary writers, the most outstanding artistic feature of Li Yu’s creations is their suitability to onstage performance. His chuanqi were neither written for desk-top appreciation, nor blindly created with no consideration for the stage. To increase the onstage impact of his works, he firstly broadened his field of expression and artistic style. His work includes both powerful tragedies such as Register of the Pure and Loyal and The Slaughter of the Thousand Loyal Ones (Qian zhong lu 千忠戮), as well as delightful comedies such as Winning the Prettiest Courtesan (Zhan hua kui 占花魁). He also wrote a large number of literary plays, as well as martial arts-based ones such as Qilin Ge (麒麟阁). In addition to collecting material from real life, he also produced a large number of historical works. Second, Li Yu made great efforts to adapt the structure of his works to onstage movement. His works usually contained around 30 sections, and were compact, overcoming the drawbacks of long and loose operas. Li Yu also boldly avoided clichés of chuanqi in terms of expressive content. While most chuanqi plays focused on the sorrow, happiness, separation and reunion of the characters, the famous works of Li Yu, including Register of the Pure and Loyal and The Slaughter of the Thousand Loyal Ones were large plays which focused on life and purity, rendering the social content of the works

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richer and more substantial. At the same time, Li Yu paid great attention to the refinement and expressive quality of language, thus strengthening its onstage impact. Taking A Handful of Snow as an example, this play contains both wonderful dialogue and lyrics rich in literary grace. Some of the most important scenes are dominated by spoken lines, which would have been unthinkable in the eyes of literary writers who did not value to the spoken parts of opera. As Li Yu considered the future onstage effect while writing plays, he prioritized both the design of characters’ actions and the action of language. Even costumes and onstage props were stipulated in his play scripts. Li Yu was also a master in dramatic scenes and the creation of atmosphere, endowing his writing with a vivid and elegant ­quality. In addition to their popularity with artists and audiences at the time, many of Li Yu’s works became recurring items on the opera stage. For example, »Righteous Anger« and »Protesting the Edict« in Register of the Pure and Loyal, »Three Gears« and »Inverted Flag« in Qilin Ge, »Journey to Beijing« in The Turbulent Meeting (Feng yun hui 风云会), »Ji Liang,« »Dao Gu« and »Wu Tai« in Hao Tian Ta 昊天塔. »Tragic Sighting,« »Searching the Mountain« and »Da Che« in The Slaughter of the Thousand Loyal Ones, and »Reconsideration,« »Planting Fate« and »Happy Narration« in Winning the Prettiest Courtesan remained active on the stages of kunshu and in some regional operas. As the center of kunshu, Suzhou produced an excellent group of chuanqi writers represented by Li Yu, known in the history of opera as the Suzhou Writers’ Group. Among them was Zhu Zuozhao, courtesy name Liangqing, who wrote 30 chuanqi plays. 13 of those, including Ying Luo Hui 缨络会. Qiankun Xiao 乾坤啸 and Yu Jia Le 渔家乐. exist today. His works mostly concerned political struggles, interspersed with amorous feelings and cases regarding men and women. Yu Jia Le focuses on Liang Ji, the general of the Eastern Han Dynasty,

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who sends his men after Liu Suan, the king of Qinghe. The latter is saved by Wu Feixia, the daughter of a fisherman, who infiltrates Liang’s house and stabs him to death with a divine needle. Later, Liu Suan is crowned as the emperor and Wu Feixia is made the queen. This play exposes the brutality and deceit of the ruling class, while celebrating the bravery and chivalry of lower society. Ye Shizhang, courtesy name Zhifei, wrote eight ­chuanqi plays, two of which survive today. Of these The Amber Spoon (Hupo shi 琥珀匙) is among the most influential. This story has been widely circulated due to its complex and dramatic plot. Zhu He, courtesy name Suchen, wrote 19 ­Chuanqi plays, eight of which are still in existence. His representative works are Dream of Two Bears (Shuang xiong meng 双 熊 梦), Fifteen Strings of Cash (Shiwu guan 十五贯), and Palace of the Dawn Star (Wei yang tian 未央天). Qiu Yuan, also known as Yu Xue, wrote nine ­chuanqi plays, three of which remain. Zhang Dafu, courtesy name Xinqi, was also known Hanshanzi. He wrote 29 chuanqi plays, ten of which exist today. His play Han Shan Qu Pu 寒山堂曲谱 still survives. Bi Wei, Ma Jiren, and Chen Erbai were also important writers in Suzhou at this time.

Section 3  Hong Sheng and His Palace of Eternal Life 1. The Life and Thought of Hong Sheng Hong Sheng, courtesy name Fangsi, was also known as Baiqi, Baicun, and Nanping Qiaozhe (»Nanping Firewood Gatherer«). A native of Qiantang, Zhejiang Province (modern Hangzhou), he was born in the 2nd year of Shunzhi (1645) and died in the 43rd year of Kangxi (1704) at the age of 60. Hong Sheng spent his childhood and adolescence in a relatively privileged family environment. A

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precocious child, he was able to compose poems from a young age. At 15-years-old, his poems were famous in Qiantang, and he went on to became a famous writer. His two younger brothers were also talented, with their »strong writing brushes approaching the heavens, proud chests that dispelled fog, and truly outstanding youthful talent.« His two younger sisters were also gifted. Two of Hong Sheng’s teachers, Lu Fanchao and Mao Xianshu, both renowned southeastern scholars who were talented and valiant, had a great influence on the formation of Hong Sheng’s thought. In particular, the sense of rise and fall that appears in his early poems can be considered reflective of the thoughts of his teachers, both of whom were concerned with national moral integrity. By the age of 18, Hong Sheng had already written several books, and at 19 he became a recognized leader of central Zhejiang’s poetry scene. At the age of 20, he married his cousin and lifelong love, Huang Lanci. His experience of a happy and fulfilling love life and his romantic ideals constituted important content in some of his later works. In the 7th year of Kangxi (1668), Hong Sheng left his hometown at the age of 24 to attend the Imperial Academy in Beijing. Soon after his arrival in Beijing, »family difficulties« of the »change of family« occurred. These so-called »family difficulties« meant that Hong Sheng could no longer see his parents, and was forced to live apart from them due to the separation of others. This change was not only a great blow to his spirit, but also deprived him of his excellent living conditions. From that point onwards, he did not visit home for a long time, and then brought his wife to Beijing, intending to make his own living. For a time, the hopelessness of his career, the indifference of society, and the loneliness in his life caused him to feel disheartened and depressed. During his stay in the capital, however, his talent was acknowledged by Li Tianfu, a bachelor of the cabinet and the Minister of Works. He then joined Wang Shizhen, the leader of the poetry world, as a disciple.

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At this time, his poetry was at its peak. Edited by his friends, it was published as Xiao Yue Lou Ji 啸月楼集. Hong Sheng was a proud individual who conformed to neither the times nor the world. He would »banquet with friends, who would sit in reverie as he spoke, analysing the past and the present.« His friend Wu Wen once described his character, saying that he »abases himself and extends the three benefits, and his heedless words scold the Five Ministers.« His talent and contempt for the powerful made him a target of much slander. He himself admitted that he was »bitterly envied in the customs of the time due to my unrestrained nature.« For this reason, although he was well-known in the literary world at this time, his career in Beijing remained turbulent for over ten years, and he never received a single official position. Neither an official nor a businessman, he was only able to make a living selling his writings. In a poem entitled I am Hong Fang Si (Yi Hong Fang Si 贻洪昉), his friend Wu Wen described his situation in this period, saying: »In Chang’an, fuel and rice are equivalent to pearls and cassias. Sometimes, smoke and fire are cold, and mornings are dark.« This demonstrates how little he had to subsist on, causing his beloved daughter to die from starvation. An even greater catastrophe arose when his father was sent to a remote area after a wrongful accusation. Upon receiving this news, Hong Sheng was extremely distressed, and his heart was broken. He traversed the capital defending his father, going so far as to cry at the doors of aristocrats and ministers. He decided to accompany his parents north to the garrison. Perhaps due to Hong Sheng’s sincerity, halfway through the journey a pardon arrived, causing the father and son to cry with combined grief and joy. Through his father’s wrongful conviction, Hong Sheng had witnessed the hardships of the world, and his visits to the gentry had caused him to appreciate the warmth of human emotion. With even more hatred for the darker sides of society,

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the rift between his own ideas and those of the ruling Qing group was increased. According to Xu Lingzhao’s Preface to The Palace of Eternal Life (Changsheng dian xu 长生殿序), in the 27th year of the Kangxi Period (1688), when Hong Sheng was 44 years old and his magnum opus The Palace of Eternal Life was released, it shook the entire world of theater: »For a time, at banquets in wealthy homes, and in wine groups and song houses, this was the only music performed, and the value of brocade-headbanded performers increased in value.« »Musicians of wealthy households would gather their brushes and compete to write, teaching one another. The prices of performers could be raised to tens of hundreds.« Because of its »clever closing items, and fresh new decoration,« the theater had a strong impact. After its publication, The Palace of Eternal Life spread like wildfire, reaching the inner court and far beyond. By the Qing Dynasty, this chuanqi play had been performed over a long period. In Tenghua Quhua 藤花曲话. Liang Tingnan states that: »Over the past hundred or so years, The Palace of Eternal Life has been sung on stages and performed on pavilions, and continues to spread as if it is new. When the lamps are lit at the end of a banquet, if the Jade Emperor is present, the audience listens to the dharma tune outside the Jade Tree Golden Cicada.« The Palace of Eternal Life brought Hong Sheng disaster as well as great fame. In the work’s second year (1689), minister Huang Liuhong was charged with »great disrespect« for performing the play on the anniversary of Empress Xiaoyi’s death, which led to the Palace of Eternal Life case. Emperor Kangxi ordered the Ministry of Criminal Affairs to arrest Hong Sheng and put him in prison. Later given a lighter sentence, Hong Sheng was removed from the Imperial Academy. Many people were implicated, including his friend, scholar Zhu Dian, official Zhao Zhixin, and governor of Taiwan Weng Shiyong. All of these figures were removed from their posts and disciplined. A poet

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of from this time stated: »The pitiful songs of The Palace of Eternal Life will ruin their honor into old age.« Soon after this incident, faced with reprimands and ridicule, Hong Sheng left Beijing and returned to Hangzhou. Following this blow, Hong Sheng became disillusioned with fame, only able to seek spiritual relief through nature. Upon returning to his hometown, not only did this great dramatist receive an enthusiastic welcome, but dignitaries also saw him in a different light. Every time that Hong Sheng went on a trip, public officials and scholars tripped over one another to recruit him, always reserving his place. In the 43rd year (1704) of Kangxi, Hong Sheng was invited by Zhang Yunyi, the governor of Jiangnan, to watch a performance of The Palace of Eternal Life in Songjiang. Weaver Cao Yin then invited him to Jiangning. He also invited famous scholars from the north and the south to a great performance of The Palace of Eternal Life, which lasted for three days and nights. On his way home, Hong Sheng’s mind was racing. Unable to calm down, he began to drink uncontrollably. On June 1, when his boat arrived at Wuzhen, the wind suddenly picked up, forcing the boatman to moor the ship at the Tiaoshui shore, where he invited Hong Sheng to take a rest. When the wind died down again in the evening, Hong Sheng drunkenly boarded the boat, tragically falling into the water and dying. Thus ended the life of this great Qing dramatist and poet. The anniversary of Hong Sheng’s death falls on the birthday of his heroine, Yang Yuhuan, whom he poured his heart and soul into portraying in The Palace of Eternal Life. In his poem »Elegy for Hong Fangsi« (Wan Hong Fangsi 挽洪昉思), the poet Wang Ji states: »You should not hate this day of your death, for the whole life of Tai Zhen is a pitiful night.« Had the spirit of Hong Sheng lived on, he would not be subjected to such eternal regret. Hong Sheng was born in the turbulent era of the Ming giving way to the Qing. As his life was full of

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hardships, his thought process was very complex, resulting in his conflicts over several important issues. Firstly, there was the contradiction between his support of the Qing court and his national consciousness. In his youth, Hong Sheng was committed to achieving honor, and aspired to demonstrate his political ambition through passing the imperial examination, which determined his cooperative political stance with the Qing ruling group. This position was marked by his admission to the Imperial Academy, and ended only when he was expelled following a disastrous play performance. Of course, his position was not constant. In his early days at the Imperial Academy, Hong Sheng was filled with hope for his future, and his desire to be appreciated and promoted by the highest ruler was particularly strong. However, after his father was wrongfully exiled, dealing a major blow to his family, he became acutely aware of the cruelty of the feudal ruling class and the dark side of politics. In his interactions with various officials, he witnessed conflict in bureaucratic groups and deeply felt the corruption therein. After this, although he could not resist the temptation of fame and fortune, his attitude towards the ruling clique became increasingly indifferent, while his nostalgia for the Ming Dynasty gradually grew. This sentiment is fully expressed in Eight Miscellaneous Poems from Wei Zhou (Wei zhou za shi ba shou 魏州杂诗八首). The sentiment of flourishing and decay arising from nostalgia for the overthrow of the Ming was a relatively common psychological phenomenon in early Qing society. This rebellious mentality was directed at the Manchu policies of entry and national oppression, as well as an expression of national consciousness. The conflict between his political stance and his national consciousness constituted the main contradiction in Hong Sheng’s thinking. This not only had a direct impact on Hong Sheng’s creation of The Palace of Eternal Life, but also was an important factor in his failed career and, ultimately, exile.

CHAPTER I OVERVIEW OF OPERA IN QING DYNASTY AND THE PROSPERITY OF CHUANQI IN EARLY QING

A talented writer, Hong Sheng wrote over 50 books during his lifetime. 19 titles remain well known, but only six of these survive. Among them is the Si Chan Juan (四婵娟), zaju originally written and included in the Second Collection of Qing Dynasty Zaju (Qing ren zaju er ji 清人杂剧二集), and the chuanqi play The Palace of Eternal Life, of which there are several original and reprinted copies in the Baiqi Caotang. Poetry collections include Xiao Yue Lou Jie, Baiqi Ji (稗畦集) and Baiqi Xuji (稗畦续集).

2. Themes and Ideological Content of The Palace of Eternal Life The Palace of Eternal Life is Hong Sheng’s great masterpiece. »After more than ten years and three drafts, it is completed.« The impetus behind the creation of the first draft was »a chance encounter with Li Bai, creating the Chenxiang Pavilion [Chenxiang ting 沉香亭] chuanqi.« Because friends spoke of the »almost familiar ostentation« in The Chenxiang Pavilion, Hong Sheng »because of visiting Li Bai, and joining Li Mi in the restoration of Suzong, changed its name to Nichang Dance [Wu nichang 舞霓裳].« However, he was not satisfied with the second draft: »After this, it was again rarely again recited with full emotion in the imperial household. The Mawei Incident violated the long-cherished oath. However, in the Tang Dynasty, it was said that the Jade Concubine would return to Penglai Immortal Isle, and that the Ming Emperor would visit the Moon Palace. Combining these, he wrote about the love affair of the hairpin.« Here it is clear that the three script changes resulted from the deepening of themes and ideas in the work, as well as changes and maturation in the author’s thought. 1. Dual Themes The Palace of Eternal Life is focused neither on romance nor politics, yet is a rich and complex work in terms of ideological content. Generally speaking, the love between Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan

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9.1.4 Grey statue of Emperor Ming of Tang visiting the Moon Palace in the middle of the ridge of Duansu Gate of the Ancestral Temple in Foshan City, Guangdong Province

occupies most of the play. However, the author did not want to make The Palace of Eternal Life a mere romantic tragedy; he also used the tragedy of Li and Yang to convey his profound thoughts on the »sorrowful joy« historical teaching of the feudal ruling class. In addition, the play expresses the author’s thoughts and feelings in many areas, such as praising loyalty and righteousness, attacking authority and traitors, sympathizing with the suffering of the people, and reminiscing about the rivers and mountains of his homeland. Therefore, The Palace of Eternal Life’s theme can be essentially summarized as follows: taking the love story of Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan as its main thread, the author dramatizes the history of the Tang Dynasty, from its prosperity to its decline. In depicting the relationship between Li and Yang

in life and death, the author’s personal ideal of undying love is implied. At the same time, the author links the love of Li and Yang to the Anshi Rebellion, thus conveying ideas of persuasion and punishment. (Fig. 9.1.4) The dual themes of The Palace of Eternal Life, or rather the two aspects of the work’s thematic ideology, is determined by the dual attributes of the story of Li and Yang itself. As the protagonists of the love story, Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan are indeed rare lovers among imperial concubines; but as political figures, their every word and action has a significant impact on the Tianbao Period political situation. Although the reasons for the Anshi Rebellion are complex, Li and Yang’s indulgence in love undoubtedly accelerated the political corruption of the time. The dual attri-

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butes of Li and Yang’s stories provided the basis for Hong Sheng’s creation, qualitatively defining the content of his work. At the same time, the author considered the subject matter of Li and Yang of special significance in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Since the historical lesson of the Tianbao Rebellion, which resulted from the Emperor Ming of Tang’s indulgence in music and neglect of government, a pattern which was largely repeated by several late Ming emperors, the legacy of Tianbao became a topic that literary artists attempting to summarize the causes of the Ming dynasty’s downfall were happy to utilize. By means of analogy and insinuation, they could not only summarize historical teachings, thus capturing the sense of turbulence, but also avoid the daunting risk of literary inquisition. Therefore, the subject matter of Li and Yang not only aroused Hong Sheng’s strong interest, but also attracted the attention of some other novelists and dramatists of the time. In chuanqi plays, there was a long-standing tradition of using the sorrow and joy of heroes and heroines to depict the rise and fall of the nation. In his inscription for Dingfeng Yuefu, Hong Sheng stated, »The order, chaos, flourish, and decay of the twenty-one histories, and the greatness of the three main-stays and five constant virtues, and of reputation and enlightenment, often come from children of curtained houses, or ballads sung in alleyways. This makes the reader want to sing and dance, or sigh or cry, without controlling himself.« In The Palace of Eternal Life, Hong Sheng was able to use matters of »the children of curtained houses« to unify the expression of romantic ideals and the summarization of historical teachings. 2. A Broad Historical Picture The performance of The Palace of Eternal Life can be broadly summarized into two respects, namely, the social and political life of the Tianbao Period, and the love life of Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan. The Palace of Eternal Life begins with the entry of

CHAPTER I OVERVIEW OF OPERA IN QING DYNASTY AND THE PROSPERITY OF CHUANQI IN EARLY QING

Yang Yuhuan into the palace, at which time Emperor Ming of Tang’s spirit of greatness is gone, and he is infatuated with singing and dancing. After »Definite Love,« the author uses two plot threads to reveal two aspects of the Emperor Ming of Tang’s character. One of these is developed through »Spring Sleep,« »Repeat Call,« »Dance Pan,« »Peeping in the Bath« and »Secret Vow,« vividly depicting the extent to which Emperor Ming of Tang and Yang Guifei indulged in love, and the great joy that this true romance brought them. The other is carried out through »Bribing Power,« »The Purification Tour« and »Jin Guo,« using false and side strokes to explain how Emperor Ming of Tang lost his government. This makes clear that the power and wealth of both An Lushan and Yang Guozhong was bestowed upon them by the emperor, and that their crimes of collusion, dissent, tyranny, and misrule are also the result of the emperor’s connivance and cover-ups. The author therefore creates pungent satire and severe criticism regarding this great emperor. In the scene »Bribing Power,« we can see that An Lushan has committed a capital crime. However, Yang Guozhong, who is the chancellor, is able to accept bribes and release him. In this incident, which plants the seed for the later rebellion, the corruption of the emperor’s official rule is evident. In »Purification Tour« and »Doubtful Prophecy,« the extravagance and profligacy of the emperor is shown through his reliance on relatives and sycophants for wealth. In »Powerful Coaxing« and »Detection of the Report,« Emperor Ming’s close-mindedness and rash nature are portrayed through the rivalry between An Lushan and Yang Guozhong. Meanwhile, »Jin Guo« uses plotlines such as the horse-trampled farmland caused by the lichi tribute, and the brutalization of innocent people, to expose the emperor, who will stop at nothing to win the love of his concubine. The scene »Jing Bian« portrays the complete outbreak of long-simmering class and national conflicts, and the two threads of the plot are thus merged.

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When the Yuyang Drummers arrive, Emperor Ming panics and flees in haste. In the face of subjugated landscapes and destroyed lives, the Emperor remains indifferent. On his way to escape, he cannot forget the flower-like Yang Guifei, whose confusion can be imagined. The author vividly reveals three reasons for the Emperor’s political tragedy. Firstly, he becomes arrogant and extravagant among the prosperity of the Kaiyuan Period, ignoring state affairs and focusing on sensuality. Secondly, Yang Yuhuan enters the palace. While this is the inevitable result of Emperor Ming pursuit of pleasure, it also intensifies his addiction. Thirdly, the Emperor’s extravagance is conductive to the villains’ ability to take advantage of situations. This leads to Yang Guozhong’s internal monopolization of power, and An Lushan’s external treason, ultimately resulting in the bankruptcy of Tianbao politics. The author closely links the extravagant corruption of the emperor with the political corruption of the Tianbao Period, realistically yet colorfully demonstrating the historical moral that »extravagance leads to the desire of the poor, and disaster follows.« In representing the intricate political struggles of the Tianbao Period, Hong Sheng portrays two groups of contradictory characters. One group is represented by loyal and righteous officials such as Guo Ziyi and Lei Haiqing, and the other is characterized by traitors and rebels such as Yang Guozhong and An Lushan. In the author’s eyes, Guo Ziyi is an ideal figure capable of settling the state and repairing the nation. Faced with the grim reality that »Yang Guozhong steals authority, and An Lushan receives indiscriminate favor, resulting in a deformed dynasty,« he cannot help feeling worried, and yet generous. Sympathizing with the hardships of the people, he is filled with a sense of righteousness. Upon taking control of the military, he actively prepares for An Lushan’s revolting troops, demonstrating his foresight and ability to prevent problems before they occur. After the Anshi Rebellion, he makes it his mission

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to »sweep away the invaders, recover the two capitals, reform Tang society, and regain the prestige of Han officials.« This is ultimately an unparalleled achievement. Lei Haiqing, the musician, is a loyal and righteous man who emerges from the people. Fearless in the face of An Lushan’s poisonous flames, he is a strong-hearted hero. The portrayal of these two heroic figures, and their appearance onstage in the early Qing Dynasty, embody the author’s political ideals and national consciousness. The author’s portrayal of the treacherous and traitorous ministers Yang Guozhong and An Lushan is also vivid, and he reprimands these two conspirators mercilessly. The historical Anshi Rebellion was largely a struggle between feudal forces and centralized power. However, as An Lushan, Shi Siming, and the majority of their close generals were Hu people, their rebellion took on the form of an ethnic conflict. In his portrayal of the Anshi Rebellion, Hong Sheng intentionally exaggerates ethnic contradictions by having An Lushan take the title of »the heroic Tian Ke Khan,« »setting his sights on the small Central Plains,« with »seizing the Tang dynasty and its river sand hills« as his ultimate goal. In the play, Lei Haiqing scolds: »The hateful son pours foul-smelling grass onto the rising dragon!« An Lushan is also clearly taken as representative of the foreign race. Guo Ziyi’s ambition to »reform Tang society, and regain the prestige of Han officials,« also clearly shows that he regards the pacification of the rebellion as a life-and-death struggle to restore Han power. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, both Manchus and Han were extremely sensitive when it came to ethnic issues. The image of An Lushan created by Hong Sheng in this specific historical environment easily allowed audiences of the time to associate this period of history with the reality of the change of sovereignty between the Ming and Qing, and the accession of the Manchus, which was the precise dramatic effect sought by Hong Sheng. In »Ma Zei,« Lei Haiqing heartily scolds the craven,

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cowardly, rebellious, and surrendering traitors. Here, Wu Shufu makes the criticism that »Hypocrites cannot feel embarrassed!« »Hypocrites« here clearly refers to the scholar bureaucrats who have lost their integrity and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. The author sings his own sense of flourish and decay through Li Guinian in »Tanci« 弹词. His satire of these scholar bureaucrats, criticism of An Lushan, and use of Li Guinian to express his sense of rise and fall are all expressions of Hong Sheng’s strong national consciousness. This national consciousness was a product of the Qing ruling group’s policy of national oppression and discrimination which, as a form of ideological resistance used by the oppressed national people, embodied a certain degree of justice and progressiveness at a particular time in history. The national consciousness in The Palace of Eternal Life had great repercussions in society. The »wall-to-wall crowds of spectators,« as well as its nationwide popularity, were obviously related to its »side meaning« which, of course, eventually brought disaster to Hong Sheng. The depth and breadth of life reflected in The Palace of Eternal Life is astonishing. Not only are national and ruling class conflicts fully depicted, but they are also comprehensively viewed by the author. The play truly represents the people’s lack of livelihood caused by the ruling class’s cruel exploitation and oppression, while conveying the angry voice of the working masses. Regarding the extravagant life of the Yang siblings, the author angrily writes: »It is clear that his crimson roofs and green tiles are always smeared with fat and blood.« In the Jin Guo, the author describes the tragic scene of horses treading on young crops and trampling the blind to death, so that audience can grasp the true extent to which the fresh lichi eaten by Lady Yang is stained with blood. Through Guo Congjin, the author curses Yang Guifei’s brocade stockings, exclaiming: »What is the use for such stinking things!« This expresses the public’s righteous indignation towards the sins of Yang

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Guifei throughout her life. Through the portrayal of Lei Haiqing, Li Guinian, Guo Congjin, and even the blind girl and the furious six troops, the play conveys both the thoughts and emotions of the people, and the importance attached to their historical role by the author. All these thoughts and feelings cause the work to shine with realism. 3. Positive Values and Courtly Limitations of the Love Story The storyline of The Palace of Eternal Life is largely based upon the love between Yang Yuhuan and Li Longji, the author’s description of which takes up the greater part of the play. The way in which Hong Sheng portrays the love between Li and Yang, the historical accuracy of his depiction of their lives, deaths, and predestined love, and the new meaning bestowed upon their love with his writing brush are all much-debated issues in the study of The Palace of Eternal Life. Neither History of the Early Tang Dynasty (Jiu tang shu 旧唐书) nor History of the Later Tang Dynasty (Xin tang shu 新唐书) skim over the affectionate relationship between Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan. Many Tang stories and legends also include several detailed descriptions of the love between Emperor Ming of Tang and his concubine. It was on this basis that Hong Sheng said: »love was rare in the emperor’s home.« This was also the foundation upon which Hong Sheng described Li and Yang’s love. However, the author did not forget the fact that their love took place in the inner courts of the palace. For this reason, when writing about their affection and passionate love, he never forgot about its limitations in the palace. He reveals the essential features of this courtly love in four ways. One of these is cruelty. The first reaction to Yang Yuhuan’s entry into the palace is that »the [concubines of the] Six Palaces [residence for concubines in ancient times] did immediately worry, standing together on the golden staircase to peer [at her].« From then on, their slim hope of being favored

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by the emperor turns to despair, and the imperial concubine Mei’s fate of ostracization is inevitable. The play vividly demonstrates the harshness and cruelty of imperial harem rivalry, as it shows Yang Yuhuan’s happiness to be entirely based upon the suffering and despair of the other concubines. The second feature of courtly love revealed is its exploitative nature. The play shows the love between Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan to be marked by astonishing profligacy and wastefulness. »His crimson roofs and green tiles are always smeared with fat and blood« is indicative of this. The third is vulnerability. The play shows that the basis of the emperor’s love for his concubine is, first of all, sensual, and secondly, compatible with common emotions. Using her natural beauty, the imperial concubine hereby goes to great lengths to win the emperor’s favor, in order to avoid being »gracious for a long time, without being able to help sighing!« However, despite Yang Yuhuan’s temporary success, and Li Longji’s promise of eternal love to her on an enchanting night, she ultimately cannot prevent a great disaster from befalling her under the Mawei Slope. The author convincingly writes that the day Li and Yang’s love matured was when the Emperor Ming became politically bankrupt, rendering their romantic tragedy inevitable. The fourth feature revealed of courtly love is its political nature. The love between Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan is also a political union. A direct consequence of the imperial concubine’s favor is the birth of a privileged group headed by Yang Guozhong, whose monopolization of power and control over the Yang siblings greatly accelerates Emperor Ming of Tang’s political corruption, thus provoking the ambitions of An Lushan. These limitations of courtly love, insurmountable for Emperor Ming of Tang and Yang Guifei, overshadow their romance. While revealing the limitations of courtly love, Hong Sheng also endows Li and Yang’s love with beautiful qualities, and it is these details that make The Palace of Eternal Life extraordinary.

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The Yang Yuhuan presented here is completely different from the lewd image of the enchantress depicted by many literati. In describing Li and Yang’s love, the author not only writes about their emotional devotion, but also focuses on the tortuous process of establishing this true love. In depicting the love of Yang Yuhuan, the play highlights two basic features of her character, namely her passionate pursuit of exclusive love, and the nature of this pursuit itself as a means of winning favor. Due to her intelligence, Yang Yuhuan knows the tragic fates of favored concubines. Her quest for love is therefore inseparable from her quest for favor, and in a sense, is also a way for her to resist this fate. As the spiritually and emotional aspects of her love with Emperor Ming become compatible, she appears victorious. However, she ultimately becomes a victim of politics, ending not only her life at Mawei Slope, but also her love on earth. Hong Sheng believes the Mawei disaster to not be the end of Li and Yang’s love, but rather a turning point in their journey from earthly to human-immortal love. The work shows that after the Mawei disaster, the love of Li and Yang no longer has a material form of expression, but only a spiritual pursuit, as both parties involved have withdrawn from the political arena, with one on earth and the other in heaven. Yang Yuhuan turns from a human into a spirit, and from a spirit into an immortal, in order to »again search for the hairpin oath.« With her spirit holding on, this is a situation in which »true love cannot be spoiled by ten thousand disasters.« In the end, »the immortals of life and death have travelled everywhere, becoming the loyal couple of the Heavenly Palace.« Li Longji, on the other hand, »maintains his true feelings, without any change.« »The celestial beings are only able to see each other again due to his longstanding love and firm intentions.« If Hong Sheng was both critical and sympathetic towards Li and Yang’s love before the Mawei disaster, with both positive and negative criticism,

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then he changes his attitude after »Burying the Jade,« due to the heavy price they have paid for their sins. He hereby becomes more sympathetic and positive regarding their infatuation. The depictions of Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan portrayed by Hong Sheng are very different from the true historical figures, with the author introducing several new traits in their characters. Firstly, the love of Li and Yang in The Palace of Eternal Life unfolds in a different manner to that depicted in previous dramatic works. In Romance of the West Chamber (Xixiang ji 西厢记), one can see how Cui Yingying and Zhang Sheng overcome the ideological constraints of feudal rituals, eventually moving forward in their conflicting struggle for love. The Peony Pavilion (Mudan ting 牡丹亭) depicts Du Liniang under heavy confinement, dying of her desire for love before being able to truly experience it. This is a profound critique intended to expose the cannibalistic nature of feudal rituals. A new feature of The Palace of Eternal Life’s portrayal of love is its prominent depiction of the way in which Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan eliminate the impurities of courtly love, moving to exclusivity from non-exclusivity. In this process, the author places great importance and emphasis on emotions, allowing the audience to see that Li and Yang’s feelings are so strong that they would give up everything, including their lives, for it. This kind of love clearly shares characteristics with modern sexuality. If the sprout of modern sexuality was planted in The Peony Pavilion, then it sprouted substantially in The Palace of Eternal Life, especially in its emphasis on feelings as the basis for love, which Hong Sheng obviously valued and clarified more than Wang Shifu had. This reflects the emancipation of individuality in Hong Sheng’s thought at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty. Second, the portrayal of Yang Yuhuan reflects the author’s aim to increase the status of women. In feudal society, concubines were mere playthings of the emperor. Yang Yuhuan, however, does not resign herself to this role. Not only

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does she ask Emperor Ming to devote himself to her, but she also implores him to continue their love from the present life to the next. Particularly after the death of Yang Yuhuan, their romantic feelings in the spiritual world are neither forced nor obedient, but united as one. In Hong Sheng’s eyes, Yang Yuhuan is not comparable to Bao Si, Empress Lu, or Wu Zetian, and he never considers her the scourge of the fallen state nor the root of chaos. In contrast to the slanderous and untrue words imposed on Yang Yuhuan by traditional feudal thought, Hong Sheng reevaluates her death through the play’s characters, with Emperor Ming of Tang declaring her death a »sacrifice for the country« and a »national tragedy,« the God of the Earth saying that she was »born to sacrifice herself for the country,« and Li Guinian saying she was a »generation of beauty for the king, with a thousand-year legacy of hatred dripping out of her blood.« Hong Sheng’s idea of equality in women’s issues is a clear reflection of democratic thinking in the early Qing Dynasty. Hong Sheng’s depiction of the love between Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan, along with the ideal of undying love expressed through these two characters, reflect the protest of people against the feudal system that stifled love and the aspiration for a better romantic life. In addition, Hong Sheng also rose to the height of discussions on human nature, affirming that Li and Yang’s love was borne of reasonable human desire, a manifestation of human nature which could not be suppressed or stifled by »heavenly justice.« Hong Sheng’s idea of »love in words« and his full affirmation of reasonable human desires expressed in The Palace of Eternal Life do not only reflect the ideological struggle against reason with love in the early Qing Dynasty, but also embody progressive ideological significance.

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3. Artistic Achievements of The Palace of Eternal Life In The Palace of Eternal Life, Hong Sheng creates a series of lifelike characters, of whom Emperor Ming of Tang and Yang Guifei are by no means the only who can be considered typical. Hong Sheng’s success lay in his ability to grasp the basic features of characters’ personalities from their specific living environments and life experiences, and complete their characterization throughout the plot’s development. Taking the Emperor Ming of Tang as an example, the author captures two main aspects of his character in his portrayal, namely political ineptitude and love. In writing about the Ming emperor’s love, Hong Sheng captures two more characteristics, these being his combined frivolity and amorousness. By revealing the contradiction between these traits, the author vividly and imaginatively depicts the historical development of this character. After the conflict between the emperor and the imperial concubine, their love matures by the time of »Secret Vows« (Mi Shi 密誓), when the contradiction between the frivolousness and amorousness of the emperor’s character has been resolved. After this, the author continues to develop the character as, for him, the death of his concubine could objectively result in his feelings changing. On the contrary, however, his feelings persist and intensify. Remorse and self-condemnation of conscience become the keynotes of his character thereafter: »I regret that I have abandoned you, abandoned you! I am alone on earth, and I do not want to live.« This is a true reflection of his inner suffering. The pain of losing his concubine, and his dream and quest for »reunion« with her, dominate the entire inner conscience of Ming emperor. It is from the revelation of this inner world that the author earnestly depicts a »sincere« soul immersed in pain and longing, thus completing the portrayal of the emperor. The use of vivid and meticulous psychological descriptions to reveal subtle changes in the char-

SECTION 3 HONG SHENG AND HIS PALACE OF ETERNAL LIFE

acters’ inner thoughts and feelings is another instance of Hong Sheng’s successful characterization. In the scene »Xian Fa,« the author’s psychological portrayal of the concubine’s anger, resentment, hatred, surprise, and joy after being exiled by Emperor Ming truly and accurately reveals the complex psychology of the concubine expelled from the palace at this time. In the scene »Burying the Jade,« the concubine finds herself in a lifeand-death situation, and her thoughts become contradictory and complex. Beginning in this scene, the author uses a multi-layered technique to express the ups and downs of her thoughts and emotions. »Lamenting before the Statue« is highly a detailed portrayal of the emperor’s psychology. Extremely downhearted as he longs for the dead imperial concubine, this intense pain causes him to fall into a trance, resulting in him experiencing hallucinations, and »breaking down in tears« upon seeing a wooden statue of the consort. The language of the characters in The Palace of Eternal Life is rich in personality, and the lively and beautiful lyrics display the author’s advanced literary skills; the author’s mastery of ancient Chinese modes (gongdiao 宫调), selection of tunes, and arrangement of harmonies were constantly admired by composers, and included as examples in later monographs. Xu Lingzhao, once the »Sound Regulator« for The Palace of Eternal Life, highly praised Hong Sheng’s musical attainments: »His wording is consistent and regulated, and refined with strict variation, with a quality that is not easily measurable. Since ancient times, authorship has been difficult, as has been the appreciation of sound. Trying to diffuse this play amongst the Yuan people, it is is evenly matched with [the plays of] Renfu, looking down at the Red Water. ›Graceful‹ [Jinghong 惊鸿] spreads, and darkness is sufficient for the clouds.« In Preface to The Palace of Eternal Life (Changsheng dianxu 长生殿序), Wu Shufu also highly evaluated the play’s literary talent and musical temperament: »The lines are

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refined, the characters are studied, and nothing is inharmonious. Those who love literature like its words, and those who know about music appreciate its regulation.« The Palace of Eternal Life is well-structured, with a complex plot, meticulous conception, and bright coloring. In praise of this, Wang Jilie said: »The choice of gongdiao, distribution of roles, and arrangement of the plot handle the complexities of sorrow and joy. The performers need not worry about an imbalance between rest and work, and audiences continue to multiply. The successful ostentation of chuanqi has always been this and nothing more.« Of course, The Palace of Eternal Life was not without its flaws. The second half of the plot seems to drag, and the close is rather muddled.

Section 4  Kong Shangren and The Peach Blossom Fan 1. Biography of Kong Shangren Kong Shangren, courtesy names Pinzhi and Jichong, was also known as Dong Tang. Referring to himself as the »Hermit of Yunting,« he was also referred to as the »Master of An Tang.« A native of Qufu, Shandong, he was a 64th generation descendant of Confucius. He was born in the 2nd year (1648) of the Yongli Period of the Ming, that is, the 5th year of the Shunzhi Period of the Qing, and died in the 57th year of the Kangxi era (1718). In his youth, Kong Shangren went to Shimen Mountain at Qufu to study and concentrate on his career. At this time, he began to collect old stories in preparation for writing a chuanqi reflecting the rise and fall of the Southern Ming Dynasty. In 1684, when the Kangxi Emperor was on his southern tour, he passed through Qufu on his way back to Beijing, and went to pay homage to Confucius. After being recommended to give a lecture in front of the imperial court, Kong Shangren made such a good

9.1.5 A copy of the portrait of Kong Shangren painted in the Qing Dynasty

impression on Kangxi that he was appointed as a doctor of the Imperial Academy at the age of 37. (Fig. 9.1.5). In 1686, Kong Shangren went to Huaiyang with Sun Zaifeng, an assistant minister at the Ministry of Justice, to take charge of the Yellow River’s estuary dredging project, and did not return to Beijing until 1689. During these years, he witnessed the dark side of officialdom, and had the opportunity to see the lives of the masses, observing their poverty and hardship. His poems and writings from these years were collated into Poems from the Lakes and Seas (Hu hai ji 湖海集), in which his deep concern and empathy for the hardships of lower class people is evident. It was also during this time that Kong Shangren had the chance to visit Yangzhou, the base of the Southern Ming Dynasty and Nan-

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jing, to visit and pay homage to the Qinhuai River, Yanziji, the Imperial Palace, the Xiaoling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty, and other historical sites. He also visited Yangzhou to board the Plum Blossom ridge, and visit Shi Kefa’s tomb, where he met Mao Pijiang, Deng Xiaowei, Du Yuhuang, Shi Tao, and other late Ming Dynasty adherents. He also visited the Daoist priest Zhang Yaoxing in a small temple at Baiyun in Qixia Mountain, where he heard several anecdotes about the Southern Ming Dynasty, collecting much unofficial history on the previous dynasty. Much material for The Peach Blossom Fan was prepared. In 1695, Kong Shangren moved to the head of the Ministry of Revenue, and in June 1699, The Peach Blossom Fan, on which he had worked for over ten years, was finally published. After its release, The Peach Blossom Fan had a widespread social impact owing to its richness of content, profoundness of thought, and great artistic inspiration.

month. Regarding the reason for his dismissal, Kong Shangren himself said, »Being born unlucky, I was suddenly hated for [my] writings, and the good man who kept his mouth shut was slandered.« The meaning of this is obviously that he was »slandered« and found himself in trouble. From another line of his poems, »Li sao brings up tears and I [have obtained] the auspicious sign [to leave], and the drums of the festival have deafened the old of age,« it is clear that Kong Shangren used Li sao as a metaphor for The Peach Blossom Fan. In fact, he told the world that it was The Peach Blossom Fan that caused his misfortune. As the author glorified Shi Kefa and other loyalists in the play, attacking the traitors who sold out their country, and revealing a strong sense of rise and fall, it is not surprising that this aroused the dissatisfaction of Emperor Kangxi and the upper group of the Qing Dynasty, resulting in their subsequent attack. When Kong Shangren returned to his hometown upon his dismissal, he lived a not-so-rich life, as described in his own poems: »[I live in] a selfbuilt [house] on the lake and collect a meager rent, while others [sometimes] ask [me to write] birthday essays for [their] mothers«; »It’s a year of poor harvest and [I] worryingly check the weather, and as I get old I am happy to see my mother’s features.« Six or seven years after returning to his hometown, with the help of the poet Tong Zhecun from Jinmen, he was able to print and publish The Peach Blossom Fan. During his stay at home, Kong Shangren was invited by Liu, the prefect of Pingyang, Shanxi Province, to assist in the compilation of the Annals of Pingyang Prefecture (Pingyang fu zhi 平阳府志). He also traveled to Daliang and Wuchang. In 1718, the great dramatist died at the age of 71 at his home in Qufu. In addition to the chuanqi play The Peach Blossom Fan, Kong Shangren also wrote one volume of Chu Shan Yishu Ji 出山异数记. and 13 volumes of Poems from the Lakes and Seas (Huhai ji 湖海集) and Xiang Jin Bu 享金簿.

[Among the] nobles and gentries, no one did not borrow [the script] to copy, and it was said at the time that the paper became expensive [because of this]. […] The performing of The Peach Blossom Fan in Chang’an [referring to the capital Beijing] did not skip a day in the whole year, and especially the seats at the Jiyuan Garden are the most popular. The famous high-ranking nobility and the literary celebrities gather together, and there is not enough space to put their knees. […] but in the exuberance of music some sit alone, wiping tears with their sleeves, which are the old subjects [of the previous Ming Dynasty]. When the light dims and the banquet ends, they disperse in sighs.

Even Emperor Kangxi was eager to watch this ­chuanqi play: »In the autumn evening of year jimao, the inner servant urgently demanded The Peach Blossom Fan. […] At midnight, [a copy was] sent to the night-duty room, and eventually entered the inner palace.« At the beginning of March 1700, Kong Shangren was promoted to the post of Vice-Director of the Ministry of Revenue in Guangdong Province, but was unexpectedly dismissed in the middle of the

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2. Ideological Content of The Peach Blossom Fan The Peach Blossom Fan is a historical drama centered on the Southern Ming Dynasty, from its establishment to its downfall. In 1644, Li Zicheng’s peasant uprising army captured Beijing, causing Emperor Zhu Youjian of Ming to hang himself on the Mei Mountain. Wu Sangui colluded with the Qing army to enter the country and suppress the peasant army. In May of the same year, the generals, led by the Fengyang governor Ma Shiying, installed Zhu Yusong, the prince of Fu, as emperor in Nanjing, establishing his reign title as Hongguang. At this time, the Southern Ming dynasty was still quite intact, holding considerable military and economic power; and, with the entry of the Qing army, ethnic conflicts had risen to become the main issue. The people expected the Southern Ming ruler and his ministers to encourage governance, resist the Qing soldiers, and recover lost territories. However, the Hongguang Emperor ignored the enemy, instead indulging in ­sensuality. A pair of traitors, Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng, controlled the imperial government, internally reviving the »prison party,« and excluding the good and the loyal. On the surface, however, they were on good terms with the Qing soldiers, in order to keep the area left of the river. The Qing troops took advantage of the opportunity to move south, taking Nanjing. The emperor was captured, and the Southern Ming Dynasty collapsed within less than a year. In A Short Introduction to The Peach Blossom Fan (Taohua shan xiaoyin (桃花扇小引), it is written that through this chuanqi play, Kong Shangren wanted to answer the question of the Ming Dynasty’s »three hundred year foundation, when, how, and by whom it was overthrown, and where it rested. Not only does it make viewers sigh with emotion and shed tears, but it is also a punishment for public feeling, and a savior of the final phase.«

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The Peach Blossom Fan, which is based on the love story of Hou Fangyu, a famous scholar of the Restoration Society, and Li Xiangjun, a famous courtesan of Qinhuai, is a true and comprehensive reflection of the historical downfall of the Southern Ming Dynasty. Whether looking at the intention of this work, or the requirements of its creative methods, The Peach Blossom Fan can be considered a serious and standardized historical drama. To achieve his goal of summarizing historical teachings, the author first directs his exposure and criticism at the traitorous officials who wreaked havoc upon the country and its people, and at the shameless and despicable rulers. The script is focused on the struggle between the restoration of literati such as Hou Chaozong, and the remnant villain of the eunuch party, Ruan Dacheng. This is in fact a continuation of the struggle between the Donglin Clique and the eunuch party, only with the addition of new content at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Despite Ruan Dacheng’s punishment for his disobedience, he does not abandon his evil designs. Taking advantage of the opportunity to appoint a new monarch, he colludes with Ma Shiying. After Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng take military and political control, they seize this opportunity to plunder the people’s wealth, satisfying their own greed. Not only this, but they also, on the one hand, shamelessly indulge the Hongguang Emperor’s lust; on the other hand, they make every effort to exclude and combat Shi Kefa and other important officials, re-invigorate the prison party, and persecute reformists of the Donglin Clique, Restoration Society, and other opposition figures. For a time, they go around hunting, arresting, and killing indiscriminately. The perverse operation methods of the Ma and Ruan clique of traitors also shows that even in the face of a powerful enemy, there will always be internal strife. When Zuo Liangyu sends troops to be punished in the name of »ancestral injunctions,« they unexpectedly and shamelessly »would rather strike the horses of the

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northern army than try the knife of the southern traitors.« As a result, Zou’s soldiers risk their lives to defend the Changjiang river. This gives the Qing soldiers the opportunity to ride south on a large scale. Surrounded by rebellious ministers and traitors, the Hongguang Emperor is a thoroughly fatuous and self-indulging ruler. Faced with powerful foes, he does not consider how progress may be made, instead remaining preoccupied with his lust. He is even irritated by the fact that the characters in »Yanzijian,« presented by Ruan Dacheng, have not yet been selected. Confronted with such a foolish and unruly monarch, the fate of the Southern Ming Dynasty can be imagined. Shi Kefa is the national hero portrayed in the play. After the establishment of the Southern Ming regime, the upright Shi Kefa is replaced by Ma Shiying, and has to leave the defense command in Jiangbei. However, all four defense commands in Jiangbei are in collusion with Ma Shiying, and do not obey him. In order to fight for Yangzhou, the fierce generals of the four defense commands meet. As Shi Kefa has no option but to mediate with an announcement, no problems are solved. From this, the difficult situation of this loyal servant with a patriotic passion is clear. How can he »hold up the sky with only one hand«? After the Qing soldiers cross the river, Shi Kefa lead three thousand old, weak, and remnant soldiers to defend Yangzhou. Weeping bitterly, he is determined to serve the nation with his death. This is a moving and tragic chapter of the play. In The Peach Blossom Fan, Kong Shangren not only exposes and criticizes the corruption and darkness within the ruling clique of the Southern Ming Dynasty, but also portrays with reverence and great enthusiasm the positive lower-class characters represented by Li Xiangjun, Liu Jingting, Su Kunsheng, Ding Jizhi, and Bian Yujing, whose patriotism and righteousness sharply contrast the traits of Ma, Ruan, and other treacherous sycophants. Another character focused upon by the author is Li Xiangjun. As a singing courte-

san, Li Xiangjun is able to emerge untainted from lower society. Her »elegance not learning to wear makeup in her lifetime,« she excels in both her emotional capacity and political stance. She falls in love with the distinguished Hou Fangyu not only out of admiration for his talent, but also due to their shared political ideals, in the so-called situation of »when it comes to the Donglin Clique, even courtesans know how to show respect.« Since Hou Fangyu’s role as an important member of the Restoration Society makes him an object of persecution by the treacherous party of Ma and Ruan, Hou and Li’s love is inevitably accompanied by tragedy. When Hou unexpectedly accepts a trousseau from Ruan Dacheng, Li Xiangjun immediately sees through this political conspiracy, exhibiting political insight rarely depicted in prostitutes. Faced with Hou’s Fangyi’s indecision, Li Xiangjun does not hesitate to remove her hairpin and shed her clothes out of anger. From this series of resolute and decisive actions, the high moral integrity of this stunning woman is made clear. After this, Li Xiangjun, who has lost her lover, uses a poem-inscribed fan as a weapon to resist Ruan Dacheng’s persecution. In »Guarding the Building,« she splashes the poem-inscribed fan with blood, demonstrating her devotion with her firm defense of the building. In the scene »Ma Yan,« she faces a group of arrogant traitors without an ounce of fear, putting her life at risk to defend her dignity, righteously exposing and condemning their crimes. This demonstrates the clarity of her political stance, and the strength of her character. Li Xiangjun’s struggle is not an isolated one; she is surrounded by a large group of righteous lower-class citizens who, despite their low status, are concerned with national security. Not only are they ashamed to be associated with the traitorous party, but they also willing to put their lives at stake when their country is in ruins. The democratic and progressive ideals of the author can be seen from his high opinion of the political vision

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and national integrity of lower class characters such as Liu Jingting and Su Kunsheng. Since Hou Fangyu is one of the main characters of the play, the author portrays him in great detail. As a famous scholar, Hou Fangyu’s initial encounter with Li Xiangjun is largely of a playful nature, as a means by which to alleviate his spring melancholy. It is only under the influence of Xiangjun’s true love that his feelings become sincere. In the scene »The Trousseau,« he shows weakness when faced with the ingenious temptation of Ruan Dacheng and Yang Longyou. Although he embraces the ideal of saving the nation and its people, and wants to take steps towards realizing his political ideas, in the face of Ma and Ruan’s dictatorship and the domination of the four defense garrisons, even Shi Kefa, on whom he has placed all of his hopes, is at a loss. All of his political efforts have therefore come to nothing. The author depicts Hou Fangyu as representative of the Restoration Society literati. While affirming their advocacy of political renewal, he also points out their weakness of »only studying, and not fighting,« and the »bad habits of the sons of the rich.« Although Kong Shangren emphasized the importance of historical accuracy, and did his upmost to avoid »perverse history resulting from limited information,« and repeatedly advertised the »achievements and failures of the imperial government, and the gathering and dispersal of the literati, all accurately examined in the field, without any falsification,« he did not treat the drama as a historical one. On the contrary, with historical truth as a basis, he firmly grasped the laws of art, effectively solving the relationship between artistic and historical truth. As a result, this masterpiece play demonstrated convincing ingenuity and craftsmanship in the weaving of its story, the unfolding of its plot, the layout of its conflict, and the creation of its atmosphere. In the characterization of Li Xiangjun, for instance, according to Hou Chaozong’s Biography of Li Ji

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(Li ji chuan 李姬传), when Ruan Dacheng attempts to ease his relationship with the Restoration Society by pleasing Hou Chaozong, the person who speaks on his behalf is General Wang. This character is found in »The Trousseau,« although the author turns General Wang into Yang Longyou. This treatment is in line with the principle of concentration, and is also conducive to the portrayal of Yang Longyou. Not only this, but the author also processes Hou Fangyu’s real situation at this time from the requirements of dramatic conflict and the portrayal of characters. According to Qing author Wang Youdian’s Biography of Wu Fubang (Wu fubang chuan 吴副榜传), Hou Fangyu was of such »great wealth and vast spirit that he depended on his great fortune to make friends with guests« when he visited the Qinhuai River. However, in »The Trousseau,« Hou Fangyu has a »shy wallet« and cannot pay for Xiangjun’s trousseau, hence the plot of Yang Longyou offering his own money to help. Compared with true history, it is obviously more dramatic to portray Hou Fangyu as poor, which not only highlights the high quality of Xiangjun, but also helps to reveal the political trap set by Ruan Dacheng and Yang Longyou. Through the contrast between Xiangjun and Hou Fangyu, Xiangjun’s distinctive political stance and noble personality are clearly expressed, and an extraordinary female character is realistically developed before the audience’s eyes.

3. Artistic Characteristics of The Peach Blossom Fan Since The Peach Blossom Fan is a historical drama that »draws upon on the emotions of separation and reunion, and portrays the feelings of flourish and decay,« how to turn the love story of a hero and heroine into a means of expressing the sentiment of rise and fall became a key problem to be solved in the drama’s structure. Kong Shangren’s solution is stated in Introductory Summary to The Peach Blossom Fan (Taohuashan fanli 桃花 扇凡例): »The name of the play, The Peach Blos-

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som Fan, is analogous to a pearl; the writing of The Peach Blossom Fan is analogous to a dragon. Through the clouds into the fog, to the right or the side, the dragon’s eyes and claws never leave the pearl. The viewer should use sharp discernment.« A poem-inscribed fan is not at all surprising, but because it is the object of love between Hou Fangyu and Li Xiangjun, it is endowed with a special meaning.

is connected with Shi Kefa, Zuo Liangyu, Gao Jie, and other important officials. Among them, major events such as resistance to the traitors, transfer of defense, and internal strife in the four defense garrisons are amply developed. From this, the intricate contradictions and struggles within the ruling group of the Southern Ming Dynasty are evident. Since Li Xiangjun’s plotline mainly revolves around her relationship with Emperor Hongguang and Ruan Dacheng, the main purpose of this thread is to expose the corruption of the Southern Ming rulers and ministers. When Hou and Li reunite after a long period of separation, it is also the day of the downfall of the Southern Ming Dynasty. At this time, the Daoist priest Zhang tears up the peach blossom fan, and announces the end of Hou and Li’s love. As the author says, »Once in a lifetime is the guiding principle of the play, and the governance of the Southern Dynasty is tied to this.« The success of The Peach Blossom Fan can also be attributed to the lifelike group of characters created by the author. In order to demonstrate the great historical change of the Ming and Qing dynasties and the defeat of the Southern Ming court, Kong Shangren portrays a series of characters from all levels of society, from emperors and generals, and literati and scholars, to courtesans and proteges of the powerful, and peddlers and carriers. No less than 20 to 30 of these characters are named, and they leave strong impressions. According to The Peach Blossom Fan, in order to give these characters »lively expressions, jumping off the paper and brimming with lust for life,« the author used a variety of writing styles. First of all, while adopting common characteristics for similar characters, the differences in their personalities are highlighted. Taking Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng as examples, both of these characters are traitors and scoundrels with a firm hold over the emperor’s control of his vassals— a generation of thieves. When portraying these treacherous officials, the author deliberately high-

The peach blossom on the surface of the fan is strange yet not strange; The peach blossom, the bloodstain of the beauty; the one with the blood stain, she defends her chastity for marriage. With her wounded head dripping, she will not be dishonored by the traitor; the traitors are remnants of Eunuch Wei; the remaining evil elements indulge in lust, plunder goods, form a party for revenge, and destroy three hundred years of the emperor’s foundation.

Because the personal fate of the owner of the fan is closely linked to the fate of the Southern Ming Dynasty, the fan, which records the encounter of its owner, also has special significance. The play starts with a fan being gifted as a token of love, before becoming the object that solidifies the love between Hou Chaozong and Li Xiangjun. Their love has obvious political overtones from the start, as it is entwined with the struggle of the literati of the Restoration Society against Ruan Dacheng of the Eunuch Party. It is precisely because Ruan Dacheng wants to curry favor with the literati of the Restoration Society that Yang Longyou’s helps with the trousseau to facilitate the union of Hou and Li. Because of Li Xiangjun’s insistence on rejecting the bridal trousseau, Hou Chaozong is hated by Ruan Dacheng. Ruan Dacheng seeks an opportunity to retaliate, using Hou Chaozong’s collusion with Zuo Liangyu as an excuse to flagrantly accuse him. Hou Chaozong must then flee to Shi Kefa, resulting in his separation from Li. After this, the plot develops in two threads. In the first thread, Hou Chaozong

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lights Ma Shiying’s greedy and heedless character, while capturing Ruan Dacheng’s clever, cunning, and versatile characteristics, thus bringing the different personalities of these treacherous officials to life. There are also the entertainers Su Kunsheng and Liu Jingting. The former is modest and sincere, while the latter is saber-rattling and ostentatious. Others, such as military generals Zuo Liangyu, Huang Degong, Liu Liangzuo, Liu Zeqing, and Gao Jie, and courtesans Li Xiangjun, Li Zhenli, Bian Yujing and Zheng Touniang are also vivid and realistic, with their own characteristics. Second, different writing techniques are adopted for different characters. This is carried out using thick ink and heavy color, or sketching and light writing, causing colors to contrast, neatly setting off the borders. To depict the warm and upright character of the itinerant entertainer Liu Jingting, the author not only constantly places him in the

CHAPTER I OVERVIEW OF OPERA IN QING DYNASTY AND THE PROSPERITY OF CHUANQI IN EARLY QING

vortex of conflicts, but also uses a smooth brush and splashed ink for him. From the very beginning of »Tingbai« 听稗, Liu Jingting comes to the audience with an awe-inspiring and impassioned attitude, and from this point onwards he is full of chuanqi features. Although Li Xiangjun is the heroine of the play, the author adopts the line drawing method to meticulously depict her behavior, language, and inner thought. This style of writing is most suitable for the portrayal of this famous courtesan of her generation, not only because her character is elegant and noble, thus requiring a corresponding writing style, but also because the line drawing method has its own irreplaceable advantages in describing people and things. While Liu Jingting’s »thick smear« and Li Xiangjun’s »light adornment« are both mere writing techniques, they both embody the ideals of the author, thus filling the play with his own inner passion.

CHAPTER II  THE RISE OF REGIONAL OPERA IN THE QING DYNASTY AND THE FORMATION OF THE FOUR MAJOR VOCAL TUNES From Yuan zaju to Ming and Qing chuanqi plays, opera existed in the combined set qupai form. This musical system largely determined the dramatic form of zaju and chuanqi plays. In the late Ming and early Qing, alongside the formation and development of bangzi qiang, a new opera musical system emerged—the ban (accented beat)-style modified form. In the mid-Qing Dynasty, when pihuang qiang emerged, this new musical system was developed and perfected, expanding its influence and establishing its pivotal position in operatic history. In the historical development of opera, the emergence of ban-style modified form brought about a profound change. Its far-reaching impact not only cleared a wider path for the development of opera, but also created the necessary conditions for a rich opera stage and improved performances. This great emancipation of artistic expression in opera led to the emergence of several localized opera forms, which made it possible for the common people to participate in the appreciation and creative activities of opera more directly.

Section 1  The Origin and Evolution of the Clapper Tune The bangzi qiang (clapper tune) was named after the »clapper« percussive instrument. Originating in the state of Qin, it was also known as Qin qiang or Xi Qin (Western Qin) qiang. The earliest mention of the bangzi qiang can be found in the chuanqi play Lotus in the Mantle (Bozhong Lian

钵中莲). This handwritten volume is from the 47th year (1619) of the Wanli era of Ming, and contains the approximately 20-line changci (sung poem) entitled »Xi Qin Qiang Er Fan« (西秦腔二犯). Throughout the history of opera, the term qiang (tune) has remained a specific concept with fixed content and a clear meaning, and which has also been synonymous with opera sheng qiang (vocal tune). The emergence of »Xi Qin qiang« as a concept indicates that this became an independent opera sheng qiang. The extensive use of Jiangsu and Zhejiang dialects in Lotus in the Mantle indicates that it is a chuanqi from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region. The appearance of the Xi Qin qiang in a chuanqi play from the 47th year of Wanli indicates at least three things: First, the spread of Xi Qin qiang to the Jiangsu-Zhejiang area must have taken place before the publication of Lotus in the Mantle. Second, the fact that the Xi Qin qiang could grow beyond its homeland suggests that it had developed to a certain extent, with the necessary strength and conditions for outward development. Third, according to the general regulations of opera development, it would take at least a few decades for a sheng qiang to emerge on a significant scale and begin this outward development. On these grounds, there is complete reason to believe that Xi Qin qiang is the oldest form of bangzi qiang, or at least that it had been formed by the mid-Ming Dynasty. In his Discourse on Drama (Ju hua 剧话), Qing dynasty dramatist Li Tiaoyuan stated: »The Qin qiang began in Shaanxi.« In Li Shengzhen’s Bai Xi Zhuzhi Ci 百戏竹枝词. he says that: »Qin qiang, commonly known as bangzi qiang, is performed by striking wood, as if using a watchman’s

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rattle in time to the music.« In his Qin Yun Xie Ying Xiao Pu 秦云撷英小谱. Yan Changming of the Qianlong Period states: »Qin qiang has remained the same since the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties.« These historical sources indicate that the Qin qiang originated in Shaanxi, and that the bangzi qiang was the common name for it. Since the ban-style modified form was first created from Qin qiang, analyzing the historical formation and development of Qin qiang provides the answer to the mystery of the ban-style modified form. There are two basic features of the ban-style variation opera musical system. The first is the use of seven or ten-character phrase patterns (equallength couplets) as its basic literary structure; the second is the use of upper and lower musical phrases as a basic musical unit, and the use of the same simple melody’s repeated variation to form its own musical structure. These two basic features are essential in analyzing the emergence of the ban-style modified form in opera.

1. Origin of the Clapper Tune 1. Origin of the Equal-Length Couplet Phrase Pattern The literary structure of the equal-length couplet can be traced back to the shuochang (speaking and singing) art in the shizan (poetry appraisal) system, which matured as early as the period of the Dunhuang bianwen (alternating prose and rhymed parts) literary form, of which the Zhuo Ji Bu Bian Wen 捉季布变文 was the most representative. Hereafter, this structural method went through the transition of yaci and taozhen styles and entered the period of Yuan and Ming cihua (the form of the novel with much poetry in the text), which profoundly influenced the zaju of the time. As the Yuan zaju of shiyun 诗云 and ciyun 词云. with seven or ten-character phrase patterns, appeared, since seven and ten-character phrase patterns had already reached maturity in the shuochang of the shizan system, and had become an

CHAPTER II THE RISE OF REGIONAL OPERA IN THE QING DYNASTY AND THE FORMATION OF THE FOUR MAJOR VOCAL TUNES

integral part of Yuan zaju, it was only logical that the bangzi qiang should absorb this benefit and create its own literary structure as it developed. In the earliest existing historical evidence of Qin qiang (bangzi qiang), and the chuanqi play Lotus in the Mantle, published in the 47th year of the Ming Dynasty, the 28-line changci Xi Qin Qiang Er Fan, was composed of seven-character couplets. Shuochang cihua was a rather mature and very representative form of shizan shuochang, and the influence of its seven and ten-character couplet phrase patterns on the formation of Qin qiang’s literary structure is obvious. 2. Origin of the Upper and Lower Phrase Musical Structure and the Formation of the Ban-Style Modified Musical System The close relationship between the ban-style modified form and the shuochang existed not only in their phrase patterns, but also in their structure. In short, the fundamental musical structure of the ban-style modified form was derived from shizan system shuochang. The relationship between shizan system shuochang music and ban-style modified form opera music can be traced back to bianwen. In Tang Zhaolin’s Yin Hua Lu (因话录), it is recorded that musicians of the time would often imitate the tones of bianwen when composing songs, which suggests that these tones were widely circulated in society and had a standardized method of composition. Bianwen was large, and lengthy. As its narratives was related, the melody would have to change rapidly, along with the plot. For example, in the bianwen of Ji Bu Insulting the Enemy (Ji bu ma zhen 季布骂阵), the singer’s voice not only changed with the narration of Ji Bu’s story, but also demonstrated the difference between joy, anger, and sadness by imitating the mood of the protagonist. The capabilities of these bianwen were clearly beyond a single tune. This is exemplified by bianwen musical terms such as yin (chant), duan (cut off), ping (even), and ce (inclined), which clearly mark the different methods

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of singing bianwen. In each of these, the change in tempo was likely to have been a commonly used first resort. The phrase pattern of the bianwen originally consisted of a seven-character phrase structure, which in turn determined the upper and lower phrase musical structures. Then, when using a pair of upper and lower phrases as a musical unit for repeated chanting, there had to be a base rhythm. Increasing or decreasing the tempo of this basic rhythm gave rise to variations, and it was this which planted the seed of the ban-style modified form. Wang Yiqun, an accomplished musician in Shaanxi, discovered a »quanshan diao« (»persuasive tune«) that had been widely circulated among the people. Upon further study, he confirmed that it was closely related to the basic tune of Qin qiang. This discovery confirms the origin of shuochang opera music. This is because the quanshan diao originated from baojuan, which was the direct descendant of bianwen. Quanshan diao had the following characteristics: an upper and lower phrase constituting a musical segment; a zheng mode and the same kuyin scale as Qin qiang; each upper and lower phrases containing »six ban,« and two »six ban« constituting the »two-six ban.« Comparing the quanshan diao with the two-six ban of the Qin qiang, they were basically the same in terms of their number of ban and the pauses in their upper and lower ban. In other words, the quanshan diao could be considered a form of the two-six ban in shizan system shuochang. The twosix ban was the fundamental ban style of the Qin qiang and the foundation for various other ban styles, all of which were the result of variations on the two-six ban. From this, it can be inferred that since the shizan system shuochang in the bianwen period had already created the upper and lower phrase musical structure, this structure had long nurtured the elements of the two-six ban. Therefore, during the development of the shizan system shuochang family, the creation of some simple ban forms based on the two-six ban was natural.

SECTION 1 THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE CLAPPER TUNE

In analyzing the development of the ban-style modified form, the shuochang cihua deserves the most attention, as the Qin qiang was formed on the basis of this shizan system shuochang. The cihua was prepared for performance in the Yuan Dynasty, and even further developed in the Ming Dynasty. The formation of the fundamental twosix ban in cihua is likely to have been slightly older and much more refined than the quanshan diao of the baojuan. Since the Qin qiang evolved directly on the basis of shuochang cihua, it would have inherited the basic ban style of cihua in its formative stage, which it later developed and refined to establish its own ban-style modified form. In short, long before the shaping of the ban-style modified form, the main conditions under which it was nurtured had gradually been perfected during the development of the shizan system shuochang. History entrusted this new opera system with a task—not to recreate the conditions for the production of a brand new sheng qiang, but to inherit the achievements of the shizan system shuochang, and to move towards the ban-style modified form of opera on this basis. 3. From Shuochang Cihua to the Ban-Style Modified Form of Opera The fact that the equal-length couplet phrase pattern and the upper and lower phrase musical structure were the essential features of the banstyle modified form of opera, and that both of these features were derived from shizan system shuochang, links the formation of the ban-style modified form of opera to the shizan system shuochang. The shizan system shuochang has a long history and is part of a large family. Cihua is an important component of this. Cihua was very popular in the Yuan and Ming dynasties, and the shizan system shuochang of the Yuan dynasty were collectively referred to as cihua. In the Ming Dynasty, names for this became muddled, the main ones including taozhen, cihua, shuoci, changci, wenci shuochang,

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datan, menci, mangci and guci. As the majority of cihua singers in the Yuan and Ming dynasties were blind, they were accompanied by the pipa lute. Largely based upon ancient and modern tales or real-life themes, cihua were popular in the north, especially in Beijing. In the widespread shuochang cihua in Shanxi and Shaanxi, there was a kind of performer known as the »storyteller.« In their theater troupes, known as the »storyteller troupes,« all of the performers were blind. A researcher discovered a late Qing Dynasty block-printed work of a Shanxi-Shaanxi storyteller, and a comparative study confirmed that the cihua book Laoshu Gao Mao 老鼠告猫 was the blueprint for this Qin qiang opera. On this basis, researchers have discovered that one of the earliest extant Qin operas, written in the 13th year of Jiaqing during the Qing Dynasty, was Ci Zhongshan 刺中山. which was directly derived from the Yuan and Ming cihua, entitled Da Tang Qinwang Cihua 大唐秦王词话. While Laoshu Gao Mao is a small-scale early Qin qiang opera, Ci Zhongshan and Hua Zhong Ren (画中人) are large-scale operas from the mature period of Qin qiang. Since different researchers have found empirical evidence that these were born from shuochang cihua, they have proposed the conclusion that Qin qiang was originally formed by direct copying of shuochang cihua. Recent research has also shown that some other ancient forms of ban-style modified opera, such as nuo opera, puppet shows, and shadow plays, were also formed on the basis of copying cihua.

2. The Rapid Development and Fierce Competition of the Clapper Tune Formed during the mid-Ming Dynasty, bangzi qiang entered a period of maturation and rapid development in the Qing. Within the 90-year period of the Shunzhu, Kangxi and Yongzhen reigns, the art of bangzi qiang grew increasingly mature and comprehensive. With the Shanxi area as its base of operations, it continued to develop o ­ utward.

CHAPTER II THE RISE OF REGIONAL OPERA IN THE QING DYNASTY AND THE FORMATION OF THE FOUR MAJOR VOCAL TUNES

In late autumn, during the 46th year (1707) of the Kangxi period, after Kong Shangren, author of The Peach Blossom Fan, had stayed at home for seven years, he accepted the invitation of Liu Qi, prefectural magistrate of Pingyang, Shanxi, to go and compile the Records of Pingyang (Pingyang fu zhi 平阳府志). At the beginning of spring in the 2nd year, on the day of the Lantern Festival, after taking an enormous interest in observing Pingyang’s festival entertainment, kunqu, and luantan performances, Kong wrote the renowned Pingyang Bamboo Branch Ci (Pingyang zhuzhi ci 平阳竹枝 词). From this, it is clear that the poet was completely won over by the performance of Qin qiang. With passion in his heart, he used beautiful verses to express his heartfelt admiration of this sheng qiang genre. Moreover, it is said that during the time of diplomatic missions to foreign countries in the Kangxi period, Qin qiang was once performed in front of the emperor’s carriage. Evidently, this form of sheng qiang had a large impact on society at the time. In some historical data from the Kangxi period, Qin qiang activities are mentioned. For example, in Miscellaneous Records of Guangyang (Guangyang zaji 广阳杂记), Liu Xianting states: »Qin is an excellent new sound, with notable luantan musicians. Its sound is considerably scattered yet mournful.« As »Guanyung« here refers to Hengyang in Hunan Province, Qin qiang had clearly made tracks in Hubei and Hunan by this time. In Song of the Nine Bamboo Branches of Yan (Yan jiu zhu zhi ci 燕九竹 枝词), Chen Jianfu states: »As the noise of gongs and drums angrily fills the bo Hall, the luantan huadan learns to be a side adornment.« Here it is not only clear that the so-called luantan of the Qin qiang had gained a foothold in Beijing, but also that huadan role had emerged. This indicates that the role division of Qin qiang had undergone significant development. From provincial governor Huang Tinggui’s memorial to the emperor collected in Yongzheng Imperial Edict Cabinet (Yongzheng Shangyu Neige 雍正上谕内阁), it is known

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that »of the Ding troupe of the Chuan [Sichuan] Province soldiers« stationed in Tibet at this time, »those who could sing luantan were selected.« They »occasionally dressed up to sing, providing joyful music.« This explains how Qin qiang was able to spread from Sichuan to Tibet. As Qin qiang rapidly grew beyond The Central Plains, it naturally required a vehicle and opportunity for dissemination. Following the mass migration brought about by the late Ming peasant rebellions, many of the soldiers in Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong’s peasant army were natives of The Central Plains. After this military migration, many people were scattered throughout the vast area north of the Yangtze River, with no lack of Qin qiang disseminators among them. Even more important were the activities of the Shanxi merchants. Since the Kangxi era, following the development of commerce, merchants from various regions would commonly establish provincial halls in cities. With these as their as bases of operations, they would conduct business relationships on the one hand, while pursuing spiritual enjoyment on the other. Plays hereby became their main form of amusement, as well as way of provoking emotion and demonstrating wealth. This transformed provincial halls into important venues for theatre troupe activities. Shanxi’s trading capital developed very quickly and became livelier after the Kangxi period, its feelers stretching towards the various regions of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shandong, and Hebei. The dissemination of Qin qiang in the early Qing mainly relied upon Shanxi-Shaanxi Merchant Guild activities. After the Qian-Jia Period, following the expansion of Shanxi’s business capital (the main indicators of which were pawnbrokers and private bank exchange shops), the path for Qin qiang dissemination widened. Throughout the rapid development of the early Qing, bangzi qiang not only matured artistically, but also had a great impact on a national scale.

SECTION 1 THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE CLAPPER TUNE

This ever-growing power inevitably dealt a shock to the pre-established structure on the opera stage. For this reason, an artistic battle, symbolized by the Huaya competition, inevitably arrived. The concepts of huabu and yabu appeared in the Qianlong Period. In Short Notes on Yanlan (Yanlan xiaopu 燕兰小谱) it is written: »Now, yi qiang, bangzi, and so on are known as huabu, and kunqiang is known as yabu.« In A Record of the Painted Barges of Yangzhou (Yangzhou huafang lu 扬州画 舫录), Li Dou states: »Salt industry matters of eastern and western Huainan include entertaining the two bu [departments] of hua and ya, for preparing large-scale opera. Yabu is Kunshan qiang; huabu is Jing qiang, Qin qiang Yiyang qiang, bangzi qiang, luoluo qiang, and erhuang diao, which together form the so-called luantan.« The separation of huabu and yabu reflected the scholar official and literati prejudice of praising the elegant and suppressing the vulgar. This also demonstrates the troop formation of the arts battle. Strictly speaking, the huaya conflict was mainly focused on the Qian-Jia Period opera stage, but when tracing this back to the historical conflict between elegance and vulgarity, it becomes clear that the challenge posed to Kun qiang by early Qing Yiyang qiang set the stage for this competition. The rise of the Qin qiang (bangzi qiang) resulted in a double characteristic of the Huaya competition— that is, a struggle between elegance and vulgarity, and a struggle between the old and the new. The latter had a double significance of its own. One side of this was Qin qiang’s (bangzi qiang’s) status as an emerging sheng qiang; the second was the emergence of a new opera system in combined set qupai with Qin qiang (bangzi qiang) as its marker— the ban-style modulated form. In this way, this Huaya competition continued to be characterized by a struggle between two kinds of opera music systems. If the struggle between elegance and vulgarity was already an intense one, then the influence of Qing court cultural policy rendered it even more tangled and complex.

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Stemming from a need to defend its governing position, the Qing court always adopted the policy of esteeming the elegant and suppressing the vulgar. At one point, it adopted a series of measures, including the issuance of bans, the setting of traps for changing opera, the examination of tuning, and the compilation of large-scale court operas, to guide performances into the state-mandated trajectory. Not only this, but bans were issued to enforce a destructive crackdown on the rising bangzi qiang. As the Qing court’s prohibition of bangzi qiang rendered its footing in the capital impossible, Qin qiang troupes either dissolved or travelled far away. While on the surface it appeared that Qin qiang had indeed vanished from the capital, this by no means constituted its true disappearance. Although bans were reissued in the Jiaqing period, the staying power of Qin qiang had been demonstrated.

3. Formation of the Two Performance Centers Xi’an was the capital of The Central Plains, which naturally became a point of convergence for opera. During the Qianlong Period, theatrical performances in this area were extremely lively, and the flourishing scene attracted many excellent troupes and actors. It was here that the first Qin qiang (bangzi qiang) performance center was formed. In Qin Yun Xie Ying Xiao Pu Tici 秦云撷英小谱 ·题词. Xu Jinheng exclaims: »There are 36 troupes in the western region Pear Garden, and court gentlemen carefully identify the sound of Qin.« The »western region« here is Xi’an, and the 36 troupes are only the »noble ones« among them, so the magnificence of these performances is easily imaginable. Among the numerous troupes, the most well-known were the Bao Fu Troupe, the Jiang Dong Troupe, the Shuang Sai Troupe (also known as Shuang Cai Troupe) and the Jin Xiu Troupe, all of which had a long history and a wide audience. Along with the numerous troupes, even more performers emerged. In Qin Yun Xie Ying Xiao Pu,

CHAPTER II THE RISE OF REGIONAL OPERA IN THE QING DYNASTY AND THE FORMATION OF THE FOUR MAJOR VOCAL TUNES

those such as Xianglin, Sanshou, Yinhua, Xiaohui, Bao’er, Xi’er, Suo’er, Shaizi, and Jin Zhuizi are recorded. Among these, there are three that are most representative: »Xianglin, who excels in the arts and has special skills. Xiaohui, who excels at vocals and has the most perfect song. Suo’er, who excels in appearance and is remarkably beautiful.« Xianglin, whose real name was Shen Xianglin, was the son of a Weinan peasant family who had not had an easy life. In Xi’an, where there were many famous artists, he »excelled in the arts,« and his »special skills« can be imagined. As a scholar and opera enthusiast, Yan Changming thought highly of Shan Xiangling, and was impressed by his artistic attainments. Historical data shows that there were two schools of Qin qiang (bangzi qiang) in The Central Plains at this time, separated by the Weihe River: the Weihe southern school and the Weihe northern school. The reason for the emergence of the two schools can be explained using the words of Yan Changming: »But the natives of a place are seldom changed.« The second performance center of the Qin qiang (bangzi qiang) was formed in Beijing following the arrival of Wei Changsheng, the master of performing arts, in the capital. The formation and variation of this performance center were also particularly notable as they directly related to the fate of the Huaya Contest and attracted much attention as a result. As all that happened here was linked to the activities of Wei Changsheng, he constituted a key figure in Beijing theatrical circles at this time. Wei Changsheng, courtesy name Wanqing, was born in Jintang, Sichuan Province. The third child of his family, he was also known as Weisan (san meaning »the third«). As a teenager, he studied the arts and spent a long period as an unknown performer before entering Beijing, where he became very popular in the 44th year of Qianlong (1779). The fundamental reason for Wei Changsheng’s great success in the Beijing theater scene was the superiority of the Qin qiang (bangzi qiang) as an

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SECTION 1 THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE CLAPPER TUNE

9.2.1 Painting of Qianlong watching a play

emerging sheng qiang of the ban-style modulation system. However, it should also be acknowledged that Wei’s own artistic talent and painstaking research, and the perfect artistic realm that resulted from these, allowed him to fully demonstrate the unique charm of Qin qiang (bangzi qiang) performing arts. (Fig. 9.2.1) The success of Wei Changsheng’s performing arts can be summarized in three points. First, he brought a great deal of Qin qiang (bangzi qiang) plays to the Beijing theater scene, using his superb skills to successfully depict several vivid artistic images, giving the Beijing opera stage a new look. Since kunqu and Yiyang qiang had long dominated the theater world, traditional chuanqi plays became the main objects of peoples’ appreciation. Since the mid-Qing Dynasty, new chuanqi plays had become increasingly sparse, and their ten-

dency to be detached from the masses in content and from the stage in form had increased. This not only created a crisis for kunqu and Yiyang qiang, but also stifled audience interest and appreciation. With the sensation caused by Wei Changsheng’s play Gun Lou 滚楼. several bangzi qiang brimming with earthy character, and many figures unknown to the people of Beijing, appeared onstage, causing the eyes of spectators to light up. The main plays performed by Wei Changsheng were Gun Lou 滚楼. Tie Lianhua 铁莲花. Xiang Lian Chuang 香联串. Feng Da Bo 缝褡膊. Hua Gu 花鼓. Lian Xiang 连相. Biao Dasao Bei Wazi 表大 嫂背娃子 (Bei Wajin Fu 背娃进府), Putao Jia 葡 萄架 and Xiao Jin Zhang 销金帐. Plays performed by his disciples included Kao Huo 烤火. Tie Gong Yuan 铁弓缘 and Fan Lihua Song Zhen 樊梨花 送枕. As Wei focused on the dan (female) role

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in his plays, the majority of the characters were women. Wei Changsheng’s Gun Lou was »famous in Beijing, with thousands of spectators.« Itwas a love story involving three characters, namely Wang Ziying, Gao Jinding and Du Xiuying. This play belonged to the same genre as Fan Lihua Song Zhen, Tie Gong Yuan, and Sha Si Men (a play about the story of Liu Jinding). The heroine in the play is strong and spirited, completely different from the weak women of chuanqi plays, which created a sense of novelty. The plot of this play is filled with ups and downs, with strong chuanqi flavor and comic style, resulting in its unique charm. In addition to portraying »heroes and heroines at the same time,« Wei Changsheng also brought images of simple rural women to the stage with great success, the most famous instance of this being his play Bei Wajin Fu. Wei Changsheng’s next achievement was his raising of opera performances to a new level. His virtuosity was unparalleled at this time. The style of the Wei school of performing arts that he founded not only pursued external beauty, but also strove to accurately and comprehensively grasp and reproduce the personalities of characters. The features of his style were often described as enchanting. He played roles in a beautiful and moving fashion, making them remarkably true to life. He paid great attention to the function of each body part in acting, especially the charm of eyebrows and facial expressions. At the same time, he carried out reforms in makeup and physical training, as exemplified by his use of water heads and stilts. This allowed the beauty of costumes and figures to reach unprecedented levels. Due to the great attention paid to characterization in by Wei’s art, and his ability to accurately and meticulously understand and master the psychological and external movements of characters, his performances often caused people to exclaim: »The voice is true, moving and touching. Truly an old hand on the singing stage.«

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Another characteristic of Wei school art was that »the actors come up with new ideas according to the situation, not using the old text exclusively.« »Not using the old text exclusively« here refers firstly to the constant renewal of plays; second, it indicates an unconventional method of performance. The performing arts of kunqu were characterized by a tight combination of singing and acting, with simultaneous singing and dancing, and its performance style was consolidated by its great maturity. Bangzi qiang performances, however, were characterized by a lack of acting during singing and a lack of singing during acting, which provided an open space for the ample development of performing arts. Wei’s tendency to »come up with new ideas according to the situation« during play performances further demonstrates this characteristic. Wei Changsheng’s performing arts continuously improved as they developed and changed, in their early years changing from »pretty and coquettish« to »sincere.« In later years, this change became even greater. This, of course, was a result of Wei’s improvement. It also demonstrated the increased sophistication and maturity of his performing arts. Wei Changsheng mainly focused on the huadan (vivacious female character) and wudan (female character with martial skills) roles, and while he excelled in this work, he was also a well-trained singer. In Miscellaneous Records of the Roaring Pavilion (Xiaoting zalu 啸亭杂录), the features of his singing voice are described: »Although the ballad is vulgar, the complex sound and urgent rhythm are very moving.« Qin qiang (bangzi qiang) took Beijing by storm. This was achieved not by Wei Changsheng alone, but also by the group of accomplished performers that surrounded him. These performers formed two groups. One of these was comprised of Wei school disciples, and the other of famous Qin qiang (bangzi qiang) performers from such areas as Shanxi-Shaanxi and Zhili. With their different styles, they adorned the Beijing opera scene in a spectacular fashion.

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Chen Yinguan was the most notable member of the Wei school. In A Small Book on the Orchids of Yan (Yanlan xiao pu 燕兰小谱), he was the first huabu artist listed. As Chen Yinguan contributed greatly to the inheritance and development of Wei school art, people of the time referred to him as »Wei Chen.« Wei’s influential disciples included Jiang Si’er and Huang Kuiguan, both of whom were excellent performers. In the 5th year of Jiaqing (1800), when Wei Changsheng re-entered Beijing, he took Liu Langyu under his wing. In Wei’s later years, Liu was known to be his favorite disciple. After Wei’s death, Liu became the »Leader Fanglin,« subsequently making a great contribution to the development and spread of Wei’s art. As Qin qiang (bangzi qiang) became popular in Beijing during the Qian-Jia Period, some famous troupes in the capital, such as Shuangqing, Cuiqing, Yiqing, and Yongqing, adopted it. However, the ban issued in the 50th year of the Qianlong reign dealt a heavy blow. Wei Changsheng was then forced to join the Kunyi troupe, and travelled south to Yangzhou in the 52nd year of the Qianlong Period. Chen Yinguan was also persecuted, dishonored, and sent back to Sichuan. The Qin qiang (bangzi qiang) was then forced to disappear from the Beijing stage. Since Wei Changsheng was forced to go south to Yangzhou, the strength of Yangzhou huabu greatly increased. Famous Jing qiang artists such as Hao Tianxiu, Yang Bajuan, Fan Da and Xie Zishou either became disciples of Wei or followed the example of the Qin qiang (bangzi qiang). Huabu’s prosperity therefore began with Yangzhou as its center, before becoming a popular craze in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Its influence was so great that even Suzhou, the hometown of kunqu, followed suit. When Wei Changsheng returned to Beijing in the 5th year of the Jiaqing era, he was able to reminisce and sigh once more about Liu Lang. Although Wei was old by this time, his ambition and heroism had remained firm. As »the higher his ambition, the more bitter his heart,«

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and »if his voice and appearance are old, the elegance is more beautiful,« he entered a higher artistic realm. In the 7th year of Jiaqing, after a performance of Bei Wajin fu, he died onstage. It was in this way that this great artist of a generation perished. However, this was not the end of his work. Liu Langyu, Wei’s disciple, followed in his footsteps, continuing to promote the Qin qiang (bangzi qiang) on the Beijing stage.

4. Development and Transformation of the Clapper Tune in the Yangtze River Basin The spread of the bangzi qiang in the Yangtze River basin began in the late Ming Dynasty, at which time it was referred to in the chuanqi play Lotus in the Mantle as Xi Qin qiang. This chuanqi also featured xiansuo qiang, the Shandong guniang qiang, the Siping qiang, the gaochang qiang, and the Jing qiang. As these sheng qiang were performed on the same stage as bangzi qiang, they impacted the evolution of the latter. During the Qing Dynasty, bangzi qiang became more active in the Yangtze River basin. In the Kangxi period, Liu Xianting stated in Miscellaneous Records of Guangyang that »Qin is an excellent new sound, with notable luantan musicians. Its sound is considerably scattered yet mournful.« In Rongmei Travelogue (Rongmei jiyou 容美记游), Gu Cai also confirms traces of bangzi qiang in Hubei and Hunan at the time. In Wei Litong’s Jiangnan Zhuzhi ci (江南竹枝词), he describes a bangzi qiang performance in Yangzhou: »After the dance, the bangzi sounded in a chaotic manner, and the sound of Qin scattered Guangling Tide.« It is noteworthy that all records of bangzi qiang in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties were associated with the term »Qin.« The reason for this was twofold: first, bangzi qiang was the common name for the Qin qiang; second, bangzi qiang, which spread from the ShanxiShaanxi region to the Yangtze River region, maintained the fundamental features of Qin qiang. By the Qianlong Period, bangzi qiang had become one of the main sheng qiang on Yangtze River

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basin opera stage, and almost all opera companies, except for kunqu opera troupes, had to learn to perform it. Bangzi qiang is mentioned several times in Tang Ying’s Gubaitang Chuanqi 古柏堂 传奇. With the arrival of Wei Changsheng, the performance of bangzi qiang enjoyed even more prosperity, with the situation where »Jing qiang imitated it, so Jin and Qin were indistinguishable« was repeated. In the historical material from the Qianlong Period, bangzi qiang is often juxtaposed with Qin qiang as a different kind of sheng qiang, a phenomenon that is extremely significant. For example, in A Record of the Painted Barges of Yangzhou it is stated that: »Huabu is the Jing qiang, Qin qiang, Yiyang qiang, bangzi qiang, luoluo qiang, and erhuang qiang.« It is clear that the concept of bangzi qiang (luantan) here was not the same as Qin qiang. So, what kind of sheng qiang was this bangzi qiang (luantan)? In short, it was a variation of the Qin qiang that was created in the Yangtze River basin. It is still referred to in general historical sources as bangzi qiang, and sometimes appears under the names of Anqing bangzi or Jurong bangzi. Contemporary researchers have pointed out that past historians often confused bangzi qiang from the Yangtze River basin in the Qianlong Period with Qin qiang, thus causing much manmade confusion. In clarifying the relationship between Qin qiang and bangzi qiang the during the Qian-Jia Period, the volume A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur (Zhui bai qiu 缀白裘) is key. The vast majority of plays collected in A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur are kunqu plays. Only Shang Xue 赏 of the second episode, Xiao Meizi 小妹 子 of the third episode, half of the sixth episode and all of the eleventh episode are huabu plays, totaling over 30. These plays were very popular in Suzhou, Yangzhou, Huizhou, Anqing, Hankou, Nanjing and other commercial ports, and on the expansive rural opera stages on either side of the Yangtze River. The performances of some of these plays were recorded in Li Dou’s A Record of the

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Painted Barges of Yangzhou and Jiao Xun’s Huabu Nongtan (花部农谭). Since these approximately 30 plays are referred to in this work as bangzi qiang, luantan qiang, gao qiang, Jing qiang, Xi Qin qiang, and shi diao, many researchers assume that these plays respectively belong to each of the above-mentioned sheng qiang. In fact, the 30 or so local opera plays in A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur are the texts of troupes performing bangzi qiang, a new and comprehensive sheng qiang that was very different from Qin qiang. As a comprehensive sheng qiang, bangzi qiang comprised bangzi yang qiang, bangzi luantan qiang, Xi Qin qiang, and many other sheng qiang and qupai. The relationship between these shengqiang is explained in A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur: »Bangzi yang qiang, that is, Kun-Yi qiang, and bangzi luantan qiang, are both commonly known as bangzi qiang. In this book, bangzi yang qiang is shortened to bangzi qiang, and bangzi luantan qiang is shortened to luantan qiang to prevent confusion.« This passage indicates four things. The first is that bangzi yang qiang was in fact Kunyi qiang; the second is that bangzi yang qiang co-existed with a form of bangzi luantan qiang; third, bangzi yang qiang and bangzi luantan qiang were »commonly known as bangzi qiang«; fourth, in A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur the bangzi yang qiang is referred to as the bangzi qiang, and bangzi luantan qiang is referred to as luantan qiang. Bangzi qiang music not only combined a variety of sheng qiang, but also had an eclectic repertoire of plays. One of these was taken from Yiyang qiang, in the way that Mai Yanzhi 卖胭脂 was thought to be a scene from Yiyang qiang entitled Yan Zhiji 胭脂记. Si Fan Xiashan 思凡下山. however, came from the kunqu entitled Nie Hai Ji 孽海记. and Da Mian Gang 打面 缸 (Fig. 9.2.2), Xi Feng 戏凤. and Jie Qi 借妻 were transplanted Qin qiang plays. The formation of bangzi qiang as a comprehensive sheng qiang in the Yangtze River basin was subject to two conditions: first, a number of sheng

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SECTION 1 THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE CLAPPER TUNE

9.2.2  Painting of the play Gu Bai Tang; Da Mian Gang from the ­Collection of Opera Paintings in the Qing Palace

qiang as a condition for its synthesis; second, a prosperous commercial market to act as a point of assembly. As early as the late Ming Dynasty, Xi Qin qiang, guniang qiang, gaochang qiang, Jing qiang, and Siping qiang were all performed on the same stage, an occurrence which can be considered a precursor to bangzi qiang. Until the 60th year of Qianlong, the presence of zhuqiang (various tunes) was increasing in Yangzhou: »Until May, the kunqu troupe dispersed, but the luantan troupe did not, becoming the Huo Troupe. Later, some [musicians] came from Jurong with bangzi qiang, and those from Anqing came with erhuang

diao. Those from Yiyang came with gao qiang, and those from Huguang came with luoluo qiang. They began in the four towns, and then entered the city in the summer months, becoming the Ganhuo Troupe.« It was not unusual for these sheng qiang to interact or even intersect during performances. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Yangtze River basin cities had experienced great economic development and gained strong commercial capital. Suzhou and Yangzhou became performance centers. Commercial groups in these provinces, represented by the salt merchants of the Huainan and Huaibei, gathered in Yangzhou and lived

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a life of great luxury as they enjoyed song and dance. Theater groups from all over the country were drawn to this region. The six southern tours of the Qianlong emperor, all of which stopped here, provided the Yangzhou opera stage with an even stronger stimulus. In short, during the QianJia Period, Yangzhou had all the necessary conditions for the production of a new comprehensive sheng qiang. If Qin qiang was the father of bangzi qiang, then Kunyi qiang was its mother. Kunyi qiang was formed between the late Ming and early Qing, and spread to the Anqing area from Huizhou. Anqing was an important commercial port in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, where opera activities were very lively, and in the south of which Qin qiang had long taken root. The encounter between the Qin qiang and the Kunyi qiang, and their long period of performance on the same stage, resulted in their combination, hence the bangzi qiang. Two approaches were adopted in combining Kunyi qiang with Qin qiang: one took Kunyi qiang as the main body while absorbing certain features of Qin qiang; the other took Qin qiang as the main body while absorbing certain features of Kunyi qiang. These two approaches produced different results. The former led to the emergence of bangzi yang qiang, while the latter gave rise to bangzi luantan qiang. After the Qianlong Period, bangzi yang qiang and bangzi luantan qiang gradually disappeared from historical records. This is because bangzi qiang underwent new changes. One change was that bangzi yang qiang popular in Anhui was performed on the same stage as chui qiang for a long time, resulting in a combination of the two. This combination ultimately led to the creation of erhuang qiang. Another change was the combination of bangzi luantan qiang, popular in Hubei, with chui qiang, resulting in xipi qiang. The combination of erhuang qiang and xipi qiang then gave rise to pihuang qiang. After completing its historical mission, bangzi qiang quietly retired from the historical stage.

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5. Music, Performance, and Stagecraft of the Clapper Tune Bangzi qiang developed out of shuochang cihua and inherited the ban-style modified form from shizan system shuochang. Throughout its longterm development, the rhythmic styles of bangzi qiang gradually became complete, and the musical structure of bangzi qiang matured during the Qianlong Period. There were five main ban styles in bangzi qiang: the yiyan ban, the sanyan ban, the liushui ban, the san ban and the yao ban. These created melodic variation through changes in rhythm, beat, and tempo, thus creating colorful melodies that expressed various complex dramatic moods. The string accompaniment was an inherent feature of bangzi qiang. During its formation and development, the pipa was originally the main instrument, later being replaced by the yueqin. Li Tiaoyuan discusses this change in Discourse on Drama (Ju hua 剧话): »Qian’s popular A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur waiji [compilation of manuscripts outside of a main collection of writings] includes Qin qiang, which began in Shaanxi. The clapper is used for the ban, and the yueqin responds to it, in a tight and slow manner. It is commonly called bangzi qiang, and in Shu it is called luantan.« But by the middle of the Qianlong Period, the main instrument of the bangzi qiang had changed, with the huqin had replacing the yueqin. The emergence of the huqin as the main instrument had a significant impact on the development of the chang qiang (vocal music) of the bangzi qiang, which not only made the singing of bangzi qiang more beautiful, but also created the necessary conditions for further instrumental accompaniment. As bangzi qiang was born in folk soil, it was richly nourished with the profound tradition of folk performing arts, allowing it to create performance methods that appealed to the masses and suited its expressive content during its development. Because bangzi qiang was considered a late-ris-

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ing sheng qiang in the history of Chinese opera, when it developed its own performing arts, it first looked to northern zaju, then kunqu and Yiyang qiang, for reference. This greatly accelerated the dramatization of its performing arts. As bangzi qiang developed from small folk opera into mature shengqiang with national influence, its role division system was gradually formed and refined. From the surviving plays of the early bangzi qiang, it is clear that its performance system went through three stages of development, from the er xiao (two small) plays to the san xiao (three small) plays, and the large-scale opera role division stage. By the Qian-Jia Period, bangzi qiang had established a system of multiple roles necessary for a mature sheng qiang. This had a great influence on the subsequent huabu and zhuxiang, becoming their object of imitation. Opera arts consisted of four aspects: singing, chanting, acting, and fighting. Among these, singing and chanting were voice and language arts, and their further dramatization was crucial to the development of this performing art. During the Qian-Jia Period, bangzi qiang singing and chanting had become highly theatrical, and they demonstrated the characteristics of fluent command, full use, and reasonable deployment. The development of acting in bangzi qiang is noteworthy. During the Qian-Jia Period, many performers excelled in acting, and their outstanding performances represented the high development of huabu opera performance. In addition to the performances of artists such as Wei Changsheng and Shen Xianglin, who go without saying, those of several other famous actors also made strong impressions on people. In Kaohuo 烤火. Chen Yinguan portrayed the inner thoughts of characters through »trembling down the shoulders and back,« which amazed audiences of the time. Shuangguan (Yang Tianfu) took a different approach when he performed Bei Wa Jin fu. His »face did not fear disgrace, and his mouth could respond to anything,« and he »sketched in light

SECTION 1 THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE CLAPPER TUNE

shades, the spitting image of the woman in charge of the village of three households.« All of this sufficiently demonstrates the styles and accomplishments of these artists, while also proving that acting occupied an important position in bangzi qiang performances. As large quantities of political and military struggles and folk hero stories appeared in bangzi qiang plays throughout history, development of martial arts skills was promoted, resulting in the production of numerous martial arts plays. There were two main forms of the bangzi qiang martial arts play: one concerned stories of heroic characters from folk legends who resisted tyranny by force, of which Water Margin was the most representative. Examples of this in A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur are Liu Dian Tou Ji 落店偷鸡 and Sha Huo Da Dian 杀货打店. In these plays, martial arts became a means of theatrical expression, and could be closely linked with performance requirements, combined with character identities and stipulated scenes, and reasonably arranged according to logical stage movement sequences. Another kind of play that portrayed large-scale political and military conflicts was dominated by lieguo (various countries) opera, Sanguo (Three Kingdoms) opera, Suitang (Sui and Tang) opera, yuejia (wife’s parents’ home) opera, and yangjia (poplar home) opera. Scenes of military operations and armed conflicts of great scale and intensity were often represented head-on in these plays. The martial arts drama of the bangzi qiang was mainly influenced by Yiyang qiang. However, acrobatic fighting, martial arts feats, and attacking troops became highly dramatized means of expression, and the formation of many short fights and long reliance on martial arts plays is a credit to the bangzi qiang. With this as a starting point, the later local operas continued to develop the tradition of martial arts, thus opening up a new field of expression for the operatic arts.

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6. Formation of Diverse Clapper Operas After the great development of the Qian-Jia Period, bangzi qiang was highly influential throughout the country, becoming a sheng qiang form enjoyed by people far and wide. When a sheng qiang left its place of origin, and was performed in different places for a long time, its sound would inevitably change to suit its location. Not even mentioning its nationwide scope, it also entered the Central Plaina, where »the natives of a place seldom leave.« In this way, different schools were formed. Exchange and harmony between the artists was a frequent occurrence. In addition to changes in sound and location, the bangzi qiang that spread across the country also combined with local folk songs and other operatic forms, absorbing their nourishment for its own strength and development. Under these conditions, it was able to further gain the familiarity and favor of local people. For these two reasons, the localization of bangzi qiang inevitably took place, resulting in the emergence of various bangzi qiang throughout the country. The historical development of opera proves that the constant localization of sheng qiang was a general rule. This was both a sign of sheng qiang’s prosperity, and a necessary means for its survival and development. As for bangzi qiang, since it was an emerging sheng qiang, it had no inherited baggage or strict limitations, so it was able to more easily adapt to local customs; and, since the ban style and musical structure of bangzi qiang was popular and easy to interpret, it was more easily mastered by artists from all over the country, and was able to take root for this reason. The time and manner of each bangzi qiang’s formation was somewhat different. Qin qiang, progenitor of the bangzi qiang system, had split into two schools during the Qianlong Period. On this basis, the four varieties of Qin qiang were formed, namely the tongzhou bangzi, Xi’an luantan, xifu Qin qiang, and handiao guanguan (nanlu Qin qiang). Although the styles of these four Qin qiang

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were different, they all belonged to the category of Qin qiang, and could not be regarded as bangzi operas that were separate from it. After the Qin qiang, other early bangzi qiang operas formed were the Shanxi bangzi and the Yangtze River basin bangzi qiang. Puzhou in Shanxi was a river away from Tongzhou in Shaanxi, the first area to be infiltrated by the bangzi qiang. The emergence of Puzhou bangzi hereby led the way for various forms of bangzi in Shanxi. Compared with the bangzi opera of other provinces, Shanxi bangzi was closest to the Qin qiang, and troupes from the two provinces often grouped up together. This was largely because the languages, cultures, and customs of the people in these two provinces were practically identical. After the Qin qiang was introduced to Shanxi, some key transformations occurred as the sound changed according to location. Other changes were not so obvious. For this reason, Qin qiang and Shanxi bangzi were often regarded as authentic bangzi qiang. Shanxi bangzi was the collective name for Puzhou bangzi, beilu bangzi, zhonglu bangzi and shangdang bangzi. Of these four, Puzhou bangzi was the oldest, and beilu and zhonglu were variations of it. Shangdang bangzi was slightly more unique, as it incorporated many elements of other operas and folk music. Formed during the Qianlong Period, the Henan bangzi resulted from the combination of Qin qiang with local folk singing and luo opera after being introduced to Henan. It therefore not only had a strong local character, but also formed its own unique style in terms of ban form and xing qiang (actor’s use of tunes according to their own understanding of the play). Hebei bangzi arose from the long history of Qin qiang and Shanxi bangzi, which were performed and developed in the Hebei and Beijing areas. Formed around the Daoguang Period, its heyday was in the late Qing and early Republican period. This bangzi traveled as far south as Shanghai and as far north as Kulun (Ulaanbaatar).

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During the Guangxu Period, Hebei bangzi reached its peak. At this point, it was popular with everyone from princes, dukes, and cabinet ministers to the common people. In this period, there existed many Hebei bangzi troupes, each containing several talented performers. Among these, the Yishunhe Troupe occupied an important position in the historical development of Hebei bangzi, and its leader, Guo Baochen, was one of the most famous performing artists during its height. His exquisite performing arts and sublime prestige greatly impacted Hebei bangzi. Guo Baochen was sincere, with an air of seniority. Cautious in his financial affairs, he sought perfection in his career, and happily returned to the Pear Garden. The Yishunhe troupe, of which he was in charge, had a clean style, and did not concern itself with extravagance or obscenity. His best plays included Lian Yingzhai 连营寨. Zhai Xing Lou 摘星楼. Luhua Ji 芦花计. Gun Ding Ban 滚钉板. and Chunqiu Bi 春秋笔. It was said that »he could perform in over 300 plays.« The name of Ruishenghe, another famous Hebei bangzi troupe, was associated with the performing artist Hou Junshan. As Hou Junshan became famous at the age of 13, he was known as »dan thirteen.« After completing his studies, he mainly performed in Zhangjiakou, and entered the flourishing Beijing scene in the 9th year of Tongzhi. In the 4th year of the Guangxu era, he changed his name to Ruishenghe before becoming very famous. His specialty plays included Xin Anyi 辛安 驿. Huatian Cuo 花田错. Shuang He Yin 双和印. Yingjie Lie 英杰烈. Fan Wanggong 梵王宫. and Chishui Yi 池水驿. He was also adept in performing martial arts plays such as Fa Zi Dou 伐子都. Huang He Lou 黄鹤楼 and Ba Da Chui 八大锤. In the 10th year of Guangxu, he was invited to the palace to perform in the inner court. After the Republican period, he left the Beijing theater scene. Hou Junshan was unconventional and jocular, causing people to split their sides laughing with his every word. Public-spirited and generous, he became a

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great benefactor of charitable causes in his later life, and was highly renowned in his time. His performing arts could be considered to have reached perfection. As he made close observations of life and was skilled in understanding characters and psychology, his character portrayals were meticulous and vivid. As his attainments brought him up to the level of Wei Changsheng, the master of performing arts at the time, he was known as »the qilin of beasts, and the phoenix of birds.« People of the time praised his performing talent with the phrase »amazing talent, admired in nine cities« and expressed their respect for him with the saying: »The leading light for three years, dan thirteen has no equal in the world.« One unit of the Neijiang school of Hebei bangzi was the Yucheng troupe headed by Tian Jiyun. This troupe was divided into »Big Yucheng« and »Little Yucheng.« Little Yucheng, founded by Tian Jiyun in the 11th year of Guangxu, contained 70 teachers and students upon the troupe’s formation. In the 13th year of Guangxu, the troupe went to perform in Shanghai for four years. After returning to Beijing, their first performance was held in Sanqing Yuan, and was a great success. Following this, they changed their name to the »Yucheng Troupe.« In their early days of performing in Shanghai, Tian Ji Yun pioneered the method of combining bangzi qiang with pihuang qiang. After returning to Beijing, bang-huang joint performance was well received, and the Yucheng troupe made a great splash, also being looked to for guidance by other troupes. By this time, the Yucheng troupe had become the largest and most influential Hebei bangzi opera troupe in Beijing, and no other could compete with it. The founder of Yucheng troupe, Tian Jiyun, was a famous theater activist and performing artist, and a powerful figure in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic period theater industries. He was also a rare talent in the opera world. The period from Daoguang to the end of the Qing Dynasty can be considered a time of flux in the his-

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torical development of the bangzi qiang. During this period, in addition to the continued emergence of bangzi opera (such as Hebei bangzi and various forms of Shandong bangzi), the majority of bangzi operas formed different schools, one after the other; at the same time, a bangzi sheng qiang system consisting of a variety of bangzi operas and many schools was also formed. At this time, bangzi qiang was further enriched and developed in content and form, becoming more splendid and colorful than ever.

Section 2  Formation and Development of the Pi-Huang Tune The pihuang qiang (Pi-Huang tune) was another important sheng qiang to emerge after bangzi qiang. Belonging to the ban-style modified form, it had greater influence and a wider range of circulation. The emergence and prosperity of Beijing opera in particular expanded the influence of pihuang qiang, turning it into a sheng qiang system with national influence.

1. Origins of the Xipi Tune and the Erhuang Tune Pihuang qiang was a highly comprehensive form of sheng qiang which took xipi and erhuang as its main body, and was also mixed with gao bozi, Siping diao, chui qiang, and nan bangzi. While research on the formation of this comprehensive sheng qiang was inconclusive in the past, new research has emerged in recent years. To explore the origin of pihuang qiang, we must begin with the book A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur. In the mid-Qianlong Period, Qian Decang, also known as Peisi, a native of Wu, compiled an opera anthology entitled A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur. While the overwhelming majority of plays collected in this work are kunqu operas, over 30 local operas (almost 70 in total) are included.

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These operas are categorized as bangzi qiang, luantan qiang, Xi Qin qiang, gao qiang and shi diao plays. Therefore, in some essays in this book it is claimed that these plays were performances of the above-mentioned sheng qiang. In fact, these operas are bangzi qiang performances; however, this form of bangzi qiang is different from that commonly known as Qin qiang. Appearing in the Kangxi period and active in the Qianlong Period, it was mainly popular in the Yangtze River basin. Bangzi qiang was the general name for this comprehensive sheng qiang, which was composed of bangzi yang qiang and bangzi luantan qiang. It is clear from the plays in A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur that this new form of bangzi qiang took bangzi yang qiang and bangzi luantan qiang as its main vocal forms, with chui qiang also occupying an important position. It was also compatible with other sheng qiang such as Xi Qin qiang, gao qiang, and Jing qiang. With regard to the origins of the bangzi yang qiang and bangzi luantan qiang, a passage from Liu Tingji’s Miscellaneous Records of Zaiyuan (Zaiyuan Zazhi 在园杂志) from the Kangxi period is noteworthy: »Nowadays, Yiyang qiang has become Siping qiang, Jing qiang and Wei qiang. Even lower down, there are the bangzi qiang, luantan qiang, wuniang qiang, suona qiang, and luoluo qiang. The more they hurry, the more inferior they become, and the new and the odd alternatively emerge. Ultimately, kun qiang is the proper sound.« Liu’s mention of bangzi qiang and luantan qiang here is consistent with the reference in the A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur. More importantly, he indicates that Yiyang qiang is the source of bangzi qiang and luantan qiang. However, Liu is only half right. This is because Yiyang qiang is merely the mother of bangzi yang qiang and bangzi luantan qiang. From Yiyang qiang to bangzi yang qiang and bangzi luantan qiang, there was a long process of evolution. In Yi Huang Xian Xi Shen Qing Yuan Shi Miao

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Ji 宜黄县戏神清源师庙记. Tang Xianzu of the Ming Dynasty stated: »In the Yiyang to the west of the river, drums were used, and its modes clamored. In the Jiajing period, the poetic masterpiece of Yiyang became Leping, for Hui and Qingyang.« Huizhou qiang and Qingyang qiang both originated from Yiyang qiang, their most distinctive feature being the development of gunchang and gunbai. The Huizhou qiang was later developed further, becoming known as »Hui chi ya diao [Hui pond elegant tune],« forcing even Kunqu to give way to it. After further influence from kunqu, Huizhou qiang gradually weakened its vocal bang qiang and kao qiang gongs and drums taken Yiyang qiang, and began using di flute and suona accompaniments. The original singing method of »no division of tunes and no banyan measure« was also changed, as was the rhythm and melody of chang qiang. At this point, Siping qiang, a new sheng qiang, was born. Siping qiang continued to be influenced by kunqu, ultimately abolishing the vocal bang qiang and kao qiang gongs and drums. In chang qiang, »many words and few tones, all dispersed in one« gradually turned into fewer words, more tones, and great tact. At this time, a form of Kunyi qiang, which was constrained by gongdiao (modes of ancient Chinese music), but also had a relatively free qupai linking method, stood out. This Kunyi qiang was the mother of pihuang qiang. However, as the bangzi qiang was not produced by its maternal lineage alone, it is also essential to locate its paternal lineage. The was Qin qiang. In its early days, Qin qiang was known as Xi Qin qiang, and was later commonly referred to as bangzi qiang or luantan. The history of Qin qiang (Xi Qin qiang) and Siping qiang as an ensemble can be traced back to the late Ming chuanqi play Lotus in the Mantle. Since the first records of bangzi yang qiang and bangzi luantan qiang were published in Liu Tingji’s Mixed Records from the Garden during the Kangxi period, it can be inferred that the combination of Qin qiang and Kunyi qiang occurred no later than the early Qing. This led to the intro-

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duction of a new comprehensive sheng qiang—the bangzi qiang of the Yangtze River Basin. When Kunyi qiang was combined with Qin qiang, two methods were adopted. One of these took Kunyi as the main body while incorporating features of Qin qiang, resulting in the production of bangzi yang qiang. The other took Qin qiang as the main body while incorporating features of Kunyi qiang, thus giving rise to bangzi luantan qiang. Another key aspect of the bangzi qiang of the new comprehensive sheng qiang was chui qiang. This was first mentioned in Qin Yun Xie Ying Xiaopu: »Strings flowed up to the north, and the song of the Anhui people was Zongyang qiang (now known as shipai qiang, commonly known as chui qiang).« In A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur, not only are the lyrics of chui qiang recorded, but they can also be considered an important part of bangzi qiang. Since chui qiang was performed on the same stage as bangzi yang qiang for a long time, their further integration was facilitated. In chui qiang, there was a slightly lower-pitched ping [flat] ban, known as »erhuangping« or »pingban erhuang.« Hui Troupe artists combined it with gao bozi to create lao erhuang. The lao erhuang further developed into erhuang qiang. In Discourse on Drama, written in the 40th year of the Qianlong era, Li Tianyuan was first to record erhuang qiang: »Huqin qiang originated in Jiangyou. Its sound is widespread. In particular, the huqin is used for the rhythm. A lewd and licentious evil monster, in a plaintive voice, the most licentious of covered voices. It is also known as erhuang qiang.« »Jiangyou« generally refers to Jiangxi, and Li’s statement that the huqin qiang »originated in Jiangyou« is not accurate. In academic circles, it is generally accepted that the erhuang qiang was first created and performed by artists in Anhui before being brought to Beijing by the Hui Troupe. The origin of xipi qiang was said to be bangzi luantan qiang. In Bai Xi Zhuzhi ci, Li Shengzhen states: »Luantan qiang, the slow tune of the Qin sheng, relies upon traditional stringed and woodwind

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instruments. This is commonly known as Kun bang. This Kun is also referred to as bang, and is the Kun bang of the people.« As this form of luantan qiang, commonly known as Kun bang, contained features of both kunqu and bangzi qiang (Qin qiang), it could be described as »elegant and vulgar,« and having a »double standard.« Simply put, the »slow tune of Qin sheng« very much resembled Qin qiang, but was different it in that it had a lingering and tactful quality, similar to that of kunqu, hence the name »Kun bang.« The plays and lyrics of this luantan qiang are recorded in A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur. In Yin Song 阴 送. Yang Qilang sings »Luantan Qiang« (乱弹腔) in seven-character phrases, while Zhan Diao 斩 貂 contains ten-character lyrical phrases. Its lyrical pattern is therefore basically the same as that of the Qin qiang. Just like the situation of bangzi yang qiang and chui qiang, the frequent performance of bangzi luantan qiang and chui qiang on the same stage led to their ultimate combination. This is a recurring situation in A Cloak of Patchwork White Fur. For example, the qupai in the luantan qiang play Dang Ma (挡马) featured in this work include: »Jiban Ling« (急板令) »Pizi« (披 子) two, »Xiaoqu« (小曲) two and »Pizi« (披子) five. Pizi 披子 is also written as pizi 批子. Pizi is in fact a chui qiang dunban. The combination of luantan qiang and chui qiang led to the birth of xipi qiang. It should be noted that there was an important link between the combination of bangzi luantan qiang and chui qiang and the birth of the xipi qiang. In between, there was an important item—the Xiangyang qiang (Xiangyang diao). In the past, it was generally believed that Xiangyang qiang evolved directly from Qin qiang, but recent academic research suggests that this is unlikely, a view that was confirmed with the discovery of two Xiangyang diao from the Han Opera Lei Shen Dong 雷神 洞 (also known as Qianli Song Jingniang 千里送京 娘 or Da Dong Jiebai 打洞结拜). The play was performed with erhuang in the beginning, two Xiang-

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yang diao in the middle, and xipi at the end. From the alternating appearances of Xiangyang diao, erhuang and xipi, Lei Shen Dong was most likely classed as an early play that prioritized Xiangyang diao singing to begin with. When erhuang and xipi appeared, it became an early xipi qiang and erhuang qiang item, so xipi and erhuang became the main chang qiang, but a few Xiangyang diao remained. The qupai of Xiangyang diao was also quite close to chui qiang, and there were some chui qiang and ping ban interspersed throughout Xiangyang diao. This demonstrates the close relationship of the latter with chui qiang, and explains chui qiang’s influence on it. This influence accelerated the evolution of Xiangyang qiang into xipi qiang. Historical opera texts on Hubei drama generally refer to it as Chu diao or Chu qiang. However, these are merely collective terms, with different content in different periods. During the Ming and Qing, performance activities in the Chu region were constantly active. In addition to local artists, Anhui artists also performed there, so it was common for Chu and Hui actors to work together. Due to the border between Shaanxi and Hubei, Qin qiang left its mark in Hubei and Hunan at an early stage. In Liu Xianting’s Miscellaneous Records of Guangyang, he says: »Qin is an excellent new sound, with notable luantan musicians. Its sound is considerably scattered yet mournful.« In Qin Yun Xieying Xiaopu, Yan Changming also mentions the fact that Wei Changsheng learned the opera from the artist Hu Da in Hubei. It is not surprising that the bangzi luantan qiang was originally rather close to the Qin qiang, and that the people of Hubei, who were deeply influenced by Qin qiang, were naturally more receptive to it, and even favored it. Its significant development in Hubei was therefore to be expected. When combined with chui qiang, it gave rise to Xiangyang qiang, which further developed into xipi qiang.

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2. The Formation and Prosperity of the Pi-Huang Tune The formation of pihuang qiang (pi-huang tune) was the inevitable result of the combination of xipi qiang and erhuang qiang. As for this ensemble producing pihuang qiang, past academics maintained the theory that pihuang was pieced together in Beijing after the arrival of the four major Anhui troupes. However, more recent research has proved the time of the pihuang ensemble to be much earlier than this. As previously mentioned, the bangzi yang qiang, bangzi luantan qiang and chui qiang, on which xipi and erhuang were based, had a long history of not only cooperation, but also coexistence in the same opera environment. It is also known that as a new comprehensive shengdiao, the bangzi qiang was popular in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Hubei provinces as early as the Kangxi and Qianlong reigns. This leads into the possibility that after Huizhou and Hubei actors created erhuang qiang, and then xipi qiang, the frequent interaction between artists in these provinces created not only a possibility of combining the two, but also the necessary conditions for it. When Tan Cui was in Beijing in the 49th year of the Qianlong to watch the opera, there was a popular saying that »erhuang came from Huanggang and Huang’an.« Even if the erhuang that Tan watched in Beijing was not performed by Hubei artists, there is no doubt that it would have been ready for performance at this time. Otherwise, the idea that »erhuang came from Huanggang and Huang’an« would have been nonsensical. Since Hubei artists were able to sing erhuang in the 49th year of Qianlong, the pihuang ensemble did not have to wait until Wang Honggui and Li Liu entered Beijing. The term »xipi« first appeared in the chuanqi play Mei Yu Pei 梅玉配. a text from the Jiaqing period. After this, the poem »Han Gao Zhuzhi ci« (汉皋竹枝词), published in the 3rd decade of the Daoguang Period, formally compared xipi with

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erhuang, reading: »It is xipi countering erhuang. The fan [counter] diao is most the most poignant in the opera. The dao [inverted] ban is high and the ping ban is low. The tone must be round and bright, and its qi [vital energy] must be great.« The poem spoke to the experience of the period between the late Jiaqing and the early Daoguang. At this time, not only had xipi and erhuang been played together in Hankou, but they had both also become very mature sheng qiang. From the above, it can be inferred that the formation of xipi qiang took place around the end of the Qianlong Period, at which time the pihuang ensemble was formed. From examination of later historical facts, the above inference is confirmed. Although erhuang was created by the Hui Troupe, they performed more than just the erhuang form of sheng qiang. In Yantai Hong Zhao Ji 燕台鸿爪集. what does Chu diao in the phrase »the capital reveres Chu diao« refer to? From the characters of each troupe recorded in Yang Jingting’s Doumen Jilue 都门纪略 (the first volume of which contains the preface of November in the 25th year of Daoguang), it is known that in the Chuntai Troupe »Li Liu is adept in performing Zui Xie Xia Man Shu [醉写吓蛮书] by Li Bai and Sao Xue [扫雪] by Liu Zizhong. Wang Honggui of the Hechun Troupe is adept in performing Rang Chengdu [让成都] by Liu Zhang and Ji Gu Ma Cao [击鼓骂曹] by Mi Heng.« While the Chuntai and Hechun Troupes were both Hui Troupes, Li Liu was from Hubei, which proves that Hubei artists were able to join the Hui Troupe. In »Yonghuang Qiang« (咏黄腔) in Cichang 词场. it is stated that: »The fashionable huang qiang roared like thunder, and Kunyi speech at that time did not talk without go-betweens. Nowadays, Yu Sansheng is highly revered, and the young strive to spread Zhang Erkui.« Yu Sansheng and Li Liutong, both Hubei natives, belonged to the Chuntai Troupe, and Zhang Erkui, a native of Beijing, belonged to the Sixi Troupe. While Li, Yu, and Zhang were all veteran erhuang singers, their representative plays included both erhuang and

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xipi. From this, it is evident that the Chu diao in Yantai Hong Zhao Ji was actually »huang qiang,« which was clearly not erhuang qiang in the later sense. This contained erhuang qiang and two xipi qiang forms of sheng qiang. According to Wang Zhizhang, in Qiandiao Kaoyuan 腔调考原. among the »unique scripts of the Chuntai Troupe in the times of Jia and Dao,« there was »Wanbi Ji [完 璧记] and Wucai Yu [五彩舆], in which erhuang and xipi were performed.« From this repertoire, it is proved that xipi and erhuang had already been performed on the same stage. The fact that Hubei artists joined the Hui Troupe to sing »huang qiang« demonstrates that the modes of Hui and Han were in fact the same. In On Old Dramas (Jiu Ju Cong Tan 旧剧丛谈), Chen Yanheng said: Although there are many [pihuang xusheng] schools, there is no more than the Hui and the Han, which actually stem from one source.« When Wu Dao discusses the »luantan« of the capital in Liyuan Jiu Hua 梨园旧话. he mentions that the »troupe is called Hui Troupe, and the diao is called the Han diao.« This further signifies that the Hui Troupe sang Han diao (Chu diao) in addition to Hui diao. The merging of xipi qiang and erhuang qiang resulted in the new, more comprehensive pihuang qiang. This once again reflected the law of sheng qiang constantly being created in opera through new and comprehensive methods, thus capable of self-renewal. It also reflected the new requirement of the social aesthetic subject in opera, the constant need which stimulated and promoted its development. However, as for the rules of opera sheng qiang’s development, when observing the context of pihuang qiang’s formation and development, it is essential to examine the external circumstances required for the formation and development of this sheng qiang type, that is, the socioeconomic development level and material foundation provided for the emergence and development of a national sheng qiang. In other words, the merging of Hui and Han, and the rapid

CHAPTER II THE RISE OF REGIONAL OPERA IN THE QING DYNASTY AND THE FORMATION OF THE FOUR MAJOR VOCAL TUNES

dissemination of pihuang qiang were not coincidences. They were directly related to economic development and unprecedentedly lively commercial activities in Hui and Han regions. Before the merging of Hui and Han and the emergence of pihuang qiang, Hankou town in Hubei had long been one of the important centers for convergence of various sheng qiang from all over the country, and the reason why several sheng qiang gathered there was directly related to the use of this area by Shaanxi-Shanxi, Anhui, and Jiangxi merchants as a commodity exchange center. Since ancient times, opera companies had traced the footsteps of merchant guilds. When western and Anhui merchants gathered in Hankou, this naturally attracted opera troupes from various regions to perform. The western and Anhui merchants who gathered in Hankou naturally became key connoisseurs and strong economic pillars of Han and Anhui diao. As pihuang qiang spread widely throughout the country, it took root by changing its sound according to its location, and a pihuang qiang system consisting of various plays hereby emerged. The main items belonging to the pihuang qiang system included Beijing opera, Han Opera, Hui Opera, Gan Opera, Qiyang Opera, Xiang Opera, Cantonese Opera, Gui Opera, Yong Opera, Yunnan Opera, Wu Opera, Guangdong Han Opera, Southern Shaanxi Han diao erhuang, Shangdang erhuang, and Sichuan erhuang opera. In addition, some comprehensive repertoires included the pihuang qiang. By this point, not only had pihuang qiang become the national sheng qiang system, but it nurtured Beijing opera, which came to be known as the national opera.

3. Formation and Prosperity of Beijing Opera There were two direct prerequisites for the formation of Beijing opera. The first was the merging of the Hui and Han diao to form pihuang qiang; the second was the performance of Hui artists and

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Han artists on the same stage in Beijing, and the gradual evolution of Beijing opera troupes. Exploration of Beijing opera’s origins generally begins with the arrival of the four major Anhui troupes in Beijing. The first of these was the Sanqing Troupe, which was headed by Gao Langting. In A Record of the Painted Barges of Yangzhou, it is stated: »Before returning to Sichuan to live a long life, Gao Langting entered the capital. He combined the Anqing huabu with Jin qiang and Qin qiang, and his famous troupe was known as Sanqing.« The Sanqing Troupe received its opportunity to enter Beijing in the 55th year of the Qianlong era (1790), to perform for Qianlong’s 80th birthday. Gao Langting, a native of Anqing, Anhui, was originally from Baoying, Jiangsu, and was 30-yearsold when he entered the capital. In Ri Xia Kan Hua Ji 日下看花记. it was said that he »had a strong body, and an elderly countenance. Standing atop the woolen blanket [stage], he resembles a woman, and is not the slightest bit unnatural. He does not need to sing—when he scowls, smiles, stands, or sits, he exhibits the soft expression of a woman, practically ethereal.« This demonstrates the depth of his artistic attainments. The fact that Gao Langting was hailed as the »venerable old man of erhuang« at this time proves that this was already the main sheng qiang performed by the Hui Troupe. Because the Hui Troupe brought a fresh and beautiful sheng qiang to Beijing, and its artists were versatile, it was very popular among audiences. After taking root in Beijing, the Hui Troupe rapidly expanded its influence. Therefore, the Sixi, Hechun, Chuntai, Qixiu, Nicui and Sanhe troupes followed close behind the Sanqing Troupe. Among these troupes, the most influential were Sanqing, Sixi, Hechun and Chuntai, known then as the four major Anhui troupes. From the Sanqing Troupe’s arrival in the capital in the 55th year of the Qianlong era (1790) to the establishment of the Hechun troupe in the 8th year of the Jiaqing era (1804), the four major Hui Troupes dominated the Beijing stage. In Rui Zhu’s

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(Yang Maojian’s) history, Meng Hua Suo Bu 梦华 琐簿. he records the grand occasion: »The Hui troupes must be the ones to perform in the opera houses. The large theaters, such as the Guangde Lou, Guanghe Lou, Sanqing Yuan, and Qingle Yuan, also must prioritize the Hui Troupe.« This demonstrates the influence of the Hui troupes in the Beijing Pear Garden circle. An accurate record of the entry of Han diao (Chu diao) into Beijing can be found in the Yantai Hongzhao Ji 燕台鸿爪集 written by the hermit Su Hai’an between the 8th to 12th years of Daoguang (1828– 1832): »Beijing reveres Chu diao. Musicians such as Wang Honggui and Li Liu profess the virtuous new sound as modern. Their strengths are learned and combined in one sound, with cadences, natural combined movement, and clear diction.« From »the capital reveres Chu diao,« it is clear that Chu diao was already greatly influential in Beijing by this time, and had surely arrived in Beijing before this. As early as the Qianlong Period, Anle Shanqiao stated in his Yan Lan Xiaopu Yong Si Xi Guan 燕兰小谱 咏四喜官 that: »I was originally a member of the Liangxi Team, and I loved singing a new form of Chu diao.« It is evident that, at this time, Hubei artists had already established a foothold the capital’s Pear Garden. In Doctor Huaxu’s Diary of the Tear-Stained Golden Stage (Jin Tai Can Lei Ji 金台残泪记), he said: »At that time, apart from Shu [Sichuan] actors, there were traces of Qin, Chu, Dian [Yunnan], Qian [Guizhou], Jin [Shanxi], Yue [Guangdong], Yan, and Zhao gathered in the capital.« There are also materials proving that the renowned Han diao (Chu diao) artist Mi Yingxian once »followed the Chuantai group to Jing [Beijing],« and »in the jimao year of Jiaqing returned home to the capital.« The jimao year (16th year of the 60-year cycle) of Jiaqing was its 24th year (1819), and the Chuntai Troupe entered Beijing around the end of Qianlong Period. This proves that Han diao (Chu diao) artists already occupied a place in the capital as early as the end of the Qianlong Period.

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During the formation of Beijing opera, it was crucial for Han diao (Chu diao) artists to participate in Hui Troupe performances. As early as the formation and development stages of Han (Chu) diao and Hui diao, they tended to learn from and absorb one another. This resulted in the Hui Troupe pattern of relying on erhuang qiang as well as singing xipi qiang, and the Han Troupe pattern of relying on xipi qiang as well as singing erhuang qiang. Of course, the xipi and erhuang performed by both troupes would have differed at this time. Whether xipi and erhuang were simultaneously performed in the Hui Troupe or the Han Troupe, the possibility of another’s troupe’s involvement was never ruled out, apart for by the troupe artists themselves. In fact, the exchange and cooperation between the artists of Hui and Han troupes had existed for a long time. Especially after the four Hui troupes had become popular in Beijing, Han diao artists would compete to get there. The participation of Han diao artists not only expanded the influence of the Hui Troupe, but also strengthened it. Han diao (Chu diao) artists joining the Hui Troupe had two positive consequences. The first was the promoted development and refinement of the erhuang qiang. The second was the accelerated combination of xipi qiang and erhuang qiang, gradually completing the transition into a unified pihuang qiang. This positive effect is manifested itself the following ways: firstly, it promoted improvement of the erhuang qiang ban style. Regarding features of xipi qiang singing during the Daoguang Period, it is stated in Han Gao Zhu Zhi ci that: »The xipi is hurried and the erhuang is slow, and the fan diao is the most poignant part of the opera. The dao ban is up high and the ping ban is down low. The tone must be round and bright, and its qi [vital energy] must be great.« The fact that »fan diao,« »dao ban« and »ping ban« are mentioned here proves that at this time, various ban styles in Han diao (Chu diao) were available, and Hui diao artists would have certainly learned

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a lot from them when they performed with Han diao artists, which undoubtedly had a positive impact on the development and perfection of Hui diao chang qiang and ban styles. Next, several plays and unique Han diao (Chu diao) performing arts were brought into the Hui Troupe. For instance, the renowned Han diao artist Mi Yingxian brought his specialist Guanyu opera into the Hui Troupe, from which Cheng Changgeng, a performing artist of Hui Troupe origin, grasped the true tradition of Guanyu opera, turning it into the Hui Troupe’s specialty. As Han diao (Chu diao) artists continued to participate in Hui Troupe performances, the situation whereby the »the troupe is the Hui Troupe and the diao is the Han diao« arose. Hui and Han artists had performed side-by-side in Beijing theatrical circles for a long time, which led to the further fusing of Hui and Han diao. The result was a new and more influential play genre in the pihuang qiang system—Beijing opera was born. Academics generally believe that Beijing opera was formed between the 20th year of Daoguang and the 1st year of Tongzhi (1840–1862). Beijing opera, which emerged as a new operatic form, embodied the following characteristics: first, it established a chang qiang with pihuang qiang as the main vocal, while combining kunqu, Siping diao, gao bozi and nanluo into one chang qiang system. Second, the chang qiang became more colorful and beautiful, and the ban style became more comprehensive. Prior to the formation of Beijing opera, the Hui Troupe’s pihuang was so loud that it had the reputation of »the fashionable huang qiang roaring like thunder.« The singing style of Beijing opera changed from smooth and high-pitched to gentle and melodious, paying attention not only to the ample variation of the xing qiang, but also to the expression of emotions. Third, Beijing phonetic character values were combined with Hubei and Hunan sounds, forming a method of sung pronunciation that was unique to Beijing opera. An important difference between Beijing opera and

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Hubei Han Opera and Anhui Hui Opera was that while Hui and Han operas continued to use Anhui and Hubei dialects, Beijing opera achieved an organic combination of predominantly Beijing pronunciation and Hubei and Hunan vocabulary. For instance, the »13 rhymes« of Beijing opera contained unique yunbai (parts where traditional pronunciation is different from that of current Beijing dialect), and shangkou (suitable for reading aloud) and »sharp-and-round« characters. Another key symbol of Beijing opera’s formation was the establishment of its own play system. In Dou Men Jilue, published in the 25th year of the Daoguang Period (1845), 69 plays were recorded, including Famen Temple (Famen Si 法门寺), Jie Zhaoyun 借赵云. and Wenzhao Guan 文昭关. In »Yantai Huajing Shi« (燕台花镜诗), in the Hua Tian Chen Meng (花天尘梦) manuscript, compiled by Ma Yanxiang in the Daoguang Period, 38 titles are mentioned. These include Nu San Zhan 女三 战. Wu Di Dong 无底洞 and Xiong Huang Zhen 雄黄阵. The repertoire in the archives of the Qing Shengping Department, compiled by Zhu Jiajin between the 10th and 11th years of the Xianfeng period (1860–1861) includes 73 plays, such as Jin Suo Zhen 金锁阵. Songqin Yan Li 送亲演礼. San Chakou 三岔口 and Jiao Guan 叫关. From the 8th to the 9th year of Tongzhi (1869–1870), the repertoire included 13 plays, such as Da Long Peng 打龙棚 and Da Long Pao 打龙袍. While this constituted only a fraction of Beijing opera in this period, the prosperity of Beijing opera creation at this time is easily imaginable. Following the rise of Beijing opera, its troupes sprang up in large numbers, and the performance venues associated with them continuously expanded and improved. As early as the Jiaqing period, Beijing’s tea gardens had gradually evolved into permanent, business-oriented theater venues. By the Daoguang years, not only was the number of tea gardens increasing, but their scale was also expanding. In Dou Men Jilue, Yang Jingting records several of the largest theater gardens in Beijing, in-

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cluding Sanqing yuan, Qinghe yuan, Tongle yuan, Guanghe lou, Tianle yuan, Guangde lou, Qingle yuan, Zhonghe yuan and Yuxing yuan. The famous opera troupes of the time recorded in this work were the Sanqing, Chuntai, Sixi, Hechun, Songzhu, Jinyu, Shuangshun, and Dajinghe troupes. The formation and development of Beijing opera is closely linked to the names of several outstanding actors who, using rich imagination and creativity, formed this new genre, known as »national opera,« all while creating their own unparalleled performing arts. Of the many artists who contributed to the formation and development of Beijing opera, the »former three outstanding individuals« and the »latter three outstanding individuals« were representative. The »former three outstanding artists,« also known as the »three old titans,« were Cheng Changgeng, Yu Sansheng and Zhang Erkui. Among them, Cheng Changgeng’s contribution and influence was the greatest. Of the same generation of the »former three outstanding artists,« two disciples of Zhang Erkui, Yu Jusheng and Yang Yuelou, were also well-known. While Yu Jusheng excelled in the wusheng (male military) role, Yang Yuelou could perform literary and military plays, and sing kunqu and luantan. After the death of his master, he joined Cheng Changgeng’s Sanqing Troupe, taking charge of it after Cheng had passed. His son, Yang Xiaolou, inherited the grace of Zhang Erkui. The »latter three outstanding artists,« also known as the »three junior titans,« were Tan Xinpei, Sun Juxian and Wang Guifen. Tan Xinpei, the most respected of them, was considered the titan of Beijing opera. While the »former three outstanding artists« made great contributions to the formation of Beijing opera, the »latter three outstanding artists« pushed Beijing opera development to its peak. Notable contemporaries of the »latter three outstanding artists« included Wang Xiaonong, Liu Hongsheng, Jia Honglin and Xu Yintang in the laosheng (old male character) role; Yu Ziyun, Chen Delin, Tian Guifeng, Yu Yuqin

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and Wang Yaoqing in the dan (female character) role; Gong Yunfu and Xie Baoyun in the laodan (old female character) role; and Zhu Wenying in the wudan (female character with martial skills) role. The representative figures of wusheng (male characters with martial skills) were Huang Yueshan and Li Chunlai; the outstanding figures of xiaosheng (young male) were Wang Lengxian, De Junru and Zhu Suyun; the outstanding figures of chou (clown) were Luo Shoushan, De Zijie, Wang Changlin and Xiao Changhua; and the representative figures of jingxing (character with heavily painted face) were Huang Runfu, Jin Xiushan and Qiu Guixian. Cheng Changgeng (1811–1880), original name Chun, also known as Yushan, was born in Qianshan, Anhui. As a teenager, he studied the arts, and attended school in Anhui. He then went to Beijing to join the Sanqing Troupe, later becoming its leader. Cheng Changgeng was a master of the laosheng role, was adept at both kunqu and pihuang, and was especially skilled in singing. His voice was high, broad, loud, and clear, and he always sang in »yi zidiao« (A-major). Sometimes, he was known to »pierce through clouds and crack stones,« »leaving sound around beams [having a sonorous and resounding voice].« An enterprising and innovative artist, he had had largely absorbed kunqu, Jing qiang, and Han Diao singing techniques. For instance, in singing pihuang, he applied the pronunciation methods of kunqu and Jing qiang, rendering the words clear and the modulation strong. In the the poem »Dou Men Zhuzhi c«« (都门竹枝词), he said: »Changgeng is the authority on luantan, and identifies kunshan character notation clearly.« He not only attached importance to singing, but also paid great attention to physical mannerisms, and was skilled at using singing, posture, and facial expression to portray characters. Cheng Changgeng’s repertoire was wide, and he was highly adept in various laosheng roles, such as zhakou, jiangyi and paodai. In addition to laosheng roles, he also delivered ex-

CHAPTER II THE RISE OF REGIONAL OPERA IN THE QING DYNASTY AND THE FORMATION OF THE FOUR MAJOR VOCAL TUNES

cellent performances in roles such as xiaosheng and hualian. He also created the Beijing opera role of Guan Yu based upon his apprenticeship under Mi Yingxian. He was able to act in a wide range of plays, such as A Gathering of Heroes (Qun Ying Hui 群 英 会) (Fig. 9.2.3), Battle in Fancheng (Zhan Fancheng 战樊城), Battle in Taiping (Zhan Taiping 战 太 平), Famen Temple (Famen Si 法门寺), and The Capture and Release Of General Cao (Zhuo fang cao 捉放曹), specializing in these and over 20 others. Yu Sansheng (1802–1866), formerly known as Kailong, courtesy name Qiyun, was a native of Luotian, Hubei. In his early years in a Han diao (Chu diao) opera troupe, he was a famous mo role actor. After entering the capital and joining the Hui Troupe, he was revered for his mellow voice and beautiful tones. Yu Sansheng entered Beijing at the precise period in which Han and Hui tunes were combined further and the formation of Beijing opera was brewing. His main contribution was his promotion of Hui and Han merging, and his acceleration of the Beijing opera’s naissance. With Han diao and Hui diao pihuang as a basis, he used kunqu and Qin qiang features to create a beautiful Bejing opera chang qiang. He was known as »the authority on opera« at the time, and his hua qiang (flowery tune) was unique in that it contrasted the »roaring like thunder« quality, rendering the Beijing opera chang qiang more varied, beautiful and expressive. He also wrote Beijing opera erhuang fandiao, including fan erhuang such as Monument of Li Ling (Li Ling Bei 李陵碑) and Painting of Shepherds (Mu Yang Juan 牧羊卷). Yu Sansheng also created a unique combination of Han diao pronunciation with the Beijing dialect, making an important contribution of a Beijing opera vocabulary pattern that combined the »Huguang [Hubei and Hunan] sound« with the Beijing sound. Yu Sangsheng excelled in both singing and acting performances in several plays, including Battle of Dingjun Mountain (Dingjun Shan 定军山), Battle in Fancheng, Tan Mu 探母

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9.2.3  Painting of the play A Gathering of Heroes, from the Qing Palace Collection of Opera Paintings

and Dang Jian Mai Ma 当锏卖马 —all of which had unique characteristics. At this time, the majority of laosheng followed Yu Sansheng’s example. In addition to his disciples Zhang Kuikuan and Liu Hekun, Tan Xinpei also benefited greatly (Fig. 9.2.4). Yu Sansheng’s son, Yu Ziyun, was a famous dan actor in the late Qing Dynasty, and his grandson, Yu Shuyan, was a famous laosheng. Zhang Erkui (1814–c.  1860), formerly known as Shiyuan, was originally from Hengshui, Hebei (also known as Hui and Zhe). Fond of opera in his youth, he was an amateur actor before taking the plunge into performance. First joining the Hechun

Troupe, he became famous from his first performance, later establishing his own Shuangkui Troupe. In the 25th year of Daoguang, he led the Sixi Troupe and was the head of Jingzhong Temple. His singing style was self-contained, his chang qiang was rich in melodic variation and beautiful melody. In singing, he had absorbed the characteristics of the Jing and Qin qiang. His xing qiang was full of vigor, and his chang qiang was bold and unrestrained, simple and natural. As he grew up in Beijing, and his diction and pronunciation were full of Beijing phonetic characteristics, so his chang qiang was especially popular with Bei-

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9.2.4 Clay statues of Yu Sansheng and Tan Xinpei, made by first-generation Tianjin clay modeler Zhang ­Mingshan, wearing the theatrical costume of Yu Sansheng

jing audiences. He also created the singing technique of puffing out words in a strong breath. At the end of the main chang duan (aria), one or two worlds would be expelled in one complete breath, creating a clean and joyful effect. The all-important »spout« in the singing performances of Beijing opera laosheng originated from this. Because his performances contained many Beijing sounds and words, he was classified as »Jing school« or »Kui school.« Not only was he good at singing, but his posture and martial arts were also excellent. He was also tall in stature, with a dignified costumed appearance, so his performances were rather elegant. The plays he performed mainly included the wangmao (crowned) laosheng, such as

The Golden Water Bridge (Jin shui qiao 金水桥) as Li Shimin, Da Jinzhi (打金枝) as Tang Wang, and Silang Visits His Mother (Silang tan mu 四郎探母) as Yang Yanhui. All of these were excellently sung and performed, and were well-received by audiences. Tan Xinpei (1847–1917), whose real name was Jinfu, courtesy name Xinpei, was a native of Wuhan, Hubei Province. He was known by his stage name »Xiao Jiao Tian.« Having studied the arts with his father Tan Zhidao in his early years, at the age of 11 he entered the Jinkui opera school in Beijing, where he studied the wusheng and laosheng roles. At the age of 15, he left the school, performing with his father in the Sanqing Troupe

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the following year. He studied first under Cheng Changgeng, and then under Yu Sansheng. As a teenager, Tan Xinpei experienced painful trials and tribulations in both his personal and artistic life. In the 9th year of Tongzhi (1870), he returned to Beijing to join the Sanqing Troupe, in which he performed as a wusheng, winning the approval of Cheng Changgeng. Often playing a supporting role in his shows, he had the opportunity to observe Cheng’s artistic essence. Tan Xinpei adopted the strengths of several areas of the arts. Although he was a member of the Cheng school, his chang qiang was in fact modelled on that of Yu Sansheng. As he often performed with Zhang Erkui’s disciples, famous wusheng Yu Jusheng and wu laosheng Yang Yuelou, he was also influenced by the art of Zhang school. In Cheng Changgeng’s later years, Tan Xinpei performed not only as a wusheng but also as a laosheng. Cheng Changgeng advised him: Actors perform as wusheng because they are not well-known, and because they have startling appearances, with large mouths like pig snouts. With the beard hanging over the mouth, their flaws are covered, and it is no different from changing one’s appearance. This, accompanied by the singer’s voice, makes them successful in every endeavor. But if their voice is too sweet, it will sound weak and dispirited, and the national sound will be ruined. After my death, these actors will be prominent, so I am afraid that China will lack vigor.

These heartfelt words were proven to be true. In the 6th year of Guangxu (1880), Cheng Changgeng died. Tan Xinpei then went to perform as a laosheng in the Sixi Troupe, alternating with Sun Juxian. This was his turning point from specializing in wusheng to performing both wen (civil) and wu (military). In the 10th year of Guangxu (1884), Tan Xinpei performed in Shanghai for the second time, and after returning to Beijing, he formed the Hechun Troupe, becoming its leader. In the 16th year of Guangxu (1890), Tan Xinpei was chosen

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to perform at the inner court. In the 33rd year of Guangxu (1907), Wang Guifen died of an illness, at which point Tan Xinpei was left single-handedly running the world of Chinese opera, earning his reputation as »the king of the acting world.« In The Legend of Royal Opera Actors in the Qing Dynasty (Qing dai ling guan chuan 清代伶官传), Wang Zhizhang concludes: Over the last 30 years, Tan, Wang and Sun have been the three main names of laosheng in the capital. While Sun was the master of Sixi, and Wang was the master of Chuntai, they both behaved with Tan as equals as they contended for hegemony in the Pear Garden. It is truly not easy to distinguish their strengths and weaknesses. At this point, Juxian has not returned and Guifen has passed away. In this corner of the capital, who could replace Tan?

In 1912, Tan Xinpei became the president of the Beijing Proper Music Education Association, and his reputation was further heightened. At the time, there existed the sayings, »if there’s no qiang, you’re not studying Tan,« and »Mancheng disputes ›The Skylark‹,« clearly demonstrating his large influence. Even reformer Liang Qichao praised him: »Tan Xinpei, the whole world contained in one person, has had a reputation for 20 years that has rumbled like thunder.« In 1917, when Tan Xinpei was bed-ridden, President Li ­Yuanhong forced him to perform at a banquet for the Guangdong governor. After this performance, Tan Xinpei’s condition worsened, and he died on May 10, 1917 (Fig. 9.2.5). Tan Xinpei was considered a titan of Beijing opera and a master of the Beijing opera laosheng role. One of his major contributions was his replacement of the old laosheng chang qiang’s »high pitch and loud voice« and »straight qiang and straight singing« styles with »hua qiang,« thus rendering the chang qiang of the laosheng more beautiful and appealing. To this end, he created the laosheng free rhythm and shuaban techniques, as well as creating the hua qiang and qiao qiang, which

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9.2.5 The indoor stage of Qing Dynasty Prince Gong’s Mansion in Beijing

could reveal the inner thoughts of characters more deeply, thus greatly enriching and developing the laosheng’s chang qiang, making it more expressive. His performing art always started from the need to portray characters, a change from the previous situation, where the laosheng only focused on singing, and the wusheng only focused on warrior posture. Instead, he used a combination of singing, chanting, acting, and fighting to portray characters. Not only this, but he also standardized the sound of Beijing opera, which was mainly based upon Huguang (Hubei and Hunan) and Zhongzhou phonology, making it more rational and comprehensive. Tan Xinpei played to his strengths in performances. In order to make up for his weight loss and be suitable to play a wangmao, he fully demonstrated his martial arts skills, specializing in the »wrin-

kled« laosheng, »archery garment« laosheng, and »armor-clad« laosheng roles, turning these into staples of the Tan school. Not one to cling to old habits, he adopted the strengths of other schools for his own use. In his chang qiang, he combined the strengths of several masters and added variations. For example, he studied the features of Cheng Changgeng’s qiang, which included walking in time to words, the four tones, and accurate enunciation. His plays such as Tanzhou Fortress (Zhen tanzhou 镇谭州) and First Place Imperial Decrees (Zhuangyuan pu 状元谱) were based on those of Cheng Changgeng. For Peng Bei (碰碑) and A Child Left in the Mulberry Garden (Sang yuan ji zi 桑园寄子) he learned from Yu Sansheng, and for Tan Mu 探母 he learned from Zhang Erkui. He also refined the singing methods and techniques of the best performers of other sheng qiang. For

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instance, he absorbed the bangzi qiang and kunqu of Guo Baochen in the famous Beijing Qing Dynasty Prince Gong’s mansion, to enrich his art. From the beginning to end of the Xinhai Revolution, Tan Xinpei actively participated in theatrical improvement movement, practicing what he preached in compiling and performing new plays. He made significant contributions to the development of Beijing opera, and occupies an important place in the history of Beijing opera. The Tan school, which he founded, became the most influential school of laosheng in the history of Beijing opera, and his great influence produced many Beijing opera performers. His sons, Xiao Pei, Sun Fuying, and his great-grandson Yuanshou, were also famous Beijing opera laosheng. Wang Guifen (1860–1906), also known as Qian, courtesy name Yanqiu, also known as Meixian, was born in Hanchuan, Hubei (also said to be Anhui or Beijing). At the age of nine he began his studies, and at the age of 14 he joined the Sanqing and Sixi troupes. At the age of 18, he learned the huqin due to his voice breaking. He once played the qin for Cheng Changgeng on behalf of his teacher, which influenced and deepened his knowledge of the Cheng school. In the 8th year (1882) of Guangxu, he accepted Yu Jusheng’s invitation to join the Chuntai Troupe. From his first performances of Wen Zhaoguan 文昭关 and Tian Shuiguan 天水关. he immediately became popular, and was known as »the reincarnation of Changgeng.« In the 10th year of Guangxu (1892), he went to Shanghai and performed in the Daguan, Tianfu, and Dangui Gardens. In the 20th year of Guangxu (1898), he returned to Beijing, first joining the Chuntai Troupe, and then the Fushou Troupe. By this time, he was equally as famous as Tan Xinpei and Sun Juxian, and together they were known as »the new three outstanding artists« and »the three junior titans.« In the 28th year of Guangxu (1902), Wang Guifen entered the Shengping Office to give a performance in the inner palace. He believed in Buddhism in

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middle-age, and became increasingly devoted in his later years, calling himself »Master Virtuous Heart,« with his hair and clothes in the style of a monk. He later became mentally disturbed, and died in the midst of a lawsuit related to gambling debt. While Wang Guifen was considerably influenced by Cheng Changgeng in his art, he was also able to form a genre of laosheng based on his own highpitched voice and traits of sadness and generosity. In the Liyuan Jiu Hua 梨园旧话. the similarities and differences between the two are compares. Regarding Wang Guifen, it is said: In the Sanqing Troupe, Cheng Changgeng was in charge of the huqin, and performed laodan plays. The actor Cheng knew all the singing, spoken parts, postures, steps, and gestures by heart. However, his guttural sounds were too hard, but softness resided in the hardness of Cheng’s voice, so when singing the high parts, his appeal was different. Building Cheng’s profoundness and broadness like a Du Fu poem, with no beauty beyond reach, Wang, with the bold and unhindered quality of Su and Xin ci, lifts his head up to the heavens. They are similar yet dissimilar, with just the slightest difference.

At the time, Wang Guifen was praised for his singing skills. His voice was high and full of energy, its sound high-pitched, penetrating and intense, yet simple, honest, and bold. In The Legend of Royal Opera Actors in the Qing Dynasty, it was said that he »sang with the beauty of masculinity, with a high mode and abundant energy, and his every word and sound could penetrate people’s eardrums, obtaining what Cheng left behind, and correcting it.« His chang qiang was praised in Fen Mo Congtan 粉墨丛谈 as being »like the winds of the sky and waves of the sea, shaking one to the core.« He paid attention to the four tones and enunciation, did not misuse hua qiang, and sang with an excellent, emotional voice. Because the voice and strength of the Wang school prevailed so far ahead of its opponents, it was not easy for

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later performers to learn, so there were few disciples. Sun Juxian (1841–1931) was also known as Lian, Xuenian, and Baochen. A native of Tianjin, he was known as »Lao Xiangqin [old fellow countryman].« When he was young, he enjoyed opera and studied martial arts, becoming a wusheng at the age of 18, and later joining the military. He was awarded the third rank due to his military exploits, was an expectant brigade vice commander, and served as the military provincial governor. In the 9th year of Tongzhi (1870), he jointly operated the Shengping tea garden with friends in Shanghai, but this was closed due after only half a year due to financial losses. In the 11th year of Tongzhi (1872), he starred as a »Qing guest« and was famous in Shanghai as »Sun Chu.« In the 2nd year of Guangxu (1876), he entered the capital and officially began performing as part of the Songzhu Troupe. In the 12th year of Guangxu, he was selected to join the Shengping Department for 16 years. He performed in the inner court, winning the favor of Empress Dowager Cixi, who presented him a third-ranking cap badge. In the 28th year of Guangxu (1902), he went south to Shanghai, opening Tianxian Tea Garden with Pan Yueqiao and Chunxian Tea Garden with Li Chunlai, to participate in the establishment of new venues in Shanghai. He returned to Tianjin in the 1st year of Xuantong (1909), basically leaving the Pear Garden after the Republic of China was established. Sun Juxian was most famous for his singing. His voice was resonant and deep, his xing qiang was smooth, and he could sing high, low, wide, and narrow with ease. According to Jiu Ju Congtan 旧 剧丛谈. he was gifted in singing. He did not rigidly follow rules, instead doing whatever he pleased with high, low, long, and short sounds, possessing a style of his own. Knowledgeable about singing techniques, he paid particular attention to breathing, timbre, and modulation during performances. He is said to have created the »one breath« singing style of the old Beijing laosheng.

CHAPTER II THE RISE OF REGIONAL OPERA IN THE QING DYNASTY AND THE FORMATION OF THE FOUR MAJOR VOCAL TUNES

His style of singing was known as »qisheng,« and his chang qiang was rough and bold, high and intense, bowling people over with its grandeur. Full of enterprising spirit in his art, Sun Juxian was not bound by convention. For instance, he did not stick to the Hubei and Hunan sound in spoken parts of opera, more frequently using the Beijing sound, and often broke through established norms in his performances. A forthright individual, Sun Juxian was public-spirited and particularly concerned with disaster relief activities, often participating in charity performances. At this time, the Red Cross Society in Shanghai was founded, and Sun Juxian performed in its fundraising plays for several consecutive days. By the establishment of the Republic, he was over 70-years-old, but continued to act in charity performances in Beijing. In his later years, he also devoted himself to theater improvement, and was passionate about the reformation of Beijing opera (Fig. 9.2.6). The formation and great development of Beijing opera in the capital was no accident. This was the result of interplay between the laws of opera itself and of the politics, economy and culture of the time. As the capital, Beijing was the strongest area in terms of economic and commercial prosperity. With its deep historical traditions, and atmosphere of cultural gathering and convergence of talents, it provided sufficient cultural and artistic nourishment for Beijing opera as a national opera, from its conception to its development. From a political perspective, the rapid development of Beijing opera cannot be explored without considering the attitude of the ruling Qing court. Although harsh bans were repeatedly placed on the emerging huabu during the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods, these were lifted after the Daoguang Period. By the time of the Xianfeng and Tongzhi emperors, Beijing opera had not only become popular throughout the capital but had also captivated these two emperors. The Empress Dowager Cixi, who governed from behind the curtain, was particularly fond of Beijing opera. Under

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9.2.6 Thirteen Stars of the Tongzhi and Guangxu Reigns (Theatrical)

her impetus, listening to opera became an indispensable form of entertainment for emperors and concubines. The attitude of rulers towards Beijing opera certainly influenced its level of appreciation in society.

Section 3  Development and Transformation of Kunshan and Yiyang Tunes in the Qing Dynasty The Kunshan qiang (Kunshan tune) experienced great glory in the late Ming Dynasty. By the Qing Dynasty, it is momentum not only continued, but reached another peak. This glory was largely due to the creation of chuanqi plays, such as The Palace of Eternal Life (Chang sheng dian 长生殿) and The Peach Blossom Fan (Tao hua shan 桃花扇), respectively written by Hong in the south and Kong in the north, and the group of Suzhou writers represented by Li Yu, who also contributed to this creative apex. At that time, the creative stars of

chuanqi shone, adorning the already-perfect brocade of kunqu with additional flowers. During the Qianlong Period, a profound crisis was bubbling under the surface of kunqu’s apparent prosperity. By the time that people in Beijing were exclaiming that audiences only liked »the sound of Qin qiang, luoluo qiang, and Yiyang qiang« and that they would »listen to kunqu, and then boisterously disperse,« the momentum of kunqu had vanished, and there was nothing to be done about it. The decline of kunqu during the Qian-Jia Period was not accidental, and many factors contributed to it. Firstly, the creation of chuanqi was showing signs of exhaustion. The main group of chuanqi writers had always been the literati, and it was not uncommon to see them engaged in this during the Qian-Jia Period. However, the ideological content and artistic achievements of their works were now comparable to those of Southern Hong and Northern Kong and the Suzhou writers in the Kangxi period, in that they were on a downward path, and could no longer compete. The works of the literati, represented by Jiang Shiquan, were not

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only uninspired in ideological connotations, but also detached from life in content, lacking both the critical spirit of reality and the profound experience of social life seen in early Qing chuanqi works. Although Tang Ying and other learned scholars attempted to save the day by renovating and transplanting huabu works with the aim of revolutionizing kunqu, as scholar officials they could not overcome their prejudice towards huabu, and were fundamentally unable to change the old habits and malpractices of kunqu. So, they continued to practice what they preached, unable to make any great social impact. The decline of kunqu was also due to artistic regulations. The main reason for this decline was the conservative and rigid nature of kunqu itself. A highly developed sheng qiang would typically experience the negative effects of stagnation, and generally found it difficult to break through the shackles of rigidity into self-transcendence. For kunqu, which had a glorious history of two or three hundred years, and was still particularly favored by the Qing court at the time, its advocates and admirers would have struggled to accept any major innovations, preferring to lament that public morality was not what it used to be than accept the loss of the their beloved kunqu’s original favor. The fatal blow to the conservative kunqu occurred with the sudden growth and repeatedly challenges of huabu zhu qiang. Qin qiang, led by Wei Changsheng, took the capital by storm, almost obliterating the livelihoods of kunqu artists. This was followed by the Hui Troupe, led by Gao Langting, which hit kunqu once more before it could recover. From then on, the kunqu opera of preeminent theatrical circles could only reminisce over and dream of its former glory, no longer able to truly compete with huabu. It should be noted that the decline of kunqu did not equate to its demise; in fact, kunqu still occupies a place on the opera stage today. To survive the competition, kunqu changed to a certain extent after the Qian-Jia Period, but this gradual

CHAPTER II THE RISE OF REGIONAL OPERA IN THE QING DYNASTY AND THE FORMATION OF THE FOUR MAJOR VOCAL TUNES

transformation was less dramatic, taking several forms. One of these was the discovery and strengthening of the democratic essence of traditional plays popular among the lower classes. For example, plays such as The Monastery Gate (Shan men 山 门), Longing for Worldly Pleasures (Sifan 思凡), Flee by Night (Ye Ben 夜奔), Reed Marshes (Luhua dang 芦花荡), Meeting Mother (Jian niang 见娘) and Pacifying Heaven (Antian hui 安天会) survived in some localized kunqu, and their ideology and artistry were enriched and developed. Other examples were Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin, which were not only widely circulated among opera groups in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but also further strengthened the portrayal of righteous and reckless heroes. As these changes responded to the demands of the people, they also gained artistic vitality. The second was the increased popularization and localization of performance styles and art forms. It was impossible to fundamentally change kunqu due to its great maturity and solidification; however, some adjustments and changes could be feasibly made to its artistic styles and performance forms. The development of opera forms such as Zhejiang kunqu and Xiang kunqu constituted the main sign that the popularization and localization of kunqu had been completed. Popularization refers to the fact that many kunqu plays focused on enriching and strengthening folk character, while localization was mainly marked by the use local dialects in kunqu performances, and long-established conventions. After the Qian-Jia Period, the northern kunqu formed in Hebei and Beijing, thus promoting the successive emergence and spread of Zhejiang, Hui, Xiang, Gan, and Sichuan kunqu all over the country. Another change was that some kunqu operas reinforced their martial arts performances according to their own conditions and audience demand. For example, kunqu martial arts troupes in areas such as Wulin and Suzhou not only specialized in

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martial arts plays like Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin, but also highlighted and intensified the dramatic and infectious nature of martial arts combat in their plays. If the Huaya competition dealt a great shock to kunqu, then this shock was also positive in that it increased mutual artistic borrowing and exchange. While huabu zhu qiang learned much from kunqu, kunqu was likewise much inspired by huabu zhu qiang. As a result, not only were kunqu and huabu performed on the same stage in several places, but kunqu also absorbed many strengths of the huabu zhuqiang in terms of repertoire, singing, and performance style, as illustrated by Tang Ying’s Gubaitang chuanqi 古柏堂传奇. which largely consisted of adapted bangzi qiang. However, from the perspective of general development, the fate of kunqu became increasingly dire after the Qian-Jia Period, considerably declining by the end of the Qing. Although the Yiyang qiang was another ancient sheng qiang, like kunqu, it also included chuanqi plays. However, it was not only distinguished from kunqu by its division of elegance and vulgarity, but also by its tradition of »sound changing according to location,« which provided it with two advantages: one was its constant and close contact with the most common workers, and its inspiration from common life and folk art; the other was its ability to overcome the drawbacks of solidification and rigidity by constantly renewing and changing itself. These two advantages enabled Yiyang qiang to avoid the same fate as the kunqu and maintain a strong momentum of development throughout the Qing Dynasty. The greatest change in Yiyang qiang during the Qing was its evolution into gao qiang, which resulted in the formation of various gao qiang all over the country. This change began as early as the Qianlong Period, and the origin and characteristics of gao qiang have been clearly demonstrated above. From a memorial by Hao Shuo, the Jiangxi provincial governor in the 45th year of the Qianlong era, it is clear that the term »Yiyang

SECTION 3 DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSFORMATION OF KUNSHAN AND YIYANG TUNES IN THE QING DYNASTY

qiang« was no longer used in Jiangxi at this time, and that »gao qiang« was now in widespread use. From this point onwards, not only did the various gao qiang that evolved from Yiyang qiang gradually form their own characteristics, but they also became independent dramatic forms. Some of the most influential gao qiang today are: Leping gaoqiang, ruihe gaoqiang, Donghe gaoqiang, and Duchang and Hukou’s Qingyang qiang in Jiangxi; Huizhou’s Mulian gao qiang, Qingyang’s Nanling gao qiang, and Yuexi’s gao qiang in Anhui; Xi’an’s gao qiang, Houyang’s gao qiang, Songyang’s gao qiang, Wenzhou’s gao qiang, Xiwu’s gao qiang, Ninghai’s gao qiang, Xinchang’s gao qiang, and Kaihua’s gao qiang in Zhejiang; Gaochun’s gao qiang in Jiangsu; Minnan’s Siping opera in Fujian; Changsha’s gao qiang, Qiyang’s gao qiang, Hengyang’s gao qiang, Chenhe’s gao qiang, and Changde’s gao qiang in Hunan; chuanju gaoqiang in Sichuan; Macheng’s gao qiang, Xiaogan’s gao qiang, and Xiangyang’s qingxi in Hubei; Gaoyang’s gao qiang and Jing qiang in Hebei; Fenyang’s yiyang qiang and Wanquan’s qingxi in Shanxi; Henan’s qingxi and so on. These gao qiang were the result of combined local pronunciation, popular customs, and folk art, as Yiyang qiang spread in various regions with its »sound changing according to location.« Although these various gao qiang or Qing operas belonged to the Yiyang qiang system, each of them had developed into its own somewhat independent genre. In addition to evolving into various gao qiang, Yiyang qiang also underwent great changes in terms of artistic style and performance forms. Compared to kunqu, Yiyang qiang was able to adjust and adapt much more smoothly, as it was not as standardized and solidified as the former. Firstly, there were changes in music and singing styles. As noted by Li Tiuyuan in Juhua 剧话. Yiyang qiang was characterized by its »changing of the diao of songs,« »misuse of local dialect« and »lack of score.« It was these characteristics that allowed Yiyang qiang to adjust to the demands and

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preferences of the audience, developing first into Leping qiang, Qingyang qiang, Huizhou qiang, Siping qiang, Yiwu qiang, and Taiping qiang, and then into the various gao qiang that appeared during the Qing Dynasty. Compared with Yiyang qiang, the gao qiang displayed many differences. Firstly, the musical style of the gao qiang demonstrated obvious regional characteristics. In Sichuan opera gao qiang, for example, the musical style was not only warm and fiery, but also full of humor. While the gao qiang of Xiang Opera sounded soft and tactful, that of Gan Opera retained a simpler and purer style. Clearly, these characteristics were intrinsically linked to local folk customs. During the formation and development of gao qiang in various regions, it was invariably influenced by local folk music. For example, Sichuan opera gao qiang absorbed several yangge (a type of folk-dance song), chedeng (chariot lamp songs), boatman chants, and religious songs. The melody of Hunan xiaodiao folk songs can be found in the gao qiang of Xiang opera. As a result of this localization, the music structure of gao qiang underwent profound changes. The most telling proof of this is the conversion of many gao qiang qupai from the combined tune form into equal-length couplets. In terms of the bang qiang style, the method of many people singing in unison in the Yiyang qiang was also greatly surpassed. The Sichuan opera bang qiang was particularly well developed, its diversification giving it a variety of functions, such as embellishing the atmosphere, revealing the inner thoughts of characters, creating comedic effect, and commenting on the characters and events of the play. The style of bang qiang also changed from »one person starting the phrase and the others responding to it« to the multiple forms of solo singing, chorus, and songs with and without lyrics. Another change manifested itself in the plays performed. Yiyang qiang seemed to favor large-scale continuous operas, such as Investiture of the Gods (Feng shen bang 封神榜), Journey to the West

CHAPTER II THE RISE OF REGIONAL OPERA IN THE QING DYNASTY AND THE FORMATION OF THE FOUR MAJOR VOCAL TUNES

(Xi you ji 西游记), Water Margin (Shui hu zhuan 水浒传), A Biography of the Patriotic General Yue Fei (Yue fei chuan 征东传), Legend of Mulian (Mulian xi 目连戏), Zheng Dong Zhuan (征东传), and Zheng Xi Zhuan (征西传), all of which were regularly performed. The ideological content of these large-scale operas was enriched and changed to different degrees in each gao qiang, and working-class aesthetics and judgements on morality were mixed in among them. For this reason, they became more popular with members of the lower classes. The wide market and the everlasting charm of these large-scale operas was directly related to their close connection to the lifestyle and culture of the masses. They were well suited to the festive atmosphere of rural areas, as well as performances in marketplaces and temple fairs. Among these operas, Legend of Mulian was closely related to folk religious activities. Performed day and night in rural squares and on earthen stages at temple fairs, they not only set a festive mood, but also satisfied the needs of peasant audiences to watch them impromptu. Under the influence and inculcation of these audiences, the spirit of democracy, patriotic ideas, and wisdom and life experiences of the people were incorporated in or strengthened in plays, which became an important part of peasant culture. It should also be noted that, although these continuous operas were initially based on legendary stories or opera excerpts, they were enriched and even transformed by the artists, rendering them more artistic, vivid, and full of life. It must also be said that they largely reflected the positive impact of the artists’ stage performances.

Section 4  The String Tune and the Willow Opera In the history of opera existed the saying of »southern kun, northern yi, eastern liu, and western

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SECTION 4 THE STRING TUNE AND THE WILLOW OPERA

bang«—the four major sheng qiang active on the Qing Dynasty opera stage. Among these, »eastern liu« denoted the xian suoqiang (string tune) and liuzi (willow) opera that circulated in regions such as Shandong, Henan, Hebei, and Subei. Xiansuo qiang originated in Henan and Shandong, with Kaifeng in Henan and Linqing in Shandong as its two major centers. It was formed in two stages, transforming from a folk xiaoqu (individual single-movement piece) to a small-scale folk opera. Its roots can be traced back to the widely popular xiaoqu of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. During the Wanli period of the Ming, in Miscellaneous Notes of Wanli (Wanli yehuo bian shishang xiao ling 万历野获编 时尚小令), Shen Defu discusses Yuan and Ming xiaoqu, saying that the Yuan people’s xiaoling (lyrical system) became increasingly prevalent after reaching Yan and Zhao. In the early Qing Dynasty, individual single-movement pieces continued to spread, and melodies greatly increased. In Mixed Records from the Garden, Liu Tingji states: »The individual single-movement pieces are different from the grand suites of Kun and Yi. In the south, it began with ›Gua Zhi Er‹ [挂枝儿] […] then it changed into ›Pi Po Yu‹ [劈破玉], then into ›Chen Chui Diao‹ [陈垂调], then into ›Huangli Diao« [黄鹂调]. At the beginning, words were few and phrases were short, but now it contains hundreds of words.« Individual single-movement pieces were widely popular in Shandong, to the point that Pu Songling used them in changben and even in performance scripts. His liqu (rustic song) works include as many as 14 of these, including Rang Du Zhou 禳妒咒 and Fu Gu Qu 妇姑曲. Some of these works were not mere desk-top plays but written specifically for performance. It is believed that if one was to trace the origin of these works, Pu’s Rang Du Zhou would be the earliest script to use the liuzi qiang system. During the Qianlong Period, the xiansuo qiang was mentioned in Li Diaoyuan’s Discourse on Drama as a highly influential sheng qiang: »The

nu’er qiang, also known as the xiansuo qiang, is commonly known as Henan diao. The sound is like that of the Yi[yang] qiang, and the ending does not need to be harmonious. With the xiansuo harmony, its sound is long and unhurried.« In Li Luyuan’s novel Lamp on the Side Street (Qilu deng 歧路灯), written in the 42nd year of the Qianlong reign, he also states: »Now comes the time for public service, recruiting two theater troupes. A Shandong theater troupe, and a Longxi banqzi qiang troupe.« Xiansuo qiang was also known as nu’er (daughter) qiang and guniang (girl) qiang, which relates to the involvement of courtesans in its formation. As early as the Ming Dynasty, »the courtesans in Beijing use this in the place of the xiansuo northern diao.« This indicates that courtesans had been singing folk tunes with string accompaniments for a long time. In the Qing Dynasty, in his Collected Discourses on Hankou (Hankou congtan 汉口丛谈), Fan Kai elaborated: »In the past, courtesans in brothels competed and revered xiaoqu, such as Man Jianghong [满江红], Jian Jian Hua [剪剪花], Jisheng Cao [寄生草] and so on. Recently, they carried out much practice of Ma Tou Diao [马头调] and worked on xiansuo.« These materials all demonstrate that courtesans had a great influence on the formation and development of xiansuo qiang. Early xiansuo qiang forms were born out of folk songs and shuochang, so they largely adopted the combined tune form, but this was different to that of northern and southern tunes. Instead, it was a combined cluster of various forms of folk xiaodiao. Only through long-term development and evolution was its own independent sheng qiang system later formed. Throughout the reigns of Emperor Qianlong and Jiaqing, traces of xiansuo qiang had already appeared in Beijing and Suzhou, demonstrating its widespread circulation. Kaifeng in Henan and Linqing in Shandong were the two major performance centers of Henan xiansuo qiang and Shandong liuzi opera. The formation of these two performance centers was directly

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related to the great development of commerce in these cities. The famous historical city of Kaifeng was a major water and land transportation hub in which merchants from all over gathered, forming a prominent commercial market in Henan. Linqing in Shandong had become a prosperous commercial city by the end of Ming Dynasty, and this flourishing scene is vividly depicted in The Golden Lotus (Jin ping mei 金瓶梅). The prosperity of Linqing was related to its geographical location. Due to its role as a sea and land transport thoroughfare, it naturally became a point of convergence for merchants. In addition to commercial development, the handicraft industry also developed on a grand scale, and its Zhuanguan kiln was famous far and wide. Dyeing workshops and pulp rooms were also particularly developed. This economic development attracted many folk operas from Shandong, Henan and Hebei, such as luo qiang opera and wawa qiang. This not only positively promoted the formation of xiansuo qiang, but also provided it with a strong economic backdrop. As representative of the xiansuo qiang in Shandong, liuzi opera was mentioned many times in historical material from the Qian-Jia Period. In the novel Lamp in the Side Street, it is referred to as »xianzi opera from Shandong.« In reference to the liuzhi qiang sung by Zheng Sanguan in Short Notes on Yanlan, published in the 50th year of Qianlong (1785), it is said: »He came from Wu to repair a broken jar, softly playing the liuzhi qiang. It was as distinguished as the pagoda tree, moving the earthly Madam Wang.« The »liuzhi qiang« here is the liuzi opera. In the preface to the Little Iron Flute Daoist’s Ri Xia Kan Hua Ji 日下看花 记. from the 8th year of Jiaqing (1803), it is said: »From the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the Kun qiang was beautiful and moving, and the Yiyang,

CHAPTER II THE RISE OF REGIONAL OPERA IN THE QING DYNASTY AND THE FORMATION OF THE FOUR MAJOR VOCAL TUNES

bangzi, Qin, and liu qiang were like a symphony throughout the north and south. Sheng pipes and chimes sounded in unison, and the singing was peaceful. Actors gathered together, flourishing in the capital.« This comparison of liuzi opera in the capital with kunqu, yiyang, and bangzi qiang suggests that it had become fashionable at the time, having a great impact. Throughout its formation and development, liuzi opera was greatly influenced by gao qiang, Qingyang qiang, luantan qiang, and luoluo qiang, as well as sheng qiang such as kunqu and pihuang— so its own sheng qiang incorporated the musical components of many others. This included its gao qiang section, which artists called the »guan [official] qiang.« Modern liuzi still contains »golden drums without silk and bamboo [traditional Chinese instruments],« and the singing method of bang qiang is the result of gao qiang’s influence. Liuzi opera adopted a bold strategy of absorbing the strengths of others in the music system. Merging the qupai combined set system with the ban-style modified form, it created a method involving comprehensive use of the combined tune and the ban-style modified form while retaining the methods of the combined tune system and the ban qiang system used in different plays. The same is true in terms of its repertoire. Some gao qiang plays included Zhao Jun Departs for the Border (Zhaojun chusai 昭君出塞) and Huarong Trail (Huarong dao 华容道); kunqu operas include Fengxiang 封相 and Banyao 搬窑. Pihuang qiang plays included Capture and Release of General Cao, Meeting In Gucheng (Gucheng hui 古城会) and Ruse of the Empty City (Kongcheng ji 空城计). These were all liuzi opera plays. It was precisely by virtue of its eclectic and diversified strengths that liuzi opera could develop itself in such a rapid and effective manner.

CHAPTER III  ACHIEVEMENTS IN PLAYWRITING AND THE PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL OPERAS IN THE QING DYNASTY Playwriting in regional opera during the Qing Dynasty was an integral and inseparable aspect of Qing Dynasty regional opera as a whole. Its ideas and artistic achievements stand on their own within the history of Chinese opera, and its perfect blending of a high level of dramatization and artistry set the stage for the excellence achieved by regional Qing opera. Compared to the zaju of the Yuan Dynasty, or the chuanqi of the Ming, Qing Dynasty regional opera scripts have several unique features. One example of this is that the themes shifted from scholars to artists. While the zaju of the Yuan or the chuanqi of the Ming were written primarily by literary scholars, Qing Dynasty regional operas were written primarily by artists and gradually perfected through experience on the stage. Another unique feature of Qing Dynasty opera is that the target audience shifted further towards the masses. While it is true that zaju and chuanqi became representative artforms of their times because they had widespread audiences, Qing regional opera took things a step further in terms lending itself to the common people. It showcased the roles of people from every level of society and was deeply rooted in the lives of the working class. That is to say, the trends and themes of Qing regional opera often revolved around farmers and city folk, and as such, the scripts of such operas focused on portraying the particular characteristics of these populations. Finally, stage performance art reached unprecedented levels during the Qing. It was a huge step forward for Chinese traditional opera. Regrettably, although the repertoire of Qing regional operatic works was certainly vast and rich, like

other performance arts, it was primarily transmitted orally. As such, there is a dearth of written records on the subject, and much has been lost. This has not only presented great difficulties for later researchers, but has also unavoidably influenced people’s understanding and appraisals of the works as a whole.

Section 1  Writing the Kunshan Tune and the Yiyang Tune With the onset of the Qianlong era, the Kunshan Tune, also known as Kun opera or kunqu, underwent dramatic changes. At first glance, kunqu continued to enjoy its high status as an »elegant division [ya bu 雅部].« It had the privilege of being performed for veneration rites to the gods, birthday celebrations for elders, and at refined cultural gatherings, and was the precursor to the other great forms of vocal tune, shengqiang 声腔. All of this however could not save kunqu from its gradual decline, and actually made it seem more prolific than it really was until scholars such as Tang Ying 唐英 sounded the alarm and attempted to revive it. Unfortunately, it was already too late by then. The decline of kunqu manifested itself in two realms, the first being a shift in the way it was performed. During its heyday, the entire story would frequently be performed all at once, which often lasted for several days. For this reason, any time a performance was held, it was always a grand event. Of course, shorter highlights from operas,

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called zhezixi 折子戏. were also performed regularly, but they were merely seen as an addition to the primary performance. By the time of the Qianlong emperor, however, the performance of the entire series of operas in a story, or benxi 本戏. became rarer and rarer, and zhezixi had become the primary method of performance. This change occurred out of necessity, but also had a stimulating effect on the artform. The necessity for change came about because chuanqi works no longer had any more attractive content to borrow from. Kunqu gradually lost its charm, so a several-days long performance no longer carried the same appeal as it previously did. As for the stimulating effect, the performance of zhezixi not only refined its content and form, it also set zhezixi as an artform unto itself. To a certain degree, it took kunqu, and even Chinese opera as a whole, to new heights. Time and experience has shown that zhezixi is a highly resilient and vigorous artform; to this day it is still performed on stages across China. Qianlong-era writer Qian Decang 钱德苍 compiled an anthology of operas called Stitching a White Fur Coat (Zhui bai qiu 缀白裘), which has become an important reference for researchers. The book records 429 frequently-performed kunqu zhezixi within 88 chuanqi works, not only informing us of the contents and form of kunqu performed at the time, but also accurately providing us with a plethora of operas that are still appreciated by audiences to this day. Aside from adapting to the times through zhezixi, kunqu also chose two methods to regain its artistic vigor. The first was to integrate and adapt other influential operas of different shengqiang styles, with Yiyang opera, or Yiyang qiang 弋阳腔. being the first choice. It was at this time that works such as The Old City (Gucheng ji 古城记), The Thatched Hut (Caolu ji 草庐记), as well as Yearning for the Mundane (Si fan 思凡) and Descending the Mountain (Xia shan 下山) were performed on the kunqu stage. The second was that kunqu started to adapt to specific locales. While absorbing the works of

CHAPTER III ACHIEVEMENTS IN PLAYWRITING AND THE PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL OPERAS IN THE QING DYNASTY

Yiyang opera and bangzi opera (bangzi qiang 梆 子腔), also called »clapper opera,« was one form of localization for kunqu, the subtle changes of locale and subsequent formation of the schools of Anhui-style Huikun 徽昆. Hunan-style Xiangkun 湘昆. Zhejiang-style Zhekun 浙昆. and Northern Beikun 北昆. as well as the widespread emergence of the Rivers and Lakes (江湖班) style undoubtedly marked the ultimate completion of the artform’s localization. Unfortunately this localization was not without its limits, and while it did help to extend the lifespan of the kunqu art form, it ultimately could not save it from its decline. The second realm in which the decline of kunqu manifested was in the deterioration of its creative works. The teams of kunqu writers in the Qianlong era continued the tradition of having scholars as the central themes of their stories, and there was certainly no shortage of talented writers of the earlier-style chuanqi works. Some well-known examples of such writers are Xia Lun, Tang Ying, Jiang Shiquan, Zhang Jian, Huang Zhijuan, Yang Chaoguan, Dong Rong, Li Dou, Jin Zhaoyan, Shen Qifeng, and Gui Fu. However, while their works did not lack creativity, they did lack substantial content about society at large or any profound thought in general. Moreover, their talent was thought to be slightly inferior to that of the ­chuanqi writers of the earlier years of the Qing Dynasty, so their works were seen as the last gasps of the chuanqi genre. While there still were some chuanqi authors after the Qianlong era, they were few and far between, and their surviving works are rarer still. Tang Ying and Jiang Shiquan could be considered the most representative chuanqi authors of the Qianlong era (Fig. 9.3.1). Among the numerous chuanqi stories performed as kunqu operas in the middle period of the Qing Dynasty, none are more noteworthy than The Leifeng Pagoda (Leifeng ta 雷峰塔). The success of this piece came firstly from its foundation in old folk tales, and secondly from constant reworking by writers and artists. We now have records

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SECTION 1 WRITING THE KUNSHAN TUNE AND THE YIYANG TUNE

9.3.1 The Peony Pavillion (Mudan ting), Tianjin Yangliuqing New Year Pictures of the Qi Jianlong Workshop, Jiaqing Era

showing that the earliest references to the story of the White Snake and the Leifeng Pagoda can be traced back to the Song Dynasty. By the time the story was adapted as The White Maiden Trapped for Eternity in the Leifeng Pagoda (Bai niangzi yong zhen Leifeng ta 白娘子永镇雷峰塔) by Feng Menglong of the late Ming Dynasty in his collection Stories to Caution the World (Jingshi tongyan 警世 通言), its story and characters had already been well flushed-out in print. It was also during this time that Chen Liulong’s chuanqi story The Leifeng Pagoda came out. Huang Tubi’s block print story by the same name was later published during the Yongzheng and Qianlong eras to much acclaim. It was later revised and reworked by other artists and writers into two works by the same name, the first of which was a »pear garden« transcript, while a later one was a »water bamboo« edition,

both of which had a greater impact on later generations than the original. The »pear garden« transcript was a performance version compiled by the famous comic role actor Chen Jiayan with his daughter. They added important sections to Huang’s work, including The Dragon Boat Festival (Duanyang 端阳), Stealing Grass (Dao cao 盗草), Fight in the Water (Shui dou 水斗), Breaking the Bridge (Duan qiao 断桥), and Memorial at the Pagoda (Ji ta 祭塔), which more prominently showcased the White Maiden’s steadfast love and perseverance. The »water bamboo« edition was published by Fang Chengpei in the 37th year of the Qianlong era (1772), and although Fang made some additions and deletions to the »pear garden« transcript, the characters and overall story framework were not changed. With the »pear garden« transcript setting a solid founda-

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tion, as well as Fang’s revisions, the legend of the White Snake became more idealized, bringing The Leifeng Pagoda closer to its present form. The Leifeng Pagoda became one of the most important works of the Yongzheng and Qianlong eras, and is still performed even to this day. Its charm lies in how it weaves a unique and peculiar love story between man and spirit, as well as how it successfully creates a rebellious and devoted female character. The story of the White Maiden and Xu Xian has something new to offer no matter what angle one approaches it from. The story is of a white snake spirit who takes on the form of a beautiful woman, who then falls in love with a human. It is a fantastic, multifaceted, and intriguing love story, with supernatural powers displayed and magical battles fought amidst hardships and disasters which bring together humans, gods, monsters, as well as elements of Buddhist and Daoist philosophy. The character of the White Maiden not only displays her yearning for and pursual of love in the human world, but also her methods and trajectory of pursuing such love take on a form all their own. However, the destruction, oppression, and interference that she faces are unlike those that the character Cui Yingying faces from her unreasonable mother in Romance of the Western Chamber, but rather come from evildoers, troublesome Daoists, and the Buddhist monk of limitless power who upholds the feudal order, Fahai. She remains steadfast in her convictions during mortal struggles, like Du Liniang from The Peony Pavillion. Her resistance and fighting spirit is directly traceable to the plethora of heroines emerging in the regional operas of the Qing Dynasty, a new and unique characteristic of the time. The White Maiden’s distinctiveness also lies in the fact that she is a snake spirit who is new to the world of humans, and, as such, everything she experiences in the human world is distinctly new and beautiful, indeed, part of the attraction and unique aesthetic of this story is the fresh perspective on human-

CHAPTER III ACHIEVEMENTS IN PLAYWRITING AND THE PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL OPERAS IN THE QING DYNASTY

ity that it offers through the eyes of the White Maiden. Compared to kunqu, the audiences for Yiyang opera consisted more of society’s lower classes, such as workers and farmers. Yiyang opera’s artistic life was made all the more vibrant by its deep roots in folk culture. While kunqu sadly rose to fame only to fall during the Qianlong era, Yiyang opera surpassed people’s expectations and avoided such a downfall entirely. In fact, as Yiyang opera developed throughout the Qing Dynasty, it underwent great changes, transforming into other artforms called gaoqiang 高腔. However, the different kinds of gaoqiang can only be said to be regional offshoots of Yiyang opera, which did indeed influence the different shengqiang of the time. This is all to say that the gaoqiang of the Qing Dynasty was really a way for the Yiyang opera of the Ming to adapt to the times by recreating itself, and in so doing attain new vitality (Fig. 9.3.2). Naturally, the transition from Yiyang opera to gaoqiang led to literary changes in playwriting, which mostly manifested in two areas, the first being the fact that gaoqiang used the works of Yiyang opera as a foundation to develop and perfect itself. Records indicate that nearly all of the major Yiyang opera works of the Ming Dynasty were later recreated as gaoqiang during the Qing, with prominent examples being The Golden Seal (Jin yin ji 金印 记), The Thornwood Hairpin (Jingchai ji 荆钗记), The White Hare (Bai tu ji 白兔记), A Prayer for the Moon (Baiyue ji 拜月记), Tale of the Pipa (Pipa ji 琵琶记), The Secret Chamber (You gui ji 幽闺记), The Red Plum Flower (Hong mei ji 红梅记), The Jade Hairpin (Yuzan ji 玉簪记), The Golden Mink (Jin diao ji 金貂记), The Jacket From the Countryside (乡襦记), The Story of Brocade (Zhijin ji 织 锦记), and The Broken Home (Po yao ji 破窑记). Given that gaoqiang was an offshoot of Yiyang opera that underwent an additional layer of localization, it also stands to reason that these scripts had even more local elements to them.

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The second area in which literary changes manifested was in the development of Yiyang opera’s tradition of large-scale serialized performances. These performances were generally held in rural village shrines, and would often go on for several days at a time. The emergence of this style of performance was primarily due to a need to adapt to rural towns’ religious festivals or activities in the local marketplace, and thereby became a major cultural attraction at rural holiday celebrations. Yiyang opera is full of rural cultural elements, and therefore these large-scale performances maintained a long-lasting popularity. The gaoqiang of the Qing Dynasty not only carried on this tradition with the adaptation and refinement of

9.3.2  Portrait of The Legend of the White Snake: The Broken Bridge, part of the Qing Dynasty Collection of Opera Scenes

SECTION 1 WRITING THE KUNSHAN TUNE AND THE YIYANG TUNE

Yiyang opera pieces such as Viewing the Company (Mu lian zhuan 目连传), The Story of Yue Fei (Yue Fei zhuan 岳飞传), Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan 水浒传), Journey to the West (Xi you ji 西 游记), Conquering the East (Zheng dong zhuan 征 东传), Conquering the West (Zheng xi zhuan 征西 传), and Investiture of the Gods (Feng shen bang 封神榜), but also drew on the wide range of folk stories available in the form of historical novels, huaben 话本. tanci 弹词. baojuan 宝卷 and guci 鼓词. After constant refinement on the stage and feedback from audiences, performers were able to deliver exactly to the emotional and aesthetic preferences of their rural audiences.

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CHAPTER III ACHIEVEMENTS IN PLAYWRITING AND THE PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL OPERAS IN THE QING DYNASTY

Section 2  Achievements in Playwriting of the Clapper Tune Although the four major shengqiang, namely kunqu, Yiyang opera, clapper opera, and pihuang opera (pihuang qiang 皮黄腔) were the primary regional operatic styles of the Ming and Qing ­dynasties, they all brought in unique elements of their own to the chuanqi genre. It should be said that the rise of clapper opera and pihuang opera not only marked the new era of regional opera for the Qing Dynasty, but also spurred the further localization of kunqu and Yiyang opera. The repertoire of scripts for these two styles is therefore particularly noteworthy because, to a great degree, they further embody the unique characteristics and achievements of regional opera (Fig. 9.3.3). Although a huge number of clapper opera pieces were produced, due to discrimination and even outright prohibition from the feudal government, most original copies of the scripts were lost. As such, the tradition was often passed down orally from artist to artist, which meant that it was highly subject to change and that little written evidence of the works has made it to the present day. This has become a major problem for historical researchers, to the point that in many cases all we are left with is nothing more than a work’s name. More and more records of clapper opera pieces start to appear around the Qianlong and Jiaqing eras, indicating that this was an excellent time for the performance and playwriting of clapper opera. Due to its popularity and influence as a major shengqiang system at the time, it often became a topic of scholarly conversation as well as a novel subject matter in literary works. A plethora of books of varying styles written by famous opera performers emerged during the Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Daoguang eras in Beijing, such as Anyue Shanqiao’s A Short Chronicle of Swallows and Orchids (Yan lan xiaopu 燕兰小谱), completed

9.3.3 View of the Baiben Zhang opera script book

in the 50th year of the Qianlong era (1785); Tiaoqiao Shanren, Shiping Jushi, and Wenjin Yuzhe’s collaborative work A New Ode to the Fading Winter (Xiao han xin yong 消寒新咏), completed during the 60th year of the Qianlong era (1795); Daoist Xiao Tiedi’s Watching Flowers Under the Sun (Ri xia kan hua ji 日下看花记), completed during the 8th year of the Jiaqing era (1803); Zhongxiang Zhuren’s The Country of Many Fragrances (Zhong xiang guo 众香国), completed during the 11th year of the Jiaqing era (1806); historian Liu Chunge’s Listening to the New Odes of Spring (Ting chun xin yong 新咏), completed during the 15th year of the Jiaqing era (1810); Huaxu Daifu’s Broken Tears on the Golden Terrace (Jin tai can lei ji 金台残泪记), completed during the 8th year of the Daoguang era (1828); as well as other works such as Yang Miren’s Song of the Capital Gates (Du men zhuzhici 都门竹 枝词) and Ruizhu Jiushi’s The Fragmented Dream Registry (Meng hua suo bu 梦华琐簿). These books included many references to clapper opera pieces that were being performed in Beijing at the time, such as The Tumbling Tower (Gun lou 滚楼), The

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Iron Lotus (Tie lianhua 铁莲花), Carrying My Son to the Capital (Bei wa jin fu 背娃进府), Around the Fire, Down the Mountain (Kao huo xia shan 烤火下 山), and Fan Lihua Delivers the Pillow (Fan Lihua song zhen 樊梨花送枕). Unfortunately only secondary records of these books have been found thus far, rather than the writings themselves, though luckily some later copies were discovered after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, such as a copy of the Tongzhou (now in modern day Dali County, Shaanxi Province) clapper opera script for Piercing the Mountain (Cizhong shan 刺中山), from the 10th year of the Jiaqing era, as well as a copy of The One in the Painting (Hua zhong ren 画中人) (Western Provinces Art Research Center). There are also copies of Shaanxi clapper opera scripts that have been passed down by artists from the Jiaqing and Daoguang eras of The Silken Handkerchief (Jiaoxiao pa 鲛绡帕), The Ten Shrines of the King (Shi wang miao 十王庙), The Yin-Yang Swords (Yin yang jian 阴阳剑), The Sword From the Hundred Flowers (Bai hua zeng jian 百花赠剑), Flames of War Open the Umbrella (Binghuo la san 兵火拉伞), and The Harmony of Spring and Autumn (Chunqiu pei 春秋配) (Western Provinces School of Opera). These copies of Shaanxi opera scripts have been used to fill the gaps in our knowledge of clapper opera from the Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Daoguang eras. As previously discussed, clapper opera was already fully developed as a massive shengqiang system by the time of the Qianlong era, to the point that it became a catch-all name for the more specific style of Shaanxi opera, and many clapper operas were recorded in works such as the aforementioned Stitching a White Fur Coat and Li Dou’s Record of the Painted Boat in Yangzhou (Yangzhou huafang lu 扬州画舫录). What should be noted, however, is that the clapper opera mentioned in these works is not entirely the same as Shaanxi opera, but rather refers to Shaanxi opera that was passed down to other regions, such as Anhui, that later merged with local styles like kunqu and

SECTION 2 ACHIEVEMENTS IN PLAYWRITING OF THE CLAPPER TUNE

Yiyang opera, creating a new style with names such as »clapper Yiyang opera,« and should be treated as other sub-branches of clapper opera. Aside from these clapper opera works recorded in Stitching a White Fur Coat, still more can be found in Li Dou’s collection Record of the Painted Boat in Yangzhou, including The Tumbling Tower, Embracing my Child (Bao haozi 抱孩子), Holding my Baby (Bei wazi 背娃子), Selling Cakes (Mai bobo 卖饽饽), Delivering the Pillow (Song zhentou 送枕头), The Flower Drum (Huagu 花鼓 Hu), Killing the Cobbler (Sha pijiang 杀皮匠), Falling Off the Horse (Dao mazi 倒马子), Knocking on the Door of Jealousy (Damen chicu 打门吃醋), A Cup of Rice (Da zhan fan 打盏饭), Yearning for the Mundane, and Officer Mao Takes His Post (Mao bazong daoren 毛把总到任). In his two works Speaking of Operas (Ju shuo 剧说) and Rural Talks on Opera (Huabu nong tan 花部农谭), Jiao Xun records the operas The Peach Blossom Girl (Taohua nü 桃花女), Cleaving the Mountain to Save Mother (Pi shan jiu mu 劈山救母), Five Rounds of Thunder (Wu leihong 五雷轰), Catching the Golden Turtle (Diao jin gui 钓金龟), The Story of Two Nails (Shuang ding ji 双钉记), Shiqian Steals the Chicken (Shiqian tou ji 时迁偷鸡), The Iron Tomb (Tie qiu fen 铁丘坟), House of the Dragon and Phoenix (Long feng ge 龙凤阁), Two Wolves Mountain (Liang lang shan 两狼山), The Pavilion of Pure Wind (Qing feng ting 清风亭), Wang Ying Descends the Mountain (Wang Ying xia shan 王英下山), The Corrupt Official (Hong bi guan 红逼官), The Pipa Competition (Sai pipa 赛琵琶), The Kindness of a Righteous Son (Yi er en 义儿恩), The Two Aristocrats (Shuang fugui 双富贵), and The Redbud Tree (Zijing shu 紫荆树). Clapper opera has several obvious differences in terms of its performance style and subject matter compared to zaju and chuanqi operas. Most zaju and chuanqi were written by literary scholars, and as such, paid more attention to the sources of the characters and stories. Clapper opera, on

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the other hand, was much more flexible. Not all stories had to have proof of ever having occurred, nor did characters need to have any previous reference. No matter the genre, as long as the events and characters were entertaining, they could be used. Zhao Yiceng described this characteristic of clapper opera as such: »The stories need no historical basis, making them easy to present and spread.« This characteristic allowed clapper operas to have a direct connection to the common people; rather than finding historical references for their stories, playwrights instead focused more on what was suitable and attractive to their current audience. As a result, most of these works focused on the collective experiences of the people, and expressed the people’s understanding of and feelings toward their current realities and toward past events. This was a hugely liberating change in how the creation of these operas were thought of. It allowed for a new perspective, and made clapper opera pieces take a vast volume of inspiration from everyday life, thereby more directly reflecting the audiences’ lived realities and societal issues. Moreover, it resulted in a large volume of clapper opera works that were historical in nature, but not necessarily limited by historical plotlines. These kinds of historical works often borrowed a historical figure or event and, depending on the author’s intentions, were reimagined, often exaggerated or romanticized, thereby making them resonate better with audiences of the time. This eventually became a common occurrence for Qing Dynasty regional operas. Clapper opera reflected a wide variety of topics from people’s actual lives, from the strategies of army generals or clashes between loyalty and betrayal to petty family squabbles. No topic was too great or too small so long as it resonated with the audiences and their experiences. Given its connection to the common people and their own daily lives, clapper opera gave a quite clear portrayal of the current times. Many clapper operas portrayed the class struggles of the time, of which

CHAPTER III ACHIEVEMENTS IN PLAYWRITING AND THE PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL OPERAS IN THE QING DYNASTY

many involved the bandit-like characters from the classic novel Water Margin. The most representative of these operas is Celebration of the Jewel (Qing dingzhu 庆顶珠), recorded in Listening to the New Odes of Spring and thought to be one of the earlier pieces of its kind to be performed. It is not only highly representative of clapper opera alone, but the story also found its way into several other shengqiang systems. The story is roughly derived from Chen Chen’s book Water Margin Sequel (Shuihu houzhuan 水浒后传), though both the plot and the characters have been heavily modified. The character Xiao’en and his daughter exemplify the life of the working class, and deeply reflect the oppression that they faced at the hands of the feudal rulers, as well as their desire to fight back. Although the story ends with Xiao’en committing suicide and his daughter fleeing, it still extolls a rebellious spirit that had a widespread significance among the populace (Fig. 9.3.4). Apart from portraying individual rebellions and struggles, many clapper opera pieces also portray the collective struggles of the bandits of Mount Liang from Water Margin. An example of such an opera is Arena of the Divine Land (Shenzhou lei 神州擂), found within Stitching a White Fur Coat. The story is based off of chapter 74 of Water Margin, painting a vivid picture of the military exploits of the group of outlaws while also exalting their heroism. One of the traditional themes of most operas is the people resisting oppression and preserving national unity. The majority of Yiyang opera about the Yue family fell into this category. Clapper opera involved many stories of the Yue family taken originally from kunqu and Yiyang opera, but also made many more productions from the famous story Generals of the Yang Family (Yang jia jiang 杨家将). This was a particularly popular subject matter for shangdang clapper opera, a style hailing from what is now Shanxi Province, and was already widespread as early as the Qianlong era with tragic stories of heroic patriotism

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SECTION 2 ACHIEVEMENTS IN PLAYWRITING OF THE CLAPPER TUNE

9.3.4  A scene of Celebration of the Jewel, part of the Qing Dynasty Collection of Opera Scenes

such as Two Wolves Mountain, found within the aforementioned book Rural Talks on Opera. Stitching a White Fur Coat also contains the two Yang family operas The Shadow’s Deliverance (Yin song 阴送) and Blocking the Steed (Dang ma 挡马), which took a different angle in praising the undying fighting spirit of the Yang family generals. Historical stories occupy a prominent role in clapper opera. These kinds of operas, however, did not seek to recreate history, but rather to modify the stories and characters in accordance with the viewers’ own values and aesthetics, thereby creating idealized heroes or the perfect villain that all could despise. These figures embodied the emotions, experiences, and overall philosophies of the working masses who watched them on stage. Another typical subject matter of clapper opera is denouncing men who have been unfaithful to and

harmed women. Previously, most opera writers only denounced such men’s immoral behaviors from an ethical perspective, as with the character Cai Bojie in Tale of the Pipa. This pattern changed in clapper opera, however. The playwrights not only thoroughly exposed and castigated harmful behavior against women, but also made the women who were wronged surpass the perpetrators in terms of both morals and talent, allowing them to claim justice through their own power. The Pipa Competition is a classic example of such a story. In the story, the man Chen Shimei callously abandons his wife, Qin Xianglian, after passing the imperial examinations, and remarries into the emperor’s family. Qin Xianglian faithfully cares for his aging parents, and after they pass, she plans for their burial and to later take her daughter to Beijing to find a husband. Chen Shimei was ruth-

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less, however, and not only abandoned his wife but sent an assassin after her to silence her, that none may know of his unfilial behavior. Qin Xianglian hid within Sanguan Temple in Beijing, covered her daughter in her clothes to hide her away, and prepared to kill herself. The story takes an unexpected turn at this moment, when the god of Sanguan Temple saves Qin Xianglian and bestows upon her the art of military combat. With the court at war in the east at this time, Xianglian uses her military prowess to attain a high official rank. Chen Shimei is thrown in jail on charges of deceiving his sovereign, and the one to pass judgement upon him is none other than Qin Xianglian. She stands erect at the head of the hall, while Chen Shimei crawls on the floor, bound as a prisoner, unable to hide his shame. Qin Xianglian recounts Chen Shimei’s many crimes, much to everyone’s delight. It is worth noting why the creators decided to resolve the story in this manner. It shows that the majority of viewers were no longer satisfied with the old way of criticizing unfaithful men, and furthermore that they believed, indeed demanded, that when one is dishonored, they not only can but should rely on their own power to defend their rights and punish their oppressor. This kind of fighting spirit elevated the anti-feudal ideology of the work. The presence of militaristic heroines is a particular phenomenon that emerged from clapper opera. Some classic examples of such heroines are Fan Lihua from Fan Lihua Delivers the Pillow, Liu Jinbao from Slayer of Four (Sha si men 杀四 门), and Gao Jinding from The Tumbling Tower. All of them were idealized bandit chiefs of great martial prowess as well as unparalleled courage and insight, and were exceedingly beautiful. They were important players in maintaining national unity and protecting the Chinese people, earning respect for their outstanding exploits, and choosing their own marriages. Their romances were also quite unique, often falling in love at first sight with an enemy on a raging battlefield. With her great fighting skill, the heroine would knock

CHAPTER III ACHIEVEMENTS IN PLAYWRITING AND THE PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL OPERAS IN THE QING DYNASTY

the target of her affections off his horse and take him as a prisoner. The heroine’s beauty, affection and heroism would have stoked romantic interest in the man’s heart from the beginning, but after being persuaded by the righteousness of her cause, the two characters quickly become lovers. The bold, direct personalities of these women as well as their fantastical lives quickly did away with the traditional tropes of the subtle, tender affections of the scholar and beauty archetype. These new female archetypes were important in that they no longer served as accessories to men, but rather were in charge of their own fates. Not only did their capabilities surpass those of men, but they also played important political roles. Furthermore, they boldly pursued their own ideal romances, relying on their own power and capability to realize their romantic ambitions. This of course made them rebels against the feudal system—indeed, these women can be considered scathing rebukes of feudal ideology, and their emergence in opera reflects the question of the role of women in a democratic society, a question that began to come to the fore in early Qing Dynasty thought.

Section 3  Repertoires of the Pi-Huang Tune Pihuang opera is a relatively new shengqiang style when compared to the aforementioned kunqu, Yiyang opera, and clapper opera; as such, pihuang opera scripts have not only been influenced by the former three styles, but indeed have carried on their legacies. Furthermore, because it is an amalgamation of Anhui opera, Hubei opera, and Beijing opera, its literary system is naturally flexible and therefore compatible with many different time periods. Pihuang opera can be traced back to the Qianlong era, when the four great Anhui opera troupes entered Beijing. Unfortunately, direct historical evidence of these troupes has not yet been

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found—the earliest surviving pihuang opera materials we have thus far can only be traced back as late as the Daoguang era. The four great Anhui opera troupes at that time had not yet reached the level of fame and independence that they would enjoy in later years; not only would they sometimes perform at the same time with clapper opera troupes, but the performances would also often be overlapped with them. Therefore, the operas compiled in the chapter entitled »Songs and Performances« of Yang Jingting’s work A Brief Account of the Capital (Du men ji lüe 都门纪略), published in the 25th year of the Daoguang era (1845) were all still performed together by the Sanqing, Sixi, Hechun, Songzhu, Xinxing Jinyu, Shuanghe,

9.3.5  A scene of the clapper and pihuang opera Famen Temple, part of the Qing Dynasty ­Collection of Opera Scenes

SECTION 3 REPERTOIRES OF THE PI-HUANG TUNE

and Dajinghe pihuang and clapper opera troupes. These pieces are often considered as early pihuang opera pieces, indicating that there was still no clear delineation between pihuang and clapper opera at the time. There were 69 pieces recorded in total, including among others The Qionglin Banquet (Qionglin yan 琼林宴), The Yangping Pass (Yangping guan 阳平关), Battle at Fancheng (Zhan Fancheng 战樊城), and Famen Temple (Famen si 法门寺) (Fig. 9.3.5). Wang Zhizhang notes in his book Origins of Opera and Musical Styles (Qiang diao kao yuan 腔调考源) a literary work passed and copied down by artists called The Operas of Chuntai (Chuntai jumu 春台 剧目), within which is recorded the names of op-

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eras performed by pihuang artists such as Wang Yixiang (also called Quanlin), Chen Luanxian (also called Fenglin), Ding Hongbao (also called Yunxiang), Shuang Pangxiu, Zheng Liangui, and Lian Sheng who performed 35 different pieces around the tenth year of the Daoguang era, such as A Dedication to Chang’an (Xian chang an 献 长安), The Eastern Tang (Xi tang zhuan 西唐传), Lust, Joy, Retribution (Tan huan bao 贪欢报), and The Rouge Tiger (Yanzhi hu 胭脂虎). 38 more pihuang opera pieces may be found in chapter nine of the Daoguang-era book Record of Pleasures and Dreams (Hua tian chen meng lu 花天尘梦录), such as Women of Three Battles (Nü san zhan 女三战), The Hongni Pass (Hongni guan 虹霓关), The Qionglin Banquet, and The Bottomless Pit (Wu di dong 无底洞). Zhu Jiajin’s volume kept by the Qing Court Theatrical Office of operas from the 10th to 11th year of the Xianfeng era (1860–1861) includes 73 titles, including among them The Golden Lock Formation (Jin suo zhen 金锁阵), Marriage and Rites (Song qin yan li 送亲演礼), At the Crossroads (San cha kou 三岔口), Through the Pass (Jiao guan 叫关), Zhu the Immortal (Zhu xian zhen 朱仙阵), Wang Er Tower (Wang er lou 望儿楼), and The Limestone Mountain (Qingshi shan 青石山). There are also 13 operas from the 8th and 9th years of the Tongzhi era (1869–1870), among them The Dragon Canopy (Da long peng 打龙棚), The Dragon Robe (Da Long Pao 打龙袍), and The Battle for Changsha (Zhan Changsha 战长沙). Thus far, only references to these operas have been found; no original copies have yet been discovered. The earliest complete script to be found was discovered in Hankou, near Wuhan after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, called Ten New Engravings of Chuqu (Xin juan chuqu shi zhong 新镌楚曲十种), of which five still remain at the Chinese National Academy of Arts. Chuqu 楚曲 is also known as chuqiang 楚腔. chutiao 楚调. or hantiao 汉调. It originates from the Hubei region, hence why hantiao in particular is often

CHAPTER III ACHIEVEMENTS IN PLAYWRITING AND THE PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL OPERAS IN THE QING DYNASTY

translated as »Hubei opera,« and is part of the pihuang opera system. Chuqu made its way to Beijing where it was immensely popular for a time, thereby directly influencing the later development of Beijing opera. The five scripts remaining are simple, and their contents and artistic strategies are also rather crude, suggesting that at its height, chuqu was primarily a way to satisfy the demands of common workers and farmers, with popular song scripts being printed on woodblocks. The five scripts are: Story of the Hero (Yingxion zhi 英雄志): Four chapters and 25 scenes. Tells the story of Zhuge Liang from the Three Kingdoms era pacifying the five blocked roads. Li Mi Falls to the Tang (Li Mi jiang Tang 李密降 唐): Tells the story of rebel leaders Li Mi and Wang Bodang surrendering to, and later rebelling once more against the Tang Dynasty. Altar of the Winds (Ji feng tai 祭风台): Two volumes, four chapters, 28 scenes. Tells the story of the Battle of Red Cliff from the Three Kingdoms era. The Battle of Lintong (Lintong doubao 临潼斗宝), divided into four chapters with no individual scenes. Tells the story from the Spring and Autumn era story of Wu Yuan lifting a thousand-pound copper vessel. The Qingshi Mountains (Qingshi ling 青石岭), also divided into four chapters. Tells the story of the Empress Su’s, or »King Yi of Zhou’s,« glorious military victories and her battle against Jia Cuiping. Seven more pihuang opera scripts have been found in an Anhui opera troupe’s script book, namely Down to Sichuan (Xia Sichuan 下四川), Zhuge Liang Visits the Bereaved (Zhuge diaoxiao 诸葛吊孝), Execution at the Gate (Yuanmen zhan zi 辕门斩子) (Fig. 9.3.6), Eight Kings Plead One’s Case (Ba wang jiang qing 八王讲情), Guiying Prays for Kindness (Guiying qi en 桂英祈恩), The King of Medicines Becomes a Sage (Yaowang cheng sheng 药王成圣), and The Ghost of Xu Wensheng (Xu Wensheng xianling 徐文升显灵).

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SECTION 3 REPERTOIRES OF THE PI-HUANG TUNE

9.3.6  A scene of Execution at the Gate, part of the Qing Dynasty Collection of Opera Scenes

Of the early pihuang opera pieces in Ten New ­Engravings of Chuqu, Altar of the Winds is the most representative, and was highly successful in terms of both its content matter and performance. The story from Altar of the Winds, that is, the story of the historical Battle of Red Cliff, is mostly derived from chapters 42 to 51 of the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms (San guo yanyi 三 国演义). It starts with the military general Lu Su inviting Zhuge Liang to form a military alliance against their mutual enemy Cao Cao, and ends with Zhuge Liang capturing three different commanderies. The novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms took historical fact and modified it with a great deal of artistic flair, while the chuqu opera Altar of the Winds used the novel as a foundation and modi-

fied it even further. By this point it could no longer even be considered a typical historical work, but rather had undergone a great deal of reimagining and exaggeration in order to creating a thrilling and fantastical story unto itself. The opera presents us with a plethora of vivid characters, the most prominent being the characters of Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, and Cao Cao. Zhuge Liang is the heart of the show, intentionally molded to be an idealized figure. In reality, Zhuge Liang eventually did not hold the same leading position as depicted in the opera, however, to further dramatize his character, the writers center the story around the relationship between him and Zhou Yu, showing both the moments when the two are at each other’s throats and when they are working together. The authors continued and built upon

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the long tradition of romanticizing the warlord Liu Bei, whom Zhuge Liang fought for, and vilifying his opponent Cao Cao. Therefore, when creating the character of Zhuge Liang, they took great pains to craft him into a mighty man who would come to be the embodiment of wisdom among the Chinese people. Altar of the Winds also took a particular approach when writing the character of Cao Cao. On the one hand, the opera carries on the novel’s traditional approach of portraying Cao Cao as an unscrupulous, ruthless politician who will claim power by any means necessary. Yet on the other hand, the opera also emphasizes the bitterness of his defeats as a military commander. The opera offsets his cunning image by giving him a slight air of foolishness. Aside from these main characters, the opera also has a variety of other characters each with their own unique dispositions who leave their own deep impressions, such as the loyal and honorable Lu Su, the arrogant and haughty Zhang Zhao, the faithful Huang Gai, and overly clever and full of himself Jiang Gan (Fig. 9.3.7).

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Altar of the Wind has a plethora of characters, a variety of twisting plotlines, and a vast setting. It is truly a masterwork of historically-inspired stories. And yet the way the plot unfolds, with its contrasts of atmosphere, its conflicts, and its characters, is meticulous and unhurried, achieving a delicate balance which gives the audience a sense of ease through familiarity. The emergence of this piece along with the acclaim to which it was received show that early pihuang opera scripts had reached a relatively high level of literary artistry. Pihuang opera scripts were polished and completed through artists’ experience on the stage; collective experience was a hallmark of this kind of creation. That said, due to the style’s growing influence throughout society, it began to attract literary scholars to try their hands at writing scripts as well. Furthermore, a few performers who were also adept writers began to gradually branch away from stage performance to become professional playwrights. Because of this, the level of specialization that went into writing ­pihuang opera scripts became somewhat higher

9.3.7  Periodical of the Qunig Dynasty Wind Sacrifice Tower

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than that of Yiyang or clapper opera. The first writer, rather than actor, recorded to have started writing pihuang opera scripts was Yu Ye 余冶. Yu Ye (1809–1874), courtesy name Yi Ting, literary names Lian Cun and Hui An, hailed from the city of Wuxi in Jiangsu Province. He was a staunch traditionalist and upholder of feudal ethics, having recommended to the authorities that they ban such novels as Water Margin and Romance of the West Chamber (Xi xiang ji 西厢记), while the goal of his own creation Current Music to Bring Order to the Nation (Shuji tang jinyue 庶几堂今乐) was to »pass on customs« and »arouse people’s hearts.« Not only did Yu Ye write his own scripts, he even organized theater troupes to perform his works in cities such as Jiangyin, Changshu, and Shanghai. It should come as no surprise that government officials approved of his works. Although his works were not particularly successful in their thinking or artistry, Yu Ye has still gone down in history as the first writer, rather than performer, to try his hand at pihuang opera scripts. Another writer of pihuang opera was Guanju Dao Ren (literally »The Daoist who watches operas«) (1785–?), also known as Bieshu Duo Yuan Zhuren (literally »One who lazes about in others’ gardens«). Not much is known about his life or even his real name. His work The Land of Ultimate Bliss (a reference to the Buddhist pure land Sukhavati) was completed in the 20th year of the Daoguang era (1840) and published in the 7th year of the Guangxu era (1881). It is a massive work of eight chapters and 82 scenes. The source material seems to have originated from the stories Land of the Yaksa (Yecha guo 夜叉国), The Rakshasa’s Mirage (Luocha haishi 罗刹海市), and Woven (Zhi cheng 织成) from the book Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai zhiyi 聊斋志异), though the plot has been modified greatly. The story does not present much novelty in terms of its plot or overall thinking, such as with its scenes of wealthy aristocrats leading lives of pleasure or of gods and spirits. However, it did achieve considerable success

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in terms of artistry. What’s noteworthy that the author utilized Beijing-style music in his works so as to »please the ears of the Beijing masters.« This had a profound impact on the formation of Beijing opera, especially the merging of Anhui and Hubei opera into Beijing opera. Shen Xiaoqing (circa 1808–1885) was the descendent of a noble family, hailing from the city of Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. He was a well-known actor of male military roles during the Daoguang era, as well as a writer and director, particularly adept at stories with militaristic themes. His stories revolve around the eight detective stories of Huang Tianba from The Cases of Lord Shi (Shi Gong an 施公案), such as The Maozhou Temple (Maozhou miao 鄚州庙), The Arrest of Xie Hu (Zhuona Xie Hu 捉拿谢虎), and The Bala Temple (Bala miao 八蜡庙). These works among many of his others were highly representative of Beijing military operas, and became vastly well-known. Others such as Xifu Mountain (Xifu shan 洗浮山), Stories Intertwined (Lianhuan tao 连环套), and E Hu Village (E Hu cun 恶虎村) also became household names among military operas.

Section 4  Achievements in the Art of Performing Regional Operas in the Qing Dynasty A hallmark of Qing Dynasty opera was the sudden rise of regional opera. Regional opera built off of the foundation laid by the traditional opera styles of the Yuan and Ming dynasties, cultivating their artistic potential and bringing the artform to new heights. Indeed, the artistic talent displayed in Qing Dynasty regional operas made contributions to Chinese opera far surpass the previous two dynasties, with character roles, the dramatization of performances, stage designs, and troupe organizations reaching their current levels of skill and completeness.

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9.3.8  A scene from Chaisang Kou

The heart of performance art is creating an artistic image on stage. Given that opera molds characters and tells stories through song, dance, and acting, and dramatization is the force that brings all these together, an opera’s level of artistry is in large part determined by a never-ending process of dramatic refinement. Performance techniques in operas are numerous and varied, but they can essentially be summed up in four dimensions, namely singing, recitation, action, and striking. With music being at the heart of any opera, the dramatization of song plays a particularly important role.

1. Dramatization of Singing and Reciting Clapper and pihuang opera were the primary drivers of the change in tempo and structure of music in Chinese opera to what is now called »tempo-switching music,« which not only opened the doors to new forms of singing on the stage, but

also developed new space for the other performance techniques of recitation, action, and striking. Tempo-switching music was characterized by breaking musical units into alternating lines of seven and ten characters. This musical system did not have to be utilized in every scene, however, but rather could be used for any length of time depending on the story at any given point. Where it was necessary to describe the plot or to expose a character’s inner feelings, it was completely possible to sing in this way for several dozen lines, whereas if a situation could not be sung easily or in a stage where other tactics were to be utilized, no singing may have been used at all. This was a common occurrence in many military-focused operas. (Fig. 9.3.8). More importantly than length or flexibility, the system of tempo-switching music allowed emotions to be expressed and plots to be conveyed

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even more fully, creating the conditions for the further dramatization of song. Previously, in zaju and c­ huanqi, singing was primarily used only to express feelings, whereas moving the plot forward or portraying conflicts always relied on spoken sections. In a scene of the chuanqi opera The Thatched Hut called »Blocking Cao Cao,« the conflict between the opposing warlords Cao Cao and Guan Yu is almost entirely spoken, the reason being the restrictions behind the repertoire of tunes, or qupai 曲牌. available. Qupai are excellent for conveying emotions, but not nearly dramatic enough for some occasions, and therefore were not suitable for portraying verbal clashes between characters through dramatic language or actions. In such cases, only recitation was suitable. Things were much different, however, when the same chapter was later played in the chuqu opera Altar of the Winds. At the key moment when Cao Cao’s fate was about to be decided, both his and Guan Yu’s thoughts and emotions were in great conflict. In order to save his own life, Cao Cao has but a moment to change Guan Yu’s mind and convince him to stay his hand. Merely using recitation to depict Cao Cao winning over Guan Yu’s empathy would obviously not be particularly inspiring, so the usage of song in this scene makes it not only more compelling for the audience, but also more effective in tapping into Guan Yu’s emotions. We see then that the introduction of tempo-switching music not only smoothened the interchange between song and speech, but also enhanced each of their effects, thereby creating a more moving experience. Recitation is divided into rhyming and free recitation. It is a critical component of any opera performance, with the interchange between singing and recitation being an indispensable artistic device. In zaju and chuanqi, recitation is primarily used to temporarily replace a character to narrate the story and strengthen dramatic conflicts. This was most prominent during the prologues of zaju. In order to better accompany the qupai,

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the language of recitation in zaju and especially in chuanqi became increasingly poeticized, to a great degree hindering its utility and freedom of expression. Recitation changed dramatically in Qing Dynasty regional opera compared to how it was previously used in Yuan Dynasty zaju or Ming Dynasty ­chuanqi. It was no longer attached to the beginning of performances, and although it was still used in a poetic way sometimes, this was done much more sparingly. Meanwhile, free recitation was used far more frequently, and the free recitation found in regional opera was far livelier and more colloquial than that of its predecessors, making it much more capable of delivering an intended effect (Fig. 9.3.9). The dramatization of song and recitation are important markers of their overall level of development, while the artistry behind the two is also an important, constantly-evolving indicator. For example in Beijing opera, which falls into

9.3.9 Pang Xun, from The Jingle of Jade

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the category of pihuang opera, up until the time of the three great singers Cheng Changgeng, Yu Sansheng, and Zhang Erkui, one could already see the beginnings of pihuang tempos starting to form. By the Guangxu era, however, with the advent of the widespread movement against the musical style of xipi 西皮. not only did tempos such as »the rocking tempo against xipi« and »two-six« emerge, as well as the xipi and erhuang »slow tempo« and »original tempo,« but also a tempo in between the slow and original tempos called »three quick eyes,« or kuaisanyan, arose too. It was also during this time that the plectra of Anhui opera were introduced into Beijing opera musical pieces, later becoming a major characteristic of the southern school of Beijing opera. As the tempo system developed further towards its present state, the melody of arias in Beijing opera also became more diverse, developing its own smooth and soft characteristics. The interaction of different roles’ songs influencing one another also contributed to the changes of melody and tempo. For example, the songs of the venerable older male role, the laosheng, became intertwined with those of the virtuous younger female (qingyi), older female (laodan) and even the vivacious, morally questionable younger female (huadan), thereby enriching the melodies and tempos of the laosheng. This can be seen in the opera Qin Qiong Sells his Horse, with the actor Tan Xinpei’s exquisite performance.

2. Detailed Division of Roles and the Refinement of Multiple Role Systems There were breakthrough developments in the character role systems of Qing Dynasty regional operas compared to their predecessor, chuanqi. The newly-emerged regional operas can be divided into two overarching categories in this regard: those which used regional folk arts as their foundations to create greater opera styles such as clapper, pihuang, and Sichuan opera, and those which used regional songs and dances to create

CHAPTER III ACHIEVEMENTS IN PLAYWRITING AND THE PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL OPERAS IN THE QING DYNASTY

lesser opera styles, such as huagu and huadeng operas. The first category had a broad and strict role system, capable of conveying complicated, large-scale stories. The second, on the other hand, evolved from only having the two roles of the buffoon (xiaochou) and young woman (xiaodan) to three roles, namely the aforementioned buffoon and young woman as well as the young man (xiaosheng). This obviously was a great limitation on the volume of material that could be conveyed, but nonetheless, because it originated with local folk songs and dances, these kinds of operas were highly relatable for their audiences with their distinct local characteristics. With the rapid development of historical novels, songs, and other literary works, many influential characters from stories of historical political struggles made their way onto the stage. This diversification of characters forced operas to further refine their character role systems. The new major regional operas carried on the traditional roles present in chuanqi, while also boldly breaking through the restrictions that the previous chuanqi role system imposed. The kunqu performances of chuanqi stories in the Qing Dynasty had 12 foundational roles, called »the 12 colors of the jianghu.« The newer chuqu operas, however, had up to 14 roles. This development of role systems can be seen when comparing the»12 colors of the Jianghu version of Record of a Hero with the chuqu version of the same story. Most of the refinement of roles in chuqu was carried out on the virtuous male called sheng, and the gruff, painted-face male role, called jing, which was due in large part to the importance of male roles in political military stories (Fig. 9.3.10). The role of the jing in major regional operas underwent intense changes. Within the »12 colors of the jianghu« system, the jing role was already split into »large face« (damian), »two face« (ermian), and »three face« (sanmian), which evolved from the traditional »auxiliary jing« (fujing) role. Nevertheless, the role of jing developed even fur-

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and refined them to divide characters not only by age but also by status and personality. This was a huge breakthrough in terms of expanding and diversifying the scope of possible stories to be performed and their manner of performance.

3. Formation of Performance Styles and Further Theatricalization of Martial Arts and Acrobatics

9.3.10 The Water Mother, from The City of Sizhou

ther in major regional operas. For example, in the chuqu version of Record of a Hero, the jing role is divided into five different types, namely »jing« (e.  g., Cao Pi, Meng Huo, Sima Yi), »second jing« (Sun Quan), »flower-face [hualian]« (Wei Yan, Xu Chu, Dongtuna), »auxiliary« (Cao Zhen, Ahuinan), and the »buffoon« (the regional chief minister and Zhang Wen). Furthermore, the jing role was refined even further in the dichotomy between the scholar (wen) and warrior (wu), resulting in two separate roles resembling a »scholarly jing« and »warrior jing.« A scholarly jing, even though he may play as a military general, because he may be the leader of a nation or decide on military strategies, in order to portray his seriousness and solemnity, may focus more on the song and dance parts of his performance than on the martial aspects. Qing Dynasty regional operas built off the traditional roles which divided characters only by age,

Among the four primary artistic components that make up Chinese opera—singing, recitation, action, and striking—action generally correlates to an actor performing certain movements, whereas striking usually relates to martial movements like kicks and punches. They are both often expressed through structured language, and are an integral part of the performance as a whole. These components have undergone a constant process of adjustment and refinement, presenting their own unique characteristics at different periods of time. The adoption of tempo-switching music in Qing Dynasty regional opera not only gave singing and recitation ample conditions to develop further, it also paved the way for further dramatization of action and acrobatics. The regional performers of the Qing Dynasty were able to develop their own unique styles, dazzling audiences with their skill. The primary artistic achievements performed by different roles in Qing Dynasty regional operas manifested primarily among the virtuous male (sheng), virtuous female (dan), gruff male (jing), and buffoon (chou) roles. Among the sheng roles in kunqu, the young man role (xiaosheng) underwent the most development, while the old man (laosheng), lawful man (zhengsheng), and warrior (wusheng) did not undergo as much development, and were relatively weak, artistically speaking. The regional operas of the Qing Dynasty finally developed and improved these character roles further, particularly after the Daoguang era when more and more political and military-based clapper and pihuang operas were being performed,

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9.3.11 Wooden new years picture Bet Zhujia Village for Three Times

thereby creating a suitable environment for the performance of these male characters. Unsurprisingly, many outstanding performers of various sheng roles emerged from this era, and shengfronted operas became one of the most well-received genres of the time. Actors who played the role of laosheng were particularly acclaimed, while the sheng role overall took on a new level of significance (Fig. 9.3.11). Among historical sources from Qing Dynasty regional operas, records regarding performers of female roles, dan¸ are the most abundant. Due to their particular performance style, dan performers were not only particularly adored by their audiences, but they also diversified the role greatly, creating sub-roles such as the lawful, virtuous female zhengdan, the vivacious, morally questionable female huadan, and the warrior female wudan. The role of zhengdan appeared fairly frequently in these operas; Anyue Shanqiao’s A Short Chronicle of Swallows and Orchids records one performer of such a role as »naturally outstanding

among the dan roles,« another as »exceedingly refined and tasteful. Petite of body, fair of complexion, with slight markings upon the face and soft eyes like whispers of desire, truly titillating. Tall, beautiful, charming and graceful, like the beauties of the Yan and Zhao families.« Brilliant performers of the huadan role were even more numerous; Wei Changsheng and his numerous disciples such as Chen Yinguan, Liu Langyu, and Jiang Si’er all were highly talented huadan performers. With the emergence of folk tales involving women of extraordinary abilities, a corresponding role, the wudan also emerged. In kunqu, the jing roles of »large face« and »two face« became more fully developed, setting the stage, so to speak, for later jing roles. A Brief Account of the Capital records the names of several jing performers such as »Trilling Hu,« adept at playing old men; Yang Dabiao, adept at playing the red-faced hongjing role; Ma Nian, adept at playing the black-faced heijing role, and Tang Tao’er, adept at playing the flower-face role. Shanxi clap-

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9.3.12 Liuqing Yang’s New Year Picture Strike Golden Bough

per artist »Eight-Hundred Black« was a flower-face performer during the Xianfeng and Guangxu eras. A master of song, recitation, action, and striking, he performed the role of Yuchi Gong in A Visit to Baipao (Fang Baipao 访白袍), Cheng Yaojin in Jijia Mountain (Jijia shan 鸡架山), Li Keyong in Land of the Shatuo (Shatuo guo 沙陀国), and Cao Cao in Seizing and Releasing Cao Cao (Zhuo fang cao 捉放 曹). He had a unique and unmistakable stage presence, natural and poised in his movements. There is even a folk song that goes, »Black is Eight-Hundred Black, the greatest artist of Heaven or Earth. With a blade on his back, he brings Cao Cao to life.« Later performers tried to imitate his success with names like »Surpassing Eight-Hundred« or »Second to Eight-Hundred.« Another famous jing performer, Cantonese opera wujing star Li Wenmao, became famous for his role as Zhang Fei in Reed Marshland (Luhua dang 芦花荡), and Wang Yanzhang in Fording the River (Cheng du 撑渡). Martial arts and acrobatics were steadily improved in Qing Dynasty regional operas. With roots in ch-

uanqi as stylized dance techniques, Qing Dynasty operas improved and further dramatized them to make them interlink more closely with the plot. This dramatization of martial arts and acrobatics is first and foremost a result of the expansion of source materials and stories in regional operas. Most chuanqi followed the typical »scholar and beauty« theme, whereas regional operas often portrayed political and military struggles, with folk heroes fighting against evil tyrants, or stories of gods, immortals, and monsters, thereby opening plenty of opportunities for scenes involving martial arts and acrobatics (9.3.12). Large-scale battle scenes were common in stories of military struggle. Chuanqi did have battle scenes with dances that were able to convey the plot, but were quite simplistic when compared with regional operas of the Qing Dynasty. For example, in the chuanqi work The Thatched Hut, other than the obvious actions the main characters performed at the Battle of Red Cliff like setting fires or shooting arrows, most of the battle

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9.3.13 Wooden New Year picture The battle of Renyi Zhai

was conveyed only through song and recitation. In the chuqu opera Altar of the Winds, however, singing was used only minimally. The script is quite short, with most of the written content being queues for »fireworks,« »firecrackers,« or queues for the soldiers to chase and fight each other. The battle of Red Cliff would have brutally come to life on stage through the explosions of fireworks and firecrackers in a wildly intense fight for survival. In addition to large-scale battle scenes such as this, every regional military opera had scenes of soldier-on-soldier or general-on-general fights and skirmishes. The dramatization of martial arts and acrobatics is also readily apparent in operas about folk heroes. For example, in the clapper opera Shiqian Steals the Chicken, the protagonist Shiqian gets into a fight with the innkeeper Zhou Xuan after the lat-

ter discovers that Shiqian stole his chicken, showing that martial arts and acrobatics by this point had become built into a character’s personality. In this case, the skills were integral to Shiqian’s cunning and adept thievery. Another example is in the clapper opera Skirmish at the Inn (Da dian 打 店) when the protagonist Wu Song and Sun Erniang get into a fight, displaying highly dramatized martial skill. Wu Song’s agility, quick-wittedness, cool nerves, and martial prowess are displayed in all their glory as he does battle with Sun Erniang, Zhang Qing, and their assistants, even at night and against multiple adversaries. Sun Erniang’s cunning and intrepid personality is also brought to the fore as she faces off against Wu Song. Their usage of blades and staves, and their quick, agile movements would have been astounding for audiences to behold (Fig. 9.3.13).

CHAPTER IV  CONTINUITY AND TRANSFORMATION IN THE ARTS OF SINGING-STORYTELLING IN THE QING DYNASTY The Qing Dynasty was the second most notable period in Chinese history for the development of folk musical theater. A large part of the folk musical theater that is still popular and represented onstage was written in the Qing Period. Folk musical theater in the Qing Dynasty had two major features. On one hand it went through processes of circulation and fission that brought about a tendency towards provincialism. On the other hand, the emergence of new types of folk musical theater was brought about by collisions, mingling and divisions.

Section 1  Division and Prosperity of Commentary-Storytelling 1. Rise and Development of Pinghua in the South After the commentary-storytelling (pinghua 评话) of the Yuan and Ming dynasties made its appearance in the Qing Period, it spread increasingly day by day in mutual influence with other musical genres, eventually leading to independent branches in different regions. Its denomination changed as well over time. In the south it was either still known as pinghua or else it was renamed according to each of its regional varieties, e.  g., Yangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Fuzhou, etc. In the north, gushu 鼓书. or »drum book,« was influenced by pinghua and eventually dropped the singing parts to turn into strictly spoken storytelling, often known as pingshu 评书. or »book commentary.« There were other regional variet-

ies of this storytelling that equally matched with pingshu, e.  g., Sichuan and Hubei in the late Qing Dynasty. 1. Yangzhou Pinghua Yangzhou pinghua, alternatively called Weiyang pinghua or pingci 评词. is often collectively called »storytelling,« along with Yangzhou ballad tunes. Artists performed strictly spoken storytelling, using the Yangzhou dialect and props such as folding fans, handkerchiefs and story-teller’s gavels. The style of the performance could be divided into »private talk« (sibai 私白) and »public talk« (guanbai 官白). »Private talk« involved the use of the third person and the Yangzhou dialect to narrate, describe, comment, appraise and crack gags. »Public talk« involved the use of the first person and different regional dialects to emulate the different characters and impersonate them. The focus on jokes is a major feature of Yangzhou pinghua. By the Qianlong reign, Yangzhou pinghua had already developed to the point of having many renowned artists and a prolific range of forms, with highly accomplished performances. After the Jiaqing Period, Yangzhou underwent a sudden period of economic depression due to the rechanneling of grain shipping routes and the reform of the Salt Administration. With audiences plummeting, the art of storytelling declined and did not make a comeback until the Qing Xianfeng reign, upon which came a second peak of development that lasted over half a century until late Qing. The main feature of Yangzhou pinghua after the Xianfeng reign is that artists performing the same art form developed their own styles and formed their own schools. Renowned artists Deng Guangdou

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9.4.1 Kang Guohua, founder of the ­Yangzhou pinghua »Kang School«

and Song Chengzhang were experts in the narration of Water Margin, while Li Guohui and Lan Yuchun excelled at narrating Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Among them, Li Guohui’s performance of Romance of the Three Kingdoms was renowned for its literary style (wenshuo 文说) and came to be known as the »Li School.« The inheritors of this style were nicknamed the »Eight Fine Steeds«: Chen Guozhang, Kang Guohua, Wu Guochen, Zhang Fengchen, Qin Guozhen, Wu Guoliang, Yao Guoxiang and Xu Guomo. Among these, Kang Guohua greatly developed the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and set the foundations of the »Kang School« (Fig. 9.4.1), while Lan Yuchun’s performance of Romance of the Three Kingdoms is famous for its »performative style« and came to be known as the »Lan School.« Jin Guocan had adept renditions of both Quashing the Demons’ Revolt and General Yue Fei, while Gong Wuting was renowned for his performance of Pure-Wind Dyke (Qing feng zha 清风闸). 2. Pu Lin, Gong Wuting and Pure-Wind Dyke Pure-Wind Dyke is a unique repertoire of Qing Yangzhou pinghua. Unlike other instances of

CHAPTER IV CONTINUITY AND TRANSFORMATION IN THE ARTS OF SINGING-STORYTELLING IN THE QING DYNASTY

spoken repertoires dealing with historical biographies, it was a new repertoire with autobiographical undertones written by storyteller Pu Lin, who lived during the Qianlong reign. Gong Wuting (dates of birth and death unknown) was an artist from the Taiping period who was reputed for his rendition of Pure-Wind Dyke. With regard to pinghua, he said: »There is nothing that is outside the scope [of pinghua], and the repertoire Pure-Wind Dyke is particularly gifted to bring out its qualities in a subtle, skillful way.« Gong believed that Pure-Wind Dyke did not slavishly follow its predecessors and that it was built upon Pu Lin’s foundation to enable artists to »develop their own unique style of performance.« Gong lived three decades in Yangzhou and performed this repertoire several weeks every year. In order to keep his audience perpetually hooked, he avoided rigid adherence to the script and changed up the featured deities. From high-ranking imperial officials to country women and shepherds, Gong Wuting was well known to everyone. 3. Zou Bixian and his Tale of the Flying Cripple The Tale of the Flying Cripple, also known as Yangzhou Dialect or the Book of the Flying Cripple is yet another unique Qing Yangzhou pinghua. The original copy is not extant. According to the Unabridged Tale of the Flying Cripple, comprising four volumes and 32 chapters, edited and published during the Jiaqing reign, it is the story of an individual named Shi Xin, of unknown sobriquet and nicknamed »Hunchback.« His ascetic practices eventually enabled him to become an immortal and grow wings on his back, which is why he was also known as the »Flying Cripple.« The life and deeds of Zou Bixian are unknown. According to Reminiscences from the Pleasure Boats of Yangzhou, Volume Nine (»Records of Little Qinhuai District«):

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Zou lived in Jiangjiadun before moving to Erditai. He was of a meek and taciturn disposition, with rare bursts of refined banter that made all those present around him roar with laughter. His repertoire was restricted to the doggerel The BlackNaped Oriole, passed on by many. Later on he suffered from esophageal cancer and had to eke out a livelihood peddling coffins, penning a poem and inscribing the name of the deceased.

4. Ye Shuanglin and his The Imperial Regent Hands in the Seal In addition to professional artists, there was also an amateur who enjoyed a reputation for Yangzhou pinghua in the Qianlong reign. He was none other than Ye Shuanglin (1733–1797), styled Yingduo, original name Yongfu. Having failed repeatedly the imperial provincial examinations, he eventually managed to pass the county level imperial exam and changed his name to Ye Ying, adopting the sobriquet of Shuanglin. One of his unfavorable attempts at sitting the imperial examination had him leave his family and travel about aimlessly. Soon afterwards, he learned the art of pinghua. His most representative work was The Imperial Regent Hands in the Seal, and he performed merely for friends rather than to seek a livelihood. However, Ye Shuanglin was a dissolute man of letters after all. In Jottings from Waxing Moon Tower Studio, Wu Dexuan stated that Ye »did not have a fixed residence for 20 years, and often stayed at friends’ places, and nobody could quite fathom whether his abode was faraway or nearby, long-term or temporary.« Therefore, the appreciation and admiration of his works were forcibly restrained to the circle of his literati friends and could not reach a larger audience, nor could there be a reflection on the true value of his art. 5. Suzhou Pinghua Suzhou pinghua was commonly known in the region as »da shu« (大书), »the big book,« and was usually performed in the Suzhou dialect by a single artist sitting onstage and using folding

9.4.2  Suzhou pinghua artist Yao Shizhang

fans and story-teller’s gavels as props. The earliest record of Suzhou pinghua can be found in volume nine, book three of The Patched White Fur Robe, retelling the second act (»Book Riots«) of Li Yu’s Registers of the Pure and Loyal. During the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns, performer Yao Yu was renowned in Suzhou for his rendition of the commentary-storytelling title Water Margin. The Legend of Yi Yao, published in the 14th year of the Jiaqing reign (1809), states that his storytelling earned him a title of official once. However, he was eventually removed from office and returned to his hometown of Suzhou to resume his old career. He was also talented at calligraphy, with an uninhibited, vigorous and simple brushwork. According to folklore, the foundations of Suzhou pinghua and its performances in the regional dialect were laid down by Yao Shizhang and his adept rendition of Water Margin. Yao Shizhang (dates of birth and death unknown) lived in the Xianfeng and Tongzhi reign periods. Hs original family name was Zhang, but he was adopted into a one Yao family in childhood (Fig. 9.4.2). His biological father was Zhang Hanming, a famous artist who also performed Water Margin. Yao Shizhang learned from him from an early age and also absorbed the performance methods of kunqu opera

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in order to enrich the narrative of Suzhou pinghua and »impersonate« the characters. His performance of Tattooed Monk Lu, one of the outlaws of Water Margin, was so very vivid that contemporaries nicknamed him as »Little Tattooed Monk Lu« or »Living Tattooed Monk Lu.« Following Yao Shizhang’s steps came his disciple Wang Xiaosong (dates of birth and death unknown, given name Jucun), who was equally good at »impersonation,« particularly for the characters of Living Tattooed Monk Lu and Liu Tang. In his rendition of Water Margin, Wang was able to recreate the scene where Liu Tang pushes a cart up to Liangshan with the »simultaneous four sounds« of physical exertion, footsteps, yelling, and the vehicle’s wheels. In doing this, he showed »consummate skills« that were admired by his peers. Other renowned Suzhou pinghua artists were Huang Yongnian, who lived in the Daoguang reign and was adept at performing The Green Peony and The Picture of the Five Moral Obligations, Lin Hanyang, famous for his rendition of The Heroic Martyr in the Tongzhi reign, and Xu Wenan, from the Guangxu reign, who stood out for his performance of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. 6. The Guangyu Public Society and the Runyu Society Suzhou pinghua and tanci (string ballads) are usually merged into the collective term Suzhou pingtan. In contrast to Suzhou pinghua, which was commonly known as »the big book,« Suzhou tanci was known as »xiao shu« (小书), i.  e., »the small book.« Qing artists established their own organization, the Guangyu Public Society. This was the earliest and longest-lived guild of Suzhou pingtan storytellers, and in 1912 it was renamed as the Guangyu Society. In the late Qing, a group of Suzhou pingtan artists who travelled between Suzhou and Shanghai split from the guild and joined forces with some of their peers, who were regarded by the Guangyu Public Society as »out-

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siders,« to found the Runyu Society in Shanghai around the 2nd year of the Xuantong reign (1910, though some believe that it was actually established in the 20th year of the Guangxu reign, 1901). With an initial membership of 30 individuals and Ling Yunxiang appointed as its first chairman, the guild was located in Mushu Lane in the Nanshi District. Not only was Ling a Suzhou pinghua artist himself, he also had medical expertise and once set up his own traumatology clinic. He was an expert performer of numerous repertoires, including Story of the Golden Terrace, Quashing the Demons’ Revolt and Romance of the Flying Dragon. He was joined in his split from the Guangyu Public Society and foundation of the Runyu Society by other Suzhou pinghua artists such as Cheng Hongfei, renowned for his rendition of General Yue Fei, his disciple Guo Shaomei who performed Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Zhu Shaoqing, who enacted Zhang Wenxiang Assassinates Ma Xinyi. Both guilds remained active for a relatively long period of time and made an important contribution to the promotion and development of Suzhou pinghua and tanci. In addition to Yangzhou and Suzhou pinghua, there were other regional varieties of pinghua that thrived in the south. Among them, two rather unique varieties were those in Nanjing and ­Fuzhou.

2. Formation and Spread of Pingshu in the North The northern style of pingshu developed later than its southern counterpart. Its representative genre was the aptly known as »Beijing pingshu,« given its origins. Other popular branches in Henan, Shandong, Sichuan and Hubei equally originated during the Qing Dynasty. 1. Beijing Pingshu Beijing pingshu is often abbreviated as pingshu, using precious few additional prefixes. The performance format usually involved a single artist

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speaking in Beijing dialect and using folding fans and story-teller’s gavels as props. The first Qing records of Beijing folk storytelling appeared in the Li Shengzhen’s One Hundred Folk Love Songs, from the Kangxi reign. Beijing pingshu is based on the southern pinghua performance style and underwent a transformation under certain conditions through big drum (dagu 大鼓) artists who arrived in the city from northern villages, abandoning the singing in favor of exclusively spoken parts. An additional result of this »reform« is that some of these drum book artists, particularly female performers that were new to the genre, actually gave up the spoken elements and opted for singing, gradually creating a genre of urban dagu that relied heavily on singing. The originator of Beijing pingshu was Wang Hongxing. His apprentices were known as the »three Chen and five Liang« (»san Chen wu Liang« 三臣 五亮), in an allusion to the common character in their names. Thus, the »five Liang« were Bai Wenliang, Huang Fuliang, Tong Qiliang, Huo Shiliang and Diao Liang, all of whom learned from Wang the art of lute tales (xianzishu 弦子书). Meanwhile, the »three Chen« were He Liangchen, Deng Guangchen and An Liangchen, equally Wang’s disciples in the art of pingshu. In addition to Wang Hongxing’s apprentices, other renowned Qing storytellers were Jiang Zhenming, who specialized in performing Endless Celebration of Peace, and his disciples Wu Futing and Ha Fuyuan; Dan Zhangde, De Yuechuan, Zhang Zhilan and Cao Zhuoru, with their renditions of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio; there were also the extremely prolific raconteur Shuang Houping, whose reputation was linked to Shuangjia Bookstore, and the highly cultured Pan Chengli, who excelled at narrating stories past and present. Shuang Houping (?–1926) was the most famous storytelling artist in Beijing during the late Qing Period. He was of Manchu ethnicity and his stage name was Shuang Wenxing. He was well versed in numerous repertoires, such as Investiture of the

SECTION 1 DIVISION AND PROSPERITY OF COMMENTARY-STORYTELLING

Gods, Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Water Margin and The Legend of Ji Gong. His storytelling performances were lyrical, profound and meticulous, masterfully interspersed with jokes and with a very sharp language. His deep knowledge and exquisite calligraphy granted him the title »Master of Pingshu« at the time, and he was one of Beijing’s »Big Kings of the Art Circles,« along with the »King of Beijing Opera« Tan Xinpei, and Liu Baoquan, who was known as the »King of Drum Singing.« Among his inheritors were Yang Wenqing and Hai Wenquan. Pan Chengli (1872–1929) was the most artistic storyteller in Beijing in the period between the late Qing Dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China. His range of repertoires included Heroic Martyrs of the Ming Dynasty, Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Legend of the Loyal Patriot Yue Fei and Cases of Judge Bao. In his pingshu performances, his skills were the most obvious through his use of anecdotes to dissect speech and connect it with impromptu appraisals of reality. He was particularly bold in that he combined his commentary with current affairs and denounced many dark phenomena in the society of his time with a merry laugh and an angry curse, in an unconstrained and uninhibited way. Therefore, his »stories outside of the stories« were specially praised and welcomed by the audience. As a result, Pan Chengli became well-known and respected in the pingshu circles of Beijing at the time. In 1916, he was appointed chairman of the newly minted local fellowship association of pingshu artists, known as the Pingshu Research Association (renamed as Pingshu Association in 1919). Pan held this post until his death. 2. Other Regional Varieties of Pingshu Simultaneous to the spread of Beijing pingshu to other parts of northern China, this genre of storytelling took form and developed as well in many regions of the Central Plains and even the southwest.

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While the events concerning pingshu in Henan in the early Qing Period are unknown, it is known that a Li Yongming from Xincai County learned pingshu from Cheng Jiaozhang during the Daoguang reign. From the Tongzhi and Guangxu reigns onwards, there were pingshu performances in places such as Zhoukou, Kaifeng, Xuchang, Nanyang, Xinyang, Luoyang, Shangqiu and Shanzhou. Among the artists there, Wang Guobin, a native of Zhoukou, stood out for his rendition of Water Margin and was nicknamed »King of Water Margin.« Meanwhile, Han Tongren’s adept performance of Investiture of the Gods earned him the title of »Patriarch« for this particular repertoire. Pingshu was also known as pingci 评词 or baici 白 词 in Shandong. The situation of Shandong pingshu artists during the late Qing Period leads to believe that the genre spread there either through local dagu performers embracing it or downtrodden literati who had to embark on a performance career to eke out a livelihood. Such were the cases of Fu Taichen (1889–1983), a native of Hebei who performed Shandong dagu in the late Qing Dynasty and went on to perform pingshu in Jinan, and Zhang Jingbo, who originally sang Xihe dagu 西河大鼓. i.  e. the big drum tradition of Hebei and Henan provinces, and later switched to pingshu as well. Shang Wu (1877–1951) was a renowned late Qing pingshu artist from Lijin county in Shandong who read poetry fluently in his childhood. Having had to discontinue his studies at 14 due to his family’s poverty, he took upon himself to learn to perform pingshu and soon enjoyed fleeting local fame. We can distinguish two styles of performance in the process of popularization of Sichuan pingshu: qingpeng 清棚 and leipeng 雷棚. Qingpeng attaches importance to storytelling, is particular about the sophistication of the expression and has repertoires that fall mainly within the legendary and mystical genres, such as Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio and Charts of Great Men. Leipeng lays an emphasis on martial arts books

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and focuses on imitating descriptions, with repertoires featuring stories of war expeditions and chivalrous martial arts masters pitted against each other with long swords and cudgels. Instances of works in the leipeng style are Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties, The Legend of Ji Gong and Cases of Judge Bao. During the middle and late Qing Dynasty, Sichuan pingshu spread to places such as Guizhou, Yunnan and Hubei.

Section 2  The Prosperity of the String Ballad and the Drum Book String ballads and drum books are two varieties of folk musical theater performed with interspersed storytelling and predominantly spoken parts, with instrumental accompaniment for the singing. Southern string ballads frequently used instruments of the sanxian 三弦 family and the Chinese lute, while northern string ballads often used drums, long wooden clappers (jianban 简板) and the aforementioned sanxian instruments. Tune books contain interspersed prose and verse, with librettos largely composed of seven and ten-syllable verses. Because these were lengthy storytelling pieces, their vocal music had a heavy narrative element, with the beat and tune (banqiang 板腔) style being prevalent among all sung tunes. At the same time, where string ballads and drum books generally lay emphasis on spoken elements supplemented by singing in performance, there are other two types of storytelling with interspersed speaking and singing with the exact opposite focus. These are the bamboo drum (yugu 渔 鼓) or Daoist singing-storytelling (daoqing 道情), the chanting of folk tales to the accompaniment of a bamboo drum, and the qin zither book (qinshu 琴书), also known as yangqin 扬琴. a traditional art form consisting of sung story telling with musical accompaniment. These were also gradually de-

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veloped on the basis of some lyrical singing forms. Therefore, it can be concluded that although Qing sung and spoken storytelling was mainly based on string ballads and drum books, it also comprised all sorts of different forms.

1. Various String Ballads of the South 1. String Ballads of Suzhou, the Top Four Famous Masters and Women’s String Ballads Suzhou string ballads are often paired together with Suzhou pinghua and locally known as pingtan 评弹 or Suzhou pingtan. In opposition to Suzhou pinghua, which is commonly known as »the big book,« Suzhou string ballads are known as »the small book.« Performances are in the form of one to three artists holding an instrument such as those of the sanxian family or a Chinese lute as an accompaniment, singing and telling stories in the Suzhou dialect. The format where a single storyteller plays the sanxian instrument is known as a »solo,« while a »duo« alludes to two performers playing a sanxian instrument and the Chinese lute. The sanxian interpreter who plays while facing the audience and sitting to the right of the desk is called »upper hand,« while the performer holding the Chinese lute on the left is known as »lower hand.« In a male and female duo, the male performer often plays the role of »upper hand« while the female performer is regarded as the »lower hand.« In a trio of artists, if it’s a male performer sitting behind the desk between the upper and lower hand, he plays the sanxian instrument; if it’s a female, she usually holds the Chinese lute, and this arrangement is known as a »trio.« In both the solo and duo formats, the »upper hand« uses a story-teller’s gavel as a prop. In order to fit the performers’ needs, the literary form of tune books is intertwined with prose and verse, with seven-character sentences following a »two, two, three« pattern. Due to performances recreating the words and deeds by which a story’s characters are »impersonated« rather than following a

SECTION 2 THE PROSPERITY OF THE STRING BALLAD AND THE DRUM BOOK

straightforward narrative pattern, third-person speech was known as »narrative« (biao 表), while first-person speech was known as »dialogues and monologues« (bai 白). The rich and advanced level of skill of Suzhou string ballads soon after the end of Qing Dynasty enabled the appearance of many famous artists and plenty of genres one after another. This, in turn, led to different traditions of genres based on »speaking,« »singing« and »doing.« For instance, depending on whether the performer’s words are fixed or not, the style could be »square mouth« (fang kou 方口) or »lively mouth« (huo kou 活口), also known as »smooth mouth« (hua kou 滑口). Performers’ different playing and singing styles led to different tunes such as the Chen tune (Chen diao 陈调), the Ma tune (Ma diao 马调) and the Yu tune (Yu diao 俞调). The fieriness or stable, steady style of a performance marked the difference between »flaming skills« (huo gong 火功) or »shady skills« (yin gong 阴功), a »quick mouth« and a »slow mouth.« Thereby the art of Suzhou string ballad appears to stand among all kinds of string ballads within the folk musical genre, having attained an exceptional development. »Suzhou string ballads« had made their way into storytelling through the Wu dialect in the last years of the Kangxi reign at the latest. The earliest libretto of Wu string ballad, i.  e., Suzhou string ballad known today is The Newly Compiled Tale of the Golden Butterflies, which was compiled in Suzhou dialect in the 34th year of the Qianlong reign (1769) by master Xing Qiao. The book is comprised of thirty chapters narrating the love and marriage between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Other Suzhou string ballad scripts from the same period include The Newly Compiled Old Script of Legend of the White Snake to the Song Tune and The Newly Compiled Legend of the White Snake to the Dong Tune. The only known Suzhou string ballad artist during the Qianlong reign is Wang Zhoushi, who was said to have performed for Emperor Qianlong. The Wang family handed down to future gener-

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ations the works Gradings of Calligraphers and Book of Taboos, which summarize the art of performance of Suzhou string ballads. The genre of Suzhou string ballads entered its heyday in the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns, as proven by its numerous renowned artists and its prosperous bibliography. During this period there appeared a group of important performers known as the »top four famous masters« in the history of Suzhou string ballad. Regarding their specific names, some claim they were Chen (Yugan), Mao (Changpei), Yu (Xiushan) and Lu (Ruiting), while others claim they were Chen (Shiqi), Yao (Yuzhang), Yu (Xiushan) and Lu (Ruiting); others even say that they were actually Mao (Changpei), Yao (Yuzhang), Yu (Xiushan) and Lu (Shizhen). The most popular way to refer to them, in any case, was the first one: Chen, Mao, Yu and Lu. Among them, Chen Yugan (dates of birth and death unknown) was a secluded and eccentric hermit in the Jiaqing Period. According to Jottings from the Rhyming Crane Studio Room, he was a gifted storyteller for the repertoires Legend of the White Snake and The Jade Dragonfly. The Suzhou string ballad tune books Tale of a Virtuous Demon, printed and published in the 14th year of the Jiaqing reign (1809), A Pair of Ingots, dating from the 18th year of Jiaqing (1813) and Furong Cave, reprinted in the 16th year of Daoguang (1836), all included the same mention: »Edited by Chen Yugan.« It can therefore be seen that the claims that he was head of the »top four famous masters« were not unfounded. Tradition has it that in his early years Chen entered two of the famous troupes of Suzhou Kunqu opera, »Hongfu« and »Jixiu,« switching later to string ballad. In his compiled Jiaqing edition of Tale of a Virtuous Demon, in addition to the narrative genre there was a second literary type known as daiyan 代言. where an artist used first-person speech to perform in the character’s voice. It is known that from his beginnings at the latest, Suzhou string ballad storytelling already

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relied on the skill of »impersonation.« Chen’s early study experience of kunqu opera also provided him with the foundations and the chance to impersonate roles in performance for the genre of Suzhou string ballad. The singing method of his »Chen tune« that is still extant today is defined by a bold timbre, a clear, deep enunciation, unmistakable sharp and rounded sounds and level and oblique tones and intense lyricism. It shared a similar lubricating tone (runqiang 润腔) and lasting vocal performance appeal with kunqu and Luantan opera, which provides strong evidence of his singing Kunqu in his youth. The second one in the list is Mao Changpei (dates of birth and death unknown), styled Cangpei, native of Songjiang, Baoshan (currently Shanghai). His artistry was mainly defined by his ability to »release the laughter« (fang jue 放噱). He is said to be the author of the traditional repertoire of Suzhou string ballad Legend of the White Snake. Third comes Yu Xiushan (dates of birth and death unknown), styled Shengyang and native of Suzhou, who was talented at performing The Japanese Robe and The Jade Dragonfly. He absorbed Jiangnan folk music and created a broad vocal range combined high-pitched and deep, low tones and was deftly rhythmic and smooth, bold yet soft. Later generations of female artists have learned from the extremely beautiful melody of the so-called »Yu tune.« Because many female performers who learnt to sing the »Yu tune« hailed from Changshu, some mistakenly assumed that it had derived from popular folk tunes in Yushan 虞山 (now Changshu, Jiangsu) and wrote the »Yu« using a different character (Yu 虞). The contribution of Yu Xiushan is mainly embodied by the enrichment and development of Suzhou string ballad. The last of the »top four famous masters« was Lu Ruiting (dates of birth and death unknown), who contributed his unique and profound summary and exegesis of the foundational artistic skills of Suzhou string ballad: »speaking, loud laughter,

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plucking and singing.« The joint efforts of the »top four famous masters« and their contemporaries laid a solid foundation for the rapid expansion of Suzhou string ballad, achieving a rich repertoire, greatly developed skills and the appearance of several schools of vocal music. Public morals changed significantly during the Daoguang and Xianfeng reigns, and sensual pleasures gradually influenced the string ballad genre. In this atmosphere, many women wisely joined the ranks of Suzhou string ballad performers, making the so-called »women’s string ballad« extremely popular. According to Wang Tao’s The Seacoast Magazine, since the Daoguang and Xianfeng reigns female string ballad artists such as Xu Yue’e and Wang Xueqing all enjoyed fleeting fame. Among the most outstanding performers were superb women such as Yuan Yunxian, Wu Suqing, Zhu Youxiang, Yu Cui’e and Wu Liqing. Their successors included Zhu Liqing, Lu Qinxian, Chen Zhixiang, Jin Yuzhen and Zhang Cuixia, all of whom rivalled with each other in talent and had a refined, outstanding style. Every time they went on stage there was a full house eager to admire them. (Fig. 9.4.3)

9.4.3  Depictions of late Qing female string ballad performers in entertainment venues

SECTION 2 THE PROSPERITY OF THE STRING BALLAD AND THE DRUM BOOK

Women in the Qing Dynasty were the most loyal audience of string ballads. A small number of well-educated girls from good families also took up the pen to write closet novels that imitated the string ballad genre (ni tanci 拟弹词). As early as in the 8th year of the Shunzhi reign (1651), Heaven Rains Flowers, a book imitating the style of a string ballad, was allegedly completed by a »Tao Zhenhuai of Liangxi« (currently Wuxi, Jiangsu). This manuscript has more than 30 volumes and therefore it is fairly difficult to perform its entire script at once. Some believe that its true author was »Astrological Official Xu Zhihe of Zhejiang« who attempted to ingratiate himself with a »Lady Tai« by writing on her behalf. Meanwhile, others believe it was written by a woman named »Liu Shuying« sometime between the late Ming and early Qing. The earliest printed version of Heaven Rains Flowers extant today was published by »Yi Yinzhai« in the 9th year of the Jiaqing reign (1804). It was during this period that Yang Fangcan placed it on a par with A Dream of Red Mansions, saying that »the south has its flowers while the north has a dream« (nan hua bei meng 南花北梦), which shows its great influence.

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The female poet Chen Duansheng, native of Hangzhou, wrote intermittently the book Another Lifetime of Fate in the string ballad style during the period from the 23rd to the 49th year of the Qianlong reign (1758–1784). The book has a total of 17 volumes, but it remains unfinished. Later generations came up with multiple sequels, the most widely spread of which was The Unabridged Edition of Another Lifetime of Fate, consisting of a total of 20 volumes and 80 chapters, and jointly written by Hangzhou poetess Liang Desheng and her husband, Xu Zongyan. Unlike Heaven Rains Flowers, Another Lifetime of Fate was edited and performed by many a string ballad artist, and renamed by some as Meng Lijun. Titles imitating the style of string ballads such as Hou Zhi’s A Sequel to Another Lifetime of Faith and Flowers on Brocade, Qiu Xinru’s Dreamed Pen of Fine Essays and Cheng Huiying’s Two Male Phoenix in Flight all came out during the Guangxu reign. At the very least, this literary phenomenon of women’s creation of novels in the »string ballad style« shows that the development of this genre of folk musical theater found greater popularity among a female audience. Simultaneous to the decline of »women’s string ballad« during the Tongzhi and Guangxu reigns and painstakingly managed by male artists, the string ballad found new developments and prosperity from its Suzhou basecamp up to Jiaxing and Huzhou in the south and spreading to Changzhou in the west, Changshu in the north and the Wu dialect-speaking part of Shanghai in the east. This was symbolized by the rise to prominence of the »top four famous masters« of Suzhou pingtan. With the sole exception of pinghua performer Yao Shizhang (dates of birth and death unknown), Ma Rufei with his talented rendition of Legend of Pearl Tower, Zhao Xiangzhou, who was gifted at performing The Jade Kui Dragon and Wang Shiquan with his adept rendition of The Japanese Robe all were Suzhou string ballad artists. Among them, Zhao Xiangzhou (dates of birth and death unknown) attained fame for his expert per-

CHAPTER IV CONTINUITY AND TRANSFORMATION IN THE ARTS OF SINGING-STORYTELLING IN THE QING DYNASTY

formances of not only The Jade Kui Dragon, but also Hairpin with a Golden Phoenix and The Able and Virtuous Calligrapher. In addition, he was also gifted at performing Three Charming Smiles and playing the Chinese lute and was, overall, considerably accomplished from an artistic point of view. Zhao liked kunqu opera and lent the lingering charm of this art form to whichever character he »impersonated.« It is said that he was an accomplished performer of Chinese lute in his youth, and that he woke up early in midwinter to sink his ten fingers in the snow to freeze them and render them numb before sitting erect on a shoulder pole placed horizontally between two wooden benches to rehearse with rapt attention until his fingers were burning hot. Therefore, his instrumental performance skills were superb. He was the one who introduced the habit of delighting the audience with the »free offering of a large suite of Chinese lute music« in Suzhou string ballad performances, as he often did while performing a regular script. Wang Shiquan (dates of birth and death unknown) was a proud disciple of famous Suzhou string ballad master Ma Rufei. In the 9th year of the Tongzhi reign (1870), he was led by his master to make his debut in the Guangyu Public Society and eventually became his son-in-law. He began by studying Ma’s outstanding volume The Pearl Pagoda, but layer felt that he could not surpass his mentor and switched to the study of The Japanese Robe. His main contribution to the Suzhou string ballad was the way in which he organically combined the »Yu tune« and the »Ma tune,« creating a sort of »tune of one’s own accord« or »free tune« where »Yu and Ma were ignored and there was no criterion.« This singing tune and style were not only unique in style, but also convenient for artists to perform freely. They highlighted the function of the »book tune« of Suzhou string ballad »holding a hundred songs in a single tune,« and were therefore popular in storytellers’ circles. Wang Shiquan was a man of upright conduct who

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SECTION 2 THE PROSPERITY OF THE STRING BALLAD AND THE DRUM BOOK

This phenomenon led to many a married couple where both the husband and wife were artists who shared similar paths in life. These affectionate couples were known in performance as »Mandarin Duck duets« (yuanyang dang 鸳鸯档), in a tradition that has been preserved to our current days.

9.4.4 Taohuawu woodcut prints depicting Suzhou string ballad performers

was appointed to manage the Guangyu Public Society for years. He died between the 23rd and the 26th year of the Guangxu reign (1897–1900). Simultaneous to the rise in popularity of the »top four masters,« the genre of the Suzhou string ballad underwent another change. Where renowned artists had all held »solo« performances by themselves beforehand, »duos« began to appear at this stage (Fig. 9.4.4). On one hand, this was due to the performance style where the master led the apprentice. »Duos,« on the other hand, were less energy-consuming than »solos« and more convenient for »impersonation.« Simultaneously and to a certain extent, they were also related to the emergence of female performers. While they were usually not as accomplished in terms of literary skill in comparison to their male peers, it seems as though they were highly popular in the performance circles of Shanghai. Thereupon, female and male performers were spurred by market interests to be mutually dependent on each other, learning from their respective strong points to offset their own weaknesses and turning »duos« into the natural art form of choice.

2. Wang Zhoushi, his Storytelling Qualities and Storytelling Taboos Wang Zhoushi (dates of birth and death unknown, also known as Huang Zhoushi) was the most famous and earliest Suzhou string ballad artist in the Qianlong reign and a native of Yuanhe (now Wu County, Suzhou). His bald head and red face scars earned him the nicknames of »Purple Bald« and »Purple Favus.« He enjoyed a reputation as a raconteur for his renditions of The Legend of the Sauntering Dragon and The Legend of the White Snake. Two were the strengths of Wang’s storytelling as an artistically accomplished performer: his ability to »release the laughter« and his adept plucking of the sanxian instruments. It is said that Wang Zhoushi was also the founder of the Guangyu Public Society, the guild for Suzhou pingtan artists, as well as the one who set its location in Suzhou at the first gate of the Xuanmiao Temple in Gongxian Lane. However, Wang Zhoushi’s greatest contribution to the history of Suzhou string ballad is his summary of its theory. His Storytelling Qualities and Storytelling Taboos both deal with the positives and negatives of his long-term artistic practice. Both are full of dialectical thinking and present a concentrated, incisive summary of the features and shortcomings that should be respectively chased and avoided in the performance of Suzhou string ballads. 3. Ma Rufei and his Lessons on the Dao Ma Rufei (1817–?), one of the »four top masters« during the Tongzhi and Guangxu reigns, was an important figure in the history of Suzhou string ballad who made a significant contribution to the

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9.4.5  Portrait of Suzhou string ballad artist Ma Rufei

genre (Fig. 9.4.5). Formerly known as Ma Shifei and styled Jiqing, he signed as »Fisherman Apprentice from the Deep Blue Sea.« A native of Danyang, he was born in Changzhou (now Jiangsu, Suzhou). His father was Ma Chunfan, originally a scholar, who was orphaned of his father at the age of 20. Faced with a difficult family situation, Ma Chunfan abandoned his occupation of assisting others’ book writing and switched to storytelling, eventually attaining fame for his performance of The Pearl Pagoda, one of the most popular traditional repertoires of Suzhou string ballad, of which Ma Chunfan was the earliest raconteur. Ma Rufei was a versatile member of the Suzhou string ballad community. Soon after he became famous, he mobilized his peers to rebuild the Guangyu Public Society, which had been destroyed in the Taiping Rebellion. Having served as chairman of the guild for a year, he wrote Lessons on the Dao, on which advice and encouragement guild members acted faithfully to restore the once moribund Guangyu Public Society. His literary level was embodied by his sorting and polishing of the classic repertoire The Pearl Pagoda. The libretto he wrote is particularly extraordinary; not

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only did he keep improving the repertoire’s script, he also helped his favorite pupil, Wang Shiquan, with the compiling and editing of The Japanese Robe. In addition to enriching many songs from The Pearl Pagoda, Ma Rufei also composed many wonderful Suzhou string ballad »opening« lyrics. In addition to those that were included in the volume Master Ma Rufei’s Short Introductory Songs for Southern Storysinging, published in the 12th year of the Guangxu reign (1887), there were still no less than a hundred still circulating among the people as transcripts. Among the most representatives are Yue Wumu, String Ballad, Han Caiping, Liu Jingting, Autumn Words and The Twenty-Four Solar Terms and the Names of Traditional Operas. 4. The Yangzhou String Ballad The Yangzhou string ballad was known as simply a »stringed ballad« (xianci 弦词) in the Qing Dynasty, and was frequently paired together with the local tradition of pinghua as »storytelling.« It is one of the unique genres that came to be in Yangzhou during the process of regionalization of the popular southern string ballad. In the early days, it was played by a single performer plucking a sanxian instrument as an accompaniment and using the Yangzhou dialect. The performance was mainly composed of speaking, with less playing and singing. In the middle Qing Period appeared a »duo« style of performance to the instrumental accompaniment of the Chinese lute which came to be known as »dialogued stringed ballad.« Spoken lyrics in their song books were usually in prose, while sung lyrics were written as pairs of seven-character lines, with interspersed stress words (chenci 衬词). A single elongating sentence known as the »phoenix’ nod« (feng dian tou 凤点 头) was sometimes superposed after the pairs of verses; vocal music followed the style of single titled tunes, differing completely from the usual beat and tune style singing of storytelling music. The Jade Dragonfly is the most popular repertoire of Yangzhou string ballad in the Qing Dynasty, a

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special one in the range of many a performer of this regional tradition. The plot was largely identical for both tunes of this homonymous repertoire, which was passed down from generation to generation. The first Yangzhou string ballad artists who sang The Jade Dragonfly were Gu Hanzhang and Fang Shannian during the Qianlong reign, while Chen Yugan and Yu Xiushan from the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns were the earliest Suzhou string ballad performers to cover this repertoire. The late Qing Period marked the appearance of three systems of inheritance and schools in Yangzhou string ballad. One of such was the »Zhang School of the Stringed Ballad,« with Zhang Jingxuan as the founder and representative. It was characterized by its shrewd and meticulous expression and equal emphasis on the physical and spiritual portrayal of characters. Its four most representative repertoires are known as the »Four Treasures of the Zhang Clan«: The Pearl Pagoda, A Pair of Ingots, Diao Liushi and The Dropped Golden Fan. The second was the »Kong School of the Stringed Ballad,« founded and represented by Kong Xianshu. Its main features were an expertise in impersonating the »black gauze cap« (shamao sheng 纱帽生), i.  e., feudal official characters, with a bold and vigorous performance style. The most representative repertoires of this school include: The Double Haircut, The Legend of the White Snake, A Map of Heavenly Treasures and A Map of Earth Treasures. Third was the »Zhou School of the Stringed Ballad,« with Zhou Tingdong as its founder and representative. Singing was his strength in performance, as well as impersonating female roles in what was known as the »young woman stringed ballad.« Among the most representative repertoires of this school are: Double Pearl and Phoenix, A Double Haircut and The Kylin Leopard. The »Zhang school of stringed ballad« developed its activity in Yangzhou and Zhenjiang, while the »Kong« and »Zhou« schools were active in areas of Lihe and Xiahe such as Taizhou and Dongtai. Zhang Jingxuan and his disciple Jiang

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Mingtai were the most renowned »duo« artists in the late Qing Dynasty. Yangzhou string ballad artists in later generations all mostly came from the »Zhou School of the Stringed Ballad.« 5. Changsha String Ballad The Changsha string ballad had alternative names during the Qing Dynasty, such as »sung commentary« (changping 唱评), »commentary and appraisal« (jiangping 讲评), »appraisal and commentary« (pingjiang 评讲) and »leveled song speak« (pingjiang qu 平讲曲). It was also a rather unique southern regional variety of string ballad. Judging from its storytelling music and the orally transmitted materials of artists from later generations, the Changsha string ballad was most influenced during its formation period by the chanting art form of folk tales to the accompaniment of a bamboo percussion instrument. In the early stage of the performance, two artists would hold a moon lute (yueqin 月琴) and a bamboo drum tube, speaking and singing alternately in the Changsha dialect. Eventually it developed into a »solo« format where the performer plucked the moon lute themselves as an instrumental accompaniment. The vocal music emerged directly from the chanting of folk tales to a bamboo percussion instrument, following a structure in the »beat and tune style« which was rather rich in terms of tempos. The tune book alternated between prose and rhyme with regard to the literary type, the former being used for the spoken parts and the latter for the singing. The singing was mostly written as pairs of seven-character lines, with ten-character lines interspersed following the long and short verse form (changduan ju 长短句). In the 4th year of the Guangxu reign (1878), Changsha City bookshop-cum-printshop Jixingtang published a new edition of the levelled song speak book The Worshipping Pagoda, among other titles of the same genre over the next few years; namely, The Wine Cake, published in the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), and The Purple Jade Hairpin,

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published in the 30th year of Guangxu (1904). As far as the reach of its influence, some bourgeois-democratic revolutionaries in Hunan also resorted to Changsha string ballad to compose songbooks that propagated the revolution and agitated the masses that sang and circulated them. 6. Southern Ballads Southern ballads (nanci 南词) were a music art form within the genre of string ballad that was popular only in Zhejiang. It was most developed in places such as Hangzhou, Ningbo and Shaoxing. It is said that Southern ballads were originally known as the »four books of regulations« (»si ming wen shu« 四明文书) in Ningbo. When the Qianlong Emperor visited the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, he praised highly a performance of this kind at Baiyi Temple in Ningbo. The art form was renamed as a result of his words that »Southern style ballads are good.« Performances were usually in the form of a performer plucking a sanxian instrument while talking and singing, while another artist played the accompaniment with the Chinese dulcimer (yangqin 扬琴). Later, the Chinese lute and a two-stringed bowed instrument known as erhu (二胡) were also added as accompaniments. Prose and rhyme were interspersed in scripts with rich tunes that belonged mostly to the category of pinghu tunes. Therefore, Southern ballads that were popular in Shaoxing were also known as pinghu tunes. The legend goes that in the beginning of the Ming Dynasty there were two scholars in Shaoxing named Ping and Hu. Their failure in the imperial civil examination made them switch to writing string ballads, and they composed a tune of classic beauty and in elegant taste for storytelling. This came to be known as the »Ping and Hu tune.« This kind of tradition cannot be checked. However, judging from the use of Zhongzhou intonations and the refined writing of sung lyrics, it can be inferred that the »pinghu tone« is related to the string ballad that was already in vogue in the

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early Ming Period and deeply influenced by men of letters. The Southern ballads that were popular in Ningbo and Shaoxing gradually developed their own features and further differentiated into two relatively independent types of tunes. The most famous Southern ballad performer in the Qing Dynasty was Hu Wenhui, born to a family of scholars in Kuaiji (nowadays Shaoxing, Zhejiang). Hu Wenhui (dates of birth and death unknown) born in the Qianlong reign and styled Siyuan, was known by most as »Hu Xiao’er.« Six Red Poetry Notes, published by Shanyin newspaper Lüshan in the Qing Dynasty, noted that: He worked with rhymes since young, and when he was a little older he promptly became good at singing Southern ballads, making alterations to old versions with excellent writing. Among the renowned scholar-officials, it is said that Hu could stand along with raconteur Liu Jingting and kunqu opera player Su Kunsheng of olden days like the three legs of a tripod. He did not perform good deeds, nor was he any good at doing business and staging productions; he was in considerably dire straits in his old age and indulged in drinking while developing an eccentric obsession with food hygiene.

7. Wooden Fish Songs Wooden fish songs in Cantonese are a vocal art form of Guangdong. They are also called »catching fish songs« (moyu ge 摸鱼歌) or »bath songs« (muyu ge 沐浴歌 ), commonly shortened as »wooden fish« or »catching fish.« Some believe that they were developed from local folk songs, while others believe that they are an evolution from local »precious scrolls« or scroll recitation. In fact, both are combined in the origins of this art form. In the early period, folk songs had wooden fish serve as a beating and accompanying instrument in their developmental stage. Later, wooden fish songs were influenced by, and made the switch into, storytelling in the middle Qing Period. Performances usually took the form of a storyteller simultaneously plucking a sanxian

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instrument while other artists played instruments such as the erhu, the zither (guzheng 古筝) and the Chinese lute as accompaniment. In lieu of instruments, bamboo clappers were still used to beat time and serve as accompaniment. Therefore, in the early period singing was mostly improvised by a performer plucking, and there were no spoken elements. After the switch to storytelling, wooden fish songs evolved into a long structure with a prelude (maotou 冒头) and a coda (weisheng 尾声) where there was speaking, singing and a four-sentence introductory song. Vocal music was composed of the so-called »right tune« (zhengqiang 正腔) and »bitter throat« (kuhou 正腔). Such storytelling books were known as »wooden song books« upon publishing. In their developmental stage, wooden fish songs were closely related to locally popular »dragon boat songs« (longzhou ge 龙舟歌) and a kind of ballad singing well-loved in the Pearl River Delta known as nanyin 南音. to such an extent that some believe that both were part of the former. However, »dragon boat songs« were relatively short in length, often mere related passages from wooden fish songs that were performed with small gongs and drums as accompaniment. Alternatively, they can be understood as a transition stage wooden fish songs from their early sung form to their middle and long-format storytelling. In addition to being used for long-format storytelling with the accompaniment of the zither or a two-stringed fiddle (huqin 胡琴), nanyin was also characterized by its refined scripts and ancient, rich vocal music. It can therefore be regarded be seen as an art form that underwent its own parallel process of development while influencing the transition of wooden fish singing into storytelling. The development of nanyin was most prosperous in Fujian, where its influence was not tied to wooden fish singing.

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2. The Widely Proliferating Drum Book of the North Drum books were also known as »drum lyrics« (guci 鼓词) or »big drum books« (dagu shu 大鼓书), meaning drum storytelling. The origins of the term guci trace back to Drum Ballad of the Gentleman of the Clapper and Drum, written by Shandong scholar Jia Fuxi in the late Ming and early Qing Period. Since the Song Dynasty, they were also known as guzici 鼓子词; in the Qing Period they were known under the provincial name of gu’erci 鼓儿词. In later times they could also refer to the tunes or scripts of the so-called drum books. Because they were particularly used to perform long-format stories and voluminous books, they were also called big drum books. The concept of the »drum book« is sometimes mixed with »drum tunes,« but, to be precise, the latter refers to late Qing rural drum books that were brought into the city. Some artists, particularly female performers, abandoned speaking to sing exclusively. The performance format remained unchanged but the function of the art was deflected from its original middle-length »drum storytelling« to the shortlength »drum song.« The drum books that were popular in several regions during the Qing Dynasty came from the Yuan and Ming Dynasty novels with parts in verse (cihua 词话) that circulated in different parts of the north and were combined with local folk tunes. Among its basic features were the use of small drums and hardwood clappers to beat the time in storytelling as well as the use sanxian and other stringed instruments as accompaniment (Fig. 9.4.6). The book drum has a diameter of approximately 30 centimeters and is about 8 centimeters in height. In the early days, artists sat down to perform using a low-foot drum stand, until they started going up to perform on high platforms, therefore requiring a high-foot drum stand. Later on, some preferred to beat time with hardwood clappers, although there were always

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9.4.6  Image depicting drum book singers from One Hundred Pictures of Beijing Folk Customs

those who continued to use two pieces of iron or cooper. From the early Qing Period, plenty of local folk drum books other than Drum Ballad of the Gentleman of the Clapper and Drum were in vogue in northern China and even northeast China. Remarkable instances include the big drum of Shandong, commonly known as the »plum blossom big drum tradition« (lihua dagu 梨花大鼓), Xihe dagu, and the northeast big drum tradition. 1. Big Drum in Shandong, Wang Xiaoyu and He Laofeng The Shandong big drum is a variety with a considerably long-standing history within the drum book song genre. It can be inferred from Jia Fuxi and his Drum Ballad of the Gentleman of the Clapper and Drum that drum book performances predated him in Shandong. However, the form of Shandong big

drum that has made it to date can only be traced back to the early Qing Dynasty. There were also later generations of artists who noted that in the late Ming and early Qing Period, Zhao Lianjiang of Linqing County and Sun Shoupeng of Gushi County were turned down to become officials in the Qing imperial court and angrily turned to storytelling to seek a livelihood, therefore forming their own school of performance: the Shandong tradition of the big drum. The Shandong big drum came to be in the countryside and spread through most of the province, including some areas adjacent to Hebei and Henan, using the provincial dialect in storytelling. The performance format in its beginnings consisted of a single artist holding two sections of plowshares in their left hand while they struck a small, lowfoot leather drum with their right hand as they performed. The plowshares were repurposed from

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land-holding peasants’ cast asides, which is why the Shandong style of big drum was known as the »plowshare big drum tradition.« Chapter two of late Qing author Liu E’s The Travels of Lao Can relied on the homophony of the words for »plowshares« (lihua 犁铧) and »plum blossoms« (lihua 梨花) in the local dialect to refer to Shandong style of big drum as the »plum blossom big drum tradition,« and so this is how later generations referred to it as well. In the rural areas of northern Shandong and southern Hebei, the dragging out of words in its storytelling caused it to be known as »cough singing«; in the southwestern area of Shandong the use of the small drum and sanxian for accompaniment caused it to be called the »sanxian drum.« Later, the performance format of Shandong big drum evolved into an artist standing and beating a pair of crescent-shaped iron plowshares and a high-foot small drum as they performed, with a second performer sitting aside and plucking the sanxian for accompaniment. Scripts were interspersed with rhymes, and the lyrics usually written as seven-character sentences. Vocal music was in the beat and tune style and derived from the yangge folk tune that was popular in the rural areas of northwest Shandong. By mid-Qing, a variety of tempos had developed and evolved, leading to two storytelling schools with their own separate features relying respectively on the »oldox-shaking-the-reins tune« (lao niu da zuo jiang 老牛大捽缰) and the »plowshare tune« (lihua diao 犁铧调). The prosperity of Qing Shandong big drum came after the middle Qing Period. It is said that the earliest renowned artists of this tradition were the »Five Big Shan« in the Jiaqing Period. The full names of these five artists, all of whom have in common the Chinese character for »mountain« (shan 山), are unclear. Some say they were Li Qishan (from Wucheng), Fang Qingshan (from Qinghe), Lü Lianshan (from Xiajin), Xu Baoshan (from Qinghe) and Wei Jiushan (from Linqing). Others

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believe they were Wang Kuixian, from Wei County, Lü Lianshan and Li Mingshan from Lingxi County, Xu Kaoshan from Qinghe and Feng Yunshan from Lincheng. In both cases, the name of Lü Lianshan appears written with homophonic characters and obviously refers to the same individual. The names of Xu Baoshan and Xu Kaoshan are identical except for one character, and their birthplace is exactly the same, therefore they might have been the same person as well. The same one-character difference goes for the names of Li Qishan and Li Mingshan, and the names of the remaining two artists are rather different from each other, so it is not wise to jump to conclusions. However, and despite the many discrepancies, it is also extremely valuable in that it is word-of-mouth information handed down from the memories of artists from past generations. At least, it lets us know that in that era, there were five renowned artists who were acclaimed in the art circles. Moreover, later generations of Shandong big drum performers all came from this school. Historical materials about Shandong big drum in the Qing Dynasty are very scarce. The performances in Jinan of female Shandong big drum artists Guo Dani, Huang Dani and Wang Xiaoyu are all accounted in the third additional volume, »Notes on Female Performers and Entertainers,« to Travel Jottings from Lixia, published by the Shenbao News Quarterly and »penned by Shishi, the Wanderer of the Central Plains« with a preface indicating that it was written in the 8th year of Guangxu (1882). It is stated in this volume that Guo Dani arrived in Jinan to perform in the 10th year of the Tongzhi reign (1871). Wang Xiaoyu (1867–c.  1900), stage name Bai Niu, is mentioned later as the most famous Shandong female big drum artist in late Qing. In »Notes on Female Performers and Entertainers« she is said to be »a native of Linqiu, fifteen li east of Fan county, Yidongbao,« i.  e., she hailed from present-day Yuncheng County, Shuibao Township, Shandong. According to Travel Jot-

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tings from Lixia, she was gifted with outstanding artistic talent. In addition to Wang Xiaoyu, another famous Qing Shandong big drum artist is He Laofeng, who passed as an itinerant artist through the rural areas of south-east Hebei, northwest Shandong and northern Henan. He Laofeng was originally named He Fengyi and hailed from Gucheng County, Hebei. His storytelling style belongs to the »farm ox bites the bit tune« school, and he was a gifted performer of middle-length repertoires of the »golden spears and armoured horses« genre such as Sanquan Town, Jinsuo Town and The Dual Fighting of the Short Spears. He enjoyed high reputation in the drum book circles in North China, and came to be as famous as Ma Ruihe (known as »Ma Sanfeng«), the founder of Xihe dagu. 2. The Formation of the Xihe Dagu and Ma Ruihe’s Contribution The big drum tradition of Hebei and Henan was formed during the Xianfeng and Tongzhi years of the Qing Dynasty. Its predecessors were lute tales and the wooden block big drum that were popular in rural Hebei. Lute tales were a form of storytelling where a raconteur plucked a small sanxian instrument for accompaniment; the wooden block big drum was a form of storytelling in which the performer played a set of long wooden clappers with their left hand while beating a small drum with their right hand. Around the Daoguang era, artists from both genres began to work together in theatrical groups, and they gradually merged into one art form where a storyteller beat the long wooden clappers and the small drum, while a second performer plucked a sanxian instrument. In the Xianfeng and Tongzhi years, Ma Ruihe, a wooden block big drum artist from Anxin County, Hebei, in partnership with his younger brother, took as a reference the instruments used for beating time and accompaniment in the Shandong big drum tradition to implement a series of changes in the wooden big drum art form. Namely, he sub-

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stituted the original long wooden clappers used to beat time for iron clappers and changed the use of a mid-sized sanxian instrument for a large one for instrumental accompaniment. At the same time, Ma reformed vocal music boldly, innovating and standardizing outdated tunes while also absorbing and creating new tunes. He took the single tempo of the old wooden big drum tradition, enriching and developing it into a range of tempos such as the slow tempo (touban 头板), moderate tempo (erban 二板) and fast tempo (sanban 三板). With regard to performance, for the slow tempo he came up with singing methods such as the ones named »one horse jumping three streams« and »tight five lines«; for the moderate tempo he enhanced singing methods such as the »double high« (shuang gao 双高) and the »reverse tune« (fan qiang 反腔). One after another, contemporary artists followed suit and his contributions spread quickly. Ma Ruihe is therefore generally acknowledged as the founder of Xihe dagu and an indisputable music creator. Ma Ruihe (c.  1820–c.  1890), childhood name Dahe, was a native of Jiaotai Village, Gaoyang County, Hebei. His fondness for folk musical theater made him acknowledge wooden big drum artist Tian Dongwen as his master, and once he completed his apprenticeship he worked along with his brother Ma Ruilin. He was a vigorous youth who jumped into storytelling with a bold and vigorous lifestyle, full of wit and humour, thus being bestowed the nickname of »Ma Sanfeng« 马三疯. i.  e., »Ma the Madman.« After a while, his real name was no longer passed on and he simply used his nickname as a stage name. In later generations this nickname was mistakenly understood as his real name, as was the alternative name of »Ma Sanfeng« 马三峰. incorrectly attributed to him. Contrary to senior Ma, the steady natural disposition and calm, proficient style of sanxian accompaniment of his younger brother Ma Ruilin granted him the nickname of »Ma the Muddleheaded« 马大傻. The brotherly duo, the eldest a

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»madman« and the youngest »muddleheaded,« were like tension alternating with relaxation; they complemented one another and attained a great deal of local fame. Not only was »Ma the Madman« the founder of the big drum tradition of Hebei and Henan, he was also the first artist to bring this kind of rural drum book into the city. Towards the end of the Tongzhi reign, he arrived in Beijing and Tianjin to perform. In its early period, Xihe dagu was known as »Xihe tune« or »Hejian big drum.« The skilled range of »Ma the Madman« included mid-length traditional titles such as A Tale of Bandits, Romance of Shaoxi Tang Dynasty, Former and Latter Annals of the Seven Kingdoms, as well as short-length repertoires of bannerman songs (zidishu 子弟书) learned and transplanted from short stories by the Han brothers such as Fan Jinding Curses in Front of the City Wall, The Cursed City, Ningwu Pass and Listening to the Zither. Ma Ruihe had plenty of disciples, the most outstanding among them being Zhu Hualin (Zhu Daguan), Wang Zhenyuan (Mao Ben) and Wang Zaitang (also known as Twinkle Eyes Wang). Zhu Hualin was the most influential among these three artists. His range of repertoires was richer than that of »Ma the Madman« and he regularly performed medium-length titles such as The Large Trunk, Hu Yanqing’s Challenge and Ling Xiangbao Seeks Refuge with Relatives, as well as short-length titles such as Dingxiang Cuts Her Flesh off for Her Mother-in-Law, Zhu Maichen Repudiates His Wife and The Yellow Wolf. His artistic style has been honoured by later generations as the »Zhu School.«

3. The Spread and Transformation of the Bamboo Drum Daoist SingingStorytelling The origin of bamboo drum Daoist singing-storytelling can be traced back to the »rhymes« (jingyun 经韵) sung by Daoist monks in temples in the Tang Dynasty, known as »Daoist songs« (daoge 道歌) after finding their way into folk tra-

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dition. Combined with different local small tunes, it evolved into »Daoist singing-storytelling.« This art form began shifting from singing into storytelling in the late Ming and early Qing Period at the latest. The use of a tubular bamboo drum in performances for percussion accompaniment earned this art form the alternative name of »bamboo drum« or even »bamboo drum Daoist singing-storytelling.« 1. The Spread of the Bamboo Drum Daoist Singing-Storytelling Not only the genre of bamboo drum Daoist singing-storytelling circulated widely in the Qing Dynasty; it also underwent a significant transformation. Broadly speaking, most southern local forms of this genre developed a beat and tune singing style of vocal music that was more suitable for narration, while northern local forms mostly retained the more lyrical fixed melody singing style (qupaiti 曲牌体) of vocal music. Its evolution trend equally developed in two directions. On one hand, following its further spread to various regions and use of local dialects for storytelling performances, bamboo drum absorbed the vocal music of other local music art forms and folk songs and formed new genres. For instance, bamboo drum in Hubei alone evolved into »Mianyang bamboo drum,« »Changyang bamboo drum,« »horseback bamboo drum,« »Macheng bamboo drum,« »Xiangyang bamboo drum,« »western Hubei bamboo zither,« »Suizhou Daoist singing-storytelling,« »Yunyang Daoist singing-storytelling,« »Gong’an Daoist singing-storytelling,« »Yicheng orchid tube,« »o he bamboo drum,« »nan tube,« etc. On the other hand, many genres of bamboo drum Daoist singing-storytelling evolved into opera genres, and from folk musical storytelling into song and dance full scale traditional opera. This situation was more prominent in Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces in the north. Simultaneously to this evolution, however, the original storytelling performance format as folk musical theater still coexisted.

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Due to this phenomenon of localization, there were big differences in performance methods, music and vocal music and repertoires. In addition to the two major families into which the vocal delivery types of opera music are divided, the beat and tune style and the fixed melody style, there were also differences in performance methods and accompanying instruments. Daoist Bamboo drum singing-storytelling was most popular in regions in the middle reaches of the Yellow River and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, such as Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The bamboo drum of southern Shaanxi Province and Shenchi county in Shanxi Province, the bamboo zither of Sichuan, the bamboo drum of Mianyang county in Hubei, the Daoist singing-storytelling of Ningdu County in Jiangxi, the bamboo drum of Xuzhou in Jiangsu and the Daoist singing-storytelling of Yiwu in Zhejiang are the most influential and unique varieties in these regions. 2. The formation of Henan Zhuizi Henan zhuizi 坠子. a folk art of ballad singing to the accompaniment of a two-stringed bowed instrument known as zhuiqin 坠琴. is a unique kind of storytelling and the product of the integration of bamboo drum Daoist singing-storytelling with other storytelling forms. Although there were some female performers who arrived in the city and used the small drum for accompaniment in late Qing, the most basic performance format relied on the use of a stringed instrument known as zhuihu, or the aforementioned »zhuiqin« for accompaniment to storytelling. While in its early stage there was one storyteller plucking the zhuiqin in performance, later it developed into a format where a storyteller stood holding a pair of long wooden clappers or small cymbals to beat time while another performer sat with a kind of percussion instrument known as jieziban 节子板 fastened onto their leg while plucking a zhuiqin for accompaniment.

CHAPTER IV CONTINUITY AND TRANSFORMATION IN THE ARTS OF SINGING-STORYTELLING IN THE QING DYNASTY

The formation of Henan zhuizi has to be attributed first to sanxian interpreter Qiao Zhishan in the Daoguang reign. Qiao Zhishan (1807–?) hailed from Xiaoqiaozhuang in Zhaotaoying (Kaifeng, Henan). When he was performing in Kaifeng, in the 7th year of Daoguang (1827), by sheer chance he removed one of the three strings of his snare drum and added a bowstring to play the instrument. By doing this, he created the so-called zhuizi bowstring (zhuizixian 坠子弦), i.  e., zhuiqin, also known as zhuihu. The genre itself was named zhuizi (pendant) after Qiao’s regular repertoire The Jade Tiger Pendant, and over time it was eventually known as zhuizi book or »pendant book« (zhuizishu 坠子书).

4. Formation of the Zither Book and Transformation of the Drum Book In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, there were two major regular changes in the development of singing and storytelling. First, in the process of artistic exchange and competition and due to the influence of storytelling, some small songs and ditties that were popular and common in different regions gradually started to shift towards a form of storytelling that combined singing and talking in performance. Second, after the countryside drum book genre made it into the city, it was influenced by common people’s tastes and aesthetic preferences and the emergence of numerous female artists. Therefore, some drum books were transformed into drum songs exclusively for singing rather than speaking. 1. The Formation of the Zither Book and Shandong Zither Book The tradition of the Shandong zither book is probably one of the earlier genres of zither book music that were popular in different regions. Ever since the Ming Dynasty, Shandong has been, in fact, one of the areas where small songs and popular ditties have developed the most. During the Yongzheng Period at the latest, many of the vocal

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performances of small songs that were originally owned by literati and scholars for their own entertainment reached the common folk and became the »crop plays« (zhuangjia shua 庄稼耍) that were well-liked by peasants. Vocal performances of small songs were particularly prosperous in Cao County, where there were many a casual meeting of musicians to play together in vocal performances (wanyou 玩友). After the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns, following the forced end of the ban on maritime trade with foreign countries, the urban economy was abnormally prosperous. The multiple instances of rerouting and flooding of the Yellow River pushed large numbers of victims of these natural calamities into the city, and many of the original casual musicians that had dabbled in small songs were forced to make a living as performers. However, vocal performances of small songs were logically no match for the storytelling drum book genres that were flourishing just at that time, such as the Shandong tradition, no matter whether in the countryside or in the city. Small songs performers faced a cruel competition for survival and consequently drew lessons and learned from the drum book genre, whether consciously or unconsciously. The original accompanying instruments in performance, namely the four-stringed bowed instrument known as sihu 四胡. the zhuiqin and the earthen zither among others, were replaced by the Chinese dulcimer (yangqin 洋琴 or 扬琴) that came from the areas south of the Yangtze River and Guangzhou. Appellations such as »Chinese dulcimer singing« and »Chinese dulcimer playing« appeared immediately, marking the transition for small tunes vocal performances to zither book storytelling. 2. The Transformation of Drum Books and Liu Baoquan’s Contribution to the Formation of the Jingyun Big Drum The transformation underwent by the wooden big drum genre that flowed into Beijing and Tianjin in the late Qing Period into the jingyun big drum

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tradition (jingyun dagu 京韵大鼓) is the most exemplary creations of the drum book genre upon entering the city and evolving into the new drum song art forms. The jingyun big drum tradition is a form of story-telling in Beijing dialect with drum accompaniment. In the Tongzhi reign at the latest, the wooden big drum genre that was popular in rural Hebei had already made its way into Beijing and Tianjin. Renowned wooden big drum storytellers at that time in Tianjin included Hu Shi (formerly known as Hu Jintang), Song Wu (formerly known as Song Yukun) and Huo Mingliang. Liu Baoquan (1869–1942), formerly known as Liu Yimin, hailed from Shen County in Hebei Province. He learned to pluck the sanxian instruments from his father in his childhood and later arrived in Tianjin, where he became a pupil of blind artist Wang Qinghe. Having completed his apprenticeship, he played for a time the sanxian accompaniment for famous blind wooden big drum artist Song Wu while learning to sing some book passages under the guidance of wooden big drum performer Hu Shi. After years of hard work, he returned to Tianjin to perform in the 2nd year of the Xuantong reign (1910), winning instant and remarkable success. His performances came to be known as »Beijing sound big drum« (»jingyin dagu« 京音大鼓) or »jingyun big drum.« After that, he passed through Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hankou and Jinan among other places, and earned a reputation as the »king of the drum circles« (Fig. 9.4.7). Liu Baoquan’s creation process for jingyun big drum was a conscientious transformation of the genre of rural drum books aimed at pleasing the tastes of the townspeople. Although there were certain similar characters and stories in his repertoire items, it was vastly different from the narrating and singing of long-format professional storytelling in local dialect. In fact, it represents the transition and conversion from drum book storytelling to drum music vocal performance. Liu devoted himself to polishing and performing

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CHAPTER IV CONTINUITY AND TRANSFORMATION IN THE ARTS OF SINGING-STORYTELLING IN THE QING DYNASTY

9.4.7 Liu Baoquan performing jingyun big drum

more than 20 repertoire items, such as The Great King Guan and the Single Sword Meeting, A Battle at Changbanpo and The Battle of Changsha, impressively proving that his art stood leagues apart from traditional drum book storytelling. Although his articulation and vocalization abided strictly by the artistic standards of »speaking is singing, and singing is speaking,« it still was not storytelling in its original sense, but rather a closer approach to singing and a transformation of the traditional »drum book« into a newly created »drum music« art. Among the famous jingyun big drum artists that were contemporaries of Liu Baoquan were Bai Yunpeng (1874–1952) and Zhang Xiaoxuan (1876– 1945). Bai Yunpeng’s main feature was his soothing and mellow singing, while Zhang Xiaoxuan’s vocal performances were known for their vigour

and boldness. At the time, the styles of these three performers in jingyun big drum were known as the »Liu, Bai and Zhang schools.« Bai’s repertoire items were noted for drawing on excerpts from Dream of the Red Chamber such as »Lin Daiyu Burns Her Manuscripts,« »Baoyu Receiving His Bride« and »Baoyu Visits Banished Qingwen.« Zhang’s repertoire was represented by items from Romance of the Three Kingdoms such as »Bowang Hill,« »Reunion in Gucheng« and »Huarong Road.« Urban »big drums« embodied the formation of drum music, while not having developed entirely from the rural drum book genre. As early as the middle Qing Period, Yu Rui, known as the »Master of the Plum Flower Hall« (meihua guan zhu 梅花馆 主) and a descendant of a privileged family under the Banner System, created a »plum blossom tune«

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9.4.8 Jin Wanchang, the famous plum blossom big drum performer

(meihua diao 梅花调) as well as a »plum blossom big drum« (meihua dagu 梅花大鼓). Because it served entertainment purposes, in order to distinguish it from the genres of countryside drum book it was also known as »qingkou big drum« (qingkou dagu 清口大鼓), »qing,« or »clear,« alluding to its clear sound and refined lyrics. It was also called »beiban’er big drum« (beiban’er dagu 北板儿) as a nod to Yu Rui residing in the north and the genre itself being mainly sung in the north of the city. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, this form of drum music became a means for folk artists to seek their livelihood. Among these performers, renowned

artist Jin Wanchang (1871–1943) (Fig. 9.4.8) improved the vocal music characteristic of the traditional plum blossom big drum genre from its original woeful and deeply resentful nature into a fresh and melodious singing that enabled it to cover more themes. Jin’s addition of fixed melody vocal music to a song in Rustic Embroidery made it so that the genre of plum blossom big drum was also known as the »paizi big drum« (paizi dagu 牌子 大鼓), alluding to its combination of ballads and folksongs. His most representative repertoire item was »Daiyu Moans about Autumn,« also known as »Grand View Garden.«

CHAPTER V  ARTS OF SINGING AND CHANTING, XIANGSHENG, AND MANCHU PERFORMING ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY Section 1  Division and Integration of the Arts of Singing in the Qing Dynasty The singing in Qing folk musical theater embodies the inheritance and development of the singing tradition of Yuan non-dramatic songs and Ming popular ditties. With some small tunes including sing-song style Daoist singing-storytelling and the influence from the string ballad and drum book storytelling art forms, arts of singing in the Qing Dynasty evolved into a form of bamboo drum and qin zither book storytelling dealing with lengthy stories where singing prevailed over speaking. Some of the originally relatively unrestrained and flexible small songs became formally standardized qing qu 清曲 and qing yin 清音 through assimilation and regionalization. After entering the mid-Qing Period, some singing forms evolved into combinations of ballads and folksongs with rich tunes in order to address a wider range of themes and convey deeper emotions. At the same time, the vocal performances of medley songs circulating in several regions were rich and varied, and the music system was comprehensive; some songs were combined with local folk dances and evolved into the zouchang 走唱 (»singing while walking«) art form of music and dance.

1. The Proliferation of Popular Songs and the Emergence of Publications 1. The Popularity and Evolution of Shidiao Songs At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty and due to the impact of the war wrought by the dynastic changes, the popular ditties that had emerged in the Ming Dynasty, i.  e., shidiao songs (shidiao xiaoqu 时调小曲) that were disseminated and popularized in various regions, disappeared for a while. The steady development of social politics and the economy during the Kangqian Period of Harmony provided sufficient conditions for the rejuvenation of shidiao songs. They entered thus a new phase of transformation to varying degrees following the change of the times. In terms of content, they still addressed the themes of Ming popular ditties, mostly love songs. With regard to the singing voice, these songs were all a product of the northern regions, and more apt for women to perform. In some places, particularly in big cities, young boys were sometimes organized to sing these songs, and their performances were known as »singing programs« (chang dangzi 唱档子). Vocal performances of southern songs even surpassed those of the north. In Jiangsu, the prosperous economy and unique sociocultural environment made small songs extremely popular. In Hunan and Hubei, the singing tradition had been passed down from generation to generation since the end of the Ming Dynasty. Small silk-string songs (sixian xiao chang 丝弦小唱) were widespread in cities and towns, ports and countryside villages.

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There were two important reasons to factor in the spread of popular ditties nationwide in the Qing Dynasty. One of them is that many artists from natural calamity-stricken areas became itinerant; the other is the existence of considerably busy water transportation channels such as the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the Grand Canal and their corresponding commercial activities. The playful tossing of knives and forks in singing and dance performances was an element that long-term itinerant artists absorbed from folk musical comedy and dance, in a creation of their own accord to enhance their own competitiveness. The results of such practices and creation were northern and southern music and folk song traditions such as the popular sanbanggu 三棒鼓 (»three-stick drum«), jiuzibian 九子鞭 (»nine-coin whip«), also known as bawangbian 霸王鞭 (»rattle stick dance«), Fengyang hua gu 凤 阳花鼓 (»Fengyang Flower Drum«) and the errenzhuan 凤阳花鼓 (»song-and-dance-duet«). 2. The Publication of the Popular Ditty Books Supplementary Formulary of the Rainbow Skirts and Bequeathed Songs from the White Snows An important sign of the development of Qing shidiao songs was the source collecting, copying, compilation, printing and publishing of songbooks. Among them, Supplementary Formulary of the Rainbow Skirts and Bequeathed Songs from the White Snows collected the largest amount and were the most influential. Supplementary Formulary of the Rainbow Skirts (Fig. 9.5.1) was a songbook of popular ditties from before the mid-Qing Period. Its revised edition covers a wide range of subjects: from folk love poems to lyrics adapted from legends and folk tales, with some being realistic creations that addressed social customs of the time. Most of them were created by folk artists, while some were penned by literati and bards. A large part were single excerpts from librettos of popular single vocal performances at

9.5.1 Printed matter of Supplementary Formulary of the Rainbow Skirts

the time; there were also clusters of lyric segments from singles that were chanted repeatedly, while others were lyrics from duets and Beijing-style preludes to cha songs (chaqu 岔曲) admitting multiple singing methods. Rainbow Skirt can therefore be regarded as an important document for understanding and researching the history of early Qing popular ditties, particularly with regard to their creation.

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Chariots« (Qi xiang che 七香车), »Budding Words« (Qizi ya ya yo 起字呀呀哟), »octagonal drum« (»bajiao gu« 八角鼓) and »southern ci« (»nan ci« 南词). Although it was not such a wide selection as in Rainbow Skirt, it was conveniently arranged by tune. More importantly, it is thanks to this volume that the traditional Chinese musical notation for the »horse head tune« was preserved for later generations to study. From the grand total of 211 songs under the »horse head tune« in Bequeathed Songs from the White Snows, it can be inferred that it was the most popular tune in Shandong in the middle Qing Period.

2. Types of Singing Formed During the Qing Dynasty

9.5.2 Printed matter of Bequeathed Songs from the White Snows

Bequeathed Songs from the White Snows (Fig. 9.5.2) was also a songbook collection of mid-Qing popular ditties. Hua Guangsheng (styled Chuntian), a native of Licheng, Shandong (modern-day Jinan) started compiling its four volumes around the 9th year of the Jiaqing reign (1804) and published the book in the 8th year of the Daoguang reign (1828). According to the preface of the head editor of the book, all songs were collected by multiple parties and then copied and passed over by fellow enthusiasts. The scope of the collection is centered on Shandong and covers all northern and southern regions. A total of 733 single songs, combined song lyrics and »southern ci« were included, touching upon ten fixed tunes and melodies: the »horse head tune« (ma tou diao 马头调), the »mountain tune« (ling’er 岭儿调), »River Full of Crimson« (Man jian hong 满江红), »Nine Linked Rings« (Jiu lian huan 九连环), »Melody of a Young Man« (Xiao lang er 小郎儿), »Cutting an Indigo Flower« (Jian dian hua 剪靛花), »Seven Fragrant

After the development of popular ditties in the mid-Qing Period, the art form underwent various stages of differentiation and integration. The original situation of unrestrained development and fairly unstable singing methods was replaced by a range of relatively stable performance formats and overall different music systems. For instance, the shidiao songs of single tunes performances were replaced by clusters of fixed tunes and tunerich paiziqu, as well as the tune medleys from the north and south, comparatively more complex in terms of their music system, and tunes from zouchang books combining melodies and dancing. Furthermore, regional differences meant that there were different patterns and standards in terms of dialect usage, common tunes, accompanying instruments and performance formats, shaping a variety of genres in singing. 1. Yangzhou Qingqu Yangzhou qingqu is an ancient song art mainly composed of single melodies. In the early days it was also called Guangling qingqu (广陵清曲) and Weiyang qingqu (维扬清曲), and was commonly known as »singing small songs« or »small singing.« Around the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of Qing, it inherited the sing-

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ing tradition dating back from the Yuan Dynasty and underwent a process of development on the foundations of popular local ditties and small folk songs. After the mid-Qing Period, the spread of Yangzhou qingqu reached the area of Zhenjiang. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, in addition to the traditional performance of single melodies, commonly known as »singlets« (dan pianzi 单片 子), there was a greater pattern of narrative divertimentos. The following fixed tunes and melodies were added to performance repertoires: the »oriole tune« (li diao 鹂调), the »southern tune« (nan diao 南调), the »spring tune« (chun diao 春调), the »fresh flower tune« (xianhua diao 鲜花调), the »Tune of the Cracked Chinaware Mender« (Bu gang« 补缸), the Tune of the SnowClad Blue Pass« (Xue yong lan guan 雪拥蓝关), the »Yangliuqing Tune« (杨柳青) and the »Eighteen Touches« (Shiba mo 十八摸). In terms of vocal performance, there was an emergence of different styles such as the soft, graceful and deep zhai kou 窄口 (»narrow mouth«), the loud and resounding kuo kou 阔口 (literally »wide mouth«), and the lively, bold and unconstrained po kou 泼口 (»coarse mouth«). Li Ziyun (1859–1940) and Wang Wanqing were the representatives of the zhai kou singing style, and their most representative repertoires were »A Swish of Wind« (Feng’er ya 风儿呀), »Ten Dispatched Officials« (Shi song lang 十送郎), »Qin Xuemei Paying a Condolence Visit« (Qin Xuemei diaoxiao« 秦雪梅吊孝) and »Interrogating the Red Maid« (Kao hong 拷红). Zhong Peixian (c. 1850–c. 1934), also known as »the king of kuo kou,« and Zhou Xihou, known as »Steel Throat,« were the representatives of the kuo kou singing style. Their repertoires are best exemplified by »Qin Qiong Sells his Horse,« »Capturing Zhang Sanlang« and »The Black Peony.« The main figures of the po kou singing style were Zhu Shaochen and Cheng Anqing.

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2. Single Chord Songs and Sui Yuanle The type of narrating singing known as dan xian paiziqu 单弦牌子 (»single chord songs«), also abbreviated as danxian, was formed in the Qing Dynasty in Beijing and is characterized by clusters of fixed tunes in performance. Danxian was originally a performance format incorporating the socalled »octagonal drum« (bajiao gu 八角鼓) that belonged to the Manchu ethnic group and had already been circulating in early Qing. The name of this genre itself is reminiscent of this format where the performer plucked (dan 弹) a sanxian 三弦 instrument and sang all by themselves. Tradition has it that it started from amateur octagonal drum performer Sui Yuanle, whose real name was Si Ruixuan. From the Xianfeng Period to the Tongzhi reign, he was in charge of an octagonal drum amateur company named »Suiyuanle.« After the amateur company was disbanded, he retained »Sui Yuanle« as his stage name. The origin of the term »danxian« is related to the dissolution of Sui’s amateur company. It is said that during the Guangxu reign, Si Ruixian once promised a performance for which he failed to meet the pay demands of his peers. As a result, he was given the cold shoulder and forcibly kept off stage by his partners at the amateur company. In a fit of anger, he practiced hard behind closed doors and eventually came up with a performance format wherein the artist plays the octagonal drum. Although it cannot be said that Sui Yuanle was the pioneer of single chord songs, his contribution was hugely influential in that he advocated for the independence of the genre and coined the term »danxian.« It was under Sui’s influence that single chord singing absorbed the vocal music of singing styles such as the Nancheng diao 南城调 (»Nancheng tune«), the kaoshan diao 靠山调 (»patron tune«), the jinqian lianhualao 金钱莲 花落 (»money lianhualao«) and the qie kuaishu 怯快书 (the »rustic quick-patter«), bringing along a considerable development of the music connotation in comparison to before. It was also under

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his influence that the artists’ ranks and their singing repertoires expanded further. De Shoushan was a famous artist a little posterior to Sui Yuanle, of Manchu ethnicity and born around the early years of the Tongzhi reign. A discontented assistant in his youth, he angrily resigned and established the »Golden Bell to Awaken the World« (Xingshi jin duo 醒世金铎) amateur drama company of the octagonal drum as a pastime. Later and due to the decline of his family, he eked out a livelihood by playing music and singing. His repertoire of single chord songs was adapted mainly from Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, as exemplified by repertoire items such as »Xu Huangliang,« »The Hemp Headcloth,« »Xi Fangping« and »Shen Shi.« In addition, »Suiyuan Shihua« (Suiyuan shi hua 随缘时 话), whose real name was Li Yanbin (李彦彬 or 李 燕宾), Quan Yueru and Rong Jianchen were also renowned single chord song artists in the late Qing. 3. Cantonese Opera and Gezi Opera Both of them popular singing genres in the Pearl River Delta, Cantonese opera and gezi 歌仔 opera were both relatively complicated in terms of structure. Cantonese opera is a genre accommodating a variety of tunes sung in Cantonese that included all kinds of shidiao songs, miscellaneous paiziqu, wooden clappers and erhuang 二簧 while also absorbing vocal music tunes such as wooden fish songs, southern ballads, dragon boat and Cantonese folk songs (Yue ou 粤讴). Additionally, poems in Cantonese opera were composed and performed on the basis of local Guangdong folk instrumental music. Accompaniment instruments were also very diverse and featured the gaohu 高 胡 (a kind of erhu, a two-stringed musical instrument), the Chinese dulcimer, the Chinese lute, the hengxiao 横箫 (»horizontal xiao,« a rare case since most xiao are end-blown, vertically played instruments) and the long pipe (chang houguan 长

CHAPTER V ARTS OF SINGING AND CHANTING, XIANGSHENG, AND MANCHU PERFORMING ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY

喉管), as well as the zhuiqin, instruments of the violin family and the short pipe (duan houguan 短 喉管). In the late Qing, some Western instruments were also used to accompany Cantonese opera singing. Guangdong had Cantonese opera performances during the Daoguang reign at the latest. Simultaneously at that time there was the Bayin Troupe (Bayin ban 八音班) singing Cantonese opera, and the original musical instruments naturally evolved into accompaniment for Cantonese opera. It was this trend of combined folk music performance and Cantonese singing that made Cantonese operatic vocal music all-embracing and complex in nature. During the Tongzhi reign, there were visually-impaired female artists performing Cantonese opera known as guji 瞽姬 (visually impaired female entertainers) or shiniang 师娘 (wife of one’s master). In late Qing, their increase in numbers was behind this period of Cantonese opera being known as the »Shiniang Era.« Cantonese opera singing contemplates a total of ten roles such as xiaosheng 小生. huadan 花旦. and wusheng 武. according to content needs. Performers either sang with the accompaniment of the instrumental band or took turns to sing and play the accompaniment. This kind of performance system made it extremely easy for many scripts of legendary stories to be transplanted and adapted into Cantonese opera repertoire. Therefore, most of the early repertoire of the Bayin Troupe originated from that of Guangdong opera. It was during the »Shiniang Era« that Cantonese opera began to have unique repertoires that belonged exclusively to this genre and were known as the »Eight Famous Songs«: »Baili Xi Reunited with His Wife,« »Pian Cai Exorcizes the Willow Tree Demon,« »Daiyu Buries Fallen Flowers,« »Liulang Executing His Son,« »Crossing Over to Join Han from Chu,« »Lu Zhishen Takes His Tonsure,« »The Memorial Service for He Wenxiu« and »A Virtuous Man in Snow.« Due to limited histor-

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ical data, we do not have information about Cantonese opera artists at that time. Gezi opera is a relatively old song form popular in Taiwan which formation is directly related to the folk jin ge 锦歌 (»brocade songs«) along the coast of Fujian. As early as in the Tianqi reign of the Ming Dynasty, Yan Siqi, a native of Zhangzhou, led over 40,000 people to Taiwan in order to reclaim wasteland, importing the folk musical theater from the mainland soon afterwards. When military leader Zheng Chenggong commanded the youth of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou to recapture Taiwan in the late Ming, they also took with them »brocade songs« and other folk song forms that were regarded as a local accent. These mainland songs were combined with local folk tunes such as Taiwanese cai cha ge 采茶歌 (»tea picking songs«), leading to the gradual formation of the local Taiwan style-infused gezi song form around the early Qing Period. 4. Errenzhuan, the Two-Person Rotation Errenzhuan 二人转. the »two-person rotation« is a genre of local folk dance and song popular in Northeast China that originated in the Qing Dynasty and was originally known as xiao yangge 小秧歌. or »small yangge,« a popular rural folk dance, beng beng 蹦蹦. etc. On the foundations of da yangge 大秧歌. the »big yangge,« a popular rural folk song and dance tradition in Northeast China, errenzhuan developed gradually by absorbing artistic elements from northeastern folk songs and lianhualao. Its formation took place around the Qianlong reign at the latest and its earliest known artists were Jinzhou natives Sun Daniang 孙大娘. i.  e. »Aunt Sun« and his apprentice Wang Jian (1723–1776). Wang Jian, styled Lunsheng or Xiaochen, was born in Zhenyuanbao, Jinzhou (modern-day Heishan County, Liaoning). Orphaned of his father at the age of three, he was entrusted to the care of his father’s elder brother, where he had his fill of abuse. He wandered his way to Jinzhou

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at the age of 12 and was adopted there by male singer whose ladylike voice had earned him the nickname of »Aunt Sun.« Under his guidance, he learned to play the Chinese lute, the sanxian, the dizi or bamboo flute, the bamboo clappers and other accompanying techniques, as well as the performance of xiao yangge. Master and apprentice depended on each other for survival, eking a livelihood out of their singing. The pair often performed xiao yangge on the multipurpose stages of local temples such as the old and dilapidated Xiguan Temple in Jinzhou, the Tianhou Temple inside the city walls and the Dongguan Guandi Temple, with its humble earthen stage set up by the locals. Because both master and disciple often played the part of a male and female performance duo, they were known as the »double trick.« Xiao yangge was the earliest denomination of errenzhuan, derived from the process by which da yangge absorbed other artistic elements in large quantities. Xiao yangge was particularly woven in the small folk tunes and folk ditties present in the performance of da yangge, and was focused in displaying consummate dance skills. Approximately after the Jiaqing reign, an increasing number of uniquely skilled artists separated themselves from da yangge that was performed mostly in folk festivals to join temporary itinerant troupes of three to five performers seeking a livelihood. This accelerated the gradual independence of xiao yangge as a specialized genre apart from the formerly predominant da yangge. Especially in the late Qing, in addition to performances still incorporating da yangge in the countryside, the most common art form relied on the ways of folk musical theater, particularly for rural artists who arrived in the cities. Some performances went to such an extent that they did not involve any measure of dance or movement whatsoever, becoming statics singing shows instead. The operatic music of errenzhuan is mostly composed of fixed melodies or qupai, combined with other medley tunes and ditties. The early reper-

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toire of melodies was not very broad, generally featuring tunes such as the heheqiang 喝喝腔. the yabusheng 压不生 (a transliteration from a Manchu modal particle that is added to the end of the lines), the da jiujia 大救驾 (»saving the emperor’s life,« from an early Qing Dynasty story), the zi’er diao 子儿调. the judagang 锯大缸 (»sawing a vat«) and the er wo qiang 二窝腔. Later, the frequent repertoire of vocal music came to include predominantly fixed tunes such as the huhuqiang 胡胡腔. the wenhaihai 文咳咳. wuhaihai 武咳咳. labapaizi 喇叭牌子 (the »trumpet tune«), the baoban 抱板 and the wuzijin 五字锦. Performances stressed aspects of operatic enunciation and tune rendering such as »pronunciation, clauses, flavor, tempo, pitch and mood.« Accompanying instruments included among others the banhu (a bowed string instrument with a thin wooden soundboard), the suona horn, the gong, the cymbals, the bamboo clappers and the yuzi. In addition to bamboo clappers and yuzi, early performance props featured first the caibang 彩棒 (»colourful sticks«) and subsequently handkerchiefs and fans. Some weapons from traditional opera were also used often for reference and were highly compatible in artistic terms. There were various performance styles, such as the solo one, known as the dan chu tou 单出头 (»one-person play«), the duo style, known as the shuang wanyi 双玩艺 (»double trick«), and the la chang xi 拉场戏 (»opera-singing«), which combined three or more performers. Performances following the »double trick« performance divided the artists’ roles in »upper garment« and »bottom garment.« These two roles were divided in the female or dan 旦 role and the comic or chou 丑 role, with performers jumping in and out of them in a feature that became characteristic of errenzhuan performances. Both the »one-person play« and the »opera-singing« categories later developed into folk operettas performed by characters in costume, no longer belonging to folk musical theater singing. Performance in errenzhuan relied mostly on

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singing, however items of repertoire also included plenty of rhymed and recited impromptu comic material known as shuokou 说口. a spoken prologue to a song-and-dance duet. Due to the wide region where it spread long-term, different styles and schools were formed: the »Eastern Way« which hailed from Jilin Province, was greatly influenced by the huagu or flower-drum, a folk dance from Fengyang County in Anhui and was characterized for the dance and the use of colorful sticks; the »Western Way,« centered on Heishan, Liaoning Province, which was significantly influenced by lianhualuo and paid particular attention to the use of shuokou and bantou in performance; the »Southern Way« originating in Yingkou, Liaoning, retained a great deal of the early »da yangge« in terms of style and emphasized both dancing and singing; and the »Northern Way« which hailed from the great northern wilderness of Heilongjiang and mostly adapted local folk tunes, with a rather grateful style of vocal music. This is how the so-called artistic maxim developmental pattern of »the south relies on waving [dancing], the north on singing, the west in the beats of the clappers and the east on cudgel fencing« came to be. Famous late Qing performers of errenzhuan included Zhao Fu »Broken Pants,« a native of Heishan; Haicheng artist Gao Lingxiao, whose stage name was Gao Xiaoyun, a skilled performer of »Old Lady Wang Curses the Chickens«; Chen Hailou, hailing from Liaoyang, who drew inspiration from an opera house waiter tossing a towel on his way upstairs to the box to swap the squared handkerchief originally used as a stage prop in errenzhuan with an octagonal shaped one, thus coming up with the handkerchief tossing skill for this art form; Wang Baozhen, stage name Wang Sihou, with his skilled rendition of »Xunyang Tower«; Liu Fugui, nicknamed Liu Datou, with a certain cultural background and comprehensive artistic accomplishments, who was based mostly in the neighboring area of Jilin Province;

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Chen Rong, stage name Chen Xiaobian, who had a vast repertoire and won special applause with items such as »Sitting Upstairs,« »Mount Shuangsuo,« »Rendezvous at Orchid Bridge« and »Feng Kui Sells His Wife«; Guo Chunfa, stage name »Xia Baomi« (»Spoiled Corn«) with such a wonderfully vivid rendition of the stepmother role in the early »opera-singing« repertoire item »A Vicious Plan« that an elderly Mongolian lady in the audience confused him with his role and refused to give him board; Wang Sheng, stage name Wang Niangniang, a native of Fuxin who, having studied traditional opera, successfully added the use of the Mongolian language for errenzhuan »shoukou« in performance in order to adapt to the audience’s tastes; and Yang Guozhi, a native of Haicheng who played many different kinds of yuzi wooden castanet clappers, with his percussion being so full of verve that it was likened by the audience to »a water stream and four boards, every beat a drop ever so integral and rapid that the pitter-patter would soon well up,« earning him the stage name of Yi Wangshui 一汪水. or »Water Stream«.

Section 2  Formation of Xiangsheng and Rise of the Arts of Chanting 1. Formation of Xiangsheng 1. The Vocal Mimicry of Crosstalk Xiangsheng 相声 (»crosstalk«) was formed approximately between the Qing Daoguang and Tongzhi reigns. Early in the Song Dynasty there were already »xiangsheng« 像声 performances where market hawking was imitated and used as the main feature. For instance, volumes one and six of Affairs of the Martial Grove recorded the »bai niaoming« 百鸟鸣 (»the hundred warblings«) and »xue xiangtan« 学乡谈 (»learning the local dialect«) among other imitation sounds, including

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performance formats that featured a ventriloquism of speech sounds. There were similar performances in the Ming Dynasty. These kind of onomatopoeic performances relying on ventriloquism lasted until the beginning of the Qing Dynasty and were seen not only in the capital, but also in the south. Xiangsheng can also be found written as 象. 声 or the aforementioned 像声. and was also known as kouji 口技. among other names. The performance format where artists spoke behind a cloth enclosure would come to be broadly known in all corners of the country as an chun 暗春 (»secret spring«); in contrast, the format of xiangsheng that was performed in front of the audience was called ming chun 明春 (»clear spring«). Whether it was simple ventriloquism imitating nature and bird sounds or ventriloquism that imitated human voices in dialect and had a certain plot in »next door drama« style, namely xiangsheng, with regard to the kind of xiangsheng that was later shaped based on »talking, studying, teasing and singing« as the main artistic mediums, both provided, on one hand, the genre name of »xiansheng« and, on the other hand, ventriloquist techniques that can be used for learning and performance. The most immediate reasons for the ultimate formation of xiangsheng lie in the gestation of the folk joke-telling tradition that was widespread in the Qing Dynasty, along with the transplantation of the chai chang 拆唱 (»split singing«) method of octagonal drum performances and its dougen 逗哏 (»cracking jokes«) technique. 2. Zhang Sanlu Combines Telling Jokes and Octagonal Drum’s Split Singing Dougen Telling jokes is the matrix of xiangsheng solo performances. Comedy performances can be considered an art form of their own from the specific periods that saw Han Danchun in the early Later Han and Hou Bai in the Sui Dynasty. From The Woods of Laughter to A Collection of Humorous Stories, to Feng Menglong’s Treasury of Laughs, to

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the Laughing Forest Collection by a certain »Master of Games,« from time immemorial, the tradition of telling jokes and the recording, printing and publishing of said jokes have never ceased. Many chapters and sections of the compilation A Good Laugh were compiled during the Qianlong Period by Yangzhou native Shi Chengjin, who also recorded their spoken performance prompts, so the volume can be regarded as a performance script for his contemporaries who engaged in the genre of joke telling. The content of the jokes and their spoken performance not only constituted the foundations of subsequent xiangsheng solo repertoires, but also became the main body of the »spoken« artistic element that is fundamental to xiangsheng performances. Famous Daoguang reign, Beijing-based xiangchuan octagonal drum and split singing performer and comedian Zhang Sanlu, quick-witted and jocular albeit of an artful disposition and skilled self-expression, often made ad lib jokes on stage, leaving his fellow performers without an answer, making them lose face and hurting their dignity. Things went in such a way that they reached the point where his peers did not want to perform with him and intentionally pushed him aside. A resentful Zhang decided then to perform in open spaces, seeking a livelihood from spoken comedic performances and adding to them the skill of dougen, from split singing in the octagonal drum. Unwilling to call his performance »octagonal drum,« he called it »xiangcheng,« therefore setting a precedent for xiangsheng solo performances. In addition, and influenced by the »quan tang« (»whole hall«) performance format, that is, a joint performance of different singing methods onstage, and the focus on the complete range of roles involving »talking, studying, teasing, singing, playing wind, percussion and string instruments,« xiangsheng performance subsequently also borrowed from his tradition of learning to sing traditional opera and folk small tunes. For this reason, subsequent generations of xiangsheng artists also

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summarized their artistic skills under the range of »talking, studying, teasing and singing.« 3. Ma Mazi, »Heartthrob« and »Fear No Poverty« Three schools came after Zhang Sanlu, namely the Zhu (Shaowen) School, the A (Yantao) School and the Chen (Chunhe) School. Out of the three, the Zhu School outdid the A and Chen schools in terms of prosperity. A Yantao (dates of birth and death unknown), also known as A Jiantao, belonged to the Manchu ethnic group. Originally an amateur performer of »octagonal drum,« he went into xiangsheng when his family financial situation declined and became most famous for On Experienced People. Because of his amateur, non-commercial beginnings, he was known as a disciple of »qing men« 清门 (»pure,« a notion of old high art). At that time, sporadic self-entertainment xiangsheng was known as »qing men xiangsheng,« and performing in open spaces to cater to the audience necessarily involved a form of cross talk that was ripe with jest and sarcasm from folk artists and that came to be known as »hunmen xiangsheng« 浑门相声 (a lower, commercial form of art). The confluence of »qing men« and »hun men« objectively expanded the ranks of xiangsheng and enriched its repertoire. Contemporary to A Yantao were other xiangsheng artists who were equally disciples of the »qing men« style such as: Yu Erfu, Rui Gui, Ying Rui, Rong Xiu and Niu Shun. Shen Chunhe (dates of birth and death unknown), also known as Shen Changfu, was originally a pingshu artist who later switched to xiangsheng following Zhu Shaowen’s trend. Among his apprentices were Wei Kunzhi, Feng Kunzhi, Yu Erfu and Gao Wenyuan. This was mainly the branch of xiangsheng that later spread to Northeast China. Ma Mazi (dates of birth and death unknown) was a xiangchang solo performer in the Xicheng district of Beijing during the Tongzhi and Guangxu years. Out of his repertoire, he enjoyed most per-

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forming Records of the Immortals Gathering on the 19th day of the first month of the lunar year, and he was good at performing the whole edition of the King of Antiques. Zhu Shaowen 朱绍文 (1829–1904) was the most famous xiangsheng artist contemporary to Ma Mazi. He was also known as Zhu Shaowen 朱少文 or by his stage name »Fear No Poverty«: […] [Zhu was] a flag-bearer of the Han Army who lived in Zhanzi [Hutong] in outer Di’anmen (Beijing). In his youth, he studied the xiaohualian [»small flowery face,« an alternative name for the traditional opera role type chou 丑] within the chief type of opera music known as erhuang, and came into contact with Song Zhucheng’s troupe. His inability to play the role of the hero caused him to give up and switch to the comical role type qian lian [i.  e. the role type chou within the folk song genre of lianhualao].

Reportedly, Zhu Shaowen saw his livelihood endangered when a hundred-day suspension period was forced upon all forms of enjoyment and stage arts following the death of Emperor Xianfeng, being thus forced himself in the first year of Tongzhi (1862) to change locations for Beijing’s Tianqiao district and center of folk culture, where he performed xiangsheng in open spaces. Zhu was equally talented at the extemporaneous writing and production of shulaibao 数来宝. another form of folk musical theater consisting of recitation accompanied by clapper board rhythm. In addition, he would often entice and gather his audience together with his own amusing antithetical couplets. He was, so to speak, gifted in many ways. »Fear No Poverty« kept performing xiangsheng relentlessly during the subsequent years and never returned to his previous line of artistry. Armed with his more comprehensive mastery, he promoted thus the development of the genre of xiangsheng. He had four disciples, each of them known by the humorous stage names of »Pin Youben« 贫有本 (»Pin [poverty] has roots«), »Fu Yougen« 富有根 (»Fu [wealth] has roots«), »Xu Youlu« 徐

SECTION 2 FORMATION OF XIANGSHENG AND RISE OF THE ARTS OF CHANTING

有禄 (»Xu has a salary«) and »Fan Youyuan« 范 有缘 (»Fan has a destiny«). Among them, Fu Yougen (dates of birth and death unknown), whose original name was Fu Guizhen, known as »Third Master Gui,« went on to teach disciples such as Yu Delong and Fan Ruiting; Xu Youlu (dates of birth and death unknown), whose original name was Xu Yongfu, was known as »Xu the Third,« and later took on disciples such as Jiao Dehai, Lu Dejun and Liu Dezhi; Fan Youyuan (dates of birth and death unknown), whose original name was Fan Changli, was also known as Fan Yizhai and went on to teach disciples such as Zhou Deshan and Guo Ruilin. »Fear No Poverty« began performing together with his apprentices and thus popularized xiangsheng involving two people or more, as opposed to the solo performance that was the norm then, initiating an »alternate« format of xiangsheng. Among the works that he passed down to posterity are Words and Tearing Apart the Ten. This satirical tradition of xiangsheng that was initiated by »Fear No Poverty« was inherited and carried forward in the late Qing Dynasty. Due to his unique influence in the art of xiangsheng, »Fear No Poverty« became part in the late Qing of the original »Eight Oddities of Tianqiao.« This was a term coined by people at the time to refer to eight superbly skilled artists who performed in Tianqiao, namely Fear No Poverty, Cu Nigao 醋溺高 (Gao the Vinegar Addict), Han Mazi 韩麻子 (Pockmarked Han), Pen Tuzi 盆秃子 (Baldpate Pen), Tian Quezi 田瘸子 (Tian the Cripple), Chou Sunzi 丑孙子 (Ugly Sun), Bi Wengzi 鼻 嗡子 (Nose Buzz) and Chang Shazi 常傻子 (Chang the Blockhead). Among the well-known xiangsheng artists at that time were also Bainiao Zhang 百鸟张 (Zhang »Hundred Birds« Kunshan), Ren Renle 人人乐 (Zhu »People Pleaser« Fengshan), Enzi 恩子. Zhang Mazi 张麻子 (Pockmarked Zhang), Gao Mazi 高麻子 (Pockmarked Gao), Fenzi Yan 粉子颜 (Powder Yan), Xiao Fan 小范. Yu Long 玉隆. Zhou

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Hama 周蛤蟆 (Zhou »Toad« Deshan), Jiao Dehai and Li Deyang, the latter two being the most famous ones. »Heartthrob« (»Wanrenmi« 万人迷) performed xiangsheng that was rich in ideological content and did not need to rely on external clichés to provoke laughter and pander to the audience. Especially after his joint-performance with Pockmarked Zhang (Zhang Dequan), he left his »vulgarisms« for a more »purified language,« resulting in contents that were less off-color and ripe with jest and sarcasm, comparatively elegant and highgrade and that granted him entrance to r­efined venues. Therefore, by the end of the Qing Dynasty and the founding of the Republic of China, out of all xiangsheng artists who entered the vaudeville theaters to perform and »ya dazhou« 压大 轴 (secure the center for themselves), he was unique—earning him the titles of »King of Jokes,« »King of Xiangsheng,« and »King of Comic Talk« (Fig. 9.5.3). After xiangsheng formed and gradually expanded in Beijing, it began to spread to other regions, first to Tianjin and then to Northeast China. The first xiangsheng artist who went to Tianjin to perform was a Manchu named Yu Erfu. He arrived in town in the early years of Guangxu and became quite successful and famous for his solo shows. Following his trail were others such as Yan Deshan, Ma Delu and Tao Xiangru. From then on, xiangsheng evolved from its status as a Beijing born-and-bred song form into an art form known nationwide.

2. Rise of the Arts of Chanting Yunsong 韵诵 (»rhythmic and rhymed chanting«) folk musical theater relied on a »yunsong« style of oral performance that lay between »speaking« and »singing« to narrate lyricism, describe sceneries, convey thoughts and reflect on social life. It was characterized by the use of bamboo boards and other percussion instruments for accompaniment in performance, shuochang rhymes, a distinctive tempo popular language that was suitable

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9.5.3  Xiangsheng artist »Heartthrob«

for reading aloud and its vivid and jocular nature. Precious little is known about this form of folk art before the Qing Dynasty, which is when its earliest documented historical traces began to appear. The popularity and attention that it garnered in this period constitute a major feature of Qing Dynasty folk musical theater. 1. Shulaibao Shulaibao was popularly known by the names of »shunkouliu« 顺口溜 (doggerel), »liukouzhe« 溜口辙 and »lianzizui« 练子嘴. and is a rather representative subdivision of the »banter« kind of yunsong folk musical theater. From the perspective of techniques of expression and the artists’ performance methods, shulaibao were relatively similar to lianhualao. Tradition has it that Ming Emperor Yongle (temple name Ming Chengzu, personal name Zhu Di) greatly enjoyed this type of performance, which explains its prosperity in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty. Upon entering the Qing Dynasty, this art form continued to be in vogue in Beijing and was simultaneously performed by artists who specialized in other song forms. For instance, renowned xiangsheng artist »Fear No Poverty« was extremely skilled at »rapping« (shuochang 说唱) shulaibao. Cao Mazi was a well-known shulaibao artist in late Qing Beijing. When he performed,

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[…] He tied a narrow band on his head, and had a small copper ball hanging behind him. When he shook his head, so did the ball. He also had a deliberate gesture that made the audience roar with laughter where he would hold a pair of ox bones in both hands, and every time he knocked them together, the little bells dangling from the bones would produce a dainty rattle that mingled with the coarse sound of the bones and turned up pretty nicely. His disciple, serving as his counterpart in performance, smeared white powder on his face, hitting the board with his left hand while he beat time with his right hand, singing the shulaibao sentence by sentence with all of his might.

Their master and apprentice performances followed an alternate duo format, as opposed to the one-man performance that was the norm for shulaibao in its early days. The performance format usually had them going from house to house, and their range of percussion instruments often included Chinese sorghum stalks, ox hipbones and three planks, to which an additional four were later added for a fixed total of »seven boards.« Two of these were a set of big bamboo clappers held on the left hand, which were harmoniously combined with the accompaniment of a string of five jiezibanr 节子板儿 (»knot boards«) held on the right hand. Lyrics basically followed the pattern of upper six syllables and lower seven syllables rhymed couplets. Rhyme was free and flexible and language was humorous. Performance style was very improvisational, with matching visual and verbal narratives and contents that adapted to whatever theme was brought up in shuochang by any given performer. In addition to Cao Mazi, other well-known shulaibao artists in late Qing Beijing were Liu Mazi (Pockmarked Liu) and Huo Mazi (Pockmarked Huo). 2. Shandong Kuaishu Shandong kuaishu 快书 (a Shandong clapper-minstrelsy or »fast tales«) was popularly known as wulao’er 武老二 (»Wu the Second«). The reason behind this name is that the original shuochang

SECTION 2 FORMATION OF XIANGSHENG AND RISE OF THE ARTS OF CHANTING

content of this genre drew mainly from the story of Wu Song, the tiger-fighting hero in Water Margin. Wu Song was the second eldest child of his family, and so the audience came to know this form of folk musical theater that narrated his story as »wulao’er.« Correspondingly, artists performing Shandong kuaishu were known as »wulao’er speakers« or »wulao’er singers.« Shandong kuaishu was a form of folk musical theater that derived from Shandong big drum approximately in the Qing Daoguang and Xianfeng years in Luxibei, later thriving in the Luzhong area. The entirety of its yunsong-style, sung shulaibao melodic music was tied up to the formation and evolution of Shandong big drum tune »Farm Ox Bites the Bit« (Lao niu da zuo jiang 老牛大捽缰). Also known as Chuan jiang qiang 穿缰腔. it was actually an erroneously written alternative name for this tune. Accompaniment was by means of an instrument consisting of two crescent-shaped iron or steel plates, namely the yuanyangban 鸳 鸯板 (»mandarin duck board«), borrowing as well from the traditional main accompaniment of lihuapian in Shandong big drum. Traditional repertoires included the Tale of Wu Song, a lengthy piece consisting of a combination of numerous chapter subtitles, as well as independently performed pieces such as Havoc in the Ma Family Store, Li Kui Snatches Fish and Lu Da Disposes of the Tyrant, all of which have a direct origin relation with the traditional repertoire of Shandong big drum. Therefore, most scholars believe that the founder of Shandong kuaishu was Daoguang Period performer Fu Hanzhang, while artist Zhao Dawei may have made significant contributions to its development and evolution. It is said that Fu Hanzhang was a native of Fulou, in Dong’e County, Shandong Province, and that Li Zhangqing, the artist from which he drew his repertoire, had his residence in Kangziwang Village, Chiping County, separated from Fu only by the Zhaoniu River. When Li realized that Fu had a talent for singing, he promptly passed on to

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him the repertoire The Tale of Wu Song. Fu subsequently devoted himself to study, drawing lessons from Li and eventually creating Shandong kuaishu, an art form for which he took on disciples. He first passed it on to his junior apprentice Zhao Zhen, and then to his disciple Wei Yuhe. Wei then transmitted it to the Lu brothers: Lu Tongwu and Lu Tongwen, who passed it on to Du Yongchun. Zhao Zhen took Wu Hongjun as a disciple, who then took Ma Yuheng and so on. Simultaneously, Zhao Zhen, Lu Tongwu and Du Yongchun all taught Qi Yongli. Among these well-known Shandong kuaishu artists, Zhao Zhen was the most accomplished performer in the early period. None of the otherwise most renowned artists in each of their genres at that time, namely Zhang Jiaojun for Shandong yugu, Li Hejun for the form of folk song known as luozi 落子 and Wu Hongjun for Shangdong kuaishu himself, were nearly as influential as Zhao was. Therefore, they were known as the san Jun budi 三钧不敌 (the »trio of second-rank Juns«). Brothers Lu Tongwen and Lu Tongwu were also very influential and known as the Lushi shuang xiong 三钧不敌 (»dual heroes of Lushi County«). The many masters of Qi Yongli and the way in which he took in elements from each of them enabled him to eventually earn the nickname of »Zhen Sanjiang« 镇三江 (alluding to his ability to »subdue the audience in the areas of Zhenjiang, the Yangtze River and the Huangpu River«). His performances were very popular, and he was the most famous Shandong kuaishou artist in late Qing. 3. Shuo Guzi »Shuo guzi« 说鼓子 (»telling drum songs«) was a kind of yunsong »storytelling« song form that was popular in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in Hubei, Hunan and other places. One of its most unique features was that the overwhelming majority of the preludes to each shuci 书词 in the repertoire were performances styled as spoken rhymed compositions. Only in the last sentence,

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halfway through it or even in the last three characters, the tune was dragged and sung with a melodious and resounding melody. Thoughts were conveyed by means of the last sung part of every verse having a series of elements that served as finishing touches, such as two initial sentences giving the theme, remarks, laments and a summary or doubaofu 抖包袱 (»cracking jokes«). Shuo guzi was also known as »shuo gu« 说鼓. »han gu« 旱鼓 (»dry drum«), »suo gu« 唢鼓 (»flute-like drum«) and shuo gu 说古. among other names. Tradition has it that it was formed in the early Shunzhi Period and then developed from a memorial ceremony that locals of Lizhou, Hunan, held for famous Warring States statesman and poet Qu Yuan, in which participants in a dragon boat regatta were cheered for from the shore by drums. Initially a solo drum performance, such shows in the court rooms of local bureaucrats’ residences were known as han gu. During the Daoguang Period, frustrated imperial exam candidate Su Jinfu reformed it to a duo performance and fixed its name as »shuo gu« 说鼓. Su Jinfu was versatile; not only did he transform the performance format of shuo guzi, but he also helped wooden drum artists compose and edit songs and create new tunes. At the same time, he was a skilled performer of another popular local song form known as sang gu 丧鼓 (the »funeral drum«). The early repertoires of shuo guzi were mainly composed of shorter sections and mostly informative and engaging contents. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, with the increase of professional artists and under the influence of wooden drums, pingshu and other repertoires, some artists who arrived in the ports of cities and towns to perform privately for magistrates began to switch to lengthy shuochang stories. Performances also changed to be mainly spoken, as opposed to the original, predominant chanting. Tune lyrics were mainly seven-character verses, and language was vernacular and humorous. Titles such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Picture of Sky Treasures,

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SECTION 3 MANCHU PERFORMING ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY

Shan Bo Visiting Friends and Records of a Crow were all popular traditional shuo guzi repertoire items in Hunan, while those in Hubei featured titles such as Taohuawu, The Yang Saga, The Carved Dragon Fan, The Eight Beauties and so on.

Section 3  Manchu Performing Arts in the Qing Dynasty The preference for folk musical theater among the upper echelons of Manchu rulers was widespread. Zidishu 子弟书 (»bannermen tales«) and the octagonal drum were two of the most influential genres, as well as representative folk musical theater forms created mainly by the Manchu in the process of their cultural exchanges with the Han.

1. Bannermen Tales Zidishu was a form of folk musical theater mainly created by the Manchus in mid-Qing Beijing. Although it was known as »shu« 书 (book) it was actually a song. There are two sources to its foundation: the first was the wealth of military small tunes that officers from the Eight Banners brought back with them from the frontier pass as they returned to Beijing in the early years of Qianlong; this range of tunes was promptly known as »Baqi zidi le« 八旗子弟乐 (»music of the youngsters of the Eight Banners«), providing music and vocal music for zidishu. The second source comes from the Manchu youth that enjoyed Han shuoshu such as ballad tunes (tanci) and drum books (gushu). They referred to these genres and their range of lyrics mostly based in seven-and-ten character-long structures to provide singing scripts for zidishu. Some idle youngsters of the Eight Banners matched these scripts and tunes, singing with the accompaniment of the Manchu octagonal drum to entertain themselves and creating the song form of zidishu. This name is attributed to the genre being created by this youth (zidi 子弟) and initially cir-

9.5.4 Printed page of a transcript of zidishu book Mr. Zhang of the Hundred Volumes

culating among them. Because it was initially intended for self-entertainment rather than making a living, and was more elegant than the folk song forms that were in vogue at the time, it was also known as qingyin zidishu 清音子弟书 (»bannermen tales sung in pure tunes«) (Fig. 9.5.4). Judging from the extant songbooks, the performance of zidishu relied largely on sung narrative, occasionally containing spoken parts. From the perspective of the structure of the lyrics, which mainly consisted of upper and lower seven-syllables sentences, its vocal music belonged to the

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beat and tune (banqiang 板腔) style. Repertoires varied in length and were usually divided into chapters of usually 80 lines each, and each songbook containing between a single chapter and over ten. Lyrics were mostly in Chinese (Han), although there was also a mix of Manchu and Han known as »man han jian« 满汉兼 (»Manchu and Han concurring together«). For instance, the collection of zidishu stored in the Qing Mongolian Prince Che’s Residence includes a three-chapter volume titled Taking Crabs, written in both Manchu and Han. There was a Manchu-Han parallel form known as Man Han hebi (the »harmonious combination of Manchu and Chinese«), an instance of which is the Seeking Husband Song. Zidishu was fully formed before the end of the Qianlong reign at the latest. At that time, there were already differences between the so called »eastern« and »western« rhymes in its vocal music. In the Qing Dynasty, Beijing was divided into two cities, namely Dongcheng 东城 (»East City«) and Xicheng 西城 (»West City«), where Dongcheng belonged to Daxing County and Xicheng to Wanping County. Zidishu were sung in Dongcheng first. Later, some artists in Xicheng assimilated kunqu vocal music that they then used to perform zidishu. The singing style there differed from that of Dongcheng and was known as xi yun zidishu 西韵子弟书 (i.  e. »western rhymed zidishu«). The original style that circulated in Dongcheng was known as dong yun zidishu 东韵子弟书 (i.  e. »eastern rhymed zidishu«). In terms of the vocal music style, the »east rhyme« was deep, solemn and impassioned, often concerned with historical plots of loyal officials and good generals, while the »west rhyme« was poignant, suave and gentle, and therefore suitable for voicing the romantic feelings of beautiful female characters. In the third year of Jiaqing (1798), as the idlers from the Qing imperial household in the capital were sent back to Shengjing (historical name of modern-day Shenyang), so did the »eastern rhymed zidishu« spread to the northeast. Approx-

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imately at the same time, »western rhymed zidishu« spread to Tianjin, where it was known as wei zidishu 卫子弟书 (»Tianjin bannermen tales«), combined with local dialects and folk tunes and comprising mainly lengthy repertoires. From the end of Jiaqing to the Daoguang reign, many of those who had originally sung zidishu for their own entertainment gradually embarked on performance careers, seeking livelihoods from performing zidishu. Some drum book artists also switched to zidishu. Where only the octagonal drum had been originally used to beat time, accompanying instruments for zidishu now also included the sanxian family. Performance methods also evolved into two different forms: one where a single performer simultaneously played the sanxian and sang and one where one artist played the sanxian while a second one beat the drums and sang. As zidishu prospered for a time, the socalled »nan cheng diao« 南城调 (»southern tune«) and »bei cheng diao« (»northern tune«) emerged in the southern and northern parts of Beijing, respectively. Renowned zidishu artists from this period up to the Guangxu reign included Shi Yukun, who was famous for his »ingenious tunes and beautiful sentences«; Guo Dong, who brought forth the »southern tune« in addition to the »east rhyme« and »west rhyme«; an otherwise anonymous performer known as the »King of Water Margin« for his skilled rendition of this work; An Jingting, who was said to have »tasteful criticism« despite not being gifted with a good voice; Ren Guangshun whom had a beautiful voice despite his librettos being illogical and ungrammatical; and visually impaired performers Wang Xinyuan and Zhao Debi. The venues holding professional zidishu performances at the time in Beijing included places such as Guaibanglou 拐棒楼 (»The Secluded Teahouse«) and Lechunfang 乐春芳 (»Delighted by Spring Fragrance«). The authors of zidishu librettos also came to form their own associations. According to the text An

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Introduction to Zidishu, in its section »Establishing a Club,« zidishu authors at the time formed shushe 书社 (»story societies«) where members were elected as presidents for »one club per month or eight clubs per year.« At the scheduled time, they gathered together to sing impromptu their own new works, appraise those of their peers and promote their creations through exchange. In some places, zidishu writers referred to their organizations as shishe 诗社 (»poetry societies«); for instance, from the Jiaqing to the Guangxu reigns, Shenyang had two successive poetry societies organized by zidishu authors. One was the Zhilan Poetry Society, created by authors such as Miao Gong’en and Cheng Weiyuan in the late Jiaqing Period; the other was the Huilan Poetry Society, created by authors such as Han Xiaochuang, Miao Donglin and Xi Xiaofeng in the third year of Guangxu (1877). Shi Yukun (dates of birth and death unknown), styled Zhenzhi, was a renowned zidishu artist in Beijing during the Daoguang Period. According to some, he hailed from Tianjin. The zidishu libretto The Cases of the Auxiliary Academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall that he composed and edited was his own personal songbook and remained unpublished. Someone arranged his singing in the form of a free prose style huaben or prompt-book known as Aural Record of the Auxiliary Academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall, meaning that the stories were recorded by ear. Later, someone else adapted this work into Tales of the Xiake Martyrs, also known as Three Knight-Errants and Five Righteous One, which then flourished and eventually became the basis of many shuoshu works. Shi Yukun’s stage presence was natural and unrestrained, and his shuochang was beautiful and light-hearted; he was a unique performer. His writing was known as »Shi pai shu« 石派书 (»tales in Shi style«) or »Shi yunshu« 石韵书 (»Shi rhymes«). Such was his influence that some folk bookstores hyped up their librettos, flaunting them as Shi pai shu to boost sales. His vocal music was eventually

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absorbed by danxian paiziqu 单弦牌子曲 (single chord songs) and turned into qupai or fixed melodies known as Shi yun 石韵 (»Shi rhymes«). The status of folk musical theater as a form of popular art meant that many artists wrote and performed their own works, with the art being passed on orally and a smaller pool of well-known songbook writers. Luo Songchuang, He Lü and Han Xiaochuang were three prominent, greatly accomplished representatives of this genre. The life and deeds of Luo Songchuang are unknown. He is usually considered a representative author in the foundational period of zidishu. Luo has been confirmed to be the author of zidishu librettos such as Madam Zhuang Lowers Herself to Burn Incense, Cuiping Mountain, Du Liniang Retracts a Dream, Hong Fu’s Elopement, The Lovers’ Promises on Double Seven Festival, Luo Cheng Appears in the Dream, A Very Slim Wasteline, Hiding in the Boat, A Soul Goes Wandering and Out the Passes. These works are all mostly concerned with the love stories between gifted scholars and beautiful ladies, and were suitable for »west rhyme« performances. Therefore, Luo is also generally acknowledged as a representative author of »west rhyme« style zidishu. He Lü (dates of birth and death unknown), whose real name was Aisin Gioro Yigeng, was a representative author in Beijing in the developmental period of zidishu. He lived around the Daoguang and Tongzhi years and was the son of Prince Zhuangxiang. According to his own zidishu songbook, he served as an imperial bodyguard of the third rank for six years during the Daoguang Period. Left destitute and frustrated upon the decline of his family’s financial situation, he turned to writing zidishu to divert himself from his indignation. He had a close pen friend in Han Xiaochuang, another famous zidishu writer who was his junior. The following titles are believed to be among his zidishu songbook works: A Discussion on the Imperial Bodyguard, Lamenting the Old Imperial Bodyguard, Lamenting the Young Imperial Bodyguard,

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The Lament of the Wife of an Imperial Bodyguard, Borrowing Boots, Liu Jingting, Miscellaneous ­Titles of Zidishu, A Mad Monk Curing a Malady, The Professional Player Liu Curing a Malady, Dream of Plum Blossoms, The Donkey of Qian and The Dialogue between Mencius and King Hui of Liang. In addition to his zidishu songbooks, he authored eleven versions of Miscellany from the Pavilion of Fine Dreams, many of which narrate Qing Dynasty court anecdotes. In terms of style, He Lü is one of the more distinctive and unique zidishu authors. His creations were either based on real life experience or drew support from the legacy of old texts and writing to describe inner feelings with rich emotions and reflect on worldly affairs with biting sarcasm, with a rich depth of content and a free, unrestrained writing technique. Miscellaneous Titles of Zidishu, a book relating the titles of over 150 zidishu programmes, stands out in particular for being playful and skilfully interwoven with popular zidishu repertoires as well as representing a precious historical document for later generations to understand the creation, performance and popularity of zidishu. Han Xiaochuang (c.  1828–c.  1890) was a representative author of the late period of zidishu and a native of Kaiyuan, Liaoning. Having lost his mother in his childhood, he was sent away, to live with his paternal aunt in Shengjing (modern-day Shenyang). He failed the imperial examinations numerous times during the Xianfeng and Tongzhi reigns. Having made He Lü’s acquaintance and Beijing his place of residence for a time, he began to write zidishu. In the early years of Guangxu, he returned to settle in Shenjing. In the 3rd year of Guangxu (1877), he established the Huilan Poetry Society with fellow authors such as Miao Donglin, Xi Xiaofeng and Chun Shuzhai, motivated by the purpose of exchanging zidishu scripts and poetry works. In terms reminiscent of Buddhism, He Lü described Han as »a great and founding master of zidishu« in his zidishu script Strolling through the Temple for Protecting the Country. It is said that

CHAPTER V ARTS OF SINGING AND CHANTING, XIANGSHENG, AND MANCHU PERFORMING ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY

Han authored over five hundred kinds of zidishu librettos, which makes him the most prolific known zidishu writer. 35 of his works are extant today, including titles such as Grannie Liu Visits the Rong Mansion for the First Time, A Karmic Bond of Dew and Tears, The Invocation to the Hibiscus Spirit, Xue Baochai Helps with the Embroidery, Borrowing Money and Despising the Wife, Borrowing Money and Despising the Wife: A Continuation, Red Plum Pavillion, A Battle at Changbanpo, Baidi Town, Xu’s Mother Reptrimands Her Son, Selling and Trying Knives, Drafting an Imperial Edict while Teeth Tremble, Official Admonitions and Sighs, Visiting a Person of Virtue, Lower Henan, The Cursed City, Moral Perfection is Priceless, The Girl in the Green Dress and Counting Arhats. Han Xiaochuang’s zidishu had a broad range of topics and diverse styles. They were either based on the stories of the novels Dream of the Red Chamber, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin and The Plum in the Golden Vase, or on the stories of folk musical theater. For instance, Red Plum Pavilion drew from Ming author Zhou Chaojun’s chuanqi The Story of Red Plums, while Moral Perfection Is Priceless is based on Qing Dynasty gaoqiang operas such as A Woman in Leaving, Cursing a Woman, Entering the Mansion and Flogging a Boy Servant, and Visiting a Person of Virtue and Lower Henan were based on the eponymous Qing Dynasty gaoqiang opera repertoire. One of Han’s masterpiece was A Karmic Bond of Dew and Tears, including a total of 13 chapters perfunctorily based on stories from the 16th through the 98th chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber: »The Phoenix’ Stratagem,« »Dispersing Idiocies,« »A Sentimental Couplet,« »Heartbreak,« »Burning Manuscripts,« »Mistaken Happiness,« »A Cuckoo’s Caw,« »Bidding Farewell with a Servant Girl,« »A Crying Jade,« »Boudoir Satire,« »Proving Karma« and »Remaining Love.« His writing was profound and touching, with an extremely moving narration, because Han had a profound grasp of the deep social and historical

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9.5.5  Octagonal drum discovered in Xixia County, Henan

reasons behind Baoyu and Daiyu’s love tragedy in Dream of the Red Chamber. His language is skilful and unconventionally graceful. Judging from the perspective of representative zidishu authors and their equally representative works, the creation of zidishu scripts was not a pen-and-ink game of the youth of the Qing Manchu household registers. Rather, authors went to painstakingly efforts to portray in depth their realizations on society, history and real-life experiences. Their works contained valuable, spearheaded thoughts and a rare critical spirit, and can be regarded as a unique expression of the intellectual thoughts of the intelligentsia of a declining Qing imperial court and feudal society. The artistic skills shown in the zidishu scripts, such as the euphemistic twists and turns of the narrative, the exquisiteness and fullness displayed in the characters’ psychological portrayal, the parallelism and depth of the language expression and its freshness and beauty, particularly the unique use of the aesthetic skills of lyrical narration, are all instances of a precious legacy in the history of literary songbook creation, well-deserving of being appropriately cherished and inherited.

2. The Octagonal Drum Bajiao gu (the octagonal drum) was originally the name of a percussion instrument. As an accompanying instrument, the octagonal drum already existed in Ming Beijing (Fig. 9.5.5.). The song form of »octagonal drum« that was created and performed mainly by the youth of the Qing Manchu household registers emerged after the middle years of the Qianlong reign. It is based on the chaqu 岔曲 (»cha songs«) created by a certain Bao Xiaocha 宝小岔.who would have been in the troops of Qing general A Gui when they returned triumphant to Beijing after the Battle of Jinchuan. With the octagonal drum as the main accompanying instrument, it absorbed many military and folk popular ditties, merging them in performance and gradually forming the folk art of paiziqu. Judging from the numerous lyrics included in the two popular music compilations Supplementary Formulary of the Rainbow Skirts and Bequeathed Songs from the White Snows, the formation of the »octagonal drum,« its performance contents and tunes, were all deeply influenced by Ming and

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Qing popular ditties. In addition to the different tunes found in chaqu, such as cui cha 脆岔 (»clear cha songs«), ping cha 平岔 (»flat cha songs«), zhang cha 长岔 (»long cha songs«), qi zi cha 起字 岔 (»starting-word cha songs«), shu zi cha 数字岔 (»word-counting cha songs«), bie yun 别韵 (»distinguishing rhythms«), dang yun 荡韵 (»idling rhythms«) and qin qiang 琴腔 (»qin tunes«), there were fixed melodies (qupai) such as the matou tune 码头调 (»port-style tunes«), the mountain tune, Pi po yu 劈破玉 (»Breaking the Jade«), Shua hai’er 耍孩儿 (»Playing with Kids«), dao tui chuan 倒推船 (»A Boat Pushed Backwards«), Taiping nian 太平年 (»Peaceful Times«), the bianguan tune 边关调 (»frontier tunes«), Cutting an Indigo Flower, the huagu tune 花鼓调 (»flower-drum tune«), Die duanqiao 叠断桥 (»Laying the Broken Bridge«), Yin niu si 银纽丝 (»Loops of Silver String«) and Luojiang yuan 罗江怨 (»Lament at the Silk River«)—all of which the octagonal drum borrowed from the common tunes of Ming and Qing popular music. The »chaqu,« »yao jier« 腰 截儿 (»middle section«) and »miscellaneous paiziqu« genres from Bequeathed Songs from the White Snows were all combined into a single category under the unified title of »Octogonal Drum.« As a song form, the »octagonal drum« had already

CHAPTER V ARTS OF SINGING AND CHANTING, XIANGSHENG, AND MANCHU PERFORMING ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY

evolved into a range of five performance styles by the mid-Qing Period. The boundless expansion of octagonal drum performance methods diluted its connotation as a specific genre. As a result, and following the continuous specialization of performers and their respective genres becoming gradually independent, and »octagonal drum« as a genre gradually disintegrated in the late Qing. In its beginning, the octagonal drum circulated among the youth of the Qing Manchu household registers and their upper circles for self-entertainment purposes. Later, it would be performed at specialized venues for gathering and performance that were known as piaofang« 票房 (»amateur companies«), with performers being called »piaoyou« 票友 (»amateur actors«). Simultaneously to the multi-layered development of the octagonal drum in Beijing, the genre was also popular in Liaoning, eastern Inner Mongolia and most of Shandong. Some believe that the variety that thrived in Liaoning and eastern Inner Mongolia was a product of the Manchu nomadic period as hunters prior to their emigration to the Central Plains, when they would turn to the octagonal drum as a pastime.

CHAPTER VI  MUSIC IN THE QING DYNASTY Section 1  Court Music in the Qing Dynasty 1. The Evolution of Court Music in the Qing Dynasty The imperial court music of the Qing Dynasty has a history stretching over nearly 300 years, from the 1616 foundation of the Later Jin Dynasty by Nurhaci in Shenyang to the abdication of the last emperor in 1912. This history can be divided into three main stages: The first, initial stage extended from Nurhaci’s ascension to the throne to the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor (1638–1661). The defining characteristic of court music at this time was the gradual transition from Manchu-Han hybrids toward Han music, principally ceremonial court music (yayue 雅樂). Before breaching the Great Wall and marching into China proper, court music was for the most part Manchurian. According to the official Draft History of the Qing, the traditional Manchurian song and dance style favored by the court was known as mangshi 莽式. whose chants and heavy percussion »befitted the recounting of tales from the northeast plains« and »the cavalry standard, the yak-tail banner, the bow and arrow, and the spurring of horses on the eve of battle.« At this time the ruler revered Han Chinese culture, and attached great importance to the study of the rites and music of his new subjects. For example, early ceremonial music was mainly played when sending an army into battle or upon their triumphant return; later, this was extended to birthdays and weddings and then again to new year’s celebrations. Not only Han ceremonial music was used

but also Song-style dramas on special occasions. In the 9th year of Hong Taiji’s Tiancong reign period (1635), a Han minister submitted that this arrangement »does not befit your majesty’s palace.« This brought an end to mixed performances of ceremonial music and traditional operas. After passing through the Great Wall and entering China proper, a system of palace music centered around Han styles was gradually formed and perfected. The second stage covers the reigns of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, and Jiaqing emperors. This was the golden age of the Qing Dynasty and also a period of maturity for the development of imperial court music. The Kangxi Emperor ascended to the throne at the age of just seven, and in his later years consistently yearned to make cultural contributions. One of the most outstanding of these in the field of music was the Standard Interpretation of Harmonics (lulu zhengyi 律呂正義), a text on past dynasties’ systems of rites and music compiled by Kangxi himself, with contributions from Wei Tingzhen and Wang Lansheng. The biggest difference from the music works of the past dynasties lies in the addition of Western music theory and five-line staff introduced by the missionaries Thomas Peirera (1645–1708) from Portugal and Theodoricus Pedrini (1670–1746) from Italy. However, from the viewpoint of musical temperament, the contents of the book are both outmoded and preposterous. In order to make a display of novelty and differentiate this musical temperament from that of the Ming Dynasty, he vilified the twelve-tone equal temperament of Ming Dynasty musician Zhu Zaiyu (1536–1611) and worked out his own fourteen-tone equal temperament which was neither fish, flesh, nor fowl. Not only did it not

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have a leg to stand on theoretically, but practically it was also impossible to put into effect. Moreover, Kangxi was already in the process of perfecting the system of sacrifices, celebrations, banquets, and music that had started to take shape under his father, the Shunzhi Emperor. The Qianlong Emperor considered himself elegant and culturally refined, and was »eagerly determined« to initiate something new and unorthodox in music, according to the Draft History of Qing. The court music of the Qing Dynasty originally carried on the same tunes and melodies as the Ming Dynasty, but with the lyrics mostly rewritten. The lyrics of Ming Dynasty music consisted of eight lines each, with five, six, or seven characters per line. Under the Qing, this was altered to eight or ten lines of four characters each. In this manner, a predicament arose of temperament, rhythm, and lyrics not being in harmony. Qianlong grasped this problem and resolved to fix it. Ortai, Grand Secretary of the Hall for Preserving Harmony, proposed that »the words and music movement should be harmonized according to the rhythm of the melody« and that they should revert to the eight-line compositions of the Ming Dynasty and these lines should not be restricted to just four characters. In Qianlong’s sixth year, he gave the Manchu Prince Yunlu and Secretary of the Ministry of Justice Zhang Zhao five years to re-examine and revamp the musical regime. They compiled a second edition of the Standard Interpretation of Harmonics that, along with Kangxi’s original, laid the foundations of Qing Dynasty court music. The third stage stretches from the reign of the Daoguang Emperor (1813–1820) to the abdication of the last emperor, Pu Yi, in 1912. This was a period of overwhelming internal strife and foreign invasion, weakening the empire to the extent that it had no time to take music into account, and the rules for music already in place had become nothing but an empty shell. It is worth mentioning that after the great powers opened up the

CHAPTER VI MUSIC IN THE QING DYNASTY

empire, Western music poured in along with the gunboats and missionaries, exerting a significant impact on music of the period; »European military music« (Ouluoba junyue 歐羅巴軍樂) even became a feature of imperial house activities. During the final years of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign (1875–1908), efforts were initiated to follow international precedent and create a Qing national anthem, although the dynasty fell before this reached fruition.

2. Court Ritual Music Ritual music refers to the compositions used in various formal ceremonies and rites; it can be broadly divided into two categories: that used for offering sacrifices to the gods and ancestors (jisi yinyue 祭祀音樂) and that used for ceremonies (qingdian yinyue 慶典音樂). 1. Sacrificial Music The various names and types of sacrificial ceremonies in the Qing Dynasty were multitudinous, and therefore so was the music to accompany it. There is no need to dwell upon the sacrifices made to heaven and earth, to the ancestors and the gods of soil and grain; other sacrifices for the emperors of past dynasties, to the Five Sacred Mountains and the various deities that populated the landscape, to Confucius, Guan Yu, the God of the Year, the Goddess of Silkworms, and the Gods of Agriculture are all too many to be enumerated. More significant were the sacrifices made at the Temple of Heaven’s Circular Mound Altar, the sacrifices to the earth at the Square Mound Altar, seasonal sacrifices performed at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and ritual intercessions for rain at the Altar of Land and Grain. The main musical system used during sacrifices to the gods or ancestors was the so-called zhonghe shaoyue 中和韶樂. a grand and solemn style of music played by vast orchestras that included drums, lutes, bamboo flutes, zithers, panpipes, chimes, whistles, pandean pipes, stone chimes,

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sonorous stones, and other instruments. In order to underscore the function of sacrificial worship, the tunes employed are slow, with one character corresponding to one beat, and every line interspersed with three heavy drum beats. 2. Ceremonial Music Ceremonial music refers to music played when the emperor partook in a variety of official functions or left on a journey. It can be further divided into three categories: court audience music (chaohui yue 朝會樂), imperial tour music (xingxing yue 行 幸樂), and triumphant return music (kaixuan yue 凱旋樂). Various types of formal audiences took place within the imperial court, for example on New Year’s Day, the emperor’s birthday, on the occasion of his ascension to the throne and his marriage, as well as the regular audiences held on the 5th, 15th, and 25th day of each month. All of these required music, and there were two types, styled during the Ming Dynasty, that were used. One was a truncated version of the zhonghe shaoyue used for ritual sacrifices, which was mainly used as the emperor ascended and descended from the throne; the other, known as danbi dayue 丹陛大 樂. was played when ministers paid tribute to the emperor. (Fig. 9.6.1). »Imperial tour music« refers to ceremonial music played when the emperor left his palace walls to make an inspection tour. Because the emperor’s guard of honour was also known as the »imperial procession« (lubu 鹵簿), this style of music was known as »imperial processionary music« (lubu yue 鹵簿樂). Since the occasions for processions varied widely, they divided into four types: the »grand imperial procession« (dajia lubu 大駕鹵簿) when the emperor travelled to the Temple of Heaven to make ritual sacrifices; the »imperial carriage procession« (fajia lubu 法駕鹵簿) for court audiences within the palace grounds; the »imperial chariot procession« (luanjia lubu 鑾駕 鹵簿) during tours within the Imperial City; and

SECTION 1 COURT MUSIC IN THE QING DYNASTY

the »horseback procession« (qjia lubu 騎駕鹵簿) when the emperor left the capital to inspect the provinces. Court audience music, imperial tour music, and triumphant return music were the three constituent parts of ceremonial music in the imperial court. Together with sacrificial music, they formed an important part of the court music of Qing Dynasty ritual music (liyi yinyue 禮儀音樂). The overall framework of court ritual music in the Qing Dynasty basically followed the Ming Dynasty. Although the lyrics were mostly rewritten, most of the tunes remained the same. Therefore, we can perceive certain aspects of Ming Dynasty court music throughout the Qing.

3. Court Entertainment Music Court entertainment music during the Qing Dynasty can be divided into two categories: banquet music (yanxiang yinyue 宴享音樂) and wind and percussion ensemble music (chuida yue 吹打樂). Entertainment music served ceremonial as well as artistic functions, as the form of Qing court music that was most dynamic and the most closely connected to the folk music of the emperor’s subjects outside the palace walls. 1. Banquet Music Music played when banqueting guests at the royal palace, known in ancient times as »feast music« (yan yue 燕樂), is recorded as far back as the »Offices of Spring« in the Rites of Zhou. Nurhaci and Hong Taiji, the first rulers of the Qing Dynasty, began having feast music played in their royal court before they overran China proper. The Draft History of the Qing records that »feast music played from all the farthest corners of the frontier« as the Manchus conquered Chahar and Korea. After surging south of the Great Wall, as their territory expanded and the ranks of their vassal states proliferated, their repertoire of court feast music grew too. By the time of the Qianlong Emperor, ten different music bureaus (yuebu 樂

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部) had taken shape. Among them, in addition to Qing music (Qingyue 清樂), the other nine ensembles were all singing, dancing and acrobatic music types belonging to various other ethnicities, with a strong performative aspect. Qing Music Qing music was the ceremonial music used during banquets, and as such cannot be regarded as merely a form of entertainment but a fixture in the course of every banquet. The two types of Qing music, zhonghe qingyue 中和清樂 and danbi qingyue 丹陛清樂. shared identical orchestras that included two bamboo flutes, two woodwinds, two pandean pipes, one hourglass drum, one frame drum, and one set of clappers. The difference between the two is that zhonghe qingyue was used for eating, whereas danbi qingyue was used for drinking tea and wine. Additionally, zhonghe qingyue was used in the »cezun ceremony« (cezun dianli 冊尊典禮) and during the the hanging of lanterns and ribbons on Lunar New Year’s Eve and the night of the Lantern Festival, while danbi qingyue was used during the linyong 臨雍 tea ceremony. In terms of content, the two styles were both classic songs of praise, peace, and prosperity. Group Dance Music Group dance music (dui wu yue 隊舞樂) was a comprehensive art form combining music, song, and dance that developed out of traditional Manchu folk song and dance. According to the Draft History of the Qing, it was divided into three styles: qinglong dance (qinglongwu 慶隆舞), which was used at court audience and all celebratory banquets in the palace; shide dance (shidewu 世德 舞), used at banquets for royal clansmen; and desheng dance (desheng wu 德勝舞), which was used for banquets of triumphant return. Qinglong dance was the early traditional mangshi song and dance form that Manchu nobles not only enjoyed watching but also joining in. On the empress dowager’s seventieth birthday in 1710, the 57-year-old

CHAPTER VI MUSIC IN THE QING DYNASTY

Kangxi Emperor did a mangshi dance to please his royal mother. Although qinglong dance, shide dance, and desheng dance all had different applications, they were all accompanied by a small ensemble consisting of one long zither, one xiqin, three pipa, and three sanxian, along with clapping and singing. Mongolian Music Under the reign of Hong Taiji, the Qing subjugated the Mongolian stronghold of Chahar, south of the Gobi Desert, and brought their traditional music back to fold into their own feast music. There are two kinds of Mongolian music. Jiachui 笳吹 make use of one hujia 胡笳 reed flute used by the northern nomads; one zheng 筝. a stringed instrument; one huqin 胡琴. a two-stringed bowed instrument; and one kouqin 口琴 harmonica. The other, known as fanbu hezou (»barbarian ensemble« 番 部合奏) included one each of a wider variety of instruments: the gong chimes, flute, bamboo whistle, woodwind, pandean pipe, pipa, zheng, huqin, sanxian, erxian, yueqin 月琴 guitar, tiqin, yazheng, castanets, and komuz Central Asian lute. The huqin used in jiachui music was similar to today’s erhu, while the huqin and tiqin used in fanbu hezou are similar to today’s banhu and sihu, respectively. Wa’erka Music The Wa’erka tribe were a branch of the Jurchen people that resided in the upper reaches of the Ussuri River along the border between China and Korea. After being conquered by Nurhaci, their musical tradition was incorporated into the »music of the furthest corners« (siyi zhi yue 四裔之 樂) and performed at banquets. It was a relatively simple form of song-and-dance featuring eight dancers accompanied by four Tartar pipes (bili 篳篥) and four haegeum (xiqin 奚琴) fiddles. Korean Musical Theatre As a vassal state under Hong Taiji, Korea also contributed to the Qing’s repository of feast music.

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9.6.1  Copper bianzhong bells gilt in the cloud dragon pattern, Palace Museum

These performances involved 14 people including a masked leader delivering addresses in Korean. The band consisted of just three people: one on the bamboo flute, one guan woodwind, and one long drum. Huibu Music »Huibu« (»Muslim Tribal Area« 回部) was the term used at this time to describe ethnic Uighurs in what is now the Xinjiang region. The Draft History of the Qing records how the music of these lands, formerly the Dzungar Khanate, was integrated into court feast music after being conquered in a series of military campaigns launched by the

Qianlong Emperor. Huibu music was divided into free categories: instrumental, dance, and acrobatics. The instruments they used, according to contemporary transliterations, were the dabu tambourine, nagala iron drum, ha’erzhaka twostring bowed instrument, ka’ernai dulcimer, lababu plucked stringed instrument, balaman pipe, su’ernai trumpet, and the sitar. Performances typically began with instrumental music, followed by dancing and then acrobatics. Fanzi Music »Fanzi music« (»barbarian music« 番子樂) referred to Tibetan music, at first obtained from

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Jinchuan county after it was pacified by Qianlong and then later from the Tibetan Panchen Lama E’erdeni when he came to court to offer music following the complete subjugation of Tibet. Musical instruments used in Jinchuan included the deli trumpet, baiqie’er cymbals, and deleiwo drum. Panchen instruments included the deli, bawang plucked stringed instrument, cangqing gong chimes, and the longsima’erdeleiwo large copper tambourine. Jinchuan music was divided into the alansa’er lion dance, guozhuang ten-person Tibetan folk dance, and the four-horned beast bow-and-arrow dance. The Draft History of Qing records that, at the Panchen Lama’s monastic seat Tashi Lhunpo, »ten barbarian children each holding an ax, sung Buddhist songs.« Gurkha Music The Gurkha Kingdom was situated in western Nepal, and was invaded by Qianlong after he annexed Tibet, bringing its music back for banquet performances. Two dancers with footballs performed to the tune of the dabula tambourine, three salangji stringed instruments similar to the tiqin, the danbula plucked stringed instrument, dala cymbals, and five singers. Burmese Music Burma began paying tribute to the court of the Qianlong Emperor in 1788, and henceforth was also integrated into the feast music repertoire. It was broadly divided into the »coarse« and »fine« varieties. Coarse Burmese music used five types of musical instruments: jieneidouhu drums, niedoujiang trumpet, nieniedoujiang pipes, and jiemangniedoubu cymbals. Along with two dancers, fine Burmese music drew from seven instruments: badala bamboo-strip piano, bangzha tambourine, zonggaoji harp, miqiongzong plucked stringed instrument, deyuezong stringed instrument, shilei recorder, and jiezu cymbals.

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Annamese Music Annam refers to present-day Vietnam, which Qianlong invaded, occupied, and turned into a vassal state under a puppet government in 1789. As part of the feast music pageantry, it was known as »Annamese song and dance.« For unknown reasons, the Jiaqing Emperor demanded an end to Annamese music at banquets in the eighth year of his reign (1803). As well as four dancers with colourful fans, a band plays an assortment of eight traditional Vietnamese instruments including the dan ho, phach, dan ty ba, sao, dan bau, dan nyuget, and gongs. The ten types of music detailed above came from tribes, nations, and states from all corners of the empire, continuing the ancient tradition of banqueting to the tune of »music from the four barbarian tribes on the border« (siyi zhi yue 四夷之樂) whilst also reflecting the Qing court’s multiethnic nature and the military threat it posed to the states on its periphery. Moreover, these ten genres were not used on an equal footing. The first, Qing music, was a fixture at all types of banquets. When the Hanlin Academy was invited to dine with the emperor, it was the only type of music played. At other banquets, not all were necessarily featured. Generally speaking, the Manchu’s own dance form was the first choice, followed by Mongolian music due to the close relationship between the Manchu and Mongolian peoples. Beyond these two, none of the others were guaranteed a place at the table. 2. Wind and Percussion Ensemble Music With the exception of banquet music, recreational activities in the Qing Dynasty court mainly centered on theatrical plays, acrobatic performances, as well as the appreciation of chuidayue 吹打樂. an ensemble of Chinese wind and percussion instruments. The Shengping Bureau (Shengpingshu 升平署), established initially as the Nanfu 南府 by the Daoguang Emperor’s inner court in 1827, was responsible for organizing theatrical perfor-

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mances in the Qing palace. The Bureau had jurisdiction over two musical companies: the zhongheyue, responsible for the performance of all types of ceremonial music; and shifanxue (»Ten Barbarian Studies« 十番學), which encompassed a wind and percussion band. Just as the name implies, shifanxue performances were principally of the ten disparate folk traditions already catalogued, also known as the qingyin shifan 清音十番. The Board of Rites Precedents

9.6.2  »Qingyin« instrumental ­performance performed on the occasion of the Kangxi Emperor’s birthday, by Leng Mei [1717], Palace Museum

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(libu zeli 禮部則列) compiled by the Daoguang Emperor in 1844 delineate how these bands were to be composed: one pandean pipe; two flutes; four bamboo flutes; one vertical bamboo flute; two jinxing 金星; one tang 鏜 gong; one set of cymbals; one luo 鑼 gong; one xian 弦; one set of clappers; one wooden fish; one barrel-shaped drum; and one single-headed drum. This kind of formation was broadly similar to that recorded by Li Dou in his Qianlong-era work (Fig. 9.6.2).

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Section 2  Religious Music in the Qing Dynasty Religion is often the last home of the national spirit, and sometimes becomes a firm pillar of national spirit. In Chinese history, only Buddhism and Daoism persisted for thousands of years without falling, and created their own complete musical traditions. Therefore, religious music in the Qing Dynasty mainly refers to Buddhist and Daoist music. Of course, because the Qing Dynasty was dominated by the Manchu ethnic group, music of the Manchu shamanic faith also occupied a niche in Qing religious music.

1. Buddhist Music From the time Buddhism first entered China during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220) to the Qing era, over a thousand years had already passed. Over that time, Buddhist music developed in step with Buddhism itself, starting with Indian prayer chants before being progressively Sinicized in the Six Dynasties (222–589) then prospering under the Sui and Tang and increasingly penetrating into popular life in the Song and Yuan, becoming an organic constituent part of traditional Chinese music. On the one hand, Buddhist music reached its final form; but on the other, it also gradually declined, gradually merging into one with secular folk music. 1. The Final Form of Buddhist Morning and Evening Mass Starting in the Ming Dynasty, the system of morning and evening mass at Buddhist monasteries had already begun to be standardized. During the reign of the Daoguang Emperor, a volume titled Daily Recitations for Chan [Zen] Monasteries was officially published, which can be seen as a waymarker in the essential finalization of Buddhist music for the recitation of passages from strictures. Daily Recitations for Chan Monasteries included tracts on over 30 types of chanting

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and recitation rites, including »Morning and Evening Mass,« »Sacred Ceremony,« »Small Prayer,« »Blessing the Sacred Buddha,« »Blessing Wells and Springs,« »Prayer for Wandering Souls,« »Fasting,« »Chan Praise,« and »Avatamsaka Sutra of the Huayan School,« as well as over 40 incantations and curses, various miscellaneous sayings from eminent monks of the past, questions and answers, and the original texts of 16 classic texts. It can be said that Recitations for Chan Monasteries is both an anthology of everyday prayers and a handbook referred to daily by monks. After being published in book form, it became provided a model followed by monasteries across the land. Some monasteries also published »Morning and Evening Mass« as a standalone text, achieving even wider circulation. To the present day, most Chinese Buddhist monasteries, especially in the south, continue to use it, especially Tianning Temple in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. Of course, due to the differences in the dialects of the north and south, the same verses will always be slightly changed in various places, but the totality remains broadly the same with minor deviations. Because Buddhist music had fundamentally been finalized in the Qing Dynasty, and because of its relatively conservativeness, the music of monastic chanting that we hear today is basically the same as that of the Qing Dynasty. 2. The Ascent of Waterland Dharma, the Flaming Mouth Service, and other Buddhist Rituals The Waterland Dharma, or Liberation Rite of Water and Land, is a worship ritual that helps beings in the lower realms to be released from their suffering. It began to rise in Chinese Buddhism during the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589), when in 505 Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty penned the »Waterland Purification Rites« (Shuilu zhaiyi 水陸斋儀) and numerous times conducted Pañcavārṣika Assemblies (Wuzhe dahui 無遮大會), the forerunner to the »Water and

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Land Rites,« in his Palace Chapel. In the Southern Song, the Chan (Zen) Buddhist monk Zhipan revised the »Water and Land Purification Rites« according to various popular manuscripts circulating at the time, and produced the »New Rites of Water and Land« (Shuilu xinyi 水陸新儀), which would later become known as »Southern Water and Land« (Nan shuilu 南水陸). In the mid-Ming Dynasty, the monk Zhu Hong of the Yunqi Temple in Hangzhou supplemented this work, producing the »Water and Land Assembly Rites« (Shuilu fahui yigui 水陸法會儀軌), which became known as the »Northern Water and Land« (Bei shuilu 北 水陸). Under the Qing, the monk Yi Run of Hangzhou’s Zhenji Temple added more specific guidelines that were edited into the six-volume Book of Rites for the Grand Purification Assembly of Water and Land, finally culminating in the standardization of the ritual in Han Chinese Buddhism. The Water and Land ritual is the largest-scale among Buddhist ceremonies, lasting at least seven days and as many as 49 days and involving tens to hundreds of participants. Besides chanting sutras, ritual repentance, feeding hungry ghosts, and praying for blessings on the dead, music also occupies an important place in the ceremony. In order to perform a large quantity of chants, there are over a hundred tunes to guide Buddhist services, involving instrumental accompaniment and sometimes multiple musical ensembles that perform in turn, with those with the widest repertoires most widely revered. After Zhipan in the Southern Song, the Water and Land ritual gradually became centered around Tiantong Temple in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. The final edition of the »Water and Land Assembly Rites« produced during the Qing Dynasty was preserved, printed, and distributed from the temple. »Flaming Mouth« (yankou 焰口) gatherings were typically used to seek blessings for the dead and release from purgatory the souls of the departed, so named because they were conceived of as hungry ghosts spitting fire. This kind of Buddhist ser-

SECTION 2 RELIGIOUS MUSIC IN THE QING DYNASTY

vice was initiated during the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Emperor Xuanzong (713–741) by the monk Amoghavajra, one of the founders of the Shingon sect. In the 31st year of the Qing Emperor Kangxi’s reign, (1692), the monk Deji of Baohuashan compiled his »Outline of the Yoga Flaming Mouth Feeding Ceremony« (Yujia yankou shishi jiyao 瑜 珈焰口施食集要), which became known simply as the »Mount Hua Flaming Mouth« (Huashan yankou 華山焰口). To this extent, the work to finalize the design and norms of the Flaming Mouth Buddhist service, also known as the »Flaming Mouth Liberation« (Fang yankou 放焰口) service had been completed. The number of participants involved was less than that of the Water and Land ritual, usually just a few to a few dozen, and it lasted about five to six hours. The program included an invitation, the gathering of monks, the presenting of food and water, and the releasing of souls, all of which required a large quantity of musical accompaniment. 3. The Development of Instrumental Music Throughout the ages, Buddhism has attached importance to the role played by instrumental music in religious services, which can be attested to by the characters in the names for Chan Buddhist mass and the Water and Land and Flaming Mouth rituals. Buddhists believe that instrumental music is a kind of offering to the Buddha, with the power to dispel ghosts and spirits, purify the temple grounds, and help monks to focus their attention, a function that is especially important during the Water and Land and Flaming Mouth rituals. The instrumental music used in Qing-era Buddhism was clearly divided between the Southern and Northern schools. The Northern school was best represented by Mount Wutai in Shanxi Province, the Zhihua Temple in Beijing, Chengde Temple in Hebei Province, and the areas surrounding these temples. The Northern school was also further divided into western and eastern sects. The model for the Southern school was the Ten Drums

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(shifangu 十番鼓) or Ten Gongs and Drums (shifanluoguo 十番鑼鼓) of the Jiangnan region south of the Yangtze River. Besides percussion music, the instrumental music of the Northern school featured tunes played on the pandean pipe and bamboo flute, and was therefore also known as a chuidayue ensemble of wind and percussion instruments. The Southern school added an assortment of stringed instruments including the pipa and huqin to the foundation the pipes and flutes, and is therefore known as »silk-string music« (sixian yue 絲弦樂) or »silk-and-bamboo music« (sizhu yue 絲竹樂). Whether of the Northern or Southern school, music at temples and monasteries throughout the land all possessed a vast quantity of tunes and chants. Some of these repertoires go many years back. For example, manuscripts preserved at the Zhihua Temple in Beijing date from 1694, 1837, 1853, 1887, 1891, 1900, and 1903. Some of the musical compositions therein can be traced back to the Song and Yuan periods. The Jiangnan »Ten Drums« style, which featured over 100 compositions, was shared by both by Buddhist and Daoist traditions at court.

2. Daoist Music The Manchu aristocracy that ruled over the Qing Dynasty originally subscribed to a shamanic religion before passing south of the Great Wall, but thereafter became progressively more interesting in Buddhism. But they not only had no faith in Daoism but in fact knew very little about it. In order to win over the Han Chinese people, they affected courtesy toward Daoism. In the 13th year of the Shunzhi Emperor, the seventh grandmaster of the Quanzhen School, Wang Changyue, was appointed as a teacher to the emperor, whom he consented to be insisted into monkhood at Beijing’s White Cloud Temple, an honor shared by thenprince Kangxi. Disciples of the Wang family numbered in the thousands, and they spread throughout the land, also founding the Dragon Gate sect that combined elements of both Buddhism and

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Daoism, unifying the music used in ceremonies of both faiths. In 1681, Kangxi recognized the master of the Way of Orthodox Unity, Zhang Jizong, as a Daoist immortal, conferring recognition unto the sect. Starting from the Yongzheng Emperor, however, the situation was not the same. Yongzheng was a Buddhist and Qianlong followed in his footsteps. Their reverence for Buddhism led to the relations between the ruling class and Daoists becoming more and more distant, and Daoism fell from the imperial temple to the realm of folk religion. Daoism thus entered a period of decline that was shared in tandem by Daoist music. The Qing Dynasty was also a period of synthesis for Daoist music. Scanning the whole of Daoist history, as China’s locally nurtured religion, Daoism walked a path from the common realm into the imperial palace and then back down to the commoners. At the same time, Daoist music followed in the wake of the religion as it developed, at first taking shape by assimilating source material from folk music then standardization and stylization in the ceremonial setting, then back to the people to continue taking in influences from folk music. The Qing Dynasty saw the completion of this process. Consequently, the development of Daoist music at this time presents two outstanding characteristics: one is the standardization of ceremonial music as represented by the Orthodox Rhythm of the Complete Perfection Tradition from the Selections from the Daoist Canon and the Daoist Huang Lu Zhai; the second is the increasingly close connection between Daoist music and folk music, leading to the increasing secularization of Daoist music. During Kangxi’s reign, the jinshi scholar Peng Dingqiu compiled 276 classical Daoist texts to form the Selections from the Daoist Canon, which included the complete text of the Orthodox Rhythm of the Complete Perfection Tradition. During the Guangxu Emperor’s reign, He Longxiang and Peng Hanran increased the number of texts in the Selections from the Daoist Canon to 292 and pro-

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duced a new engraving of the Orthodox Rhythm of the Complete Perfection Tradition in Chengdu’s Erxian Convent that was widely distributed and became the definitive text for the Complete Perfection sect.

3. Shamanic Music Preserved in the Court Besides Daoism and Buddhism, religion in the Qing Dynasty also included faiths brought in from abroad such as Islam, Catholicism, and Christianity. Besides these, there were also local indigenous religions, most predominantly the Manchu ethnic folk religion practiced by most of the people in the majority-Tungusic group, since it was the one professed by the newly installed Manchu aristocracy. After moving south, the Manchu people became scattered amongst countless Han Chinese and it became difficult for them to fully preserve their traditional culture, including religion. In the Manchu place of origin in the northeast, the movement of huge numbers of people into the area saw various aspects of Manchu culture, customs, habits, and religion gradually assimilated by the Han ethnic group. In order to prevent the complete loss of their traditional culture, the Qing rulers strongly promoted »the national language, horsemanship and archery« and also preserved shamanic rites and sacrifices in the imperial court. In 1747, Prince Zhuang, after authorizing the compilation and revision of the second edition of the Standard Interpretation of Harmonics, took charge of composing the Manchu-language edition of the Imperially Ordained Canonical Rites of Manchurian Offerings to the Spirits and Heaven. This volume sought to standardize shamanic folk traditions and reconstruct them for the court, the nobility, and the common Manchu families. In 1780, the scholars Agui and Yu Minzhong produced and published a Chinese translation of the text. Shamanic rituals carried out in the imperial court largely took place at two venues. The first was the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, the northernmost of the three main halls of the Inner Court of the Forbidden City

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in Beijing. Offerings performed here were mainly for the ancestral gods of the Manchu people, including gods of nature, the ancestors, and heroes, as well as the founder of Buddhism Sakyamuni, the Bodhisattva Guanyin, and the Chinese god of war, Guan Yu, combining shamanism, Buddhism, and Daoism into one. Every morning sacrificial offerings were made to Sakyamuni, Guanyin, and Guan Yu, while evening offerings were made to the Manchu deities. The shaman who presided over sacrificial ceremonies wore a gleaming silk skirt with a bell around his waist and held a tambourine-like drum and a »divine knife« (shendao 神 刀) while dancing and chanting, all accompanied by palace eunuchs playing various kinds of percussion instruments, a pipa, and a three-stringed sanxian. The prayers chanted by the shaman were half-spoken and half-sung, somewhat improvisationally, although the accompanying drum beats scrupulously followed a prescribed pattern.

Section 3  Folk Music in the Qing Dynasty The Qing Dynasty was a period of great development of Chinese folk music, and various forms of folk music with local and ethnic characteristics were formed throughout the country, including the ethnic minority areas in the border areas. At present, most of the types of songs, dramas, music, and music circulating in various places were formed or established in the Qing Dynasty.

1. Qing Dynasty Folk Songs 1. The Breakout Development of Popular Tunes »Popular tunes« (xiaoqu 小曲) was the name given to a type of song popular in cities during the Ming and Qing dynasties, also known as ditties (xiaodiao 小調). In his book Zaiyuan Zazhi 在園雜誌. Liu Tingji wrote in the Qing Dynasty

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9.6.3  Popular song Notes on Borrowed Cloud Building Songs (also known as Borrowed Cloud Building ­Xiaochang), Hua Qiu pingbian, ­published in the 23rd year (1818) of the reign of Emperor Jiaqing

that »popular tunes are different from kunqu opera.« As the first sprouts of capitalism emerged in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the urban handicraft industry rapidly developed and farmers flowed into the cities from the countryside, bringing with them the folk songs and popular ditties of their homelands, which would be re-arranged by urban performers and turned into the popular tunes of the Qing Dynasty. According to Yang Yinliu’s statistics, there were 1,712 popular tunes just within special collections. According to Zheng Zhenduo, his searches of various local periodicals have produced over 12,000 songs. Those songs that were collected, printed and published certainly comprised just a minute fraction of the total amount; but from this tip of the iceberg one can well imagine the vast array of such tunes in circulation at the time (Fig. 9.6.3). Because popular tunes were so closely connected to folk music, the process by which they took shape is somewhat complicated, and the content is rich. They express the joys and sorrows of rural laborers, the pique and laughter of the ordinary people; with the finishing touches added by performers and polishing from men of letters, they offer a comprehensive view of urban life during the Qing Dynasty. In terms of subject matter, love

songs are most prominent, many about pursuing freedom of marriage and resisting the pressures of feudalism, unintentionally betraying the beginnings of democratic thought, though sometimes with glib and vulgar elements. In terms of form, popular tunes are also rich and colorful. They originate from the rustic songs of the countryside but differ from the tuge 徒歌 form sung without musical accompaniment, with the addition of instruments adding a more artistic form to these folk songs. The form that this musical accompaniment took differed from place to place. In The Pleasure Boats of Yangzhou, Li Dou wrote that the pipa, xianzi, yueqin guitar, and hardwood clappers accompanied the performance of songs. This was the situation in Yangzhou; elsewhere, only the pipa or only the huqin was played. In the north, the sanxian, zhuihu, sihu, yazheng, and the small bajiaogu octagonal drum were played. The melody often followed along with the singing, but sometimes the different parts each formed an individual melody and harmonized with each other. On the other hand, from the point of view of the length of compositions, there were huge discrepancies, ranging from just a few lines to over 200 measures. The reason why they are still known as »little« melodies regardless is because

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their structure is relatively simple compared to kunqu and other operatic forms. 2. The Flourishing of Ethnic Minority Singing Gatherings If the popular tunes circulated in Han Chinese areas were mainly spread by folk artists in the marketplaces of cities and towns, then in the ethnic minority border regions, folk songs such as »mountain songs« (shan’ge 山歌), »foreign tunes« (fanqu 番曲), and »barbarian songs« (man’ge 蠻 歌) were mainly passed on by the village residents themselves at thriving singing gatherings (gehui 歌會). Every New Year and ethnic minority holiday, villagers and mountain people in the border regions flocked together to sing folk songs and traditional music. These songs attracted the attention of many scholars with their refreshingly sincere style. One of the most representative of the compilations of these songs created by scholars is Li Tiaoyuan’s Yue Feng, which is divided into four parts: Yue Songs, Yao Songs, Miao Songs, and Tong Songs, the last three of which used Chinese characters to transliterate the pronunciation of minority languages. Li Tiaoyuan edited and annotated the folk songs collected by others with additional editing and explanatory notes.

2. The Growth of Folk Instrumental Ensembles In the wake of the development of urban handicraft industries, the musical instrument manufacturing industry also made great progress in the Qing Dynasty. A large number of inexpensive but high-quality musical instruments were produced, which led to a boom in instrumental music. Various forms of folk instrumental ensemble sprung up everywhere. Most of the musical genres we see in different areas today took shape under the Qing. In the Qing Dynasty, there were instrumental ensembles in palaces and temples, and ensembles

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were also popular among the literati, but these were based on folk instrumental ensemble forms. The types of these differed from north to south and east to west; below are a few of the most representative examples. 1. Xi’an Drum Music »Xi’an drum music« is a term applied after the 1950s for a type of wind and percussion ensemble music commonly known as yueqi 樂器 (»musical instrument«) or xiyue 細樂 (»stringed and woodwind music«) that was popular in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, and the surrounding area. The history of Xi’an drum music is relatively long. Judging from its title, music structure, and instruments used, it has many connections with daqu (大曲) of the Tang Dynasty. The most complete of the existing scores is the 1689 Gu Duan Zhuan Complete Book of Popular Tunes (Gu Duan zhuan xiaoquben ju quan 鼓段賺小曲本具全). The main melodic instrument used in Xi’an drum music was the bamboo flute, as well as the pandean pipe and guanzi pipe. The main rhythm instruments were all drums, which were divided into four types: seated drums, war drums, musical drums, and independent drums. Besides these there were also large and small cymbals, gongs, and clappers. Performances were either »seated music« (zuoyue 坐樂) or »walking music« (xingyue 行樂). Seated music was a relatively fixed musical form with large-scale compositions, usually indoors. Walking music was relatively simple, used whilst walking in the streets and at temple fairs and other public gatherings; the compositions were brief, with lively melodies that pleased the crowds. 2. Jiangnan Shifan Drums and Shifan Gongs and Drums »Shifan drums« (shifan gu 十番鼓) and »shifan gongs and drums« (shifan luogu 十番鑼鼓) were folk instrumental ensemble forms popular in southern Jiangsu Province during the Qing Dy-

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9.6.4 »Shifan drum« Great Heaven Wonderful Music performance score, from the 46th year (1781) of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, transcribed by Wu Tingyuan

nasty. Although the names of the two are similar, their instrumental compositions and performance forms made them completely different styles of music. Shifan Drums The name »shifan drums« first appeared in the Ming Dynasty in the poet Yu Bei’s Miscellaneous Records of the Plank Bridge, and was also attested to later in Li Dou’s 1795 The Pleasure Boats of Yangzhou. In the course of its subsequent development, shifan drum music became known as chuida (»wind and percussion«) and fanyin (»chanting of scriptures«) in the Buddhist tra-

dition. Because the bamboo flute was the main melodic instrument, it was also known as »shifan flute« music (shifan di 十番笛). In his three compilations of Daoist music dating from the Jiaqing Emperor’s reign (1796–1820), the Daoist priest Cao Xisheng collected 96 compositions of shifan drum music, compiling these into the three Daoist musical albums of Great Heven Wonderful Music (Fig 9.6.4), Established Rules of Ancient Music, and Nichang Elegant Rhyme. There were also »shifan drum« songs. The number of instruments used by shifan drum bands was not limited to ten, as the name suggests. Because the melodic and percussion instruments

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were not necessarily played at the same time, one person could cover more than one instrument, so the number of band members ranged from five to ten. The music played can be divided into three categories according to their structural forms: zhengtao 正套 (»main set«), santao 散套 (»scattered sets«), and sanqu 散曲 (»scattered tunes«). Zhengtao pieces featured one tune played from beginning to end with other tunes and »drum sections« (guduan 鼓段) interspersed in between. Santao tied together multiple tunes with drum sections in between. Sanqu did not employ drum sections at all but instead several small chuida pieces. Drum sections had many names, and were divided into the slow, medium, and fast varieties; they often required great skill from drummers, who provided the core of the whole musical set. Shifan Gongs and Drums Shifan gongs and drums, sometimes simply known as shifan or gongs and drums, is recorded many times in writings from the era, including Li Dou’s The Pleasure Boats of Yangzhou. Toward the end of the Qing Dynasty, shifan gong and drum music was also used frequently for ceremonies and entertainment in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The classification of shifan gongs and drums is quite methodic. The form that only uses percussion and not melodic instruments is known as »pure gongs and drums« (qing luogu 清鑼鼓); with the introduction of melodic instruments it becomes »silk and bamboo gongs and drums« (sizhu luogu 絲竹鑼鼓). Within pure gongs and drums, that which uses just gong chimes, clappers, wooden fish, chime stones, tong drums, bangu drums, large gongs, xi gongs, and seven cymbals is known as »course gongs and drums« (cu luogu 粗鑼鼓); when the middle gong, spring gong, inner gong, brass gong, big gong, and small cymbals were all added, it became »fine gongs and drums« (xi luogu 細鑼鼓). In other words, there are at least 15 types of percussion instruments involved.

SECTION 3 FOLK MUSIC IN THE QING DYNASTY

Compared with the shifan drums, shifan gongs and drums has more characteristics of folk music. Some pieces came directly from folk songs and ditties, for example part of the divertimento »Perfume Sachet« (Xiangdai 香袋) was lifted from the folk song »A 19-Year-Old Girl« (Yige guniang nianshijiu 一個姑娘年十九). Other pieces originated from arias in traditional operas. In addition to the above-mentioned folk instrumental ensemble forms, the following music genres were also influential in the Qing Dynasty: Fujian Nanjing 福建南音 (»Fujian southern sounds«), also known as nanqu 南曲 (»southern songs«) or nanyu 南樂 (»southern music«). Originating mainly from Taiwan and the Minnan region of southern Fujian Province, a type of music with a long history that combined ballad singing with instrumental music, using simple and unsophisticated instruments and antique, quaint tones. Some compositions dated to as far back as the Tang Dynasty. Eight Sets of Shanxi (Shanxi badatao 山西八大 套). Spread from the Wutai Mountains in Shanxi Province. Performed Buddhist, Daoist, and secular music, with a repertoire derived from the northern and southern styles of Yuan Dynasty theatre (nanbei qu 南北曲), folk song and dance, traditional opera, and other instrumental compositions. The musical scores used were similar to those used by Zhang Yan in the Southern Song Dynasty, attesting to their historical pedigree. Central Hebei Wind Music (Jizhong guanyue 冀中 管樂). This is the collective name of the folk instrumental ensemble forms in the central area of Hebei Province, named after the lead instrument, the pipe. The style is divided into two types: the southern, which was performed in a lively, animated manner and remains popular to this day in the region; and the northern, also known as »concert« (yinyuehui 音樂會) style today, which emerged earlier around the Ming Dynasty, had a more simple and elegant style when performed, and has a particular relationship with the Dao-

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ist and Buddhist music of Beijing’s Zhihua and White Cloud temples. Tujia »Daliuzi« Percussion Music. A form of percussion ensemble music popular among the Tujia ethnic group in the Wuling Mountains straddling the common borders of modern Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou Provinces, and Chongqing Municipality. Typically it was performed using four instruments: the horse gong, big gong, head cymbal, and two bo cymbals. Whenever there are festive events in Tujia settlements such as marriages and New Year festivities, there will always be at least one cymbal ensemble playing enthusiastically amidst the sounds of firecrackers, ox horns, and trumpets.

Section 4  Literati Music in the Qing Dynasty 1. Guqin Art The art of the guqin, the seven-stringed zither, was an important symbol of the cultural cultivation of the literati and scholar-officials in ancient China, occupying the foremost space among the four joys of the literati: music, chess, calligraphy, and painting (qin qi shu hua 琴棋書畫). By the time of the Qing Dynasty, it already had over 2,000 years of history, and can be said to have reached maturation. On the foundations left by previous generations of musicians, those of the Qing brought the artform to new heights. 1. Qin Players and Qin Factions Due to the development in the Qing Dynasty of the skill of playing stringed instruments, there were many famous musicians, numbering over one thousand in written records alone. The region of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces was a galaxy of talented persons, and since the Ming Dynasty was a gathering place for qin players who formed various local cliques: Yushan, Shaoxing, Jinling, and Songjiang, each shining more brilliantly in the

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others’ company. In the Qing Dynasty it remained a high-density area for celebrated qin players, particularly the Guangling School located in Yangzhou. Before and after the Opium War, it spread from this center to throughout the empire, with new schools emerging in Fujian, Sichuan, and various cities in Shandong. The Guangling School Yangzhou was a cultural center during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the Qing Dynasty the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, a famous group of painters who rejected orthodox ideas and favored more expressive styles, brought particular renown to the city. In The Pleasure Boats of Yangzhou, Li Dou recorded the flourishing cultural scene at the time. The founder of the Guangling School was Xu Changyu, whose qin style originated from the Ming Dynasty Yushan school. Xu Changyu, courtesy name Erxun, lived in the Shunzhi reign period of the Qing Dynasty. He authored the Manual on Fingering for Scores for Stringed Instruments, which was later edited and published by his son, Xu Yi. under the title Chengjian Hall Qin Scores. Xu Yi surpassed his teacher and father, his qin skills praised as the best in Yangzhou in The Pleasure Boats of Yangzhou. He and his brother Xu Hu were known as the »Two Xu of Jiangnan,« and were summoned to the Kangxi Emperor’s Changchun Garden. Another important member of the Guangling School from the early Qing Dynasty was Xu Qi, also known as the Old Man of Guland or by his courtesy name Dasheng. Xu travelled widely and had a vast network of friends well-versed in music. He spent more than 30 years studying the lineages of various schools and factions and compiling this work into his Wu Zhi Zhai Qinpu 五知斋 琴譜. The book was only published by Xu Qi’s son Xu Jun 54 years after it was written (1722) in Anhui Province. It contains 330 pieces of music, mainly from the Yushan School but also including works from the Jinling, Wu, and Shu schools as well. The

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contents are full and accurate, and every score is accompanied by explanatory notes, postscripts, and a variety of marginalia, making it a volume highly prized by musicians. Wu Hong was another notable member of the school. He hailed from the city of Yizheng in Jiangsu Province, and studied to play the qin under Xu Jintang, grandson of the Guangling School founder Xu Changyu, his active years corresponding to the school’s golden age. At the time many local and outside qin players congregated in Yangzhou, and would often hold group discussions to exchange ideas and learn from one another. It was upon this foundation that Wu Hong mastered both the Chengjian Hall Qin Scores and Wu Zhi Zhai Qin Scores, as well as absorbing new information and compiling a further 82 scores into the Ziyuan Hall Qin Scores published in 1802, widely considered the apotheosis of the school’s work. The Jiao’an Qin Scores compiled by Qin Weihan (c.  1816–1868) belong to the later period of the school’s output. The Min (Fujian) School An important representative figure of the Min School was Zhu Fengxie (?–1864), courtesy name Tongjun, from Pucheng in Fujian Province. His father was a qin enthusiast who built the »TwelveQin Tower« to store his collection of instruments. His brother was also a talented qin player, and was his first music teacher. Zhu Fengxie was heavily influenced since childhood by his family environment. As an adult he became an official in the Zhejiang region and made many friends who shared his passion and taught others, enjoying considerable fame among his contemporaries. The Zhu family devoted their lives to the search for qin scores, esteeming the Qin Tablature of the Spring Grass Studio (Chuncao tang Qin pu 春草堂 琴譜) produced by Su Jing 1744, which they added critical commentary and supplementary material to and was engraved and published by Zhu Fengxie’s nephew Zhu Qing in 1860. Zhu Fengxie

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himself also penned the treatise Yu Gu Zhai Qin Tablature. Zhu had many students, the most famous of which were Xu Haiqiao, Zhang He, and Chen Shiji. Chuan (Sichuan) School The Chuan School was founded by Zhang Hexiu, courtesy name Kongshan, from Zhejiang Province, whose birth and death dates are not known. He was active during the reigns of the Xianfeng and Guangxu emperors. During the Xianfeng years he was a Daoist priest on Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan Province, where his monastic name was Half-Beard. It was at this time that he founded the Chuan School, when many students of the qin sought him as a teacher. In 1875 he became a follower of the painter Tang Yiming, helping him to examine and revise the hundreds of qin scores he spent years collecting. Zhang selected 145 to publish in the Qin Tablature of Hearing Heaven Pavilion (Tianwenge Qin pu 天聞閣琴譜), the most extensive collection of qin scores in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In his later years, he taught music in Wuchang’s Changchunguan County, where he amassed many disciples, the most famous of which was Gu Yucheng. The most characteristic and celebrated of the compositions passed on by Zhang was »Flowing Water« (Liushui 流水). Zhucheng School At the end of the Qing dynasty, qin players emerged in Zhucheng, Shandong Province, including Wang Puchang, Wang Yumen, Wang Zuozhen, Wang Binlu, and Wang Lu. Wang Puchang (1807–1886) ang Wang Yumen (1807–1877) were known as the »Two Wangs of Zhucheng.« The two men were born in the same year but had different teachers. Wang Puchang, courtesy name Jifu, learned from the Yushan school; Wang Yumen, courtesy name Lengquan, was a devotee of the Jinling School. But the two men cast aside their sectarian biases, improved each other by active discussion, drew on each

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other’s strong points to offset their weaknesses, and together founded the Zhucheng School. The 15 scores passed down by Wang Puchang were later compiled into the Tong Yin Shan Guan Qin Pu, while the work of Wang Yumen became the Qin Pu Zheng Lu, which included the earliest qin notation transcript of the Zhucheng School, the »Lament of Changmen Palace.« Wang Zuozhen (1842–1921), courtesy name Xinyuan, was the son of Wang Puchang, whose mantle he took up as a qin master. Wang Yumen’s pupil Wang Binlu (1866–1921), courtesy name Yanqing, passed down 14 musical scores that were later edited into the Mei An Qin Pu. Wang Lu (1877–1921) was the grandson of Wang Puchang and son of Wang Zuozhen. He also studied the music of Wang Yumen and synthesized characteristics of both the Yushan and Jinling schools, becoming the last leading exponent of the Zhucheng School and, together with Wang Puchang and Wang Yumen, was one of the »Three Wangs of East Shandong.« He studied Western music for six years in Japan and participated in the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. Later, he was invited by Cai Yuanpei to join the faculty at Peking University and form a research group for traditional Chinese music, becoming an important figure in the history of modern music. The 28 musical pieces he handed down are compiled in the Yuhexuan Qinxue Zhaiyao. In the wake of the vigorous development of qin art, the theory and study of qin-playing also made considerable progress in the Qing Dynasty, with all sorts of scholars and volumes emerging one after another. Prefaces and annotations to books of musical scores, reading guides, and explanatory notes were all valuable parts of the discourse. Qing-era theory of the qin was wide and expansive, and often involved a sophisticated level of thought, taking this ancient area of study to new heights. Some of the more influential of these volumes were Zhuang Zhenfeng’s Qinxue Xinsheng Xiepu: Directions to the Reader; Dai Yuan’s Music

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Score from Chuncao Pavilion: Eight Principles of Playing the Qin; Wang Tan’s Essential Ideas of Qin; Cao Tingdong’s Qinxue Neiweipian; Jiang Wenxun’s Qinxue Cuiyan; Zhu Fengxie’s Yuguzhai Qinpu; Chen Shiji’s The Primary Crossing of Qin-Learning; and Tang Zongji’s Anthology of Qin Learning. 2. Qin Melodies Qin players and musical scores written for the qin were both bountiful during the Qing Dynasty; however, most of the tunes compiled were handed down by previous generations and only polished and corrected in the Qing, so cannot be considered creations of the Qing Period. Other compositions actually produced in the Qing Dynasty were done so under the assumed name of an earlier composer. Among the qin scores produced during the Qing Dynasty, there are not many works which are unequivocally the work of a contemporary qin master. One of the most distinctive among these is Zhuang Zhenfeng’s »Sycamore Leaves Dancing in Autumn Wind« (Wuye wu qiufeng 梧葉舞秋風). Zhuang Zhenfeng, courtesy name Die’an, came from Yangzhou in the early Qing. He learned to play the qin from Bai Yun of the Yushan School, excelled at compositions that paired the qin with singing, and authored the book Qinxue Xinsheng. He is also well-known for his song »Cuckoo-Call in the Spring Mountain« (Chunshan ting dujuan 春山聽杜鵑). Works of the Zhucheng School such as the »Lament of Changmen Palace,« »Moon Over the Mountain Pass,« and »Autumn Wind Melody« are unique for their time due to the clear influence of local Shandong folk music. Zhang Kongshan of the Chuan School was an innovative artist, reinventing musical conventions and enhancing the expressive power of the seven-stringer qin and appreciation for its music. The famed song »Flowing Water,« for instance, is repeatedly mentioned in Tang Dynasty collections

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of verse, and is included in Zhu Quan’s 1425 collection Manual of the Mysterious and Marvellous (Shenqi mipu 神奇秘譜). Zhang Kongshan based his rendition off edition published in the Qin Tablature of the Hall of Virtuous Sounds (Deyintang Qin pu 德音堂琴譜) then adding the techniques of rolling (gun 滾), brushing (fu 拂), and pouring (zhu 注) to replicate the sounds and movement of water in a way that was remarkably true to life. Praised as the »Great Flowing Water,« it became one of the most popular tunes of the late Qing Period and was said to have been loved throughout the land, but hated by other qin masters for they could never surpass it.

2. Schools of Pipa Performance and Extant Scores The pipa was introduced to China’s Central Plains from the Western Regions during the Han and Jin and the Northern and Southern dynasties, peaking under the Tang. By the Ming Dynasty its design had been finalized and there were many large-scale musical compositions. The Qing Dynasty was the pipa’s second peak period of development. It was characterized by the widespread dissemination and popularization of the pipa in social life. A large number of pipa scores were published at this time, and some outstanding pipa performers emerged. The earliest musical score for the pipa (referred to as a gongchepu 工尺譜) was the handwritten 1762 Pipa Notation (pipa qu 琵琶譜). It contains 14 scores, including eight »ancient tunes« (gudiao 古調): »Add Flowers to the Brocade« (Jinshang tianhua 錦上添花), »Zhang Shengyou Temple« (Zhang shengyou si 張生游寺), »Fish in Spring« (Yuxi chunshui 魚戲春水), »Dragon and Phoenix Dance in the Air« (Longfeng feiwu 龍鳳飛舞), »King Chu Doffs His Armor« (Bawang xiejia 霸王 卸甲), »Bombarding Xiangyang« (Paoda xiangyang 炮打襄陽), »Lion Sporting With an Embroidered Ball« (Shizi gun xiuqiu 獅子滾繡球), and »Wild Geese Alighting on Sand« (Pingsha luoyan

SECTION 4 LITERATI MUSIC IN THE QING DYNASTY

平沙落雁). There are also six »new tunes« (xindiao 新調): »Changeable Beauty« (Jiaorong sanbian 嬌容三變), »Lady Wang Zhaojun Departing for the Frontier« (Zhaojun chusai 昭君出塞), »Golden Lock and Silver Key« (Jinsuo yinshi 金鎖銀匙), »Autumn Lotus« (Qiulan furong 秋灿芙蓉), »Consort Yang’s Drunken Dance« (Yangji zuiwu 楊妃醉 舞), and »West Lake Mirroring the Moon« (Yueying xihu 月映西湖). With the exceptions of »King Chu Doffs His Armour,« »Bombarding Xiangyang,« and »Wild Geese Alighting on Sand,« these were all composed on the sanxian 三弦 three-stringed plucked instrument. The most important Qing-era pipa artists were Hua Wenbin, who lived in the middle of the dynasty, and Li Zufen, who lived in the late Qing. Both were important representatives of the pipa school, and they are all well-known for their published collections of pipa music. Hua Wenbin (1784–1859), courtesy name Boya, also known as Hua Qiu, came from Wuxi in Jiangsu Province and studied under Chen Mufu, a representative of the Southern School of the pipa at the time. He later collected the works of Wang Junxi, a representative of the Northern School from Hebei, and together with his younger brother Hua Wengui he compiled and published the Pipa Manual (Pipa pu 琵琶譜). The first official collection of pipa music to be engraved and published, it featured 68 pieces of music, including 14 by Wang Junxi and 54 by the Southern School’s Chen Mufu. Six of these were »greater tunes« (daqu 大曲) composed of multiple parts: »Ambushed on All Sides« (Shimian maifu 十面埋伏); »King Chu Doffs His Armour« (Bawang xiejia 霸王卸甲); »Falcon Catching A Swan« (Haiqing na’e 海青拿 鵝); »The Moon on High« (Yue’er gao 月兒高); and »Pu’an Incantation« (Pu’an zhou 普庵咒). The others are all »lesser tunes« (xiaoqu 小曲) of only 68 beats each, with few exceptions. Not only was Hua Wenbin the main compiler and editor behind the Pipa Manual, he also examined and corrected the fingering technique and musical measure used

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in the volume. The Wuxi School of pipa-playing represented by Hua continued to have an influence today, carried forward by Wu Wanqing, Yang Yinliu, and Cao Anhe. Moreover, the collection of lesser tunes he compiled, »Vocal Tunes from the Cloud-Lending Studio« (Jieyunguan xiaochang 借 雲館小唱) also occupies a fixed position in the history of Qing music. Li Zufen (c. 1850–1901), courtesy name Fangyuan, was from Pinghu in Zhejiang Province. For generations, his family produced pipa aficionados; by Fangyuan’s time, there had already been five such generations. Fangyuan’s passion for the pipa surpassed even that of his father and his ancestors, prompting him to describe himself as a »pipa maniac.« Others said he was »indefatigable as playing the pipa.« He made his living as a trader operating between Zhejiang and Shanghai, but never ceased his arduous study of the instrument. Under the guidance of his father, he searched and collected material widely and sought advice from all around. After more than 20 years of diligent work, he published the Thirteen Great Sets of the Southern and Northern Schools New Pipa Manual (Nan bei pai shisan datao pipa xinpu 南 北派十三大套 琵琶新譜).This book built upon the greater tunes in Hua Qiu’s Pipa Manual, and joined together a number of the lesser tunes into two sets: »On the Frontier« (Saishang qu 塞上曲) and »Blue Lotus of the Music Bureau« (Qinglian yuefu 清漣樂府). He also developed Hua’s lesser tune »Wild Geese Alighting on Sand« into a seven-part greater tune, and formed several songs by the Pudong School into »Spring Snow« (Yangchun baixue 陽春白雪), as well as rearranging popular folk songs into the sets »Classical Sounds of the Chen and Sui Dynasties« (Chen Sui guyin 陳隋古 音), »Xunyang Pipa« (Xunyang pipa 浔陽琵琶), and »March of the General« (Jiangjun ling 將軍 令). The publication of this New Pipa Manual was an important moment in the history of Chinese pipa art. As a skilled pipa performer, the main representative of the Pinghu School, and the ed-

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itor of the most extensive collection of scores in the history of the pipa, Li Fangyuan’s status in the history of Chinese pipa development is beyond doubt. Other important performers of the Pinghu School included Wu Mengfei and Wang Yuting.

3. »Thirteen Sets of Stringed Instruments« Ensemble Music The term »stringed instruments« (xiansuo 弦索) had been around since ancient times. Originally, it referred to the strings on musical instruments, then later became a generic term for the instruments themselves and then was applied to instrumental ensemble music led by stringed instruments. Sometimes it was also used to describe the bands that performed alongside operatic and folk performances. Because the famous dramatic work Romance of the Western Chamber (Xixiang ji 西廂 記), which used this kind of accompanying orchestra, it is also called the »Stringed Instrument Western Chamber« (Xiansuo xixiang 弦索西廂). During the Yuan and Ming periods, a type of instrumental ensemble called »stringed instruments« began to take shape and become popular in northern areas. The instruments used were generally not fixed, and were mostly Mongolian folk instruments such as huobusi (火不思), tu’erweise (兔兒味瑟), and cha’erji (杈兒機). Later, stringed instruments from the Central Plains were added, like the pipa, sanxian, and yueqin. By the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the lead instruments of xiansuo had evolved into four pieces: the huqin, pipa, sanxian, and zheng; sometimes the flute, bamboo flute, pandean pipes, and tiqin violin were added. During the Jiaqing Period, the Mongolian literatus Rong Zhai (courtesy name Mingyi) arranged the 13 sets of xiansuo that he and several fellow enthusiasts learnt from »He Gong« and »Fu Gong« into traditional Chinese musical notation and compiled the Reference Collection of String Music (Xiansuo beikao 弦索備考) in 1814. In the preface, Rong Zhai referred to these tunes as »the ancient tunes of today,« showing that they must

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have been popular long before then, but the learners had to rely on personal instruction from their teachers to teach them face-to-face due to a lack of musical scores. In the Reference Collection of String Music, most of the scores are composed for the huqin, pipa, sanxian, and zheng. One piece, »Sixteen Boards« (Shiliu ban 十六板), there is a »collection board« (huiji ban 匯集板) written in red and black on a different line; today, this is known as a »score« (zongpu 總譜). This score has six instrumental parts; besides the four instruments mentioned above, there is also the gongche (工尺) traditional Chinese musical notation and »eight boards« (baban 八板). Gongche was the main melody of Sixteen Boards, and »Eight Boards« was a popular folk tune in every place. The instruments used by gongche and »Eight Boards« could include the flute, bamboo flute, pandean pipe, and tiqin, with either one or several of each. Taking this »collection board« and the separate notation for the various instruments and translating it into a five-lined staff, one can see that at least in the 18th century Chinese literati music was already clearly conscious of polyphonic thinking.

Section 5  The Spread of Western Music in China Between the middle period of the Ming Dynasty and the outbreak of the First Opium War in 1839, the main medium of Chinese and Western music exchanges was missionaries from the West. After the Opium War broke out, China gradually became a semi-colony. Western music followed the gunboats, officials, merchants, and missionaries of the great powers. Their large-scale entry into China led to significant changes in the quality and quantity of musical exchanges between China and the West in the late Qing Dynasty, compared with the previous period.

SECTION 5 THE SPREAD OF WESTERN MUSIC IN CHINA

1. The First Large-Scale Introduction of Western Music in the Late Ming and Early Qing Dynasties The Italian Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci’s entrance into China in 1582 marked the beginning of a new round in Western missionary activity and also the prelude to modern Western music’s wholesale entry into China. The most prominent missionary during the transition from the Ming to the Qing was the German Jesuit Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1591–1666), who also made great contributions to the dissemination of Western music in China. Schall von Bell came to China in 1622, and presided over the revision of the »Chongzhen calendar« in 1630. He restored the clavichord that Matteo Ricci brought to the court and wrote a now-lost guide to the piano in Chinese. When the Ming were supplanted by the Qing, Schall von Bell offered his astronomical know-how and instruments to the new dynasty, winning the trust of the Shunzhi Emperor and being appointed to head the imperial Bureau of Astronomy. In 1652, construction of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Beijing, presided over by Schall von Bell, was completed, outfitted with the first pipe organ in China, previously seen only in Portuguese Macau. Following Schall von Bell, other Catholic missionaries who played a prominent role in spreading Western music in China were Ferdinand Verbiest (1623–1688), Thomas Pereira (1645–1708), and Theodoricus Pedrini (1670–1746). Verbiest arrived in China from Belgium in 1659, succeeding Schall von Bell as superintendent of the astronomy bureau and becoming the Kangxi Emperor’s music teacher. Together with fellow Jesuits Lodovico Buglio from Italy and Gabriel de Magalhães from Portugal, he wrote the Introduction to Western Civilization for the emperor, which described the local conditions and folk customs of the West and included a description of the pipe organ. Knowing he was not himself an expert in music, Verbiest

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recommended Pereira to Kangxi, who invited the Portuguese missionary to Beijing in 1672. When he arrived in the capital the following year, Pereira presented the emperor a pipe organ and a clavichord. As well as teaching Kangxi the performance of Western instruments and Western musical theory, Pereira also passed on this knowledge to young palace eunuchs. At this time, it had already been more than 20 years since Schall von Bell installed the pipe organ in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Pereira was not satisfied with Schall von Bell’s organ, so when it became time to expand the cathedral, he installed a new, bigger organ that produced more harmonious sounds and won the acclaim of everyone who saw and heard it. In his poem »Viewing Western Musical Instruments,« the famous Qing poet Zhao Yi (1727–1814) wrote many verses comparing the organ’s sound to that of traditional Chinese instruments. Pereira’s most important musical activity in China was putting together the book The Elements of Music (Lulu zuanya 律呂纂要). The book introduces the foundations of Western music theory, and also relates the differences between consonance and dissonance of various intervals, and proposes basic harmonic acoustics knowledge such as the prohibition of parallel fifths and the method of resolving dissonant intervals into consonant intervals. The Elements of Music was published before 1707, predating the publication of French composer and music theorist JeanPhilippe Rameau’s 1722 Treatise on Harmonics, considered a foundational text on classical Western harmonics. Thomas Pereira passed away one year later, in 1708. Three years later, the Italian Vincentian priest Teodorico Pedrini came to Beijing, taking up Pereira’s role as musical instructor for the imperial court, tutoring Kangxi’s third, 15th, and 16th sons. In 1713, Kangxi ordered Wei Tingzhen, Mei Jincheng, and Wang Lansheng to compile the Standard Interpretation of Harmonics (Lulu

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zhengyi 律呂正義), in the continuation to which Pedrini contributed the chapter on »Concordant Music.« This section expounded on Western music theory underpinning the fine-line stave and musical notation.

2. The Spread of Western Music in China in the Middle and Late Qing Dynasty In the later years of Kangxi’s reign and under the Yongzheng Emperor, Christian missions to China were banned, to a certain extent delaying but not entirely stopping the further spread of Western music into China. After Qianlong came to power he carried on his predecessors’ legacies, adding to the Standard Interpretation and leaving behind a valuable trove of materials on Qing courtly music. According to historical records, there was a choir composed of 18 young palace eunuchs under the guidance of the Bohemian missionary Jean Walter (1708–1759). He was succeeded by the German violinist Florian Bahr (1706–1771) and then the French violinist Jean Joseph de Grammont (1736–1812), who was engaged by Qianlong as an instructor in both music and mathematics. Under their guidance, a new court orchestra was formed that, according to records, included ten musical instruments: violin; cello; double bass; »Western flute« (likely a woodwind instrument such as the oboe); clarinet; guitar; mandolin; »bamboo board« (probably a xylophone); a small organ; and glockenspiel. The ensemble also has a variety of special »outfits« and may even have worn the wigs and costumes used by European musicians at the time. This is the earliest known Western orchestra in China. Records state it lasted about 10 years, although there are no accurate accounts of the pieces they rehearsed and performed. Military bands (including general brass bands) are widely used in military life and various ceremonial celebrations in Europe and America. In the 19th century, the Shanghai Public Band was founded in the city’s International Settlement

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run by the British and Americans, the forerunner to the Shanghai Municipal Council Orchestra. Not long thereafter, the Inspector General of the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs Service, Sir Robert Hart (1835–1911), set up his own band that became known as the »Hart Band.« Of the two wind bands, the former exclusively employed foreign personnel, while the latter mainly recruited young Chinese musicians for training. Later, both bands also added a string section, but Hart’s band was disbanded when he retired and left China in 1908. The Shanghai Municipal Council Orchestra, however, became world-famous, eventually becoming the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. After the First Sino-Japanese War, Yuan Shikai was appointed the commander of the first New Army. In around 1898 the New Army established its own Western-style band that began to play the bugle to convey military instructions and used military music to perform ceremonial functions such as welcoming and sending off and performing drills. After the establishment of the Republic, the Beiyang, Feng, and Huai armies all followed suit, doing away with the old drum and wind music typical of the Qing army. This is a clear example of the influence of Western music in the military reforms of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.

Section 6  The Start of New Music: School Music 1. The Historical and Cultural Background of School Music Among the »Six Arts« of Confucius (rites, music, archery, chariotry, calligraphy, and mathematics), music was the second, but since Confucius, there are few books that attest to Chinese private or official schools offering music courses. This is a puzzling phenomenon.

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The academy music that appeared in the late Qing Dynasty had no connection with Confucius’ ritual music; it was entirely an imported product. To a large extent, the appearance of school music determined the key tones of modern Chinese music in the 20th century, and it profoundly affected the musical life of Chinese people in the 20th century and the development direction of Chinese music. From the end of the Opium War to the fall of the Qing Dynasty, large numbers of young people went to study abroad in Japan, Europe, and America. There, many enthusiastic young people turned their determination to save their country into practical actions. They made observations and considered all the reasons for the rapid development of advanced countries, arriving at their own understanding and devoting themselves to studies in their own fields. Shen Xingong (1870–1947), Zeng Zhimin (1879–1929), Li Shutong (1880–1942) and others studied music in Japan, hoping to use it as a means to improve the quality of the citizenry and call for the reform of the old system to save the country. The rise, dissemination, and development of school music can be said to be inseparable from the pioneering practices of these three people. However, the objective situation is that the emergence of new-style schools was the prerequisite for the production of school songs. As early as 1862, the more enlightened members of the Qing government began to reform the education system and set up the School of Combined Learning (Tongwen guan 同文館) to train talented students in translation and law. Due to the enduring power of conservative forces, however, reforms progressed very slowly. In 1898, Kang Youwei petitioned the Guangxu Emperor to reform schools, advocating the introduction of music as a part of the national curriculum. The reformist faction represented by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao vigorously advocated the important role of music in ideological development, and actively pressed for the establishment

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of music and singing classes in schools. What Liang called »songs and music« (geyue 歌樂) still denotes the musical curriculum in the newstyle schools as well as the songs taught in those classes. »Songs and music« formed an important part of the »new learning« curriculum advocated by the reformists, which also included science, technology, philosophy, politics, sociology, education and art. It also marks a very important and obvious distinction between the new-style schools and old private schools.

2. The Emergence and Development of School Music Under the influence of »Western learning« and the gradual reforms in education, many newly established schools introduced courses in music. The Jingzheng Girls’ School in Shanghai, established by Jing Yuanshan in 1898, was the earliest girls school established by Chinese in China. There, a teacher taught both Chinese and Western music during »piano lessons« (qinxue ke 琴學課), but this was discontinued after the failure of the Guangxu Emperors’ Hundred Days’ Reform movement in the summer of 1898. The »Regulations for Women’s Normal Schools and Girls’ Primary Schools« (Nuzi shifan xuetang he nuzi xiaoxuetang zhangcheng 女子師範學堂和 女子小學堂章程) promulgated on 8 March 1907 was the first document for including music in the school curriculum. The regulations stated that, over the four-year normal curriculum for teacher training, there would be weekly one-hour music lessons during the first two years; over the latter two years, this would be increased to weekly twohour lessons. The purpose of these lessons was to »inspire minds and cultivate virtue« among the students through »the usage of monophonic songs, polyphonic songs, and musical instruments, as well as the rules and order of teaching music.« The lyrics of school songs mostly reflected the demands of the contemporary bourgeoisie and intel-

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ligentsia: »learn to advance civilization«; »make the country rich and strong«; »save the nation from extinction«; and other patriotic sentiments. However, this was expressed specifically from different angles: propagating social reform, opposing feudal superstition, and acquiring scientific knowledge, for example, like the songs »Refuting the Oracle,« »Physics,« and »Geography of the 18 Provinces.« Other songs extolled women’s liberation, new lifestyles, learning from the West, capitalism, revolution, and national self-strengthening. Examples of these include the songs »Push for Women’s Rights,« »What Day Will We Awake,« »The Globe,« and »Dawn of Civilization.« The musical notation used for the transmission of these school songs was numbered notation. Numbered musical notation was created in Europe in the 16th century and was widely disseminated due to the advocacy of French philosopher JeanJacques Rousseau and others, and was widely promoted in Japan after the Meiji Restoration. The implementation and widespread dissemination of the notation in China was initially achieved through Japan with the aid of school music. The influence of school music on Chinese music generally was manifold. With the introduction of school music to China, various other Western music forms such as singing, organ, piano, and violin followed and spread throughout China. Numbered notation, the five-line staff, and basic Western musicology were also gradually mastered. Books on musicology were published more frequently, such as Zeng Zhimin’s Introduction to Musicology, Shen Pengnian’s Introduction to Music Theory, and Gao Shoutian’s Harmonics, helping the general public to better understand Western music. School music was a telling sign of the democratic new culture sweeping the country. It can also be called the start of the new music movement and concurrently pioneered musical education in modern Chinese schools. It’s political and social significance lies in how it conveyed the need for China to renew itself and become stron-

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ger, and expressed the Chinese people’s heartfelt passion to save their country and advance toward the level of Western civilization. Objectively speaking, school music did not at the time realize wholesale Westernization for Chinese music, because it retained a distinct national tone and continued to use the traditional method of writing words to a given melody based on their sounds. Like other cultural areas at the time, it failed to achieve an equitable integration of Chinese and Western cultures, but it did lay the social foundation for collective singing activities in China, and also widely dispersed the spirit, knowledge, and skills of Western musical culture, creating group of talented individuals who would further develop China’s national music education.

3. Shen Xingong, Zeng Zhimin, and Li Shutong: Compilers of School Songs Shen Xingong was originally named Shen Qinghong, his courtesy name was Shukui, and he became known by his pen name, Mingxin. In 1890 he ranked second-place in the xiucai county-level imperial examinations and in 1895 he became a teacher at Shanghai’s St John’s College, which later became the famous St John’s University. In 1897 he abandoned the excellent pay and conditions at St John’s to receive the new-style education at Nanyang Public School’s teachers college, where he studied mainly mathematics. In 1901 he became a teacher at the primary school attached to Nanyang and the next year he paid his own way to go study abroad in Japan. Before leaving the country, he received the encouragement of the school head Chen Maozhi, and resolved to go to Japan to study music so he could conquer China’s problem of the lack of qualified music teachers. After returning to China, he became engaged in music education for more than 30 years and composed a large number of school songs. He was baptized as a Christian in 1946 and died in Shanghai the following year. While studying in Japan, he and Zeng Zhimin organized a »music seminar« for Chi-

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nese students in the Edo Study Abroad Hall, and invited Professor Suzuki Yonejiro (1868–1940) to teach, setting a precedent for the activity of music lectures. Shen Xingong also studied with Suzuki and began to create music such as »Gymnastics Military Drill« at this time. Shen Xingong returned to China in February 1903 and continued to teach in the primary school affiliated with Nanyang Public School. He created the earliest »music and song class« in a Chinese school, and began to compile music and song teaching materials. In 1911, he served as the school’s principal. According to incomplete statistics, Shen Xingong composed more than 180 songs in his lifetime, most of which were completed between 1902 and 1927. From 1904 to 1907, he wrote three volumes of the School Songbook, which also included music theory and methods of playing the organ. Among them, the first volume published in May 1904 was the earliest school singing textbook in modern China. In 1909, four volumes of School Songbook were published again; in October 1912, six volumes of Edited School Songbook were added and revised on the original basis; in 1913, the first to fourth volumes of Republic of China Songbook were published. Shen Xingong’s pioneering work after returning to China quickly received a strong and widespread response from society. In 1904, he and Gao Yanyun initiated the »Aesthetic Education Concert« in Shanghai to promote music and song activities. All of a sudden, schools throughout China sent people to study in Shanghai, and schools across the city competed to hire Shen Xingong to give music lessons. Shen Xingong’s extensive work in musical education had a profound effect throughout the country, creating a spark that would set the country alight. Shen Xingong’s excellent music has strong themes of democracy, patriotism, anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism, embodying the spirit of the time and his determination to »spread the new

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learning and make the country rich and strong.« His songs were written with lyrics that were consistent with vernacular speech and new works entering the language, making them easy to read aloud and also full of meaning. His songs also paid attention to a wide range of themes touching on social education. »Gymnastics Military Drill,« »Yellow River,« »Patriotism,« »Little Soldiers,« »Eighteen Provinces,« and »Buying Cloth« were all patriotic. Others like »Revolutionary Army,« »Five-Colored Flag,« »Beautiful China,« »National Anthem of the Republic of China,« and »Triumph of the Revolutionary Army« also advocated for revolution and extolled the republican government. The need for continuous national self-renewal was stressed in songs like »Yellow Crane Tower« and »Navigation,« while women’s liberation and equality between the sexes was the theme of the songs »The Suffering of Foot-Binding,« Song for Women’s Studies,« and »Encourage Learning.« His songs »Simpleton’s Game,« »Revolution Must First Reform the People’s Hearts,« and »The Soldier’s Bullet,« meanwhile, lampooned warlords and the contemporary political situation. These songs were widely popular and well-known at the time. The lyrics he wrote comprise the first generation of new vernacular poetry in modern China, nearly 20 years before the work of Hu Shi. Among the songs composed by Shen Xingong, »Yellow River« has had the greatest influence. Zeng Zhimin, courtesy name Zemin, was born in Tong’an, Fujian Province, to a great Shanghai merchant family. In his early years, he taught at the primary school attached to Nanyang Public School. In about 1901, he went to study in Japan and entered Waseda University in Tokyo, focusing on law as his father wanted. Because of his love for music, he participated in the music seminar organized by Shen Xingong in Tokyo in 1902. He entered the Tokyo Conservatory of Music in 1903 and actively carried out music activities among his fellow Chinese students. In May 1904, on the basis of the music seminar organized by Shen Xin-

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gong, a concert with over 50 participants featuring singing and military music was organized for students studying in Japan, intended to »develop school music and inpire the national spirit.« In 1905, Zeng also organized the »National Concert.« In 1907, he returned to China after studying and founded the »Summer Music Seminar« in Shanghai with Gao Shoutian, Feng Yaxiong, and others. In the same year, with the support of his father, he founded a half-work, half-study orphanage in Shanghai, in which he set up a musical department and organized an orchestra. After the orphanage was forced to close in 1921, Zeng moved to Beijing, where he died in 1929. From the perspective of his lifelong musical practice, Zeng’s activities can mainly be divided into three. The first was dedicated to the popularization of music, including the organization of various music clubs. From 1908 to 1912, Zeng Zhimin, Gao Shoutian, and Feng Yaxiong set up a music department in the orphanage founded by his father Zeng Zhu, passionately promoting musical education and serving as conductors for the Western orchestra founded by the academy. With more than 40 members, this was the first Western orchestra composed and directed by Chinese. The second was dedicated to the writing of school songs. Zeng’s Educational Singing Collection was published in Tokyo in April 1904, almost at the same time as Shen Xingong’s songbook. It won widespread social acclaim and was one of the earliest singing textbooks in modern China. The third was dedicated to the writing of music theory. In 1902, he published »Outline of Musicology« and »Singing and Teaching Methods« in Jiangsu magazine, published in Tokyo, along with the six songs »Training,« »Spring Outing,« »Yangtze River,« »New,« »Naval Battle,« and »Autumn.« Li Shutong was one of the pioneers of modern music, fine arts, and drama in China, as well as an eminent Buddhist monk. His ancestral home was in Pinghu, Zhejiang Province, and he was born to a family of salt merchants and bureau-

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crats in Tianjin. He lost his father at the age of five and lived with his elder brother, devoting himself to literature, calligraphy, and painting in his youth. He moved to Shanghai in 1898 and entered Nanyang Public School in 1901, initiating the »Shanghai Study Society« in 1904. From 1905 to 1910, he studied Western oil painting at the Ueno College of Fine Arts in Tokyo, Japan. The following year, he studied piano at the music college, and got to know the famous Japanese playwright Asajiro Fujisawa. During his stay in Japan, he founded the earliest Chinese drama group with Zeng Xiaogu, Ouyang Yuqian, and others, and participated in performances of the company’s dramas such as The Lady of the Camellia and The Black Slave’s Appeal to God, becoming famous for his acting in female roles. After returning to China in 1910, he first served as a teacher of Western painting at the Tianjin Polytechnic Institute, and then engaged in music and art teaching in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and elsewhere. He participated in the work of many well-known literary and artistic societies, and made valuable contributions to art, music, calligraphy and seal cutting. He also cultivated outstanding talents such as Liu Zhiping, Feng Zikai, Pan Tianshou, and Wu Mengfei, all of whom studied under him. In 1911 Li Shutong’s family went bankrupt. The following year, he taught at Shanghai Chengdong Girls’ School, and later taught music and painting in Zhejiang. In 1915, he served as a teaching chair at Nanjing Normal University. In 1918 he became a monk at Hupao Temple in Hangzhou, and was later revered as an eminent monk. He passed away while sitting cross-legged in Kaiyuan Temple, Fujian, in 1942. During Li Shutong’s life, he was engaged in music study, teaching, and creation for 13 years. ­According to statistics in The Complete Works of Li Shutong, published in 1990, he produced a total of 76 pieces of music, of which Li composed the

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lyrics and music for four, the lyrics alone for 46, the music for three, and the accompanying music for 23. In 1906, he edited and published the publication Music Magazine, of which only one issue was published. It was printed in Tokyo on 15 January and released in Shanghai on the 20th, opening the first page of the history of Chinese music journals. In the seven years after Li Shutong returned to China, art education in schools was still in its infancy and there was a shortage of teachers. He actively devoted himself to art education, helping to mold artistic talents who made important contributions to modern art education in China. Li’s school music compositions were also artistic and ideological masterpieces. »Farewell,« for example, which was based on Scottish folk tune, was widely circulated and was loved and sung for a long time. The three-part chorus »Spring Outing« and the two-part chorus »Parting Gift« are the earliest multi-voice vocal works written in modern Chinese music using Western composing methods. Other songs such as »Spring Outing,« »Early Autumn,« »Remembering Childhood,« »The Moon,« »Dream,« »West Lake,« »Returning Swallow,« and »Spring Scenery« masterfully express the author’s feelings and cultivate character through the description of natural scenery. In Li Shutong’s works, there is a kind of quiet and faint sorrow. The words are simple and elegant, clear and easy to speak, and are easy to speak aloud. They are unified by the pursuit of harmony and natural, detached simplicity in ancient Chinese art, and exerted a great impact on the development of new Chinese music. In addition to Shen Xingong, Zeng Zhimin, and Li Shutong, there were also many other active practitioners and theoreticians who advanced the development of school music during this period, and did a lot of work for the creation and dissemination of music, such as Wang Guowei, Fei Shi, Xin Han, Zhu Zhuang, Gao Shoutian, and Feng Yaxiong.

CHAPTER VII  DANCE OF THE QING DYNASTY Section 1  Elegant Dance and Banquet Dance 1. Elegant Dance Elegant dance at the Qing court was divided into two categories; the one used for sacrificial offerings was the »line dance« (liwu 佾舞) and the one used for banqueting was the »group dance.« »Line Dance« springs from the ancient system of Yayue dance (Yayue wu 雅乐舞) and was divided into »Literary Dancing« (wenwu 文舞) and »Martial Arts Dancing« (wuwu 武舞). »Yi« refers to the ranks of dance teams. During the Qing Dynasty, these were the Da Si Ba Yi (eight rows of eight dancers in each row or 64 dancers) and the Zhong Si Liu Yi (six rows of six dancers in each row or 36 dancers). At sacrificial ceremonies, martial arts dances were used at the beginning of the ceremony: The Martial Arts Dance then the Second Drinks Toast (Yaxian 亚献) and at the end final they would perform the Literary Dance or the Wende Dance (Wendezhiwu 文德之舞). The Wende Dance involved dancers holding sashes or feathers in their hands while the dancers of the Martial Arts Dance (Wugongzhiwu 武功之舞) wielded shields and weapons. There are people on either side who direct the dances according to the ancient arrangement. As for the meaning of these elegant dances, they seem to glide through the air and are repetitive and are used to »eulogize cultural accomplishments and military prowess and power,« respectively. In terms of the dances themselves, they lacked liveliness. Judging from the Kongya Book of Music and Dance (Kongya lewupu 孔雅乐舞谱) from the Qing Dynasty, one

cannot really speak of skill or beauty because the dances required only rhythmic movements of the hands and feet and bowing of the body this way and that. »Elegant Dance« was really just a perfunctory thing used during ritual ceremonies. In fact, the decline and fall of Yayue, which lasted for more than three thousand years, was an irreversible historical destiny. Even with the support of the supreme feudal ruler in every possible way, it was not viable. Yayue dance effectively ended with the collapse of the Qing Dynasty.

2. Banquet Dancing At the court of the Qing Dynasty, Yayue dance was not only used for ritual ceremonies at altars and in temples, but also for banquets at the court. In the 9th year of the reign of Tiancong (1635), the musical comedy performances on New Year’s Day ceased. In the 21st year of the reign of Kangxi (1682), on instructions from Yu Guozhu, vice chamberlain, »comedy banter« at banquets ended, »allowing only Yayue,« the purpose of which was to expunge music and dance entertainment during banquets so as to emphasize the ritual and the ceremony. However, the banquets at the Qing Court were different from those of the Han Chinese customs and traditions of sacrificial music and dance. They mainly used traditional Manchurian music and dance, as well as some other ethnic minority music and dance, the so-called »siyi music« ­(siyiyue 四裔乐 literally ›music from all four corners of the country‹). These folk songs and dances were standardized under a »using antiquity to reflect modern situations« motif. After refinement, they were incorporated into the repertoire of court music so naturally were no longer what they once

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were. Emperor Qianlong, who is known in history as having a deep understanding of music, once said: »the purpose of the sound is to maintain the original intent, but to avoid vulgarity through refinement.« This was the criterion for revising and transforming these folk songs and dances, including traditional Manchurian songs and dances. History has recorded that Qing Court banquet music consisted of nine varieties: group dance music; Khalkha music; Korean music; Mongolian music; Hui music; Foreign music; Gurkha music; Burmese music; and Vietnamese music. Of these, group dance music was divided into three parts: (1) Qinglong Dance (Qinglong wu 庆 隆舞), which was mainly used to celebrate banquets at the palace; (2) Shide Dance (Shidewu 世 德舞), which was used for banquets with clan members; and (3) Desheng Dance (Deshengwu 德 胜舞), which celebrated banquets following a triumph (Fig. 9.7.1). Of the group dances, the Qinglong Dance was adapted from a boisterous Manchurian dance called Mang Style (Mangshi 莽式). Mangshi was also known as Mangshi 莽势. Makeshi 玛克式. Makeshimi 玛克什密 and so on. They are all transliterations of the Manchu word meaning »dance.« It was originally a traditional art form which circulated widely among the common folk, and it was extensively used on various occasions such as festivals and banquets and sacrificial ceremonies. Born in Ningguta (now Heilongjiang Province), Wu Zhenchen, in his book Chronicle of Ningguta, described the scene of dancing »mang style« at the New Year or other festive occasions: »the Manchu people dance and dance and call it ›mang style‹. There are male and female mang styles and they dance facing each other whilst others to the side clap their hands and sing. Every time there is the New Year or any festive occasion, they go to the Tai Temple and dance the ›male mang‹ in worship. At the same time, it can be seen that the ›mang style‹ is both a male and female dance,

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with someone clapping and singing to accompany the dance. However, when offering sacrifices at palaces and temples in the Qing Dynasty, only the ›male mang‹ was used. Performing the Qinglong Dance requires a large number of people to create a grand scene and a grand atmosphere.« In addition to the Qinglong Dance, there were the Shide Dance and the Desheng Dance in the banquet music and dance of the Qing Court. Historically it has been said that the »three dances were created in similar fashion, but each has its own movements.« In other words, the techniques of the performance are roughly the same, but the music and songs are different. The Shide Dance was first performed at a royal family banquet held during the 8th year of the reign of Qianlong (1743) when he was visiting Beijing. Qianlong had ten imperial music songs, most of which were words of commemoration and praise for his ancestors’ brilliant achievements. In the 10th song, it is stated »When I play songs, I dance, the family legacy has been passed down and I continue this without question.« This »old family legacy« is an old Manchu custom to dance uninhibitedly at feasts and this music and dance will also be used for banquets for the clan.

Section 2  Theatricalization of Folk Songs and Dances In addition to the influence of the richness and growth of Chinese opera on dance art, it developed into an important part of our country’s music and dance culture. Another aspect that cannot be ignored is the hastening of the development of folk songs and dances into song and dance dramas. There are four major structures in the area of song and dance drama: Yangge Opera (­Yanggexi 秧歌戏 from Shaanxi, Shanxi and Hebei), Tea Picking Opera (caichaxi 采茶戏. from in Jiangxi), Huagu Opera (huaguxi 花鼓戏. from along the

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9.7.1 Celebrations at Wanshou Mountain, Capital Museum

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Yangtze River), and Lantern Opera (huadengxi 花灯戏. from Hunan, Sichuan and Yunnan). There are about 22 types of Yangge Opera, 18 types of Tea Picking Opera, 18 types of Huagu Opera, and six types of Lantern Opera (there are also four sub-types of Lantern Opera in Hunan and nine sub-types in Yunnan which are not counted separately). There are also a number of operettas that some ethnic minorities developed from folk songs and dances. Taken together, these accounted for more than half of the total number of local opera types performed in the Qing Dynasty and the number is significant. The independent development of song and dance drama has become an important part of the national song and dance system in our country. The singing and dancing skills that had been molded and improved by professional or semi-professional small opera artists were fed back to folk songs and dances, which have enriched the meaning and expressiveness of folk song and dance performances. The two complement each other, stimulating our country’s folk songs and dances to enter a new stage of development.

1. Yangge Opera Yangge is the most widely spread type of dance in our country. It can be found in both the north and the south, but is especially popular in the north. It is popular also among ethnic minorities and in rural areas populated by the Han. Yangge opera is mainly prevalent in Shanxi, Hebei, Shaanxi and other provinces in the Northeast. The Qing Dynasty was a prosperous period for the development of Yangge Opera. There are differences in composition and dissimilar dance styles, but the Yangge performance customs are generally similar. Yangge is generally known as »Gathering« (Hui 会), such as in Southern Liaoning and Northern Shaanxi where it is referred to as a Yangge Gathering. In Beijing and Tianjin, people speak of »going to a gathering« (zouhui 走会) or a »flower gathering« (huahui 花会) and »fragrant

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gathering« (xianghui 香会). This is because Yangge does not just refer to a certain form of singing and dancing. The choreography of a Yangge dance troupe during performance could include dragons, lions, carts, boats, lanterns, whip and other dance forms. In some areas, whether to use stilts and what kind of stilts meant that opera performances were divided into High Stilt Yangge (Gaoqiao yangge 高跷秧歌) (Fig. 9.7.2), Inch-Long Stilt Yangge (Cunqiao yangge 寸跷秧歌) and Ground (No Stilt) Yangge (Di yangge 地秧歌). Some operas were divided into Wenchang Yangge (focusing on singing) and Wuchang Yangge (focusing on dance) according to the content of the songs and dances. The performance generally unfolds through »stepping in the street« (caijie 踩街) or »passing through the arcade« (guojielou 过街楼), or »tramping through the streets« (jietangzi 街趟 子), all of which meant performing on the move. After arriving at the performance venue, they put on a show then and there. First they all formed up together in the arena (xiadachang 下大场) and performed together, mainly »walking or running in formation,« thereby demonstrating the strength and skill of the troupe. After the group performance was over, various smaller groups perform such routines, known by different names such as the »flower dances« (xiaohuachang 小花场), »Yangge in opposing pairs« (duiziyangge 对子秧 歌) and »acrobatic dances« (tichangzi 踢场子). This is the essence of Yangge performances: singing, dancing, or comedy (saying funny and auspicious words or amusing with simple plots); showing off tai chi or acrobatics, whatever each dancer did best. Side performances are individuals, twosomes or threesomes. The twosomes are mostly performed by one man and one woman whilst the threesomes are performed by one man and two women or by two men and one woman. Side performances generally have simple plots. This is primary form of these small song and dance dramas »twosomes« (one beautiful and one ugly or true-to-life dancers), and »threesomes« (one

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beautiful and two ugly dancers or one true-to-life, one beautiful and one ugly dancer). After the side shows came to an end, there was another big show (sometimes the big show at the start was known as the show opener and the big show at the end was known as the show closer). This ended the entire spectacle. It can be seen from this performance structure that Yangge performances had great flexibility and capacity. The entire dance troupe could consist of many or few dancers, as few as a dozen or over a hundred; a performance could involve a few songs or dances or it could entail dozens of different forms of performance; the side shows could be a few or many, involving dancers singing and dancing freely, or they could be combined or performed separately; any performance program could also be arranged according to the performers’ own circumstances, thus providing a vast space for many folk artists to display their different performing talents. Yangge Opera took root, grew and flourished in such fertile soil.

2. Tea Picking Opera The tea-picking opera originated from the teapicking songs and dances such as Tea Picking Lanterns, Tea Basket Lanterns and son and widespread in Jiangxi, Fujian, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi and other provinces. Tea-picking singing and dancing was a product of the working life of tea farmers. Therefore, the areas where tea-picking singing and dancing were popular were often the areas which were famous tea-producing areas in our country. The original forms of the tea-picking songs and dances were usually relatively humble, mainly based on dancing lights carried in tea baskets. The dances themselves were mostly movements taken from life from the work of picking tea and were a type of lyric poetry. With the development of the lyrical content, simple plots such as climbing the mountains, picking tea, flapping butterflies and

◂ 9.7.2 High stilt Yangge

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playing added life interest, but they still could not be considered truly dramatic plots. Later, the content of the songs was further expanded, gradually breaking through the limitation of only showing the work of picking tea by adding legendary stories to the songs. These changes were also influenced by true opera. For example, an opera from Longyan in Fujian Province called Tea Picking Lanterns was influenced by another opera called True Tea Picking (Zhengcaicha 正采茶). Fujian Nanxi Opera was popular, and quite early on the masses cultivated the habit of appreciating such opera. In such an atmosphere, tea-picking, singing and dancing were naturally incorporated into the plot of the drama. In the original performances, there were already dramas such as Repairing Pots, Playing the Flower Drum, Boisterous Lanterns, Selling Flowers and Crying on the Night Watch (Ku wugeng 哭五更; Wugeng was the fifth of the five night-watch periods 03:00–05:00). There were also other minor dramas with simple plots. In some areas of Fujian, there is still the custom that when the Spring Festival arrives, the main activity of the local tea lantern dance team is to go to all households in the village to pay New Year greetings. At ordinary people’s houses, only singing and dancing are performed, but if you go to the homes of patriarchs and other elders, you must add a small drama to show respect. This also shows the status that such opera occupies in people’s minds. In such a natural environment, the tea-picking songs and dances of Fujian developed into true tea-picking operas roughly at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty when large numbers of opera troupes moved into Fujian. The Gannan Mountain area, birthplace of Jiangxi’s tea picking opera, is a famous tea growing area with a long history. The Jiulong tea produced on Jiulong Mountain in Anyuan became a tea used to pay tribute during the Song Dynasty and was still used as a tribute during the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty’s Chronicle of Ganzhou Prefecture (Ganzhou fuzhi 赣州府志) contained the notation

SECTION 2 THEATRICALIZATION OF FOLK SONGS AND DANCES

»The Jiulong Tea came from the Jiulong Mountains in Anyuan, and in the 5th year of Yongzheng era, Wang Shisheng paid tribute to official responsible for maintaining the roads.« According to local historical data, »the ancient customs of singing tea songs and dancing tea lights were all performed on the eve of opening a new tea picking area.« With the development of tea gardens, tea-picking songs and dances reflecting the work of tea farmers became extremely popular. However, the early performances were very simple, mainly tea girls carrying tea baskets, dancing and singing tea picking songs such as Picking Tea in the 12th Month and Four Seasons Tea. Later on, by way of performing on the same stage as other performing arts, they influenced each other and were gradually enriched. By the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the Three-Legged Opera and Sisters Picking Tea appeared. These tell the tale of two sisters going up to the mountain to pick tea, who are met by a tea boy taking short steps and shaking a paper fan and clowning around, who sings and dances, breaking into the purely lyrical performance. This is the predecessor of the tea picking opera. Since then, tea-picking, songs and dances have been further developed, and Picking Tea on Jiulong Mountain appeared which wholly reflects the life of tea farmers, with more characters and richer content. During this period, under the influence of Gan and Hui operas, they were gradually formed into song and dance dramas. During the Qianlong era, more than one hundred such dramas were added to the repertoire. One of the characteristics of Jiangxi tea picking opera is that it has always kept the Three-Legged Opera ugly male and alluring female characters. The ugly male and alluring female’s singing and dancing routines occupy an important position in the performance. This is also the traditional feature of tea-picking singing and dancing. The performing art of »tea-picking plays« stimulated the development of tea picking dances and enriched the performance skills

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of tea picking songs and dances, thereby forming the three distinctive dance styles of »short step« (aizibu 矮子步), »single sleeve« (danxiutong 单袖 筒) and »flower fan« (shanzihua 扇子花).

3. Flower Drum Opera Flower Drum Opera was mainly found in Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Guangdong, Shaanxi and other provinces. Its form is similar to tea-picking opera and Yangge Opera. It is also a small song and dance opera that was developed by folk festival dance teams. Various Flower Drum dances, which grew out of the original state of Flower Drum Opera, are still being performed today, such as the famous Anhui Flower Drum Lantern. This is a complete folk performance art that integrates gongs and drums, folk songs, dances and martial arts. Its dancing skills used are very rich and it is performed in a similar fashion to Yangge, consisting of »big performance—small performance(s)— big performance.« Within this set-up, the small performance is known as the »Little Flower Performance« and was usually performed by two or three characters and most of them show life stories with simple plots. That notwithstanding, the Flower Drum songs and dances are rich in meaning. There are Little Flower Performances such as Holding a Fan (Qiangshanzi 抢扇子), Holding a Handkerchief (Qiangshoujuan 抢手绢) and The Stool Dance (Panbandeng 盘板凳), which were an original part of Flower Drum Opera. The Hunan Land Flower Drum opera (Dihuagu 地 花鼓) was nurtured in the hotbed of Hunan’s vast rural areas and led to the Hunan style of the flower drum opera. The tunes in the Land Flower Drum opera were mostly taken from local folk songs, and these folk songs express life and work and they incorporated a tradition of storytelling. The Chronicle of Lizhou (Lizhou zhi 澧州志) from the Ming Dynasty stated: »Planting rice seedlings and weeding grass, playing drums and singing. Amidst this rusticity, there are also people who say the modern and the ancient are both the same.« But

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in Land Flower Drum, this kind of »talking about the old and the new« is mainly expressed through singing and dancing. The Land Flower Drum still retains the single flower drum performed by a single female beauty, the double flower drum performed by two females and a male, the group flower drum performed by two females and two males. There are also many small programs that depict rural life and love between men and women, such as Kite Flying, Dreaming of Home at New Year, Gathering Edible Moss and so on. In the traditional programs of Flower Drum Opera, not only have the tunes and distinctive dancing skills of the Land Flower Drum been handed down, but many similar repertoires that emphasize singing and dancing have likewise been preserved. If one calculates the number of generations that modern artists can remember now, there were professional troupes specializing in Flower Drum Opera in the Jiaqing era (1796–1820). This indicates that the Flower Drum Opera at that time had already completed the process of developing from singing and dancing to operetta.

4. Lantern Opera The Lantern Opera was another major form of song and dance drama and was widespread in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces and in other places. Lantern opera originated from lantern songs and dances which were found in a wide range of places. It was influenced by local folk arts and different types of operas, thereby creating diverse performance styles. Lantern singing and dancing emerged out of festival entertainment group dances and is an ancient folk art. As to exactly when it became opera, opinions differ. Generally, it is believed that it arose from the rising popularity of local dramas at the end of the Ming Dynasty and beginning of the Qing Dynasty. The Lantern Dance of Yunnan is one of the earlier lantern operas. Among the tunes it uses, there are southern style opera (anqu 南曲) and folk songs

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of the Ming and Qing periods (mingqing xiaoqu 明 清小曲) and it is closely related to northern style opera (beiqu 北曲) and kunqu opera. Ni Xie, from the Qianlong era, wrote in the essay »Opera Composition as Preparation for the Imperial Examination«: Last summer, in Kejianning I saw an excellent opera performance by some village performers. At the start, a callow youth takes a wife. Then there was a young girl who eloped, or was lured to an inn, or was kidnapped, or was led away blindfolded, all the while dancing to the Yangge rice drums, with clamor coming from the audience on all sides, clamoring and vying with each other like the wind and the rain.

According to the essay, the performers were »village talents,« not ordinary farmers; the performances included: A Callow Youth Takes a Wife and A Foolish Girl Absconds, as well as singing and dancing. It is a minor drama with characters and plots. As for the music, A Cacophony of Clamoring Voices (Chuxi qinming 楚咻秦鸣) has both southern and northern tunes. Judging from these descriptions, this may have been the style of performance of lantern shows at that time. It demonstrates that this type of Lantern Opera emerged from the lantern songs and dances and performed independently at that time.

Section 3  The Spread of European Dance Styles In the late Qing Dynasty, due to the failure of the closed-door policy, the wind of Western modernity blew into the ancient Eastern Empire, and European and American dances stepped onto the land of China. The rigidity, low energy and disconnect of ancient music and dance from reality aroused the attention of those who advocated reform at that time and put forward various solutions. Under the conditions at the time, those who

SECTION 3 THE SPREAD OF EUROPEAN DANCE STYLES

had the opportunity to come into contact with foreign music and dance arts were first of all officials in charge of foreign affairs and some foreign students. They initially enjoyed foreign music and dance performances either abroad or during diplomatic occasions at home. The first Chinese person to learn European and American ballet, modern dance, and Japanese classical dance was Yu Rongling (1881–1973), a former magistrate for the Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty. Yu Rongling’s father, Yu Geng, from Zhengbai Hanjun Banner in Manchuria, was one of the first diplomats sent overseas by China. Yu Rongling first learned Japanese classical dance. In 1899, Yu Geng was posted as Ambassador to France and Yu Rongling followed him to Paris, then known as the arts capital of the world. She and her sister Yu Deling enrolled at the French Sacred Heart Girls’ School to study, at the same time learning music, European classical dance and ballet. At that time, the embassy often held balls and ballroom dances on festive occasions. Then Yu Rongling entered the dance school opened in Paris by Isadora Duncan, the founder of American modern dance, to learn American modern dance. Her parents believed that their daughter should not be allowed to continue to study dance because of its lack of dignity but Yu Rongling was unyielding, even refusing to eat. In the end, her parents conceded on the condition that she not study modern dance but instead change to ballet. Thus Yu Rongling started to learn ballet again, under the tutelage of a famous dance professor at the French National Opera and then transferred to Paris Music and Dance School for further studies. In 1902, Yu Rongling stepped onto the stage of the National Opera for the first time, performing in the ballets Rose and Butterfly, Water Fairy and Ophelia. In April 1904, Yu Rongling entered the palace with her mother and sister and became a Lady in Waiting. Empress Dowager Cixi was very sensual, and fond of enjoying life. From time to time, she would ask Yu Rongling to tell her about foreign dances

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and show her. She was not interested in ballroom dancing but she was interested in ballet. Whenever she saw a movement that she loved to watch, she would stop the dance and have the movement performed a few more times. In this way, Yu Rongling introduced European and American dance styles into the ancient and gloomy Forbidden City for the first time ever. Yu Rongling took advantage of the many opportunities to watch operas in the palace and began to observe and study Chinese operatic dance. At that time, the performers in the palace were all famous actors in the opera world, such as Tan Xinpei, Yang Xiaolou, Wang Yaoqing and others. Their dance styles and martial arts skills were replete with ancient oriental charm, introducing Yu Rongling to a new realm of Chinese classical dance. Soon, she learned the singing style of kunqu and quickly mastered the style of operatic dance. Then using Duncan’s dance choreography methods and by combining Eastern and Western dance techniques, she choreographed dances such as the Dance of the Bodhisattva, the Lotus Fairy Dance, the Fan Dance, and the Scepter Dance. Just as the fire of the Russo-Japanese War ignited on Chinese soil, by command of the Empress Dowager, on the fourth day of the 5th lunar month in the 30th year of Guangxu (1904), Yu Rongling gave her first and only special dance performance in front of the Le Shou Hall in the Summer Palace with the flowers in full bloom. She performed three dances chosen by the Empress Dowager: Spanish Dance, Scepter Dance and Greek Dance. For this performance, the Empress Dowager also specially brought in the military band of Yuan Shikai’s new army from Tianjin. This brass band was composed of young military officers who had returned from studying in France and it accompanied the very first Western dance performance at the Qing Court. Yu Rongling was a towering figure in the modern dance history of our country, but she was born at the wrong time and, being limited by the environment which existed then, her dance activi-

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ties and achievements did not have the impact they should have had on society. While she was fighting alone, and although Western dance had begun to advance eastward, there were few artistic dance performances. At that time, church associations and reformists promoted new-style sports dancing and song-and-dance meetings. The most conspicuous of these was the »two people, one couple« ballroom dancing. Performances by foreigners who had come to China first brought ballroom dancing to the notice of the Chinese and it then gradually spread to a small number of Chinese people. At that time, dance in Tianjin was jokingly called »Jumping Foreigners« (Yang bengbeng 洋蹦蹦). Calling Western dance »Jumping Foreigners« showed that the people were not yet familiar with it, but it had attracted their attention. After all, foreign music and dance broke the monotony of the Chinese dance scene, especially in the commercial cities along the coast, which had developed faster. Faced with this situation, some people were in favor of course, but some opposed it and some even regarded it as a menace. Later development proved that the trend of learning to »copy the way they walk in Handan« (slavishly copying others) did not stop because of this, which only goes to show that historical trends are not controlled only by a few.

Section 4  Festival Songs and Dances 1. Lantern Festival and Lantern Dances An important feature of folk dance activities is their close integration with traditional festivals and customs. Various festive activities provide a broad canvas for the art of singing and dancing, whilst the colorful singing and dancing add endless joy and interest to festivals. The two are interdependent and complement each other.

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During the Qing Dynasty, the most popular festival and most closely related to folk art was the Lantern Festival (also known by different dialect names, such as shangyuan 上元. and yuanxiaojie 元宵). In this festival that followed the Lunar New Year Festival, all local kinds of local folk songs, dances, and acrobatics would be performed, as well as other performing arts, brilliant displays and eye-catching lanterns of various colors, as well as all kinds of fireworks and firecrackers. You could say that the Lantern Festival was also a nationwide grand art festival. The most representative feature of this festival was the various lantern dances. The Lantern Festival has a long history, and Lantern Dances were not unique to the Qing Dynasty. However, they flourished and were developed in the Qing Dynasty and became one of the larger categories of traditional dance forms in our country. »Flower lanterns,« »tea lanterns,« »rolling lanterns« and »domed lights« are all forms of lanterns. Ancient dragon dances, lion dances, bamboo horse dances and »dry-land boat dances« (hanchuan 旱船. carried by shoulder straps) were all transformed into »dragon lanterns,« »lion lanterns,« »bamboo horse lanterns« and »dry-land boat lanterns.« Flower baskets and flower drums that had nothing to do with the lanterns were also developed into »flower basket lanterns« and »flower drum lanterns.« At that time, especially in Han-populated areas, there were almost no dances without lanterns. The lantern dances had long spread out in tandem with the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival also experienced a long process of change. It changed from being a folk custom associated with animist beliefs to an important national festival. It flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties and reached the peak of its popularity in the Ming and Qing dynasties. According to historical records, the Lantern Festival was only three days in the Tang Dynasty, which then increased to five or six days, finally expanding to ten days in the

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Ming Dynasty. It became more popular in the Qing Dynasty and eventually developed into a national festival. The expansion of the festival prompted various customs and activities to greatly enliven the Lantern Festival and at the same time, new content was constantly being added. There are competitions of all kinds of lanterns also includes there is the dazzling rivalry between various lantern dances. Many folk art forms formed part of the Lantern Festival, but singing and dancing were a core element of the festival. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Dai’s Collected Dreams of Tao An (Tao an mengyi 陶庵梦忆) mentioned a folk saying from that that time: »If the lamp does not play its part, the lamp will not be intoxicating; but without the enthusiasm of the team dance, the lantern flame will not be perceptible.« It can be seen how important singing and dancing performance during this festival is to people. Beijing was one of the areas where the Lantern Festival and Lantern Dances thrived. In the Qing Dynasty, the folk songs and dances performed during the Lantern Festival in Beijing were very rich and diverse. The folk songs and dances of the Lantern Festival generally included Yangge, »Dragon Lanterns,« »Fish Lanterns,« »Flower Drums,« »Lion Dances,« »Wrestling,« »Farming Family Happiness,« »Colored Balls,« »Fluttering Butterflies« »A Monk Looking at Green Willows,« »Dry-land Boats,« »Bamboo Horses,« »Tai Ping Drums,« »Ten Drums,« »Flower Sticks,« »Ten Being Busy«—as well as performing gymnastic tricks on a horizontal bar, and martial arts such as tumbling and somersaults, dragonflies, and rope jumping. There were performances by professional entertainers and amateurs. According to records, there was also singing and dancing by the audience and round dancing. It can be described as »a hundred operas vying with each other in the square,« a veritable folk arts convention, covering almost all the folk arts forms in Beijing. Most of these still circulate today.

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The Lantern Festival was not only a national holiday, but it was also a holiday for the people. Everybody from people from the royal courts to citizens in the streets and lanes all participated. If you talk about pomp and grandeur, of course, you must count what went on behind the high palace walls. There were many palace lantern dances and scenes of luxury, but the vast world of lantern dance activities remained a part of the common people. In mountain villages and towns with no stage and lack of lighting, with their own lantern dances, they were naturally blessed, like a fish in water. Especially on desolate moonlit nights and when people are thirsting for joy and excitement, the lanterns and the moon were shining, and the lights brought joy and warmth to people; and when those torches were given various shapes and colors by skilled craftsmen and artisans to form a magical world with various shapes and colors, this only served to heighten their charm and appeal.

2. Songs and Dances of Ethnic Festivals Our country is a multi-ethnic country. In addition to some national festivals, each ethnic group also has many unique traditional festivals. Due to differences in the natural environment, the life and work of various ethnic groups, and variances in beliefs and customs, these festivals present their own unique customs and together make up rich and colorful festival culture of the Chinese nation. National festivals are mostly molded by the long historical development course of various nationalities. They are spiritual phenomena formed by the long-term accumulation of national psychology, ethical concepts and religious beliefs. They also contain many cultural relics such as national traditional customs, etiquette, literature, singing and dancing. As a window looking onto and showcasing national culture, you can feel the fleshand-blood connection between national song and dance and national life.

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1. Torch Festival and Songs The Torch Festival is popular in Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and other provinces. In Yunnan, it is another grand festival besides the Lantern Festival. Many ethnic groups such as Yi, Bai, Wa, Lahu, Lisu, Pumi, Hani, as well as the Han celebrate this festival. The Chronicle of Luliang, which was compiled during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, contains this description: »[6th Month] 24th day is the Festival of Returning Stars [xinghuijie 星回节 also known as torch festival], people burn pine torches on street corners and go drinking. In the villages, torches are set in the planting fields and people hold sacrifices to pray for the year ahead. These local barbarian customs are associated with the whole province, not just Luliang.« It shows that even before the Qianlong era, the Torch Festival was already a popular festival. Each ethnic group Torch Festival had its own content and methods of celebration, but all were inseparable from »fire« and the colorful traditional songs and dances of various ethnic groups. In the 12th year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign (1673), the Chronicle of Ami had this to say: »[6th Month] 24th is the Festival of Returning Stars, when people burn torches to drive off locusts. On this day also, the Yi people played wind instruments, banged giant shovels, skipped and jumped with each other and performed songs.« In the early years of the Republic of China era, the Chronicle of Luquan County still recorded: »Men and women gather together, sitting around, eating chopped wild hog meat, drinking, singing and dancing and taking advantage of the delightful festival.« It can be seen that the Torch Festival was a long-standing tradition of singing and dancing which was prevalent and enduring right through the Qing Dynasty. In Weishan, Yunnan Province, Dage 打歌 or singing and dancing in a circle were called ouke 欧克 in the Yi language and tage 踏歌 in ancient Chinese texts. A mural in the Longting Pavilion on Weibao Mountain which was painted during the Qianlong era, Yi People’s Singing and Dancing in a

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Circle vividly depicts such musical scenes: In the center of the picture, one person is playing a flute, two are playing bamboo pipes and a group of people are dancing around them. There is one person outside the circle playing a lute and one person, holding a fan in his right hand, is singing the melody. This kind of scene can still be seen today in performances of circle dancing. Dage was an ancient traditional dance of the Yi people, with various forms and characteristics and a wide range of actions. It was not only seen during various festivals, but was also popular at Yi family weddings, funerals, and making offerings to the ancestors. As an Yi proverb says: »Life is inseparable from fire and water and the Yi are inseparable from singing and dancing.« Dage is still the most popular dance in the life of the Yi people. 2. Three Spinning Spirits »Three Spinning Spirits« (Rao sanling 绕三灵) known in the language of the Bai people as »Strolling and Viewing the Mulberry Bushes« (Guangsanglan 逛桑览) is a traditional festival of the Bai people in Dali with a long history. It is a grand festival of folk songs and dances. The festival of »Three Spinning Spirits« is from the 23rd to the 25th of the 4th month of the lunar calendar every year, just before the hectic planting season. During the festival, in hundreds of villages around Erhai Lake, almost every household takes part. Thousands of men, women and children are all dressed in disguise and each village acts as a team and shows off the village’s own deity; the teams are all linked together in a long line, to worship the »three spirits.« The so-called three spirits are not wholly consistent in folklore. Generally, the Shengyuan Temple (also known as the Shrine to the Son of Heaven, shenmingzimiao 神明天子庙) beneath Wutai Peak in the Cangshan Mountains, which is the main temple of Qingdong Village, is regarded as the »Abode of the Gods.« If the Chongsheng Temple

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in Dali is the »Abode of the Buddha«; then the Erhai Shrine (or Zhonghe Temple in the Cangshan Mountains) is the »Abode of the Spirits.« The traditional pilgrimage route is »walking north on the 3rd day, walking south on the 4th day and returning home on the 6th day.« That is to say: on the 23rd they start from Dali and go north along the foot of the Cangshan Mountains to the Shengyuan Temple beneath Wutai Peak, to pray for a long life and the harvest with singing and dancing all night. On the 24th, they head south to He’ei’cheng Village on the shore of Erhai Lake. On the 25th they walk round Erhai Lake and the ceremony ends at the main temple of Majiuyi Village near the Lisan Pagoda. They then return to their villages. However, although it is called the Pilgrimage of the Three Spirits (»Abode of the Gods,« »Abode of the Buddha,« and »Abode of the Spirits«), you have to pray at every temple along the way, it is actually an activity for the whole ethnicity to offer sacrifices to the gods and the ancestors. This is especially true when the teams arrive at Shengyuan Temple in Qingdong Village, and pray to the 500 gods (who are the village owners). The crowd gathers and the scene is spectacular. Not only the singers and dancers from each village team, but also those offering up incense sang and danced. Men, women and children celebrated all night. 3. »Dancing over the Moon,« »Walking on Flower Mountain,« and the Lute Dance The ancient Miao ethnic group has many branches, is widely distributed, and has a long history. There are certain differences in customs and habits. However, they have the same festival, which is »Dancing over the Moon« (tiaoyue 跳月 or dancing to music). Each locality has its own different name like: »Dancing on Flowers«; Dancing on the Hills«; »Dancing in the Fields«; and »Stepping on the Mountains,« also known as »Dancing on the Flower Mountain.« They are identical; some take place in the 1st month or the 5th month of the lunar calendar. Yet others occur

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resent the heartfelt exchanges between them and the continuous whispers between lovers. »Sound and rhyme all just express passionate words«: this is complete communication and understanding between body and spirit. The Miao people have such folk songs as: »If the Miao people do not dance on flowers, it will be difficult for children to raise a family,« »If the Miao people do not dance on flowers, the rice crop will not be fertile.« Thus, it can be seen that the Miao people attach great importance to this festival.

9.7.3 Painting of Miao dance

in the 2nd, 3rd, 6th or 8th month, and the content of each performance is more varied and magnificent than the last and has its own quirks. However, the theme of this festival never varies: matchmaking for the young men and women. The same can be said of the Lute Dance (Fig. 9.7.3). The Lute Dance plays many roles in the life of the Miao people: it is not only performed at festive occasions but also at funeral rites; it boosts morale in battle; it provides comfort and courage in difficult situations; on routes frequently used by migrants in the past, it played a role in reuniting tribes and spreading information and also had the function of distinguishing between the different branches of the Miao people. When »Dancing over the Moon« is performed, it primarily plays the role of »God’s Matchmaker.« By performing it, the young men fully demonstrate their strength, wisdom, agility and superb dance skills. The girls observe each other’s dance steps and at the same time also deliberately show their agility, intelligence and beauty. The lute music and dance rep-

4. The Spring Festival and the Hand-Waving Dance The Spring Festival (Diaonianhui 调年会) is a traditional festival of the Tujia people. In the Tujia language it is called means »Hand-Waving Day« (sheba ri 社巴日), and »Sheba« means waving hands. »Ri« means doing, playing or dancing. Therefore, according to the literal translation from the Tujia language, it is to dance the Hand-Waving Dance. Taking the name of the dance as the name of the festival also shows the important position of this dance in festive activities. Hand Waving had its origins very early on and until the Qing Dynasty was still one of the important seasonal activities in the life of the Tujia people. According to the Chronicle of Guzhangping Hall, written during the Guangxu era: There is a hand-waving hall in each village. Every year from the third day to the fifth or sixth day of the first lunar month of the year, gongs and drums are sounded at night, men and women gather, swaying and shouting, waving their hands, which is supposed to cleanse evil and remove inauspicious influences. This old custom […] wherein the gods for the old Military Supervision Agency, such as Peng Wang, Tian Dahan, and Shang, are all senior officials, and all officials of Peng Wang.

The content and form of the hand-waving dance are not exactly the same everywhere. It is usually held from the third to the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, but it is also held in the sec-

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ond and third months, which are called »Second Month Dance« or »Third Month Dance.« Such activities were divided into large and small ones. The »Small Hand Waves« were mostly held in front of the small temple near the Tujia village to pay homage to the landlord. The scale was small, the number of people was small, and the dance format was not completely fixed, just the part that reflected agricultural labor. The participants sang and danced together, and the content of the lyrics also focused on agricultural matters: »Ho ho, ho ho, maize grows like cow horns, millet grows like ropes.« The content of these songs and dances obviously has the meaning of spring prayers to wish for good weather and good harvests. In addition, there were song contests for young men and women, mainly singing love songs, and the hand-waving arena became the best place for young people to choose their mates and to socialize. The scale and momentum of »Big Hand Waves« were much greater and the duration was at least three days, sometimes five days, and sometimes as long as seven days and seven nights. The participants came from several villages and counties townships, such as Xiejiazhai in Longshan County, Hunan; there were even scenes of festivals in several counties, such as Horseshoe Village and Longche in Longshan County. There were even festivals in several other counties, such as the Mati and Longche villages in Longshan County. These places are historically the traditional »Big Hand Wave« places where the temple was big and the floor area was also large. During the hand waving, a large flag embroidered with dragons and phoenixes would be hung high in the center of the dance area, under this banner of »Earth Teacher« (Tima 梯玛. Master of the Dance) who would beat gongs and drums. There were a number »sacred fires« in the dance area. The hand-waving dance revolved around the dragon and phoenix banner, which symbolizes the »Flying Gods.« These arrangements in the arena clearly have the connotation of animist worship of nature and idols.

SECTION 4 FESTIVAL SONGS AND DANCES

As the concept of reproductive worship changed from a matrilineal to a patrilineal society, it also gradually shifted from female yin to male yang worship, which was also fully expressed in the hand-waving dance. There is a very prominent section in the hand-waving dance, the »Straw Man« (Maogusi 毛古斯). »Straw Man« is also commonly known as »Hairy Man,« which is called »Babuka« (Babuka 拔步卡) in the Tujia language and means the ancestor with long hair. During the performance, the actor is covered with straw, with a thick wooden stick wrapped around a straw rope tied around his waist, symbolizing the male member and is more commonly known as the »crude shaft« (culugun 粗鲁棍). It is usually used as a hunting tool or a hoe when performing dances about such work as hunting and farming, but when performing »torch throwing,« the actor would hold his »crude shaft« in front of women and »thrust his groin back and forth« and »swivel his hips« as a kind of explicit teasing, so it is obvious that this was a form of male worship. The rich integration between the hand-waving dance and poetry, and music and dance, are representative of the folk festival songs and dances in our country. There are many similar ethnic festivals in our country various minorities such as the Jingpo people’s »Wooden Brain« (Munao 木脑) or »Zongge« 總戈. the Dai people’s Water-Splashing Festival (New Year’s Festival) and Elephant Foot Drum Dance, the Yao people’s Panwang Festival (Panwangjie 盘王节) and Long Drum Dance (Changguwu 长鼓舞), and the Zhuang people’s Leaping Grasshopper Festival (Maguaijie 蚂拐节) and »Leaping Grasshopper Dance« (maguaiwu 蚂拐舞). These joyful ethnic festival songs and dances have a long history and continued to develop during the Qing Dynasty. They are a superb part of the Chinese national music and dance ­culture.

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Section 5  Religious Dances Another exceptional sign of the ability of dance art to be absorbed is its combination with religious activities. Religious (including animist religion) dance was also an important aspect of dance during the Qing Dynasty. Religion is an extremely conservative sphere. Rooted in movement and variation, it is precisely because of the conservative constraints of religion that dance as an art became a durable part of religious activities. Therefore, with regard to religious dance, it generally retained a strong original flavor, which represents valuable historical material for us to explore the development of ancient dance.

1. The Mysterious Sacrificial Hall In the eyes of the people of Beijing during the Qing Dynasty, the Forbidden City was a mysterious place and the most mysterious part was the Sacrificial Hall (Tangzi 堂子). In actual fact, the Sacrificial Hall was just another room where the Qing royal family could offer sacrifices to worship their ancestors, heaven, earth, sun, moon and many miscellaneous gods. It is covered with a veil of mystery because these sacrificial rites were not conducted in public, the range of participants was very narrow, and Han officials were not allowed to participate. The reason is that the sacrifices in the Sacrificial Hall were different from the rituals used in various public sacrifices. The ancient customs of Manchuria were adopted. The traditional form of these rituals belonged to the »Shaman Dancing God« (saman tiaoshen 萨满跳神) and can be categorized as a form of primitive magic. Sacrificial rituals in the Sacrificial Hall were quite burdensome. Apart from New Year’s Day, the first day of the first lunar month and the Spring and Autumn Festivals, there were also monthly sacrifices: for graduations; whenever the emperor embarked on a personal quest; or he returned triumphant, then

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an early visit to the Sacrificial Hall was required to »present one’s salutations.« The so-called Tangzi Festival was the continuation of the old Manchurian custom of »raising a pole to worship heaven« (»ligan jitian« 立杆祭天). This custom had its origins in primitive shamanism and has a strong flavor of magic. This minor custom continued at the Qing Court right up to the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Shamanism was not only a Manchu belief; it was also widely spread among the Manchu-Tungusic minorities belonging to the Altaic family of languages in northern China, and endured throughout the Qing Dynasty. It was popular not only at the court, but also among the people. Almost every family in Manchuria performed shaman sacrifices which were called »home sacrifices.« Because it was so widespread and different families worshiped different gods, the shamans had different origins. So, the specific characteristics of each dance were not, as Zhaolian (1776–1833) said, »the ceremonies are the same,« but each has its own idiosyncrasies. Although in the twelfth year of Qianlong (1747), the »Manchu Sacrificial Ceremony« (Manzhou jishen jitian dianli 满洲祭神 祭天典礼) and »Manchu Dance God Votive Rules« (Manzhou tiaoshen huanyuan dianli 满洲跳神还 愿典例) were issued by the imperial proclamation, the situation does not seem to have changed. But the overall situation does not seem to have changed because, apart from some areas of similarity, each family still retained their own unique sacrificial objects and forms of songs and dances. This can be seen from the relics of the shaman dancing gods that can still be seen nowadays. Manchu dances were presided over by patriarchs or elders of high prestige. The central figure in the activity was the shaman. The master shaman was called the »great deity« and the deputy was called the »second deity.« Before the ceremony, the shrine and mandala must be carefully arranged. The shrines were mostly set up in the western part of the main house (denoting west of Manchuria),

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which is a place for worshipping the deities; the mandalas were mostly set up in the courtyard outside the shrines, which was the scene for »revealing the deity« (xianshen 显神). According to the records in the Book of Deities (Shenben 神本), a complete dance ceremony should include: »Deities in Line« (Paishen 排神. mainly singing and praising the merits of the ancestors); »Beseeching the Deities« (Qingshen 请神. mainly singing and asking the deities to possess their bodies at the altar); »Arrival of the Deities« (Fangshen 放神. the deities descend to the altar to possess their bodies, mainly dancing); »Farewell to the Deities« (Songshen 送神. respectfully sending the deities back to their palaces). These were the four main stages and involve drums, singing and dancing throughout. Of these, the »Arrival of the Deities« ia the main part of the dance, and it is also the most lavish part. Before »Arrival of the Deities,« everyone must first worship the sky deity and the earth deity. The deities were divided into two categories: »House Deities« and »Outdoor Deities.« The »House Deities« represented the family’s ancestors; »Outdoor Deities« were the various deities to be found in the natural world which are worshiped by the family, such as »Bird of Prey Deity« and »Leopard Deity,« »Python Deity,« »Tiger Deity,« »Eagle Deity,« »Golden Flower Girl Deity« and so on. After the deities (mainly outdoor deities) possessed their bodies, the shamans would use dances to simulate the movements and behaviors of the various deities, like »pretending to be a dragon and a tiger.« There were many exciting dances with vivid imagery, so it was also the most erotic and popular part of the entertainment.

2. Chama Dance Another important series of religious dances were the Tibetan Buddhist Dharma Dances. This kind of dance was called »qiangmu« 羌姆 in Tibet, »chama« 查玛 in Inner Mongolia and »tiaobuzha« 跳布扎 in Beijing and other places. Ordinary peo-

SECTION 5 RELIGIOUS DANCES

ple often called it »Fighting Ghosts« or »Leaping Gods.« They were widely spread in areas where there were Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. This kind of religious dance was popular in Beijing and it was introduced at the same time as Tibetan Buddhism. During the Qing Dynasty, tiaobuzha were widely spread in various lamaseries in Beijing, and there were tiaobuzha to be found in the »yellow and black temples« (so called because of the color of the roof tiles). Each year starts with the first month, the Yellow Temple on the 13th day, the Black Temple on the 10th day, the Lama Temple on the 21st day and the Zhantan Temple on the 6th day. Its form was reminiscent of the Great Exorcism (Danuo 大傩) from ancient times. At the solstice, the Qin Emperor would send princes to listen to the scriptures, one of the most important laws of the time. Moreover, the embroidered clothing and masks were made in-house, and all the great lamas came equipped with them. During the Spring Festival, various temples opened one after another to stage ghosts fighting and perform Buddhist ceremonies. At those times, the alleys would be empty and young and old would be vying for a view. Temporary markets would be set up in the square in front of the temple. There would be »colorful puppets, paper kites and bamboo horses, string drum butterflies, small toys« and various food and random household products and handicrafts for sale. It was a very lively scene. The Mongolians were also a people that believed in Tibetan Buddhism. At the end of the 16th century, when Tibetan Buddhism was introduced into Inner Mongolia, Chama also entered the Mongolian grasslands. According to historical records, in 1576, the chief of the Mongolian Tumed tribe, Altan Khan, sent an envoy to Qinghai to welcome the third Dalai Lama; In 1579, Mongolia’s first Yellow Hat monastery, the Hongci Temple (also known as the Jokhang Temple) was established in Hohhot, and monks from Qinghai Ta’er Temple were invited to teach Chama which they performed at the ceremony celebrating the com-

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pletion of the Jokhang Temple. This was the first performance of Chama in the grasslands, which now has a history of more than 400 years. The Chama was the crystallization of cultural exchanges between the Mongolian and Tibetan ethnic groups. Originating with the Qiangmu in Tibet, it was faithful to the purpose of »promoting Buddhism and spreading its teachings.« Over the course of the long-term development of Inner Mongolia, it was been assimilated into the Mongolian traditional music, dance, folk literature whilst forming its own characteristics.

3. The Prevalence of Religious Festival Parades In the Qing Dynasty, folk religious activities such as temple fairs and deity races were popular in the north and south, and they were another stage where folk dancers could show their talents. Judging from the local chronicles of the Qing Dynasty and the miscellaneous records of the Qing people, it was said that »there are gatherings in all four seasons, and there are gatherings every month.« There could even be several meetings in a month. These gatherings would be held at Buddhist temples, some at Daoist temples and some were spontaneously organized by civic societies with various kinds of activities. But there is one thing they all have in common, which was that singing, dancing and various folk arts were almost indispensable to these festive occasions and temple fairs. As the capital of the Qing Dynasty, Beijing temple fairs had many names. They combined the religious beliefs with folkloric activities of the north and the south, with an admixture of original local customs, forming a variety of ways to welcome the gods. The grandest one was the temple fair at Miaofeng Mountain in the west of Beijing. On Miaofeng Mountain, there is Bixia Yuanjun Temple, which is commonly known as Niangniangding 娘娘顶. referring to the Goddess of Fertility (Bixia Yuanjun 碧霞元君). According to the record of Seasonal Chronicles of the Imperial Capital (Di-

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jing suishi jisheng 帝京岁时纪胜): »The places of pilgrimage in the capital are prosperous but none more than Bixia Yuanjun.« Every year from the 1st to the 15th of the 4th month of the lunar calendar, when Miaofeng Mountain opens, people come from far and wide, some travelling more than 300 li to participate. In its heyday, it is said that there were hundreds of thousands of people visiting. There were basically two kinds of singing and dancing activities in these temple fairs: one was the folk arts that have been around since time immemorial in the local area, such as yangge, Flower Drum, Pavilion dances, and dragon and lion dances. The Kyoto Chronicle of Customs records that the Miaofeng Mountain Temple Fair was like this: »All kinds of singing and dancing parties in the city were held this month. The mountain climbing competition was held this month. It is said that the Imperial Court provided will enter the incense and opened up roads, there was yangge, a few lion dances, ›five tiger sticks dances‹ and thick sticks of incense.« Another situation is relatively rare, but it is worth noting that it is these were exclusive songs and dances performed for the special requirements of the temple fair. For example, in the areas of Yucheng, Xiayi, Zhecheng, and Ningling in Henan, people held a »Ghostly Gathering.« They never participated in other temple fairs and the »ghosts« were only chosen by the local people once a year, during the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, to raise funds to organize the gathering. The »Ghostly Gathering« is also called »Arresting Qin Hui« (La qinhui 拉秦桧; Qin Hui was an official in the Song Dynasty who betrayed General Yue Fei). The performance shows the story the ghost soldiers arresting Qin Hui and his wife. When leaving the gathering, there were two expressions: leaving the gathering or leaving the arena. After the performance, meeting, Qin Hui and his wife Wang, who were arrested by the ghosts and guards, would be marched through the streets, like prisoners being escorted. This vi-

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gnette shows the public’s traditional willingness to respect loyalty and to hate powerful traitors— and despite all the storms and upheavals which have occurred, it is still the same today.

Section 6  Songs and Dances of Livelihood and Labor As a reflection of real life, folk dance in the Qing Dynasty was not only very much part of traditional festivals and religious activities, but also mainly drew on the people’s livelihoods, work, and day-to-day customs. It permeated all aspects of people’s social activities at that time, thus becoming a loyal companion in the journey of life.

1. Dances of Labor and Production The survival of mankind is not possible without work and the creation and development of dance is not possible without work. Almost all of the traditional dances of various ethnic groups in my country have songs and dances that mirror work and various customs about work. Zhejiang Province is a traditional center of sericulture and silk weaving. In order to obtain a good harvest of silkworm cocoons various customs and singing and dancing related to silkworm feeding were created. The dance Sweeping Silkworm Blossoms, which has been performed continuously in the Hangjia Lake area of ​​Zhejiang up to today, is a folk song and dance which is based on this custom. In Deqing County, the birthplace of Sweeping Silkworm Blossoms, there has been an annual temple fair dedicated to the »King Maming Bodhisattva« (God of Sericulture based on the Indian Sanskrit poet Ashvaghosha) which takes place after the Qingming Festival. The main performance venue is in the silkworm farmer’s home. According to the local custom, after the Qingming Festival, the silkworm farmers must clean up the silkworm shed and the ceremony of »closing the

SECTION 6 SONGS AND DANCES OF LIVELIHOOD AND LABOR

silkworm shed door« was held. Following which, outsiders would be prohibited from entering. One of the rituals at the time was to invite everybody to perform Sweeping Silkworm Blossoms.

2. Wedding Dances The most colorful part of traditional folk singing and dancing activities is intimately associated with wedding and funeral ceremonies. The traditional songs and dances of many ethnic groups are used for both marriage and funeral ceremonies. An example is the Bamboo Pipe Dance of the Miao nationality, which is performed at both weddings and funerals. Another example is the Pot Village Dance (Guozhuang 锅庄), which is performed at both happy and solemn occasions; the same is true for singing. At the weddings of the Salar people in Qinghai Province, the must-have performance is the Camel Dance. On the wedding night, the bridal couple and their guests gather together and the Camel Dance begins in this festive atmosphere: two dancers play the roles of the original Salar ancestors: the imams Galemang (ahong galemang 阿訇尕勒莽) and Ahuomang (ahuomang 阿霍 莽). They lead a camel (also played by the two dancers) onto the dance area, accompanied by the jingle of camel bells, and parade around the dance area. After that, an actor playing a Mongolian enters and, after greeting with Galemang and Ahuomang, the start a dialogue in which Galemang describes their difficult migration journey until they finally settled in Xunhua. Among the marriage customs of many ethnic groups, there is also a custom of the »weeping marriage« (or »companion marriage,« »sitting in the song Hall,« etc.). This type of performance: singing the Weeping Marriage Song and dancing the Weeping Marriage Dance constitute yet another unique type of wedding song and dance in our country. In Jiahe, Hunan Province, there is another kind of marriage song and dance. This custom has been

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popular in the local area for a long time, and it is usually performed on the eve of the bride being given in marriage. Marriage is a happy event, but there is also sadness lurking in the joy. This custom could have emerged in the feudal era. Under the rule of the feudal system, marriage was not free, especially for women, who had no idea what fate awaited them, good or bad, in marriage, and were inevitably worried or even fearful about their fate. It is this system of marriage coupled with female psychology that created the marriage songs and dances.

3. Funeral Dances Weddings are major events in life, and funeral ceremonies are also major events in life. It is also a vast world of folk songs and dances. Funerary song and dance customs have been around for a long time and were still popular in the Qing Dynasty. The Chronicle of Xuanwei County (Xuanwei xianzhi 宣威县志), from the Qianlong era, notes: […] [in Yi culture] the corpse is covered with a felt shroud, covered with brocade […] When relatives and friends are gathered together, each holds a string of bells, squats down and sings with both feet moving in and out together like a fly and this is known as the ›Maggot‹. The group of mourners go around the tent with one person playing the bamboo pipes leading, singing and dancing, which is called ›circling‹ the corpse (also commonly known as ›putrid meat‹, which is how the local people refer to the body of the deceased). This ritual fell into desuetude but it has now returned. ›If the number of turns is wrong, then they are repeated until the number comes out right‹. It is also said that if a guest from outside dies and their descendants come looking for them, they will find the corpse up in a tree where the crows will peck off the dead flesh, with the remains falling under the tree where the insects will have their fill. This is how the heart of the deceased is preserved and depredations by bird and beast are not feared, and the worms are removed so as not to disrespect the ritual.

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The funeral dance Circling (or Zuojia 作戛) is recorded in the Chronicle, and related stories still circulate among the Yi people in Yunnan. Even today, in the villages of Di’an and Yina, in Xuanwei City, Yunnan, they call this funeral dance Circling. According to custom, dances are held in the funeral home at night. Among these is the group dance Turning the Screw (Zhuanluosi 转螺丝) in which the dancers are divided into two teams of family mourners and guest mourners. The family mourners form the inner circle and turn from left to right, whilst the guest mourners form the outer circle and turn from right to left. This may be what the County Chronicle meant by »If the number of turns is wrong, then they are repeated until the number comes out right.« The Miao ethnicity in Anning County, Yunnan, has a bamboo reed pipe Migration Dance (Qianxiwu 迁徙舞) used for funerals where they sing about »sending the soul off on the right road« (songhun luxian 送魂路线). The content is how their ancestors went through hardships, which mountains they climbed, and which waters they forded before traveling over long distances to this place to open up virgin land, settle down and establish businesses. This is actually relating the history of migration and entrepreneurship of a people. The purpose of this is that they believe that after death, people must return to their homeland to reunite with their ancestors and they should tell the souls the correct route so as not to get lost. This funeral dance also serves as traditional education for the living.

4. Social Dance at Festive Gatherings An important function of dance is to promote communication interaction between people. Another type of folk dance is social dance that enlivens festive gatherings. This type of dance itself does not convey any specific content, but it plays an important role in exchanging feelings, enhancing friendship, and strengthening unity in interpersonal communications.

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Social dance has been around for a long time. During the Han Dynasty, a form of »dancing to enhance personal bonds« became popular in society, in which people invited each other to dance to express mutual friendship and respect. This kind of simple ancient style can still be sensed in the famous Uighur dance of »maixirefu« 麦西热甫, or »meshrep« in the Uighur language. »Meshrep« is a Uighur word which means gathering places and mass cultural and entertainment activities often held in the daily life of the Uighur people. There are many occasions for activities, such as festivals, celebrations, bumper harvests, welcoming the snow, hosting a party, or even apologizing—all of which can be performed using the »Meshrep.« Such a gathering can be large or small, it can be held any time day at night. The venue is generally an orchard with pleasant surroundings, under a grape or in a meadow or garden. It can also be held indoors when there are only a few people. In addition to singing and dancing, the »meshrep« can also be used for charades, reciting poems and telling jokes. When such an event is held, the participants sit in a circle at the venue and the musicians sit together. These musicians are semi-professional or professional folk artists from a relatively fixed network of music clubs.

SECTION 6 SONGS AND DANCES OF LIVELIHOOD AND LABOR

They are good at playing musical instruments and are familiar with various popular local folk songs and dances. At the start of the occasion, the musicians play a prelude (an Uighur melody commonly known as the »muqam«). The tune is a scattered combination of long and high-pitched notes and free rhythm, just like the scatter melodies of the Tang and Song dynasties. When the rhythmic dance music begins, the attendees dance either solo or in pairs. As the steady and dignified dance music at the beginning gradually changes into a warm and cheerful dance, the dance steps get stronger, the rhythm gets faster and the mood becomes more unrestrained and cheerful. At the end of the song, the dancers take a break, their eagerness still not fully sated. At this time, various entertainment activities begin, some tell jokes, some ask riddles and occasionally there are solo or duet singing and dancing performances. At a certain point in the entertainment, the musicians start to sing and play cheerful songs and dances again and the attendees also invited back onto the stage to dance. This is repeated again and again until everybody has enjoyed themselves to the full. »Meshrep« has endured to this day and has become an indispensable cultural and entertainment activity.

CHAPTER VIII  THEORIES OF PERFORMING ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY The theories of performing arts in the Qing Dynasty include traditional opera, folk musical theater, music, dance, and other disciplines. This present chapter will focus on sorting out traditional operatic and music theory. Since the Qing Dynasty, the creation of traditional opera literature and the foundation and development of folk musical theater itself entered a period of high maturity and swift evolution. The unprecedented invigoration of drama and the accumulation of a large amount of practical experience in creation not only stimulated the development of opera theory, but also provided opera theorists with plenty of material for summarization and research. Therefore, compared to the Yuan and Ming dynasties, Qing opera theory not only was fruitful in terms of significant works, but also made remarkably high achievements towards summarizing, reviewing and developing the characteristics, regular patterns and creative experience of traditional opera. In the theory of ancient Chinese music, singing theory has always enjoyed an eye-catching position, which is also an important symbol of the advanced state of the art of ancient Chinese singing. Before the Yuan Dynasty, singing theory was mostly scattered in various music theories. The appearance of Yannan Zhi’an’s On Singing in the Yuan Dynasty triggered an endless wealth of works that reached a new peak in the Qing Dynasty.

Section 1  Opera Theory in the Qing Dynasty Since the Qing Dynasty, the creation of drama literature and the construction and development

of opera art itself were perfected and built upon experience, laying a solid foundation for Qing drama theory to enter a more mature and conscious stage. As a result, considerably influential drama theory masterpieces and leading theorists emerged in large numbers. The theoretical works of Qing dramatists far surpassed those of their predecessors in terms both of quantity and scope. Among them, Li Yu’s Opera Talks of Li Liweng can be regarded as a masterpiece of Chinese opera theory. In addition, titles such as Xu Dachun’s Sound of the Music Bureau, Jiao Xun’s Peasant Chats on Flowery Opera and Liang Tingnan’s Drama Commentaries from the Cane Flower Pavilion, are also important opera theory works. Others, such as Dramatic Language and A Small Book of the Orchids in Beijing, were all equally relevant, either from a point of view of recording historical materials or because they summarized performance skills.

1. Opera Talks of Li Liweng Not only was Li Yu a fairly influential playwright in the early Qing Dynasty, he was also a drama activist who conducted quasi-commercial performances by establishing his own troupe. His practical experience in both creation and performance laid the foundations for his theory of singing and his summarization of opera art. Li Yu’s opera theory is concentrated on his Random Repository of Idle Thoughts, specifically in the sections »On Words and Music« and »On Practice.« Later generations combined these two sections and published them independently under the title Opera Talks of Li Liweng. In Opera Talks of Li Liweng, the author starts from

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his own creative practice, drawing from past achievements in opera theory, to discuss and reflect systematically upon the characteristics and regular patterns involved in the creation and performance of opera art. This treatise on classical opera theory placed equal emphasis on both theoretical and practical values and occupies an important position in the history of opera. Li Yu made an important contribution to opera theory through the thesis that he put forward in Random Repository of Idle Thoughts (»On Words and Music«) where he defended that »structure is paramount.« This »structure« mentioned by Li Yu alludes to the overall conception of the work. He not only emphasized as a whole the overall predominating role of »structure,« but also used the metaphor of »building a house« in multiple explanations of the importance of an overall concept to drama creation. In order to reflect on the role of the »full scale« »structure,« Li Yu proposed to focus efforts on seven aspects, namely: »avoid satire« (jie fengci 戒讽刺), »establish a core idea« (li zhunao, 立主腦), »break away from clichés« (tuo kejiu 脱窠臼), »concentrate the needlework« (mi zhenxian 密针线), »simplify the clues« (jian touxu 减头绪), »abandon the absurd« (jie huangtang 戒荒唐) and »examine the truth« (shen xushi 审虚实). Among these seven central principles, »establish a core idea« had greater aesthetic significance and operational value: A work written by our forefathers must have a core idea. This core idea is not the piece itself, but rather the author’s original idea that they wish to expound. This stands valid for chuanqi [romance] as well. Countless names can be found in a play that are, in fact, those of secondary characters, and the play is originally intended to serve just one character. That is to say, this one character, from beginning to end, goes through joys and sorrows, having infinite whys and wherefores and boundless concerns. After all, this character is altogether a redundancy and has an original purpose as well, which is meant to serve just one subject matter, too. This »one character, one situation« setup is the core idea of chuanqi.

SECTION 1 OPERA THEORY IN THE QING DYNASTY

The »core idea« mentioned here is simply the »author’s original idea that they wish to expound,« that is, the original concept of any given work. Therefore, the main character of said work is naturally best suited to embody this »core idea.« In this sense, one such work is essentially designed for this »one character, one situation« setup. In order to achieve the goal of a »core idea,« Li Yu put forward the principle of »simplify the clues.« Clues that are not simplified will inevitably lead to a situation of excessive »lateral sentiment.« This, in turn, would not only affect the concentration of drama conflicts and the »one line through the end« approach of the main plot; it would also drown out the role of a »core idea.« Li Yu’s proposed principle of »concentrate the needlework« was also meant to give prominence to this »core idea« and embody the organic and inherent links of chuanqi works: »Weaving a play is similar to tailoring a garment. Each piece is cut out separately first, and then all the pieces are put together. They are easy to cut out on their own, yet difficult to combine. The process where they are all combined relies on tight needlework; if one section is sparse, the flaws in the whole story shall emerge.« Li Yu’s insights on the skills of designing drama conflicts and weaving story lines were not just drawn from his own experience; they were also a summary of his predecessors’ practice in opera creation. Li Yu put forward the principle of »breaking away from clichés« in response to the numerous mediocre chuanqi works that appeared as a result of imitating old patterns. He believed that things new and unusual could only be brought forward by »breaking away from clichés,« so this principle was innovatory in its essence. Li Yu attached great importance to the meaning of innovation: Novelty is a word of praise for all things in the world, and this goes doubly so for writing. It is as difficult to avoid hackneyed words and expressions in writing as it is to strive for originality. When composing a poem to a given tune, this goes

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doubly so for poems and songs, ancient Chinese prose and the intricate fu [a literary form combining elements of poetry and prose, much cultivated from Han times to the Six Dynasties period].

Here, Li Yu was not only talking about innovation as a universal principle of literary creation; he was also emphasizing the importance of innovation in the creation of opera. This is because the art of opera survives through performances to large audiences. Novelty and ingenious plots can only happen where characters and stories are continuously woven in. An audience dominated by the aesthetic pattern of »liking the new and tiring of the old« can only be enchanted by a constant feeling of novelty in performance. While he emphasized the principle of »breaking away from clichés« and innovation, Li Yu also proposed to avoid the tendency to go overboard, that is, to »abandon the absurd.« He believed that »all those who involve themselves with the absurd and strange shall rot there and then.« A smart artist should be able to discover new images and stories from the ordinary. Li Yu summarized his discourse on authenticity in art through the principle of »examine the truth.« He was keenly aware of the importance of fiction in artistic creation and boldly proposed the thesis that »[there is] no reality in chuanqi, where half of it is a fable.« To this end, he proved that: The Romance of West Chamber and Tale of the Pipa are regarded as the ancestors of the song art. Does not Yingying marry Junrui? Does not Cai Yong abandon his hunger-stricken wife, Wuniang? Where are they all to be seen in books? Where is the evidence? Mencius said: »Believing everything in books is worse than having no books at all« […] Anyone who reads chuanqi only to then feel the urge to verify by means of research all historical details, such as where do their events take place and the place where their characters live, is a daydreamer who regards illusions as actual, real-life events, and there is no need to pay any attention to such people.

CHAPTER VIII THEORIES OF PERFORMING ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY

While stressing the importance of fiction in art, Li Yu also pointed out the importance of true-tolife authenticity: »Surnames and facts all need a foundation.« That is to say, »one would be well advised in avoiding cheating on those people and events« that are »plenty familiar to the audience,« for arbitrarily made-up facts or differing views on a historical incident or personage are likely to run counter to the expectations of a knowing audience that will reject them. Therefore, it is not difficult to see that Li Yu had a profound understanding of the dialectical relationship between authenticity in art and in real life. In Random Repository of Idle Thoughts (»On Words and Music«), Li Yu made a splendid exposition on a series of aspects concerning opera language such as the choice of words, temperament, spoken parts and comic gestures. Among them, »the value of simplicity« summarizes his proposition on the democratization of opera language. Not only were the democratization and popularization [of opera language] two important creative propositions of Li Yu, they also summarized his thoughts on the patterns of opera art. He said: The choice of words in song lyrics has to be forcibly and remarkably different to that of poetry. Where is the difference? In poetry, refinement is cherished, while vulgarity is despised; it ought to be cultured and restrained while abstaining from being too evident. This is not the case for ci and qu, where speech imitates the talk of the town and all affairs are bluntly stated.

Li Yu believed that this characteristic was determined by the nature of opera as a popular art form to be enjoyed by the masses: »Chuanqi as a genre is different from literary writings. The latter are written and read by scholars, therefore they are understandably profound. Opera is written and read by men of letters and common folk alike, by women and youth, and therefore simplicity is valued over depth.« Li Yu conceded great importance to the customization of language. He summarized his deep

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understanding and strong arguments on the customization of language in »The Verisimilitude.« He pointed out: »The argumentation of ci composition is infinite; anyone can be explained and portrayed; any matter can be discussed or carved out.« The section »On Practice« in Random Repository of Idle Thoughts is composed of two volumes. The first volume deals with teachers’ deskwork from the perspectives of »selected drama« and »tonality theory,« while the second volume addresses the field work of teachers from the three perspectives of »song teaching,« »the teaching of hundreds« and »getting rid of formulas.« Therefore, it can be said that »On Practice« is a monograph on the directing and pedagogy of opera, or rather, that the author here is discussing the characteristics of opera as an art from the perspectives of directing and pedagogy. Li Yu conceded great importance to script choice, pointing out that those in charge of performance should choose a libretto from the perspective of the audience, turning to methods such as »abridging plays« (suo zhang wei duan 缩长为短) or »updating plays« (bian jiu wei xin 变旧为新) to implement any necessary editions and improvements to the text. He rejected following the old beaten track and sticking to conventions, in the belief that literature »changes continuously. Everything that does change is new, and goes on living, and everything that doesn’t becomes stale and stiff.« Therefore, opera performances should often »change old tunes into new ones« The »old« and »new tunes« here are not to be understood as tunes in the narrow sense of the word, but rather refer to the renewal of the entire opera repertoire. On one hand, Li Yu came up with the law of innovation through the summarization of the history of chuanqi art, seeing clearly that the art of opera sought development in a process of continuous self-renewal. On the other hand, he set out from the perspective of the audience’s appreciation to put forward the inevitability of »updating plays«:

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The ways of the world are changing, and the popular feeling is not one to stay stuck in the former times. Present time is in the spirit of present days; today is imbued with the spirit of this day. Chuanqi become exquisite when there is emotion to them; even if the author is still alive, he should still move and change with the world and sing with his own tongue. He should avoid speaking for those stubbornly sticking to old ways in the face of changed circumstances, for he would go against the wishes of the listener.

This viewpoint of seeking novelty through change was very insightful. As a concentrated expression of Li Yu’s drama theory, Random Repository of Idle Thoughts can be understood as a highly theoretical and systemized treatise on drama. It not only summarized the achievements of former generations in opera creation and theory, but also raised many valuable viewpoints on creation and performance theory. As a monograph on drama, it encompassed various aspects such as creation, direction, performers, audience, performance and teaching, and has therefore become a masterpiece of Chinese classical opera theory.

2. Pear Garden Basics Originally known as Ming xin jian 明心鉴 (Bright Mind Mirror), Liyuan Yuan 梨园原 (Pear Garden Basics) was authored by Huang Fanchuo, an artist who lived during the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns. His work was later revised and expanded by his friend Zhuang Zhaokui (also known by the sobriquet Retired Scholar Xuyuan) and retitled as Li Yuan Yuan; a monograph on opera performance. The book includes sections and chapters such as »Ten Mistakes in Acting,« »Six Principles for Spoken Words,« »Eight Principles for Movement and Expression« and »Six Key Points from Treasure Mountain Collection.« In »Ten Mistakes in Acting,« the author pointed out ten common faults of singers, such as »overacting« (bai huo 白火), »not knowing the true

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meaning of the words« (cuo zi 错字) and »mispronouncing words« (e yin 讹音), which he considered to be »all usually caused by idleness and slow wits« and could only be solved by means of »hard practice.« In »Eight Principles for Movement and Expression,« the author put forward the essentials of body training and stage movements, summarized by eight principles, namely: »distinguish the eight chief character types«; »understand the four major emotional states«; »let the eyes lead«; »sway the head slightly«; »take steady steps«; »articulate with hand gestures« »watch yourself in the mirror« and »do not allow any idle day.« In »distinguish the eight chief character types,« the author distinguished the characteristics of different character types one by one. For instance: »the noble: dignified in appearance; looking straight into people’s eyes; deep voice; firm and commanding steps«; »the rich: jovial in appearance; smiling eyes; pointing fingers; speaking in a relaxed and unhurried manner.« The »Eight Principles« put forward unequivocal requirements for the movements of hands, eyes, body, methods and steps in opera performances, giving them the meaning of formal norms. »Six Key Points from Treasure Mountain Collection« contemplated voice, songs, spoken lines, gestures, appearance and degree of difficulty as the six principles of opera performance. It also put forward specific requirements, for instance: »for a joyous voice: lowering the breath; extending the spoken parts; having a smile in one’s heart; for a resentful voice: raising the breath; hurrying through the spoken parts; keeping an impetuous heart; for a sorrowful voice: choking up the voice; pushing through the spoken parts; having a mournful heart; for an exhausted voice: drawing breath, unhurried spoken lines; having a distressed heart.« Pear Garden Basics not only summarized the stage experience and formal standards of opera performing arts; it also exhibited a profound understanding and a brilliant exposition of their spirit.

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3. Peasant Chats on Flowery Opera The author of Peasant Chats on Flowery Opera, Jiao Xun (1763–1820), styled Litang, also known as the Master of Diaogu Tower, was born in Ganquan, Jiangsu (modern-day Yangzhou). A renowned scholar in the Qing Dynasty, proficient in the study of classics, history and exegesis, he was also a prolific writer. He had a deep love for opera throughout his life and handed down to posterity two treatises on traditional opera: On Theater and the aforementioned Peasant Chats on Flowery Opera. On Theater is composed of six volumes broadly compiling materials on drama and song theory from past dynasties. Peasant Chats on Flowery Opera is Jiao Xun’s meticulously written work on drama theory. The various local forms of popular operas that emerged in rapid succession in the Qing Dynasty and were collectively known as huabu 花部 (miscellaneous theatrical genres) were in sharp contrast with the yabu 雅部 (i.  e. »elegant opera«) represented by kunqu opera. When the Qing court rejected and stifled huabu opera out of a need for feudal domination, with the support of the literati and scholars who harbored plenty of prejudice against this popular art form, only Jiao Xun, a renowned scholar himself, showed some insight and saw huabu opera as a vigorous, lively genre with broad prospects. Not only did he abandon the prejudice of his peers, having a special fondness for huabu opera; he also showed outstanding courage and insight through his scholarly works, solidly and enthusiastically promoting it. The main characteristic and value of Peasant Chats on Flowery Opera lies not only in its vivid recording of the spectacular events that huabu opera performances were, but also in its theoretical definition and summary of the aesthetics characteristics of huabu opera. The author summarized the characteristics of huabu opera from three different viewpoints, namely »the straightforward nature of [its] ci,« »its vehement sound« and its nature by which

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»old peasants and fishermen gather for their entertainment.« The first two standpoints affirmed the aesthetic characteristics of huabu opera from the aspects of singing and music; the latter point defined huabu opera from the perspective of the audience as an object of appreciation, i.  e., huabu opera became an art for the masses through its popularity. Jiao Xun himself did not conceal his aesthetic interests, publicly proclaiming: »I am extremely pleased,« showing his love for popular art. It was remarkable for a greatly reputed scholar in such an age to show such enthusiasm for a form of popular art; his advocacy and support to huabu opera were undoubtedly a great source of encouragement for the then newly emerging miscellanea of huabu tunes. Jiao Xun also had some penetrating insight with regard to the creation of historical dramas. He maintained that the artistic fabrication of historical dramas should be based on historical reality, and that in shaping the image of historical figures, one should remain as faithful as possible to the original nature of the character. Likewise, Jiao Xun believed that neither arbitrary distortion nor random fabrication were advisable, nor would they bear good artistic effects. He did not approve of the portrayal of Master Sima onstage as »pink, blue and red, with vertical and horizontal lines on his face, wearing a crown and a sword, domineering and reprimanding before the emperor,« and pointed out that the Master Sima of history books is »full of integrity and a graceful bearing, and had a great demeanor.« He greatly appreciated famous statesman and general Cao Cao’s treatment of »not needing face powder« in the zaju Wenji Entering Han. All of Jiao Xun’s viewpoints are highly commendable. He also sorted out a large amount of historical dramatic materials by means of textual research, turning them into highly valuable academic resources.

4. Opera Talks of the Wisteria Pavilion The author of Opera Talks of the Wisteria Pavilion, Liang Tingnan (1796–1861), styled Zhangran, also known as the Master of the Wisteria Pavilion, was born in Shunde, Guangdong. He was the deputy candidate for the imperial examination proposed by a tributary state and used to be the instructor of Chenghai County. When Lin Zexu became the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, he was hired as an assistant and promoted to the cabinet. Opera Talks of the Wisteria Pavilion is a collection of opera reviews. In the preface to the book, Li Fuping commented: From the days of Yuan, Ming and our contemporaries, there have been hundreds of dramatic scripts, zaju and chuanqi, all of which have been equitably discussed in a calm and friendly fashion, without glorifying the past while diminishing the present; they have been summarized with the authors in the times of the red sandalwood clappers and the purple jade flute. O, [I] know that the author of this volume has put forth his strength in such a way […] this book also parts with temperament, and finally focuses on the text.

Unlike many previous drama critics, all of whom worshipped the olden days to some extent, Liang Tingnan paid a great deal of attention to, and fully affirmed, the accomplishments of Qing opera creation. The volume carefully analyzed and appraised works such as Li Yu’s ten plays, Hong Sheng’s The Palace of Eternal Life and Kong Shangren’s Peach Blossom Fan, as well as the writings of Jiang Shiquan and Wan Shu. Among these, the appraisal of both The Palace of Eternal Life and The Peach Blossom Fan are especially skillful. Liang Tingnan’s theory of drama pays great attention to the social function of works. For instance, his appraisal of Xia Lun’s works conveniently emphasized and pointed out the following: »All of Xingzhai’s [Xia Lun’s style name] musical compositions revolve around the notion of reward and punishment […] all the affairs [discussed in them]

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are real and deeply moving, [featuring] married women and children [in] shocking scenes. O, verily these are works that portray the ways of the world!« When passing judgement on a work, the author kept at all times a fair and equitable approach, speaking in a rational and convincing way and avoiding the tendency to display narrow partisanship. Liang was also good at demonstrating the value and quality of works through comparison and analysis. For instance, Wu Bing is used for comparison when assessing Wan Shu’s works: »Hongyou [Wan Shu’s style name] is Wu Bing’s nephew, and critics say that his works originate from those of his uncle. However, a fair analysis shows that the three plays of Canhua [Wu Bing’s style name] were more interesting than uninhibited; Hongyou’s writing, in contrast, was distinctive, bold and imaginative. The purpose of their respective writings, as a matter of course, was different.« Things exist in terms of comparison; therefore, comparison methods are more helpful to explain issues. This is also a profound and subtle aspect where Liang Tingnan’s commentary really hits the nail on the head.

Dachun’s A Pedagogical Method for the Operatic Voice and Considerations and Mistakes in Singing, co-authored by Wang Dehui and Xu Yuancheng.

Section 2  Music Theory in the Qing Dynasty 1. Singing Theory Traditional opera was developed during the Qing Dynasty, a period which also saw an endless stream of works on opera theory, many of which dipped into singing theory. In addition, some specialized works on music theory also addressed, to a certain extent, issues concerning singing theory and techniques, including a summary on performance experience and an examination of the aesthetics of singing. Among these two types of works, some volumes stand out for their greater success and far-reaching influence, such as Li Yu’s Random Repository of Idle Thoughts, Xu

1. Xu Dachun’s A Pedagogical Method for the Operatic Voice Xu Dachun (1693–1772), also known as Daye, styled Lingtai, was a native of Wujiang, Jiangsu, who called himself the »Old Man of Hui Brook« in his old age. His father Xu Yanghao (1636–1708) once wrote Collected Writings from the Garden of Words, hence his study of ci and qu was a long-standing family tradition. In addition, he also had side interests in other disciplines, particularly that of fine medical skill, and enjoyed nationwide reputation as a »miracle-working doctor.« Upon his death, famous scholar Yuan Mei penned Records of Master Xu Lingtai, in which he stated that »[Xu] was exceedingly intelligent, and wellversed in all heavenly bodies as well as earthly regions and the temperaments of the nine modes of ancient Chinese music; he was an outstanding soldier and a skilled military commander, and there’s nothing that he did not excel at. He was especially adept in traditional Chinese medicine; every time he visited with a patient he was so familiar with the system whereby the vital organs of the body are meant to work that he seemingly could communicate with them so that they would be restored to their right condition.« Xu Dachun left behind medical works such as The Origin and Development of Medicine and Prescriptions on Febrile Diseases, and he was also the author of the shuochang anthology Moral Ballads from Huixi. The preface to the book A Pedagogical Method for the Operatic Voice was written by Xu in his middle age in the »first year of the sixty-year cycle of the Qianlong reign« (1744) as a monograph on music. The treatise is over 20,000 words in length and is devoted to the singing methods of Yuan opera (northern operas), with a rather rich content that mainly involved the aspects mentioned below.

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1. Aesthetic Taste The author expounds his arguments from two angles: ancient times and the present time, elegance and popularity. Xu believed that singing styles were bound to change along with the times. In addition, through his comparison of the styles of Yuan opera, poetry and ci and other literary genres, it can be seen that the author’s aesthetic criteria in his study of music was comprehensive; ancient times were to be respected but not to get mired in, and conventions were followed without foregoing refinement. Everything was decided according to the exigencies of the plot, and there was no action rendered pointless by changed circumstances. 2. Enunciation and Vocalization in Opera This accounts for the main content of the book. The author believed that »singers« needed to be able to »correct enunciation« and »check the utterance of sound by the mouth,« i.  e., master the correct way to enunciate and vocalize in opera. In modern acoustics theory, sound is understood to be a wave generated by the vibration of an object in the air. Different vibrating bodies produce waves with different frequencies, amplitudes and resonances through different vibration methods, which in turn form sounds with different pitches, intensities and timbres. Although the author of A Pedagogical Method for the Operatic Voice could not explain this phenomenon in terms of modern physics, he knew that while human voice is invisible, the vocal organs and methods involved in its production are tangible. Therefore, he fully endorsed the traditional Chinese phonology notions of the wuyin 五音. or »five sounds« (referring to the five regions or levels to produce sound in the oral cavity: the throat, the jaws, the tongue, the teeth and the lips), and sihu 四呼. the »four classes of syllables« (set up according to the form of the final rhyming vowels for a total of four postures: syllables with sounds other than i, u and ü as the beginning of the final, syllables with i as

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the final, syllables with ü as the final and syllables with u as the final), and stated the following in the section »On Mnemonic Chants«: There are formed and formless voices in the world. Formless voices are like wind and thunder; they do not do much and they are inconsistent. Meanwhile, formed voices are similar to stringed and woodwind instruments, gongs and drums; they are tuned and steady. This division does make a difference to the voice. Hence, should anyone wish to change their voice, they ought to change the extent to which it is formed or formless; should one change the extent to which it is formed or formless, their voice will certainly change as well. All human voices are like this. Guttural, apical, dental, velar and labial sounds are known as the »five consonants«; syllables with sounds other than i, u and ü as the final yunmu or as the beginning of the final [kaikouhu 开口呼], syllables with i as the final or a final beginning with i [qichihu 齐齿虎], syllables with u as the final or a final beginning with u [hekouhu 合口呼] and syllables with ü as the final or a final beginning with ü [cuokouhu 撮 口呼] are known as the »four classes of syllables.« Should one wish to pronounce the five consonants accurately, yet fail to articulate them as gutturals, apicals, dentals, velars and labials, they will not be correct; should one wish to pronounce the four classes of syllables, yet not bother with learning the open-mouth, teeth-together, pursed-lip and rounded-lip finals, they will not be clear. Therefore, whoever wishes to distinguish true sounds must learn articulation first. If the articulation is true to form, syllables cannot possibly be incorrect. For instance, in the case of the vertical bamboo flute, should one wish to play the chi note, then one must place the finger on the chi hole; should one wish to play the gong note, then one must place the finger on the gong hole. No matter how clever or ignorant one is, it is impossible to place a finger on gong and blow the chi, or vice versa. This is what I mean by having a voice that is tuned and steady.

However, the author of A Pedagogical Method for the Operatic Voice was well aware that the exclusive use of the theories of the »five consonants« and the »four classes of syllables« could not cover thoroughly the vast differences in terms of the

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states of vocalization in singing. Xu accumulated many years of concentrated practice and speculative experience, and he came up with a very minute observation of the specific conditions of the five consonants and the four classes of syllables. He said:

In this work, Xu inherited the excellent tradition of ancient Chinese singing theory, which emphasized enunciation and pronunciation while also underlining the phonetic value and clear meaning of characters. Nearly half of the book was devoted to a total of 16 sections addressing aspects such as »mnemonic rhymes,« »tangible voices,« »five consonants,« »four classes of syllables,« »the central, lateral, upper and lower parts of the throat,« »nasal and closed mouth sounds,« »the four tones have high and level and rising tones,« »northern characters,« »the pingsheng singing method« (where pingsheng 平声 alludes to the level tone, first of the four tones in classical Chinese pronunciation, now evolved into the high-level tone and the rising tone in modern standard pronunciation), »the shangsheng singing method« (where shangsheng 上声 alludes to the falling-rising tone, third of the four tones in modern standard Chinese pronunciation), »the 去声 singing method« (where qusheng 去声 alludes to the falling tone, fourth of the four tones in modern standard Chinese pronunciation), »the singing method of the rusheng school of the three tones« (where rusheng 入声 alludes to the entering tone, fourth of the four tones in classical Chinese pronunciation), »the rusheng singing method,« »aspirated rhymes,« »shousheng« (where shousheng 收声 alludes to the final of a Chinese syllable) and »interpretation.« Each of these sections delved from a variety of angles into enunciation, pronunciation and clear, distinct singing methods. All of these were highly specialized topics, which means this is a great reference work for later and even current generations of vocal music theorists to rely on. In addition to enunciation methods, the author also carried out deep research into intonation and discussed the different methods extensively. Furthermore, Xu also addressed issues concerning vocalization techniques such as low pitch singing methods (»base tune must be slow and profound«), clause craftsmanship (»rhyme must be clear«), the standardization of the vocal register

Although the throat, tongue, teeth, molars and lips account for five kinds of consonants, the vocalization method goes beyond these. There is a throat at the posterior pharyngeal wall, and there is a throat at the intermediate laryngeal cavity, and a throat near the tongue; the remaining four tones are all the same way. Additionally, the throat at the posterior pharyngeal wall also has [levels of] shallowness, depth, lightness and heaviness, and same goes for the rest. For truly comprehensive skills, you must identify and understand all these subtle gradations. All four kaikouhu, qichihu, cuokouhu and hekouhu have different half-open, fully open, half-closed and full-closed variants. In addition, there are other methods such as nasal sounds, half-nasal sounds, sounds supported by the palate and sounds supported by the teeth. Their forms are all steady as well. The salient point of their mnemonic rhymes is that even though they are nothing more than sounds that are open, aligned [with each other], gathered up or combined together, or sounds that are guttural, apical, dental, velar or labial, their subdivisions are endless. Some are meant for a gaping mouth, while some are meant for a half-open mouth; some are intended for a closed mouth, yet others require a half-closed mouth; for some, one has to first open and then close the mouth, and vice-versa for others; some emerge from the throat and are received by the lips, while others, equally coming out from the throat, reach the tongue instead; there are full throat and full tongue sounds just as there are half throat and half tongue sounds. All of the above diverge with each other and there are too many to enumerate properly. In addition, there are sounds meant for dropped cheeks, while others are intended to pass through the teeth and the molars; other sounds tip overflow from the lips; for some sounds one has to strengthen the tongue, and there are all kinds of sounds that pass through the nose; methods are innumerable.

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(»sound must be pure«), the relationship between the intensity of the voice and the vocal register (»weight«), the mastery of speed (»slow and vigorous«), the singing method of the first note of a song (»the starting tune«), breath in performance and the relationship between the notions of »continuation,« »interruption« (»the breaking figure«) and the voice cadence (»pause and transition«). It is particularly commendable that in the section on »yin and yang tunes« the author expounds in great detail issues similar to that of »true and false voices,« which were often so controversial in contemporary vocal music theory. There are two kinds of human voices: 阴 yin [i.  e. »dark-level tone«] and 阳 yang [i.  e. »light-level tone«]. The yin tone is sung with a constricted throat and is the female voice; the yang tone is sung with an open throat and is the male voice. Singing yin when encountering high notes and singing yang when encountering low notes are both grave mistakes. A dignified male part who sings a heroic tune while forcefully constricting his throat is ill-suited for his role, and will not be able to convey the meaning of the lyrics properly […] Here, one must also consider that the yin [female] voice also presents a further division into yin and yang, where not all is sung with the same level of tightness in the throat. What is thus a yang-yin voice? When a yang singer opens up their throat completely and allows the sound directly out, that will be a yang-yang tone. If the yang singer can slightly narrow the throat and lift up their voice to the high notes, they will then possess a yang-yin voice, often known as a xiaotang tone. They will be able to sing a wide range, from the high to the low, and there will be no tone out of their league. The tight yin voice does not have this same range.

The »yang tone« mentioned here refers to the socalled true voice singing method, while the »yin tone« alludes to the so-called false voice singing method (the author gives the following example: »an actor who wishes to play a female role and imitate a female voice must press his throat, for such is expected from a pure yin tune singer«); the »yang-yin voice,« often known as »small hall

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tone,« is probably the present-day »half tone« or »combination of a true and false voice« singing method. 3. Excellency in Voice and Expression Although A Pedagogical Method for the Operatic Voice devoted most of its space to the discussion of singing skills, it did not do so at the expense of addressing the emotions expressed in music. A section of the book specifically devoted to »The Emotion of Songs« states the following: Singing methods are not merely concerned with proper vocalization; they also concede a great deal of importance to sentiment in songs. Those who merely address the voice aspect all sound alike; those who cover the aspect of feeling are unique. From the four main roles in traditional opera (male role, female role, painted-face role and comic role) to all the different voice tones; the loyal and righteous characters and the crafty and evil ones; refinement and taste and vulgarity; sadness, joy and longing; no two aspects are alike. No matter how superbly crafted lyrics may be, if singers do not pay any attention to their sentiment, there will be no distinction between evil and righteousness, sadness and joy. A voice that is excellent but does not align with the song lyrics will fail to move the audience, even leaving them with a feeling of dullness and insipidness. However, this is not exclusive to mnemonic rhymes. The Record of Music states: »All the modulations of the voice arise from the mind.« The singer first puts himself in the [character’s] shoes, imitating the [character’s] disposition and ambience around them, as if the character was using their own language on their own account, with a lifelike countenance that will cheer up the audience as though they were in close terms with the character, forgetting that everything is composed for the music score. Therefore, we must first clarify the twists and turns in the meaning of songs, so that when we open our mouths we will not strive for similarity, but rather adapt our voices to the meaning. Even if those in the world who need to rely on the inherent tune requirements of a song to perform pursue their skills to the utmost, they will have only achieved the most insignificant stunts of a musician.

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Therefore, they will be ill-equipped to move their audience with their performance, because they have not conveyed the subtle emotion thereof.

Not only was Xu keenly aware that »moving the audience« is the ultimate goal of singing, he also knew that how to combine specific performance skills with expressions to convey ideas. A Pedagogical Method for the Operatic Voice is a highly developed product of the singing art (mainly referring to traditional opera singing art) during the booming and golden age of Qing Dynasty, more specifically from Kangxi to Qianlong emperors, as well as an outstanding work in the field of ancient Chinese singing theory. Having inherited the development of Chinese singing theory, it exerted great influence on the singing practice of later generations and still has relevant historical value and practical significance to this day. 2. Considerations and Mistakes in Singing by Wang Dehui and Xu Yuancheng Wang Dehui, styled Xiaoshan, hailed from Taiyuan, Shanxi; Xu Yuancheng, styled Xingyu, came from Beijing, where the pair met in the first year of the Xianfeng reign (1851) and released their previously unpublished manuscripts The Essence of Music Temperament (by Wang) and Considerations and Mistakes in Singing (by Xu). Engaged as they were in the same pursuit, they decided to merge their two works into a single manuscript that they proofread jointly and published later that year under the title of Considerations and Mistakes in Singing. The characters gu wu 顾误 in the original Chinese title (Gu wu lu 顾误录) represent a literary allusion to a folk proverb in History of the Three Kingdoms: Biography of Zhou Yu: »The song is wrong, Zhou Langgu« (»Qu you wu, Zhou Langgu« 曲有误周郎顾). The book is about 40,000 characters long and is divided into 40 chapters. Part of the volume deals with musicology, basically gathering arguments from previous generations and following a set

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routine. With regard to singing theory, numerous sections in the book synthesize the standpoints of predecessors such as Shen Chongsui in On the Techniques of Singing and Xu Dachun in A Pedagogical Method for the Operatic Voice, only developing them a little further, with even a full excerpt copied word for word from Yan Nan Zhi An’s A Treatise on Singing. However, the volume was still quite insightful in terms of aspects such as vocalization, enunciation, rhyme control. The way it censured the singing errors of some contemporaries was also right to the point. Length-wise, Considerations and Mistakes in Singing was twice as long as A Pedagogical Method for the Operatic Voice and addressed a wider range of topics as well, with an analysis that was equally more meticulous and included more trifling aspects. The last four chapters of the book particularly devote a great length to excerpting the foundations of the so-called yinqu sheng 阴去声 (»yinqu tone,« the high falling tone), the rusheng 入声字 (»entering tone«) of northern songs and the »unusual tones of the southern and northern rhymes,« along with the easily wrongly sung tone of Rights and Wrongs in Popular Singing, such as: »the character xiang 详 comes close to yang 羊. but not to qiang 墙.« In this sense, the book could serve as a »guidebook on standard pronunciation« for so-called xizi 戏子 (»opera singers«) with a low degree of literacy and scant knowledge of phonology. In addition, this volume can also be used as a reference for those currently studying the vocalization methods of ethnic traditional vocal music because of its addressing and analyzing some specific issues in singing, such as the differences between the northern and southern dialects, the essentials of the southern and northern palace tune, the relationship between the gongche 工尺 (a traditional Chinese musical scale) and fanqie 反切 (a traditional system expressing the phonetic value of a Chinese character using two other characters, the first for the initial consonant, the second for the rhyme and tone),

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the connection between the zitou 字头 (the initial of a Chinese syllable), the zifu 字腹 (the principal vowel in a compound vowel of a Chinese syllable) and the ziwei 字尾 (the suffix), the mastery of clappers, the usage of chenzi 衬字 (words inserted in a line of verse for balance or euphony), the relationship between tone and traditional opera, etc. From today’s point of view, the three chapters of the book contributing new meaning are »Ten Diseases in Music Composition,« »Eight Laws of Music Composition« and »Six Admonitions in the Study of Music.« »Ten Diseases in Music Composition« expounds ten common mistakes in vocal performance, namely: (1) Dialectal accent, in which the performer inadvertently brings in his own pronunciation when singing. The author believed that only by having the Logaoedic of the Central Plains serve as the norm for both the north and the south could »remote and desolate accusations be avoided«; (2) An infringement of rhyme. This mistake alludes to the influence exerted by dialectal accents in rhyme control, e.  g., the consistent lack of distinction between nasal sounds among southerners; (3) Truncated characters. This mistake refers to the way a character is changed in singing not by means of rhyme control but rather through the degree of lip-rounding, to such an extent that it becomes a different character altogether; (4) Incorrect reading pauses, alluding to interrupted clauses and improper severance, resulting in fragmented words; (5) Wrong control of the characters. Virtually identical to the previous one, this mistake refers to the way that »often, characters are uttered without any error, until the performer renders an operatic tune and relies on a crystalline guttural sound; then he indulges on this, thereupon never to return. He therefore never knows what he’s reading while controlling the rhyme«; (6) Lack of closure of the characters, wherein a performer singing a certain character only has the zitou and zifei, but not the ziwei, thus »when sounds are uttered yet remain unclosed,

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and [the mouth] is opened but not closed either, will there not be but only the upper half of a character and no lower half, and should one wish to listen to it, will it not be difficult?«; (7) A rotten tune, commonly known as a »cotton tune,« alluding to the ambiguity and lack of distinctiveness of a song tune and the random addition of ornament to a piece. The author states the following to be an »illness of the mouth«: »There is a nodule before the character, and redundancy after, and there is a daiqiang in between« (where daiqiang 带腔 is a characteristic kunqu vocal gesture where the singer takes a quick breath, creating a small pause before quickly returning to the previous note and continuing to sing.); (8) A baoyin 包音 (swallowing sound), that is, a sound that swallows the character, »where the character is uttered without clarity, and the tune is much too heavy,« that is, »a malady where only the throat can be used, not the mouth.« Therefore, even though the tune is round, the character is not correct, causing the audience not to understand what is being said; (9) Jianyin and tuanyin 尖团 (sharp and rounded sounds), in allusion to northerners singing without the former; (10) Yin and yang, where most people can often only distinguish between the high and level tone and the rising tone, but the yin and yang of the shangsheng 上声 (i.  e., the rising tone, the second of the four tones in classical Chinese pronunciation), the qusheng 去声 (i.  e., the falling tone, the third of the four tones in classical Chinese pronunciation) and the rusheng 入声 (i.  e., the entering tone, the fourth of the four tones in classical Chinese pronunciation) had already disappeared in the northern dialect of that time. Thus, it was difficult for performers to differentiate between the tones, which in turn resulted in enunciation errors. The above ten diseases all concern mistakes in enunciation and pronunciation, which pertain to technique. The »Eight Laws of Music Composition« start from this foundation to go into further detail.

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The »Eight Laws of Music Composition« are as follows: (1) To consider carefully. The contents of this precept are basically a rigid imitation of the gist of »Understanding the Plot of Songs« in Li Yu’s Random Repository of Idle Thoughts, albeit not as eloquently as Li Yu’s. (2) To signal the musicians, referring to how fast should the beat of the clappers be to signal the rhythm. (3) To utter words, i.  e., to enunciate characters using the standard pronunciation, in a way that is identical with the traditional scale of gongche. (4) To compose tunes. This precept elaborates splendidly on the relationship between »character« and »tune.« The author starts from the differences between the kuokou qu 阔口 曲 (wide mouth tune) and the xiaokou qu 小口曲 (small mouth tune), southern and northern tunes to explain the essentials of tune composition after uttering the characters, particularly stressing that »most of the characters play a leading role, while the tune is a guest; characters ought to be heavy and precise, while the tune should be light and flexible; otherwise, the noise of the guest will take over the lead part.« (5) To close the syllables. The content of this precept is similar to those of »Wrong control of the characters« and »Lack of closure of the characters« in »Ten Diseases in Music Composition.« (6) To change the tempo. Here it means alternating between one strong beat and one weak beat in a measure of music (two beats in the bar in modern terminology) and one strong beat and three weak beats in a measure of music (four beats in the bar in modern terminology), as well as the relationship between square and non-square beats. (7) To change the tempo. »Easy is the song that has performers in charge of tempo [by playing clappers], and hard is that which does not. A song with clapper players is at the command of the banyan 板眼 (i.  e., accented and unaccented beats in traditional Chinese music), and dimensions are naturally appropriate. A song without clapper players must deliberate itself whether something is urgent, put away their personal experience, go past an unhurried, undisciplined and lawless ap-

proach, and then go past the urgency to briefly forego feeling; it must adopt the physique of a plum blossom, intricate and appealing; the sound rises and falls, it is lengthened and shortened, and only then is harmony possible.« (8) Voice flutters, i.  e., adorning the voice with grace notes. »It is most fruitful where the voice flutters,« but even if »there are those who are skilled in this art, it is often a common occurrence that they cannot use their gift too much [in a piece].« Starting from the teaching practice of Chinese opera performance, »Six Admonitions in the Study of Music« points out a series of foundational issues that amateur performers should consider: (1) Restraining oneself to your forte. Those who study singing should not neglect the conditions of their voice, timbre and voice part, but rather give up their strengths and use their shortcomings. (2) Avoiding using hands and mouth. Beginners lack systematic rhythm training and must beat time with their hand and have their mouth follow their hand. Without hands and mouth to assist them, clappers will not be accurate, »[which can] bungle matters the most.« (3) The impropriety of coveting too much. This admonition is meant to guard against »not being able yet to recite, nor to memorize the measure; that is, having to look at the flute on the music score« and »wanting a new song while having an unfinished suit. With such a study method, how can one possibly do their best?« (4) Following the music score in reading. Gongche is a fairly rough method of musical notation, with only the pitch of the backbone notes and an approximate rhythm, and those »delicate small tunes and dainty songs« cannot possibly be recorded on the music score. If one does not feel obliged to dictate, and merely »follows the music score in reading,« one is sure to omit many important things, »and just how much interest is there in that?« (5) Not seeking perfection. This admonition refers to some singers who are satisfied with a smattering of knowledge; performers for whom »the four tones are incomprehensible,

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and they do not distinguish the yin from the yang; to such an extent that their glib mouths will sing out of tune, [for they are] unrefined performers who cannot be bothered to correct their mispronounced characters and wallow in the mire with others.« This is an irresponsible attitude. (6) Having an unduly high opinion of oneself. This admonition criticizes those who »rely on their own voice to consider themselves above others, and are praised by laymen  […] thereupon they truly feel that [they are] herein fully accomplished.« They are oblivious to the complexity of things, and »certainly, if they are indifferent to others’ strengths, they will be all the more unconcerned about their own shortcomings.« The author calls this issue a »common failing for people,« stating that »it truly is a pity!« Considerations and Mistakes in Singing came about in the middle of the 19th century, in the late Qing Dynasty. The body of work on ancient Chinese singing theory that had gone on for hundreds of years reached a satisfactory conclusion at this stage.

2. Qing Scholars’ Compilation of Music History Qing Dynasty scholars checked and tidied up thousands of years of ancient Chinese records in a thoroughgoing fashion. Although they failed to create a new culture, their work showcased an intrinsic Chinese culture to future generations in a more distinct way. In terms of music theory, Qing scholars also sorted out a wealth of traditional Chinese music books and various music theories, which were mainly embodied by two aspects: musical aesthetics and knowledge of temperament. 1. Musical Aesthetics The main work of Qing Dynasty scholars focused on the studying and exposition of the classic texts, thus the research into musical aesthetics was merged into the study of classics. In terms of aesthetics, Qing scholars placed emphasis on the

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distinction between ancient and modern music, and refined and popular music. In addition to the aesthetic thoughts of philosopher Wang Fuzhi and music practitioners such as Li Yu and Xu Dachun, the main representatives of Qing scholars whose classic research touched upon music aesthetics include names such as Mao Qiling, Li Gong and Jiang Yong. Mao Qiling (1623–1716), styled Dake and known as Master Xihe by fellow scholars, was a native of Xiaoshan, Zhejiang province. He is said to have been a well-read man who was as versatile as he was conceited. According to Draft History of Qing, he was »adept at refutation, professing the opposite to whatever others said.« He claimed to have obtained Ming Dynasty Prince Ning Zhu Quan’s family treasured Tang bamboo flute music scores, from which he could not only deduce the ancient qi diao jiu sheng 七调九声 (»seven modes and nine tones«), but also »restore and revitalize in a single effort a thousand years of obscure music, from the Spring and Autumn Period up to the Ming Dynasty.« However, it is impossible to know whether his claims were true or false, because he never showed these musical scores to anyone in his lifetime. The works of Mao Qiling in music include Records of Music by Master Jingshan (also known as Records of Rejuvenated Ancient Music), Explanations of the Fundaments of Music Issued on Imperial Decree and Imperial Words Fixing Tones. Of these, Records of Music by Master Jingshan has the most value. In this book, he used a great deal of academic courage to sweep away the sheer nonsense of the scholasticism and mysticism that had congested music theory since the pre-Qin days. Mao believed music to be the art of the human voice (here he was overlooking instrumental music), and that the regular pattern of music ought to be found from sound itself rather than from the outside. The pre-Tang names of the five notes of the pentatonic scale, namely gong 宫. shang 商. jue 角. zhi 徵 and yu 羽 were originally given by an-

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cestors to different pitches. However, people then drew a forced analogy where these were associated to the five elements, the five sorts of matters, the five passions, the five kinds of elements, the five seasons, the five lands, the five ranks and the five colors. This was obviously preposterous. In the section »Entertainment Does Not Distinguish Between Ancient and Modern,« the author boldly asserts the following:

ways and blazed a new trail, »Xihe’s personality is not trustworthy enough for the world […] nevertheless, his contribution to the eradication of old absurd sayings cannot be ignored. Li Gong (1659–1733), styled Gangzhu, also known by his literary name Shugu, was a native of Lixian, Hebei. He was a disciple of scholar Yan Yuan in early Qing and together they founded the highly popular Yanli School of thought. The Yanli School theory is a kind of pragmatism that stands in opposition to reading so-called »dead books« and attaches importance to practice, as well as a form of strong critical consciousness. The similarity of this school in terms of its critical consciousness with the style of Mao Qiling motivated Li Gong, at that time nearly 40 years old, to personally study music under Mao for a little over a year. After his experience, he wrote Master Li’s Book on Learning Music. Many of the views in this book are similar to those exposed in Mao’s volume Records of Music by Master Jingshan, although there are also developments. Li Gong believed that music can transcend time and space, and even national boundaries and races. He strongly refuted the then prevailing division into southern and northern music just as much as he rebutted in no uncertain terms the absurd conceptions that ran rampant among his scholar peers that »southern music is good and northern music is evil« and that »southern music rejuvenates the country, while northern music lets the state perish.« He rejected any distinction between north and south on the basis that there was good and evil to both. »Let us not discuss that which is far to us but only that which is near, and that we can relate to clearly: northern songs were used in the early Ming Dynasty, and its rule was not one of chaos; southern songs were highly esteemed by the end of the Ming Dynasty, and the chaos knew not of any rule. These are the merits and demerits of music, only to be divided in terms of elegance or lasciviousness, not according to its southern or northern origin.«

Ancient music makes a distinction between virtue and depravity, but not between refinement and vulgarity. From the Tang Dynasty, it is divided into three genres: ya yue 雅乐 [ceremonial or court music], su yue 俗乐 [secular music] and fan yue 番乐 [barbarian music], with modern-day music theorists frequently deriding secular music. It is scarcely realized that this Tang classification was not meant to revere refinement and despise vulgarity. Barbarian music is hard to learn; secular music is slightly easier, and ceremonial music is the less worthy of study […] such is its lowliness. Although there is indeed ceremonial music, it belongs to archaic events. The mouth needs not to be coordinated, the hands need not to modulate the instruments, tears do not need to well up in one’s eyes, and what one hears does not need to be humorous to one’s ears. Ceremonial music is none other than the remains of a song and a hollow dance; singing for the hard of hearing and harmony for the visually impaired; it really is this contemptible […] Therefore, when establishing the distinction between refinement and vulgarity, if one wishes for an understanding friend to not exceedingly revere that which is ancient and deride that which is modern, one must not consider their contemporaries as laymen, but rather as people of the present day; and their voices should be considered as the voice of humankind, rather than [merely] the voice of our current times; such must be the way for one’s ears to listen.

In this book, there are various other sections such as »Musical Instruments Are Not Music« or »Works On Music Are Not Music,« all of which could show to readers that which had not been previously shown. Liang Qichao paraded Mao as a pioneer who did away with the dust of the old

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Li Gong’s position in the academic annals of Qing Dynasty intellectual history far surpasses that of Mao Qiling, but his thoughts on music are strictly inherited and evolved from Mao’s own system of thought. Jiang Yong (1681–1762), styled Shenxiu, was born in Wuyuan, Jiangxi. He was a renowned scholar of Confucian classics and phonologist who excelled in textual research. He was equally good at arithmetic, which he used in his study of temperament. His works include two volumes on music theory, namely A New Discussion on the Pitch Pipes and Details on the Pitch Pipes. Although his research angle differed from that of Mao Qiling (his calculation method of choice was precisely the one that Mao denounced), their thoughts on music were identical in some aspects. 2. The Study of Musical Temperament In contrast with Zhu Zaiyu’s »new pitch theory« (xin fa mi lü 新法密率)in the late Ming Dynasty, the achievements of the Qing study of musical temperament are seemingly lackluster. It can be mostly described as an effort in »restating the views of its predecessors without contributing new ideas of its own.« Academic research on musical temperament in the Qing Dynasty mostly started from textual evidence, where the accomplishments of their predecessors in this field were either confirmed or refuted, and the music temperament system of the Qing Dynasty was established on that basis. One of the most eye-catching instances was a public case concerning »Xun Xu’s di-flute pitchpipes system«. Xun Xu was a great expert on law in the Western Jin Dynasty. The di-flute pitchpipe system he formulated used a nozzle correction method and a method of pipes using different diameters, which in turn meant great progress in humans’ understanding of nature. Although this accomplishment was recorded for posterity in »Treatise of Measures and Calendars« of History of Song of the Southern Dynasties and History of the Jin Dynasty,

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it was not taken in earnest for over 1,500 years. Many ignored altogether what it is about, nor did they ever study its value. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that Hu Yansheng’s Subtle Expositions on Musical Temperament brought up this matter again. Hu Yansheng, styled Zhuxuan, dates of birth and death unknown, was a native of Deqing, Zhejiang. Subtle Expositions on Musical Temperament was published in the 20th year of Qianlong (1755). The book had a total of eight juan, of which »On the Regulation of Tones« was devoted to the discussion of Xun Xu’s di System and related issues. Hu basically held a negative attitude towards Xun Xu’s di System, and even said that »The highs and lows of the sound harmonize themselves naturally with the leveling of the ears. I must say that it is by all means unnecessary to base oneself on the length of the pitch-pipes to make holes all along the length of the di-flute.« He believed that only two di-flutes were needed to produce the twelve pitch-pipes, and that it was unnecessary on all accounts to make twelve di-flutes, as Xun Xu had advocated. It seems as though, having failed to truly master Xun Xu’s theory and remaining ignorant of the nozzle correction principle, he therefore proposed the »roughly uniform« non-scientific method of »leveling the sound with the ears.« After Hu Yansheng, his fellow townsman Xu Yangyuan (dates of birth and death unknown), styled Xintian, became an accomplished scholar with many published books. In the early years of Jiaqing, he wrote a volume titled The Illustrated Diagram of Xun Xu’s Di-Flute System that inquired into this issue specifically. Besides The Illustrated Diagram of Xun Xu’s Di-Flute System, there are another two works on musical temperament, namely Investigations on Wind Instruments and Suppositions on Temperament. The Illustrated Diagram of Xun Xu’s Di-Flute System was supportive of Xun Xu’s said system and is believed to have had images, according to the original text of History of the Song Dynasty, however, they were already

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lost. They were henceforth redrawn and annotated based on the author’s own understanding. In this book, Xu pointed out Hu Yansheng’s misunderstandings of Xun Xu’s di-flute System, criticizing Hu’s idea of »two di-flutes and twelve pitchpipes«: »Moreover, the most wonderful aspect of the xuangong modulation [xuangong 旋宫] lies in the unending cycle of the twelve pitch-pipes, engendering one another at one go; if this cycle is sectioned into two di-flutes, there will be boundaries to each, and the cleverness of the xuangong modulation shall be lost. In my humble opinion, the idea of the two di-flutes is admittedly simple and easy enough, however Xun Xu’s system is far from easy, and is not to be lightly discussed.« He believed that the use of one di-flute to produce seven tunes seen in the »law of two di-flutes and twelve pitch-pipes« was a folk performance practice. Albeit it was admittedly simple and convenient to use, it lacked scientific rigor because it was not accurate. Therefore, it was disqualified to become a foundation for the study of musical temperament. Xu also pointed out that Xun Xu’s system of the twelve di-flute pitchpipes was an instrument used to rectify the tune, albeit a very unusual one; some were even nearly four chi long, »but it can only be used to reconcile the musical instruments; how can it be played in harmony with other instruments?« Therefore, it was unfair to measure its value by whether it could be played in cooperation with other instruments. Almost simultaneously to Xu Yangyuan, Ling Tingkan wrote Mistakes in the Di Flute System of the Taishi Reign-period of Jin in the 13th year of Jiaqing (1808). Ling Tingkan (c. 1757–1809), styled Cizhong, was a native of Shexian County, in Anhui Province. He is a relevant figure of the Qianjia School of thought, known to have studied ci and qu in his youth. In Yangzhou he participated in the revision of zaju and chuanqi drama works supervised by Ilingga, director of the Salt Industry Administration, by imperial decree. Past his middle years, he devoted himself to the study of tex-

tual criticism, completing monumental academic works such as Exposition on the Classic of Rites. His work Original Investigations on Court Feast Music that he completed in the 9th year of Jiaqing (1804) set the foundations of modern research on court feast music of the Tang and Song dynasties and exerted a great deal of influence on later generations. It is still, in fact, an important reference for scholars of musical temperament history. The important value of research on court feast music is made known in as early as Jiang Yong’s volume Details on The Pitch-Pipes; unfortunately, Jiang failed to carry out this work. By conducting solid textual research and acquiring a deep-seated knowledge of the fundamentals as well as using an approach of »examining the classics and verifying the number of instruments,« therefore proving argumentation to be a scientific method, Ling Tingkan completed this monumental work and enabled the research of court feast music to become a specific field of study. Ling’s contributions cannot go unnoticed. Chen Li (1810–1882), styled Lanfu, was a native of Panyu, Guangdong Province. He was a phonologist and author of works such as Investigations on the Qieyun Rhyme Dictionary. The biggest difference between Chen and the three aforementioned major scholars Hu, Xu and Ling is that he showed a richer knowledge of acoustics and practical experience in wind instruments, and therefore his research was no longer confined to idle theorizing. The book Comprehensive Investigations on the Sound of the Pitch-Pipes was published in the tenth year of Xianfeng (1860), with a total of ten juan, the third of which, »Investigations on The Twelve Jin [Dynasty] Di-Flutes and The Third Tone of the Di-Flute,« is a specialized study on Xun Xu’s di-flute system. Chen Li, while being fairly respectful towards Ling Tingkan’s research accomplishments, did object to the falsehood involved in the discussion of Xun Xu’s system in Ling’s work Expositions on the Classic of Rites. In an annotation, Chen Li states:

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This book criticizes Expositions on the Classic of Rules the most as false or erroneous, but it is not meant to blame those who wrote it. I have greatly benefitted from Ling Cizhong’s pioneering work. The parts of that work that were correct and subtle have already been recorded; but its personal biased remarks must be debated, and specially its many mistakes and parts that are incomprehensible to readers must be corrected. If the dead in their graves could resurrect, they would take me, with my criticism, as a true friend that speaks for the truth.

Chen Li’s research on Xun Xu’s di-flute system was based on copying experiments. He used the »former Jin chi« that was heavily present in docu-

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ments and literature of value, that is, the practical length of Xun Xu’s chi as a standard, and calculated the length of each di-flute and the distance between the holes according to the records of History of Song of the Southern Dynasties, with twelve di-flutes being reproduced. Some problems arose during the reproduction process, prompting him to conduct further in-depth research. His analysis featured both theory and practice, showing a rigorous and realistic style of study. Chen Li’s book exerted a great deal of influence on later generations, and it can truly be regarded as the culmination of the study of musical temperament in the Qing Dynasty.

CHAPTER IX  THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCROLL PAINTING AND THE REVIVAL OF CALLIGRAPHY AND SEAL CARVING IN THE QING DYNASTY I Section 1  The Early Qing Painting Scene as Led by the Four Wangs, Wu, Yun, and the Four Monks Early Qing painting generally continued the trends of the Ming Dynasty, which meant it remained dominated by the southern school and retained its literary influence. It is true that the rise of landscape painting during the early Qing was solidly influenced by the literati style of the Jiangnan Region, but it was even more closely linked with the literati aesthetic preferences of traditional Chinese culture and became an important part of the personality of traditional Chinese literati culture. Through the Yuan and the Ming, landscape painting gradually developed a lyrical and freehand side, whose rise was a historical and cultural inevitability. Painting during the first half of the Qing Dynasty was made up mostly of works from the orthodox school and a group of loyalist painters represented by the »Four Wangs«—Wang Jian, Wang Shimin, Wang Hui and Wang Yuanqi. The main influence of the orthodox school was in northern China, and they worshiped Dong Yuan and Juran of the Five Dynasties and followed the »Four Masters of the Yuan,« emphasizing the continuation of their works and brush and ink techniques. Their skill was very impressive, but this also caused their own creativity to suffer somewhat. Meanwhile, there was a group of painters in the south that refused to cooperate with the Qing rulers politically and created works that expressed their emo-

tions. This meant that their technique put more emphasis on personal expression, which formed uniquely individual and strong emotional tones and personal styles. Wu Li and Yun Shouping, who were on par with the Four Wangs, actually had an entirely different style. Wu Li was known for his landscape paintings, while Yun Shouping excelled at flowers—but both of them made a name for themselves. The reason that they are mentioned in concert with the Four Wangs is because of their considerable influence and their favor with the imperial court. Those outside the mainstream included the »Four Monks«—Hongren, Kuncan, Shitao and Bada Shanren, while other important individuals included loyalist painters from Anhui and the area around Jinling. They also followed the painting styles of the Four Masters of the Yuan, but emphasized infusing their own personal touch and the natural application of their masters’ techniques. They were prolific in their creations and represented a height of painting during the early Qing.

1. The Four Wangs and Early Qing Orthodox Painting In the world of painting during the early Qing, the individuals with the most creative spirit were Jianjiang, Kuncan, Bada Shanren and Shitao. Their unrestrained brush work established a novel style that was famous for its uniquely personal elements. It was their innovative artistic creations that brought a new breath of life to Qing Dynasty painting. Artists famed for their landscape paintings both to the north and south of the Yangtze River included Wang Shimin, Wang Jian, Wang

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Hui and Wang Yuanqi, as well as Wu Li and Yun Shouping. This group was known as the »Four Wangs, Wu and Hui.« They are also known as the Six Masters of the Qing and represented the mainstream of Qing Painting at the time. The »Four Wangs« refer to the painters Wang Shimin, Wang Jian, Wang Hui and Wang Yuanqi, who became famous during the early Qing. The relationship between these »Four Wangs« included both master-apprentice relationship as well as familial relationships. Their styles were also very similar and placing them in the same school was extremely natural. Of the Four Wangs, Wang Shimin and Wang Jian had served the Ming court and by the arrival of the Qing Dynasty, they were already middle-aged and could no longer serve, so they entered the world of literature and painting. The carried on the painting styles of the Ming and influenced a number of master painters of the early Qing. These were the founders of the Four Wangs’ painting style. Wang Shimin (1592–1680) was the head of the Four Wangs. He was also known by his courtesy name Xunzhi and the pseudonyms Yanke and Xilu Laoren. He was a native of Taicang in Jiangsu Province. His grandfather Wang Xijue had served as prime minister during the reign of Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, which had allowed his family to amass a large collection. Wang Shimin studied painting from a young age and focused exclusively on famous works of the Song and Yuan. At one point, he attracted the praise of both Dong Qichang and Chen Jiru. During the early Chongzhen Period, Wang Shimin served at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices as the descendant of an imperial examinee, taking the position of court attendant in waiting, which also earned him the name »Court Attendant Wang.« During the lateMing, Wang Shimin welcomed Qing troops into Taicang and was treated very well by the Qing court for this. However, after the arrival of the Qing, Wang Shimin retired from public life. He was neither

called to service by the Southern Ming, nor did he serve the Qing court. Instead, he dedicated himself to art and literature. In addition to his talents in painting, Wang Shimin was also skilled at calligraphy and poetry, publishing both A Collection from the Western Field (Xitianji 西田集) and Painting Postscripts from Xilu (Xilu huaba 西庐画跋). Wang Shimin clearly believed that painted was not about form, but about the mysteries created through brush and ink. In individual creations, he especially highlighted an »empty but heavy« and »tender but dark« style of brush and ink technique. His brush use was light and carefree with strokes that were soft and full. He rarely used burnt ink or texturing with a light colored ink that produced a relief sfumato effect and bled into the surrounding contours. His works were not dull, hard, stolid or slippery, and achieved a measure of the rich fullness of the landscape paintings of the Song and Yuan. His strong yet light grace influenced a large number of painters. His grandson, Wang Yuanqi, naturally took over his grandfather’s mantel and was master to both Wang Hui and Wu Li. This is why it is said that the origin of the influence of the Four Wangs started with Wang Shimin. From works that still exist, we can see that he carried on much of the techniques of the Four Masters of the Yuan and borrowed heavily from Huang Gongwang. It is said that in his youth he copied ancient works in miniature. He completed 24 in total and compiled them into a book that he always carried with him so that he could reference them and compare his works, showing how dedicated he was to his art. Wang Shimin lived to the age of 89 and works from each of the periods of his life have different styles. Those from his early period are mostly copies of the remnants of paintings of the Song and Yuan. In his middle years, he became very meticulous and used a light hand, following the styles of both Dong Qichang and Huang Gongwang. In his later years, his brush use became reserved with outlines that were wispy

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and textured brush strokes that ranged between extremes in complexity and weight, expressing a kind of natural spirit that was both powerful and elegant. (Fig. 9.9.1) As a painter, Wang Shimin more often chose to expand his »vocabulary of brush and ink« within the context of the rules of painting. His social status and his education enabled him to work to improve his painting vocabulary, and he put his classical painting vocabulary into practice. Under the conditions of that time, this kind of development in painting was an essential innovation and this is where Wang Shimin made important contributions. This set the foundations for the style of the Four Wangs and can be seen in the creative path of Wang Jian. Wang Jian (1598–1677) was also known by the courtesy name Xuanzhao, which he later changed to Yuanzhao, as well as the pseudonyms Xiangbi and Ranxiang Anzhu. He was a native of Taicang in Jiangsu Province. He was the oldest grandson of the famous scholar official Wang Shizhen and he was a cousin to Wang Shimin. The often copied each other and compared their works, which brought them very close together. Wang Jin had been a graduate in the provincial imperial examinations during the reign of Chongzhen and was made Governor of Lianzhou (present-day Hepu in Guangxi Province), but because he defied his superior, he left his position and returned home at the end of the Ming Dynasty. He did not return to government service during the Qing and focused on painting landscape paintings. When he was 63, he built a two-room house to the north of his grandfather’s estate at the Garden of Yanshan. Wang Shimin wrote the words »awash with fragrance« as a dedication, and Wang Jian began to use the self-appellation »Master Awash with Fragrance« and painted there until his death. Of the Four Wangs, Wang Jian was best known for his imitations of ancient works. He excelled at using deep greens and relief sfumato, which gave his paintings an intense beauty that was still light and full.

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His views on artistic creation were the closest to those of Wang Shimin, and his concern for the brush and ink techniques of previous masters were greater than his dedication to depicting real natural landscapes. This is why his works are more symbolic and ordered. Clearly, this is a »dictated creative process« that studied the ancient masters while remaining adaptive. In his later years, Wang Jian dedicated himself to Buddhist studies and painting. He never ceased copying ancient works until very late in his life. It is for this reason that his paintings are more orderly and graceful with clear lines and a meticulous elegance, which shows his efforts in copying the masters of the Song and Yuan, integrating them and demonstrating his achievements in cultivating his style that placed him above others. (Fig. 9.9.2) These two individuals set the foundation of »deep cultivation« and »broad knowledge« that became typical of the style of the Four Wangs. Wang Hui and Wang Yuanqi were two of the younger members of the Four Wangs and they carried on the style of Wang Shimin and Wang Jian, resulting in a unified style that had both personal and common elements as well as a clear artistic philosophy, which successfully established the orthodox position of the Four Wangs in early Qing painting. Wang Yuanqi was Wang Shimin’s grandson and had the same painting style as his grandfather, which mainly focused on Huang Gongwang, but Wang Yuanqi also further summarized and innovated on these themes of brush and ink use. Wang Hui inherited the creative passion of Wang Jian for the masters of the Song and Yuan to become one of the true »renaissance men« in Chinese landscape painting after the Son and Yuan dynasties. Wang Hui (1632–1717) was also known by the courtesy name Shigu and the pseudonyms Gengyan Sanren, Wumu Shanren, Qinghui Zhuren and Jianmen Qiaoke. He was a native of Changshu in Jiangsu Province. He was an apprentice of both Wang Jian and Wang Shimin. After the age of

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9.9.1 Copy of Wang Wei’s River and Mountains in Snow by Wang Shimin, National Palace Museum

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9.9.2 Smoky Mists over Distant Peaks by Wang Jian, Nanjing Museum

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9.9.3 A Spring Morning in Jiangnan by Wang Hui

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40, he studied the techniques of all the various schools and blended them to form a new artistic style, which was typified by a lithe beauty and elegance that was very popular with people at the time. When Wang Hui was 60-years-old, Song Junye submitted a memorial to the emperor to call for skilled artists to the capital to paint the Southern Tour (Nanxuntu 南巡图), which Emperor Kangxi specifically named Wang Hui to lead. The emperor granted him four Chinese characters that translate as »clear and bright landscape« (shanshui qinghui 山水清晖), which is the source of the self-appellation Qinghui Zhuren (Master of Clarity and Brilliance). Wang Hui took many apprentices and there are still many painting histories that state these numbered over 80. Of the Four Wangs, Wang Hui’s style may not have exceeded the common trends of the other three, but his proportions were exacting, which made his paintings precise and beautifully exquisite. (Fig. 9.9.3) Wang Yuanqi (1642–1715) was the youngest of the Four Wangs, but at the time he was also the most famous and the most highly positioned of the four. He served a deciding role in the establishment of the painting style of the Four Wangs as the orthodox style. Wang Yuanqi was also known by the courtesy name Maojing and the pseudonyms Lutai and Shishi Daoren. He was a native of Taicang in ­Jiangsu Province. He was the grandson of Wang Shimin and became a palace graduate in 1670 (9th year of Kangxi). After entering service, he served at the imperial court, both painting and curating paintings at the palace. He facilitated imperial orders that placed Sun Yueban and Sun Junye in charge of compiling the Manual of Calligraphy and Painting from the Studio of Respect for Literature (Peiwenzhai shuhuapu 佩文斋书画 谱). He served as the general coordinator for the book as well as the painting Celebration of an Imperial Birthday (Wanshou shengdian tu 万寿盛典 图). He was also a vice minister of the Ministry of

Revenue and was known as »Farming Minister Wang.« Wang Yuanqi resolutely carried on his family’s traditions and excelled in landscape painting. He drew considerably from the Four Masters of the Yuan and preferred using a dry brush filled with ink. He concentrated on the works of Huang Gongwang, especially his use of light red and a single path in his paintings. After several decades of study, his technique reached perfection after the age of 60. His works were characterized by heavy brush use and layers of textured strokes. He used a dry brush laden with ink, which produced a unique style. He was known to have called his brush the »Mace of the Vajra.« When working on an individual painting, Wang Yuanqi would often spend up to ten days or even two weeks on his creation. He would first trace out the forms, then apply ink. After that he would create texture and tone, working from light to dark, from sparse to more detailed features. He would also repeatedly use a small iron to dry the paper, outlining and applying color time and time again, layer by layer until the ink came alive and reached a the level of blending and integration that he desired. In general, Wang Yuanqi used the achievements of those who came before to reach a new level of excellence. His works have been called the epitome of literati landscape painting. (Fig. 9.9.4) Wang Yuanqi was also a highly ranking official with an impressive reputation. Painting histories of today record Wang Yuanqi as having more than 110 apprentices and followers. Both the Loudong School, which he established, and the Yushan School founded by Wang Hui, were the most influential schools that formed in the wake of the Four Wangs, and influenced painters both at court and outside the imperial system. Meanwhile, the »Lesser Four Wangs,« the »Latter Four Wangs« and the »Ten Savants of Painting« also continued the traditions and styles of the Four Wangs.« To summarize, each of the Four Wangs had their own painting style and creative vocabulary. Wang

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9.9.4 Clear Stream Rounding a Hut by Wang Yuanqi, Nanjing Museum

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Shimin was mature and prudent, Wang Jian was practiced in imitating ancient works and adopted many styles. He was known for heavy brush movement and heavy, full ink. His paintings had a unique appearance, especially with the use of dark green that was his own preference. Wang Yuanqi favored using a dry brush laden with ink. He was skilled at grasping the essentials and eliminating excess. He was also adept at using lighter colors to build depth and achieve a blended effect. Wang Hui undoubtedly was the most varied of the Four Wangs in terms of technique, and his skill was the most mature. His works were also the most notable. He was able to integrate both the Northern and Southern sects of painting into one and create a vibrant energy with them. He had both outstanding skill and a produced a plethora of works that also incorporated actual scenery, resulting in a style that was more vibrant, interesting and joyful. After the reign of Kangxi, the remnants of the Four Wangs formed the foundations of the Loudong and Yushan Schools, which continued to dominate the world of landscape painting. The Yushan School included over ten of Wang Hui’s own children and grandchildren, while other noteworthy members included Wu Li, Yang Jin and Li Shizhuo. Major painters of the Loudong School included Huang Ding, Hua Kun, Wu Zhenwu, Wang Yu, Fang Shishu, Zhang Zongcang, Dong Bangda, Qian Weicheng, Wang Chen and Wang Xuehao. During the reigns of Tongzhi and Guangxu, the »Lesser Four Wangs« and the »Latter Four Wangs« also appeared, continuing the traditions of the Loudong School. Painting traditions of the Qing Dynasty directly influenced the direction that contemporary Chinese art took. Much of traditional Chinese painting today continues to use the technical vocabulary of the Ming and Qing eras, which means that the influence of the Four Wangs, however veiled, is still being felt today. The Four Wangs created another cultural paradigm in Chinese landscape painting. Different

from the desire to create shapes, emotion, curiosity or lifelike images, this style was established on a logical transition of pictorial vocabulary and the use of individual personality, which marked a new level in Chinese landscape painting. This style was rich, but not free from dogmatic teachings, which meant that opinions on the Four Wangs were not immune to discussion and disparaging remarks. Some praised them as the orthodox school, while others decried them as a »conservative« school. The fact that the style of the Four Wangs was recognized and promoted by the imperial court seems to speak to their position as the orthodox school. However, the description of them as a conservative faction has become increasingly popular in recent decades. The first critiques of the Four Wangs came with the rise of the New Culture Movement of the late Qing and early Republican eras. They accused the Four Wangs of only copying the ancient masters and lacking innovation. This statement, that they were copiers of old paintings, was very common at the time. As the New Culture Movement began to take hold, the rejection of literati freehand style fit with the common opinion that Ming and Qing painting was in decline and quickly became the main voice in studies of Chinese painting. A new historical perspective has been taken since the 1980s and a reevaluation of the impact of the Four Wangs has taken place. The brush and ink creations and artistic characteristics of the Four Wangs as well as some elements of their »innovative traditionalism« have gradually gained attention and recognition in academic circles.

2. Wu Li and Yun Shouping The early Qing painter Wu Li (1632–1718), who was considered on par with the Four Wangs, was orginally named Qili and was also known by the courtesy name Yushan and the pseudonyms Mojing Daoren and Taoxi Jushi. Along with Wang Hui, he was also a native of Changshu in Jiangsu

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Province. Wu Li’s home was to the north of the county seat and at one point had been the residence of Confucius’ disciple Ziyou. There was a well within the building, which people called the »Well of Duke Yan« or the »Sacred Well.« The color of the water was as dark as ink, which is why Wu Li called himself the »Master of the Dark Well.« When Wu Li was 31, both his mother and his wife died, which caused him to consider becoming a hermit. He first aligned with Buddhism, but then later moved to Catholicism and at the age of 51 became a member of the Church, taking the holy name Simon. After this, he became a monk at a Jesuit monastery in Macau and later a priest, spending the next 30 years of his life doing missionary work in Jiading and Shanghai. He remained a common man his entire life. On April 24, 1718 (57th year of Kangxi), Wu Li died in the area of Lujiabang outside the southern gates of the Shanghai city walls. He had lived 87 years. A European missionary created a tombstone for him. From Wu Li’s works that have been passed down through history, we can see that his early works featured strong and full strokes with a heavy brush and abundant use of ink. The composition of his early works were also realistic and layered. After he returned form Macau, Wu Li’s painting style showed clear changes. Not only had his composition become denser and fuller, his technique tended to use a drier brush and less ink. He was skilled at using the mid-tip technique and could make his brush seem very heavy and settled. In order to give mountains and stones more texture and a three-dimensional feel, he used an extremely unique method, which was to use textured strokes on the portions of the rocks that were lit, which later artists had used as a masterstroke that they called »sunny side texturing.« This painting technique was the only one of its kind among all the masters of the early Qing. Compared with the Four Wangs, Wu Li’s works were more founded on the philosophy of drawing from life, which enabled him to be more creative. (Fig. 9.9.5)

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As an artist with such a unique background, it was unlikely that Wu Li would be able to create a technique like »sunny side texturing.« His worship of a Western religion and penchant for Western painting caused him to have a unique affection for and understanding of »forms« in Western painting. In his studies of painting during his youth, he examined a number of different schools and adopted their best elements, which resulted in his own unique technique. This expressed his taste and sense for Western painting, which was used in his own creations, creating a style that was all his own. However, he did not simply study the principles and methods of Western painting, nor did he adapt Chinese painting methods to Western concepts and principles. He used his own techniques to explore and develop to express his own knowledge and understanding of a different culture. It is for this reason that in the course of his studies that he did not lose what he had gained while also producing very unique creations. This is where he surpasses other others artistically. During his later years, his painting style became increasingly dense and full. He also began using a dry brush and short textured strokes for a style that was mellow and rich, showcasing his artistic skill. If »sunny side texturing« was inspired by a tendency toward realism, enabling it to show differences between light and dark, then it is only by translating them into the vocabulary of »texturing« that they can recognized and passed on in the context of Chinese landscape painting. The fact that Wu Li was able to establish himself in the world of painting during the early Qing is not an accident. As an artist, Wu Li showed that he had the high moral qualities of a painter. Historians often speak of the Four Wangs along with Wu Li and Yun Shouping as the Six Great Masters of the early Qing. However, of these six individuals, Wu Li’s social station was relatively low and his life experiences were the most unique. Looking at him solely from the qualities of an artist, Wu Li is an even better example of

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9.9.5  Lake and Sky in Spring Colors by Wu Li, Shanghai Museum

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transcending the common and rising above it. He never sought power and relied on others for making his way in the world. Some critics describe him as »an old man who was all-embracing and above the commonplace. He blazed his own path and would not deign to rely on others. His heavy character and righteous spirit is sufficient for him to rise above others and establish his own position in history.« Such high praise mostly likely could only be bestowed upon Wu Li. Of the Six Great Masters of the early Qing, Yun Shouping was the only one who was known for his bird-and-flower paintings. Yun Shouping (1633– 1690) was originally named Hui Ge and used the courtesy name Shouping, but later used his courtesy name as his proper name and changed the former to Zhengshu. He also used the pseudonyms Southern Field, Historian of the Cloud Stream, Historian of the White Clouds, Guest of the Eastern Garden and Student in the Grass Cloak. He was a native of Wujin in Jiangsu Province (present-day Changzhou). The Hui family was a powerful clan at the time in the area and many of Yun Shouping’s relatives had been officials under the Ming Dynasty. His Father, Hui Richu had taken Shouping with him to join the Southern Ming and fight against the Qing Dynasty. They were separated in the chaos of war and Shouping was taken prisoner and became the adopted son of the Supreme Commander of Zhejiang and Fujian for the Qing army, Chen Jin. One day, he met with his father, who had been in hiding in the Temple of the Hidden Spirit (Lingyinsi 灵隐寺) in Hangzhou. The abbot of the temple, Master Jude, found a way for Shouping to be released from his adoptive father and he was reunited with his birth father. There is a legend that the early Qing playwright and 5th son of Wang Shimin, Wang Bian had used the story of woe of Yun Shouping as a basis for his play Fate at Vulture Peak (Jiufengyuan 鹫峰缘). Yun Shouping never participated in the imperial examinations and lived his life as a loyalist, poor and making his living by selling paintings. His con-

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summate skill as a painter and unique style made him extremely popular throughout the Yangtze River Region and at the time he was praised as the »authentic realist school« and was the most influential bird-and-flower painter of the early Qing. Throughout his life, Yun Shouping was never able to cast off the destitution and poverty that clung to him, but regardless of how melancholy and downcast he had become, he still retained his upstanding and righteous moral values. In his bird-and-flower paintings, Yun Shouping achieved an individual style that blended ink and color, painting and shading and a »boneless« unification of brush and ink that shone throughout later generations. This actually was the result of a comprehensive development of the concept of »painting methods« in bird-and-flower painting that had begun in the Yuan Dynasty. The bird-and-flower paintings created by Yun Shouping were light, fresh and subtly elegant. They expressed both form and spirit and it was clear this was a new style from the very first glance. First, Yun Shouping emphasized depicting objects in real life and trying to match the shape as much as possible. Similarly, Yun Shouping also had a fresh understanding of artistic creations and their appreciation. He put great emphasis on technique, accuracy in imitation and excellence in painting, but also the importance of »emotion« in the creation of a work of art. It was in this way that he used his own language to create a simple, but concise summary of relationship between the mysteries of art that tend to move people and the creation and appreciation of works of art. In his representation of flowers, Yun Shouping developed his own unique method. He deftly used water and color to perfectly incorporate water into colors to create a kind of halo shading that further enriched the expressiveness of the »boneless« method. The flowers he painted used a color wash halo technique that was full of natural wonder. When accenting flowers, he always used red tones and then overlaid those strokes with shading. No

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previous artist had used this method of drawing and shading, making it his unique creation. The chrysanthemums, balsam flowers and camellia he painted all began with shading from the tips of the petals, which was also a marked departure in technique from previous artists. While most of his branches and leaves used a freehand technique, they were also mostly set against a light-colored background and used dark colors to shade the major elements. His use of red tones was also extremely unique and generally started at the tips of petals and if shading was not sufficient after one pass, he would add additional shading, then use a darker red from the base of the petal to shade upward. These colors would blend and meet, providing a backdrop for each other, which enabled the head of the flower to appear full and round, not flat and thin. Yun Shouping used all of these unique techniques to promote his one-of-a-kind boneless flower paintings, which were bright, beautiful and elegant, while maintaining a fresh, subtle refinement. This marked the beginning of a new period of style. (Fig. 9.9.6) The number of paintings of flowers by Yun Shouping still extant have been compiled and include over a hundred examples, which is rare for any painter in the bird-and-flower genre. The broad range of his subject matter reflects his ability to adapt to a wide range of techniques and is also a benchmark of the maturity of those techniques. Furthermore, Yun Shouping also made some of the greatest contributions in terms of changes in artistic thinking. His gracefully elegant brush use changed the reserved, inflexible and dainty nature and overly ostentatious use of reds and pinks in palace-style bird-and-flower paintings. Yun Shouping emphasized a real life technique and let the flowers convey the spirit of the painting. He also made his own technical innovations with the goal of expressing the charm of transcendent subtlety and elegance, which could not be mentioned in the same breath as the base flashiness and heavy coloring of other styles. While he did

not outline his forms and created them purely through shading using various colors, his fundamental principle was still to »wash away the traces of the carved nature of Song traditions and instead use an empty harmony to produce graceful elegance.« Here, we can clearly see the traces of the qualities, cultivation and aesthetic charm of the literati painters. It is for this reason that Yun Shouping continued to express the high learning of traditional scholar officials both in his life and in his art. Artistic creation is not limited to breakthroughs and developments in technique, but perhaps even more importantly seeks personal character. As landscape painting became increasingly mature and began to show signs of the limitations of formalism, developments bird-and-flower painting saw constant innovation and exploration of new methods. Yun Shouping’s further innovation on and perfection of the »boneless« technique was one of the key developments of this period in birdand-flower painting. It is for this reason that his success in this method has easily attracted the attention of scholars and inspired a great deal of discussion. The creation of a new era of bird-andflower painting beginning with Yun Shouping’s »orthodox real life school« attracted many students. Those that there are records of number over a hundred and include famous individuals like Ma Yuanyu, Fan Tingzhen, Zou Xianji, Hui Bing, Zhang Ziguo, Tang Ying and Liao Chun. Flower paintings by later artists like Dai Gongwang, Zhou Li, Yang Can and Tao Jiang all show signs of Yun Shouping’s spirit and charm. Even later still, Hua Yan of the Yangzhou School of painting was also deeply influenced by Yun Shouping. Fading tones of Yun Shouping’s style can even be seen in contemporary Chinese painting. Artists like Ren Bonian and Wu Changshuo in Shanghai at the end of the Qing Dynasty also copied and studied Yun Shouping’s works. The bird-and-flower masters Ju Chao and Ju Lian of Lingnan experimented with and absorbed techniques of the Changzhou

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9.9.6 A Book of Flowers (selection of four panels) by Yun Shouping, Shanghai Museum

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School from Song Guangbao, whose artistic perspective emphasizing real life painting has influenced Chinese painting to the present day. The landscape paintings, bird-and-flower paintings, and calligraphy of Yun Shouping are together known as the »Three Ultimates of the Southern Field.« Yun Shouping’s calligraphy followed the method of Zhu Suiliang with a style that was elegant and bold. His most outstanding works were in running and regular scripts. His command of Classical Chinese was also well-grounded, which made his poetry light, beautiful, and easy to read. His artistic training was broad and extensive, which is proven in the landscape and bird-andflower works that have been preserved or in his writings like Collections from the Hall of the Fragrant Cup (Ouxiangguan ji 瓯香馆集). It can be said that of the Six Great Masters of the early Qing, Yun Shouping’s level of personal cultivation, his style, his achievements and his influence were extremely unique and he was one of the most enduring members.

ences and different aspirations. This, along with their different personalities and temperament helped to form their clear artistic styles and outstanding artistic achievements. Generally speaking, Shitao had a richer and more comprehensive experience. He was skilled at utilizing ancient styles, but even more adept at vibrant, common themes—which meant that his influence of later generations was more widely felt and his theoretical writings sparked the beginning of a new style. Bada Shanren was deeper and more isolated. His artistic vocabulary was refined and unique, but also strange and profound. He is often seen as a model for innovation in later generations of ink wash painters. He was particularly praised by learned and refined gentlemen of the time, while his restrained, simple use of brush and ink made him a source of inspiration for many types of folk art. Shitao (1642–1718), whose original name was Zhu Ruoji, was also known by the minor courtesy name A-Chang and was a native of Quanzhou in Guangxi Province. Prince of Jingjiang of the Ming, Zhu Shouqian, was originally the great-grandson of the founder of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang, and his fiefdom was located in Guilin. His son, Zhu Zanyi, inherited the title of Prince of Jingjiang from his father. Zhu Xiangjia called himself a »guardian of the nation« in Guangxi during the Longwu Period of the Southern Ming (1645– 1646), but was killed during an internal struggle for power. Shitao was Zhu Zanyi’s tenth generation descendant. When Shitao was still young, he was rescued by an official and taken away to Quanzhou. Quanzhou is located at the source of the Xiang River and is also known as Qingxiang or Xiangyuan, which is the source of Shitao’s pseudonym, Qingxiang. Experiencing this great of a shock while he was still so young meant that the only option Shitao had was to join a monastery with his adopted brother Hetao. He took the Buddhist name Yuanji and used the pseudonym Shitao, but was also

3. The Four Monks The »Four Monks« of the early Qing refer to Shitao, Bada Shanren, Hongren and Kuncan. They all at one point took refuge in religious life and made outstanding achievements in art to become one of the most unique groups of individuals in the world of painting during the early Qing. Art historians generally talk about the »Four Wangs« and the »Four Monks« in the same context, discussing them respectively as representatives of the »orthodox school« and »heterodox school,« which demonstrated the »collective« spirit of orthodox painting guided by rules and the rebellious new style of painting that »sought change,« each of them becoming models for different artistic aspirations in later generations. Of the »Four Monks,« Shitao and Bada Shanren were the most successful and influential. They were both also descendants of the Ming imperial family and had their own legendary life experi-

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known by others such as the Bitter Melon Monk, Dadizi, Qingxiang Chenren and Xia Zunzhe. After leaving his home and becoming a monk, he dedicated himself to finding his spiritual path. During the transition between the Ming and the Qing, there were many famous temples and learned monks in the area around Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which prompted him and his adopted brother Hetao to leave Quanzhou and explore the country. As they left Xiaoxiang and passed through Dongting, the arrived at Lushan in Jiangxi Province, living for a time at the Temple of Opening the Past (Kaixiansi 开先寺). Later, they explored Jiangsu and Zhejiang where they met with many friends, including one key member of the Donglin Movement from the late-Ming, Qian Qianyi. After this period of wandering, they settled down near Jingting Mountain in Anhui Province, and became very close friends with Mei Qing. Shitao lived a hermetic life in Xuancheng and, while life was lonely and difficult, he traveled between Jingting and the Yellow Mountains, where he found many other poets and artists to exchange ideas and compare techniques, which played an important role in the development of his art. »After you’ve searched out all the amazing peaks, you can start to write a draft« summed up his artistic perspective. It was this period of wandering that provided him with a foundation and directly influenced the artistic path he would choose. In 1680 (19th year of Kangxi), Shitao had already entered middle age and moved from Xuancheng to Nanjing. He resided in the Temple of the Single Branch (Yizhisi 一枝寺) in Changgan to the south of the city where he lived a total of eight or nine years. During this period, Shitao met with the Kangxi Emperor twice and traveled to Beijing where he met with high-ranking officials for whom he painted and composed poetry, seeking an opportunity to make himself known. It was at that time he became friends with Wang Yuanqi, with whom he cooperated from time to time. In his later years,

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he lived in Yangzhou where he sold paintings and took in students. He led a very comfortable life. He built the Hall of Great Cleansing (Daditang 大涤 堂) behind a stream, which was often full of guests and friends. Today, in the He Garden in Yangzhou, remains of Shitao’s rock garden can still be seen. Shitao was able to enjoy a peaceful and relaxed life until he died of old age at the age of around 70. In his paintings, he was known for his landscapes, orchid and bamboo paintings, flowers and fruits as well as his figures, but he made his greatest achievements in landscape paintings. His unrestrained use of brush and ink along with a state of boundless curiosity had an influence on schools of painting in Yangzhou at the time and later developments in Chinese painting that cannot be underestimated. However, as a painter, Shitao had an uncompromising personal moral character and, in a world that vied for favor and fame, he became depressed and despondent. His art works contains both shadows of his intelligence and his profound ability, but it also betrays a life of constant change and an internal escapism that was beyond his control.In his early creations, Shitao was able to place nature at the core of his works and let nature be his teacher. He worked at this repeatedly and while it naturally brought with it a fresh, new style, it also resulted in some methods that lacked maturity. Therefore, Shitao often used the word »rough draft« to describe the philosophy behind his works and »searching out strange peaks« to emphasize the concept of his creative process. He knew that these works could not replace their advantages, but he also knew these works were also inseparable from his personal artistic style and his own personality. This allowed him to not only to enjoy this process, but also become boastful. This conviction and this period of artistic experimentation created a unique and vivid foundation for the remainder of his artistic life and successes. Later, Shitao lived in Nanjing and as far north as the capital in Beijing, meeting with famous paint-

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ers and high-ranking officials. This relaxing, optimistic and eye-opening experience clearly helped him mature both artistically and personally. During his later years, Shitao lived in Yangzhou where he took pupils and wrote. It was at this time that his landscape paintings entered their third period. His increasingly stable lifestyle and an increasingly prosperous society, along with the fact that Shitao was entering his golden years, gave his works a reasonable maturity and more secular sensibility. This was an essential process of evaluation, retrospection and summary of Shitao’s life and art. A deeper understanding and the demand of the common people gave transformed his works, giving them a new mode and the ability to be appreciated by both the common and erudite. (Fig. 9.9.7) As a great master, Shitao’s complex spiritual world, his strong creative will, his profound painting abilities and his observational understanding of landscapes were each of them expressed through his brush. During the seventy years of the Qing Dynasty in which he was alive, Shitao dealt with very conflicting emotions. His works contained a sentimental, melancholy, discontented and resentful mood that only begin to describe his feelings, but he also naturally had moments of peace and even satisfaction. His paintings were expressions of his state of mind and his works betray a unique diversity from form to meaning. Such a varied range of expressive styles in a single artist that hit their target each time and are so unique is a very rare occurrence. Shitao’s creative spirit, his artistic convictions and his own personal method of painting were completely integrated. And in another sense, the fact that he emphasized that his »method came from himself« was also based on an intense study and continuation of the technical traditions of past artists. He compiled these insights into a book titled Comments on Painting (Huayulu 画语录) that took the theory behind Chinese painting to a new level.

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9.9.7 A Pair of Chrysanthemums by Shitao, the Palace Museum

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When he was 73, Shitao wrote a poem about his own situation that read: I have been dreaming of spring for the past fifty years and my ambition has been like a spread of white clouds. This old, bald man is not me, but the robust many I had been. Conversations in the Hall of Great Cleansing result in tears from the eyes of the Bitter Melon Monk. I only regret that I was not able to make my name sooner, forcing people to see the false truths about my paintings.

His hope was to face these cold, hard realities. His lifetime of worry and pain, internal conflict and wrong steps, can be seen in his works that cause the viewer to sigh in empathy. Bada Shanren was 16 or 17 years older than Shitao and was already an adult when the Ming Dynasty fell. As the Ming fell and the Mandate of Heaven was being transferred, loyalists were unable to stem the tide, but were unwilling to serve the new dynasty. Each of these individuals that took refuge in religious life were faced with a painful decision. The decision that Bada Shanren made to become a monk was one that he truly had not wanted to make. For Bada Shanren, the loss of his country and his home was a pain that could not be soothed by Zen studies and personal cultivation alone. Filled with so much anger and sorry, he often found release in the writing of poetry and painting. Withered branches and leaves, melting snows and scenes of boundless desolation shocked the hearts of his readers, but the emotions he expressed were rooted in a unique period of time and the great sense of sorry felt by a nation. Bada Shanren (1626–1705) was originally named Zhu Da and was a descendant of the 17th son of Zhu Yuanzhang, Prince Ningxian Zhu Quan. He was a native of Nanchang. Bada Shanren was a later name he used to sign his paintings. His grandfather and father were both painters and their considerable experience greatly influenced him. He was able to compose poetry by the age of eight and could paint by eleven. When he was

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16, he took and passed the county level imperial examinations. He was 19 when the Ming Dynasty fell and, in order to escape the slaughter, he hid in a small village and pretended to be mute, refusing to say a word. When he was 23, he became a monk at a temple near Fengxin Mountain. In 1653 (10th year of Shunzhi) when he was 28, he returned to Jinxian County and became a disciple of Zen Master Yingxue Hongmin (Geng’an Laoren). He read yellowed scripture by the light of oil lamps and dedicated himself to the study of Buddhist teachings. After three years, he had earned the title of Great Teacher and became the abbot of the Lamp Society with over one hundred students under him. In 1680 (19th year of Kangxi), he went mad. He had been a monk for 33 years. His religious name while serving as a monk was Chuanqi and he also used the pseudonyms Ren’an, Xuege and Geshan as well as alternates like Geshanlü, Renwu and Bada Shanren. The most well-known of these, »Bada Shanren,« was only used after he began to show mental instability. In April 1679 (18th year of Kangxi), the long period of agony caused by the loss of his country and home finally caused him to become mentally unstable. While he had become increasingly stable over the years, he also began to drink, partake in secular pleasures and masturbate. These waves of emotion were also reflected in the bizarre and strange artistic images he created. His works became increasingly irregular and traditional standards could no longer be used to measure their worth. He once wrote the following seven-character poem: »There are not as many drops of ink as there are tears, these lands are still the lands of old! The currents of a land in chaos leave branches in ruin and one can only feel his way through the forest of culture.« This is one of the most direct expressions of his spiritual and artistic state. When we closely examine the calligraphy and paintings of Bada Shanren, we cannot help but be shocked by his bizarre artistic vocabulary. His bird-and-flower works particularly emphasize im-

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buing objects with emotion, which gives his works a clearly personal feel. In his more than 50 years of artistic life, he created countless works, each of which had their own unique appearance and style. After dividing his works into various genres, his bird-and-flower paintings can be further divided into three periods. The first is his early period before the age of 50, which mainly contained flowers, pine trees, plum trees and other fruits and vegetables. While he used the styles of Chen Chun and Xu Wei, his paintings were even more carefully wrought, clear and fine. Most of these were also painted on scrolls. His middle period ranged between the ages of 50 and 65, during which his paintings experienced clear changes. His brush use became powerful and angular and shapes became more exaggerated. The mouths and eyes of animals were square and the majority of his subject matter was made up of fish, birds, grasses and insects. His later period began after the age of 65 and gradually became more mature. Forms were extremely exaggerated and his brush use was bold and simple yet full with forms often resembling and not resembling what they were, but retaining the spirit of their form. The fish and birds he painted »gazed at people with white eyes« and his poems were cold and sarcastic with cryptic meaning. His integration of form, brush use, concept and poetry in calligraphy reached an extremely high level of ink wash xieyi bird-andflower painting. Bada Shanren’s strong personal emotions and his symbolic artistic vocabulary presented the spiritual world of a person who was isolated and abandoned the world. He was outlandish and did not fall into normal paradigms, which came part-andparcel with his artistic creations, which were resolutely independent and took the road less traveled. He was able to incorporate many different styles and learn from a number of master painters. He also utilized the achievements of both ancient and contemporary masters and was able to transform it into his own creation, which he was use

in a bizarre and strange way to create simple ink paintings that were succinct and simple. Each stroke was richly confident and not only showed his unique creative ability, but also his independent aesthetic knowledge. His immutable independence was directly linked to his broad range of knowledge. Bada Shanren used his departure from tradition and outstanding talent to produce revolutionary works in the crafting and expression of ink wash xieyi paintings. He was truly an artist that had no predecessor and that few who came after him could reach. Many people feel that Bada Shanren’s artistic style is aloof and cold, with a technique that is too simple and strangely composed, which makes his works difficult to understand or accept and restricted their influence. This is the result of a lack of understanding of Bada Shanren’s creative process. After becoming the »mad monk,« his art works became known throughout the country and even surpassed those of Shitao. Later, there wasn’t a school or master that was not inspired by his works. Everyone, from the »Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou« of the mid-Qing to the contemporary master Qi Baishi, admired his style, and practiced his style with great enjoyment. If we turn to the myriad varieties of folk art from the Qing Dynasty, especially the painted pottery and porcelain of Jingdezhen, it is easy to discover that many artists passed on simple and direct brush techniques that actually came from the creations of Bada Shanren. There were already trends at the transition between the Ming and Qing toward folkart inspired creations and the paintings of Bada Shanren are precisely an expression of this trend. It is for this reason that Bada Shanren was seen as »wild and strange« by the orthodox schools and was widely studied and adopted by folk artists. In this sense, the personal vocabulary of Bada Shanren was one of the nation and of a particular era, a unique style that could be appreciated by all. The example that he set for Chinese literati painting will never be forgotten. (Fig. 9.9.8)

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9.9.8 Two Birds on the Rock and the Branch by Zhu Da, Yantai Municipal Museum

The other two members of the Four Monks of the early Qing were Jianjiang and Kuncan. Jianjiang (1610–1644) was originally named Jiang Tao and was also known by the courtesy name Liuqi. He also used the name Jiang Fang as well as the alternate courtesy name Oumeng. He was a native of Shexian in Anhui Province. After the fall of the Ming and his retreat into religious life, he took the name Hongren and used the pseudonym Jianjing. After his death, he was known as »Meihua Guna« or the »Cassock of Plum Blossoms.« At the age of 34 he became an imperial scholar at the Ming court. In 1645, as the Qing army neared Shexian, he fled with his teacher to Fujian Province to ally themselves with the Longwu court of

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the Southern Ming. In 1646 the Qing armies entered Fujian and the Longwu court was crushed, as were his ideals and obligations. His only choice was to retreat into religious life and serve as a monk under the tutelage of the Zen monk Guhang at Wuyi Mountain. Several years later he returned to his hometown of Shexian where he practiced Zen Buddhism and painted. He also often travel to the Yellow Mountain and White Peak. When he was 54, Jianjiang died of an illness at the Zen Monastery of the Five Enlightenments (Wuming chanyuan 五明禅院). From his life and his art, we can see that he was a classic loyalist painter. Of the Four Monks, he was the one who most completely abandoned the ways of the secular world. Unlike Shitao, he did not surround himself with worldly achievements, nor did he have the pent-up anger and sorrow of Bada Shanren, nor was he stubborn and unmovable like Kuncan. He used a clear and free style to explore the realizations of Buddhist teachings and art. It was in this way that he built a world that was all his own. Jianjiang’s landscape paintings were known for their lithe simplicity and subtle distance. They were carefully composed with simple layouts and forms and lines that struck a balance between tight and open spaces. He also rarely used thick strokes and heavy ink or textured lines. The dry brush and ink technique he used was powerful and by no means frail. The frayed-rope textured strokes he employed when painting rocks or mountains was also very unique to his paintings. Overall, Jianjiang emphasized purity and thoughtful content and his ink was often a secondary consideration to his brush use. Scenes of the Yellow Mountain were his main subject and a symbol of his integrity and reputation. Some said that »Shitao captured the soul of Yellow Mountain, Mei Qing its shadows, but Jianjang captured its texture,« and whether in terms of the quality of his paintings and his own character or the forms created in ink on the page, this is an accurate and genuine critique. (Fig. 9.9.9)

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9.9.9 The Plum Blossom Library by Jianjiang, Palace Museum

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Kuncan (1612–1692), whose original surname was Liu, is also known by the courtesy names Shixi and Jieqiu as well as the pseudonyms Baitu, Shi Daoren, Cao Daozhe and Dianzhu Daoren. He was a native of Wuling (present-day Changde in Hunan Province). When he was young, he served in the Southern Ming army under He Tengjiao in resistance to Qing advances. After they failed, he went through a torturous experience, in which he fled for his life. In 1651, Kuncan shaved his head and became a monk, adopting the religious name Zhigao. When he was 43, Kuncan came once again to Nanjing and lived in the Great Temple of Reciprocating Grace (Dabao’ensi 大报恩寺), in the south of the city, where he worked engraving plates of scripture. His Zen studies and his personal cultivation won him great praise from high-ranking monks like Juelang and Jiqi, and for a time he served as the abbot of the Temple of Serene Rest (Youqisi 幽栖寺) near Niushou Mountain in Jinling. The following year, he left his position as abbot and began to travel, but he ultimately returned to the Temple of Serene Rest, where he remained until his death. Kuncan’s paintings came into formation when he was around the age of 40. He enjoyed creating complex compositions with scenes that were full, rich and serenely profound. Layers of mountains and multiple streams. He often produced stabled arrangements that used both the upward looking and downward looking techniques, which gave people the impression of rich and verdant scenes brought out of relatively ordinary scenes. In his use of brush and ink, he excelled at the »bald brush« and »thirsty ink« techniques as well as dry-brush textured strokes. He enjoyed creating upward hooks on the outlines of mountains using only just a scant amount of ink. Sometimes he would also combine several shorter lines with a large amount of textured points that resulted in a unique rhythm and rhyme. This produced a rugged, raw and vigorous style. The stable and bold power of his brush was able to eliminate crude-

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ness and while he used heavy ink, it rarely spread. He used less ink wash and more coloring in paleocher, sometimes with a heavier darker ocher color. These specific techniques differentiated him from others and the formed Kuncan’s strong, mixed, and collected style. (Fig. 9.9.10) Compared to the »orthodox school,« the Four Monks had personalities and styles that sought more free exploration, and it was their hard work that provided greater understanding and mastery in the development of painting in later generations. They also laid the foundation that provided vitality to the canvas of Qing-era painting.

4. The Painting Scenes of Anhui and Jinling »Jiangnan,« as it was known during the early Qing, mainly referred to Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian and Huizhou, which was on the border between Jiangxi and Anhui. This had historically been an area of culture and learning. The Ming Dynasty established its capital at Nanjing, but after Emperor Chengzu moved the capital to Beijing, Nanjing became a secondary capital with the same six ministries and holding imperial examinations. Scholars from everywhere gathered here, carrying on the flourishing traditions of the Six Dynasties and becoming one of the most prosperous and free cultural centers of the Ming and Qing. Ancient Huizhou during the Ming and Qing was a prosperous commercial center, a hub of transportation and a gathering place for merchants. It was also especially well known for its education and for a time was a leader in Jiangnan culture. Painting during the early Qing was centered in these two areas and had a massive influence on painting during the rest of the Qing Dynasty. The main powerhouses of painting in Anhui were the Xin’an School and the Four Masters of Haiyang, based in Shexian. Other artists included Cheng Sui and Dai Benxiao as well as Xiao Yuncong from the Wuhu area and Mei Qing of Xuancheng.

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9.9.10  Verdant Mountains Rising to Heaven by Kuncan, Nanjing Museum

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Zha Shibiao, Sun Yi and Wang Zhirui, of the Four Masters of Haiyang, were considered on par with Jianjiang and were the most acclaimed painters in Anhui. They also had their own individual styles, the most popular of which was that of Zha ­Shibiao. Zha Shibiao (1615–1698) was also known by the courtesy name Erzhan and the pseudonyms Meishu, Meishu Sanren and Houyi Maosheng. He was a native of Xiuning in Anhui Province. Later, he traveled between Jinling, Zhenjiang, Yangzhou and Hangzhou, living his later years mostly in Yangzhou. His calligraphy and painting was greatly influenced by stark and simple styles, and later also incorporated elements of Dong Qichang’s brush use, which gradually gave his style a fuller, brighter feel. The dates of Sun Yi’s birth and death are unknown, but he is believed to have died during the reign of Shunzhi. He was also known by the courtesy name Wuyi and the pseudonym Shulin. He was a native of Xiuning in Anhui Province, but later took up residence in Wuhu. There is very little written on his life or his paintings. His contemporaries sometimes mention him in the postscripts of their works. It seems as if he was from a broken family and had a hard time making a living, but he endured this hardship gladly. In addition to Xin’an, which was overflowing with master artists, Wuhu in Anhui Province was also an important art center during the early Qing. The most representative artist from this area was Xiao Yuncong. Xiao Yuncong (1596–1673) was also known by the courtesy name Chimu and the pseudonyms Mosi, Wumen Daoren, Yuhu Yuren, Shiren, Menglü and Mei Zhuren. He was a native of Wuhu in Anhui Province. In his later years, he also used the pseudonym Zhongshan Laoren, which referenced the tombs of Zhongshan that he could see in the distance and reminded him of the deep sorrow of the loss of the Ming Dynasty.

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Xiao Yuncong’s technique benefited from the influence of a number of masters and resulted in his own unique style. Overall, Xiao Yuncong’s works were clear and elegant, filled with a relaxed sensation. He paid special attention to outlining, and his technique of drawing trees and rocks was to first outline them, then fill in the space with dry brush and light ink, which allowed for clear and orderly layers to be formed. This kind of light, powerful elegance produced a style with a decorative flair that had considerable influence in the Wuhu area. Many people came to study it and it became known as the Gushu School. Cheng Sui and Dai Benxiao, who were approximately the same age as the artists mentioned above, were also very successful painters. However, they retained their own style when compared to the Xina’an School or the Gushu School. Cheng Sui (c. 1605–1691) was also known by the courtesy names Muqian and Xiumin as well as the pseudonyms Gouqu, Qingxi, Gou Daoren, Yequan Daozhe and Jiangdong Buyi. He was a native of Shexian in Anhui Province, but spent his later years in Yangzhou. He remained a commoner his entire life without taking the imperial examinations. However, Cheng Sui was very well educated and was skilled in a number of areas including poetry, writing, calligraphy, painting and printing, but he was especially known for his seal carvings. He was the founder of the She School of seal carving and was also well versed in researching the providence of carved texts as well as medicine. Scholars have commented on the style of Cheng Sui’s landscape paintings. The brush techniques of Wang Meng and Wu Zhen provided Chen Sui with a foundation, upon which he added the irregularities and simplicity of stone and seal carvings, which he then extended to apply to brush and ink techniques. He then used his dry brush and ink technique to create a heavy and practiced style that was known for being »moistened with spring rains and dried by autumn winds.« This technique was truly something that no one else

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could do, but whether it was in his stamp carving or his painting, Cheng Sui maintained a spirit of blazing his own path, which was his most valuable asset. Dai Benxiao (1621–1691) was also known by the courtesy name Wuzhan and the pseudonym Qianxiuzi. He lived for over a decade as a hermit in the Ying’e Mountains near his hometown, which also inspired the pseudonyms Ying’e Shanqiao, Tiangen Daoren, Tiaotiaogu Laoqiao and Biluo Jingshe Zhuren. He was a native of Xiuning in Anhui Province. It wasn’t until he was over the age of 40 that he packed his brush and left home to wander. His travels took him north to Shandong, the capital and west to Tongguan and Longxi. His technique was known for using a deep black that was simple and light. He also used a dry brush, but in his own unique way. All of these elements caused the works of Dai Benxiao to have a clear, unique personal style. Later scholars often list him among the members of the Yellow Mountain School along with Mei Qing, Mei Geng and Shitao. Mei Qing (1624–1697) was originally named Mei Shixi and was also known by the courtesy name Yuangong and the pseudonyms Qushan and Jingting Shannong as well as the alternative pseudonyms Meichi, Xuelu and Bojian Shanren. He was a native of Xuancheng in Anhui Province. Of the many master painters from Anhui during the early Qing, Mei Qing’s style was different from all the others. He was 17 years older than Shitao and influenced Shitao in his early years, but later he also took inspiration from Shitao as well. This resulted in many similarities between the two men. In addition to works of poetry and calligraphy, he was even better known for his abilities in painting landscapes as well as pine trees and plum trees. Works by Mei Qing that still exist today were mostly painted after he was 60 and consist mainly of depictions of the Yellow Mountain. Perhaps more importantly, the scenes of the Yellow Mountain painted by Mei Qing are not only bi-

zarre and strange, they use a brush technique that is inspired and bold, something that is different from his contemporaries. The themes he depicts are concentrated, while his style varies considerably, which was very rare in painting history. Mei Qing’s followers were mainly members of his own family. The more famous of these include his grand-nephew Mei Geng (pseudonym Xueping), Mei Wei (courtesy name Baofang) and another nephew Mei Lei. Of these, Mei Geng was the most well-known and Shitao placed him on par with Mei Qing and he was considered a member of the generation that understood the bold style. In addition to the loyalist painters that were resident in Anhui, Nanjing in Jiangsu Province was also a stage for many loyalist painters during the early Qing. These included the »Two Xis« of Jinling (Kuncan and Cheng Zhengkui and the Eight Masters of Jinling that were led by Gong Xian. Kuncan, whose pseudonym was Shixi, and Cheng Zhengkui, whose pseudonym was Qingxi, were often called the Two Xis and were the most representative literati painters in Jinling during the early Qing. Cheng Zhengkui (1604–1676) was also known by the courtesy name Duanbo and the pseudonym Juling and the later pseudonym Qingxi Daoren. He was a native of Xiaogan in Hubei Province, but lived in Jiangning (present-day Nanjing). He became a palace graduate in 1631 (4th year of Chongzhen) and served as chief minister in the Seals Office, responsible for managing the imperial seals and patents of the emperor. Later, he served in the court of Hongguang of the Southern Ming. After Qing troops arrived at Nanjing, Cheng Zhengkui was one of the officials of the Southern Ming who opened the gates and surrendered. After the founding of the Qing Dynasty, he participated in the supervising of the construction of the Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqinggong 乾清宫), later serving as Right Vice Minister in the Ministry of Works. He was relieved of this post in 1657 (14th year of Shunzhi) at the age of 54. Prior to this,

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9.9.11 A Tour of Mountains and Rivers by Cheng Zhengkui, Palace Museum

while he may have been a high ranking official, his poetry, calligraphy and paintings as well as his knowledge of artistic appreciation were already well known. From his extant works, we can see that Cheng Zhengkui often used a »bald brush« with a style that was simple, unrestrained and carefree. The majority of his paintings were small landscapes on horizontal handscrolls. In the thirty years from 1649 (6th year of Shunzhi) to 1674 (13th year of Kangxi), he painted an astounding total of 435 scrolls. From works that still exist, we can see that he was extremely serious about his creative process and not only went through many changes in composing his works, but also had a very familiar and practiced use of both brush and ink, which fully expressed his concept of »neither being controlled by nor separating oneself from method.« (Fig. 9.9.11) Gong Xian (1618–1689) was one of the most successful painters in Jinling at the time and it is not excessive to say that he led the vast majority of painters. Gong Xian was also known by the given name Qixian as well as the courtesy name Banqian and the pseudonyms Yeyi and Chai Zhangren. He was a native of Kunshan in Jiangsu Province, but took up residence in Jinling. While he did not participate in the imperial examinations and remained a »common man of Jiangdong« and »itinerant loyalist,« he remained a Ming loyal who would not submit to Qing rule. Gong Xian lived a

simple, impoverished life that was well regulated. He had a solitary personality and was very serious about his poetry. In his later years, he was made ill by an »overbearing customer seeking calligraphy« and died. It was Kong Shangren who came to prepare his casket and manage his affairs. In Gong Xian’s artistic world, sometimes he would choose a dry brush technique that was simple and scant with terse yet powerful strokes, while at other times he would use a heavy and full technique that blended together. Critics have called his simple style baigong, or his »white style,« and his layered ink style heigong, or »black style.« However, regardless of which technique he used, he was still able to express the unique characteristics and context of Jiangnan landscapes. In terms of technique, Gong Xian adopted the great hill and ravine layout of Northern Song landscapes, emphasizing the play between light and dark. He was especially skilled in the use of ink and took the »stored ink« method of the Song masters to a new level. His works used layered texture strokes and shading that were heavy and thick with a moisture that gave it a rich depth for scenes that had a realism and vitality that came from the contrast between light and shadow. Gong Xian used his unique stored ink method to convey the state and spirit of profoundly beautiful southern landscapes. His works not only had a unique style, but influenced many contemporary painters in Jinling. (Fig. 9.9.12)

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Gong Xian’s student Wang Gai (1645–c. 1710), was also known by the courtesy name Anjie and was a native of Xiushui in Zhejiang Province (present-day Jiaxing). He lived in Jinling and made his living by painting. He studied landscapes with Gong Xian and had a powerful, full use of both brush and ink. His greatest influence on later generations was in the book he edited and compiled, A Collection of Paintings from the Mustard Seed Garden (Jieziyuan huapu 芥子园画谱), which remains popular to this day. As an important center of painting, a large number of painters settled in the area around Nanjing. Their styles, subjects and the masters they followed may have differed, but they were all famous during their time. According to the Gazetteer of Shangyuan Prefecture (Shangyuanxian zhi 上元 县志) published during the reign of Qianlong, in 1669 (8th year of Kangxi), Zhou Lianggong invited the famous artists of Jinling for a gathering and it was during this meeting that the term »Eight Masters of Jinling« was coined. However, in the slightly earlier A Record of Paintings of the Nation, the »Eight Masters« that Zhang Geng records are Gong Xian, Fan Qi, Gao Cen, Zou Zhe, Wu Hong, Ye Xin, Hu Zao and Xie Sun. Meanwhile, the »Eight Masters« named in the Gazetteer of Shangyuan Prefecture are Chen Zhuo, Wu Hong, Fan Qi, Zou Zhe, Cai Linlun, Li Youli, Wu Dan and Gao Cen. Clearly, there is a difference in these two lists. Indirectly, this also shows just how many

artists there were in Jinling at the time. Here, we will briefly introduce these artists in order. Fan Qi (1616–?)was also known by the courtesy names Huigong and Qiagong. He was a native of Jiangning (present-day Nanjing) and was trained in landscape, flower and figure painting. His brother, Fan Qin, also known by the courtesy name Yuqin, was also trained in painting and had earned a certain degree of fame along with his younger brother. »Residing beside the Temple of Returning Light in a loose clapboard hut« expresses how they were able to gain joy from painting in such humble conditions »we were like gods among men.« Fan Qi’s bird-and-flower paintings had a lithe elegance and subtle reserve, but were full of spirit. In his depictions of strange rocks and birds perched in crabapple trees, we can see the meticulous, subdued elegance of the Song »boneless« method. His landscape paintings were even and solemn, focusing on faithfully representing natural scenes and followed the compositional style of Song-era landscape paintings in depicting landscapes of the Jiangnan Region with a painting style that was bright, clear and beautiful. From the tone and rhythm of his works, the fact that many people have placed him at the head of the »Eight Masters of Jinling« is not excessive. Zou Zhe, also known by the courtesy name Fanglu, was a native of Wuxian in Jiangsu Province (present-day Suzhou). He took up residence in Jinling and excelled at landscape and flower paint-

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9.9.12 A Thousand Peaks and Ten Thousand Valleys (section) by Gong Xian, Nanjing Museum

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ings, but was especially known for his pine trees. Of his works still extant, we can see that his brush technique was light and soft. Sometimes he would paint a corner of a village in autumn with falling leaves, while in other works he depicted a river veiled in a fog. Generally, his works were of the Jiangnan in different seasons and a very pastoral setting. Hu Zao was also known by the courtesy name Shigong and was a native of Jinling. He was known for his landscape and figure paintings, but is especially notable for his paintings of chrysanthemums. He died when he was around 60 and he was mainly active from the reign of the Ming emperor Chongzhen through to Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. His style was described as »boundless and vast,« but there are very few examples of his works that have survived. Xie Sun was known by the courtesy names Tianling and Xiangxi. He was a native of Lishui in Jiangsu Province, but lived mostly in Jinling. He was known for his landscape and flower paintings. The brush use in his landscape paintings is even and meticulous, showing remnants of the full, clear and elegant style of the Wumen School of the Ming Dynasty. Of his flower paintings, the Pages from a Manual of Lotus Blossoms (Hehua tuce ye 荷花图册页) is in the collection of the Palace Museum and shows some influence from the methods of the Ming Dyansty painter Lu Zhi. »Eight Masters of Jinling« was in fact a general term for a group of painters that were active in the same circle, but came from different areas, followed different masters and had different styles and aspirations. However, all of these artists treated the natural world as their ultimate master, emphasized everyday life, a realistic feelings and independence in artistic creation. In terms of their technique, the often used hard and straight brushes and ensured that the structures and contours of various forms were clear. Outlining and textured strokes were also used in short lines. Furthermore, another common feature of these

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artists was that they emphasized varying shades of ink and variation in layering as well as a sense of perspective through changes in light and dark. The influence of these individuals went far beyond Nanjing at the time. It was the joint efforts and exploration by this group of artists that transitioned between the Ming and Qing that helped to create the flourishing and controversial world of Qing Dynasty scroll painting. This formed the even more profound theme of »variation« in the world of painting.

Section 2  The Yangzhou School and Court Painting In the 268 years of the Qing Dynasty, the late Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong periods mark the dynasty’s middle years. In the economically developed area around Yangzhou, economic prosperity drove flourishing and development in the arts. From the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the largest commercial concerns were those from Shanxi and Anhui. Their considerable capital was invested in this area for a long period of time and they were very willing to contribute or participate in the cultural sphere. The ultimately became the most powerful consumer group in the cultural arts. Economic development brought with it a demand for culture and created a golden age in which »half of the men of culture gathered in Yangzhou.« According to the Record of the Yangzhou Painting Boat (Yangzhou huafang lu 扬州画 舫录) rough estimates calculate that the number of noted artists in Yangzhou as of the end of the Qianlong era numbered over one hundred. This large gathering of noted masters, each with their own style, resulted in a world of painting that was unprecedented in its prosperity. The most influential artist in this group was most likely the »Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou« typified by Zheng Banqiao and Jin Nong. The wave of innovation they

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spurred dominated painting in Yangzhou during the middle of the Qing Dynasty. Court painting during the Qing Dynasty was also very well developed. The rulers of the Qing Dynasty placed great importance on the function of painting with emperors including Shunzhi, Kangxi and Qianlong all studying the art. Their emphasis on developing the art of court painting resulted in the selection, appointment and cultivation of dedicated court painters as well as the establishment of dedicated offices to manage them. A series of measures were also put into place to promote painting, which directly influenced the development of court painting. Furthermore, the influence of Western styles and concepts on court and folk painting during the middle of the Qing Dynasty that had been introduced by missionaries cannot be overlooked.

1. Trends in Painting during the mid-Qing Period The center of painting during the middle of the Qing Dynasty was undoubtedly in Yangzhou. The direction of painting in Yangzhou during the middle of the Qing Dynasty was expressed in a renaissance of boundary painting and portraiture. Alternative ideas in painting were the result of new sense of urban lifestyle. Boundary paintings, which used rulers and other tools to create content like palatial buildings, towers and other buildings, have a long history in traditional Chinese painting. From the middle of the Ming Dynasty, boundary painting had been relegated to the periphery and became increasingly obscure. Portraiture was also not as popular as it had once been. By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the state of these art forms, to a greater or lesser extent, began to see improvement. The merchants of Yangzhou were so wealthy that they could have been a match for the country itself, building grand gardens and buildings, but also made sure that they upheld practical and moral standards and made social contributions.

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This trend provided a good opportunity for there to be a renaissance of boundary painting and portraiture. Yuan Jiang and Yuan Yao were two individuals who gave birth to painting in Yangzhou and brought boundary painting to a new level. The portraits painted by Gao Qipei, Hua Yan, Jin Nong, Huang Shen, Li Shan, Li Fangying and Luo Pin each had their own strong points and were praised by critics. These individuals were also masters of portraiture. Later, Ding Gao, who was well-known for his portraits, appeared in Yangzhou and led a group of apprentices and followers. He also wrote a book to establish his method, taking portraiture to a new level. The painting style that had been viewed as orthodox during the middle of the Qing Dynasty started to be challenged. The arrival of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou was an important element of this challenge. In the view of »orthodox« painters, the works of the Eight Eccentrics were different from the past in terms of subject matter, taste and technique. Even the actions of the painters themselves were out of the norm, but what was even more unbearable was that these works were being were being sold to wealthy merchants and urbanites, which meant that they were using painting to make money. In this sense, their paintings were incompatible with the orthodox world on a number of fundamental points. After a comprehensive examination of social culture in Yangzhou at the time, it isn’t difficult to realize that the Eight Eccentrics were actually following a trend, and adapting to new changes in the aesthetic preferences of society and the consumer demand for art. In a commercially and economically prosperous city, the lifestyle, aesthetic sensibilities and consumer demand of target audiences for their works of art (mainly urban residents) fundamentally guided the direction of developments in art. On this point, Li Shan spoke very plainly. He says, »for a painting to have value, it must follow the critics. If one seeks a high price without a theme, then they can only expend more

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technical effort to win the hearts of those seeking paintings.« This statement could not have been truer, and explains the fundamental reason for the rise of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou. It was also a great contribution to the world of painting in Yangzhou during the middle of the Qing Dynasty. The flourishing of court painting was also an important trend in painting during the middle of the Qing Dynasty. With the gathering of talented court painters, art during the Qing Dynasty saw greater development than during the Ming Dynasty. The names of painting academies that can be found in Qing Dynasty records appear between 1736 and 1762 (1st through 27th year of Qianlong) and the Office of the Painting Academy and the Hall of Fulfilled Wishes (Palace of Awakening Auspiciousness, Qixianggong 启祥宫) existed alongside each other. The system of two academies had not existed before the Qing. There was yet another institution that was exclusively responsible for religious paintings—the Hall of Rectitude. After 1762 (27th year of Qianlong), the Office of the Painting Academy was incorporated into the Enamel Office. Beginning in 1769 (34th year of Qianlong), the Hall of Fulfilled Wishes was put in charge of all imperially commissioned paintings as well as their framing and craft arts that were in need of further processing. This is to say that the institution that had been named as a painting academy remained the painting academy. In fact, prior to the establishment of a formal academy of painting, both Shunzhi and Kangxi called for painters to the palace to serve its needs and began to make records of their creations. By the reign of Yongzheng, the Imperial Workshop contained an Office of Painting and, in records, it was attributed to the »painting works,« but painters had not started to be administered independently from skilled artisans who painted, carved, wrote histories or framed paintings. In fact, this had already begun to serve the managerial function of a painting academy. After the founding of the paint-

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ing academy, there was a group of artists that continued to remain at the height of their careers through the reigns of Kangxi and Yongzheng and were considered very important. These included individuals like Giuseppe Castiglione, Tang Dai, Chen Mei, Shen Yuan and Ding Guanpeng. Later, other additional »painters of paintings« were provided to the imperial court from Suzhou and other areas. The members of the painting academy were thus made increasingly numerous and integrated both new and old styles, which resulted in an institution richly endowed with talent. There was also a group of officials at court that were especially skilled at painting. Each of these individuals had their own position and department to which they belonged. None of them were managed under the painting academy, but they were frequently ordered to create works or make tributes of paintings or calligraphy. This was another creative power of the inner court. According to Qing palace records, the works of Gao Qipei (a vice minister at the Ministry of Justice), Jiang Tingxi (a palace graduate that had entered the Hanlin Academy and was a grand secretary), Zou Yigui (a palace graduate that had been appointed a vice minister at the Ministry of Rites) and the Imperial Historian Zhu Lunhan had all been submitted to the imperial court and sent to the Imperial Workshop to be framed and set. Naturally, the position of these Hanlin Academy artists was the same as the »painters of paintings,« but even though they would cooperate, these paintings were referred to in the Qing court as »minister paintings« and were considered different from those by artisans. From their technique and style, most of the works of professional court painters were portraits, figure paintings or decorative works for festivals and celebrations. The function and content of these works meant that most of them were relatively regular and carefully produced. The existence of missionary artists in official positions at the Qing court meant that paintings with a mixed Chinese

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and Western style were relatively common. This was an important distinction from the style of painting academy works of the past. In addition to this, etchings, oil paintings, still-life paintings and point perspective also appeared at court and were greatly appreciated by the emperor for their novel form of expressionism. The majority of Hanlin painters that had official positions and were not under the administration of the painting academy are described as using the literati orthodox style. Their subject matter mainly included landscapes and flowers, mostly continuing the landscape styles of the Four Wangs and the clear, elegant technique of Yun Shouping’s bird-andflower paintings. This structure meant that court painting of the middle Qing Dynasty were made up of three groups, painters of the painting academy, Hanlin painters and missionary painters exchanging unique perspectives. The appearance of court painting had considerable influence outside official circles and in no small part drove the development of painting in general.

2. Painting in Yangzhou: Zheng Banqiao and Jin Nong of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou The relationship between Yangzhou society and its painters was one of the production and sale of art, which explains the unique characteristics of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou and more closely represent the historical context of the time. Huang Shen traveled to Yangzhou, copying gongbi figure painters like Xiao Chen and Han Fanbei, the calligraphy of Zhong Xi as well as his paintings of mountains and rivers. However, he his path was not successful and remained isolated for three year, transitioning from regular to running script and from gongbi to xieyi styles, which brought him more followers. After another three years, he transitioned to large cursive script calligraphy and from figure painting to large splashed ink styles, which brought him great success. He embraced the vulgar and enjoyed new ideas, which brought

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endless streams of individuals to his door. He used this to purchase a home and to take a wife as well as a concubine. This was the final achievement of years of effort that was moving and very representative. His »embracing of the vulgar and enjoyment of new ideas« reveals his emphasis of the enjoyment of the material. His desire for new things and the stimulation of the senses were generally the penchant of the residents of a commercial city, especially the wealthy. Many of the private gardens in Yangzhou were created with all of the latest techniques, planted with rare trees and flowers and battled with each other to be the most beautiful and to entertain all of the sense. In this fertile social environment, the art of the Eight Eccentrics not only were expressions of their individual styles, but also their connection with a social culture in Yangzhou that they were in lock step with. First, they emphasized personal expression and dared to create the new and different. They were prolific artists and had the same preferences for »new and strange« things as the merchants and urbanites of Yangzhou. Their selection of subject matter tended to be in the creation of bird-and-flower paintings, which used an ink wash xieyi technique, creating a natural charm that came from an unruliness, filling their works with the rhythm of life. Their views on art were that it should be a part of the world and get as close to everyday life as possible, ensuring that they were objective and genuine, but not aloof and self-aggrandizing. Zheng Banqiao and Li Shan stated many times that paintings were meant to be sold and that painting was a profession that could provide an income. If they could not sell their paintings or meet market demand, how would they be able to make a living? This meant that their creations had to proactively incorporate the preferences of their potential buyers and adapt to their needs, taking a path that could be appreciated by both refined and common customers. This structure is summed up in a line from

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Zheng Banqiao’s book Writings from Home (Jiashu 家书), which stated »calligraphy and painting is a refined pursuit, but it is also a common pursuit. If a man cannot make a success of himself in this world, using calligraphy to make a living, but only for the pleasure of a few individuals, is this not a common matter?« The Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou carried on the traditions of Chen Chun, Xu Wei, Zhu Da and Shitao. This was especially true of Shitao during his later years when he lived in Yangzhou and had a considerable impact on painting circles there. The clear methods of artistic expression that were unique to the Eight Eccentrics including their close attention to real life, their integration of poetry, calligraphy and painting, their love of the raw and the strange as well as their fresh and universal tone were actually specific extensions of their unique brand of artistic view and aesthetic preferences. All of the various critiques they received were a positive aspect of the new artistic wave that the Eight Eccentrics represented. The »Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou« was actually a general term for a group of famous artists during the middle of the Qing Dynasty. In writings of the past, the names of these individuals differ slightly. According to six relatively representative estimates, there were as many as 15 artists in this list. However, when talking about Yangzhou during the middle of the Qing Dynasty, it was Hua Yan whose influence was felt earlier, more intensely and reached farther. Hua Yan (1682–1756) was also known by the courtesy names Qiuyue and Desong and the pseudonyms Xinluo Shanren, Baisha Daoren, Dongyuansheng, Buyisheng and Ligou Jushi. He was a native of Shanghang in Fujian Province and worked in a paper factory when he was young. He had a natural love of painting and, according to legend, when he was very young, he painted four large murals on the walls of the Hua Family Temple in the village of Baisha, which were praised by the entire village. He left home when he was a young

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man and went to Jingdezhen to works as porcelain painter. Later, he made his way to Jiangsu and the area around Hangzhou. He also lived for a long time in Yangzhou, where he sold paintings, and in his later years he moved to Hangzhou, where he died. Hua Yan’s artistic talent was outstanding and each piece was exquisite, from his landscapes to figure paintings, bird-and-flower, grass-and-insect or animal paintings. However, his bird-andflower paintings were the most widely praised. Hua Yan’s bird-and-flower paintings absorbed the strengths of Chen Chun, Zhou Zhimian and Yun Shouping, which he used to form a small xieyi method that combined elements of gongbi and xieyi techniques. His works were known for a natural charm. He emphasized realism and had a unique style of composition. The colors he used were soft and never overdone. He used a dry brush and applied only scant amounts of ink and light color. His overall tone was light, elegant and bright. The poetic charm of his works have an attractive and fanciful feel. These elements all resulted in an innovative style of bird-and-flower painting. (Fig. 9.9.13) Many artists in Yangzhou were influenced by Hua Yan. Those were directly under his tutelage included the female apprentice Wang Lian and artists resident in Yangzhou like Zhang Simin, Xu Gang, Xu Ze and Shen Zhuo, all of whom were famous at the time. Later, even more famous individuals included Gai Qi, Tang Yifen, Ren Bonian and Xugu, who all worshiped Hua Yan from afar. Jin Nong has been recognized as the most recognizable of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, for the heaviness of his works. Jin Nong (1687–1763) was also known by the courtesy name Shoumen and the pseudonym Dongxin. He also used the courtesy name Sinong and over 20 other pseudonyms, including Jiliu Shanmin, Qujiang Waishi and Xiye Jushi. He was a native of Renhe in Zhejiang Province (present-day Hangzhou), but was also a long-term resident of

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9.9.13  Parrots on Autumn Branches by Hua Yan, Shanghai Museum

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Yangzhou. When he failed to pass the imperial examinations, he lost his desire to achieve official renown and turned his attention to painting. In his later years, he lived in Yangzhou where he sold writings and paintings. He fell on hard times and did everything to make a living from copying Buddhist scriptures to selling antiques, carving ink stones and even painting lanterns. He even asked Yuan Mei to sell his lantern plates. Sometimes things would take a turn for the better and he would »come into a large amount of money that would immediately leave his hands.« As he grew older, the idea of entering monastic life was stronger and he took up residence in the Monastery of Three Wishes (Sanzhu’an 三祝庵) and Temple of the West in Yangzhou (Xifangsi 西方寺) where he worked painting Buddhist images and wrote scripture in his free time. He ultimately died in destitute poverty. When first arrived in Yangzhou, he was initially known for his poetry. He was trained in clerical and regular scripts and had a calligraphic style that was plain and heavy. A script of his own creation was known as »lacquer script« and had a strange, ancient, full feeling. His seal script was influenced by styles of the Qin and the Han and he had collected as many as a thousand scrolls of engraved scripts. His painting was not limited to the limitations of any one kind of subject matter or techniques of any one method. He painted everything from landscapes to figures, to Buddhist images, horses, flowers and other plants. Each time his brush touched the paper was a unique experience, resulting in strange shapes, unique compositions and varied images. Jin Nong’s works that have survived to the present day can be divided into two main categories—those that are careful and regular and those that are raw and awkward. The plum blossoms he painted particularly reveal his skill. Using light ink and a dry brush, he painted full blossoms and tightly packed branches that show his courage and integrity. (Fig. 9.9.14)

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Works by Jin Nong that have been passed down include some that were completed for him by his apprentices Luo Pin, Xiang Jun or the child painter Chen Peng. Jin Nong was not at all opposed to lending his name to a work for commission. Luo Pin (1733–1799) was also known by the courtesy name Xunfu and the pseudonyms Liangfeng, Huazhisi seng and Yiyun Heshang. He was originally from Shexian in Anhui Province and moved to Yangzhou. When he was 24, he began learning painting from Jin Nong, who was already 71 at the time, making him the youngest member of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou. He was similar to Jin Nong in that he never gained official rank, loved travel and loved stone carvings and bronze vessels. His paintings of figures, landscapes, flowers, plums and bamboo all of them absolute perfection and were greatly influenced by Jin Nong’s spirit. He was able to carry on his master’s style, but also had his own style. He would often paint for Jin Nong, and in his book A Record of True Topics by My Own Pen (Zixie zhenti ji 自写真题记), Jin Nong praised Luo Pin’s works as »being without even the slightest mistake.« His technique was very comprehensive and his works covered a wide range of subject material. He was particularly skilled in painting plum blossoms and critics felt that his »life of success was entirely in his plum blossoms.« The power and unrestrained expression that his paintings of plum blossoms expressed was one of Luo Pin’s unique artistic elements. His wife, Fang Wanyi, and sons Yunshao and Yunzan, were also skilled at painting plum blossoms and they were known as the Luo Family Plum School. His Portrait of Ding Jing (Ding Jing xiang 丁敬像) and some of his Buddhist figures as well as even more examples of flowers and fruit have been passed down and most of these show his simple, luxuriant and slightly strange style. (Fig. 9.9.15) Luo Pin’s Ghost Album (Guiqu tu 鬼趣图) was a ground breaking work. In different panels, he depicted strange and ugly images of all manner

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9.9.14  A Jade Teapot in Spring by Jin Nong, Nanjing Museum

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9.9.15  An Album of Calabash Paintings by Luo Pin, Nanjing Museum

of strange and unique ghosts that were shocking to viewers—and very stimulating. At the time, it sent a wave through literary circles, and the number of people who fought to praise him numbered around a hundred and included individuals like Jiang Xinyu, Wen Fanggang, Yao Nai, Qian Daxin, Jiang Shiquan and Yuan Mei. Luo Pin’s unique brush technique was the precursor to contemporary and modern Chinese caricatures. One even more popular and influential representative of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou was Zheng Banqiao. Zheng Banqiao (1693–1765), whose actual given name was Zheng Xie, was also known by the courtesy name Kerou and the pseudonym Banqiao. His native place was Suzhou, but during the reign of Emperor Hongwu of the Ming, he moved to Xinghua and transferred his registration to Xinghua. When he was four-years-old, his mother died and he was raised by a nurse. He was talented from a very young age and had an intelligence that was beyond most people. He also dedicated himself to reading poetry. He participated in the imperial examinations, passing the county

level examinations during the Kangxi era, the provincial examinations during the Yongzheng era and became a palace graduate during the reign of Qianlong. When he was 50, he became the district magistrate of Fanxian in Shandong Province. After several years he was transferred to Weixian. This was during a time of continued natural disasters, which ultimately forced people into cannibalism. He attempted many different solutions, and in the process ran afoul of the local gentry, being falsely accused and stripped of his title. After the age of 60, he made his living mainly selling paintings in Yangzhou. He lived until the age of 72. During his seven years as an official in Weixian, Zheng Banqiao was beyond corruption, and later the people of Weixian built a living altar to him in the Temple of the Sea Island (Haidaosi 海岛寺). A poem in the painting Bamboo in Wind (Fengzhu tu 风竹图) that he presented to the grand coordinator of Shandong Province as a gift, reads »I lay and listen to the rustling bamboo and it sounds like the suffering of the people; I am but a small official in Caozhou, but I care about every branch

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and every leaf.« This kind of empathy and caring was truly rare. When Zheng Banqiao left his position, it is said that he only had three donkeys, one for him, another for his servant and the third laden with his books and musical instruments. This is what is meant by the phrase »three masterpieces of poetry, calligraphy and paintings return with one official.« Among the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, Zheng Banqiao was the one who the average person was happiest to praise. Meanwhile, of the many various master painters in Yangzhou at the time, it could be said that he was the most open thinker, had the clearest style and was the most notable. His poetry, writings, calligraphy and paintings have earned him a place in history. His poetry was innovative and new, easy to understand, and was not restrained by the reserved rhythms of the early Qing. He criticized Wang Wei and Zhao Mengfu for »trying to write poems about real life, but never writing a single line about the suffering of the people.« His Forty Bamboo-Branch Poems Written in Weixian (Weixian zhuzhici sishishou 潍县竹枝 词四十首) also earned him a place in the annals of Qing Dynasty literature. Critics gave high praise to his lyric poetry and believed that »his lyrics were more successful than his poems, holding on to love of the past, yet retaining passion with several letters to family with words that will never be forgotten.« His calligraphy was a mixture of running and clerical scripts, but was neither ancient nor modern. It was bold and uneven, slender, hard and strangely perched. He created his own look, which people called »Banqiao script,« and he himself called »six-and-a-half script.« His paintings had a clear and unique personal style. He was most skilled at painting orchids, bamboo and stones, but he also created paintings of pine trees, plum blossoms and chrysanthemums. While he did not have a wide range of subject matter, his painting style showed a richness in this simplicity. His spirit was focused and his emotions were genuine, often producing an infec-

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tious artistic spirit that found its way into people’s hearts. His brush technique used the straight, long downward pie strokes of cursive script to paint orchids and bamboo. His strokes were powerful and produced a script that was relaxed and open, enabling him to write a lot without it becoming chaotic or becoming scant with too little. He has been used by many people throughout history as an example of calligraphy being used in painting. Generally, Zheng Banqiao particularly emphasized being »true emotions« and »true enthusiasm.« He also emphasized the concept that painting and calligraphy came from the same source, and that they should be combined. He further emphasized that there was a common thread between the lofty qualities of the literati, the moral integrity of the gentleman and poetry, literature, calligraphy and painting. He greatly influenced both contemporary and modern Chinese painting. Most of the works by Zheng Banqiao still in existence are bamboo-and-stone, orchid-and-bamboo or plum-and-bamboo paintings. (Fig. 9.9.16) In addition to Zheng Banqiao, of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, those who served as seventh rank officials also include Li Shan and Li Fangying. After they left their posts, they also worked selling paintings and writings in Yangzhou, holding similar artistic views as Zheng Banqiao and remaining friendly with each other. Li Shan (1686–1782) was also known by the courtesy name Zongyang and the pseudonym Futang. He also used the alternate pseudonyms Ao Daoren, Heimoren, Mutou Laozi and Yibai Shanren. He was a native of Xinghua in Jiangsu Province. During his life of official service, he had been »stripped of his examination ranking twice and demoted once,« and was a trying, perilous experience. Naturally, this was a great blow to his ideals and, in a fit of desperation, the only choice he saw was to »live a poor life selling paintings.« In terms of style, his works displayed strong brushwork as well as a relaxed, carefree feel that was not without self-restraint. His individual style

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9.9.16 Four Friends in Old Age (section) by Zheng Xie, Sichuan Provincial Museum

was very clear, producing paintings that were bold and powerful that did not spare ink and were inspired by nature, which most capably expressed his characteristic »blending of ink into strange and fun shapes.« Li Fangying (1696–1755) was also known by the courtesy name Qiuzhong and the pseudonym Qingjiang. He also used the alternate pseudonyms Qiuchi and Yiyuan. He was a native of Nantong in Jiangsu Province. His rise and fall in official circles made him cold to the ways of the world. He ultimately refused to return to official life and wandered between Nanjing and Yangzhou selling paintings for a living. He was skilled in figure painting and landscape painting, but was especially well-known for his rendering of flowers, insects and fish. In his later years, he also enjoyed painting plum blossoms. Other relatively notable artists listed among the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou include: Wang Shishen (1686–c. 1762), who was also known by the courtesy name Jinren and the pseudonyms Chaolin and Zuomangsheng, was a native of Shexian in Anhui Province, but lived in Yangzhou where

he sold paintings for a living. He particularly enjoyed painting plum blossoms, which he rendered with a light, strong and thought-provoking style. He was said to have »bones of iron and a heart of ice.« (Fig. 9.9.17) Gao Xiang (1688–1753) was also known by the courtesy name Fenggang and the pseudonym Xitang. He was a native of Ganquan in Jiangsu (present-day Yangzhou) and in his early years studied landscape painting with Cheng Sui. He sold paintings for a living. Huang Shen (1687–1768), also known by the courtesy names Gongshou, Gongmao and Juzhuang, as well as the pseudonyms Yingpiaozi and Donghai Buyi, was a native of Ninghua in Fujian Province, but lived in Yangzhou. He was poor in his youth and gave up on official life to pursue a life of painting and became very close friends with Zheng Banqiao. Huang Shen received the most praise for his figure paintings. Most of these were of stories of the immortals and the lives of scholar officials, but he also painted barge haulers, fishermen, wood cutters and beggars—and even people wandering the streets after fleeing a famine, in his painting

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9.9.17  Album Leaf of The Best in the Spring Wind by Wang Shishen, Nanjing Museum

Beggars (Qungaitu 群丐图). His figure paintings used a bold and unrestrained brush technique that captured the spirit of the figures with a technique that had clear characteristics. However, his technique in creating the folds in clothing was too busy and resembled a noose became cumbersome. He did not use classical framing. Gao Fenghan (1683–1748) was also known by the courtesy name Xiyuan and the pseudonym Nancun, which he later changed to Nanfu Laoren. He was a native of Jiaozhou in Shandong Province (present-day Jiaoxian). He once served as District Vice-Magistrate of Shexian, Anhui Province, then later served as District Magistrate of Jixi. While serving in the sub-office of salt control, he was falsely accused of a crime and placed in prison. He was later released an innocent man, but his right hand had been badly injured and he began painting with his left hand. Later, he lived in Yangzhou and sold paintings for a living. His painting technique tended to be regular and detailed, but in his later years it became increasingly wild and

unrestrained with a power and ruthlessness that couldn’t be matched. Bian Shoumin (1684–1752) was originally named Bian Weiqi, and was also known by the courtesy name Yigong and the pseudonyms Jianseng and Weijian Jushi. He was a native of Shanyang in Jiangsu Province. When he was young, he was known for his writings, but was also trained in both poetry and painting. He was especially wellknown in the Jianghuai Region for his splashed ink paintings of geese in reeds. In addition to the artists mentioned here, there were also many smaller schools with their own styles. These included the boundary painting of the »Two Yuans,« the figure painting of Ding Gao, the landscape painter Fang Shishu and the bird-and-flower master Shen Quan, all of whom were outstanding in their respective genres. Yuan Jiang (?–c. 1746) was also known by the courtesy name Wentao and the pseudonym Xiuquan. He was a native of Jiangdu in Jiangsu Province (present-day Yangzhou), but his paintings often

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referenced »Hanshang,« which was another name for Jiangdu. His nephew (some say his son), Yuan Yao, also known by the courtesy name Zhaodao, was born during the late Kangxi era and died after 1778 (43rd year of Qianlong), but exact dates are unknown. The Two Yuans were active in the Yangzhou and area around Zhejiang and Jiangsu for a long period of time, and made their living through painting. However, they were able to combine the regular precision of blue-green landscape paintings with the strict order of boundary painting to create a new form, which became known as landscape-structure boundary painting and was an immediate novelty. The works of the Two Yuans also included many large-scale groups of buildings from mythical legends and historical records. These are all depicted with a clear order that is reasonable and fair, which fully expresses their rich imagination. (Fig. 9.9.18) The early Qing Dynasty was a period of prosperity and development for landscape and bird-andflower painting andm while figure painting could not match these genres in terms of the number of artists and influence, the popularity of portraits by Zeng Jing during the late-Ming and even the formation of the Bochen School of portraiture with its large number of students, portraiture continued to be influential through the early Qing. Other than Zeng Jing and his direct line of apprentices Xie Bin, Shen Shao and Zhang Yuan, others active in figure and portrait painting during this period worth noting included Yu Zhiding, Gu Ming and Xu Zhang. Yu Zhiding later moved to the capital at Beijing, while Gu Ming and Xu Zhang became later apprentices of Zeng Jing. Other portrait and figure painters of not included Gu Jianlong, Zhou Gao and Wang Xi, showing that figure painting in the early part of the Qing Dynasty was not without its achievements. However, later artists like Shangguan Zhou, Wang Shugu and Ding Gao were without doubt more practiced and comprehensive in terms of technique and represented the level of

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figure and portrait painting among the general population. In addition to the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, which enjoyed a period of fame for their new and innovative painting styles, there was another group of artists in Yangzhou and other areas in Zhejiang and Jiangsu that made a name for themselves in painting with their unique style. Shen Quan is one of the more notable of these. Shen Quan (1681–c. 1760) was also known by the courtesy name Nanping and was a native of Wuxing in Zhejiang Province (present-day Huzhou). When he was young, he studied the making of paper spirit offerings with his father. When he was 20, he began learning how to paint and later became known for his paintings of flowers, plumage, animals and noble ladies. Figure paintings like his A Lyrical Interpretation of Madam Pistil (Huarui furen ciyi tu 花蕊夫人词意图) were rare, but exquisite. His paintings of birds, plumage and animals were very lifelike and were known for a flowing brush technique and colors that were heavy and beautiful. For a time, his precision and beauty were unmatched. His nephew Shen Tianxiang continued this style of painting as did Wang Qing, Zheng Pei and Lu Renxin, passing on the »skilled beauty of Nanping.«

3. Court Painting Imperial court paintings were centered in the Painting Academy. One major characteristic of court painting during the Qing Dynasty was its extreme opulence, which was closely linked to changes in the system of the Imperial Painting Academy. The Office of the Painting Academy was established in 1736 (1st year of Qianlong) and was the official agency in charge of court painting and was the first official appearance of the Painting Academy. Before joining the court Painting Academy, artists generally had to be recommended and then be reviewed before they were given a position. Painting at the Painting Academy was under the direct

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9.9.18  The Immortal Island of Penglai by Yuan Jiang, the Palace Museum

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control of a supervising official and works of the »Imperial Visage« or other important subject matter had to be presented as a sample before a full-size version could be made. After the painting was completed, it also had to be »presented and viewed.« Clearly, this was a very strict system. Most of the major projects of the Painting Academy during the Qing Dynasty were completed during the middle period with most of them being produced during the reigns of Kangxi and Qianlong. We will introduce according to the time they appeared The most important project taken on by court painters was the Southern Inspection of Emperor Kangxi (Kangxi nanxun tu 康熙南巡图), which was 12 scrolls in length. After Kangxi took the throne, he carried out six inspections of southern China, personally visiting both the Yellow River and the Grand Canal, which were vital waterways and dike systems that supported the livelihoods of the people, but he also experienced the lifestyles of southern communities. During his southern inspections, Emperor Kangxi personally paid his respects at Yuling in Shaoxing and Xiaoling, the tomb of Emperor Taizu of the Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang, in Nanjing. This was an important political move that helped to alleviate ethnic conflicts and stabilize Qing Dynasty rule. In 1689 (28th year of Kangxi), after his second southern inspection, he issued an imperial order that painters create a painting of his journey as a record of this important event. The official version of the Southern Inspection of Emperor Kangxi contained a total of 12 scrolls made of silk painted with color. The arrangement and composition of the entire work as well as the main landscape portions were painted by Wang Hui, while people, animals and buildings were painted by Yang Jin and other court painters. (Fig. 9.9.19) During the painting process, assistants were sent to various locations to create accurate depictions that »must not lose the realism of the scene.« When the painting was completed, Emperor Kangxi rewarded Wang Hui

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and had originally decided to give him an official position, but Wang Hui had no interest in official life and returned to the Jiangnan Region. Each scroll of the Southern Inspection was 67.8 cm tall and 1,393 cm to 2,612 cm long. They depicted the emperor’s departure from the capital, the towns and prefectures as well as famous mountains and rivers that he passed along the way, as well as his inspection of the Yellow River, the Huai River, and each of the events that he attended until he returned to Beijing. Not only is the scroll work itself massive in size, it covers a huge range of scenes with as many as over 20,000 people. Furthermore, the mountains, rivers and other scenery as well as the social customs and scenes depicted are accurate records. The work is nothing short of an encyclopedia of social life in 17th century Jiangnan. Its completion was a masterpiece in this history of the Painting Academy. While the chief artist in the creation of the Southern Inspection was Wang Hui, the richly beautiful, elegant quality of the work was a clear departure from his normal style. One can imagine that an artist would have to adjust their technique and style to accommodate the preferences of the imperial family in court painting. The smooth and unified way in which this massive work was completed through cooperation between multiple artists shows the efficiency and level of management in court painting. Furthermore, as the largest collective artistic creation in painting history, it also established a basis for the palace-style painting of the Qing Dynasty. Yongzheng was on the throne for 13 years and not only continued Kangxi’s practice in court painting of valuing the arts, he also expanded and developed it. Court painting during this period was mainly made up of portraits of Yongzheng or records of imperial lectures, musical performances or other important activities. Overall, the most outstanding works of this period of palace-style painting included landscapes by Tang Dai, newstyle oil paintings that combined Western and

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9.9.19 Southern Inspection of Emperor Kangxi (two sections) by Wang Hui, the Palace Museum

Chinese styles by Giuseppe Castiglione and portraits of the »imperial visage« by Mang Huli. Qianlong’s reign lasted for a total of 60 years, followed by three years as emperor in retirement. The emperor himself loved poetry, literature, calligraphy and painting. He used effective measures to drive the development of court painting and ensured that his reign was more prolific than any other.

It was during this period that the imperial court welcomed artists like Zhou Kun, Yu Sheng, Zhang Zongcang, Fang Cong, Xu Yang, Ding Guanhe, Jin Yanbiao, Zhang Chengyan, Yang Dazhang, Shen Yinghui and Yuan Ying. Missionary painters included Jean Denis Attiret, Ignatius Sichelbart and Jean-Damascène Sallusti. Hanlin artists included individuals like Dong Bangda, Zou Yigui, Dong-

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hao, Li Shizhuo, Qian Weicheng, Zhu Lunhan, Zhang Ruocheng and Men Yingzhao. Leng Mei, who had left court for a total of 13 years, was once again summoned to the Painting Academy. Leng Mei brought his son and apprentices into the palace and was assisted by others including Ding Guanpeng, Shen Yuan and Yuan Wenhan. It was in this way that the increasingly aged Leng Mei could still produce a massive work like the Forty Views of the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan sishi jing 圆明园四十景). The painting styles of individuals like Giuseppe Castiglione and Tang Dai had also become increasingly mature, which also spoke to the importance of this period. It was in this way that court painting of the Qing Dynasty gathered together many great masters and established a golden age of painting. The most representative of place paintings during the reign of Qianlong were those that recorded events of political importance, including An Imperial Banquet in the Garden of Ten Thousand Trees (Wanshuyuan ciyan tu 万树园赐宴图), Horsemanship (Maji tu 马 伎图), Victorious Pacification of the Four Western Tribes (Pingding xiyu sibu desheng tu 平定西域四 部得胜图) and Ayusi Quelling a Bandit with a Spear (Ayuxi chimao dangkou tu 阿玉锡持矛荡寇图). In addition to these major works that recorded certain events, palace paintings also included a large number of works of the »imperial visage.« Another major work was the Southern Inspection of Emperor Qianlong (Qianlong nanxun tu 乾隆南 巡图), which included a total of 24 scrolls, by Xu Yang, which recorded major events of Qianlong’s journey to southern China, although the quality of this works was inferior to that of the Southern Inspection of Emperor Kangxi. In 1766 (31st year of Qianlong), Giuseppe Castiglione died. After his death, a number of other famous artists also died, including Jin Tingbiao, Jean Denis Attiret and Ding Guanpeng. While the Painting Academy was able to make up for these losses, it was never able to restore the glory of its early and middle periods.

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Artists formed the core of court painting and were divided into two categories: court painters and foreign missionary painters. Here we will discuss these two groups in more detail. Yu Zhiding (1647–1716) was also known by the courtesy name Shangji and the pseudonym Shenzhai. He was a native of Jiangdu (present-day Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province) and in his youth studied with Lan Ying. He excelled in painting figures and noble ladies, but was particularly known for his portraits. He served the court during the reign of Emperor Kangxi and was an usher of the Court of State Ceremony. For a time, he painted the portraits of all famous figures and was called first among artists. In his figures, he mainly used »orchid-leaf strokes« to depict the folds in clothing and refused to follow the old method of Li Gonglin. His portraits used ocher tones on the cheekbones of his subjects for a style that was refined and classically elegant. Records show that Yu Zhiding worked at court for many years and was sometimes called on urgently to quickly paint a portrait. The pressure of this was too much for him and he requested leave to return to the south. Jiao Bingzhen (birth and death unknown) was also known by the courtesy name Erzheng, and was a native of Jining in Shandong Province. During the reign of Kangxi he served as an official in the Bureau of Astronomy. He was trained in landscapes, figures and buildings, which painted with a style that was orderly, fine and clear. (Fig. 9.9.20) Landscape painters that served in the palace included Tang Dai and Dong Bangda. Tang Dai (1673–1752), also known by the courtesy name Yudong and the pseudonym Jingyan, was a member of the Manchu Plain White Banner and was chief director of the Imperial Household, and served the court as a painter. He was trained in landscape painting and initially studied under Jiao Bingzhen, but later followed Wang Yuanqi and was later given an honorary top place in the imperial examinations by Emperor Kangxi. His

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9.9.20 Album of Stories of Empresses throughout History (four selected leaves) by Jiao Bingzhen, Palace Museum

brush use was heavy and he used a deep, yet solid compositional style, deriving much of his style from Song artists. Dong Bangda (1699–1769) was also known by the courtesy name Fucun and the pseudonym Dongshan. He was a native of Fuyang in Zhejiang Province, and during the reign of Yongzheng he became a palace graduate and was assigned to the Hanlin Academy and served as Minister of Rites. He was an arduous student and excelled in both painting and calligraphy. His was skilled at using the dry brush technique in landscape paintings, outlining with textured strokes. He had a re-

laxed refinement and his style was close to that of the Loudong School and the Yushan School. (Fig. 9.9.21) Representative bird-and-flower painters at court included figures like Jiang Tingxi and Zou Yigui. Jiang Tingxi (1699–1732) was also known by the courtesy names Yangsun and Nansha, as well as the pseudonyms Xigu and Qingtong Jushi. He was a native of Changshu in Jiangsu Province and in 1703 (42nd year of Kangxi) he became a palace graduate, joining the Hanlin Academy and serving as a grand secretary. He was skilled in the painting of flowers, plants and insects. He was able to

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9.9.21  Shadows of Sails and Sounds of a River by Dong Bangda, Palace Museum

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9.9.22 Scroll Painting of Flowers (portion of two sections) by Jiang Tingxi, Nanjing Museum

produce exquisite and vivid paintings that were fine and detailed as well as bold, rugged ink wash paintings that perfectly blended both spirit and refinement. The »boneless« painting technique he used in his flower paintings was influenced by Yun Shouping. He used a light ink to trace the outlines of the blossoms, painting the pistils with darker ink for a style that was graceful and bold, but also light and carefree. (Fig. 9.9.22) Zou Yigui (1688–1772) was also known by the courtesy name Yuanbao and the pseudonyms

Xiaoshan and Erzhi. He was a native of Wuxi in Jiangsu Province, and became a palace graduate in 1727 (5th year of Yongzheng), serving as a vice minister in the Ministry of Rites. He was skilled at painting landscapes, but also established his own style in flower painting. Critics said that after the flower paintings of the early Qing artist Yun Shouping, only Xiaoshan could compare in terms of beauty. His style was bright and clean, yet profound and cool—integrating the techniques of Yun Shouping. His Collection of Paintings by Xiaoshan

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(Xiaoshan huapu 小山画谱) discusses the principles and techniques of painting flowers, and was very influential. (Fig. 9.9.23) Other famous artists that should be mentioned include Chen Mei, who was skilled at landscapes and figures, Ding Guanpeng, who was also known for his landscapes and figures, as well as Jin Tingbiao and Xu Yang. The style of these artists was generally characterized by practiced skill and fine details. (Fig. 9.9.24) Foreign missionary painters were also an important influence in court painting during the Qing Dynasty. Of the various missionary painters, the most famous were Giuseppe Castiglione, Jean Denis Attiret, Ignatius Sichelbart, Louis Antoine de Poirot and Giuseppe Panzi. Giuseppe Castiglione (1688–1766) was an Italian missionary from Milan and a member of the Jesuit order. He arrived in Beijing on November 22, 1715 (54th year of Kangxi) and remained there until his death in 1766 (31st year of Qianlong). He lived in China for a total of 51 years and served as a court painter under emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. Among the court painters of the time, he was an official of the third rank and not only could none of the other missionary painters could compare with him, he also enjoyed favor in the Painting Academy that was rarely seen. Castiglione was most active during the Qianlong Period. After over 20 years of study and exploration in China, he had developed a new method of painting that blended techniques from both China and the West, and won great favor with the emperor. Materials like the paper, silk, brushes and pigment that he used were all Chinese, and his choice of subject matter and composition followed the preferences and habits of the Chinese emperor and other traditions, but his technique was a mixture of both East and West. While his paintings distinguish between deep and light colors as well as dark and light spaces, and have a clear three-dimensional quality, the lighting is

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9.9.23 Apricot Blossom and Spring Swallow Zou Yigui, Palace Museum

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9.9.24 Carrying a Shoulder Pole by Jin Tingbiao, Palace Museum

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soft and does not use heavy shadowing or strong contrasts between light and dark. He was able to both create perspective while also highlighting the function of line drawing in creating forms, which resulted in a new expressive energy and more realistic effect. For more than half a century, Giuseppe Castiglione enjoyed the reputation of being »without equal in portraiture,« but he was also criticized by Chinese scholar-official painters, who said that his work lacked a certain spirit. However, the contribution of his work to the history of artistic exchanges between East and West goes without saying. Through the influence of his followers and students, the new style that Castiglione established was captivated people for no less than a century. However, a fact that must be considered is that while this new style that Giuseppe Castiglione represented was greatly favored by the emperor, it by no means became widely accepted. The general criticism of his paintings was that they »lacked any brush technique and, while they were produced with skill, they cannot be considered works of art.« Whether the opinion on these missionary court painters was positive or negative, the fact that Chinese and Western painting coexisted and blended during the middle of the Qing Dynasty cannot be argued. A Portrait of Imperial Consort Huixian (Huixian guifei xiang 慧贤贵妃像) (Fig. 9.9.25) was a work of oil on paper. Huixian was an imperial consort of Emperor Qianlong and her portrait is characterized with meticulous and clear detail. The shape of her face and body are rendered through subtle changes in color, which expresses the high level of skill of the artist in the use of oils. She is seated facing forward, and the contrast between light and dark is purposefully toned down, but the overall style of the work is typical of classical European oil paintings. In general, the middle of the Qing Dynasty was an exciting and rich period of exploration, which

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9.9.25  A Portrait of Imperial Consort Huixian by Giuseppe Castiglione, Palace Museum

not only directed the debate between orthodoxy and heterodoxy in Chinese painting during the Qing Dynasty, it also sparked discussion of comparisons between Chinese and Western painting.

The basic principles and course that these discussions provided for the development of late Qing and contemporary Chinese painting is worth deep consideration.

CHAPTER X  THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCROLL PAINTING AND THE REVIVAL OF CALLIGRAPHY AND SEAL CARVING IN THE QING DYNASTY II Section 1  The Changing Late Qing Painting Scene Under the influence of the painting style of the Four Wangs, techniques and rules of ink and brush use became increasingly important, making painting collections and secret techniques all the rage for a time. The popularity of these collections and secret techniques naturally became a stepping stone and guide to improvement for many students of painting. However, the overly systematized way that painting collections were compiled and the overemphasis on brush and ink techniques easily resulted in students of painting losing their own personal artistic sensibilities. This resulted in a ripple effect of copying classical styles that ultimately had a negative impact. Furthermore, the artistic changes typified by Shitao and Bada Shanren during the late Qing were also continued by many artists. The figure painting of the Qing Dynasty increasingly became the work of artisans, ultimately producing famous masters like Gai Qi, Fei Danxu and Ren Bonian. Achievements in bird-and-flower painting reached another high point during the late Qing thanks in part to the emergence of the Shanghai School. With the end of the Opium Wars and the opening of a port at Shanghai, the Shanghai School rose quickly, marking yet another school of painting connected with commercial development, similar to the Yangzhou School. While continuing the revolutionary spirit of Chen Chun, Xu Wei, Shitao, Bada Shanren and the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, it also absorbed some of the colors and

rules of Western painting, forming a new style that could be appreciated by all. Later, Ju Chao and Ju Lian also extended thier reach in the Lingnan region, having a considerable impact on the Lingnan School of painting during the late Qing and early Republican eras. The Lingnan School put forward the concept of »new Chinese painting,« carrying out bold explorations down the path of combining Chinese and Western styles. After the 1911 revolution, progressive and conservative styles of Chinese painting existed side by side, resulting in a random combination of styles. The 20th century was a revolutionary era for Chinese painting with origins in contradiction and conflict.

1. An Overview of Late Qing Painting One of the most notable characteristics of late Qing painting was the decline of »orthodoxy« due to its inability to change. The Four Wangs were successful in combining the achievements of Song and Yuan painting to create standards for the appearance of landscape paintings. The Loudong and Yushan schools that came after the Four Wangs continued using this style of painting, which resulted in an increasingly monotonous and empty use of brush and ink whether in terms of the strokes used or how trees and rocks were depicted. After the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the schools that followed the style of the Four Wangs still had many followers, but the landscape paintings that the produced were far from rich or diverse. Of the disciples of the Four Wangs, the »Little Four Wangs« and the »Later Four Wangs« were relatively well-known and their works were all done in the standard »Four

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Wangs style.« The »Little Four Wangs« were Wang Yu (Richu), Wang Chen (Zining), Wang Su (Cunsu) and Wang Jiu (Cifeng), and were active around the reigns of Yongzheng and Qianlong. The »Later Four Wangs« were Wang Sanxi (Banghuai), Wang Tingyuan (Zanming), Wang Tingzhou (Kairu) and Wang Mingshao, who were active during the latter part of Qianlong’s reign. However, with their excessive formulaic styles, they showed steady decline. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, successful examples of this style were only produced by a few artists, like Tang Yifen, Dai Xi and Qian Du. Second, the increasing secularization of painting and more works produced by hired artisans also had an especially strong impact on the world of late Qing painting. However, secularization of more production being done by artisans was not new to the late Qing. Previously, work by artisans had relied on masters and rules that they would follow, but the artisans of the late Qing exhibited more »mixed« and »skill« focused styles. Meanwhile, secularization in the past was mainly expressed in the use of folk customs as content, during the late Qing, secularization was reflected more in terms of the lifestyles and aesthetics of the urban classes. This trend can be seen in landscape, bird-and-flower, and figure paintings, with the latter perhaps being the most notable and obvious example. In looking at the content of these paintings, late Qing figure painting mainly included three large categories—folk stories, aristocratic ladies and portraits. Portraits were widely prized throughout the Qing Dynasty and remained so during the late Qing. Palace portraits included those of the »royal visage,« high-ranking officials, the empress, concubines and others, while portraits were also popular among the literati and even common citizens. This reflected the mindset of secular urbanites that focused on themselves and practical life. In terms of technique and style, influence of the »clear and bright« style of Ming era artist Chou Ying can be seen after the middle of the Qing

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Dynasty, carried on by artists like Gai Qi and Fei Danxu. The slender, classical style of Chen Hongshou was also very much in favor, as can be seen by the rise of Shanghai School artists like Ren Xiong and Ren Bonian. Chou Ying, one of the Four Masters of the Ming, was criticized for having the »air of an artisan,« and Chen Hongshou was said to be »technical and skill focused to the point of being imperceptible,« but they both were models of figure painting by artists of the mid-Qing and later, which was precisely another result of secularization. Gai Qi and Fei Danxu were the most representative of the artists that reflected this trend, which is why they have been chosen to represent this period. Gai Qi (1773–1828) was also known by the courtesy name Boyun and pseudonyms Xiangbai and Qixiang, as well as other appellations, like »Historian of the Jade Teapot,« »Fisherman of Hengchi« and »Bard Listening to the Rain.« His ancestral residence was in the Western Regions of China (Xinjiang), and he was a Uighur, though some say he was Hui. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, his grandfather Gai Guangzong served as an assistant commander in Songjiang and was granted residence in Huating County in Songjiang (present-day Shanghai). Gai Qi was born in the highly-educated region of Songjiang. He was skilled at painting portraits, aristocratic ladies, and flowers, but he was particularly known for his portraits of ladies. His Pictorial Ode to Dream of the Red Chamber (Hongloumeng tu yong 红楼梦图咏) from 1816 was the most famous of these. The style of Gai Qi’s portraits of ladies were graceful and elegant. The most famous of those who learned from him included Gu Chunfu, his daughter Gai Yun (Xiaocha) and his grandson Gai Kui. He was especially influential in the Songjiang Region and his style was called the Gai School. Gai Qi’s portraits and Buddhist images were extremely well liked. Fei Danxu (1801–1850) was also known by the courtesy name Zitiao and the pseudonyms Xia-

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olou, Huanxi and Ouweng. He was a native of Wucheng in Zhejiang Province. Fei Danxu was born into a family of calligraphers and painters. After the age of 25, he made a living selling paintings throughout Zhejiang and Jiangsu, residing in a number of cities including Hangzhou, Haining, Shanghai, Suzhou, Shaoxing, Jiaxing and Tongxiang. He was accomplished in the writing of poetry and lyrics as well as calligraphy and painting, but was best known for his portraiture. He mainly used the traditional line-drawing method and used a Western style of shading on sections of exposed skin on the faces of his subjects. This was different from the »boneless« method with multiple layers of relief sfumato used by Zeng Jing of the Ming era as well as the Western method of Matteo Ricci, of dark and light layering. It was used in concert with the structure of the subject and was always changing, which resulted in a blending of ink and color that was graceful, full and subtle, yet still vivid. His brush use was light and soft, while his application of ink was clean and soft, giving his figures a lithe and graceful bearing. None of his contemporaries could compare with his skill in figure painting. (Fig. 9.10.1) For a time, he had quite a large number of followers, which included the brothers Tang Peihua and Tang Peiyuan, his eldest son Fei Yigeng, and his second son Fei Yiqun. These individuals constituted the Fei School. Portraits of ladies by Gai Qi and Fei Danxu depicted the lifestyles and ideals of urban residents and common literati in Jiangsu and Zhejiang during the reigns of Jiaqing and Daoguang. They could be appreciated by people from all walks of life and were typical of the era. For this reason, they are often grouped together by the term »Gai Fei.« Their paintings express the secular sentiment and meticulous techniques that had become the standard of beauty for personal portraits and paintings of aristocratic ladies during the midQing and later periods. They also ultimately drove

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9.10.1 Silk Fan in Autumn, Shanghai Museum

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the further development of figure painting of the Shanghai School.

2. The Shanghai School of Painting from Zhao Zhiqian to Wu Changshuo The emergence of the Shanghai School was very closely linked to Shanghai’s rapid economic rise. In August 1842, after the failed Opium War and the signing of the Treaty of Nanking, Shanghai was part of the first group of trade ports to open. In a few short decades, Shanghai quickly became a commercial center in the Far East, firmly under the control of foreign capital. It was known as the most prosperous city in China, far surpassing the riches and prosperity of Yangzhou during the reigns of Qianlong and Jiaqing. Along with Shanghai’s rapid commercial development, a new school of painting was under formation, adapting to new cultural concepts and aesthetic trends. A large group of calligraphers and painters, including Zhang Xiong, Zhu Xiong, Hu Gongshou, Wang Li, Zhou Xian, Ren Bonian, Xugu, Wu Changshuo and Pu Hua, came to Shanghai to sell their paintings, creating a considerable industry around their works. They were mostly professional painters and their reputations gradually grew and eventually formed the first hugely influential school of painting of the late Qing and modern China—the Shanghai School. According to Yang Yi’s The Ink Forest of Shanghai (Haishang molin 海上墨林), the members of the Shanghai School numbered as many as 700. For the convenience of discussion, we will focus on key artists active in Shanghai and the relationships between them, dividing them into periods before, during, and after the height of the Shanghai School. Of the many famous artists from the pre-Shanghai School period, Zhao Zhiqian is the only one who did not actually live in Shanghai. According to The Ink Forest of Shanghai, he only »visited Shanghai from time to time.« However, his artistic origins, the unique elements of his works, and the influence that he had were inextricably linked to the

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Shanghai School. His considerable influence is the reason that he has always been seen as one of the representative figures of the Shanghai School. In addition to Zhao Zhiqian, other key artists from the pre-Shanghai School period include the »Three Xiongs« and »Two Rens.« Hu Gongshou was also an important figure during this period of the Shanghai School. Zhao Zhiqian (1829–1884), was known by the early courtesy names Tiesan and Zhizi, which he later changed to Yifu, as well as other appellations like the »Cold Gentleman,« »Sorrowful Hut,« »Melancholy-less« and the Laughing Daoist.« His studio names included »Hall of the Two Golden Butterflies,« »Room of Double Bitterness« and »Studio of Looking Up at One Thousand Seven Hundred and Nineteen Cranes.« He was a native of Kuaiji in Zhejiang Province (present-day Shaoxing). In 1859 (9th year of Xianfeng), Zhao Zhiqian graduated from the provincial imperial examinations at the age of 30. Not long thereafter, however, the loss of his wife and daughter to illness caused him to take the name »Sorrowful Hut.« Over the next decade, Zhao Zhiqian devoted himself fully to stone inscriptions, calligraphy and painting. He also traveled to places in Jiangsu and Zhejiang as well as Beijing, meeting a great number of literati and noted gentlemen. He also sold his paintings throughout the Zhejiang and Jiangsu region. In 1873 (12th year of Tongzhi), he traveled to Jiangxi to take charge of compiling the General Gazetteer of Jiangxi (Jiangxi tongzhi 江西通志), which brought some stability to his life. He later also served as district magistrate for the cities of Poyang, Fengxin and Nancheng, in Jiangxi Province. In 1884 (10th year of Guangxu), he died while in office, aged 56. Zhao Zhiqian was not only noted for outstanding achievements in inscriptions and calligraphy, but also for his cultivation in other areas of learning. As an important artist in the early periods of the Shanghai School, Zhao Zhiqian exemplified the traditional qualities and temperament of literati painting.

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He could paint figures, landscapes, and birdand-flower genres, but his style was especially noticeable in his paintings of flowers and fruits, and his choice of subjects clearly went beyond the traditional content of bird-and-flower painting. Anything that he saw in the fields around the villages, he would paint—from cactus, oleander, sago palms and taro blossoms, to Chinese violet, bamboo shoots, radishes and heads of cabbage. This gave his paintings both the temperament of the literati style as well as a heavy secular element. Zhao Zhiqian dared to break with tradition in his paintings. The arrangement of his paintings took strength from being different and he broke with the subtlety of literati painting in the use of color. He enjoyed using heavy colors like red, green, and black, adding large amounts of gelatin that kept colors from running together. The use of heavy colors in contrast with the ink resulted in a beauty and stability with a fascinating combination of great refinement and great secular styling, setting in motion the new style of color use in the Shanghai School. (Fig. 9.10.2) The »Three Xiongs« and »Two Rens« of the Shanghai School refer to four master painters. The Three Xiongs are Zhang Xiong, Zhu Xiong and Ren Xiong. Ren Xiong is coincidentally also one of the Two Rens, along with his younger brother Ren Xun. They were all artists that were active in the Shanghai area relatively early on and had a relatively large impact on the Shanghai School at its height as well as the period afterward. Other relatively famous painters of the Shanghai School during this period also include Hu Gongtao, Wang Li and Zhou Xian. Zhang Xiong (1803–1886) was also known by the courtesy names Shoufu and Zixiang as well as the alternative appellation »Historian of Yuanhu.« He was a native of Xiushui in Zhejiang Province (present-day Jiaxing). He enjoyed collecting throughout his life and was one of the earliest artists to reside in Shanghai. He was skilled at flowers and birds, but could also paint landscapes and figures.

His bird-and-flower paintings were very well-executed and mostly used the double-hook method. The strength of his brush came easily and was very steady, giving it both a carefree energy as well as a quality that was classically graceful. He particularly favored large-scale canvases that gave him the ability to showcase his talents. As the number of people studying painting with him increased, the »Yuanhu School« was formed. In addition to his works that have been passed down, Zhang Xiong was also memorialized in Draft Paintings of Zhang Zixiang for Students (Zhang Zixiang ketu huagao 张子祥课徒画稿) and A Record of Themed Paintings (Tihua ji 题画记). His bird-and-flower paintings had an important impact on the style of the middle and later periods of the Shanghai School. Zhu Xiong (1802–1846) was also known by the courtesy name Jifu and the pseudonyms Mengquan and Diesheng. He was a native of Xiushui in Zhejiang Province (present-day Jiaxing). He already lived in Shanghai prior to the Opium War, where he sold paintings for a living. Zhu Xiong was skilled at painting flowers, bamboo, and rocks, with a confident and robust brush style. He had a carefree air and was an important figure in his time. Ren Xiong (1823–1857) was also known by the courtesy name Weichang and Xiangpu as well as the pseudonym Bushe. He was a native of Xiaoshan in Zhejiang Province. When he was 21, Ren Xiong began studying portraiture with the teacher of his village, later leaving to making a living selling paintings in other towns. In 1852, Ren Xiong came to Shanghai for the first time and, in subsequent years, frequently traveled between Suzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Ningbo. He made his living selling paintings and ultimately settled down in Xiaoshan. Hi died in October of 1857 at the young age of 35. Ren Xiong was capable of both the careful gongbi and freehand xieyi styles, excelling at figures, landscapes and bird-and-flower genres, but his

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9.10.2  Nine Peaches, Shanghai Museum

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figure paintings were especially well-known. He followed the method of Chen Hongshou, but also made his own innovations, developing a new style with a brush technique that was strong yet lively, an air that was refined yet subdued, and a feeling that was lifelike yet highly decorative. This won him the favor of many urban residents in Shanghai and other areas in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. His works laid the foundation for standards of figure painting in the Shanghai School, and left a deep impression on that style. The Grass Hut at Lake Fan (Fanhu caotang tu 范湖草堂图) is representative of his landscape work. Ren Xiong’s son, Ren Yu (1853–1901), who was also known by the courtesy name Lifan, lost his father when he was only four-years-old, but also excelled at painting. He made his living selling paintings in Shanghai, but he had a short temper and was lazy. He only painted when he fell on hard times and needed money, otherwise he rarely picked up a brush. However, he lacked power in his brush and his achievements were not as great as those of his father. In modern painting, Ren Yu and his father Ren Xiong, along with Ren Xun and Ren Bonian are known together as the »Four Rens of Shanghai.« Ren Xun (1835–1893) was also known by the courtesy name Shunqin and Fuchang and was a native of Xiaoshan in Zhejiang Province. He was the younger brother of Ren Xiong. When he was young, he made his living selling paintings in the area around Ningbo, and in 1865 (4th year of Tongzhi) he accepted Ren Bonian as his apprentice. After the age of 40, Ren Xun mainly lived in Suzhou, but in 1887 at the age of 52 he unfortunately lost his sight, which ended his painting career. He died six years later in Suzhou and in winter of that year his son also died. His works of calligraphy and paintings have been lost completely. Ren Xun made considerable achievements in figure painting, bird-and-flower painting, and landscapes. His main inspiration came from Chen Hongshou with meticulous and carefully executed

outlines and color-fill. His figures are strangely classical and imposing and have a fascinating ancient elegance. In his later years he created large vertical scrolls with a brush technique that has a carefree and a hefty, powerful feel. He was skilled at both the gongbi and xieyi styles in the bird-andflower genre with a fresh and refined feel. He surpassed his predecessors in both the power of his arrangement and his application of color. Sometimes, he also used the »boneless« shading technique that let colors blend together for a unique, curious look. Hu Gongshou (1823–1886) was also known by the name Hu Yuan as well as the pseudonyms Xiaoqiao, Shouhe and Hengyun Shanmin, and worked as a calligrapher. He was a native of Huating in Zhejiang Province (present-day Songjiang in Shanghai). In 1861, when the Taiping armies were leading attacks in Zhejiang, he fled to Shanghai to escape the ravages of war—and his paintings gradually grew in popularity. Hu Gongshou enjoyed cultivating future generations of artists, and enjoyed a good reputation among painters in Shanghai. He lived until the age of 63. Hu Gongshou could write poetry and was trained in calligraphy, but he was most skilled at painting landscapes, flowers, and trees. His magnanimous character was uncommon, and he had one of the best reputations in Shanghai painting circles at the time. He had a unique understanding of the use of mid-tip wet brush techniques and developed a clearly unique technique. After experiencing an initial period of growth, important and prolific artists like Xugu, Ren Bonian and Pu Hua began to appear in the 1870s and 1880s, further elevating the status of the Shanghai School. There was a great amount of talent in Shanghai at the time, and artists like Qian Hui’an and Wu You were painters of the Shanghai School that enjoyed their time in the limelight. Xugu (1823–1896) was originally surnamed Zhu and named Xubai. He was also known by the courtesy name Huairen and the pseudonym Ziyang

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Shanmin as well as the appellation Juanhe. The names of his studios were the Temple of Realizing Nothing and the Thatch Hall of the 37 Peaks. A native of Shexian in Anhui Province, Xugu was the Buddhist name he took after becoming a monk. Xugu spent his youth in Yangzhou and around 1850 he joined the Qing army as an assistant commander. After the rise of the Taiping armies, it was said that they tried to turn him to their side, but he fled into the mountains, becoming a monk at a temple in Anhui’s Jiuhua Mountain. After becoming a monk, Xugu did not follow a vegetarian diet or participate in Buddhist ceremonies. He simply occupied himself with his calligraphy and painting, becoming an »artisan monk« for hire. After 1870, Xugu often traveled to Shanghai to sell his paintings. His reputation grew, and he became known for his moral character and his artworks. When his reputation was at its height, he was swarmed by people requesting paintings and he ultimately became overwhelmed, moving away. In 1894, at the age of 70, Xugu was living in the Temple of Guan Yu at the western edge of Shanghai, still selling his paintings, dying two years later at his home. Xugu was able to paint figure paintings, landscapes and bird-and-flower works, but truly excelled at painting fruit, birds, insects, flowers and fish. Of the many artists in the Shanghai School, Xugu was not only unique in his status as a monk, he also established a distinct personal style through his beautiful, cold works. He was very skilled at portraiture and painted likenesses that were very true to form with a shading and brush technique that showed traces of Western influence. The paintings that he was most praised for by later generations were his bird-and-flower works, which were heavily influenced by Hua Nie. However, this influence was expressed more in the spirit and energy of the work, whereas in the choice of subject, arrangement, forms and brush technique, he used a style that was all his own. His paintings often contained squirrels, goldfish, vegetables, fruit,

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white cranes, myna birds, ribbons, plum blossoms, orchids, chrysanthemums, wisteria, lotus flowers, narcissus, peonies and princess-feather, which were rendered from a different perspective whenever possible. This emphasized his desire to discover his own innovative interpretation and give the viewer a new aesthetic experience. The ability of Xugu to maintain a simple and transcendent lifestyle within the secular world was part and parcel with his goals in painting. His painting can be summed up with a few distinct characteristics. First, his use of brush and ink employed a square method to paint rounded strokes, and hid true skill behind apparent clumsiness. Many of his lines were short and angular with a heavy roughness that avoided a refined flow. He used cadenced strokes to render naturally unrefined shapes, resulting in a simple ruggedness that belied its actual inspiration. This was the beauty of his crafty awkwardness. Second, he tended to use innovative forms that were awkward and almost childish, yet very lifelike. Xugu often used square, triangular and oblong geometric shapes to create a kind of rhythm in his works, which expressed his unique perspective in observing certain objects. The uniqueness of these forms was in line with his cadenced brush use, which hid his skill in seemingly awkward strokes and used changes in geometric shapes to portray the spirit of objects. Third, the scenes he created were relaxed and subtle, with natural charm. The forms wrought on his canvas, with their roundness hidden within square strokes and play between skill and awkwardness allowed Xigu to portray a feeling that was relaxed and subtle with a tone that was cool and clear. It revealed a space that left room for the soul to breath and a tranquil atmosphere that was not unrelated to his status as a monk and his studies of Buddhist philosophy. (Fig. 9.10.3) Ren Bonian (1840–1895 or 1896) was actually named Ren Yi, but was also known his courtesy name Bonian and his birth name was Ren Run. He

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9.10.3  Loquats, Nanjing Museum

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used the pseudonyms Xiaolou, Ciyuan and Ren the Monk. He was a native of Shanyin in Zhejiang Province (present-day Shaoxing). In the winter of 1861, Li Xiucheng led the Taiping armies to attack Zhejiang. At the time, Ren Bonian was in Shaoxing, and his father ordered him to flee immediately to Zhuji to avoid the conflict. He came across Taiping soldiers en route and joined them as a minor flag bearer. Shortly after the Taiping armies took Hangzhou they retreated and he left their ranks to find his father, not expecting him to have perished in the chaos. Later, Ren Bonian began a life of wandering, selling his paintings wherever he went. In the winter of 1868, he went to Shanghai again and established a residence there. After 1890, Ren Bonian developed a pulmonary illness, but continued to paint until his condition worsened in 1894 when he was 55-years-old. He died in the winter two years later in Shanghai, with Gao Yongzhi, Xugu and Pu Hua attending his funeral. Ren Bonian made outstanding achievements in both figure and bird-and-flower painting that impacted both the Shanghai School as well as modern Chinese painting. Initially, his figure paintings followed the style of Fei Danxu (courtesy name Xiaolou), but later turned to the style of Chen Laolian, which would play an important role in the formation of his nascent style. His painting technique was also influenced by Hua Nie, which gave some of his works a classical ruggedness with hints of elegant refinement. In addition to portraiture and paintings of aristocratic ladies, Ren Bonian’s most prolific topics were folk life, myths and legends and historical figures. Zhong Kui, Su Wu Herding Goats, Legend of the Three Heroes (Fig. 9.10.4) and Desolation on the River Guan show themes that he returned to again and again. They also reveal remnants of the sorrow and anger he still felt. Ren Bonian’s achievements in bird-and-flower painting were no less impressive than his contemporaries. His early bird-and-flower works were

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9.10.4 Legend of the Three Heroes, Shanghai Museum

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careful and meticulous with a technique that was based in formalism and a style that was substantial and innovative. He would also often paint objects that were rich in folk tradition and easily recognizable to people—like wisteria, peonies, peach blossoms, hibiscus, fruit, vegetables, as well as birds like parrots, cranes, myna birds and sparrows. This gave his works a rich sense of real life. While his landscape paintings were not as successful as his figure or bird-and-flower works, they also had a certain unique quality to them. On the whole, Ren Bonian’s paintings were typified by a unique quality that was rooted in the folk arts, but were also nurtured by the traditions of literati painting, and remained close to everyday life. Pu Hua (1832–1911) was originally named Pu Cheng and was also known by the courtesy names Zuoying and Zhuying as well as the pseudonyms Zhongzhu Daoren, Xushan and Yeshi. He was a native of Xiushui in Zhejiang Province (present-day Shaoxing). In the spring of 1864, Pu Hua traveled to Ningbo and in the same year also went to Taizhou. For more than a decade he served as an official in the county seat of Taiping (present-day Wenling), the grain office of Xinhe, and the Office of the Commissioner of Naval Affairs in Haimen (present-day Jiaojiang)—but he was never entirely suited to the reciprocity of official life or the formalities of a desk job, and was ultimately fired. Later, he took up residence in multiple locations including the Temple of Enlightened Reason in Wenling and the Hall of Three Officials in Xinhe, beginning his career selling paintings. In 1881 he traveled from Shanghai to Japan. In the summer of the same year he returned to China, still utterly alone, and continued his itinerant life as a painter for hire with no set direction. In the winter of 1894, Pu Hua settled down in Shanghai’s Dengying Ward. In 1911, Pu Hua died in his home after a sudden illness following a night of drinking. He was commemorated by Wu Changshuo and others. Pu Hua composed poetry, was trained in calligraphy and was skilled in the painting of flowers and

landscapes, but his paintings of bamboo in ink were his most famous works. He had an uncanny ability to flow through a work from the moment his brush touched the paper for a style that was refreshing, handsome, and carefree. After his wanderings during the middle of his life, he broke free of traditional methods and during his later years, after he had moved to Shanghai, his artistry had come into its own with his brush becoming more profoundly classical and severe, with an energy in his ink that resonated with people. His paintings mainly used an ink wash technique with a full brush that swept across the page. He painted as the emotions moved him, with an abundant energy that had natural charm. His powerful, carefree style shocked the feebleness of the world of painting at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and had a considerable influence on future painters. Zhu Cheng (1826–1899) was also known by the courtesy name Menglu and the pseudonyms Yuanhu Sanren and Juewei. His original name was Zhu Chen, which he later changed to Cheng. He was a native of Jiaxing in Zhejiang Province and the younger brother of Zhu Xiong. After he established residence in Shanghai, his reputation grew steadily and, after he reached the age of 50, his technique was highly refined, casting off the brashness of his youth and developing a softer, more purely refined style. Zhu Cheng was very well known in Shanghai and had many students. His paintings were powerful and strangely relaxed. His paintings of birds and flowers were complete in both form and spirit with a vibrant abundance. Qian Hui’an (1833–1911) was originally named Guichang and was also known by the courtesy name Jisheng and the appellation »Woodcutter of the Clear Stream.« He was a native of Baoshan in Jiangsu Province (present-day Shanghai), while others say he was a native of Huzhou or Jiangren in Zhejiang Province, though he later took up residence in Shanghai. Around 1870, his figure paintings had already become very popular in

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Shanghai. His painting method used brush work that was strong, but had an attitude that was leisurely and elegant, containing some latent elements of the Ming era painter Chou Ying. Unfortunately, during his later years, his style became overly rigid and lacked softness. His figures also became increasingly formalistic without much personality or vibrancy. He published A Collection of Paintings from the Clear Stream (Qingxi huapu 清溪画谱), which was widely circulated. He had a number of students that studied figure painting and portraits of aristocratic ladies with him, with artists like Shen Xinhai and Xie Xianou continuing his tradition. Wu Youru (?–c. 1893) was initially named Wu Jiayou, which he later changed to simply Wu You. His courtesy name was Youru and he was a native of Yuanhe in Jiangsu Province (present-day Suzhou). When the Taiping armies arrived in Zhejiang, he fled to Shanghai where he came in contact with the artists active there. This caused him to become more involved in artistic affairs and he worked hard studying the painting techniques of a number of artists including Qian Du, Gai Qi and Ren Xiong. After a short time, he became known for his skill at figure painting and portraiture, and began selling paintings for a living. Not long after, he also began publication of the Pictorial of the Pavilion of Flying Shadows (Feiying ge huabao 飞 影阁画报). Many of its paintings of fashionable ladies were of socialites from the foreign concessions, and their typical look became the basis for later advertisements. The illustrations he created for the pictorial were set in random settings and their content was diverse. The composition was terse with simple, flowing lines that utilized Western-style perspective to deal with the complex settings. The content he chose was close to the lives of urban residents, serving th social function of teaching moral lessons or critiquing contemporary problems. The painting techniques and the many different modes of expression he used had considerable impact on the development of New

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Year paintings, comics, and illustrated books in modern China. During the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, the society of the late Qing was transitioning into the modern age. Close on the heels of Xugu, Ren Bonian, and Pu Hua, Wu Changshuo was another noteworthy individual in the world of painting in Shanghai. His arrival helped the influence of the Shanghai School extend through to the early days of the Republican era. During this period, active artists other than Wu Changshuo included Gao Yongzhi, Wu Qingyun, Ni Mogeng and Wang Yiting. They became the representatives of the latter period of the Shanghai School. Wu Changshuo (1844–1927) was originally named Wu Jun, which he later changed to Wu Junqing. His courtesy name was Xiangbu, which he later also changed to Changshuo. He also used assignations like Cangshuo and Cangshi, and pseudonyms that included Foulu, Kutie, Laocang, Shizunzhe, Pohe Tingzhang and Dalong. He used his courtesy name exclusively after the age of 70. He was a native of Ji’an, in Zhejiang. Wu Changshuo was born into a scholarly family and in 1872 (11th year of Tongzhi), he was married to Shi Jixian, and they spent the next several years traveling between Hangzhou, Huzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai searching for teachers and visiting friends. Wu Changshuo visited Shanghai relatively often, and had exchanges with many of the great masters there, developing some very deep relationships. In the early winter of 1887, Wu Changshuo once again moved to Shanghai, searching for a home in Wusong. After this, he started to make frequent visits to Ren Bonian. In 1896 (22nd year of Guangxu), he was appointed District Magistrate of Andong (present-day Lianshuo in Jiangsu Province), but within a month of his appointment he left that post to focus on his career of calligraphy and painting. Later in life, he carved a small seal that read »The Month-long Magistrate of Andong.« In the summer of 1904, he met with master

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seal carvers Ye Weiming, Ding Ren and Wu Jinpei in the Hall of Reclining, on West Lake in Hangzhou. They explored the art of carving and creating seals and prepared to establish a society of seal carvers. In 1913, when the Xiling Society of Seal Carvers was founded, he was named the first president of the society. In 1927, Wu Changshuo died of an illness in Shanghai and his influence on the world of painting has remained strong to the present day. Wu Changshuo made considerable achievements in the areas of poetry, seal carving, calligraphy and painting. He began with seal carving and then moved on to calligraphy before painting. This unique artistic journey was the source of his distinct personal style. Wu Changshuo’s painting style can be encapsulated in the following concepts. First, his works had a grand spirit. Regardless of the subject matter, his paintings always made the viewer feel a sense of immediacy. In creating a painting, he emphasized committing emotion to the page, letting himself go, and using a brush technique that was weighty and powerful—which gave his paintings a vigor and power that is truly moving. Second, he emphasized highlighting his individuality. His intense individual spirit pervaded his use of both brush and ink, combining both the composition of his emotions on the page and a language of forms into a single entity, which gave his works a clear personality. Lastly, his abilities in the use of brush and ink surpassed all those that came before him, fully developing a »writing« style of painting that »brought calligraphy into painting« at every turn. Naturally, the charm of the wild, unrestrained and powerful seal script calligraphic brush technique that he used in his paintings became an instinctual habit of some later artists of the Shanghai School, damaging the integrity and quality of the painting—but this is a topic for later discussion. In his use of color, Wu Changshuo also established his own unique style. Most of his paintings used heavy, warm colors. Worth mentioning is

that Wu Changshuo enjoyed using Western reds that had both brilliant color as well as a steadying effect, which served to expand the horizons of the use of color in Chinese painting. His works not only retained a »literary air« that was often lacking in paintings of the Shanghai School, but also had deeper cultural connotations. He did not use raw allegory, crafty language, pedantic elegance or obscure implication. He placed subject matter that the average person loved into a strange and severe composition that was wrought in profound strokes, then applied rich colors and natural spirit to create an entirely new, lasting style that could be appreciated by everyone. This was especially true of his bird-and-flower paintings, which reached an unprecedented level and had a lasting impact on the development of Chinese bird-and-flower painting. It is not too much to say that he was the last grand master of the latter days of imperial China. (Fig. 9.10.5) The post-Shanghai School era also had several artists who also made notable contributions. Gao Yongzhi (1850–1921), Wu Shixian (unknown–1916), Ni Mogeng (1855–1919) and Wang Yiting (1867–1938) were all remarkable. The Shanghai School of the late Qing was extremely prolific with many other artists including Cheng Zhang (Yaosheng), Sha Fu (Shanchun), Yang Borun (Peifu), Lu Hui (Lianfu), Wu Guxiang (Qiunong), Huang Shanshou (Xuchu), Di Baoxian (Chuqing), Yu Yuan (Yichang) and Jing Hengshuo (Ziyuan).

3. The First Heralds of Late Qing Painting in Lingnan By the end of the Qing Dynasty, with the arrival Western powers and the introduction of Western thinking, Chinese society saw intense turmoil and change. Against a backdrop of nearly universal change, the world of painting also saw a wave of unprecedented changes. During this period, the southern Chinese trade port city of Guangzhou saw the beginnings of this new era of change and

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9.10.5 A Tea Set and Wild Plum Blossoms, Nanjing Museum

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the tide of new thinking that integrated East and West and was more accepting of foreign cultures. The fact is that the Lingnan School carried on centuries of traditional Lingnan culture. The creations and works of Su Liupeng and Su Renshan, who were active during the reigns of Jiaqing and Daoguang, were no less impressive than their counterparts from the Central Plains. The artistic creations and educational efforts of the late Qing brothers Ju Chao and Ju Lian also contributed to the beginning of a modern Lingnan style of painting. Su Liupeng, who was also known by his courtesy name Zhenqin and the pseudonyms Zen Daoren, Luofu Shanqiao and Nanshuicun Lao, was a native of Shunde in Guangdong Province. He was the pupil of a very unique folk figure painter and also studied with the »Monk of Luofu Mountain.« Later, he made his living in Guangzhou selling paintings, and never left Guangdong Province. Of the works that he left behind, his sketches are most numerous. In addition to his depictions of city life, they also include historical stories and folk legends. This is especially true of his works that directly show folk customs, the lives of city residents, and the lives of average people, which are vivid and touching with a uniquely Lingnan flavor, winning him great acclaim. Su Renshan (1813–1849) was also known by the courtesy name Jingfu and the pseudonyms Changchun as well as the appellations Lingfeng, Qizu, Qixia, Puti Zunzhe and Xingtan Jushi. He was also a native of Shunde in Guangdong Province. He was skilled at figure and landscape painting, but also was capable with flower paintings. He and Su Liupeng are known as the »Two Sus.« Most of his figure paintings are of Daoist and Buddhist deities, but their appearance generally resembles the pure and simple men and women of southern China with shapes that are clean and precise, which clearly exemplify his unique personal style. He enjoyed using the plain sketch technique and copied classical stone carvings, adding certain

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variations. He used dry brushes and charred ink for a vigorous ruggedness that was vivid and flowing. This brush technique helped him to create figures that were rich with the energy of life and gave his style a certain regional flavor. Ju Chao (1811–1865) was also known by the courtesy name Meisheng and the pseudonyms Meichao, Jinxi and Anzhu. He was a native of Shanxiang in the Panyu Region of Guangdong Province. Ju Chao was given direction from a very young age by his father. He excelled at poetry and enjoyed inscription carving, calligraphy and painting. In 1848 (28th year of Daoguang), he went to Guangxi to serve as an adviser to the surveillance commissioner Zhang Jingxiu. There, he came to know the Jiangsu painters Song Guangbao (Outang) and Meng Jinyi (Litang), who were guests in Guilin. Song and Meng were both well-known for their bird-and-flower paintings, enjoyed stilllife portraits and were skilled in the »boneless« method. Their works had a lively bearing and used bright colors, which deeply influenced Ju Chao. After returning to Guangdong, Ju Chao and his younger brother Ju Lian took up residence in Zhang Jingxiu’s retirement home in Dongguan, Ke Gardens. They dedicated themselves to poetry and painting, sketching real-life scenes and producing many outstanding works that were fresh and vibrant. Ju Chao’s poetry, calligraphy and painting were known as the »Three Ultimates,« and he was trained in landscapes and bird-and-flower techniques, but particularly excelled in flower and insect paintings using the »boneless« method. He had a very distinct personal style. His birdand-flower, grass-and-insect and fruit paintings had a brush technique that was meticulous and exacting. He rendered forms with a precision and faithfulness and used colors that were beautiful subtle. Those who viewed his works savored them like a fresh, thought-provoking poem. Ju Lian (1828–1904 or 1909) was the cousin of Ju Chao and was also known by his courtesy name

Guquan and pseudonyms Geshan Laoren, Geshan Qiaozi and the latter appellation Luofu Sanren. During his youth, he studied poetry, calligraphy and painting with Ju Chao and received instruction from both Song Guangbao and Meng Jinyi while in Guangxi. He produced a great number of works while in residence at Zhang Jingxiu’s Ke Gardens in Dongguan. Ju Chao did not take on many apprentices, and Ju Lian returned to the town of Geshan in Panyu where he built the »Garden of Ten Fragrances« (another source calls it the Hall of the Moon-Whistling Zither) where he took in students, most of whom were from Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian. For a time, he was extremely influential. Those who studied with him included Wu Yizhuang, Zhang Chunchu, Rong Zuchun, Yang Yuanhui, Gao Jianfu and Chen Shuren. Of these, the Gao Jianfu and Chen Shuren became instrumental figures in the Lingnan School. Ju Chao and Ju Lian both took nature as their master, emphasizing still-life and realism. They did not restrict themselves to fixed methods and dared to break from the rules set down by artists of the past. Their works were also typified by a universally appreciated aesthetic style that was fresh, bright and full of life. They began a new style and this set them clearly apart from other contemporary styles and schools, enabling them to establish the modern Lingnan style of painting, setting the tone for future changes in painting in Lingnan. Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng and Chenshuren were members of the Lingnan School that believed in »artistic revolution« and would later be known as the »Two Gaos and One Chen.« While they carried on the transformation that had already begun in painting during the end of the Qing Dynasty, they were mainly active during the early years of the Republican era—but as they were important figures in the Lingnan School, we will provide a brief introduction. Gao Jianfu (1879–1951) was a native of Panyu in Guangdong Province and began studying paint-

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ing under Ju Lian at the age of 14 and became one of his best students. After the age of 17, he entered the Gezhi Academy in Macau where he studied Western sketch technique with a French missionary. He also developed a relationship with Baigai Yamamoto, a Japanese painter teaching at the National Higher Normal College where he first came in contact with Japanese painting. In 1905, he traveled to Japan, living with Liao Zhongkai and selling paintings to make ends meet. While there, he joined the White Horse Society, the Pacific Painting Society and Water Color Society, focusing on his studies of Japanese and Western painting. While in Japan he also joined the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance and was appointed chairman of the Guangdong Chapter. He continued his revolutionary work for many years after returning to China. Later, he dedicated himself exclusively to the new Chinese painting movement. He championed art education and pushed innovation in Chinese painting. He founded the Chunshui Painting Academy, where he took in students and promoted his own thoughts on artistic education, further expanding his influence. His students at the time numbered in the dozens and included names like Guan Shanyue, Li Xiongcai, Fang Rending, Su Wonong, Huang Dufeng and Yang Shanchen. The ability of the Lingnan School to develop a completely new style was in no small measure thanks to Gao Jianfu. Gao Qifeng (1889–1933) was Gao Jianfu’s younger brother and was also known by the courtesy name Qifeng, which he later used exclusively. When they were young, the Gao brothers were very poor and Qifeng was sent to work for another family in order to make ends meet. Later, he studied painting with his brother and at the age of 17 accompanied him to Japan, returning in 1908. While he had only been in Japan for a few years, the impact on his artistic life was considerable. During his time there, he not only studied Japanese painting and absorbed Western techniques, which laid the foundation for his artistic style and creative per-

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spective, he also met with Sun Yat-sen and joined the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, ultimately becoming an important figure in the 1911 revolution. In 1925 he was named an honorary professor at Lingnan University and established an art gallery in Guangzhou, where he painted and taught. The students he trained included Huang Shaoqiang, Zhang Kunyi, Zhao Shao’ang and Zhou Yifeng, who later became the driving force behind the Lingnan School of Painting. In 1933, Gao Qifeng was to be sent to Berlin by the Chinese government to host an exhibition of Chinese art, but he unfortunately died in Shanghai of an illness before he could leave the country. Chen Shuren (1884–1948) was originally named Chen Shao or Chen Zhe, and took the courtesy name Shuren, which he later used exclusively. He was a native of Panyu in Guangdong Province. During his early years, he studied under Ju Lian along with Gao Jianfu, and later married the granddaughter of Ju Chao, Ruo Wen. Chen Shuren followed Sun Yat-sen and dedicated himself to the revolution, taking on the important role as head of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee. He was also a founding member of the Kuomintang, but despite his high position, he never forgot the maxim »always ensure a clean and pure body.« After retiring from his position, he dedicated himself to his art. He was different from the Two Gaos in that he never established a school or took students. He never trained a single apprentice and his style ended with him. In terms of his artistic creations, Chen Shuren was best known for his landscape and bird-and-flower paintings. He preferred using an even brush and a casual hand for a style that was relaxed and natural. In rendering trees and their branches and leaves, he used a technique that was busy but never chaotic. His brush use was completely different from the cadenced and curly style of Gao Jianfu. This shows that, even within the Lingnan School, while artistic views were similar, there could also be great differences in style. Chen Shuren was known for

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his subtle, elegant, and though-provoking works, which always had a sense of poetry about them. This speaks to his dual role as both a painter and a poet. His poems included Various Poems from Guilin (Guilin zashi 桂林杂诗), Collection of Dedicated Love (Zhuan’ai ji 专爱集) and Songs in Praise of Natural Beauty (Ziranmei ouge ji 自然美讴歌集). The Lingnan School was a large group within the rise of the nationalist revolution. Their historical contribution to »Republican history« has not yet been measured, but their artistic convictions were a further exploration of the artistic trends during the waning days of the Qing Dynasty. An important artistic view of the Lingnan School was a blending of East and West, which used Western techniques to change Chinese painting, ultimately resulting in an entirely new form. This is why the Lingnan School has been called the »School of New Chinese Painting.« At the same time, key members of the Lingnan School under the leadership of Gao Jianfu proposed a compromise between East and West, which opposed committing one type of painting to a single master. This caused many people to call it the »Compromise School.« In borrowing from Western techniques, they mainly adopted individual forms from Japanese and European painting. They used less of the traditional Chinese »wrinkle« method, applied some shading and coloring techniques from Western watercolor painting, and emphasized realism and the contrast between light and dark. This enriched the variety in the vocabulary of forms in Chinese painting. Specifically in the creative process, the Lingnan School and its followers mostly used a combination of measured gongbi and freehand xieyi techniques, and gave equal weight to the use of ink and color. Their works are characterized by a beautiful clarity. The Lingnan School emphasized real-life technique in capturing scenes, and imitation of nature. They proposed using a still-life method to capture realism, which is why this school is also known as the »Realist School.« This creative method gave their works a strong period feel and local flavor.

However, it must be admitted that the works of the Lingnan School overly emphasized »full forms,« »application of color« and »innovation.« This resulted in an unavoidable »saccharine commonness,« and currying favor. They were products of a time of revaluation and exploration. This was the kind of naivete that comes with new growth, but it also carried with it an ancient uneasiness with change. The position of the Lingnan School on innovation in Chinese painting was based directly on Kang Youwei’s views on using Western painting techniques to change Chinese painting. It also shared close links with the ideas among capitalist revolutionaries during the late Qing and early Republican eras. The »Three Greats of Lingnan«—Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng and Chen Shuren—all joined the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance during the 1911 revolution and were highly active in revolutionary activities. From their perspective, innovation in art would inspire the people to begin a revolution in their practical lives. In this way, they saw art as an expression of life, and proposed views and practices that claimed art could be used to reflect an era, influence society, foster character, and educate the people. This was actually an integral part of their revolutionary activities. The turbulent environment in the world of painting during the late Qing came in conjunction with the rise of ideas of revolution and calls for mass movements as well as the acceptance and spread of Western democratic and scientific thinking. The specific ways they were reflected in painting were mainly included mass media publications, which could be seen in the appearance of all kinds of pictorial magazines and schools of Western fine arts. After the Opium War in 1840, Shanghai was at the forefront and a center of Western science and culture. Publications that had a view toward revolution began to appear, and gradually began to print articles on Western painting or Western works of art.

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Children’s Monthly (Xiaohai yuebao 小孩月报), which began publication in Shanghai in April 1875, was the earliest Chinese publication to introduce Western art. After Children’s Monthly a number of other publications followed, including World Pictorial (Huanying huabao 寰瀛画 报. 1877), New Painting (Tuhua xinbao 图画新报. 1880), Pictorial of the Studio of the Touched Stone (Dianshizhai huabao 点石斋画报. 1884), Pictorial of the Pavilion of Flying Shadows (1890) and Pictorial of the Pavilion of Flying Clouds (Feiyunge huabao 飞云阁画报). Pictorial of the Studio of the Touched Stone, which was managed by Wu Youru, contained both images and texts. It used Western methods of composition and perspective, including over 4000 hand-painted lithographic prints. Most of the images were of current events and scenes of life during the late Qing, including all sort of new things like airplanes, cannons, military vessels, telescopes and bicycles. This was the beginning of Chinese pictorials. During the times surrounding the 1911 revolution, this type of pictorial publication was even more common and the most influential of these included Times Illustrations (Shibao chatu 时报插图), published in 1904; Times Press Pictorial (Shishi baoguan huabao 时事报馆画报), News in Pictures (Tuhua xinwen 图画新闻), China Five-Day Newspaper (Shenzhou wuri bao 神州五日报) and the Awakening Pictorial (Xingsu huabao 醒俗画报), which were all published in 1907; Pictorial Today (Dangri huabao 当日画报), Pictorial of Enlightened Learning (Mengxue huabao 蒙学画报) and Light Daily News Pictorial (Qianshuo riri xinwen huabao 浅说 日日新闻画报), all published in 1908; Pictorial Daily (Tuhua ribao 图画日报), Call of the People Pictorial (Minyu huabao 民吁画报) and Awaken the World Pictorial (Xingshi huabao 醒世画报), published in 1909; Shanghai Magazine (Shanghai zazhi 上海杂志), published in 1910; New Current Events Weekly Pictorial (Shishi xinbao xingqi huabao 时事新报星期画报) and Democracy Pictorial (Minzhu huabao 民主画报), published in 1911;

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and the 1912 publication of True Image Pictorial (Zhenxiang huabao 真相画报), which was edited by Gao Qifeng. These pictorial publications also included comics that pointed out social ills at the time and emphasized the need to fight. These also included foreign comics that provided Chinese readers with a window of understanding into the world beyond China. With the rise of business, commercial advertisements also began to increase, including posters for opera houses and other pasted advertisements. Many of advertisements collected the aesthetic fashions of the time and produced publications like New Beauty (Xinbai meitu 新百美图). Later, this became the forerunner of a form of »calendar page« that was popular during the late Qing and early Republican eras. This became a unique category of painting that truly represented the integration of Chinese and Western painting during the time. In art education, with the elimination of rote education and imperial examins, traditional academies throughout the country transitioned to schools that used both Chinese and Western methods. Some of these schools also began to hold classes for arts and crafts that included design and painting, but most of these focused on traditional Chinese painting. As translation developed and grew, foreign textbooks on painting were gradually introduce to China and a group of Chinese academics passionate about art education began to copy Japanese and European teaching models, writing new art textbooks. In 1902, the Wenming Publishing House published A New Primer for Studying Painting (Xin xihua tie 新习画帖), A Primer for Pencil Sketching (Qianbi huatie 铅笔画帖) and Pencil Drawings for Adults and Children (Gaoxiao qianbi hua 高小铅 笔画), edited by Ding Baoshu (1865–1935). The Commercial Press also published A Middle-School Primer for Pencil Drawing (Zhongxue yong qianbi hua tie 中学用铅笔画帖) and Beginner and Advanced Pencil Drawing (Chudeng gaodeng qianbi

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hua 初等、高等铅笔画), which were edited by Xu Yongqing. These were the earliest textbooks published in China that used Western teaching methods and served to promote initial development in art education. At the time, schools for the training of teachers also created painting departments and produced an early group of talented individuals trained in Western teaching methods and creative processes. The earliest school to offer courses in painting and the craft arts was the Advanced Normal College of Jiangsu and Jiangxi, established in Nanjing in 1902. It offered courses on painting and handicrafts from the day it opened. In 1905, Li Ruiqing, who was director of the school at the time, established the first major in art education and established the Department of Painting and Handicrafts, which offered classes in Western sketching, watercolors, oil painting, tool drawing and images as well as courses in Chinese painting. Courses in the craft arts were further divided into categories focusing on metal, wood, bamboo and lacquer. At the time, the majority of teachers of Western painting and craft arts were Japanese, and before the school was closed in 1911, it had graduated two classes of students totaling between 50 and 60 people. After graduating, these individuals began careers in art education in Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan, Shanxi and Beijing. China’s first educators in the fine arts, including Wang Caibai, Shen Xiqiao, Li Zhongqian, Lu Fengzi and Jiang Danshu, graduated from this school. Later, the city of Baoding in Zhili Province founded the Baoding Advanced Normal College, which copied the painting and crafts department that had been established by the Advanced Normal College of Jiangsu and Jiangxi. Courses were also taught by Japanese teachers and the school graduated over 30 individuals. The Secondary Normal College of Zhejiang, founded in Hangzhou in 1907, initially opened painting and crafts courses in both liberal arts and technical departments, then in 1912 it es-

tablished an independent department of painting and craft arts. In addition, by 1911 the Advanced Normal College of Guangdong (also called the National Higher Normal College) as well as the Chengdong Girl’s School in Shanghai both established departments of painting and craft arts or related courses. Following the 1911 revolution, even more of these schools were founded. Other institutions that promoted education in Western painting included the Shanghai Tushanwan Painting School, which is said to be where Ren Bonian first encountered Western painting. The school was established in 1852 and was originally part of a factory producing arts and crafts, which cultivated talent skilled in the painting of religious works. Training used a master-apprentice model, and teaching was taken on by French missionaries, who taught techniques such as tortillon, charcoal, pencil sketching, pen drawing, water colors and oil painting. In 1907, the school also published Short Discussions on Painting (Huishi qianshuo 绘事浅说) and A Primer for Practicing Pencil Sketching (Qianbi xihua tie 铅笔 习画帖). Zhou Xiang (1871–1933), Zhou Yuguang (1885–1966) and Ding Su (1891–1969) were trained in this school and later became most effective proponents of Western painting. Zhou Xiang also founded the Shanghai Oil Painting Academy prior to 1911, which also included a correspondence course in Chinese and Western painting, that helped to promote Western painting. The spread and the increase in activity in Western painting at the end of the Qing Dynasty played a pioneering role in the development of modern Western painting in China. Most of the people who had studied Western painting abroad during the late Qing returned to China after the 1911 revolution to continue spreading concepts and creating works of Western art. Rough estimates show that there were over 50 individuals in Guangdong alone and, with the addition of Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Beijing, the number would be even more impressive. Of this group, Zhou Xiang,

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Li Shutong (1880–1942), Li Tiefu (1869–1952) and Zhang Yuguang are the most representative figures. However, they were mainly active during the Republican era and are not within the scope of this book.

Section 2  The Revival of Calligraphy and Seal Carving While the Qing Dynasty prevailed, Chinese painting continued to maintain the traditions of literati painting. This was expressed in the drive to combine poetry, calligraphy, seal carving and painting, which resulted in a revival of calligraphy and seal carving and should be discussed in close connection with developments in painting. This included many famous artists that were exemplars of the »renaissance man.« Prior to the middle of the Qing Dynasty, studies of previous works were still the mainstream in calligraphy. Through the efforts of the court, the scripts of Dong and Zhao became popular and the end of the Cabinet Style signaled a decline in the study of rubbings, or modelbooks. At the same time, the remarkable accomplishments of Qing Dynasty scholars in the areas of classical Chinese and epigraphy provided practical foundations for the promotion of the study of inscriptions, or model calligraphy. Particularly worth noting is that Qing scholars discovered never before recorded stelae of the Han, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties as well as epigraphic remnants that had unique aesthetic value. Seal carving also became an important part of Chinese art, and this was intrinsically linked to the efforts of seal carvers of the Qing Dynasty.

1. The Prevalence of the Modelbook School and Masters of the Cabinet Style Calligraphy during the early Qing Dynasty both retained elements of calligraphic styles from the

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end of the Ming Dynasty and showed potential for a change in style. The calligraphic styles of masters like Wang Duo, Fu Shan and Bada Shanren exemplify the basic stylistic trends in calligraphy during the late Ming and early Qing periods. One of the »Four Monks« of early Qing painting, Zhu Da (Bada Shanren), was also a calligrapher with his own unique style. From books that have been passed down, before the age of 50, Zhu Da was continuing to learn from a wide range of styles. After the age of 50, his script became relatively stable, and after he passed 60, his writing became irregular and the structure of his characters unstable. Toward the end of his life, his writing once again became even and stable with a rounded, weighty and composed feel. This served to further showcase his exceptional creativity. The idea that »the Ming and the Qing favored change« was a precisely a reference to the personal expressiveness and stylistic creativity after this kind of integration and interaction. Zhu Da’s calligraphic style was heavy, but also showed an inspiration that was elegant and transcendent. Most unique were his running and cursive scripts. The size of the works is often irregular, but central and even placement and lines vary slightly between thick and thin smoothly transition, showing his skill at using even the worst brushes and his ability to hide the tip of the brush in his strokes. Zhu Da’s characteristic restrained brush movement, open energy and fantastic compositions expressed his distinct personal characteristics and provided the world of calligraphy with a great deal of inspiration. Shitao was famous for his paintings, but was also trained in calligraphy and excelled at running-regular script. Regardless of whether he was writing regular, clerical, running or cursive script, he wrote with a confidence that was unrestrained and natural, yet also in overall harmony with the canvas. His calligraphic style mainly appeared in strip-style signature lines. As with his paintings, his calligraphy emphasized a personality that

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was »true to the self and only to the self.« He used painting strokes in his calligraphy and there was a unique interaction between his brush strokes and the structure of the characters, yet there was also a subtle sense of order in his lines that expresses a personal style that is stable and thought-provoking. Other individuals that excelled in calligraphy during the early Qing include Mao Xiang, Cha Shibiao, Xiao Yuncong, Chen Hongshou, Gong Xian, Yun Shouping, Wu Li, Gui Zhuang and Wan Shouqi, but their notoriety in painting or poetry often overshadowed their calligraphy. From the works and artists listed here, it is not hard to see the essential elements of calligraphy during the early Qing. First, while calligraphy was used for classic inscriptions as a model, it put greater emphasis on the rise of personal styles in calligraphy, which was especially true in running and cursive scripts. Second, clearly artists of this period had a broader scope of cultural understanding and more comprehensive artistic achievements. Most of them were skilled in both calligraphy and painting, while also having a base in calligraphy and literature. The pure calligraphers of the past were almost nowhere to be found. Furthermore, the rulers of the Qing court promoted the Modelbook School as orthodoxy, but both Kangxi and Qianlong promoted the styles of Dong Qichang and Zhao Mengfu, respectively. This ultimately resulted in the unraveling of the chancellery style. At this time, noted masters of Modelbook School included Da Chongguang, Jiang Chenying, Wang Shishen, He Zhuo, Shen Quan, Zhang Zhao and Cha Sheng. During the reign of Qianlong, four masters of note that emphasized the Modelbook School included Liu Yong, Weng Fanggang, Liang Tongshu and Wang Wenzhi. Da Chongguang (1623–1692) was also known by the courtesy name Zaixin and the pseudonyms Junyi and Jiangshang Waishi. He was a native of Dantu in Jiangsu Province, and in 1652 (9th year of Shunzhi), he passed the imperial examinations

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in Beijing and was made an imperial historian. He was a skilled collector and excelled at poetry and writing, but he was very well-known for his calligraphy and painting for a time, and some of his landscape and orchid-and-bamboo works have survived. In his calligraphy, Da Chongguang’s style sat somewhere between Su Shi and Mi Fei, with very unrestrained refinement. His Seven-Character Poem (Qilü shi 七律诗) in running script in the collection of the Palace Museum reveals elements of his similarity with Mi Fei. Jiang Chenying (1628–1699) also used the courtesy name Ximing and the pseudonyms Zhanyuan and Weijian. He was a native of Cixi in Zhejiang Province as well as a noted author and calligrapher on par with both Zhu Yizun and Yan Shengsun. He was also favored by Emperor Kangxi and known at the time as one of the »Three Common Men.« At the age of 70 he passed the imperial examinations in the capital in which he placed third, and was made a junior historiography compiler. The next year he was sent to prison in connection with an incident during the examination, and died there. His calligraphy was rooted in the Jin and the Tang, taking a great deal of inspiration from Mi Fei and Dong Qichang. He was most skilled at small regular script. He was also skilled at copying ancient inscriptions, striking a balance between his own nature and the sacred order of the classical masters. Wang Shihong (1658–1723) was also known by the courtesy name Wensheng and the pseudonyms Tuigu and Qiuquan. He was a native of Changzhou in Jiangsu Province (present-day Suzhou) and in 1697 (36th year of Kangxi) graduated first in the provincial level imperial examinations, serving as Left Companion in the Southern Study. He was trained in poetry and skilled in composition, with many writings. His calligraphy was on part with that of Jiang Chenying and many people called them »Jiang and Wang.« He viewed the styles of other calligraphers with the idea that he would »eliminate their faults, gather their

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strengths, neither laud curiosity nor praise risk, returning to propriety and adhering to the classical.« Of the famous modelbook calligraphers of the time, Wang Shihong was unique for his strong and quick brush and the open, relaxed structure to his characters. He Zhuo (1661–1722), who used the courtesy name Qizhan and the pseudonyms Yimen and Xiang’an Xiaoshi, was also a native of Changzhou in Jiangsu Province (present-day Suzhou), and during the reign of Kangxi was elevated to a position at the Southern Study. He was granted the status of graduate in the provincial imperial examinations and later again granted the status of palace graduate. He was named a junior historiography compiler and later took the position of compiler in the Hall of Military Glory. He was skilled in the classics and excelled at editing, especially in the collation of ancient stelae. For a time he was very well known, and the famed Yangzhou painter Jin Nong was his student. A great number of modelbooks from ancient stelae passed through He Zhuo’s hands, and he was incredibly knowledgeable of the different structures, brush use and styles of classical masters. This was a great benefit to his calligraphy. Of the four great calligraphers, He Zhuo was known for his rounded yet powerful brush movement and the handsomely elegant poise of his writing. The above mentioned were the four great master calligraphers during the reign of Kangxi, and generally represent the level of Modelbook School during that time. During the reigns of Kangxi and Qianlong, the variety of composed, even small regular script that was used in the imperial examinations was known as the »Cabinet Style.« The emperor believed that this script was more suitable to the »great and peaceful bearing of our imperial court.« For a time, there were a considerable number of calligraphers that worked in the »Cabinet Style.« Shen Quan (1624–1684), also known by the courtesy name Zhenrui and the pseudonyms Chong-

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zhai and Yitang, was a native of Huating in Jiangsu Province (present-day Songjiang in Shanghai). He was descendant of the Ming era scholar Shen Can and in 1652 (9th year of Shunzhi) he placed third in the imperial examinations and was appointed Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Rites. The brush movement in his calligraphy was genuine and poised yet relaxed, which won him the favor of Emperor Kangxi. He became the emperor’s calligraphy instructor, and many drafts for stelae, palace screens and ceremonial plaques placed above the imperial throne were in his hand, which made him renowned throughout China. Zhang Zhao (1691–1745) was also known by the courtesy names Detian and Changqing as well as the pseudonyms Jingnan and Tianping Jushi. He was a native of Huating (present-day Songjiang in Shanghai) and in 1709 (48th year of Kangxi) became a palace graduate in the imperial examinations, after which he was appointed as Minister of Justice. His calligraphy was especially exquisite. Ruan Yuan commented on his calligraphy and praised him as the »greatest master of the dynasty.« He wrote in an unhurried and flowing style, which was especially true of his dry brush »flying white,« which needed no further embellishment and added a power to his brush movement. Wang Youdun (1692–1758), also known by the courtesy name Shiming, was a native of Xiuning in Anhui Province. In 1724 (2nd year of Yongzheng), he became a palace graduate and was appointed as Grand Secretary of the East Hall and served as general director of the History of the Conquest of Dzungharia (Pingding Zhunge’er fanglue 平定准格 尔方略). He excelled in calligraphy and was most adept at running and regular scripts, while also well trained in the seal and clerical scripts. He served at court for over 30 years and was greatly favored by Emperor Qianlong, who ordered a ten-volume collection of his calligraphy to be made, entitled The Method of the Studio of Clear Times (Shiqingzhai fatie 诗晴斋法帖). He also or-

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dered a stela to be erected within the palace. For a time, it was said that his »robes covered the entire world.« Wang Youdun’s calligraphy was known for being clear, strong and upright, with a graceful expansiveness. The structure of his characters is open and natural, and his brush movement is powerful. This is especially true at the center of characters, which are hefty and steady. He created empty and full spaces in the clear areas between lines, which illustrates his unique compositional character. During the reigns of Qianlong and Jiaqing, he followed the trend from the early Qing that favored the Modelbook School, which resulted in more artists following the style than ever before. The most brilliant of these were the four masters of Modelbook School—Liu Yong, Weng Fanggang, Liang Tongshu and Wang Wenzhi. They were considered leading figures in calligraphy of the time, and achieved greater success than Zhang Zhao. Liu Yong (1719–1804) was also known by the courtesy name Chongru and the pseudonym Shi’an. He was a native of Zhucheng in Shandong Province and the son of grand secretary Liu Tongxun. In 1751 (16th year of Qianlong) he became a palace graduate and was made Grand Secretary in the Hall of Embodying Benevolence. Liu Yong’s calligraphy was famed for mixing running and cursive scripts and was highly praised throughout history, considering him to have »collected the best elements of the Modelbook School.« His calligraphy was rooted in the style of Dong Qichang and incorporated elements of other masters, like Yan Zhenqing and Su Shi. It has a rich appearance and strong frame with heavy use of ink, which creates an air of graceful confidence—which was unusual in the world of calligraphy at the time. Liang Tongshu (1723–1815) was known by the courtesy name Yuanying, and the pseudonym Shanzhou, which he later changed to Buweng. After the age of 90, he used the new pseudonym Xinwu Changweng. He was a native of Qiantang in Zhejiang Province (present-day Hangzhou), and

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the son of Grand Secretary Liang Shizheng. In 1752 (17th year of Qianlong). He was specially granted the status of palace graduate and made a Hanlin expositor-in-waiting. Liang Tongshu’s calligraphy changed greatly after the age of 70, and was pure and natural. The larger his characters, the more meticulous their structure. This clearly shows his inherent talent and pure, natural style. Wang Wenzhi (1730–1802) was also known by the courtesy name Yuqing and the pseudonym Menglou. He was a native of Dantu in Jiangsu Province and in 1760 (25th year of Qianlong) he placed third in the imperial examinations, and served as a reader-in-waiting at the Hanlin Academy as well as the governor of Yao’an, in Yunnan Province. He was renowned for his skill in poetry and composition, his musical abilities, and his training in calligraphy. At the time, it was said that »of the master calligraphers of the dynasty, prime minister Liu Shi’an speaks only of daring while governor Wang Menglou dedicates himself to a rich spirit—the heavy ink of the minister and light ink of the ›opener of flowers‹.« It was true that compared with the rich, heavy style of Liu Yong, the beauty and carefree style of Wang Wenzhi was especially notable and his soft, gentle beauty is unique among the four masters. His composition was also open and naturally flowing, while the structure of his characters had a strong lean to them. While he used soft-bristled brushes, his strokes never seemed weak. From his extant works, we can see that most of them have a carefree elegance and flowing energy, which confirms his clear and lithe spirit. Weng Fanggang (1733–1818) was also known by the courtesy name Zhengsan and the pseudonyms Qinxi and Suzhai. He was a native of Daxing in Zhili Province (today part of Beijing), and in 1752 (17th year of Qianlong) he became a palace graduate and was appointed Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat. His regular script calligraphy was known for its careful neatness and sturdiness. Commentary of the time stated that Weng

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Fanggang had a unique state of simple tranquility. His works are clearly expansive and natural, which gives them an extra measure of leisurely charm. However, his calligraphy focuses too much on rules and structure, which causes them to lack the sense of unrestrained transcendence. During the reigns of Qianlong and Jiaqing, other famous artists in addition to the four masters mentioned above included the 11th son of Emperor Qianlong, Prince Cheng Wang Yongxing, Tie Bao, Qian Feng and Yao Nai. However, generally speaking, the fact is that the Cabinet Style was typified by rich and aristocratic airs. Although it had become a major trend, those that blindly followed the form followed the slippery path toward commonness, which resulted in a lack of inspiration in the world of calligraphy. However, it was also the source of a turning point that would soon come—a renaissance in the seal and clerical styles and the rise of stelae studies.

2. The Rise of the Stele School and the Versatile Calligraphers Deng Shiru and Yi Bingshou The greatest contributions of stelae studies in the history of the calligraphic arts were, first, the resurgence of interest in seal and clerical scripts, and, second, the founding of an aesthetic form that was markedly different from Modelbook School and had a simply beauty with a strong »epigraphic« element. These two elements were the basis for the smooth transition into stelae studies, which resulted in an expansion and breakthrough in the expressive forms of the calligraphic arts. The most successful calligraphers who wrote in clerical script during the early Qing were Zheng Fu and Zhu Yizun. Zheng Fu (1622–1693) was also known by the courtesy name Ruqi and the pseudonym Gukou. He was a native of Shangyuan in Jiangsu Province (present-day Nanjing), was skilled in medicine, could carve stone seals, and was especially gifted

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in clerical script. Zheng Fu took his calligraphy very seriously and often dressed formally and sat straight, with solemn attention, like commanding a great weapon. This may have been the reason why his calligraphy was able to have both a lithe floating quality as well as a powerful stoicism. However, while the clerical script is a relatively orderly script, Zheng Fu still managed to incorporate elements of cursive script, which gave the even, balanced characters the feeling that they would fly off of the page. Despite the density of his composition, there was an expansiveness to his works that gave his clerical script a new feel that was light and fascinating. This style became known as »cursive clerical.« Mountain of the Stone Room by Xie Lingyun (Xie Lingyun shishishan shi 谢 灵运石室山诗) is an example of the incorporate of running-cursive strokes, which give the work a soaring quality and clearly demonstrate the style of Zheng’s calligraphy. Zhu Yizun (1629–1709) was also known by the courtesy name Xichang and the pseudonym Zhucha. He was a native of Xiushui in Zhejiang Province (present-day Jiaxing). During the reign of Kangxi he was made an erudite literati and put under review, participating in the compilation History of the Ming (Ming shi 明史). He divided clerical script into three styles—neat and orderly, curious and ancient, and flowing and beautiful. While his calligraphy was not as vibrant or varied as that of Zheng Fu, both of them devoted a great deal of their spirit to their work. They would often meet and compare their works, making important contributions to the rise of clerical script. After the middle of the Qing Dynasty, stelae studies became increasingly lively. In addition to the participation of more famous calligraphers, the theories of Ruan Yuan on »northern stelae and southern rubbings« as well as the »northern and southern orthodoxies« provided a structure for the theory of stelae studies. Nascent forms of stelae studies, which began with disparate, individual explorations and applications, had already

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transitioned to a wave of change that was supported by theoretical and practical foundations. With this, Qing Dynasty calligraphy entered a new chapter, dominated by stelae studies. Representative masters that were successful in stelae studies during the middle of the Qing Dynasty were closely linked to the prosperous commercial center of Yangzhou. Jin Nong and Zheng Xie were two important members of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou. Slightly later, Deng Shiru also became a frequent visitor to Yangzhou, and Yi Bingshou became governor of Yangzhou. Ruan Yuan and Bao Shichen, who developed the theoretical system for stelae studies, were also familiar guests in Yangzhou. This apparent coincidence actually belies the important role that Yangzhou’s social and cultural atmosphere played in popularizing stelae studies. Jin Nong’s calligraphy and painting had an extremely personal style. He was skilled at several forms of calligraphy, including clerical, regular, and running script—but his clerical script was his greatest success. Jin Nong’s most innovative move was to blend the clerical script of the Han-era and regular script of the Wei-era, which resulted in a unique form that was known as »flat-brush script.« This »flat-brush script« used ink that was as dark as lacquer and a very dense structure. It employed a square, even brush technique that used thick horizontal strokes and thin vertical strokes with distinct corners. It was also characterized by generous space between the characters, but tight lines. The empty space between characters in Jin Nong’s »flat-brush script« created an intense contrast between dark and light. There were sharp traces of the brush tip where the strokes began and ended, which was shocking and almost offensive in calligraphic circles of the time. His clerical script remains square and straight throughout with a resolute and decisive air, while his regular script conveys beauty through awkwardness that is pure and innocent. His richly varied forms clearly show an aspiration that was

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raw yet inspired. His running script mixed elements of both regular and clerical scripts into a single form that has a rhythm all its own. Zheng Xie, who along with Jin Nong was also a member of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, also had a unique style of calligraphy. His calligraphy blended elements of regular, cursive, seal and clerical scripts, but he generally worked in the clerical form and incorporated elements of orchid and bamboo painting into his calligraphy. His method of brush movement was extremely flexible, with all of his brush strokes demonstrating aspects of regular or running scripts, or even the left and right falling strokes of the clerical form. Some of his strokes fluttered like bamboo leaves or floated like elegant orchids, presenting themselves from any number of angles and varying in the space between each other, which creates a novel and usual compositional form that gives the viewer an entirely new experience. Zheng Xie described himself as »a halfway calligrapher,« and others said that his works were »like broken paving stones.« Many examples of Zheng Xie’s works remain and clearly show his bizarre and bold works with their naive and unaffected style. The calligraphy of other members of the Eight Eccentrics is also worth note. The fact that Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou were well-versed in poetry, calligraphy, painting and seal carving meant that they emphasized the blending of different forms. Their spirit of nonconformity and setting new standards clearly pervades their calligraphic works. In addition to the masters of the Yangzhou School, there were others during the middle of the Qing Dynasty who had bold styles and represented the renaissance in calligraphy. These were Deng Shiru and Yi Bingshou. Deng Shiru (1743–1805) was originally named Deng Yan, but in order to avoid connection with the posthumous name of Emperor Jiaqing (Yongyan), he used his courtesy name, which he later changed to Wanbo and used the pseudonym Bais-

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9.10.6  Screen with Four Praises of Yu Xin in Seal Script (one panel), Shanghai Museum

hanren. He was a native of Huaining in Anhui Province. He was very dedicated to his artistic studies, waking at dawn every day to grind ink until it overflowed and only slept very late, and maintained this routine year-round. He copied the Stone Drum Scripts (Shiguwen 石鼓文) and other seal script inscriptions hundreds of times. He wrote twenty copies of the Discussion on Writing and Explanations of Characters (Shuowen jiezi 说文解字), and copied famous clerical script models from Han Dynasty stelae. He also collected a large number of characters from bells, bronze vessels, roof tiles and stone inscriptions.

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After this difficult period of study, Deng Shiru’s calligraphy saw great improvement, and his reputation began to quickly spread. He was famed for his small seal script, also known as »jade ligament« seal script. Structurally, his characters were longer than usually and did not follow the existing form of the »jade ligament« style and instead approached seal script with a clerical style with a light and flexible touch of the brush, which broke the stolid, rigid tradition of the script. The fullness of his initial strokes and lifting of the brush, the correlation between return strokes and the falls of the brush as well as the collection of the tip when the brush leaves the paper in straight vertical direction are all techniques unique to Deng Shiru’s seal script. It is with this vivid structure and natural brush movement that he was able to break the long-standing problems with seal script calligraphy and achieve breakthroughs in the seal script of the Qing Dynasty (Fig. 9.10.6). Deng Shiru’s clerical script had a richness and strong structure that was handsome and pure. The structure of his characters was generally tight, and he mostly used the mid-tip of his brush, flattening it for horizontal strokes and when executing piestrokes with his brush tip down. This displays a strong, bold personal style that is standard for Deng Shiru’s clerical form. Deng Shiru’s regular script had a structure that was careful and steady, and a relaxed shape. It contained a subtle element of clerical script and borrowed directly from the brush styles of the Northern Wei. His running-cursive script was also extremely unique and could blend both unrestrained empty space with a slow, classical ruggedness. This script also incorporated elements of seal and clerical brush technique, which resulted in a refined technique that was still fresh and raw. Deng Shiru was a milestone in the development of Qing Dynasty calligraphy. All of the strengths of the stelae studies movement in terms of brush technique, structure and style were expressed in their fullest form in his works. His creativity was

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apparent even when using long-tipped goat bristle brushes. The preference for long-tipped goat bristle brushes among later calligraphers is closely related to Deng Shiru’s preference for them. It is not a lie to say that Deng Shiru was the »founder« of Qing Dynasty stelae studies.« Yi Bingshou (1754–1815) was also known by the courtesy name Zusi and the pseudonyms Moqing and Mo’an. He was a native of Ninghua near Tingzhou (present-day Changting), in Fujian Province. He graduated a palace graduate in 1789 (54th year of Qianlong) and was appointed as a secretary at the Ministry of Justice, later becoming vice-director. Still later he served as governor of both Huizhou in Guangdong Province and Yangzhou. He was well known for his diligent governance and love for the people. He was trained in various styles of calligraphy including seal, clerical, regular and running scripts, but made his greatest achievements in clerical script. He became known as the head of the »Eight Clerical Script Masters« of the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods. He incorporated the brush style of Han era clerical script into his own style, but ultimately developed his own technique and became synonymous with Deng Shiru as one of the giants of stelae studies. The clerical script of Yi Bingshou has a clearly unique personality. His strokes are straight and even, forming characters that are full, square and upright. He also purposefully weakened the left and right strokes as well as the »silkworm-head, swallow-tail« look that is typical of clerical script. This resulted in a visual effect that is hefty and square. He had a strangely unique artistic imagination that enabled him to build his own bold, new artistic world on the foundations of Han-era stelae, which gives his works the charm of pure, classical elegance. In addition to figures like Jin Nong, Deng Shiru, and Yi Bingshou, who were key in the rise of stelae studies, there were also other contemporary calligraphers that each had their own strengths. These included individuals like Ding Jing, Qian

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Dian, Gui Fu, Chen Hongshou, Bao Shichen and Ruan Yuan. After the middle of the Qing Dynasty there were more and more people who followed the style of northern stelae. There were also major archaeological discoveries that created new opportunities for calligraphy to advance and expand. In 1898 (24th year of Guangxu), fragments with oracle bone script were discovered at Yinxu near Anyang in Henan Province. Five years later, the publication of Sun Yirang’s Selected Examples of Oracle Bone Inscriptions (Qiwen juli 契文举例) and the discovery of bamboo and wooden slats from the Han and Wei eras further expanded understanding. Regardless of the style of calligraphy, this period saw a huge increase in the amount of original examples of writing that could be referenced. Calligraphy based on oracle bone inscriptions also began to appear. The world of calligraphy maintained the momentum achieved during the middle of the Qing Dynasty and built upon it. This period saw the flowering of many styles, and the appearance of many great masters, including outstanding talents like He Shaoji, Wu Xizai, Yang Qinsun, Weng Tonghe, Kang Youwei, Zhao Zhiqian, and Wu Changshuo. He Shaoji (1799–1873) was also known by the courtesy name Zizhen and the pseudonyms Dongzhou and Yuansou. He was a native of Daozhou (present-day Daoxian) in Hunan Province. In 1836 (16th year of Daoguang) he became a palace graduate and was appointed junior historiography compiler and later an assistant surveillance commissioner in Sichuan, where he was selected for his skills. Later, he taught at the Shuoyuan Academy in Jinan, the Chengnan Academy in Changsha and the Xiaolian Hall in Zhejiang. He also managed the Yangzhou Press and Suzhou Press, overseeing editing work on The Annotated Thirteen Classics (Shisanjing zhushu 十三经注疏), published by the Yangzhou Press. His calligraphy followed styles as far back as the large seal script of the Zhou, Qin and Han dynasties and through the stelae of the

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9.10.7  Screen with Poems on Gardens and Lakes of Yangzhou in Running Script, Shanghai Museum

Six Dynasties and Northern Wei. He gathered over a thousand examples and copied them faithfully, gradually developing his own style. His cursive script was also the best of his contemporaries. He once said of himself, after having studied calligraphy for over 40 years, tracing the origins of seal script, his regular script was based on the northern dynasty with the addition of seal elements for a true regular script. In this way, he used the foundations of seal and clerical forms and the framework of Yan Zhenqing’s style to develop a style that is characterized by a full, blended character. He Shaoji was trained in all types of script and had a very unique look. His regular script was structured based on Yan Zhenqing with the framework of seal and clerical scripts, adding to it a full,

smooth effect. His brush use was practiced and efficient, and his clerical script borrowed heavily from Han-era stelae with a square shape, but rounded energy. He often spread ink further on the page and used heavy shaking motions with his brush for a look that is classical, profound, and powerful. He was able to produce images that evoked a certain spirit, just as he intended. He Shaoji’s seal script was mostly based on the methods used on bronze vessels from three dynasties. It both differed from »jade ligament« seal script and departed from the method used by Deng Shiru, of using clerical techniques in seal script, for a clearly unique style. (Fig. 9.10.7) Zhao Zhiqian, the famous member of the Shanghai School of Painting, also had a very unique

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style in regular, running, seal and clerical scripts, creating a new calligraphic style that was called »Northern Wei script.« This so-called »Northern Wei script« was based on the styles used on multiple Northern Wei stelae. It produced a script that had a square and upright form that was strong and lush, that he then rendered with »a base of Yan Zhenqing and the face of the Wei style.« This unique style was Zhao Zhiqian’s most outstanding contribution to the calligraphic arts. His seal

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script blended bronze inscriptions and stone carvings from three dynasties, which he mixed with brush styles of clerical script and northern stelae, also breaking free of the »jade ligament« format of seal script. (Fig. 9.10.8) Yang Shoujing (1839–1915) was also known by the courtesy name Xingwu and the pseudonym Linsu. He was a native of Yidu in Hubei Province, and in 1862 (1st year of Tongzhi) he passed the provincial imperial examinations, dedicating himself to the

9.10.8 Screen with Calligraphy in Four Styles, Shanghai Museum

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9.10.9  Winds of Change in Running Script, Shanghai Museum

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research of history and geography. He was one of the most famous scholars and calligraphers of the late Qing. He was trained in all styles of calligraphy, but his running script was where he achieved the greatest success. This can be seen in his brush movement, which borrowed from the rugged quality of the Northern Wei, while his composition and arrangement was based on the works of Su Dongpo and Huang Shangu. By combining the rough simplicity of the Northern Wei with the sensibilities of Song masters, he achieved free state of unconstrained expression and has been called one of the great masters of late Qing stelae studies. The famous late Qing painter and seal carver Wu Changshuo was also skilled at calligraphy, with seminal works in seal, clerical, regular and cursive scripts—but his seal script was the most wellknown. He had studied the small seal scripts of Qin Dynasty works like the Stone Carvings of Taishan (Taishan keshi 泰山刻石) and the Stone Carvings of Langyatai (Langyatai keshi 琅琊台刻石), then during his middle years dedicated himself to stone-drum script. It was not until he was 60 that he entered a state that was natural and unrestrained. It was also the time when he expanded and improved his brush technique in stone-drum script. Even today, many students of calligraphy practice Wu Changshuo’s copies of the stonedrum script texts. Kang Youwei (1859–1927) was a leader in the reformist movement during the Hundred Days’ Reform and a well-known commentator on calligraphy during the late Qing. As a famous political thinker, he was also well-trained in calligraphy and had a style that was unrestrained and open. His brush use was heavy and flowing with a structure to his characters that was classical and strong, producing a unique personal style. He believed in the principle that »the ultimate goal of calligraphy is to move the human spirit,« and this was not limited to any one master or method. (Fig. 9.10.9) In addition to the artists mentioned above, there was another group of individuals that contrib-

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uted to the development of calligraphy in the late Qing. Wu Xizai (1799–1870) was a calligrapher, painter and seal carver. An apprentice of Bao Shichen, he was trained in all scripts and renowned throughout China. His seal and clerical scripts followed the style of Deng Shiru with a structure that was carefully wrought, full and solid. His running and regular scripts were close in style to that of Bao Shichen with a warm, graceful strength. Weng Tonghe (1830–1904) was also known by the courtesy name Shuping and the pseudonym Songchan. He was a native of Changshu in Jiangsu Province and in 1856 (6th year of Xianfeng), he placed first in the imperial examinations in Beijing. He served as teacher to emperors Tongzhi and Guangxu, as well as served as Assistant Grand Secretary and Minister of Revenue. He was skilled in running-regular script and clerical script. Li Wentian (1834–1895), Shen Zengzhi (1850–1922), Yang Qinsun (1813–1881), Yang Xian (1819–1896), Yu Yue (1821–1906), Wu Dacheng (1835–1902) and Li Ruiqing (1867–1920) were other notable calligraphers of the time. Still others include the accomplished Mei Tiaoding, who probed the works of the Two Wangs; Tao Ruixuan, who created purely stelae-based works; Gu Yinyu, who excelled at imitating Mi Fei; and Luo Zhenyu, who was known for his couplets in oracle bone script. Each of these artists carved out their own niche during this period. Together, they built a world of calligraphic art during the Qing Dynasty that was rich and varied.

3. The Art of Seal Carving: Cheng Sui and Ding Jing Following the Song and the Yuan, the development of literati aesthetics became increasingly influential in calligraphy, painting and seal carving. Literati painting called for the integration of poetry, calligraphy, painting and seal carving into a single, holistic form. This, in addition to the competitive use of seals by collectors, created the necessary conditions for the development of

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seals from a practical tool to a fanciful art. Wang Mian of the Yuan Dynasty and Wen Peng of the Ming used a wide variety of stones to carve seals, which they designed and carved themselves. The contribution of this »era of stone seals« must not be overlooked. Discourses on seal carving by the late-Ming scholar Zhu Jian clearly proposed the concept of »literati seals,« which served as a major requirement for the art. Wen Peng’s poetry, calligraphy and paintings all followed the style of his father Wen Zhengming. His seals were characterized by a quick, clean carving technique and careful, balanced composition. The most unique aspect of his work was his »round pearl script« seals that incorporated small seal script forms. They were exquisite and elegant. and continued the literati style that was typical of the Wen family tradition. This established a set of basic rules, from theory to application. He Zhen, who was a close confidant of and followed the same master as Wen Peng, also shared a similar understanding as Wen. However, he later created his own style that used a side signature carving technique, using a single-knife method, which had not been seen in the works of classical scholars. However, both the Wumen School of Wen Peng and the Wan School of He Zhen belonged to the same genre of literati seal carving. Whether in a theoretical sense or a practical sense, they both had important impact on the development of seal carving during the early Qing. Important seal carvers at the transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties included Hu Zhengyan, Cheng Sui, Jiang Haochen, Wu Jin, Xu Rong, Ding Yungong, Gu Ling, Ding Liangmao, Wu Xiansheng, Zhang Zaixin and Lin Gao. Not only were there a great number of artists, they all made important accomplishments. Hu Zhengyan (c.  1584–1674) was also known by the courtesy name Yuecong and the pseudonym Shizhu Zhuren. He was a native of Xiuning in Anhui Province, but lived most of his life in Jinling (present-day Nanjing). He was a capable calligra-

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pher and skilled painter. Works by Hu Zhengyan include Seal Collections of the four volume Studio of Ten Bamboos (Shizhuzhai yin cun 十竹斋印存) and the two volume work Seal and Cursive Scripts of Master Hu (Hushi zhuan cao 胡氏篆草). He was considered a master seal carver during his life. Hu Zhengyan’s seal carving was famous throughout China for its stable, careful and even style, which followed the same path as the even, clean style of He Zhen. While he is said to have not had the brashness and boldness of He Zhen, he followed his own feelings and achieved a stable, honest style that was very popular for a time. Lin Gao (1658- ?) was also known by the courtesy names Hetian and Hedian, which he later changed to Xuetian. He was a native of Putian in Fujian Province, but lived most of his life in Changshu. His carvings were meticulously intricate and beautifully flowing with a strong calligraphic quality. This style originated with the careful, ornate style of the Ming Dynasty artist Wang Guan. His style spread widely through western Zhejiang and was known as the Lin School. He also published the work Seal Collections from the Studio of the Treasured Inkstone (Baoyanzhai yinpu 宝砚斋印谱). Others also included him as part of the Yangzhou School, along with Wang Guan and Shen Shihe. Lin Gao’s careful, upright carving technique and elegantly meticulous quality was greatly favored by literati painters. Yun Shouping, Wang Hui, Wu Li, Ma Yuanyu, Yang Jin, Xu Qianxue, Wang Hongxu and Gao Shiqi all used seals that were the work of his hands. Similar in style to Lin Gao, Wu Xiansheng used the same carving techniques as Lin, but surpassed him in elegance and ease. The number of seal carvers from this period was massive. In the early-Qing, the three volume work Seal Carver Biographies (Yinren zhuan 印人传) compiled by Zhou Lianggong recorded a total of 64 master carvers in the period stretching between the Ming and Qing dynasties. The book also included the names of an additional 61 seal carvers, speaking to the pro-

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liferation of the art at the time. However, in the competitive environment of the early Qing, the person that deserves the most attention is the incomparable Cheng Sui, who drove the integration of poetry, calligraphy, painting and seal arts. In the history of seal carving, the rise of so many genres during the Ming and Qing resulted in a number of different interpretations as to the distinction between the Wan School and the Hui School. However, regardless of which terminology used, the fact that Cheng Sui was considered a master craftsman of the age is commonly recognized and beyond doubt. Early on, Cheng Sui studied under the famous scholars Huang Daozhou and Yang Tinglin, which deeply influenced his academic life and personal character. His life was characterized by a hatred for cruelty and a passion for making friends of morally righteous people. His artwork allowed him to mix with nobles and officials, but he ended his life a common man. As a loyalist artist, his poetry, writings, calligraphy and paintings as well as his seals were important ways of expressing his emotions and convictions. With this knowledge, it is not difficult to understand the addition of elements of stone seals into his landscape paintings and calligraphic brush technique as well as the unique spirit of change in his seal carving. Cheng Sui was a consummate collector of classical calligraphy, paintings and bronze and jade objects. This broad cultivation and unique vision contributed greatly to inspiring his seal carvings. Cheng Sui’s baiwen, or »white character« seals generally used the rugged, rich style of cast Hanera seals, using full strokes and a graceful bearing. His »Seal of Xu Xuling« (Xu Xuling yin 徐旭 龄印) is a prime example of his intaglio style. Examining his works from the three key elements of seal carving—carving technique, composition and text—Cheng Sui »worked to change the old habits of Wen and He.« This meant making the stiff flexible, the shallow deep, and the work of others into one’s own style, ultimately integrat-

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ing the methods of carving, composition and text into one organic whole. In describing the artistry of Cheng Sui’s seals, this can be summed up in a single phrase: »Express one’s own intention.« Both his large seal and Qin era small seal scripts were able to avoid the traps of their being too soft or too hard. His composition flowed easily and his characters had a natural structure, while his light and relaxed carving technique accented the energy of the strokes. This gave his works a rhythm that approached the natural feel of calligraphy. Cheng Sui’s ability to express his own intention through his works summarized and surpassed the world of seal carving as it had existed since Wen Peng. The changes he wanted to make to »old habits« included those that were inherited, but also highlighted the breakthroughs he had made. This ensured that Cheng Sui’s reputation grew and the world of seal carving recognized him. It is worth noting that while Cheng Sui had his beginning in the Wan School, he lived for a long time in in Nanjing and spent subsequent decades in Yangzhou, both of which were important political, economic and cultural centers at the time. His presence in these cultural centers meant that not only was his taste and moral character were highly revered, his poetry, calligraphy, paintings and seals were praised—and as a master of seal making, he had considerable influence. Cheng Sui’s second son, Cheng Yixin, also known by the courtesy name Wansi, continued his father’s work and dedicated himself to seal carving. Of the many master seal carvers of the early Qing Dynasty, artists like Xu Rong and Zhang Zaixin not only had their own unique techniques and styles, they more importantly wrote books and published discourses that took seal carving techniques to a new level of development, giving them an important role in the founding of schools and styles Xu Rong (?–1687) was also known by the courtesy name Shifu and pseudonyms Mogong and Yudaoren. His ancestral home was Beijing, but he later changed his residence to Rugao in Jiangsu Prov-

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ince and served as a proofreader in the Fuzhou Prefectural Office. He had studied all six categories of writing, but was especially skilled in seal script. He was also trained in landscape painting, and his written works include An Introduction to Discussions on Seal Carving (Shuozhuan yinlue 说 篆印略), the four volume work Seal Collections of the Valley Garden (Guyuan yinpu 谷园印谱), and Seal Collections of Light-Filled Hall (Yunguanglou yinpu 韫光楼印谱), named after his own studio. At a time when the Zhe School had not yet come into its own, Xu Rong’s seals were very popular throughout the regions surrounding the Yangtze River, with people calling him the founder of the Rugao School. Xu Rong reached a very high level in his seal carving with a meticulous mind and strict hand. He borrowed from the methods of the Qin and Han eras, but the structure and arrangement of his works were innovative with a carving technique that was unique for its time. One of his most unique techniques was to use different variations of seal script for each character when carving zhuwen or »red character« seals, which was an unexpected change for many. One rare aspect of Xu Rong’s abilities was his study of seal carving, with a number of works on the subject including Discussions on Seal Script (Shuozhuan 说篆), An Introduction to Seals (Yinlue 印略), A Reflection on Seals (Yinjian 印鉴) and A Sea of Seal Script (Zhuanhai 篆海). Among his numerous works, perhaps worth mentioning is his summaries and his development of the technical theories of seal carving. He proposed »thirteen methods of knife use« for seal carving, which enriched the technical theories of knife technique. In the world of seal carving of the early Qing Dynasty, which was in a period of intense transition, Xu Rong’s systematic description of the 13 methods for carving techniques was an important practical advancement in the field. Zhang Zaixin (1651–1738) was also known by the courtesy names Maojun and Tugong, as well as

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the pseudonym Baiting. He was a native of Anqiu in Shandong Province, and in 1686 (25th year of Kangxi) was selected to participate in the imperial examinations. He also studied methods in seal carving with Zhou Lianggong. His considerable studies combined with the direction of a renowned teacher helped his technique mature relatively early on. Zhang Zaixin had a special appreciation of scripts from the Qin and Han dynasties, and spent a considerable time on a number of writings, which included Commentaries on the Clerical Method (Lifa suoyan 隶法琐言), Fascinating Characters of Han Clerical Script (Hanli qizi 汉隶奇字), Commentaries on Paintings and Stones (Huashi suoyan 画石琐言) and Methods of the Heart in Seal Carving (Zhuanyin xinfa 篆印心法). He also produced works on the study of seal carving, including A Collection of Seals from the Hall of Viewing Beauty (Wanghualou yinhui 望华楼印汇), Seal Collections from the Pavilion of Mutual Impression (Xiangyinxuan yinpu 相印轩印谱) and Lost Drafts from the Hall of Hidden Profoundness (Yinhoutang yigao 隐 厚堂遗稿). His Methods of the Heart in Seal Carving was written when he was at the advanced age of 88. The entire work is divided into six chapters: »Methods for Recognizing Characters«; »Methods for Coordinating Composition«; »Methods for Tracing in Ink«; »Methods for Knife Use«; »Methods for Finishing«; and »General Commentary.« The chapter titled »General Commentary« discussed the protection of seals and their application. His language is clean and concise. Not only does he describe seal carving techniques clearly and openly, he also showcases the developments that had been made. From the unique styles of the seal carving and the creative examinations by Xu Rong and Zhang Zaixin, it is not difficult to see how, after establishing new concepts, the focus of seal carving turned to research and application. This laid the foundations for a leap in development in seal carving during the middle of the Qing Dynasty.

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During middle years of the Qing Dynasty, Gao Fenghan, Ding Jing and Deng Shiru led the crusade of creative application and theoretical exploration in seal studies, creating a comprehensive system during a period of rising self-awareness in seal carving, from theoretical concepts to practical applications. These three individuals approached seal carving from different directions: Gao Fenghan from painting, Ding Jing from sculpture, and Deng Shiru from calligraphy. The combination of these three individuals marked an unprecedented level in the development of seal carving during this period. Gao Fenghan’s seals tended to be classically rugged and richly decorated with an additional carefree sense. Most of his works that survive today are bold and unrestrained, with an original style that is unmistakable—which is why many have described his work as »freehand seal carving.« He incorporated elements of Chinese painting and calligraphy into the surface of his seals, which give his pieces the unique sense of calligraphy or painted scenes. This was an incredibly daring innovation at the time. A baiwen seal with the inscription »Master of the Pavilion of the Snow Goose« (Xuehongting zhang 雪鸿亭长) is richly decorated with thick, rough strokes that nearly cover the entire surface and touch the roughly etched border. However, despite the full use of the surface, there remains a feeling of empty space, which creates a long-lasting flavor. The remaining five surfaces of this seal are also filled with inscriptions with content that is continuous. Each side is rendered in a different script, producing a unique style that was rarely seen in the history of seal carving. After the death of Cheng Sui, the Wan School remained famous, but it had already begun to weaken. In addition to the sudden rise of epigraphy and the popularity of imitating ancient styles, the habit of copying Han-era seals had begun to spread throughout the seal carving world. It was at this time that Ding Jing began to rise in seal

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carving circles with a new style that was his own creation. He used his unique carving technique, which employed a slender knife and short strokes to produce a personal style that was raw but classically elegant. This completely new style of seal carving created a huge impact and marked the beginning of the Zhe School of seal carving that would be on the same level as the Wan School. Ding Jing had grown up in a poor family that sold wine to make ends meet. He remained a common man his entire life and achieved only minor renown. However, he did have a passion for bronzes from the Qin and Han dynasties, stone stelae, and the collector editions of rare texts which he frequently collected. It is said that he took very little care of himself, and the room filled with his collections was never organized, but he was very serious about confirming the origins of the inscribed texts that he had collected. He was skilled in calligraphy, especially seal and clerical scripts. He also excelled at painting plum blossoms and wrote his own poetry. His works include the Collection of the Man of Longhong Mountain (Longhong shanren ji 龙泓山人集) and Poems from the Inkstone Forest (Yanlin shiji 砚林诗集). The period during which Ding Jing was active coincides with the height of Emperor Qianlong’s reign, which saw the discovery of many ancient relics and a flourishing of practical studies. He enjoyed collecting with an eye better than most people and the incredible ability to authenticate items. Ding Jing used his ability to wield a knife like a brush and creatively innovate, which resulted in a complete system of carving technique. The result was an ancient and twisted style that was clear and richly decorated with epigraphic styles. It was in this way that Ding Jing entered into the world of seal carving with a uniquely innovative style. In fact, Ding Jing’s system for carving became a key element of the Zhe School in seal carving, that lasted for a century. Even the decorations on the sides of his seals was unique. Prior to Ding Jing, side inscriptions were

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generally only simple opening and closing lines with the occasional commemoration, but did not touch upon questions of the study of seal carving. The side inscriptions on Ding Jing’s pieces were not only numerous, he also enjoyed using them to comment on the seal itself, which left later generations a great deal of valuable insight into seal studies. This innovative application expanded the scope of how seal carving could be done, and expressed Ding Jing’s aesthetic aspiration of uncovering the seal styles of the Tang, Song, and Yuan, as well as »seeking the seal beyond the seal.« This was also an important source of inspiration for later generations. (Fig. 9.10.10) If we compare works by these three master seal carvers of the mid-Qing Dynasty, we notice that the baiwen seals of Gao Fenghan are more successful than his zhuwen seals, whereas the zhuwen seals of Deng Shiru show greater achievement than his baiwen seals. However, Ding Jing shows a balance between his baiwen and zhuwen seals, with complete mastery of both and the ability to work in both genres. This high level of maturity laid the foundation for a century of prosperity for the Zhe School. The founder of the Zhe School was Ding Jing, and along with his successors Jiang Ren, Huang Yi,

9.10.10 Seal Reading »Old Hut of Fallen Flowers« (»Luohua laowu«), original size, Shanghai Museum

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and Xi Gang they are known as either the »Four Masters of Xiling« or the »Four Masters of Wulin.« Still later, the Zhe School also saw the rise of Chen Hongshou, Chen Yuzhong, Zhao Zhichen and Qian Song, later dubbed the »Latter Four Masters of Xiling.« Together with the original four masters, they are known as the renowned »Eight Masters of Xiling.« First, we will discuss the Four Masters of Xiling—Jiang Ren, Huang Yi and Xi Gang—who were earlier, and had the closest connection to Ding Jing. Jiang Ren (1743–1795) was original named Jiang Tai and was also known by his courtesy name Jieping. He changed his name after obtaining an ancient bronze seal with the inscription of »Jiang Ren.« His pseudonym was Shantang. He was a native of Renhe in Zhejiang Province (present-day Hangzhou). He came from a poor family and lived his life in two dilapidated rooms that had been handed down by his family. His life was simple, yet uncomplicated. Whether they were baiwen seals with far more white than red, or zhuwen seals with their thin characters and borders, the seals of Jiang Ren fully represent the unique carving technique of the Zhe School. It can be said that by the time of Jiang Ren, the Zhe School had become mature. However, works by Jiang Ren that have survived are very few, and in the Seal Collection of Jiluo Jushi (Jiluo Jushi yinpu 吉罗居士印谱) there are only 26 examples. The zhuwen seal with the inscription »True water is without fragrance« (»Zhenshui wuxiang« 真水无 香) represents his style very well. Huang Yi (1744-c.1802) was also known by his courtesy names Dayi and Daye. His father, Huang Shugu, was skilled in seal and clerical script and was known as »Master of Pine and Stone.« Huang Yi used the pseudonym »Little Pine.« As his hometown had a nunnery called Nunnery of the Autumn Shadow (Qiuying An), he also took the personal pseudonyms Qiu’an and Qiuying Anzhu. He was a native of Renhe in Zhejiang Province (present-day Hangzhou). He enjoyed traveling to famous mountains and great rivers. He was also

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talented at tracing the origins of inscriptions and made great contributions in the effort to find and preserve fragments of stelae and ancient stone carvings. Huang Yi excelled at poetry, calligraphy and painting, enjoying a rich education. He was taight seal carving by Ding Jing himself, who exclaimed that Huang Yi would be the one to succeed him. Huang Yi’s works used a short, choppy knife technique that had angled strokes that created angular shapes. Each stroke of his knife can be seen, but within his bold rough elegance, the maturity of the Zhe School style can also be seen. (Fig. 9.10.11) Clearly, he had taken the Zhe School of seal carving to an even more mature and codified level. Xi Gang (1745–1803) was also known by his courtesy names Tiesheng and Chunzhang, as well as the pseudonyms Luokan, Dieyezi and other appellations like Hezhusheng, Mengquan Waishi, Xidaoshi, Sanmu Jushi and Donghua Anzhu. He was a native of Xin’an (present-day Shexian in Anhui Province), but lived most of his life in Hangzhou. He was trained in poetry and skilled in calligraphy, but also excelled at painting. Xi Gang was trained by Ding Jing in seal carving, but also developed his own style, which is clear and meaningful. His style is typified by the sharp, short carving techniques of the Zhe School, strengthening its raw, classically elegant quality. Another master seal carver, who lived slightly later than Ding Jing, was Deng Shiru. Deng Shiru spent his life dedicated to studying calligraphy and seal carving. He excelled in five of the major scripts—seal, clerical, regular, running and cursive—but was especially known for his seal and clerical scripts as well as his seal carvings. Deng Shiru was an assiduous student and his efforts and achievements in calligraphy laid a strong foundation for his outstanding achievements in seal carving. He initially began following the traditions of the Wan School, but later adopted the best elements of the Zhe School and made them his own. Later, he creatively incorpo-

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9.10.11  Seal reading »Provincial ­Champion of Year Yiyou« (»Yiyou jieyuan«), original size, Shanghai Museum

rated his calligraphic skills in carving, resulting in his concept of »carving through calligraphy.« The result was a strong and graceful personal style that in addition to having roots in both the Wan and Zhe schools was also known by its own name, the Deng School. Deng Shiru boldly introduced the features and brush style of small seal script and stelae from the Qin and Han periods into his seals. This vigorous, individual, flowing and clear style quickly changed the mood of the time, which had remained loyal to the rules of imperial seals from the Qin and Han, instead emphasizing full, strong and plain qualities that had brilliantly elegant charm. The introduction of seal script calligraphy into seal carving developed by Deng Shiru with his own creative ideas formed an extremely personal new style. The noted late-Qing critic and collector Wei Jiasun stated that »Wanbai [Deng Shiru] entered into calligraphy from his carving, while his carvings were the product of his calligraphy.« This statement could not be truer. The idea of »carvings being a product of calligraphy« certainly required a successful transition from brush to knife. One of Deng Shiru’s greatest contributions to carving techniques was the important changes he made to the process of »knife driving« that had been used since the time of

Wang Guan, which ensured that it blended well with his own unique style of seal script calligraphy. He was able to maintain the full, rounded and flowing lines unique to seal script in the process converting brush techniques into carving techniques, maintaining momentum even at the beginning, end and transitions in strokes. At the same time, while his carving style was slow and plodding, he did not leave any traces of this. The impact on the future was considerable. The middle of the Qing Dynasty was the height of the expansion and development of seal carving, with countless artisans and many master carvers. In addition to great seal carvers like Ding Jing and Deng Shiru, there were also many other exceptional figures that made outstanding achievements in seal studies. The Songjiang District, which today is part of the city of Shanghai, historically also known as Huating or Yunjian, was a gathering place for literati. Schools of painting like the Songjiang School, the Yunjian School, and the Susong School were all started here. In seal carving, Sun Hong and Fang Dali, who compiled Seal Collections from the Garden of Planting Lotus Root (Ougengyuan yinpu 耦耕园印谱), and Xu Hao, who compiled Seal Collections from the Pavilion of Upholding Youth (Fuqingge yinpu 扶青阁印谱) from the reign of

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Kangxi (1662–1722), as well as Wang Ruizhang, who compiled Seal Collections from the Residence of Intoxicated Love (Zuiaiju yinpu 醉爱居印谱), during the reign of Qianlong, were all from Huating. The famous seal carvers Ju Lüzhou and Wang Shengzhen were highly renowned and they eventually became known as the Yunjian School. In comparison, Gui Fu and Zhang Yanchang, who had previously studied under Ding Jing, focused more on classical simplicity and the emotion. While neither of them can be assigned a school, they still became famous not only for their research into ancient scripts, but also the artistry of their seal carving. Ba Weizu, who was four years younger than Dong Xun, was a very influential individual in seal carving during the middle of the Qing Dynasty and is usually included as one of the great masters of the latter Wan School. In fact, while Ba Weizu and his nephew Hu Tang were originally from Shexian in Anhui Province, their styles were dramatically different from the grand master of the Wan School, Cheng Sui. Great masters also continued to be produced during the late Qing Dynasty. Within the Zhe School, despite also being included as one of the »Four Masters of Xiling,« Chen Yuzhong, and Chen Hongshou, Zhao Zhichen and Qian Song, who came later, are also known as the »Latter Four Masters of Xiling.« However, stylistically speaking, Qian Song was clearly different from the other seven members of this group. He mainly drew his inspiration from Han-era seals, and his carving method was influenced by Wu Xizai. This gave both his mood and workmanship a different look. Later scholars would include him as a master of the Zhe School, but this is only because he was a native of Hangzhou. Chen Yuzhong (1762–1806) was also known by the courtesy name Junyi and the pseudonym Qiutang. He was a native of Qiantang (present-day Hangzhou) and trained in both calligraphy and painting. He was known for this seal and clerical

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calligraphy as well as his paintings of pine and bamboo. He was made great achievements in commentaries on writing and dedicated himself to the study of painting. His writings include Compilation of the Names of Ming Painters (Minghua xingshi yunbian 明画姓氏韵编), Collections from the Studio of Seeking Truth (Qiushizhai ji 求是斋 集), Biographies of Painters Ancient and Modern (Gujin huaren ji 古今画人集) and Seal Collections from the Studio of Seeking Truth (Qiushizhai yinpu 求是斋印谱). His early seal carving adopted the methods of Wen Peng and He Zhen, but later he followed Ding Jing with a style that was elegant and careful with side inscriptions. He was often spoke of in the same context as Chen Hongshou, and the two were known as the »Two Chens.« Chen Hongshou (1768–1822) was also known by the courtesy name Zigong and the pseudonyms Mansheng, Laoman, Zhongyu Daoren and Xiagu Tingzhang. He was a native of Qiantang (present-day Hangzhou) and in 1801 (6th year of Jiaqing) he was selected to participate in the imperial examinations in the capital. He served as District Magistrate of Liyang, in Jiangsu Province, as well as Vice-Commissioner for Maritime Defense, in Nanhe. His poetry, writings, paintings and calligraphy were all well-known during his lifetime. He also excelled at bamboo carving, and while at his position in Liyang he designed 18 different Yixing-style teapots that were produced by the noted potter Yang Pengnian, who incorporated his poems, calligraphy and paintings into the pots. A teapot with the words »The Room of Amantuo« was well known by collectors and was called the »Mansheng teapot.« In seal carving, Chen Hongshou came after the »Former Four Masters of Xiling.« He was a skilled carver with an unrestrained, brisk style that was natural and handsome, showing a strongly innovative understanding of the art. Qian Song (1818–1860), who was also known by the courtesy name Shugai as well as the pseudonyms Naiqing, Tielu, Weijushi, Xilang Waishi and Yunhe Shanren, was a native of Qiantang (present-day

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Hangzhou), but resided in Shanghai. His had exceptional talent and he was known for his seal and clerical calligraphy. His landscape and flower paintings were also popular that time and he was had a great appreciation for art works. His achievements in seal carving were even more outstanding. His strongest aspect was the fullness and heft of his works, which was mainly due to his copying and studying of as many as 2,000 Han-era seals. His carving technique is characterized by cutting strokes with additional shaving, which produced a uniquely innovative method. The style of his seals is forceful and uncomplicated, and marks a clear departure from the style of the Zhe School in composition, carving, and mood. Qian Song can be said to have blazed a new path, one which was later greatly admired by Wu Changshuo. Other individuals that were active in seal carving during the late-18th and early-19th centuries include Wu Xizai, Wen Ding, Wu Zi and Xu Sangeng. Of these individuals, Wu Xizai, as a disciple of Deng Shiru, had a unique understanding and pushed new developments in seal carving, which made him the best-known of this period. Wu Xizai (1799–1870) was originally named Wu Tingyang, but was also known by his courtesy name Rangzhi. He also called himself Rangweng, and used the pseudonyms Wanxue Jushi and Fangzhu Zhangren. He was a native of Yizheng in Jiangsu Province. During his later years, he obtained a length of rare square bamboo, which he made into a cane. He also used one section to create a four-sided seal, serving as the origin of his pseudonym, »Fangzhu Zhangren,« or »Old Master of the Square Bamboo.« He was a student of Bao Shichen, who was also a disciple of Deng Shiru, who trained him in both calligraphy and painting. He frequently traveled between Yangzhou and Taizhou to sell his artistic wares. During the northern campaigns of the Taiping armies, Wu Xizai went to Taizhou to escape the chaos of war, where he stayed at the home of his close friend Yao Zhengyong, and during which time he created

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a large number calligraphic works, writing, and seals for a group of friends. He made as many as 120 seals for Yao Zhengyong alone and 88 for Liu Luqiao. Some of these seals were later recorded in the Collection of Seals by Wu Rangzhi (Wu Rangzhi yinpu 吴让之印谱). While Wu Xiazai was trained in both calligraphy and painting, it was his light, natural, and graceful style of seal carving that caught people’s attention. It was very influential at the time and it was said that he took the Deng School of carving of the Wan style to a new level. Later, many of those who studied Deng Shiru’s style looked to Wu Xizai to gain an understanding of the methods of the Deng technique. The massive influence of the »Deng School« was in no small part due to the contributions of Wu Xizai, who spread and developed the style. Wu Xizai created thousands of seals during his lifetime, many of which survive until the present day. Xu Sangeng (1825–1890) was also known by the courtesy name Xingu and the pseudonym Jinglei. He also used the alternative courtesy name Xianguo and the pseudonyms Xiuhai, Daheng, Yuliangsheng and Jianmu Daoshi. He was a native of Shangyu in Zhejiang Province. Trained in seal and clerical script calligraphy, his style was light and brilliant. Xu Sangeng’s seals had a composition that dared to be bold, and a carving technique that was rough and powerful and avoided making changes. As with his seal script calligraphy, he borrowed from the stela Prophesy of the Gods from Heaven (Tianfa shenchen bei 天发神谶 碑), with the addition of his own variations. He also incorporated the side-brush technique of Jin Nong into his calligraphy, also contributing to his unique look. He often added waves to elongated strokes, which is a clear example of him incorporating elements of his own seal script calligraphy into his seals. Xu Sangeng was highly respected throughout the Jiangsu and Zhejiang area. Japanese artists like Maruyama Taiu and Shiroiwa Akiyama also studied with him, which enabled Xu

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Gengsan to leave a positive impact on seal carving in Japan as well. Zhao Zhiqian and Wu Changshuo were both members of a generation of great masters of the late Qing Shanghai School of painting. In addition to being skilled at poetry, writing, calligraphy, and painting, they were also known for their achievements in the art of seal carving. Early on, Zhao Zhiqian’s seal carvings copied the styles of Ding Jing and Huang Yi. He also thoroughly researched imperial seals of the Qin and Han, Song zhuwen seals, and even the works of famous masters of the Wan School. Later, he studied the methods of Wan School masters like Ba Weizu and Deng Shiru. He realized that he could also expand to include coins, imperial edicts, clay seals and even bricks and mirrors from the Han Dynasty. And with that, he began an all-encompassing and completely integrated process to incorporate all sources, from inscriptions to stonedrums, roof tiles, clay seals and brick inscriptions. His composition was extremely unique with his zhuwen seals containing many curved lines that are exquisite and elegant. His baiwen seals, however, generally use straight lines that were dignified and composed. He also excelled at arrangement, avoiding scattering in his larger pieces and crowding in his smaller seals, making them look inspired and natural. His carving technique is flexible and varied, making it capable of conveying a clear, unrestrained air. The side inscriptions are even more uniquely creative. He not only used the single-blade technique write in intaglio regular script, he was the first to create relief inscriptions. Sometimes he would also incorporate calligraphy of the Northern Wei into his designs or carve images of people or animals, making the sides of seals, which had previously been exclusively for character inscriptions, into a space for an entirely new form of expression. These innovations are enough to prove that the high praise of himself that he had established »the first new school of seal carving in

CHAPTER X THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCROLL PAINTING AND THE REVIVAL OF CALLIGRAPHY AND SEAL CARVING IN THE QING DYNASTY II

six hundred years« was not a crazy statement. It should also be noted that Zhao Zhiqian also made notable contributions to the theoretical studies of seal carving. He pointed out that there were »inner« and »outer« skills in the carving of seals. His theoretical and practical efforts to »seek the seal beyond the seal« had a positive impact on the world of seal carving. Wu Changshuo enjoyed an advantage in his pursuit of seal carving, because of his breadth of personal cultivation, especially in calligraphy. He studied the works of Ding Jing, Deng Shiru, Wu Xizai and Zhao Zhiqian, but while drawing from the brilliance of the masters of the Zhe and Wan schools he also absorbed artistic nutrients directly—from inscriptions of the Zhou and Qin, stelae of the Han, texts of the Six Dynasties, brick and coin inscriptions, clay seals, and roof tiles— which gave his seal carvings both deep roots and an innovative charm. The structure of his seals was meticulously planned with the form of his characters strictly adhering to the standards of language. His variations never broke the rules and his compositions went through numerous drafts for an extremely solid holistic feel. He once said that a seal should be as »collected and unified« as a family. This unique »collected and unified« form of execution can even be clearly seen in the side inscriptions and borders of his works. Whether broken or continuous, thick or thin, flowing or blotchy, every element blends into one with the text on the surface of the seal as well as fully uses the empty space. Each of his seals went through multiple iterations, staring with a draft on paper, then a process of deliberation until he was satisfied and the design was applied to the stone itself. When he picked up his knife, his movements were unrestrained and natural, completing the entire work in one sitting, which gives the appearance of being wrought by nature. He enjoyed using dull knives, always combining both chipping and shaving, as both of these processes utilized the »driving« method.

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9.10.12 Seal reading »Gao Yongzhi,« original size, ­Shanghai Museum.

Sometimes, after carving was finished, he would chip at the surface to create blotches and unevenness—making the surface look aged and classical, with the appearance of a stone inscription. When creating a piece, he was very flexible. His baiwen seals were rugged and simple, suitable for »general seals.« His zhuwen seals used a technique based on clay seals, which resulted in a completely unique appearance. His side inscriptions were mainly done in intaglio regular script. He cut directly into the stone with his knife with blunt force on entry, but a sharp movement at the end of the cut. The result is a form that is crooked and irregular, with a natural charm. (Fig. 9.10.12) In 1904 (30th year of Guangxu), Ding Fuzhi, Wang Ti, Ye Weiming and Wu Yin met with Wu Changshuo in the Hall of Reclining on West Lake in Hangzhou to explore the art of seal carving. In 1913, the Xiling Society of Seal Carvers was established, and Wu Changshuo was made president. The great masters of modern Chinese art history, like Chen Shiceng, Qi Baishi, Wang Zhen, Pan Dashou, Chen Banding, Wang Geyi and Sha Menghai, all received support and guidance from Wu Changshuo. Many of Wu Changshuo’s seals are still existant. In addition to his writings published during his

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lifetime, in recent years the Xiling Society of Seal Carvers has also published many collections of his calligraphy, paintings, and seal carvings. Several famous artists active slightly earlier than Wu Changshuo include Hu Zhen, Wang Shijing and Yang Xie. While their achievements cannot compare with those of Zhao Zhiqian and Wu Changshuo, they still made considerable contributions. During this period there was another group of artists that were skilled in the art of seal carving. These included the noted scholar of inscriptions and painter Wu Dacheng, the painter Ren Bonian, poet and painter Tu Zhuo and the painter monk Dashou. Known for his paintings, love of bamboo carving, and research into ancient inscriptions, Yang Xie (1781–1850) was also known by the courtesy name Zhutang and pseudonym Longshi. He initially studied the Zhe School technique, but later dedicated himself to seals of the Qin and Han. At the time he was said to be the greatest seal carver in the Jiangnan Region. Others included Sun Sanxi from Pinghu, in Zhejiang Province, He Kunyu of Gaoyao, in Guandong Province, Wang Yun of Suzhou, Wang Erdu from Jiyang in Jiangsu Province (present-day Jiangyin), and Chen Lei of Qiantang (present-day Hangzhou). While they did not establish their own styles, they demonstrated impressive talent and added to the brilliant variety of late-Qing seal carving. The appearance of Huang Shiling can be said to be the last flash of brilliance in the seal carving of the Qing Dynasty. Huang Shiling (1849–1908) was also known by the courtesy name Mufu and the pseudonyms Juansou, Yishanren and Juanyou Chaozhu. He was a native of Shexian in Anhui Province. Early on his study was called Residence of the Snail Seal, which he changed to the Fragrant Room of Lasting Clarity. It was also called the Residence Beside the Ancient Scholar Tree. He was trained in calligraphy and excelled in painting, but he was particularly known for his seal script, which was no less impressive than that of Wu Changshuo. How-

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ever, he returned home and went into retirement when he was only little more than 50, and did not have as great an impact as Wu Changshuo and others. He remains influential to the present day in Guangzhou, where he lived for some time, and some still refer to his style as the Yue School. Huang Shiling was known in his hometown for his calligraphy and carving from a very early age. Both his father and mother died when he was 14, and he had no choice but to leave home and seek a life in Nanchang. Later, he accepted an invitation by the Supreme Commander of Guangdong and Guangxi, Zhang Zhidong, and the Grand Coordinator of Guangdong, Wu Dacheng, to become a proofreader of classics and histories at the Guangya Book Press in Guangzhou. While in Guangzhou, he worked with Yin Bohuan to complete the printing of the Seal Collection of the Studio of Sixteen Golden Symbols (Shiliujinfuzhai yincun 十六金符斋印存). During his 14-year residence in Guangzhou, in addition to editing books, he also sold calligraphy, paintings and seals, which is why many of his seals can be found in Guangzhou today. Later, he received another invitation from the Supreme Commander of Hunan and Hubei, Duan Fang, and while in Wuchang helped him compile and edit Auspicious Golden Record of the Studio of Pottery (Taozhai jijin lu 陶 斋吉金录). After this, he retired to his hometown, where he stayed until his death. Initially Huang Shiling followed the techniques of the Zhe School, and was greatly influenced by Wu Xizai. Later, during his travels, he was exposed to many remaining texts from the Xia, Shang and Zhou, as well as stone inscriptions from the Qin and Han, which greatly changed his perspective. While he enjoyed using characters from bronze inscriptions in his seals, he abandoned the centuries-old tradition in seal carving of using the chipping method to imitate the damaged look of bronze seals in favor of a damaged, ancient ruggedness. Instead, he favored a method that used

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a thin blade that did not require chipping away at the edges and corners, or adding other decorations, revealing the sharp and straight lines as they would have appeared in original Han-era seals. This clear position and technique were obviously completely opposite of the technique espoused by Wu Changshuo. Huang Shiling’s seals favored lines that were clean, straight, and even without any blotched or aged effects. This was meant to show »movement in order and elegance in stiffness,« which exuded an unadorned flow of charm. As the influence of both the Zhe and Wan schools waned, he was able to establish his own school and style that was completely independent of masters like Deng Shiru, Wu Xizai, Zhao Zhiqian and Wu Changshuo. Huang Shiling’s bright and clean upright style would become known in seal carving as the Yishan School. Later, artists including Qi Baishi, Li Yinsang, Deng Wanluo and Yi Xi would all be influenced by him. Unique elements of Huang Shiling’s seals include a compositional style that emphasizes balance between full and empty space while ensuring variation. Most of his baiwen seals use thick straight lines, while his zhuwen seals use a mix of square and round lines. The strokes of his characters seem straight and stiff, but they are actually full of variation, with an unexpected balance at dangerous points. His side inscriptions were generally done with a single-blade, in the style of Six Dynasties stelae. His regular script is relaxed and bold, and the content of his texts are deep and thought-provoking, reflecting his unique charm. Critics often describe him as an alternative interpretation of »seeking the seal beyond the seal.« There are many examples of Huang Shiling’s seals that have survived to the present day. A Collection of Seals by Huang Mufu (Huang Mufu yincun 黄穆 甫印存) and A Collection of Seals by the Man of Yishan Huang Mufu (Yishanren Huagng Mufu yinji 黟山人黄牧甫印集) both contain portions of his works.

CHAPTER XI  SCULPTURE, FOLK PRODUCTS, FOLK PAINTING Section 1  Changes in Sculpture Sculpture, as a major discipline of the plastic arts, has a different place in the history of Chinese art than it does in the history of Western art. First, Chinese sculpture was basically made by artisans. Since the Chinese feudal ritual system limited the style, volume, and setting of various types of large sculptures and communities, and they were mostly managed by specific government agencies, resulting in the creation of a specific group of craftsmen as the main body of creators. They were mostly artisans with low status and stable lives, which determined that the main works of Chinese sculpture were characterized by more obedience to the ritual rules and aesthetic trends, and less by individual creation, not to mention high-level cultural influence. Second, Chinese sculpture had a strong fixed role in the ritual system, mostly set up as a specific social living environment, rather than directly acting as an aesthetic function of viewership. As a result, sculptures were in general non-independent works of art, affecting their independent development according to the laws of sculptural art, with sudden fluctuations and differences in artistic level. Finally, Chinese sculpture was characterized by a »combination of painting and sculpture,« and therefore sculptors were often also painters, and the overall understanding of sculpture should not be discussed without this. As the rulers of the Qing Dynasty belonged to a northern minority, their various ritual concepts, rules and regulations were different from previous eras. Therefore, the most obvious feature in

sculpture art was the decline of various largescale sculptures, the flourishing of various smallscale sculptures, where ingenuity and complexity of skills were more fully reflected, and there was a tendency towards literati elegance.

1. Transformation and Decline of Large-Scale Sculpture Large individual volumes or large group sculptures had been produced in all dynasties since the Qin and Han, and the surviving stone carvings and clay sculptures are the most numerous. Among the large-scale sculptures of the Qing Dynasty, wood and bronze sculptures increased. First, Qing Dynasty sculpture reflects the courtly and civic tendencies of temple statues. The scale and stylistic tendencies of religious statues were often directly related to the religious characteristics of the time and the religious policies of the rulers. On the one hand, Qing Dynasty emperors attached great importance to religion, so that the temple statues showed a certain imperial tendency due to the court’s attention and regulation; on the other hand, Buddhism since the Tang and Song dynasties tended to be secularized, Zen Buddhism became popular, and the flourishing of folk deities all showed tendencies of civil society. Among the large-scale religious statues in the Qing Dynasty, the most important individual works include the standing statue of Buddha Maitreya in the Wanfu Pavilion of Yonghe Temple in Beijing, the clay and gold standing statue of Thousand-Handed, Thousand-Eyed Goddess of Mercy in the Mahayana Pavilion of the Puning Temple in Chengde (Hebei Province), the gilded bronze seated Maitreya Buddha statue in the Maitreya

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Buddha Temple of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Tibet, the bronze seated Sakyamuni Buddha of the Wudangzhao Temple in Baotou (Inner Mongolia), and the standing statue of the Bodhisattva of the Sea of Wisdom Temple in the Beijing Summer Palace. Large-scale groups of statues include the Five Hundred Arhats of Biyun Temple in Beijing Xiangshan, the Five Hundred Arhats of the Qiongzhu Temple in Kunming (Yunnan), the Five Hundred Arhats of Xiyuan Temple in Suzhou, the Five Hundred Arhats of Guiyuan Temple in Wuhan, the Five Hundred Arhats of Baoguang (Xindu) Temple in Sichuan, and the Five Hundred Arhats of Hualin Temple in Guangzhou. Among them, the standing statue of Buddha Maitreya in the Wanfu Pavilion of Yonghe Temple, the clay and gold standing statue of Thousand-Handed and Thousand-Eyed Goddess of Mercy (Avalokiteśvara) in the Mahayana Pavilion of the Puning Temple in Chengde and the Five Hundred Arhats of the Qiongzhu Temple, Yunnan, are the most representative. The Beijing Yonghe Temple is a royal temple, built in the 33rd year of Kangxi (1694), originally dedicated to the Qing emperor as a shadow hall to worship his ancestors, it was changed to a lamasery in the ninth year of the Qianlong era (1744). The standing statue of Buddha Maitreya in the Wanfu Pavilion (Fig. 9.11.1) is the largest and most prominent. The standing statue was carved from white sandalwood. It is approximately three m wide, 18  m above the ground, 8  m below the ground, and 26 m high. It is one of the giant wooden statues of the Qing Dynasty. The statue is well-proportioned, with a quiet face, dignified and majestic physique, and reveals a flamboyant atmosphere. In terms of sculpting technique, the statue is finely carved, and the whole body is decorated in many ways. The celestial clothes, shan dian, pearl and jade necklace, etc., are dense and exquisite. On the whole, the local fine carving contrasts with the huge size of the statue and does not detract from the simplicity of the statue as a whole. This

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statue is a typical representative of the religious statues of the Qing Dynasty. (Fig. 9.11.1) The clay statue of Avalokiteśvara with a thousand hands and thousand eyes in the Mahayana pavilion of Puning Temple in Chengde, Hebei Province, is said to be the »sister work« of the Buddha Maitreya in the Yonghe Temple. The temple was built in the 20th year of Qianlong (1755), and the statue of the Goddess of Mercy was also built in the same period. It was carved from five woods: pine, cypress, elm, fir and linden. The statue is 22.23  m high, with a waist circumference of 15 m. There is also a 1.53 m high Immortal Buddha on the top of the statue with Shan Cai (Sudhana) and Longnu (Dragon maids) on either side. In terms of height aboveground, it is the largest wooden statue of ancient China. The Five Hundred Arhat Statues at Qiongzhu Temple in Kunming, Yunnan are the most distinctive representative works among the many arhat statues in Han Buddhist monasteries of the Qing Dynasty. They were made by five disciples led by Sichuan folk artist Li Guangxiu (Desheng), from the 9th to 16th years of Guangxu (1883–1890). Each Arhat statue is generally around 1 m high. The overall layout of the painted clay sculptures does not adopt the centralized arrangement of other temples, but is displayed on the two walls of the Daxiong Hall (68 statues), Tiantai Lai Pavilion (216 statues) and Fanyin Pavilion (216 statues). The statues are displayed in three layers: the upper and lower layers are mostly seated statues, while the middle layer is mostly standing statues. The position and movement of the figures is flexible and varied, echoing each other, forming a rich and free, yet unified effect. The 68 arhats in the Daxiong Hall, in particular, seem to be invited to a meeting, or riding on clouds and fog, riding on a leopard, each showing their powers in the wind and waves, and the scene is very magnificent. The other two pavilion arhats sit or stand, or lean up, their dynamics, expressions, appearance, age, costumes, and props are all the same, all of them

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9.11.1 Standing Buddha Maitreya at Wanfu Pavilion of Yonghe Temple

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are vivid. This pursuit of realistic secular images and exquisite and elaborate decorative techniques also reflects the tendency of Qing Dynasty sculpture to pay attention to the smallest details and to the most exquisite techniques. The exquisite techniques themselves even become one of the most important goals pursued by sculpture. Due to the influence of nearly one hundred years of war and turmoil, and the fact that such folk sculptures were never paid much attention to, many of these folk statues are rare, and most of them have been damaged or altered beyond recognition. Most of these works were made by »sculptors« who were taught by those who made their living by sculpting statues. Artisans in the Qing Dynasty were mostly organized in the form of guilds, and had a certain mobility. Many fine parts of the components have corresponding stereotyped styles of products. Thus, in large temple sculptures, guilds with certain strengths played important roles, and their works would become models to be imitated, forming a secular style with regional characteristics. There was a tendency to be mostly tedious, rough and patterned in craft techniques and modeling styles. Many patterns also appeared in large numbers on different folk crafts and architectural decorations. This formed the folk art in Qing Dynasty. This also reflects the decline of large-scale religious sculpture. Moreover, the trend of stylized and crafted tomb carving is also one of the characteristics of Qing Dynasty sculpture. Tomb carvings were generally distributed mostly in front of the mausoleum of emperors. Qing Dynasty imperial mausoleums and accompanying tombs were mainly concentrated in three areas: the Northern Tombs in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, the Eastern Tombs in Zunhua County, Hebei Province, and the Western Tombs in Yixian County, Hebei Province. The Eastern Tombs and Western Tombs include nine imperial mausoleums and many consort tombs, including the mausoleum of Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty to the mausoleum of Emperor

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Guangxu of Dezong. Most of the Northern Tombs were expanded after the Qing Dynasty entered the pass, mainly including Yong Tomb, the distant ancestor of the Qing Emperor, Nurhaci, the Fu Tomb and Taizong Huang Taiji Zhao Tomb, of which the Fu Tomb and Zhao Tomb front have a small number of stone statues. The Qing Dynasty imperial mausoleum is basically the same as that of the Ming Dynasty mausoleum in terms of surface architecture and sculpture. The stone statues of the Eastern Tombs of the Qing Dynasty are mainly distributed on both sides of the qilin, spirit animal of the Xiaoling Mausoleum. There are 18 pairs of stone statues in front of the mausoleum, including 12 pairs of stone beasts and six pairs of civil and military officials, which are the largest in the mausoleum of the Qing Dynasty. Civil officials are short and fat, wearing Qing-style official clothes and beads on the chest, twisting beads with both hands, and have a respectful and submissive look, which is different from the serious and solemn expressions of the stone figures in front of the mausoleums of past dynasties. In addition to the mausoleums of emperors, there were also many kinds of stone carvings in front of the official tombs in various places, such as sheep, tiger, horse and human carvings, but the number was generally small and the structure was also small. The Ming-style clothes are commonly seen in stone figures, reflecting the inheritance of folk artists’ skills and patterns. In the process of carving, craftsmen seldom chose new themes, styles or techniques according to the changes of the tomb owner or geographical environment, but only according to certain rules. As a result, the tomb carvings of the Qing Dynasty generally lacked boldness and personality, and had a kind of formalized, respectful and docile expression, and lacked momentum and strength. On the one hand, this was the result of the sculptors’ limited production process; on the other hand, it reflects the characteristics of the Qing Dynasty and the spirit of the times.

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Accompanied by this stylization, tomb carving in the Qing Dynasty also showed significant characteristics of craftsmanship, mainly reflecting the regularity and delicacy of stone carving modeling and body decoration. Craftsmen skillfully changed the standard style with great decorative significance, and the scope of body decoration also expanded and became more and more regular. For example, the facial features, bristles, backs, backs of knees, ankles and hoofs of the qilin, the spirit animal of the Xiaoling Mausoleum in the Eastern Tombs, were treated with semicircular, wavy and curly shapes. The scales of the whole body were done in a regular pattern, the chest and back as well as the limbs were decorated according to the shape of a cirrus. In this kind of technical regular shape, all parts of the body achieve a coordinated effect. Fine carving techniques and careful shape treatment were common characteristics at that time. Sometimes the difference between the primary and secondary statues was even ignored in the specific treatment. Craftsmen tried their best to carve every detail, adding all kinds of decorations, even patterns and ornaments of the characters’ clothes and props, which made the craftsmanship of stone statues more powerful. In the stone statues of civil and military officials in Jingling Mausoleum of the Eastern Tombs, the braids behind the head, the pearl on the chest and the fingers twisting the pearl, are all carefully depicted. The patterns of dragon, pearl, crane, wave and cirrus cloud on the court clothes of the literati, and the plates and patterns of the general’s armor are also delicate. Although this reflects the exquisite skill level of stone carvers in the Qing Dynasty, the excessive use of decorative skills sometimes damaged the integrity and spiritual charm of a carving due to triviality and complications (Fig. 9.11.2). Of course, tomb carving was built under the leadership of the royal court, on the whole reflecting the scale and skill of tomb carving in Qing Dynasty. For example, the whole system of tombs of

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9.11.2 A civil official at the right side of the qilin, Xiling Mausoleum, Hebei Province

the Qing Dynasty is basically intact, and the relationship between the whole stone sculpture group and the buildings is perfect. The stone carvings were made of exquisite materials, using excellent techniques, smooth grinding and in huge volumes. Although the artistic achievements of the stone carvings in Han and Tang tombs have been lost, they also brought a perfect and delicate ending to the huge sculptures of China’s feudal society. In the Qing Dynasty, following old customs, the palace, government offices, mansions, gardens, temples, ancestral halls and mausoleums were often decorated with ritual sculptures. Most of them were lions, and a few were unicorns and

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elephants. The most representative sculpture is a pair of gilded bronze lions in front of the Qianqing gate. The Qianqing gate is the gate of the inner court, which served as a living place in the palace. Naturally, the pair of bronze lions at the gate did not need to be as majestic as the palace gate or the carving of honor guards in the outer court, so they showed a lively and straightforward feature in appearance. This pair of bronze lions was exquisitely cast with smaller shape and lower stone base. The decoration is also a little complicated, which reflects the vision and interest of the Qing court. Among the various types of large-scale sculptures in the Qing Dynasty, bronze cranes and turtles in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Imperial Palace and Changchun Palace, bronze unicorns in front of the Cining Palace and Tianyi Gate in the Imperial Garden, bronze deer and bronze dragons in front of the Chuxiu Palace, bronze qingluan (bird with colorful feathers) in front of the Yikun Palace, bronze cattle on the east bank of Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace, and so on, have survived till today. Most of these animal sculptures were made by court craftsmen. They are graceful and peaceful in their shapes, exquisite in craftsmanship, and were meant to be auspicious. Some of them also had the function of practical utensils. Beihai Park and the Forbidden City each have a »Nine-Dragon Wall,« and there is a large nine-dragon imperial road behind the Hall of Preserving Harmony, which are outstanding works of large architectural decorative carvings. The Nine Dragon Wall in Beihai Park is the most famous. The wall is 26 m wide and seven m high. The north and south sides are each built with yellow, green and blue glazed bricks to form nine leaping dragons. The nine dragons are arranged side by side and interconnected. The design is ingenious and the craftsmanship is superb, with the nine dragons set against the waves of the sea under them and the rolling clouds of the mountains in the background.

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2. Rich Varieties of Small-Scale Sculpture and Stone, Ceramic, and Clay Sculptures In addition to large-scale sculptures, the production and distribution of small-scale sculptures in the Qing Dynasty were more extensive, and there are many remains, and objects still in circulation. These include mainly religious statues and stone sculptures, ceramic sculptures, clay sculptures and metal sculptures made for the purpose of ritual guarding, suppressing evil spirits, and appreciation. Small-scale religious statues in the Qing Dynasty were more diverse in subject matter, materials, and style, than large-scale scupltures. They survived not only in large and small monasteries, palaces and temples across the country, but also in a large number of gardens, government offices, and among citizens. Although there were certain rules and regulations on the production of idols, many folk statues were created freely, to a certain extent, without restrictions, especially the image of arhats, which became the most accessible Buddhist figures. In terms of production materials, clay sculptures were mostly painted, while other materials such as wood carvings, botanicals, ceramics, stone carvings, cast bronze and cast iron were also available. In the Qing Dynasty, in addition to the continuation of the Ming Dynasty, the »Buddha works« continued to be set up by the imperial government’s internal affairs office, and a number of excellent craftsmen were recruited from all over the world to specialize in painting and sculpting in the palace gardens and imperial temples. Many »Buddha museums« were opened in local folk shops to undertake the construction of temples and other Buddhist statues. In the late Qing Dynasty, they even replaced the »Buddha works« set up by the imperial court and engaged in the production of royal Buddha statues. These Buddhist museums are especially famous in places such as Suzhou, Ningbo, and Wenzhou.

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There are also many small-scale Buddhist sculpture remains from the Qing Dynasty, which are more concentrated in many monasteries, such as the Hanging Temple in Hengshan, Shanxi Province, and the monasteries on Wutai Mountain built in the Qing Dynasty in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Among them, the statues of the Hanging Temple are a combination of the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism. Most of these statues are of ordinary shape, painted with vulgarity, lacking in beauty, with few fine works. In addition to Buddhism and Daoism, other folk deities also have a large number of statues remaining, mainly concentrated in the interior of the Han residential areas, and their materials and methods of production are basically the same as Buddhist statues. With the exception of the White Cloud Temple in Beijing, where the sculptures are outstanding, most of the others are crude and of a poor artistic standard. The stone sculptures with ornamental significance were taken from a wide range of materials, including mythical beasts and birds, legends, operas, historical stories, and general characters and animals, such as a human-faced dragon, a nine-headed dragon, a human-faced beast, nineheaded bird, three-headed god, four-eyed god, chicken-beaked thunder god, flying beast god, Zhong Kui subduing demons, Wukong subduing demons, Zhong Kui kicking ghosts, Nuwa mending the sky, descending dragon, Shepherd Boy reading, a mermaid, lion stepping on shoes, Lord Guan, Zhang Fei, village women, sheep, cows, pigs, monkeys, etc. In addition to general ornamental objects, some of them were also used for the suppression of evil spirits (such as the threeheaded god, Zhong Kui, etc.), worship (such as Lord Guan, etc.) and burial (such as sheep, cattle, pigs, etc.). In addition, there were also some stone carvings that had certain practical functions, such as tethering stones and horse-tethering stakes. Horse-tethering stakes, also known as livestocktethering stakes, were mainly used for tethering

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horses, cattle and other livestock. These stone carvings were generally made by local stone carvers, most of which were exaggerated and arbitrary in shape, without strict rules of customization, and could be freely imagined and boldly created. They represent the aesthetic habits of the folk, and it becoming a complement to the main feature of the Qing Dynasty sculptures, which were elaborate and detailed. These carvings are simple but not rough, the shape is general but not too refined, they are tightly conceived, the structure compact. Although the shape is small, it is full of grandeur and strength, reflecting the superb skills and aesthetic characteristics of folk stone carvers, and showing the infinite vitality of folk carving. The art of pottery was not very developed in the Qing Dynasty because of the rough material and the not-so-simple process, plus the limitations of ceramic products in application. But in a few areas, due to the influence of other folk carving process, there were still some more local characteristics of the ceramic products. Shiwan ceramic sculpture in Foshan, Guangdong, is one of the most famous. Shiwan ceramic sculpture, in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, formed a certain style, and the production process was mainly low-temperature glazed ware fired in imitation of Jin Yuanjun porcelain, which was characterized by coarse thick glaze, and simple heaviness. In the Qing Dynasty, it was more developed on this basis, creatively absorbing the technical characteristics of the tri-colored glazed pottery, making its glaze richer and more varied. The colorful look and emerald colors were widely loved, and many literati also participated in the creation. Shiwan ceramic sculptures were widely used. As purely ornamental products, and most of them depicted fishermen, woods, farming and reading, as well as historical and religious figures such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Mi Fu, Li Kui, Lu Zhishen, Wu Song, the Goddess of Mercy, arhats, and the Dharma. In the figure of Mi Fu bending over with arched hands,

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9.11.3  Da’afu, in the collection of the Clay Figurine Research Institute of Wuxi

his robe reaching the ground and his feet stepping on wooden clogs, the dynamic expression of the figure is simple and vivid. The contrast technique between the open white glaze robe and the hands, face and feet of the figure is bold and appropriate, reflecting the typical characteristics of the Shiwan kiln, such as its simple body, thick and smooth glaze and dark fetal bones. In addition to ceramic sculpture, porcelain sculpture with similar craftsmanship was also developed in the Qing Dynasty. At that time, there were some famous porcelain production areas, such as Dehua in Fujian Province and Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province, whose Goddess of Mercy, spirit beasts, animals, etc. in porcelain were famous for a while, with certain local characteristics. In addition, the clay figurines of Wuxi, Tianjin, and other places, are also worth mentioning.

The art of small clay sculpture of a secular nature flourished in the Song Dynasty. After the development of the Yuan and Ming dynasties, this craft spread throughout the country and became the most characteristic small folk sculpture in the Qing Dynasty. Tianjin, Beijing, Fengxiang in Shaanxi Province, Xunxian and Huaiyang in Henan Province, Suzhou and Wuxi in Jiangsu Province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, Huangpi and Xiaogan in Hubei Province, Fuyang town of Chaoan in Guangdong Province, etc., were famous clay sculpture production areas at that time. The clay sculptures were produced in different places with different local characteristics, and many types of clay sculptures were formed by place names or surnames, among which Wuxi and Tianjin clay figurines are the most famous.

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Wuxi clay figurines were produced in Huishan. They were mainly made of a type of strongly viscous clay found there. Huishan clay figurines began in the Ming Dynasty, and developed greatly in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, going from a side occupation of farmers to gradually developing into professional clay sculpture workshops. Wuxi clay figurines are generally divided into coarse figurines and fine figurines. Coarse figurines, also known as »play figurines,« are mainly toys for children, such as Dafu, Nan florets, cat florets, platelets and so on. Fine figurines, namely »Shounie opera,« are mainly stories by three or four people. The themes of supernatural beings and customs were meticulously made, and some were decorated with colored silk, pommel and glass. There are several famous clay figurine artists who had their own kinds of clay figurines. For example, Ding Ajin was famous for making fine clay figurines, Zhou Asheng for making clay figurines depicting supernatural beings, and Wang Chunlin famous for sculpting clay figurines depicting children such as Da’afu (Fig. 9.11.3). His style has continued to the present and has become the most representative craft product of Huishan clay figurines. Tianjin clay figurines are famous for the Zhang Clay Figurine, which was a handicraft handed down from the older generation of the Zhang family, a generally painted clay sculpture. The earliest generation was Zhang Wanquan, a native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, who fled the famine and lived in Tianjin. He started to make a living by making small clay figures and animals that children loved as »play figurines,« and sold them to kilns. Later, his son Zhang Mingshan (1826–1902) inherited this art and developed it into a kind of desk sculpture, mainly for people to look at. He himself became an excellent clay sculptor, hence the name »Zhang Clay Figurine.« He was adept at drawing on the techniques of opera characters, expressing the personalities of the characters in a detailed and general way through their postures, expressions, clothing and props. After Zhang

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Mingshan, his descendants were able to follow in his family’s footsteps and develop and promote the art of the Zhang Clay Figurine, which has become a famous regional clay sculpture product. In addition to independent sculptural objects, the sculptural remains of the Qing Dynasty include many rich decorations attached to various types of buildings. Due to the relatively recent era, the Qing Dynasty architectural carvings survived to this day due to the existence of a large number of various buildings, becoming an important element of Qing Dynasty sculpture. Qing Dynasty architectural carvings, compared with the Ming Dynasty, were further developed. The style of over-elaborate decoration made architectural carvings more common. The following is a brief introduction to a few representative and important architectural types and features of architectural carvings. Qing Dynasty mausoleum architectural carvings of the Eastern and Western tombs, the mausoleum of the Hall of Heights (Longen Hall) stone railings, pillars, the Danbi Stone in the center of the stone steps, the Wugong Stone and several stone archways with the stone carved pillars are very fine. Among them, the Eastern Tombs of Empress Dowager Cixi, and the Dongling Stone are more prominent, and the content of the Longen Hall stone railings is unique. The dragon and phoenix carvings on the Danbi Stone and stone railings are different from the general »dragon playing with phoenix« and »phoenix playing with dragon,« reflecting the identity and desire of Cixi. With the development of industry and commerce in urban and rural areas and the enrichment of people’s lives, the construction of various customary temples, ancestral halls, guild halls, theaters and their decorative carvings also became more prosperous. The Xiqin Guild Hall, built in the 8th year of the Qianlong era (1743) by a salt merchant from Shaanxi Province in Zigong, Sichuan, is full of carvings. Along the 60  cm wide and 23  m long wooden railing boards of the opera tower and bell

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drum tower, there are 208 carvings of various sizes on the upper, middle and lower levels. Among them, the lower level of the screen is larger and carved in high relief, covering scenes of stage performances of ten plays, including Zhui Pan 追潘. Bian Qin 辨琴. Zhong Yi Tang 忠义堂. Shi Qinzhou 失秦州. Wangmu Xianshou 王母献寿 and You Yue Gong 游月宫. The scenes are grand, exquisitely carved, and the characters are vivid and real. The scene of Zhui Pan, in which Chen Miaochang chases Pan Sheng in his boat, is dramatic, and the characters’ dynamics are portrayed with great attention to the action of the opera. There are many other stories of this kind in the architectural carvings of other guild buildings. In addition, the Chen Academy in Guangzhou, built in the reign of Emperor Guangxu, adopted a complete set of Shiwan ceramic ridge decorations on the roof, which are full in shape and color and are mostly opera characters. »Liangshan Juyi« and »Wulun quantu« are the representative works of Lingnan large-scale brick carvings on outer walls, with strong local craftsmanship characteristics. The wood carvings of the screen door and the flower cover of the shrine in the back hall are also the best of the architectural carvings in Guangdong. The stone carvings of the sparrow between the eave column and the moon beam, and the stone carvings of the platform railings are also of high level. In addition to the above-mentioned halls and other buildings, the ceramic sculptures on the roof of the ancestral temple in Foshan, Guangdong; the Yu Garden San Sui Hall in Shanghai; Dian Chun Hall, Hui Jing Lou, Wanhua Building’s doors and windows, and the front of its wall decorated with wood carving and brick carving; the relief of the caisson floor of the Shanghai Wood Merchants Association Hall, the carving of the buildings under the eaves of the Zhuji ancestral hall, in Zhejiang Province, and its the ceiling, stage, etc; brick carvings on the gate wall of Daguandi temple in Bo County, Anhui Province, and wood carvings on the inside of the

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theater building; and relief and openwork carvings on the gate tower, theater building, watchtower, accessory hall and screen wall of Shanshan Guild Hall in Liaocheng, Shandong Province. In addition, there are also excellent architectural carvings of the Danfeng Chuanbang Hall theater building in Shaanxi and the Dayu Temple in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, the Yu Wang Palace in Nanjiang, Sichuan Province, the Nanyue Temple in Hengshan, Hunan Province, the Wen Temple in Jiaxian, Henan Province, and the A-Ma Temple in Yunlin, Taiwan. The remains of Qing Dynasty folk houses are extremely rich in various ethnic areas, and there are many Qing Dynasty gardens attached to the dwellings. Many of these residential and garden buildings are decorated with fine carvings. Their themes, materials, and techniques are similar to those of guild halls, customary temples, ancestral halls, theaters. In northern residential buildings, there are many patterns of flowers and plants rich in auspicious meaning. In general, the art of sculpture in the Qing Dynasty became more skillful, and the style tended to be rich and luxurious. Large-scale sculpture declined, compared to the previous generation, showing a tendency to be programmatic and secularized; small-scale sculpture showed more refined and rich characteristics when developed compared to the previous generation. The achievements of both reflect the similar but different spiritual needs and aesthetic values of the Qing court and the civic class after the further development of industry and commerce.

Section 2  A Wide Variety of Folk Products Folk custom production in the Qing Dynasty also gained development under the influence of social concepts at that time. It showed different local characteristics in subject matter, material, and

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craft. From the perspective of handicraft production, it can be broadly divided into three categories: cutting, plastic work, and weaving. They all embody more national and folk cultural awareness in their practicality.

1. Folk Papercutting and Carving Folk cutting was widely spread among the people. It was mainly done by cutting and carving with tools such as scissors and knives, and materials such as various colored paper and leather, and included paper cutting, shadow puppetry and so on. In the Qing Dynasty, with the increasing richness of people’s lives in urban and rural areas, the flourishing of various folk activities and the prosperity and diversification of the opera industry, folk cutting became more common, and its skill level further improved compared. Paper cutting is the most common and widespread kind of folk cutting (»paper flowers«). Paper cut art was one of the most convenient folk art varieties in terms of material and technique, and its emergence almost coincided with the invention of paper. Paper cutting in the Qing Dynasty was more colorful in terms of subject matter and style, and its remains are more numerous. The art of paper cutting was widely used in folklore, and according to its use could be roughly divided into categories such as window paper-cuts, paper money, wall paper-cuts, embroidery samples, lanterns, fireworks displays, wedding decoration, fan paper-cuts, and merit paper-cuts. Window paper-cuts (»window flowers«) were mainly popular in the north, and were used to decorate windows for the annual festivals. There are two kinds of window paper-cuts in general: one kind was pasted on the already glued window paper, with »corner paper flowers« pasted on the four corners, and »group paper flowers« pasted on the center of the window pane, in different styles. The other kind was directly pasted on the window pane, and the pattern in the middle could be breathable, commonly called an »air eye« or »air

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hole.« The size of the window paper-cuts generally varied according to the requirements of the window pane, but was generally not large, and the hollowing would have considered the effects of light. A window was often pasted with many individual window paper-cuts, and its style layout and color matching were complete and unified. Paper money was usually a paper flower that was attached to the door lintel during festivals or onto the roof beam when building a new house to. It was also called »hanging paper-cuts« when hanging from the roof beam, and »door color« and »door paper-cuts« when hanging from the lintel of the door. Paper money is generally shaped like a flag, and five or seven sheets were often needed to decorate a hall. Wall paper-cuts are paper flowers that are pasted onto indoor walls. Those that are pasted on the earthen bed (the kang) are called »Kangwei paper-cuts,« those that are pasted on the roof are called »ceiling paper-cuts,« and those that are pasted on the stove are called »stove paper-cuts.« Paper cuttings were used as embroidery patterns. These included »shoe,« »hat,« »pillow,« »pillow end,« »sleeve,« and »bag« patterns (such as the »nine palace styles« popular in the Beijing Region, including the tobacco pouch, fan cover, wallet, letter pouch, perfume pouch, glasses case and betel nut pouch). While early embroidery patterns were generally created using drawing techniques, papercutting emerged in the Qing Dynasty. The earliest evidence of this is Guo Mengjian’s sketches of paper-cut embroidery patterns in his Notes on the Embroidery of Jijinzhai Studio (Jijin zhaoxiu pu 吉金斋绣谱), written in the 13th year (1874) of the Tongzhi era. This contained over 20 styles, including »wiping cow,« »drinking horse,« »reading book,« »night inn,« »crying goose,« and »flowers and plants.« As embroidery pattern styles had to be determined according to their positions and sizes, they were rich in color. Lantern patterns (denghua 灯花), also known as »lantern patterns« (denglonghua 灯笼花), were

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9.11.4 »Delivering a Child and Blessings,« Shandong Art Museum collection of the Clay Figurine Research Institute of Wuxi

pasted onto various lanterns. According to the different forms and functions of lanterns, their styles and subject matter were also different. There were typically many approved patterns for patterns stuck onto palace and gauze lanterns. Meanwhile, many patterns pasted onto lanterns with paper horses on carousels featured moving subject matter such as Chinese opera characters. Gift patterns, which were stuck onto various gifts, had different names in different regions. For instance, they were known as »circular basin patterns« in Pingyang, Zhejiang, and »pastry patterns,« »fruit patterns,« and so on, in Chaozhou, Guandong. Auspicious designs were generally used. »Ji [happiness] cuttings,« also known as »dowry cuttings,« were pasted onto marriage implements. These meanings of these were more or less identical to those of gift cuttings, symboliz-

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ing luck, happiness, and a joyful marriage. In addition, fan cuttings were stuck onto fans. Gilded paper cuttings of orchids and bamboo, birds and flowers, or characters were generally attached to black-painted paper fans. Colored papercutting patterns were also sandwiched between double-layered silk yarn circular fans. »Achievements and virtue« paper cuttings were used to pray for blessings and avoid evil spirits when providing deities with sacrifices, to dispel illness and avoid calamity. These would usually then be cremated, thus achieving their goal of providing offerings or avoiding calamities. All forms of Qing Dynasty papercutting art tended to embody the meaning and function of praying for blessings and avoiding calamities, or decoration. Their themes encompassed all kinds of character stories and scenes, auspicious flowers and lucky grass, and divine birds and other animals from history, opera, legends, and real life, as well as various animals and everyday objects, and even trees, mountains, and rivers, and geometrical patterns, and Chinese characters in multiple forms. They were therefore extremely wide-ranging, including the Eight Immortals, the Prospect Garden, figures from the Journey to the West (Xiyou ji 西游 记), playing children, dancers, armed figures on horseback, »Ushering in Wealth and Prosperity« (»Zhao cai jin bao« 招财进宝), the scene of »Delivering a Child and Blessings« (Fig. 9.11.4), babies on lotus thrones, ducks playing on lotuses, lotus fish bottles, the »Gold and Jade Filling the Hall« (»Jin yu man tang« 金玉满堂) idiom, the »May Happy Events Come« (»Xi shi lai bao« 喜时来报) idiom, a »Vase Bringing Riches and Honor,« the »Possessing Both Riches and Honor« (»Fu gui shuang quan« 富贵双全) idiom, Liu Kai gaining a son, »Qilin Bringing a Child,« »Carp Leaping over the Dragon Gate,« »Rats Marrying off their Daughter,« pines, bamboos, plum blossoms, and orchids, vases of flowers, steppe polecats, bottle gourds, butterfly love flowers, and the Fairy Couple. This strongly reflected the everyday lives and

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aesthetic tastes among many common people during the Qing Dynasty. Qing Dynasty papercutting techniques were varied. Papercutting styles with different applications and regional techniques were passed on, resulting in monochrome, color-lined, color-separated, joint-color, layered color-printed, color-filled, dyed, smoked, outlined drawing, and woodblock printed varieties of papercutting. Papercutting, monochrome and color-lined types form the majority that survive. There are also many remaining dyed, layered color-printed, and smoked papercuttings. Rather outstanding among these include papercuttings from: Shanbei, Fengxiang, Tongchuan, Zhouzhi, Yongshou, Qianxian, and Baoji in Shaanxi; Tianshui and Qingyang in Gansu; Xiaoyi, Qixian, Jingle, and Fushan in Shanxi; Penglai, Huangxian, Fushan, Yexian, Cangshan, Yantai, and Gaomi in Shandong, Yuxian, Shanhe, Cangxian, and Fengning in Hebei; Nanjing and Yangzhou, and Jintan in Jiangsu; Pujiang, Lanxi, and Jinhua in Zhejiang; Mianyang in Hubei; Fuyang and Wuhu in Anhui; Quanzhou and Pucheng in Fujian; Foshan and Chaozhou in Guangdong; Hailun in Heilongjiang; Jilin; the Dong ethnic group in Guizhou; and the Da ethnic group in Yunnan. Of these, Shanbei, Fushan, Yantai, Nanjing, Quanzhou, Foshan, and Jilin papercuttings are most representative. Shanbei papercutting was mainly scattered throughout regions such as Dingbian, Jingbian, Wubu, Yulin, Yichuan, Mizhi, and Yan’an. Another key form of papercutting folk art was shadow puppetry. Shadows puppets were Chinese opera objects mainly used in shadow-play performances. According to historical records, while shadow puppetry dates back to the Western Han Dynasty, the official formation and prosperity of shadow plays took place during the Northern Song, and developed throughout the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Reaching their peak in the Qing Dynasty, shadow plays were rather widespread during this period. In addition to their early

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popularity in Shaanxi and Henan, they also prevailed in regions such as Shanxi, Hebei, Gansu, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Beijing, and Dongbei. Particularly by the end of the Qing, shadow plays had spread across over half of China. They were known as »lantern shadows« or »leather shadows« in Shaanxi, »cow kiln plays« in Gansu, »donkey hide plays« in Henan, »Luanzhou shadows« in Hebei, »leather dolls« in in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, »extracted leather monkeys« in Fujian, »paper shadows« in Guandong, and »cow hide dolls« in Sichuan. In addition to shadow plays flourishing among the people in the Qing Dynasty, the papercutting of the emperor »Delivering a Child and Blessings« held by the Shandong Art Museum (9.11.4), was especially popular among the aristocracy, who largely promoting it, introducing it into their official residences. At this time in particular, the capital was collecting various dramas. Only by the end of the Qing did this start to decline. Shadow puppets were manufactured according to the circumstances and customs of different regions, with materials such as leather, sheepskin, donkey hide, and cardboard being commonly used. Rolled flat, figures were carved in individual head, upper body, lower body, arm, leg, hand, and foot sections. After they were painted, tung oil was applied, and they were assembled. In the long-term development process of shadow plays in each region, due to differences in theatrical styles, and the aesthetic tastes and present customs of the common people, as well as the influence of differing natural conditions, their carving techniques and images resulted in individual, somewhat different formal characteristics. Among these, Shaanxi, Beijing, Shanxi, Sichuan, and Hubei shadow puppetry were among the most prominent. Shaanxi is one of the regions in which shadow plays were most widespread, with the longest history. In general, shadow puppets were smaller than a Chinese foot. The head designs of male and

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female roles featured prominent foreheads, and concave, deep, straight, and elegant noses. This was known as »leopard head, deep eyes.« Their mouths, small and exquisite, were positioned close to the bottoms of their noses. Brows and eyes were thin and elegant, and all of their features combined constituted a »blank face.« With many straight and circular lines, facial features were dignified and graceful, yet simple and pure. At this time, there was a popular chant: »Bending eyebrows, line eyes, a little bit of a small cherry mouth. A round forehead, a sharp chin, don’t forget the carved earring« (» 弯弯眉. 线线眼. 樱桃小 口一点点。圆额头. 下巴尖. 不要忘记刻耳环«), thoroughly illustrating the formal design characteristics. Variations of these designs totaled no less than three or four hundred, and their exquisite techniques were second to none (Fig. 9.11.5). Apart from Chinese opera shadow puppets, there were also »rite puppets.« These shadow puppets, used in large religious assemblies in Buddhist

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temples, were made with leather, and illuminated to create a display. As these shadow puppets were not used in performances, their arrangements and carving techniques differed somewhat to those of Chinese opera puppetry, although they were made with similar drawing and papercutting techniques. Rite shadow puppets were largely created with yin (concave) carving, and color-painted designs, with particular attention paid to illustration of the plot. The »Water and Land Rite« shadow puppet from Dayi in Sichuan is a rather outstanding representative work.

2. Folk Plastic Works Folk molding works were made from common everyday materials, including ceramic, metal, clay, wood, cloth, paper, and dough. Techniques such as kneading, carving, folding, color painting, sewing, and embroidering were used to create folk art objects that did not exhibited sculptural characteristics. Mainly intended for appreciation, folk

9.11.5 Belt of Heaven and Earth (number one), China Folk Art Museum Preparatory Collection

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molding works were also used in various popular custom and Chinese opera activities, in addition to everyday life. Folk molding works existed in various stages of human civilization. Along with the development of handcrafts, the flourishing of popular customs and Chinese opera activities, and the improved standard of peoples’ everyday lives, folk molding underwent significant development in the Qing Dynasty. Its many varied forms largely consisted of toys, masks, puppets, cloth decorations, and dough models. In the Qing Dynasty, toys were largely made by hand, using common, rustic materials such as ceramic, clay, wood, cloth, paper, wheat stalks, and bamboo. Common forms included animals such as lions, tigers, pigs, dogs, chickens, monkeys, cows, horses, as well as the twelve zodiac animals, opera characters, tilting dolls, comical figures, warrior figures, revolving double figures, mohuoluo dolls, and various kites, rotary drums, revolving swallows, spinning tops, sounding hammers, monkey rolling ladders, horse hurdles, money boxes, clay whistles, and Chinese yo-yos. Their forms could be childlike and cute, amusing and jocular, or clever and interesting. In addition to catering to the tastes of children, the subject matter of these toys often reflected the simple beliefs and beautiful desires of the people. Toy manufacturing was very widespread in the Qing Dynasty, with several experts in various regions. Some children even made their own toys. Many specialist artists and workshops made their livings through toy manufacturing, and notable toy manufacturing locations and varieties appeared. Huishan and Wuxi clay toy varieties and techniques are very well-known. Key products included »Little Lucky« and the »Child of Wealth.« Huiqiu in Suzhou, apart from molded clay figures, was also renowned for its toys, its products largely consisting of clay beauties, playing children, and story characters. During the Qing Dynasty, many cloth toys from regions such as Fengxiang, Qishan, Changwu, and Chenggu in Shaanxi took animals

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such as tigers, pigs, rabbits, lions, and monkeys as their subject matter. Regions like Fengxiang also produced clay toys and hanging sheets of paper. Several plump dolls, small roosters, small monkeys and tigers were also created. Colorfully painted, these were lively and interesting. The Yuhuazhai clay opera figure, known as the »clay jiaojiao,« no more than two or three cun high, featured various colors such as red, yellow, and green on top of a black base. Steady and coordinated, its back and top each contained holes which could be blown into to produce sound. These figures were extremely rich in local flavor. Numerous toys were also produced in Shandong, with Tancheng »bangbang figures« among them. Made from willow wood, their faces were carved with black lines, and their bodies were painted with decorative designs, their clear contrasts rendering them rather captivating. The »gugu chicken« from Xunxian in Henan, which originated in the Northern Song, could be blown into to produce a sound similar to a chicken call. There were also clay warhorses, mythological animals, domestic animals and fowl, and legendary opera characters, all brimming with rich local character. Rather famous Sichuanese toys included clay whistles, rabbits, horses, and tortoises, paper dragons and smiling monks, cloth tigers and dolls, and characters from Journey to the West from regions such as Chengdu and Mianyang. These were all highly fascinating and appealing. Other notable clay toy manufacturing locations included Quanzhou in Fujian, Fuyang in Guangdong, Pingshan Hall in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, Shaoxing in Zhejiang, Chengxian and Qingyang in Gansu, Baihe River Canyon in Hebei, Acheng in Helongjiang, and Yingkou and Kaiyuan in Liaoning. Jingdezhen kiln clay toys from Jiangxi, bamboo toys from Nanxiong in Guangdong, and wooden toys from Taishun in Zhejiang were also rich in regional characteristics. Another Qing Dynasty toy popular in regions all over the country was the sugar figure. Able to be both played with and eaten, their shapes including figures, animals,

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flowers, and plants were created using blowing, pressing, and hand-molding techniques. For instance, Beijing and Hebei sugar figures were both well-known. There were also weaved kites, festival lanterns, transforming flowers, and various other attractive and charming toys. While Qing Dynasty toys were full of diversity, they generally possessed the following common characteristics. First, the majority took figures and animals as their subject matter, and their forms and expressions were abundant. In mobile figures, most focus was placed on the exaggeration of movement and bearing, while more attention was paid to aesthetic decoration in static figures. Some subject matter, such as that of Big Fu and tigers, also embodied the morals of expelling evil and welcoming fortune, thus reflecting stronger distinctive features of human nature and ideology. Second, figures tended to be small, exquisite, round, full, and suitable for play. Their coloring was typically bright, lively, and striking, fit for admiration and capable of provoking interest. Third, they were fundamentally handmade, allowing for convenient material collection and good material quality. Moreover, they were time-honored, with strong senses of culture, distinctive regional characteristics, and abundant local flavor. Masks were »artificial faces« worn during popular custom activities such as folk sacrificial dances and opera performances. Masks used in folk sacrificial activities were also known as daimian (»substitute faces«), and those used in Chinese opera performances were also known as lianzi (»faces«) or xitou (»play heads«). Masks were usually made from either wood or paper. Wooden masks were first carved into shape, and then painted. Paper masks were usually formed by pressing paper pulp into various molds, and then painting these with the five sense organs of traditional Chinese medicine. The designs of wooden masks from regions such as southern Fujian and eastern Guangdong, and the southwestern ethnic groups, were complex and unusual.

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Featuring thin engravings among course ones, with some remaining uncolored, the regional and ethnic characteristics of these were very distinct. While masks were also used as folk toys and in other dance performances, they were usually created simply, in rather monotonous styles. Qing Dynasty opera performances were particular focused upon »lianpu« (types of facial makeup in operas). The lianpu designs were usually achieved using outlining, smearing, and rubbing techniques. These designs were divided according to the different roles in Chinese opera, and were based on systemized designs and color styles. Common opera lianpu styles differed according to different opera types. These extremely stylized designs clearly and precisely indicated the different positions, ages, and personalities of each character in an opera. Looking at extant lianpu from Qing Dynasty operas, their forms are rigorous, and their designs are rich. Attractive and tasteful, their meticulous pattern and bright colors render them worthy of much appreciation. In addition to Chinese opera lianpu, outlined lianpu masks were also used in popular custom activities, such as folk sacrifices. However, these lacked the comprehensive beauty of Chinese opera lianpu. The majority of puppets were woodcut figures used in puppet shows (known as »puppet shows« [kuilei xi 傀儡戏] or »puppetry« [kuileizi 傀儡子] before the Qing Dynasty). During the Ming and Qing, puppet shows spread all over the country, enjoying great prosperity. The main types of puppet shows performed during the Qing Dynasty included marionettes. In ancient times these were known as »suspended thread puppets« [xuansi kuilei 悬丝傀儡] and commonly referred to as »pulling string plays« [qiansixi 牵丝戏] or »string bottle gourds« [xian hulu 线葫芦]), wooden rod puppetry—in ancient times known as »rod puppetry« [zhangtou kuilei 杖头傀儡] and commonly referred to as »wielding poles« [shua ganzi 耍 杆子], or »supporting play« [touxi 托戏]), glove puppetry—also known as »hand-supporting pup-

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petry« [shoutuo kuilei 傀儡] or »palm puppetry« [zhangshang mu’ou 掌上木偶]), and metal rod puppetry—also known as »iron rod play« [tiezhi xi 铁枝戏]). While puppet heads were generally carved out of wood, some were made with other materials such as clay or cloth. Based on the roles in a play, different lianpu would be drawn, or cut and stuck on. The eyes and other sense organs of some puppets were movable or replaceable, allowing their facial expressions to change during performances. In cloth processing, cloth was used for sewing, appliques, inlaid metal sheets, and embroidery was used for decoration. These folk objects were then stuffed with wood shavings or cotton. Qing Dynasty cloth processing was most popular in northern rural areas, being particularly distinctive in regions such as Shaanxi, southern Gansu, Shanxi, Shandong, and Beijing. Some areas of Sichuan and Jiangsu also produced unique cloth products. Qing Dynasty cloth products came in many varieties, such as pillows, pin cushions, fragrance bags, children’s hats, bibs, and various toys. Shaped like various animals and figures, these were made in forms such as the tiger-head handle, double-fish handle, double-headed tiger, and child-shaped pillows, fish-shaped, frog-shaped, and »Five Children Competing for First Place« pin cushions, »Five Poisonous Creatures« and »Twelve Zodiac Animals« fragrance bags, tiger-head hats and shoes, lion-head shoes, frog-shaped bibs, cloth tigers, cloth opera figures, figures astride lions, Zhu Bajie carrying his wife on back, cloth monkeys, and cloth dogs. The design of practical implements tended to focus on both realism and beauty, while also valuing practical convenience. For instance, the child pillow was created in the form of a crawling child, its head and buttocks pointing slightly upward, with a concave back and a mischievous, endearing posture. It was also very comfortable to use. Tiger-head shoes were created in the shapes of plump, crouching

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tigers. Many of these lacked four limbs, so that they could be worn comfortably; their heads were ornately decorated in the manner of children’s tastes. At the back were small tails, which could be used to remove the shoes. On the other hand, realistic charm was often emphasized in the creation of toys. Formed into various figures, some toys could be combined with and used alongside others made from different materials, such as cart-pulling or bridal sedan chair-lifting figures. As for famous Qing Dynasty cloth products, in addition to tiger-head shoes, tiger-head hats, cloth tigers, and various styles of handled pillows from the Guanzhong Plain in Shaanxi, cloth tigers from regions such as eastern Gansu, Shandong, Beijing, and Tianjin, and fragrance bags from Suzhou and Taizhou in Jiangsu, and Leshan in Sichuan, were all extremely rich in ethnic and regional characteristics. Edible dough was the main material used in dough modeling. After shaping, they would be steamed, before being finished with dye. Some dough models were also made with materials such as glutinous rice flour, cotton, and honey. These sturdy figures did not become cracked or deformed. Originating from the »gift bread« of popular custom festival activities, dough models gradually developed into dough-modeled toys, which were of a high enough standard to be displayed. Dough modeling in the Qing Dynasty was most popular in northern rural areas, with regions such as Shaanxi, Shanxi, Shandong, and Beijing rather renowned for it. In particular, dough model styles from Huaxian in Shaanxi were many and varied. Fengxiang dough models, dyed with bright colors, embodied a strong sense of popular custom. At the end of the Qing, dough models from Shanghai, Wuhan, and Hangzhou were also rather distinctive. The butter sculptures at Kumbum Monastery in Qinghai are molded artworks with Tibetan ethnic group religious characteristics. These are largely made from with butter and tsampa, and mixed

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with various mineral paints. They are thus also known as »oil models.« Created during the early Ming in Tibet, butter sculptures were brought to Qinghai in the late Ming, becoming one of the »four wonders« (statues, murals, stacked silk, and butter sculptures) of Kumbum Monastery. In addition, after the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, a bottle gourd implement (paoqi 匏器. also known as hulu qi 葫芦器), that combined the artificial with the natural, began to prevail in the court and aristocratic homes. These were made by placing newborn bottle gourds into wooden or brick cases, and allowing the bottle gourd to grow in the shape of the mold. When ripe, these were decorated using methods such as inlays and stamping. This resulted in diverse designs with natural decoration, and various colorful and glossy implements such as brush pot, garlic-head bottles, flower-shaped plates, and longevity peaches. These were all rich in natural charm.

3. Folk Weaving, Braiding, and Miscellaneous Products In folk weaving and braiding, common materials from various regions, such as rattan, straw, willow, sunflower, bamboo, palm, paper, and cloth were typically used. With techniques including weaving, folding, tying, and pasting, multiple implements for use in everyday life, such as toys and furnishings, were manufactured. In the Qing Dynasty, weaving and braiding techniques became richer and more exquisite, and their usage was more widespread. In addition to weaving and braiding, there were also several different miscellaneous folk products with definite aesthetic value. Their many key varieties included rattan, straw, bamboo, and paper-weaving. Rattan-woven implements were weaved after undergoing various natural rattan processes. Durable, flexible, waterproof, rotproof, bright, clean, lightweight, portable, and aesthetically pleasing, rattan could be used in combination with materials such as wood and bamboo. In order to prevent

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leaks, glue was applied inside and outside of implements used to hold foodstuffs and water. Common rattan-woven implements included chairs, beds, mats, vegetable baskets, fruit baskets, and fruit plates, as well as farm instruments such as levelling tools (mo 耱), enclosing frames made of bamboo (long 笼), and winnowing baskets. These were all long-lasting and durable. Due to the rather coarse quality of rattan, its weaving techniques and patterns tended to be rather simple, with rattan-woven implements usually exhibiting plain, natural features as a result. In the Qing Dynasty, rattan was woven in regions such as Guangdong, Yundong, Guangxi, Fujian, Tibet, Zhejiang, and Huichang in Jiangxi, Laifeng in Hubei, and Daozhou in Hunan. Rattan-weaving was also widespread in regions such as Shaanxi, Gansu, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, and Hebei. As rattan tended to be rather coarse, farm tools weaved with it displayed a rough and simple style. Straw-weaving materials were even more abundant. These included various natural weeds and water plants, and sorghum, hemp, and wheat stalks, in addition to corn husks. According to the different properties and lusters of materials, several diverse floral designs could be woven out of straw, with color being added to some of these. In the Qing Dynasty, straw-weaving was extremely widespread in regions all over China. As different regions produced different types of straw, their varieties and styles also differed somewhat. Among these, many notable and distinctive products appeared. As for the wheat stalk straw hats from Laizhou (modern Yuxian) in Shandong, their design was aesthetically pleasing, and their weaving work was meticulous. Wheat stalk straw-weaving was also very renowned in regions such as Qingfeng and Nanle in Henan during the reign of Emperor Jiaqing. With a soft texture, its luster was pure white, fine, and glossy. Yellow straw-weaving from Jiading in Shanghai encompassed numerous types, and its technical standard was very high. Other outstanding straw-weaving tech-

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niques could be found in regions such as Fujian, Heilongjian, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Anhui. These all embodied regional characteristics. In bamboo-weaving, finely-shredded and scraped bamboo strips (which could be divided into green bamboo and yellow bamboo) were used to weave or bind practical implements such as bamboo tubes, wood strips, and unfired porcelain, as well as toys and furnishings. Some products were also decorated. These were produced in areas with flourishing bamboo cultivation, particularly in the south, which was home to the most outstanding techniques. In addition to rattan, straw, and bamboo-weaving, there was also willow, palm, sunflower, and rope-weaving. Among these, palm-weaving was newly prosperous in Sichuan, Changting in Fujian, and Hanzhong in Shaanxi, as was sunflower weaving in Xinhui, Guangdong, and hemp shoes in Gansu and Shaanxi. During the Qing, especially after the mid-Qing, these all enjoyed fixed reputations. Paper was the main material used in weaving and braiding, with its manufacturing techniques including folding, cutting, and pasting. Some relatively large-scale paper-braiding works required paper or silk cloth to be pasted on after a braiding method framework, such as that using thin bamboo strips, was established. Paper-braided products mainly included kites, dragon lanterns, sky lanterns, various Lantern Festival lanterns, transforming flowers, wreaths, and joss paper. Kites were popular, time-honored toys, which were rich in folk custom sentiment. Largely widespread in the north, kites were used all throughout Tomb-Sweeping Day, and became a popular custom festival activity. Kite-weaving and braiding were very prosperous throughout the Qing Dynasty, and their styles were numerous. Their forms included eagles, swallows, butterflies, bats, dragons, and phoenixes. They were also shaped like all kinds of legendary religious characters such as Sun Wukong, Nezha, Zhong Kui,

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and flying apsaras. Rather notable among these included Beijing kites, Tianjin willow tree blue kites, kites from Weifang in Shandong, and kites from Nantong in Jiangsu. Popular custom festival lantern products such as dragon lanterns, sky lanterns, and Lantern Festival lanterns were typically braided and used throughout the Lantern Festival. Dragon lanterns tended to be rather large. These were braided into dragon shapes, filled with lights, and flown by many people simultaneously, resulting in a spectacular sight. Many sky lanterns were braided into various shapes, such as lord hats. Once the oil wick was ignited, the kite would fly like a shooting star. Lantern Festival lanterns were ornamental, and geared towards children. These were generally braided into of the shapes of humans, lotus flowers, frogs, lions, tigers, chickens, drums, buildings, war chariots, and sedan chairs. Some could rotate. Multi-colored, they were flown simultaneously at night during the Lantern Festival, creating a lively scene. Lanterns from the Lantern Festivals of Quanzhou, Suzhou, Chaozhou, Foshan, Nantong, as well as Beijing, Shaanxi, and Sichuan were very well-known. During the Qing Dynasty, various different folk appliances, which touched upon all aspects of daily life, were used. These are generally referred to as miscellaneous folk arts and crafts products. Made with many and varied materials and techniques, these were usually created manually or by simple machines. They had both practical and aesthetical value. In addition to those mentioned above, there were many other common varieties of these implements. For instance, metal varieties included furniture, bronze decorations on doors and windows, bronze locks, curtain hooks, bronze tobacco pipes, bowl pipes, bronze pots, lampstands, show horns, and gold and silver jewelry. Ceramic varieties included teapots, wine pots, dishes, kneading troughs, water pots, garlic mortars, censers, chamber pots, porcelain pillows, and snuff bottles. Wood and rock varieties included canes, eyeglass frames, thread wind-

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ing boards, thread boxes, jewelry boxes, wooden combs, tenons, wooden clubs, bellows, farmers’ carts, wagons, looms, spinning wheels, cold pillows, stone rollers, feeders, and stone sinks. Other varieties included fans, umbrellas, Chinese opera helmets, kerosine lanterns, musical instruments, study tools, cutting tools, weaponry, and fireworks. These products were either crafted by skilled folk artisans, or ordinary artisans. Their techniques varied from rough to refined, and their styles were different. Moreover, regional and folk characteristics were very distinct. While the styles and designs of these tended to be rather fixed, there were also some that did not adhere to conventions. Such flexible changes and new elements reflected the sincere feelings and intellectual capacity of the people. Overall, folk manufacturing in the Qing Dynasty developed to encompass comprehensive, rich, diverse, and exquisite characteristics, becoming an important aspect of Qing Dynasty fine arts. Folk products usually involved designs of practical tools and everyday appliances, and were even more closely linked with popular custom activities, intrapersonal etiquette, and common life. As a result, they possessed more extensive cultural and practical functions. The wonderful aspects of folk products became the most widespread and important works of folk fine arts. Numerous designs directly reflected the fundamental characteristics of ethnic arts, as well as art development. For example, the subject matter of ethnic art, whether this was bird-and-flower designs with tree peonies, lotus flowers, chrysanthemums, pines and cypresses, orchids and bamboo, Chinese bulbuls, red-crowned cranes, peaches of immortality, or pomegranates, or figures fishing, gathering wood, ploughing, or reading—they all conveyed the sentiment of auspicious signs and praying for blessings, with corresponding rules. Indeed, this was the most important kind of visual art subject matter in the Qing Dynasty. Impacting the promotion of literati painting and literati art

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as a whole, its role cannot be understated. The end of the Qing brought a great deal of foreign subject matter and styles. Reflected and employed in popular custom creations, this was inseparable from the lives of folk artists.

Section 3  The Prosperity of Folk Painting Folk painting is the foundation for the painting style of a people. It is also one of the most broad and universal reflections of the cultural awareness of a nation. The fact that the Qing Dynasty is relatively close to modern times means that many of its folk paintings have been preserved. They enable us to intuitively experience the fundamental direction of the cultural development of the Chinese people. This book places great emphasis on folk art, while also including historical perspectives, to make up for a lack of emphasis on certain materials and discourses. Generally speaking, as a fundamental form of painting, it is difficult to separate folk art into specific categories. We will attempt to use modern terminology to approximate categories like woodblock printing, murals in architecture, thangka and other folk painting genres.

1. Folk New Year Pictures of Yangliuqing and Taohuawu Woodblock New Year pictures were a major genre of woodblock prints. These works of art had varied content, diverse formats, beautiful shapes and vibrant colors. They were also one of the most popular forms of folk painting among the general population. Yangliuqing, Taohuawu, and Weifang produced the most typical woodblock New Year prints. Records show that woodblock prints of New Year paintings were produced throughout China, including in Yangliuqing, Chaomidian, and Dongfengtai near Beijing; Taohuawu, Yangliu, Nan-

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jing, Nantong, and Wuxi in Jiangsu Province; Weifang, Pingdu, Gaomi, Tai’an and Yunzhou in Shandong Province; Wuqiang and Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province; Mianzhu and Jiajiang in Sichuan Province; Fengxiang and Guanzhong in Shaanxi Province; Zhuxianzhen, Zhengzhou and Lingbao in Henan Province; Tianshui in Gansu Province; Linfen, Changzhi, Taiyuan, and Datong in Shanxi Province; Linquan, Boxian, Suxian, Taihe, Fuyang, Jieshou and Shexian in Anhui Province; Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shaoxing and Ningbo in Zhejiang Province; Chunantan and Chenzhou in Hunan Province; Jiujiang and Nanchang in Jiangxi Province; Liujiang in Guangxi Province; Foshan in Guangdong Province; Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian Province; as well as Tainan in Taiwan. Locations with the longest history, largest production and most influence in woodblock New Year paintings included Yangliuqing in Tianjin, Taohuawu near Suzhou, and Weifang in Shandong Province. The woodblock New Year paintings of Wuqiang in Hebei and Mianzhu in Sichuan were also very influential. The town of Yangliuqing is located 20 km to the west of Tianjin and in ancient times was known as Liukou. It was well connected by waterways and had attractive natural scenery as well as a flourishing commercial center, which gave it the popular name of the »Little Suzhou« of Northern China. During the reign of Emperor Guangxu, the village had a total population of 7,000 people. This art form had been passed down through generations, with each family taking part in the industry, making it an important source of northern-style woodblock New Year paintings. From a few precious pieces that have been passed down, we can see that the woodblock New Year paintings of Yangliuqing began to be produced no later than the late Ming Dynasty. The earliest and most influential workshops belonged to the Dai and Qi families. The Dai Family Shop had been passed down to Dai Lianzeng, who was the 9th generation of masters and lived during the

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reign of Emperor Qianlong. Dai Lianzeng and Qi Jianlong developed six major shops with names like Lianzeng, Jianlong, Huilong, Jianhuilong, Meili and Lianzengli. Later shops also included Xianzhang, Zenghuazhai, Yishenghe, Hengtong, Songzhuzhai and Rongchang. At its height, there were more than 30 villages surrounding Yangliuqing that also produced New Year paintings. Generally, larger workshops had around 200 workers that created carved plates and carried out printing. Over 50 different images could be produced at the same time. This enabled the area around Yangliuqing to produce a total of over a million New Year paintings annually. The style of these works was influenced by the Qing-era palace style and woodblock prints of the Hall of Military Glory, featuring fine lines and elegant, gentle images. Coloring was vibrant, but balanced, and included a wide variety of tones. Designs generally became increasingly complex and rich as they developed. Woodblock New Year paintings from before this period were rarely produced in a single sheet the size of curtain paper, but this became very common. This indicated not only that the woodblock New Year paintings made during the height of Yangliuqing continually improved in terms of technique and produced in large volumes, but also that they had also developed their own artistic style. While the north may have had Yangliuqing in Tianjin, the south had Taohuawu near Suzhou— resulting in the saying, »Tao in the South and Liu in the North.« Taohuawu was located north of the city of Suzhou and contained over 50 workshops producing woodblock New Year painting at its height. By the reign of Qianlong, Suzhou had become a very important city and woodblock New Year paintings produced there had reached a high level of development. Woodblock New Year paintings from Weifang were also an important variety of New Year paintings during the Qing Dynasty. In ancient times, Weifang was also known as Weixian, and was a

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prosperous region in eastern Shandong Province. The town of Yangjiabu, located 15 km to the northeast of the city, was one of the origins of woodblock New Year paintings. During these years, Weifang New Year paintings were also known as Yangjia New Year paintings. Records show that shops selling New Year paintings during the reign of Emperor Qianlong included those with names like Yongsheng, »Gongyi,« Gongtai, Yihe, and Gongxing. By the reign of Daoguang, there were over 40 shops selling New Year paintings, and three of the previous shops—Gongyi, Gongxing and Yihe—had both northern and southern locations. By the reign of Xianfeng, this number had increased again to 50 or 60 shops, and by the reign of Guangxu included over a hundred shops in over 20 surrounding villages. Weifang woodblock New Year paintings adopted many new styles and followed popular trends. Printing these prints was a common side job for many local farmers, which meant that these works had a strong folk flavor. Wuqiang in Hebei Province and Mianzhu in Sichuan Province were also important centers of woodblock New Year paintings. Legend tells that in the early 14th century, during the reigns of the Ming Dynasty emperors Hongwu and Yongle, a skilled painter from Shanxi took up residence in Wuqiang and began painting with ink and brush, later using a carved printing method. After developing a black and white technique, then adding color, this technique had gradually developed to include entire sets of interlocking woodblocks by the reigns of the Qing Dynasty emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing. The New Year paintings of Mianzhu had a long history and were already producing a large number of works by the reigns of Qianlong and Jiaqing, with workshops located in the county seat, as well as surrounding towns like Banqiao, Xiaode, Qingdao, Xinshi, Zundao and Gongxing, numbering over three hundred 300 in total. Woodblock New Year paintings were different from literati paintings in the choice of subject

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matter, the rendering of shapes, changes in color as well as composition. This format was founded in the living environment of fixed folk traditions. Woodblock New Year paintings had their own set of principles, which can be summarized in certain sayings: »There must be drama in the paintings to make them fresh even after a hundred views«; »Sayings must be auspicious if they are to please people«; and »Characters must be handsome and beautiful if they are to please people.« During the middle of the Qing Dynasty, woodblock New Year painting experienced a change of subject matter, category, style and format. The number of figures in New Year paintings from Yangliuqing began to increase and a variety of layers were used in composition—vertically and horizontally as well as in terms of distance and depth. They also used a method of »varying transparency in main and minor figures with varied concentrations.« This placed main figures in the center of the painting, where the scene was most active, and portrayed them beautifully, as in works like Tradition of Donning the Crown (Guandai chuantong 冠 带传统), Fortune from Heaven (Fuzitianlai 福自天 来) and Playing and Singing (Chuila tanchang 吹拉 弹唱). As with depictions of historical figures from the late Ming and early Qing periods, composition emphasized the upper half of the bodies, which contrasted strongly with the very simple, rigid style of the background. With the development of opera and performance arts, woodblock New Year paintings also saw changes in terms of their specific techniques. Subject matter taken from historical novels began to resemble characters as they were made into operas. The existence of popular opera houses, opera gardens and operatic singing as well as a number of troupes that had gathered in Beijing also had a considerable impact on the content of New Year paintings. The painting of male figures emphasized a brilliant gaze and commanding stance, while female figures emphasized elegant gestures and facial expressions. Scenery remained mostly realistic, as in paintings

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like A Shocking Dream Wandering in the Garden (Youyuan jingmeng 游园惊梦) and Bed Surrounded by a Dragon (Weilongchuang 围龙床). During the reign of Guangxu, New Year paintings were allowed into the imperial palace, which made them even more popular. Everyone from average citizens to nobility bought them and pasted them on their doors, further driving the development of this industry. Naturally, the entrance of New Year paintings into the imperial palace also influenced their content and format. The shenma spirit, which had been thought of as a guardian against evil in folk traditions, had now become a symbol of the ruler and granter of wealth. There were also over 20 other figures including Master Lu Ban (carpentry) and the True Man Wu Dao (painting). Artists that produced New Year paintings also included oral literature popular in cities as well as the historical legends, operas, and myths that the public loved into their woodblock New Year paintings. Everything from beautiful maidens, plump children, hard working men and women, mythical and auspicious creatures, protective shenma, fish, insects, mountains, rivers and animals and plants of all kinds as well as love stories were incorporated to express the good hopes of the people as well as their aesthetic preferences. Classic works include The River Wei (Weishuihe 渭水河), The Eight Immortals Celebrate Longevity (Baxian qingshou 八仙庆寿), Delivery of a Child and a Scholar (Qi song guizi lin song zhuangyuan 麒送贵子、麟送状元), Five Fortunes Come Today, Double Happiness Will Arrive Soon (Wufu jintian lai, shuangxi jiri dao 五福今天来、双系即日到), Fortune Comes from All Roads (Wulu jincai 五路 进财), The Hundred Sons of King Wen (Wenwang baizi 文王百子), Empty Fort Strategy (Kongchengji 空城计), Fish Year after Year (Niannian youyu 年 年有鱼), Shaking the Money Tree (Yao qianshu 摇 钱树) and Five Fortunes Offered to the God of Longevity (Wufu pengshou 五福捧寿). During the later years of Guanxu and the Boxer Rebellion, there were over a hundred different types

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of New Year paintings with this kind of theme. Themes of what was known as »full power of all the gods« included as many as 50 variations. But during the late Qing, there were many external threats, and domestic transportation was affected. It was during this period that many New Year paintings poked fun at the corruption and inability of the Qing court. Some imagined gold raining down from heaven, while others imagined sudden fortune would come upon people. Still others depicted support for the Qing Dynasty and the eradication of foreign powers, fighting against exploitation. There were many others that called for hard work, thriftiness, staying in one’s place, action and retribution. as well as the middle way. Still more modern versions focused on introducing science, new cultures and new fashions. These included The Bicycle (Zixingche tu 自行车图), The Flying Boat (Feiting tu 飞艇图) and Desires of the Heart (Yixin qingyuan 一心情愿), which reflected the mixed styles of the semi-colonial and semi-feudal society that existed in China at that time. The »fullness« of the compositions was another unique aspect of these New Year paintings and a common element in decorative expression. »Fullness« helped to create a lively and full atmosphere and give the image more imagery as well as express various elements and concepts. This was even more true for the art of plate carving and the printing process. The decorativeness of compositions in New Year paintings also expressed the desire for symmetry, which was not only required for the way in which the paintings were displayed, but also the psychological and aesthetic demands of people for »pairs of things,« »stability« and »peace«—as well as the need to beautify their homes and surroundings. The use of color in New Year paintings focused on colors that were bright, strong, clean and jumped off of off the paper. Main colors included red, yellow, green and blue, while others included purple and black. The use of different colors for different content not only provided these works with a decorative beauty,

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but also adjusted the surrounding environment and became a decorative element in and over itself. The workshops that produced woodblock New Year paintings in Weifang used the following sayings: »Yellow in red makes a happy bride; red with purple is like shit«; »Purple is the bone, green is the tendon, add red and yellow and the painting is fresh«; and »Red is new, yellow is subtle, and too much green does not look good.« The culmination of experience by folk artists over a long period of time resulted in a very clear theory on how to use color. Because New Year paintings were meant to be appreciated from both far and near, great attention was paid to the overall atmosphere and effect in terms of color, composition, and format, which was extremely varied. This was already very well-represented in the New Year paintings of the Qing Dynasty. The subject matter used in woodblock New Year paintings was extremely broad and varied, and generally included two major themes—»elimination of evil and gathering fortune,« and »joy and celebration.« If we were to divide paintings into categories based on their content, these would include auspicious celebration, expelling evil, historical stories, operas and novels, folk legends, work and production, natural scenery, animals and flowers, noble ladies and children, and decorative patterns. There were also some that were of relatively low taste, and those that depicted demons and immortals. The formats that were used in these paintings included full-canvas formats as well as multiple linked images, which separated the canvas into a number of different quadrants, presenting the elements of a story in order. The skilled composition of these images meant that they were immediately intuitive even if the story was complex, which also suited popular taste. Generally, woodblock New Year paintings had their own unique perspective in terms of varieties, subject matter, and format. The names and functions varied from region to region, but the common element among all of them was the suit-

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ability to the living environment of a certain locale. Generally speaking, doors that faced onto the street were decorated with martial figures in the style of classical generals, while doors within the home were decorated with civil officials in the style of court officials. The doors of living quarters varied in terms of content based on the age and status of the person living there. For example, a grandmother’s door would be decorated with paintings in gold or with children, including images like »Children with a Qilin,« »Children Bringing Treasures« and »Beautiful Ladies.« The sides of doorways would also be decorated with written couplets or images called »door couplets,« which would contain joyful expressions in the case of a wedding. Shadow walls would also be decorated with a single character, either for fortune or longevity. The main hall or guest hall would generally be decorated with a »heart painting« that filled an entire sheet of paper and be accompanied by additional images at the top, bottom and either side. There were also known as gongjian, or large hangings—and if they were square they were called square gongjian. The painting in the main hall would also be accompanied by two couplets that would vary if there were a major birthday celebration or a wedding. The horizontal line of the gongjian, or banner or a sancai that was a third the size of a full sheet of paper, was also placed within the room. The sancai could also be divided in horizontal or vertical varieties and contained any manner of content. As with the gongjian, these were the most numerous and most common varieties of New Year paintings. Gongjian embossed with gold were known as gold gongjian and gilded sancai were known as gold sancai. Screen scrolls came in sets of four, eight or 12, and were derived from the paintings on standing screens. Most of these used the graphic story motif with content including stories from operas, scenes from the four seasons, birds and flowers or noble ladies. Panel screens, also known as standing screens, were the same size as gongjian

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and appeared alone or in pairs with content that included city life, marriage, longevity, or fortune. Screen pairs were pairs of screen scrolls that were used exclusively with a single panel screen with content that mirrored that of the panel screen. They were narrow and long, and the same length as the panel screen. Paintings placed at the head of a kang bed included horizontal and vertical lines, square gongjian, »fur« squares and roundthe-kang paintings. The inset area where the kang bed was would be topped by a »fur« square, which mostly depicted plump babies. Lintels over doors were also decorated with horizontal lines. The walls on either side of windows would also be decorated with »moonlight« paintings, which asked for brightness. Horizontal lines were also placed on the tops of windows, while colored patterns were placed on the windows themselves, while lattices on windows and beds were decorated with »heavenly lights.« Painted calendars printed with a list of the dates of the 24 seasonal cycles were also something that every household would own. Lantern paintings were used in lantern squares that came four to a set. Pigsties were also decorated with images including »beating the pig demon« and the »guard of the gate.« Grain stores were also decorated with the character for fortune. Water cisterns had to be pasted with »cistern fish,« which symbolized abundance. Tables were also decorated with table skirts, kitchens with hearth gods, cow pens with the Cowherd, heavenly judges warded off evil, the Lunar Palace symbol was used to honor the moon, while offerings used the shenma symbol and a patriarch symbol. Mongolian and Hui peoples used lattice patterns, while boats placed images of lions and swords, while meeting halls and tea houses hung large banners. The use and scale of these works was exactly the same as Chinese scroll paintings.

2. Mural Paintings While there are many existing murals on Qing Dynasty buildings, their quality is not typically

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considered to be high. According to some records, Xiao Yuncong and Hua Yan painted murals. In addition, the preserved Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Murals clearly demonstrate the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s pursuit of painting. Murals from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Period (1851–1864) feature rich content and broad subject matter. However, the majority of these were destroyed following the vicissitudes of war and history. The main surviving relics are situated in ten locations, including Tangzi Street, Luolang Alley, Ruyi Lane, and Huangni Mound in Nanjing; the Humble Administrator’s Garden in Suzhou, Shaoxing and Jinhua in Zhejiang; and Jixi in Anhui. The subject matter of these murals can be roughly divided into three categories. The first was military subject matter. These scenes, which depicted the strong guarding abilities of the Taiping military, included Besieging a Town (Gongcheng tu 攻 城图), Defending a Town (Shoucheng tu 守城图), and Defending a River Watchtower (Fangjiang wanglou tu 防江望楼图). The meanings embodied by each of these works were typical of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom murals. The second category was social life subject matter. Through use of symbolism and morality, with depictions of landscapes, flying apsaras, animals, birds, and flowers, the glory of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was expressed. There were also scenes of the masses carrying out productive labor. Social works included Phoenix and Tree Peonies (Kongque mudan tu 孔 雀牡丹图), Gathering Firewood (Caiqiao tu 采樵 图) and Fishing (Buyu tu 捕鱼图). The third subject matter category was that of historical figures and mythological stories. Many of these murals were the works of artists and painters who took their skills to Tianjing (modern Nanjing) after the Taiping army invaded Yangzhou, with Yu Chan, Chen Chongguang, Li Fuxiang, and Li Kuangji exhibiting the most outstanding techniques. In Records of the Yangzhou Painting World (Yangzhou huayuan lu 扬州画苑录), Wang Yun refers to Yu Chan’s landscape paintings as »boundless, hazy,

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powerful, and unrestrained, rendering people astonished and startled.« This vigorous and simple painting style prevailed over all others. According to written records, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom vigorously promoted and developed the painting of murals, specifically establishing an Embroidery Office responsible for embroidery and painting work. Mural subject matter included dragons, tigers, leopards, lions, and elephants. All Taiping Heavenly Kingdom murals in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui feature character portraits. Taiping Heavenly Kingdom murals had particular connotations. The Heavenly King was depicted as a phoenix, the east and north kings as a dragon and tiger, the prime minister as an elephant, and lower-level officials as lions, leopards, deer, and rabbits. These murals were painted on doorways, with different positions and statuses. These murals, which feature ceremonial weaponry, and demonstrate rank and status, led to the record of figures that were prohibited from being painted. In addition, a great number of Qing Dynasty gardens and buildings with large courtyards and sizable residences also featured traditional painting. For example, in parks of regions like Suzhou, and imperial gardens like that of the Summer Palace in Beijing, buildings were usually painted according to fixed standards and regulated subject matter, including auspicious and moral bird-andflower and bird-and-animal designs, landscapes of the four seasons, historical stories, and opera characters. Many of these paintings were finished with shading. While ink washes were often added in the south, northern paintings were brighter and more luxuriant. Artistic styles were also divided according to region, as exemplified by Shanxi color painting. These works comprehensively reflected features of Qing Dynasty folk painting, and their key subject matter and techniques were inherited by most folk artists. Many Qing Dynasty religious murals are preserved in temples in various regions. These include the

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Dai Temple in Tai’an, Shandong, the Huayan Temple in Datong, and the Guandi Temple in Yangquan, Shanxi, and the Qiongzhu Temple in Kunming, and Lijiang, Yunnan. By this time, the peak period of religious murals had largely passed. As Qing Dynasty temple murals lacked development, their influence and artistic quality were inferior. According to the inscription on the giant mural in Xiongbao Hall at Huayan Temple in Datong, Shanxi, this work was supervised by Datong folk artisan Dong An during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor. The mural features a biographical painting of the Buddha, the Buddhist teaching image entitled »Seven Places, Nine Meetings,« a painting of an arhat, the Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Goddess of Mercy, and the Child of Wealth studying with 53 spiritual advisors. In composition, skilled traditional Chinese techniques of linking and separating using mountain rocks, magic clouds, trees, palaces, and towers were adopted. In painting, much traditional subject matter was also employed. Several colors, such as azure blue and malachite green were used, in addition to powder-embossing and gilding techniques. The scene coloration is rich and beautiful, with a bright and luminous style. This mural occupies an area of 887.25 m². With its extraordinary grandeur and spectacular appearance, it is a rare masterpiece among historical murals. Tiankuang Hall of Dai Temple in Tai’an, Shandong, has rather effectively preserved a delicate and beautiful mural. At 62 m long and 3.3 m high, this copy was carried out by Qing Dynasty painters who added supplementary content. It is therefore not an original Song Dynasty work. On either side of the main hall shrine, on the east and west gables, are the two sections of a large mural entitled God of Mount Tai Returning to the Palace (Qibi huiluan tu 启跸回銮图). This depicts a scene of the god of Mount Tai returning from a hunting tour. The east section is dedicated to the clearing of the streets, and the west section is focused on his return. The mural contains a total of 639 fig-

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ures, 299 of which appear in the east section and 331 in the west section. The scene also features horses, white elephants, qilin, camels, and lions, as well as mountain rocks, trees, magical clouds, palaces, and houses serving linking and separating purposes. As for the mural’s composition, its upper section contains several buildings, while the lower section features many figures. These figures were painted using traditional Chinese techniques, with those in the center depicted in various poses. The front and back figures, and the distance relationships between them, are not portrayed with a »near large and far small« perspective. Most figures were depicted using the »front seven divided faces« method, and some were portrayed with the »straight side« method. This resulted in lively facial expressions, and different postures. Clothing patterns were outlined with metal wires, and brushwork was flowing and rigorous, with color evenly applied. As for the entire composition, figures and scenery are positioned steadily and to scale, with appropriate distances between them. This results in complexity, but not disorder. The influenced of Western painting transmitted on scenery technique is clear. While buildings are portrayed with the Western focal point perspective, figures, palaces, and bridges are depicted with the traditional Chinese isometric perspective. Meanwhile, the brush techniques of mountains and rocks are depicted rather freely, thus reflecting variation in Qing Dynasty murals.

3. Thangka The »thangka,« the name of which originates from Tibet, are wall-mounted scroll paintings made with colored silk. The thangka is an art form with regional Tibetan ethnic characteristics, distinct ethnic features, and abundant religious coloring. Typically made from textiles such as cloth and silk, some were also painted onto paper surfaces. Their artistic techniques included painting, brocade, embroidery, kesi (silk tapestry in a pictorial design), and appliqué.

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The time at which the thangka originated is unknown. The earliest thangka is most likely to have appeared in the 7th century CE, after Buddhism was introduced to Tibet. In the 5th Dalai Lama’s Catalog of Jokhang Temple (Dazhaosi mulu 大昭 寺目录), it is claimed that Songsten Gampo, the founder of the Tibetan Empire, once painted the Goddess Bailamu with his own nose blood. Later, while modeling the Bailamu Goddess out of clay, a living Buddha named Guozhuxi was concealed in the belly. This is considered to be the earliest thangka. During the Ming and Qing periods, the central dynasties strengthened their control over the Tibetan Region through measures such as appointing Tibet leaders. When the Gelugpa school of Buddhism began to wield political power over Tibet, Buddhism experienced an unprecedent period of prosperity, with particular emphasis in thangka art. In past dynasties, dalai lamas, panchen lamas, local living buddhas, and senior monks, had been directly involved in the creation of thangkas. A rise in temple activities encouraged the rapid expansion of painting troupes, and several specialized painting workshops appeared in regions such as Lhasa and Shigatse. In the time of the 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, renowned folk painters from various regions were assembled for the express purpose of thangka painting. The 7th Dalai Lama, Kelsang Gyatso, also adopted this practice, organizing painters to paint thangkas and murals. In this way, from painter communities that had been formerly scattered throughout small folk workshops, the Laribaiji Society trade association organization for thangka painting was formed. In the Qing Dynasty, thangkas underwent even more remarkable development. Not only did the number of works significantly increase, but different schools exhibiting individual stylistic features became increasingly more distinctive. To summarize, these can be divided into three painting schools: the Gamagong school, centered around Kham, and clearly

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influenced by the art of Han regions; the Menni school, prevalent in rear Tibet, and combining Indian and Nepalese artistic traditions; and the Mesa school, prevalent in front Tibet, and whose style was in-between those of the other two. Each of these painting schools had their own styles, reflecting from different angles, aesthetics, and the passionate faith of Tibetan worshippers. In Tibetan religious paintings, the proportions of each part of a figure were rigorously laid out in the Classic of Statue Measurements (Zaoxiang liangdu jing 造像量度经). In order to prevent Buddha statues deviating from specifications, the outlines of Buddhist statues were frequently reprinted with woodcut or metal prints, or roughly sketched copies, for several centuries. This has made it difficult to accurately periodize or differentiate between or Ming and Qing thangkas. Due the particular historical circumstances of Tibet, its art and religious beliefs are inextricably linked. The very act of painting thangkas was subject to religious regulations. Whether regarding the content or form of a work, there were always strict rules and paradigms. For this reason, the expressive subject matter of historical thangkas all exhibit rather large similarities. A significant number of thangkas feature historical religious subject matter. These can be divided into the two forms of comprehensive and segmented history. The former aimed to describe the important events of all periods in Tibetan history, accompanied by concise written explanations. Meanwhile, the latter focused on depicting the key events of a specific historical period. There was also a »biographical portrait« form of thangka, which mainly depicted important historical or religious figures, and important events in their lives. These thangkas were often used by street shuochang (singing and comic storytelling) performers when narrating historical events, and were rather popular. Among these, paintings depicting the life of the Buddha were the most common, with 100 detailed biography paintings of

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major events, and 12 simplified biography paintings of major events. Simplified biographies were the most representative works of specialized imitation Han painting techniques of the Gamagong school (Fig. 9.11.6). In practice, ethnic Tibetan artists developed an entire set of artistic techniques of thangka production with ethnic characteristics. Before painting, suitable materials had to be chosen. Plain weave cotton cloth and white poplin were particularly suitable. Only with this basis, and after processing techniques such as the polishing and framing of the center of biographical Buddha paintings in the Norbulingka Institute collection in Lhasa, Tibet (Fig, 9.11.6), could they begin to be painted. During painting, the center of the scene first had to be determined before drafting, wiring, and painting could be carried out. Some thangkas, due to their content requirements, had to undergo gold outlining, gilding, or gold polishing, resulting in extremely rich, beautiful, and luxurious coloration. After painting and inspection, the thangkas also underwent a mounting process, so that they could be more easily hung and viewed. Specific methods included sewing a round serrated border with white string around the center of the painting, and adding a double brocade border outside of this. Outside of this double border, there would be another border in a different silk or brocade. Underneath the middle part of this border, colorful decoration would occasionally be added. On the top and bottom of the border, there were often thin wooden bars known as tiangan and digan, and roller ends. This form was rather like that of Han scroll paintings. Moreover, silk embroidered curtains were frequently installed in front of the painting, to prevent dust. The thangka simultaneously reflected the knowledge and understanding of aspects of the life, religion, and art among the Tibetan people. Not only was the unique design, coloration, and composition of the thangka in accordance with strict religious etiquette, resulting in its own systems of

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9.11.6 Biographical painting of the Buddha, Norbulingka Institute in Lhasa, Tibet

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form and spiritual temperament, but it also had strong artistic influence. In structure, painters made effective use of space and positioning in scenes to express concepts of time and place. Heaven, hell, millennia, thousands of miles, and events in different times and places could be all organically related in the same scenes, creating artistic worlds that could be pondered, appreciated, visited, and inhabited. In the majority of works, the formal composition of main images in the center and secondary images on the periphery was adopted. This originated from the fixed style of the mantuoluo (thorn apple), and became an important formal characteristic of thangkas. From the perspective of design terminology, painters used realism as their fundamental painting technique. Graceful and elegant gold and red lines often constituted the main design method. The main image was often accompanied by lucky birds, auspicious animals, odd flowers, and unusual grass. Paintings were rich yet rigorous, demonstrating clear influence of Indian Buddhist art and meticulous Persian painting. Notably, the backgrounds of Tibetan thangkas usually featured imaginary scenery, including mountains, rivers, forests, flowers, plants, birds, and animals. The composition of these backdrops appeared to be very open, and they were often depicted using panoramic view and cavalier perspective techniques. From the front to the back, near and far scenery viewpoints, that had nothing to do with each other, were arranged in the same scene. These appeared to feature both primary and secondary propriety, and realistic density, creating strong senses of closeness and distance. This was clearly a result of Han artistic influence.

4. Calendar Posters and Other Folk Paintings Folk painting during the Qing Dynasty seeped into nearly every aspect of public life. The all-inclusive nature of folk painting was one of its most

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important features. Paintings were were posted around kang beds, hearths, on cabinets, and there were also calendar posters. Calendar posters were a unique form of New Year painting that appeared during the late-Qing Dynasty. A great deal of Western culture came to China during the later years of the Qing Dynasty. It also brought changes to aesthetic preferences and linguistic formats in Chinese painting. New things like »foreign pictures« and »foreign advertisements« by foreign merchants active in places like Jiangsu and Shanghai gradually entered into the lives of individual urban residents. These »foreign pictures« used Western techniques of light and dark as well as perspective typical of Western painting to depict figures and this drawing technique gradually influenced Chinese folk painting. Calendar posters were a new variety of folk New Year paintings that was clearly affected by this commercial style. These paintings came in a series of installments, one each month for a period of 12 months, which incorporated the Chinese tradition of calendar paintings within the genre of New Year painting. This technique used the customary symbols and metaphorical language that formed over the long period of artistic development of folk New Year painting, then incorporating foreign elements. These generally depicted gentile, beautiful young women, setting them in various seasons, with flowers, in fashionable settings or urban environments, while also using elements like fish (symbolizing abundance) or the coming of a new baby along with peonies, which symbolized wealth, orchids, which symbolized eternal youth, and flowers of the four seasons, which symbolized long life and youth. The popular context, realistic painting style, and detailed attention to light and dark, was very popular among fashionable urban residents of this period. There were several characteristics of calendar posters. The first of these was the emphasis on female beauty, which maintained a certain format and standard including thin, arched eyebrows, large

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eyes, smiling lips painted with lipstick and a youthful appearance. The second was the adoption of Western proportions, use of chiaroscuro as well as realist techniques in terms of color. The use of focal points in perspective as well as chiaroscuro gave a realism to the characters depicted and added depth to the image, which made it more complete. The third was the aesthetic influence of »foreign pictures« and »foreign advertisements,« which were widely popular with many levels of urban society and highlighted the fashionable nature of commercial culture. Later calendar posters were not necessarily »calendar posters,« and individual depictions of beautiful ladies were generally called »calendar posters.« It was in this way that calendar posters became a unique genre of folk painting that was very popular in cities. After a long period of development, a perfect unification of the spiritual, the material, practical and aesthetic was achieved in many types of folk painting. First, the reason that folk painting was able to become so popular among the public included a number of elements including its rich content, varied range of formats, perfect imagery, auspicious and joyful nature, vivid depiction of stories, unique techniques, well-developed composition, bright colors and incorporation of text that was identified with everyday life. Concepts

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like joy, auspiciousness, luck, guarding against evil, praying for good fortune as well as religious and moral themes were all contained in the content used in these paintings, which ranged from historical stories, figures from operas, folk legends, current events, stories of average working people, beautiful ladies, natural scenery, animals and birds as well as decorative patterns. Second, folk painting was created by the people themselves, with the majority being folk artists or simple farmers. They naturally had a unique and deep impression of their lives and social interactions. Their works directly represent their concept of folk culture and a deep understanding of the preferences of the people. Third, the personal style and aesthetic preferences of folk painters are retained in the cultural traditions and aesthetic sensibilities of the people, the national and regional styles. The range of variety in folk painting and the broad area that it covered as well as the integration of practical use and folk art were typical of this genre. Aesthetics and application, the spiritual and the material, as well as folk traditions and customs achieved a maturity and high level of integration in folk paintings of the Qing Dynasty. Their cultural effect on the social lives and productivity of the people was something that other art forms could not replace.

CHAPTER XII  FLOURISHING CRAFT ARTS Section 1  Ceramic Art with Jingdezhen as the Center After the founding of the Qing Dynasty, a series of measures were taken to restore and develop industry. In 1645 (2nd year of Shunzhi), the order of the imperial government to discontinue the system of »craftsman registration« in the handicraft industries was one of these. This, along with reforms to taxation during the reign of Yongzheng, meant that the burden of labor and personal restrictions on artisans did improve. These measures clearly loosened the restrictions on the development of the handicrafts industry. The popularity of »neo-Confucian« thinking represented by individuals like Li Zhi, Wang Fuzhi and Gu Yanwu meant that concepts like »applied administration« and »practicality« began to take hold. This kind of social context also drove technological development in the handicrafts industry. Changes in literature, stage performance, architecture and painting had an even more obvious impact on the craft arts of the Qing Dynasty. The reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong were periods of relative stability during the Qing Dynasty that saw economic development. There were many handicraft workshops, both official and privately operated, and both scale and productivity increased. Even more notable is the fact that the level of technology during this period not only continued on previous levels, but also saw a relatively large degree of improvement and even some breakthroughs. Types of products, forms and manufacturing techniques that did not exist during the Ming Dynasty gradually began to ap-

pear during the Qing. This, along with the introduction of Western scientific concepts like chemistry and physics, provided the necessary conditions for the craft arts of the Qing Dynasty to enter a new era of prosperity. The arts of pottery and porcelain, which were centered in Jingdezhen, fully embody all the elements of the success of the craft arts during the Qing Dynasty.

1. New Developments in PorcelainMaking Technology and Technique Beginning in the Song and Yuan dynasties, Jingdezhen gradually became a renowned center of porcelain manufacturing. During the Ming Dynasty, an imperial kiln was established here to provide porcelain that was used exclusively in the royal palace. At that time there were 58 official kilns that employed the most experienced artisans and the highest quality clays and glazes. The manufacturing process used a strict and unified distribution of responsibilities that ensured considerable improvement in the quality of the porcelain manufactured. There were also nearly a thousand private kilns. Porcelain manufacturing experienced unprecedented growth and there was an explosion of new products, from »painted porcelain« to »colored glaze« works that made Jingdezhen a place where »artisans gathered and from whence all products came.« After the arrival of the Qing Dynasty, Jingdezhen’s role as the center of porcelain manufacturing in China continued to strengthen and played a decisive role in the development of the industry. During the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, Jingdezhen had great success in the producing imitations of the works of famous kilns, im-

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itating other objects, producing »foreign works« for export and creating new types of products. Supervisors at the imperial kiln included individuals like Zang Yingxuan, Liu Yuan, Lang Tingji, Nian Xiyao and Kang Ying, who all played an important role in driving product innovation and technological improvements in porcelain production at Jingdezhen. The pieces produced under their supervision have been called Zang Ware, Lang Ware, Nian Ware, and Kang Ware. The Qing Dynasty also saw important improvements in firing techniques. Furnaces built during the Qing Dynasty were known as »egg kilns« because their outer appearance looked like a duck egg. These improvements were made on the foundations of the »dragon kiln« and »horse hoof kiln« as well as the unique properties of pine-fired kilns. The advantages of these kilns was that they had a large capacity, could fire a large number of pieces, conserved fuel and could ensure controlled temperatures. This type of kiln was used for a long time. In terms of manufacturing techniques, the technology used for manufacturing porcelain in Qingera Jingdezhen was more comprehensive and mature. Raw materials were more strictly selected and workmanship was more meticulous. There was an increased use of kaolin clay in the bodies of pieces, the amount of calcium oxide in glazes was reduced and firing temperatures and hardness of the porcelain is comparable to the present day. As for the style and type of works produced, the Shunzhi and Kangxi periods generally continued using styles from the Ming Dynasty, which were heavy and classical, but, by the Yongzheng Period, styles had started to become more refined and elegant. By the reign of Qianlong, they were even exquisite and well-made, which clearly shows a dramatic change in aesthetic preferences. The further improvement in the level of craft arts made the types of porcelain that could be produced even richer and more varied. Imitations of classical works, foreign-style pieces or innovative

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wares had all reached a state of exquisite beauty. Linglong porcelain of the Qianlong Period had openwork designs that used translucent decorative patterns, which included lamp shades and blue and white bowls that had a pure, crystalline quality. Famed »eggshell porcelain« allowed light to pass through it so that you could see the shadow of a finger, reaching a technical level that was stunning. There was an incredible number of different types of porcelain during this time. In addition to items for everyday use, there were also a large number of works for display, for collecting, for the study, for entertainment, for sacrificial ceremonies or for religious services. Imitations of ancient works or the styles of other handicraft works as well as foreign-style porcelain were also popular during the Qing Dynasty. In addition to the main technique of using a base glaze with painted designs over it, decoration also included pieces with centers in the body or neck that could turn, or linglong openwork carving techniques. Decoration was heavily influenced by painting trends of the time with designs that included landscapes, flowers, people and animals. It was also popular to include written passages on works of pottery. Most pieces produced by official kilns included a mark designating the year of manufacture, but some did not include this mark, or simply wrote »Made in the Era of the Great Qing« along with the name of the kiln or artist. Most pieces from private kilns did not have a signature stamp, or simply wrote the name of the kiln or the individual artist, while others used a picture marker. This gave them a more flexible, varied feel.

2. Official Ware of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong Periods Shunzhi-era ware manufactured before the reign of Kangxi mainly continued the traditions of wares from the Ming, which were characterized by a rough, heavy, classical and simple style. During the Ming Dynasty, it had been illegal for private

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CHAPTER XII FLOURISHING CRAFT ARTS

9.12.1 Blue and white porcelain bowl decorated with a heavenly maid and scattered flowers, Suzhou Museum

kilns to manufacture wucai pieces, which drove the development of blue and white porcelain, which reached an extremely high level during the Ming Dynasty. The »Bowl in Blue and White Porcelain with a Heavenly Maid and Scattered Flowers« (Fig. 9.12.1) has the regular script inscription »Made in the Shunzhi Era of the Great Qing.« This is a relatively representative example of porcelain from this era and reflects the look and level of the porcelain arts during the early-Qing. During the reign of Kangxi, the first to supervise manufacturing at the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen was Director Zang Yingxuan, followed by the Grand Coordinator of Jiangxi, Lang Tingji. Zang Ware and Lang Ware were widely popular and received almost universal praise. There were three main categories of painted porcelain at Jingde-

zhen, which included overglaze, underglaze and doucai. Overglaze painted porcelain included wucai famille roses and enamel dyeing. Underglaze painted porcelain included blue and white, underglaze copper red and a form that combined both of these was known simply as blue and white underglaze copper red. Doucai was comprised of underglaze blue and white and overglaze painted porcelain. Underglaze copper red used pure copper paint to draw decorative patterns, which was then covered by a clear glaze and fired once at a high temperature. The tendency for copper to seep into the glaze or vaporize at high temperatures made the underglaze copper red technique very difficult to control. This is why, while underglaze copper red pieces were a noted achievement of the Xuande Period of the Ming, the technique was

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lost because of the difficulty in manufacturing it. During the reign of Kangxi, the imperial kilns once again mastered this technique and restored the production of red glaze porcelain, which had ceased for 200 years. There were not only a large number of products, the brilliance of their colors surpassed those of the Xuande Period. There were also thin veiled decorative patterns under the underglaze copper red decoration, which was a further expansion on this Ming-era technique. (Fig. 9.12.2) Langyao red, cowpea red and sacrificial red were famous works from this period. Langyao red was produced while Lang Tingji was in charge of production and is characterized by a deep, brilliant colored glaze that is glossy and relatively viscous, resulting in natural changes in the thickness of the glaze produced by its natural viscosity. The underglaze painted porcelain techniques of blue and white and blue and white underglaze copper red appeared as early as the Yuan Dynasty and under the Ming Dynasty, the most renowned blue and white porcelain came from the Xuande Period. By the time of Kangxi, blue and white underglaze copper red manufacturing had developed even further. In addition to adopting techniques of the Yuan and Ming, this period also saw the combination of overglaze green and underglaze red. Even more complex was the underglaze tri-color method, which combined peagreen, blue and white and underglaze copper red, which was even more difficult than pure blue and white underglaze copper red. Blue and white porcelain is a uniquely Chinese form of underglaze painted porcelain and had played a major role in porcelain production since the Yuan Dynasty. Blue and white porcelain of the Kangxi Period not only maintained the dominance of the past, but, because of further advances in technology, made it even more renowned for its brilliant pure blues and rich layering. Mastery over the technique used to dilute glazes made it possible to carefully control the color of glazes into five different shades,

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which enabled the painters to create rich layering of light and dark by using different shades of glaze when painting shapes. This was known at the time as »blue and white wucai.« This overglaze wucai, which continued the traditions of the »wucai of the Great Ming,« was also known as »classical« or »hard« painted porcelain and was a very unique part of Kangxi-era porcelain. Kangxi-era wucai was an overglaze porcelain, and with improvements in technique it became harder and more transparent for a bright, clear look. Decorative techniques were emphasized by

9.12.2 Vase in red glaze, Palace Museum, Beijing

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single line plain application. Lines were strong and colors were bright, with simple outlines that had a clear and bright style. The high temperature at which they were fired made these pieces known as »hard« porcelain. Important breakthroughs in Kangxi wucai were overglaze blue and black glaze, which were the most impressive of the wucai techniques and had the most notable impact on the formation of the style. Doucai, which was invented during the reign of Chenghua of the Ming Dynasty, also saw considerable development in official ware of the Kangxi Period. New innovations at this time included famille rose porcelain, bean-color and enamel porcelain. Notable examples of products from official kilns include can be seen in the large variety of blue and white wucai porcelain. The mature, clean workmanship resulted in a rich variety of styles in porcelain from the Kangxi Period. Compared with the reign of Kangxi, which lasted a total of 61 years, the 13-year reign of Yongzheng seems short. However, in this brief period of just over a decade, the kilns at Jingdezhen produced many unique pieces. During the early Yongzheng Period, when Nian Xiyao, the Chief Director of the Imperial Household Department was supervising the Banzha Pass at Huai’an, he was also made Chief Supervisor of the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen and supervised porcelain production there. Porcelain during his tenure there is known as Nian Ware. In 1728 (6th year of Yongzheng), the Vice Director of the Imperial Household Department Tang Ying was ordered to Jingdezhen to coordinate work at the kiln and in 1737 (2nd year of Qianlong) he was ordered to take over manufacturing from Nian. Under Tang Ying’s direction, wares produced were exquisite and new varieties were constantly being produced. These are known as Tang Wares. However, porcelain produced at official kilns in Jingdezhen from the early Yongzheng Period through 1756 (21st year of Qianlong) are mostly Tang Ware products.

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The manufacturing of underglaze copper red reached an apex during the reigns of Yongzheng and Qianlong. There was another variety of glaze was known as »carmine« or »sangue-de-boeuf,« which blew a thin layer of gold-infused lead glaze on the surface of pre-fired white porcelain. This was then fired at a temperature of around 800 degrees Celsius. The inner glaze was pure white, while the outer glaze was bright with an elegant tenderness that was like rouge. This variety was originally developed during the reign of Kangxi, but reached its most exquisite under Yongzheng. Examples of carmine porcelain that have survived to the present day have a translucent pink tone that is warm and pleasing, but unfortunately very few have survived. The kilns of Jingdezhen during the Yongzheng Period were well-known for their ability to fire colored glaze. In addition to the varieties mentioned above, green glazes like okra green, turquoise green and jade green, red glazes like coral red, blue glazes like clear blue and yellows like tea leaf powder, as well as tri-color glazes like sanyang kaitai, were all famous works of this period. The doucai of the Yongzheng Period was not only able to copy precisely the Chenghua style, it integrated the underglaze blue and white with the overglaze famille roses with an intricate and brilliant style that technically surpassed what had come before. The famille rose technique, which had been tried during the latter part of the Kangxi Period greatly enriched the expressiveness of painted porcelain. This included overglaze painted porcelain that had been influenced by wucai and enamel porcelain, which made it capable of producing rich colors, soft tones and fine lines. Add to this the translucent base of eggshell porcelain created glazes that were as white as jade with an increased warmth and clearer quality that was beautiful and exquisite. The overall style of Yongzheng famille rose porcelain was meticulous and exquisite with

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qualities that made everyone who saw it think of the beautifully elegant bird-and-flower paintings of Yun Nantian. This trend showed the influence of painting on the porcelain industry. Enamel porcelain was also developed during the reign of Kangxi. After the clay bodies had been fired at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen, they were shipped to Beijing where they were painted with enamel and fired again. These works were enjoyed exclusively by the imperial household. The origin of painted enamel on porcelain of the Kangxi era was in foreign porcelain and used foreign pigments and quasi-enamel painting methods, which is why it was called enamel-painted porcelain. Most enamel porcelain at the time imitated metal-based enamel and was painted on a colored base. During the Yongzheng Period, China had already begun to make its own enamel paints and had a rich variety of colors. Records show that there were as many as 20 or 30 types of colored enamel and heavy, ornate, beautiful and even ostentatious designs had become the fashion of the time. Qianlong’s reign lasted for 60 years and marked a golden age for the art of porcelain-making in the Qing Dynasty. Continuing on the more than 70 years of development seen during the reigns of both Kangxi and Yongzheng, the Qianlong-era porcelain of the kilns at Jingdezhen entered an prosperous era of extraordinary splendor. Tang Ying had been responsible for the production of imperial wares at Jingdezhen since 1728 (6th year of Yongzheng), spanning a period of 25 years. He personally attended to the firing and summarized his experiences in works like A Record of Achievements in Pottery Stela (Taocheng jishi bei 陶成记事 碑) and Illustrated Discussions on Pottery Making (Taoye tushuo 陶冶图说), which became important resources for later research into the history of porcelain making at Jingdezhen. Underglaze copper red flourished during the reigns of Yongzheng and Qianlong. The underglaze copper red from the Qianlong Period pat-

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terns that were clear and precise with many different layers of tone. Coral red, date red, crabapple red, vermilion and alum red were all famous glazes from this period. During this period, the imperial kilns also produced blue and white underglaze copper red that were produced on a base of yellow or light green glaze. Private kilns also produced blue and white underglaze copper red works on bases of pea-green or sky-blue glaze. In terms of larger categories, celadon glazes like clear celadon and crab-shell celadon, green glazes like pea-green, grandmother green, poured green, West Lake water and jadeite, blue glazes like sapphire blue, blue gold, enamel blue and European blue, yellow glazes like light yellow, rice yellow, moon white and »old monk robes,« purple glazes like aubergine skin purple and rose purple, as well as enamel glazes like running dew glaze and mixed glaze were all famous varieties produced by the imperial kilns during the Qianlong Period. Imitation works were an important category in colored glazes at the time. Imitation works from the Qianlong Period included the famous Song kilns of Ding, Jun, Ru, Guan, Ge and Longquan. There were also imitations of Ming-era official kilns as well as the works of Ou Ware, Guang Ware, and porcelain of other East Asian countries and the West. There were also those that imitated the qualities of other materials like ancient jade, bronze, gold and silver embossing, lacquer, mother-of-pearl, bamboo, wood, gourds and carved stone just to name a few. There were also »living form« porcelain works that imitated the shapes of living things with a technique that almost looked real. The »Qianlong Pastel Plate of Fruits and Crab« (Qianlong kuan fencai suguopin xie pan 乾隆款粉彩塑果品蟹盘) contains water caltrops, peanuts, pomegranate, walnuts, lychee, jujube and river crab, which at first glance differ little from the real thing. Whether this attempt at imitating reality is successful or not is only for the viewer to judge, but the technical ability to create whatever the artist desires is very impressive.

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During the reign of Qianlong, enamel porcelain entered an extremely prolific period. The decoration on enamel porcelain of the Qianlong Period was exquisite and meticulous down to the finest detail. The elegance and luxury of these pieces was incomparable. These objects, which were reserved exclusively for the enjoyment of those in the palace, were complex to manufacture and extremely expensive. After the end of Qianlong’s reign, they quickly disappeared, never to be made again. Not only were a large number of famille rose porcelain pieces made by both official and private kilns, there was also new development in the varieties produced and techniques used. In addition to the white-base famille rose popular during the Yongzheng Period, works with bases of yellow, green, pink and purple with famille rose designs on them began to appear. The base colors also sometimes had fine scrolling-patterns imprinted on them. The practice of adding painted decoration to a colored base may very well have been inspired by the enamel porcelain and cloisonné of the time. Paintings of people, flowers and plumage by renowned painters were also often the basis for these designs. Others also copied the style of foreign paintings that showed a unique mixture of East and West. The techniques used to create the forms used in Qianlong ware are nearly without equal. Openwork vases with sections in their bodies and necks that could be turned as well as interlocking vases are just a few examples. The interlocked openwork vase of this period not only included a vase within a vase that could be turned, the upper and lower portions of the vase were interlocked with T-shaped sections that were inserted into each other. These were not connected and could move without leaving any traces of glaze application or firing. According to records form the imperial palace, Tang Ying produced nine interlocked vases for the emperor, of which only three survive. One is in the National Palace Museum in Taipei and

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the other two are in the Palace Museum in Beijing. How they were fired and then pieced together remains a mystery to this day. The exquisite decoration on porcelain from the Qianlong Period and the wealth of the glazes can be seen in the »Qianlong Large Vase in Various Glazes« (Qianlong gese youcai daping 乾隆各色釉 彩大瓶), in the collection of the Palace Museum. This vase, known popularly as the »King of Porcelain,« is 86.4cm high and uses over ten classic glazes including red, celadon, Jun-ware, Ge-ware, blue and white, doucai, wucai, famille rose and enamel. Each glaze is bordered by gold and each brilliant in their own right. The glaze paintings also have a classic style and must have required countless steps to finish. This clearly shows just how much outstanding craftsmanship and manufacturing techniques were an important part of the aesthetics of porcelain during this period.

3. Official Kilns of Late Periods and Famous Regional Kilns The porcelain produced at Jingdezhen after it had passed its height was far from what it had been. By the late Qing, the blow of a wave of modern industry caused even more rapid change. Handicrafts gradually began a transition to modern mechanized production and a model of global trade. However, in looking at specific periods, the Jiaqing period still continued much of what had been accomplished during the reign of Qianlong, and masterpieces continued to be produced in subsequent periods. (Fig. 9.12.3) Following the reign of Daoguang, China grew weaker by the day and the art of porcelain manufacturing could no longer achieve its past glories. The official kilns had gathered the best artisans and technologies, giving them unique advantages and generally the pieces they produced were much better than those of private kilns. However, at certain phases, official and private kilns did have mutually supportive and even mutually beneficial relationships. Even in Jingdezhen, many

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masterpieces were also produced by generations of private kilns. Vessels in lightly drawn blue and white and figures and flowers in famille rose from the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods may have been few in number, but their quality was recognized. The blue and white wucai pieces from private kilns of the Kangxi Period were even more brilliant. During the Qing Dynasty, Jingdezhen adopted a method of coordinated production with official and private kilns. In addition to technical and artistic exchange and assistance, the quality of the pieces produced by official and private kilns was quite close, and, in some regions, kilns would learn from each other’s strengths. From local historical records, important centers of production for pottery and porcelain numbered over a hundred with about 400 of those achieving a certain amount of fame. Kilns of the north and the south also each had their own advantages. Here are a few relatively representative examples. Guangzhou-style painted porcelain of the Qing Dynasty was known for its bright colors and luxuriant designs. In order to meet foreign demand during the Yongzheng and Qianlong eras, merchants in Guangdong shipped plain fired clay forms from Jingdezhen back to Guangzhou and then painted them with imported glazes before firing them a final time. The colors of the glazes in these pieces were deep and rich, which made them very popular. Guangzhou-style painted porcelain was mainly produced for export with styles and decoration that suited foreign tastes. Some were even produced according to designs provided by foreign clients. Generally, decoration on these pieces was relatively elaborate and detailed, and often used Western painting techniques. Later, the amount of Guangzhou-style painted porcelain increased and they no longer used clay forms from Jingdezhen and began to use local kilns in the area around Guangzhou. The city of Liling in Hunan Province started to make underglaze wucai at the end of the Qing Dynasty, mainly producing blue and white pieces

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9.12.3 Vase with three openings in lake-blue with white flowers, Palace Museum

for everyday use. The clay was white with a slight greenish tint, but it was thin and the cover glaze was clear and even, while the underglaze was bright and clean. Some display pieces also reached a very high level. Underglaze wucai was a new technique developed by a porcelain maker in Hunan during the reign of Xuantong. This technique used a »three firing« method, which first fired the plain clay body at a low temperature, which was then painted and fired again, followed by the application of a clear cover glaze and a final firing at a high tempera-

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ture. These works were characterized by brilliant colors, a crystalline surface and elegantly clean designs. They were quickly popular with both domestic and foreign customers. Between 1907 and 1912, these works won several awards at the World Exposition in Panama as well as awards of excellence and gold medals from domestic porcelain associations, making a considerable contribution to salvaging China’s porcelain industry during the end of the Qing Dynasty. Dehua in Fujian Province had been an important exporter of porcelain since the Song Dynasty. Archaeological discoveries show more than 180 kiln sites at this location between the Song and Qing dynasties. The Dehua kiln has always been renowned for its white porcelain. The Buddhist statues and altar pieces it produced seemed to blend the clay and glaze into one the color of these pieces has been described as ivory white, milk white and swan down white. After the start of the Qing Dynasty, Dehua kilns also produced blue and white and painted porcelain in addition to their traditional white porcelain. The majority of these pieces included everyday items like vases, teapots, bowls and washbasins, which were exported to places like Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia—even Tanzania in East Africa. The production of pottery also saw considerable growth, with the kilns at Yixing in Jiangsu and Shiwan in Guangdong being the most representative. The zisha and Jun-style pottery produced at Yixing were both unique and well-known, with history that could traced back to the Northern Song. By the Ming Dynasty, it was said that their »teapots spread over half the land,« which alludes to Yixing’s prosperity. After the founding of the Qing Dynasty, the artistry of Yixing’s zisha wares had reached a high point and there were many master potters that constantly developed new techniques. Famous artisans included Chen Mingyuan from the reign of Kangxi, Chen Hanwen, Wang Nanlin and Yang Jiyuan from the reign of Yongzheng, and

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Chen Wenbo, Hui Yigong, Pan Dahe and Wu Akun from the Qianlong Period. The »Mansheng teapot« that was created through cooperation between Chen Hongshou and the pottery master Yang Pengnian received great acclaim. The Bamboo Teapot and Windblown Sunflower Teapot by the sister of Yang Pengnian, Yang Fengnian, was admired as a model of artistry. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, other master teapot makers included Huang Yulin and Shao Daxiang. The Qing court had a great affinity for zisha works and palace archives have records of imperial orders for zisha wares by Yongzheng and Qianlong. It was also during the reign of Yongzheng that a painted glaze technique was developed for Yixing teapots. It is worth noting that, with the growth in the pottery arts, discussions of pottery and porcelain started to be published during in the Qing Dynasty. In the past, writings on pottery and porcelain had been limited to recording certain events or appreciation and collecting, scattered throughout the notes or ramblings of many different authors. In 1774 (39th year of Qianlong), Zhu Yan of Haiyan in Zhejiang Province published Discourses on Pottery (Taoshuo 陶说). It wasn’t until its publication that a comprehensive and systematic description of pottery and porcelain as craft arts had been produced, and is likely China’s first authoritative work on porcelain. Later, Wu Qian’s A Record of Famous Pottery Works in Yangxian ­(Yangxian mingtao lu 阳 羡名陶录), Lan Pu’s Pottery Records of Jingdezhen (Jingdezhen tao lu 景德镇陶录), Chen Liu’s The Elegance of Pottery (Taoya 陶雅) and even more contemporary examples like Xu Zhiheng’s Discussions on Porcelain from the Studio of Gratitude (Yinliuzhai shuo ci 饮流斋说瓷) were published, dedicated to discussing and researching pottery and porcelain. These publications provide a great deal of information for the research of Qing-era pottery and porcelain techniques, especially those of Jingdezhen, and are important resources for the study of the artistry of Chinese pottery.

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Section 2  Printing, Dyeing, Weaving, and Embroidery China was the country that invented silk and established the Silk Road. Men tilling the fields and women weaving cloth was a long-held social ideal. This meant that the myriad of craft arts in dyeing and weaving were the most influential of all handicrafts in China’s social and cultural development. The Qing Dynasty was an era of overall mature development in this area and it marked not only the beginning of modern industrial production, but also an end to China’s long affair with its feudal social system.

1. Printing and Dyeing The use of dyes to print images on or apply color to cloth is the most basic and straightforward way of decorating cloth. It is also the most widely used. This process can be divided into two categories, the dyeing of thread or entire bolts. Techniques for dyeing were already very well-developed by the Tang and Song dynasties. However, the laws of the Northern Song stated that cloth dyeing could only be used for military uniforms and outlawed the carving of printing stamps among the general population. During the Yuan and Ming, the government emphasized the production of brocade and satin, which meant that, prior to the Qing Dynasty, the dyeing as a method of decorating cloth had never been mainstream. The production of cotton had spread throughout China during the Ming and Qing dynasties and had become even more common among the general population than silk and linen. The rapid development of cotton production also resulted in a widespread innovation of manual dyeing techniques. Cloth printing and dyeing of the Qing Dynasty was very developed, with 20 or 30 colors in common use, most of which were a variety of aqua. Different techniques resulted in the formation of different systems of colored dyes.

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While there were many different methods of dyeing, they could all be categorized under dyed patterns or printed patterns. Many of China’s ethnic groups used tie-dye or batik methods in place of printing stamps, which are included under the dyed pattern technique. By the Qing Dynasty, all of these methods were widely used and had many variations. The Qing-era Manual of Cotton Planting and Processing (Mumianpu 木棉谱) contains a description of a method used in the area around Shanghai in which wooden blocks were carved with designs of flowers, figures and animals, then covered with cloth and pressed down. Then colored paint was brushed onto the high points, resulting in a painting-like design. This method was known as »brushed printing« method and used the same basic technique as creating rubbings from stone stelae. Another method was to use ash mixed with gelatin alum that was used to create patterns on the cloth, which was then dyed. When the ash mixture was removed, pure white patterns would remain. This method was called »scraped printing.« There was another method in Suzhou known as »flicked ink« that used a bamboo knife to lightly scrape a brush dipped in dye to spread drops of color on the area where the pattern was to be created. The dye used in both the »brushed printing« and »flicked ink« methods were in liquid form and were later both called »water printing.« The »scraped printing« process, on the other hand, used a dye that had the consistency of a paste and was known as »paste printing.« These were mostly used in printing on silk or decorative strips of cloth, which created a different flavor. Printed dye designs were the most direct way of creating patterns and the most representative example of this is the blue calico cloth, popular among the Han people of China. According to legend, the previous incarnation of blue calico cloth was yaobu cloth created by a person surnamed Gui in in the town of Anting near Jiading during the Southern Song, later during the Ming Dynasty it was known as jiaohua cloth in

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the Songjiang Region. The dye was created using two-thirds lime and one-third bean powder. The pattern was then scraped onto cotton cloth using a board with patterns cut into it. After being dried in the sun, it was placed into a vat of dye and after being dyed again was scraped to reveal the patterns. Cloth dyeing workshops using the blue calico method were common throughout China during the Qing Dynasty. Another method used a series of stamps with patterns to create »colored stamp« cloth that could have up to seven different colors. Cloth from Gaoyang and Hejian in Hebei Province are most typical of this style. Tie-dye and batik are the most common manual dyeing methods used by China’s ethnic minorities. The tie-dye method first creates triangular, square or linear patterns on the cloth that are fixed with thread and then dyed. In ancient times, Chinese batik was also known as »wax patterns.« It uses a wax-knife dipped in melted wax, which is applied to white cloth to create patterns. Then it is dipped in the dye vat (mostly blue dye) to apply the color. Then it is placed in boiling water to remove the wax, revealing the patterns painted on the cloth. The cracks that occur in the wax during the dyeing process allows dye to seep through, creating natural lines that are difficult to replicate, which is one of the things that makes batik so unique. The style of the patterns used in printing or batik vary regionally and by ethnic group. Generally, the patterns used by smaller ethnic groups in China’s border regions were more expressive and free. Their evolution and transformation resulted in a decorative style that was simple yet incorporated many elements, fresh and powerful, which makes it unforgettable for all who see it. Decoration on the cloth used in official dress was always linked to the strict protocols for official uniforms and could not be overstepped. Generally speaking, the decorative styles of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong eras continued the traditions of the Ming Dynasty with exquisite patterns and harmo-

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nious colors, but this gradually gave way to elaborate and ornate designs that were not as vivid and flowing as private cloth manufacturers. After the Yuan and Ming, many decorative patterns took on auspicious meanings, which followed the trend of »auspicious images,« which stated that designs must have meaning, and that meanings must be auspicious. These methods were often augmented by metaphor, homophones or actual text that reflected common social aesthetics and people’s ideals.

2. Silk, Cotton, Linen, and Wool Weaving After the Han, Tang and Song, the Ming and Qing dynasties marked the fourth period in which silk weaving flourished. While cotton cloth had grown to be the most commonly produced fabric, silk still saw considerable development. Zhejiang remained the national center of silk production, but Sichuan, Hunan, Guangdong and Jiangxi were also major centers of silk production. The management of textile industries was also more standardized than before. Using Ming-era experiences, each region established departments for the weaving and dyeing of textiles to encompass each stage of production. The Beijing Weaving and Dyeing Service oversaw fabrics, pigments, embroidery and painting of textiles. The Weaving Service in Jiangxi mainly oversaw official factories. At the time, Nanjing had as many as 30,000 looms and large factories with 1,000 looms were not uncommon in Suzhou and Hangzhou. Other associated industries like silk vendors, loom makers and shuttlecocks also benefited from the commerce. The maturing of the cultivation of mulberry trees and silk worms, the technologies used in silk weaving and general industry demand drove the publication of a series of technological works during the Qing Dynasty. These included Complete Methods for Raising Silk Worms (Yangcan chengfa 养蚕成法) by Han Mengzhou, Discussions on Silk Worms and Mulberry Trees in Guangdong (Guang cansang shuo 广蚕桑说) by Shen Lian and Essen-

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tial Knowledge on Silk Worms and Mulberry Trees (Cansang luyao 蚕桑录要) by Huang Entong. While silk production was centered on official factories, private production popped up throughout the country, producing a plethora of varieties. There was an amazing array of silk fabrics during the Qing Dynasty. Types of brocade included cloud-brocade, Song-brocade, Sichuan brocade, Hui-brocade, Zhuang-brocade and Dai-brocade. Satin was divided into tribute satin, jacquard satin, large cloud-satin, gold-thread satin and yin-yang satin. Light silk included Hang silk, Jiang silk, Ning silk, Lu silk and Bian silk. Gauze silk was divided into raw gauze, cooked gauze, silver and gold gauze and spring gauze. Other types of fabric included damask, muslin and chiffon, providing a feast for the eyes. The names of these various fabrics alone speak to the broad geography and the variety of fabric production at the time. The most representative silks of the Qing Dynasty were produced in Nanjing, Suzhou and Chengdu. Cloud-brocade from Nanjing was a general term for all traditional silks produced in Nanjing. Their brilliant patterns and vibrant colors were likened to painted clouds in the evening sky, hence its name. The most exquisite type of cloud-brocade was »painted flower satin.« This was a type of double-weft jacquard silk that generally had multi-colored patterns on a satin base. The number of colors usually ranged between six and nine, but could be as many as 20. The weaving method used for these »painted flowers« was called »throughwarp, broken weft.« The weaver would use a large shuttlecock through the entire width of the fabric, which would stop after one or two passes, using small shuttlecocks placed on top of the fabric, passing them through once at a time as needed to create a pile pick. This was called »passing the tube.« Colors could be changed as needed at the locations where small tubes with the colored weft were located. This fully demonstrates the advantages of the painted flower technique in varying

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color, but it is time consuming and is difficult to replicate using mechanical weaving, so it must be done by hand. Still one other unique variety is known as »land of golden treasures.« The entire base is made using round golden threads combined with flat gold strips to create colored designs. The result is a shining, brilliant fabric like clouds in the sky and is one of the most unique varieties of Nanjing cloud-brocade. The Song-brocade is a general term for silk produced in Suzhou. As the name suggests, Song-brocade has its origins in the Northern Song and was most famous for its embroidered brocade from Sichuan. After the fall of Song, the official brocade factory in Chengdu began to decline. During the Ming Dynasty, a Weaving Service was established in Suzhou and became famous for its brocade, which was described as the »myriad brocade of Wuzhong.« The term Song-brocade actually has its origins in the imitation Song-style brocade that was produced in Suzhou. The weaving of Song-brocade used a double-warp, separating the base-warp and pattern-warp. The base-warp formed the foundation for diagonal or horizontal patterns on the surface. The patter-warp would enter the base-warp after two, three or six threads until the patterned weft plain weave or diagonal weft is created. In areas without patterns, it was woven into the underside of the cloth to fix the weft float. The weft threads were coordinated using a long weaving shuttlecock and a short-run shuttlecock for sections of color, which allowed for weaving using rich colors. Sichuan brocade is a general term for silk produced in Sichuan Province. Sichuan brocade was highly decorated as early as the Han Dynasty and is known worldwide. During the Qing Dynasty, the production of Sichuan brocade saw a renaissance, but had already integrated some of the characteristics of brocade weaving in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Main varieties included washed-cloud brocade, rain-silk brocade, checkered brocade, striped brocade, earth-cover brocade, scattered-flower

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brocade, washed-flower brocade and ethnic satin. Colors frequently used in Sichuan brocade include dark green, goose yellow, dark purple, scarlet and true red. The Jin River runs close to Chengdu and muslin is washed in the river water. Red dye is the best color for this fabric, especially true red, which is truly unique. Brocade made by China’s minority ethnic groups refers to varieties like Hui-brocade, Zhuang-brocade, Dai-brocade, Li-brocade, Dong-brocade, Miao-brocade and Tujia-brocade. These fabrics were dazzlingly beautiful and each had their own unique qualities, adding a great deal of variety to silk weaving during the Qing Dynasty. Cotton had been planted and used as early as the Qing and Han dynasties in China. During the Ming Dynasty it had spread throughout the entire country and become the main material used for clothing. By the Qing Dynasty, the area around Songjiang, Huating and Qingpu were still centers of cotton weaving, which can be seen in the saying »more fabric in Songjiang than can be bought up, more muslin in Weitang than can be gathered.« Later in the Qing Dynasty, a large amount of cotton from Songiang was sold to Europe and it was very popular for English gentlemen to wear shirts of Chinese chiffon from Hangzhou that used violet patterned cotton from Songjiang with a natural brown color to make pants. Violet cotton was shipped from Nanjing and foreign merchants often called it »Nankeen.« After the Opium War, foreign countries began to sell massive amounts of machine-made cotton muslin to China, and Chinese manual weaving began to decline. Linen is made from the fibers of the flax plant, mainly using the ramie plant, which was then unique to China and was known outside China as »Chinese leather.« Techniques for making linen in China have been in existence for over 6000 years, and during the Qin and Han Dynasties it was China’s main textile. Ramie cloth unearthed from the Han Tomb Mawangdui No.1 is so exquisite and tightly woven

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that it can be compared to silk. After the Yuan and Ming and the increased availability of cotton, linen was gradually replaced. Before the Song and Yuan, cloth made of hemp fibers was also popular. Shao Culture pottery from Banpoyang near Xi’an includes over 100 pieces with impressions of woven cloth, which included weaving techniques like plain weave, twill, muslin, ribbed knots, wrung knots and looping. The production of hemp fibers was low, and after the Song and Yuan Dynasties there was only minimal production in areas along the coast of Guangdong. However, the quality was excellent and was known for its »thin, smooth yet strong« qualities. Famous fabrics included brocade-pouch hemp from Leizhou and »daughter’s hemp« from Zengcheng. During the Qing Dynasty, linen was still being produced at Taicang in Jiangsu Province, Quanzhou in Fujian and Xinhui in Guangdong Province including varieties like sackcloth, ramie and abaca. In ancient times, woolen fabrics had been made from the wool of sheep, horses, camels, yak, rabbit and feathers, but the most common was sheep. During the Qing Dynasty, wool weaving techniques were used mainly for producing various kinds of carpets. Ancient names for carpets included qushu, pulu, »wool mat« and »ground clothing.« Tribute items received by the Qing Court included a large number of exquisitely woven carpets that came from many places including Beijing, Gansu, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang, each with their own style. Mongolian carpets. Inner Mongolia has always been a major region for carpet manufacturing in China, and during the Ming Dynasty became even more of a center of the carpet weaving industry. These mainly included carpets for use in the palace, religious ceremonies, or everyday use. Most carpets used a base color of bright yellow, purplish red, apricot yellow or orange red, producing different decorative patterns with colors like tri-blue, white, camel khaki and rust red. The

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kang carpets of Yinchuan with their blue base and bright colored patterns, the plain tri-blue horse blankets of Suiyuan and Mongolian blankets, the blue and white and geometric patterned kang carpets of Baotou as well as the natural colors of goat-cow wool carpets of Chifeng area all famous examples of Mongolian woven carpets. Capital-style carpets. These are also known as Yanbei or Beijing carpets, and during the late Qing were also known as Dongling carpets as they were mainly made in the area around Jixian in Tianjin. Most capital-style carpets were elegant and beautiful with carefully woven, symmetrical patterns. The standard format had three borders (outer, wide and thin), with clouds or coiled dragons at the corners and a kui-dragon (dragon medallion) in the center; sometimes the center also included bats, the character shou 寿. flower medallions, cut branches or other objects. The texture of the carpets were even and thick, with strong backing. The weaving was meticulous and the thickness of the fibers could reach to over 10mm. Emperor Kangxi required that designs include Tang and Song elements, while Yongzheng preferred decoration that imitated patterns from famille rose porcelain. During the reign of Qianlong, high-quality carpets came from all corners of the country as tribute and the royal court invited artisans to teach their craft. Clearly, while demonstrating the preferences of the royal court, capital-style carpets also adopted some of the best elements of other traditions as well. Tibetan carpets. Tibet has a long history of carpet making and maintains a strong, uniquely Tibetan style. Dyes are mostly made from local plants and minerals like walnut, safflower, the Chinese honey locust and red soil for colors that are bright and lasting. During actual weaving, the warp generally used cotton fibers while the weft used sheep wool. They used an open-back method to fix the fibers with a figure-eight knot on wool that was coarse and slanted. Long wool made carpets soft, thick and gave them luster.

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Xinjiang carpets. Xinjiang may have been the earliest place where wool weaving techniques matured. Historically, most carpets made in Hetian were sold through Shule (present-day Kashgar), which is why they were also known as Shule carpets or Kashgar carpets. These colored carpets, which used silver and gold threads mixed with cut wool fibers, were extremely elaborate. The emperors of the Qing Dynasty enjoyed them greatly. Their decoration often included clear Islamic artistic elements and were very similar to the styles of Arabia, the Middle East and Asia Minor. Images were generally collections of geometric shapes, which elaborated on geometric frameworks with tightly packed compositions that were covered with patterns, yet were not overly elaborate. In addition to these, other famous carpets of this period included Weiwu carpets from Gansu, Xining carpets from Qinghai, Yulin »tri-blue carpets« from Yulin in Shaanxi Province, and »red embroidered carpets« made of silk from Zuozhou in Hebei.

3. Kesi »Cut-Silk« and Embroidery The »through-warp, broken weft« method was also known as tapestry weaving and was used to produce patterns in silk fabrics. This is known as kesi, or cut-silk, and first appeared in China. A kesi band with geometric patterns unearthed from a Tang-era tomb in Astana near Turpan in Xijiniang in the 1970s and a Tang-era piece of kesi fabric in the Shoso Repository in Japan are the earliest examples of this style still in existence. The early Qing continued the momentum of Ming Dynasty kesi silk production in Beijing, Nanjing and Suzhou, but Suzhou was the most renowned. By the reign of Qianlong, kesi silk had become even more popular and was used to produce calligraphy, paintings, clothing, decorative objects and even Buddhist scriptures and images. The use of wide hand looms during the Qianlong Period as well as technical advancements made it possible

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to reproduce entire paintings from top to bottom. The technical skill of weavers also became more exacting. This period also saw the invention of double-sided transparent kesi, embroidered kesi and techniques that used cut silk threads for the base and wool threads for patterns. By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, a transition was made from darker to lighter colors with examples like tri-blue kesi, ink wash kesi, and the extremely beautiful tri-color gold kesi. This tri-color gold variety of kesi used red round gold thread, light round gold thread, and silver thread to produce shimmering, shining patterns on a dark background. Some examples of tri-blue kesi and ink wash kesi also used gold and silver or white threads to outline shapes and became one of the technical hallmarks of Qing-era kesi. By the late Qing era, this changed to only using the kesi method to outline while the remainder was painted to save both labor and materials. While this met the needs of commercial goods, and could rapidly increase production numbers, it also caused kesi silk to lose some of its inherent value. Clearly, early development and later change were two trends that existed simultaneously during the Qing Dynasty. There are still quite a few examples of Qing era kesi silk that have been preserved to the present day. There are exquisite examples of Qing Dynasty kesi silk in museums like the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Nanjing Museum and the National Palace Museum in Taipei. These works are generally characterized by densely packed needlework, natural shading, and threads in colors that number as many as 30. They also use classic kesi techniques including plain weft, overlay weft, tossed weft, mother-and-child warp, long and short threads, circular weft and combing. By the Qing Dynasty, embroidery already had a recorded history of over 3000 years and produced complex patterns that resembled brocade. The existence of differences in palace embroidery, folk embroidery and local styles resulted in the development of a number of stylistic systems.

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Palace embroidery was essentially pieces of embroidery that were produced exclusively for the imperial palace. These works can be divided into two major categories according to their function. The first category included works for decoration and display, including »mirror flaps,« »jade decorations« and a large number of Buddhist images. The second category included everyday items such as robes, skirts, shoes, hats, blankets, mattresses, pillows, screens, furniture covers and small accessories. Embroidery of the Qing Dynasty reached its height during the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong. The imperial household established an embroidery workshop and a factory under the Jiangnan Textile Office, which employed the best artisans and were produced for the royal palace according to designs created by painters at the Hall of Fulfilled Wishes. Palace embroidery is characterized by meticulous workmanship, the best materials and extreme luxury. Officials had different robes for each season, and the mandarin square on the chest of the robes were either embroidered or made using the kesi method, producing beautifully exquisite designs that strictly defined their rank. Other small embroidered items used by officials included pocket bags, coin purses, fan covers, flint bags and waist bags, which were covered in different designs for each season. The palace wardrobe would also frequently prepare small embroidered items to be shared. The emperor’s court dress used brilliant, complex colors, with designs that were fine and elaborate. They included many layers and variations on themes, and very much represent the style of palace embroidery. Emperor Qianlong’s »moon-white satin court robe embroidered with clouds and dragons« in the collection of the Palace Museum is comprised of a caped collar, a shirt, plain satin sleeves with a gauze pattern, a waist belt, pleats, lapels and a skirt. The robe is embroidered with 42 dragon patterns and 12 symbolic patterns. The spaces between the dragons also include clouds, bats and other auspicious objects. Important dec-

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orative elements also include wave patterns, hills of longevity and the eight Buddhist treasures. The colors are brilliant and varied, and often outlined in gold thread, making them even more luxurious. This style of court dress meant that other clothing worn by the emperor and empress, indoor items and bed clothes also frequently included extremely exquisite and richly decorated embroidery. Other important kinds of palace embroidery were beautifully embroidered paintings and works of calligraphy, which were finely crafted and richly layered, reproducing the original painting or piece of calligraphy in every detail while preserving the unique beauty of embroidery. In order to give the work a more painted feel, brush strokes were also added to portions of these works. There are still quite a few examples of embroidered paintings and calligraphy from the Qing Dynasty in the collection of the Palace Museum, which showcase the outstanding artistry of the time. There are also a large number of embroidered Buddhist images that have been preserved in Beijing’s Lama Temple, Kumbum Monastery, and the Potala Palace. As a high point of artistry in embroidery, the Qing Dynasty saw growth in the production of embroidery throughout the country. Jiangsu, Guangdong, Sichuan and Hunan were known as the »Four Great Embroideries,« while Beijing, Shandong, Henan and Wenzhou were known as the »Four Lesser Embroideries.« Jiangsu embroidery was centered in Suzhou and it was said that »works of Jiangsu embroidery are like pictures.« Its split silk embroidery used thread as fine as a human hair and fine needlework. Over 40 different needlework techniques were used in Jiangsu embroidery, which produced tightly grouped stitches, fine embroidered lines and full, flowing patterns that highlighted the lucid lines and brilliant colors. Cantonese embroidery was also known as Guangdong embroidery and began to take on its own identity during the Ming Dynasty. By the Qing Dynasty it had become widely famous and was

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described as »having needlework as fine as a hair and remaining faithful to the rules.« Most embroiderers were men and worked in Guangzhou and Chaozhou, which was rare in other regions. Cantonese embroidery of the Qing Dynasty was originally characterized by even stitches and distinct patterns. The embroidered surface of works was tightly packed and used richly beautiful colors, developing four distinct types—velvet embroidery, silk embroidery, gold embroidery, and goldwork. Sichuan embroidery was centered in Chengdu and produced embroidery made mostly from soft satin and colored silk. Patterns were relatively concentrated with clear designs on a white background with lucid colors and a great deal of local flavor. Most of the pieces in Sichuan embroidery were for practical use and included items such as duvet covers, pillow cases, robes, hats, screens and head scarves. It used over one hundred types of needlework and products could be found in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu. Hunan embroidery was centered in Changsha. It was said that during the reign of Guangxu in the late Qing Dynasty, a woman from Anhui named Hu Lianxian studied Jiangsu embroidery in Wuxian, then followed her husband to Changsha where she established Wucaixia Embroidery. After this, the fame of Hunan embroidery gradually increased. Hunan embroidery is actually a combination of local folk embroidery and the best elements of Jiangsu and Cantonese embroidery. The split silk of Hunan embroidery is very thin and is boiled in a mixture of sap from the Chinese honey locust tree and then wiped to keep it from fraying. It is more commonly known as »fine wool embroidery.« Dyed base materials are also popular in this style for a so-called »change to a blue base and dyed silk.« A pulled needle method is used to create images and other needlework techniques like double-printing, quadruple printing and powder fill as well as matched, soft, furry, crossed, vertical, diagonal, overlapping and layered for a very ex-

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pressive result. Other local embroideries include capital embroidery from Beijing, Shandong embroidery, Henan embroidery, Zhejiang embroidery and Wenzhou embroidery with styles that range from rough to refined and have their own unique styles. Ding Pei, who lived during the late-Qing, was also known by the courtesy name Bushan and was a native of Huating (present-day Songjiang in Shanghai) or Wuxian. He was a renowned embroiderer. He compiled A Manual for Embroidery (Xiupu 绣谱) during the reign of Daoguang, which was dedicated entirely to the art of embroidery. The book was divided into six chapters on regional selection, samples, materials, colors, processes and appreciation. It also includes seven key concepts in embroidery: evenness, light, straightness, balance, thickness, flow and denseness. He also outlines four principles for appreciating embroidery: spirit, cleverness, skill and ability. In his later years, a late Qing Jiangsu master embroiderer named Shen Shou from Wuxian summed up his experience during his later years in a book that he dictated, entitled A Manual for Embroidery by the Winter Official (Xuehuan xiupu 雪宦绣谱), which discussed topics like preparation, how to start a project, needlework, essential concepts, appreciation, virtue, ceremony, and the path of embroidery. These books were based in practical experience and explain all aspects of embroidery in a systematic and detailed way, which makes them incredibly valuable.

Section 3  Jade, Stone, Lacquer and Metal Work Objects made from jade developed from tools into ceremonial objects and decorative accessories. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the tradition popular during the Five Dynasties and the Northern and Southern Song had begun to fade. Carving became more intricate in order to meet the demand

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from collectors and aficionados and became the main trend in jade carvings. The ancient art of lacquerware continued its classic prosperity under the Qing Dynasty. Lacquer of this period was often integrated into architecture, furniture, or decorative display pieces. Carved and filled pieces, crimson lacquer, mother-of-pearl and tihong pieces were all popular, and carved lacquer was especially well-developed. Designs became even more elaborate as artisans attempted to outdo each other. Many of the techniques used reached a level of perfection, and the traditional lacquer arts saw previously unmatched brilliance. With the development of metallurgy and advances in technology, the use of crafted pieces in gold, silver, copper, iron and tin became more widely available, and the manufacturing techniques surpassed anything that had come before. In addition to traditional metalwork, wrought iron and clock making were new areas that appeared during the Qing Dynasty.

1. Jade and Stone Carving Resistance from Dzungharia during the early years of the Qing Dynasty meant that routes that provided jade from Hetian were blocked and, for nearly a century during the early Qing, jade craftsmanship saw a decline—to the point where even classic pieces were rarely seen. In 1759 (24th year of Qianlong), the revolt of the Altishahr Khojas in the Muslim regions of China was put down and in the next year Xinjiang started to once again provide jade. This was the beginning of a rebirth in jade carving. Qianlong loved jade and ordered artisans from Suzhou to be brought to the jade workshop at the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Later, he once again called for workmen from Suzhou, Yangzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Huai’an, Fengyang and Jiujiang to be brought to Beijing to make jade objects for the court. With this, not only did the number of jade pieces at the palace increase, jade also became increasingly

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popular in many different cities. Rough estimates show that the there are tens of thousands of jade objects from Qianlong’s reign that survive to the present day. These are moistly decorative items for display, vessels, accessories, books, seals, religious statuary, sacrificial objects, objects for the study, utensils, and inlay. Famous centers of jade craftsmanship were located throughout the country during this period and each of them had their own unique style. Jade works from Yangzhou were bold and strong, while Suzhou produced objects that were refined and gentile. Jade works made at the palace used the best techniques from Suzhou and Yangzhou, and were famous for their beauty and classic elegance. There were also works of jade that were produced by Uighur artisans in Xinjiang, which were relatively simple and unadorned. The largest works in jade still in existence that are relatively representative are »Longevity Hill in Jade« (Yu shoushan 玉寿山), »Sea of Happiness in Jade« (Yu fuhai 玉福海) and »Yu the Great Controlling the Floods« (Dayu zhishui yu diao 大禹治水玉雕). »Longevity Hill in Jade« is also known as »Dantai in Spring,« and depicts the immortals at their home in Dantai. The original work weighs 1500 kg and was completed by the imperial painter Fang Cong and famous jade carver Zou Jingde in 1776 (41st year of Qianlong). »Sea of Happiness in Jade« is also known as the »Jade Urn with Clouds and Dragons.« Dragon patterns were carved around the entire side of the original piece of jade and the inside of the urn contains a poem by ­Qianlong. This piece of jade weighed as much as 2500 kg and, along with »Longevity Hill in Jade,« was manufactured by the Salt Administration of ­Lianghuai. These two large-scale works of jade are currently in at the east and west sides of the main room of the Hall of Happiness and Longevity. »Yu the Great Controlling the Floods« (»Jade Hill«) (Fig. 9.12.4) weighs around 5300  kg and was excavated from Mileta Mountain, southwest of Yarkent. It took three years to ship to Beijing,

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9.12.4 »Yu the Great Controlling the Floods,« Palace Museum

after which a draft was created by the Hall of Fulfilled Wishes under the Hall of Mental Cultivation based on the Song painting of the same name. The imperial painter Jia Quan used a multi-sided technique to transfer the painting onto the raw jade. In 1781 (47th year of Qianlong), the jade was prepared and a wax form of the design was sent to the Salt Administration of Lianghuai. After the carving was finished, it was once again shipped to Beijing on August 16, 1787 (52nd year of Qianlong), taking a full ten years to for the entire process to be completed. Poems and remarks by the emperor

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himself were carved into the back of the work by a master carver from Suzhou named Zhu Yongtai in seal script. This work still sits in the Hall of Happiness and Longevity in the Forbidden City. Most stone carving was the work of folk artisans who created larger pieces like statues and architectural features, while smaller items included items for the scholar’s study or objects for decoration and display, including inkstones, seals, items used for smoking, or candy boxes. Duan inkstones, which were produced in Zhaoqing in Guangdong Province since the Tang Dynasty, were made from a hard and fine stone that did not wear when rubbed with ink sticks. It also produced beautiful carved decoration that reached an apex during the Qing Dynasty. Artisans often used the natural highlights, lines, spots and holes in the stone as well as its overall shape to outline and decorate the ink pool as well as the edges, back and base of the inkstone with highand low-relief carvings. Decoration included people, flowers, birds, landscape scenes and calligraphy, which was greatly favored by literati scholars. Today, famous examples of Duan inkstones were the works of great masters and learned men. In addition, She inkstones from Shezhou in Anhui Province, Luowen inkstones from Jiangxi, Taohe Green inkstones from Gansu Province, Lu inkstones from Shandong, and Yi Yinkstones from Hebei were all decorated with exquisite carvings. Other items used in the scholar’s study like water pots, brush rests, ink stick rests, paperweights and wrist rests were also often made out of carved pieces of stone that were exquisite and delicate. Gu Sanniang, from Suzhou, was one of the noted masters of the Jiangnan region during the reign of Kangxi. The tops of seals used on paintings and calligraphy, which reached their greatest popularity during the Qing Dynasty, were divided into different schools based on their styles. Qingtian sculptures were named for the town of Qingtian in Zhejiang Province where they were made. The local stone had a fine texture with a

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brilliant luster and rich coloring, making it a favorite for the carving of seals. Later, local artisans also used their skills with this type of stone to create decorative pieces that resulted in works carved according to the natural coloring and shape of the raw stone, playing on the variations in color to produce masterpieces that seemed to resemble nature itself. Shoushan stone carvings were produced in Shoushan on the outskirts of the city of Fuzhou. These stones have a light and translucence that resembles jade, and richly beautiful coloring with more than a hundred variations. Yellow Tiankeng stone, which is found in the sandy deposits on either side of streams near fields is often also called »field yellow« and has been a prized material for generations. Treasured Shoushan stone carvings that are in the collection of the Palace Museum were mostly tribute offerings from the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. Chrysanthemum stone carvings from the city of Liuyang in Hunan Province were made from stones found in a riverbed near the town of Yonghe with naturally occurring patterns that resemble chrysanthemums. These were usually made into brush holders, water basins or smoking implements. Quyang stone carvings from Hebei Province were usually carvings of immortals, Buddhist deities, stone lions and other auspicious animals or decorative elements on buildings. Other high-quality materials like rose quartz and marble were also often used in palace structures and the homes of influential families.

2. Lacquerware Carved lacquer, also known as tihong, actually includes tihong, tihuang, tilü, tihei, ticai and tixi. During the late Ming and early Qing, the techniques of creating carved lacquer had been lost. In 1739 (4th year of Qianlong), the famous bamboo carver Feng Qi created a sample of lacquerware, which was the first successful attempt at what would become Suzhou lacquer. The lacquerware

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pieces used by the Qing court were all made in Suzhou. The »lacquer works« by the Imperial Workshop were the most outstanding examples of Beijing carved lacquer. The number of layers in carved lacquer works could number in the hundreds, which ensured that there was a wide variety of colors, which had transitioned from the dark red of the Ming Dynasty to a brighter red. These works had bases of either wood, porcelain, zisha, metal or leather, and mostly used the ticai method that allowed for an impressive array of colors. Decorative patterns were mostly fine and elaborate with an increased use of realistic subject matter. The fine, detailed workmanship was an example of the high level of skill achieved. The technique of filled carving was also very popular. The simple patterns that were carved on the surface of lacquer was known among artisans as »carving dust« and filled carving was a combination of this »carving dust« technique and color fill. Methods of color fill included engraved and inlay fill techniques. Engraved coloring was used on deep, shallow and billhook carvings in Yangzhou lacquerware. Inlay patterns were completed by filling carved areas with thick colored lacquer, which was then sanded and buffed until the patterns and base lacquer were even and polished. Filled carving was often used in larger items such as screens and is also known as »large filled carving.« The Qing Dynasty also produced multi-stage filled carving works that went through at least three stages. During the Qianlong Period, filled carving also integrated elements of painting, which made it an even richer art form. There were also examples of the combination of carved, painting and inlay in the same piece, producing complex color patterns that were delicate and lavish with many examples surviving to this day in the collection of the Palace Museum. Lacquerware of the Qing Dynasty also made wide use of gold lacquer with a number of varieties including drawn gold, gold paste, gold engrav-

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ing and embossed gold. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Beijing carved lacquer had grown from repair and manufacturing to producing carved lacquerware that imitated works from the Yongle and Xuande periods of the Ming and the reign of Emperor Qianlong, which resulted in its own local style. Yangzhou lacquerware has a long history, and by the Western Han had already reached a high level of artistry. The tihong carved red lacquer of the Tang Dynasty and the inlay techniques of the Ming were both developed in Yangzhou. By the Qing Dynasty, these two techniques had been combined to produce an even more unique style. Yangzhou lacquerware included five main styles—carved lacquer with jade inlay, flat mother-of-pearl inlay, bone-and-stone inlay, cut lacquer and red billhook. Flat mother-of-pearl inlay used pieces of colored shell or mica that were cut and sanded down into a desired shape, then inlaid into the lacquer surface. Then, they were sanded and buffed again to create an even surface with a high degree of luster. Even more exquisite was dappled motherof-pearl inlay, which used extremely thin flakes of mother-of-pearl to create intricate patterns in the lacquer that was uncommonly elaborate. »Hundred treasures inlay« was a form of Yangzhou lacquerware that employed a wide range of materials and complex processes. Its origin is most likely based in the ancient techniques used in turquoise inlay. Later, materials like gold, silver, gems, jadeite, agate, jade, blue gold, turquoise, coral, beeswax, ivory, rhinoceros horn, turtle shell, Chinese eaglewood and mother-ofpearl were used as inlay on zitan, pear wood and lacquerware. This was a technique that became unique to Yangzhou lacquerware during the Qing Dynasty. Common practice at the Qing court during this period was for inserted and hung screens with tihong and »hundred-treasure« inlay to be designed by the Imperial Workshop at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, then produced by artisans at the Textile Office in Suzhou or the Salt Ad-

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ministration in Yangzhou. Most of these also included inscriptions by Emperor Qianlong. These works expressed the preferences of the court and represented the highest level of skill at the time. Fuzhou lacquerware was extremely varied, and their embossed lacquer, colored lacquer and gold lacquer all had a uniquely local flavor. This was especially true of their pure-lacquer works, which became so famous that they surpassed many other styles. Pure-lacquer refers to a technique whereby a cloth is placed on a wood or clay mold to separate the lacquer from the base. Then, after a number of layers of lacquer are applied, the base mold is removed and the steps of filling, applying more layers of lacquer polishing and decorating are carried out. The result is a light, brilliantly beautiful, heat-resistant and durable work of art. The famed artisan Shen Shao’an of the Qianlong Period used the traditional jiazhu method to create Fuzhou’s pure-lacquer works. He chose only the best materials and had exquisite workmanship.

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The shapes of pure-lacquer vessels were often based on models of bronze or porcelain objects, which gave them a classically elegant style that was very popular. In the city of Zhangzhou in Fujian Province there was also another technique that used a base made of woven bamboo that was covered in lacquer and decorated with painted gold patterns to create plates, bowls, boxes and short cups. Longyan and other areas also created objects like rattan pillows and wrist rests that were covered in lacquer and painted with gold. These were both refined and durable, while also incorporating local styles. (Fig. 9.12.5)

3. Metalworking Enamel is commonly known as »enamel blue« and is also called »copper cloisonné enamel,« but this technique was a combination of both enamel and metalwork. Both a sword hilt from the King of Yue during the Spring and Autumn Period and a bronze pot from the reign of the King of Jing in Zhongshan during the Han Dynasty use enamel

9.12.5 Short black lacquer table with a landscape and flowers in mother-of-pearl inlay and gold and silver, Palace Museum

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decoration, but while it may have a long history, it was not widely used until the reign of Emperor Jingtai of the Ming Dynasty. The exquisite artistry of pieces from this era has given this art form the commonly known term »Jingtai blue« or cloisonné. Enamel as an art form had a renaissance beginning in the reign of Emperor Qianlong. At the time, the court established an »enamel workshop« that produced pieces exclusively for use at in the palace. Enamel can be divided into several categories including cloisonné, champlevé and clear enamel as well as the later painted enamel technique. Cloisonné enamel creates designs by welding gold or copper wires to a gold or copper base, then adding silicate-based enamel, which is then fired, polished and gilded. In addition to palace workshops, cloisonné enamel produced during the Qing Dynasty also included both official and private workshops in Beijing, Yangzhou and Guangzhou. The reign of Emperor Kangxi was the first peak in enamel production and many of the works of this period that remain to the present day are large-scale pieces. Cloisonné enamel from the Yongzheng Period is extremely rare and may be due to the fact that the emperor preferred painted enamel. During the reign of Qianlong, a massive number of cloisonné enamel pieces were manufactured and were of the highest quality. It was during this period that the classic style of the Qing Dynasty was established. In addition to enamel manufactured by palace workshops, private workshops in Beijing also produced a great deal of cloisonné enamel with a style that was similar to pieces produced for the palace. Cloisonné enamelware of Yangzhou was more innovative with images that were varied and diverse. The cloisonné was fine and flowing with colors that were cooler, a stark contrast with the style of the imperial court. Guangzhou cloisonné enamelware had vibrant cloisonné designs with tightly packed lines, but it was most famous for its bright colors. The cloisonné enamelware of Jiujiang in Jiangxi

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Province was very close in style to porcelain from official kilns, which became its claim to fame. Champlevé enamelware has its origins in Egypt and is made by carving designs into the metal base, which are then filled with enamel, fired, and gilded. This technique was known as »Folang inlay« during the Yuan Dynasty. When the Western-style buildings in the Old Summer Palace were being built during the Qing Dynasty, the Canton Customs Office was ordered to create a large number of champlevé enamelware for display, which drove the development of champlevé enamelware in Guangzhou. The champlevé enamelware produced in Guangzhou was divided into cast or hammered bodies, but regardless of the style the mature techniques that were used ensured that enamelware pieces rarely cracked or split. Pieces made for use in the imperial palace sometimes also included champlevé enamelware from private workshops in Beijing and Yangzhou. After the reign of Qianlong, cloisonné techniques also started to be used on champlevé enamelware with cast bodies. Another variety of enamelware known was hammered enamelware was made by hammering depressions into the surface of the metal body to create a design, which was then filled with enamel, fired and polished. This produced an enamel that was slightly raised and very eye-catching. This technique was mostly used in pieces for Buddhist ceremonies. Clear enamel is commonly called »fired blue« and is produced by placing a clear or translucent coat of enamel on a metal surface and then firing it. This method was original used by artisans in 13th century Italy. The more transparent pieces in clear enamel are fired at high temperatures and have flashes of green, blue, yellow, red and purple and at the time were only produced in Guangzhou. Translucent clear enamel pieces are fired at lower temperatures and have a crystal-like quality and were produced in many different regions. »Fired blue« pieces are mostly used in silver jewelry and is these pieces are called »silver fired blue.«

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Transparent clear enamel is unique to Guangzhou and is also known as Cantonese enamel. After the Qianlong Period, the popularity of this art gradually declined and the method was lost after the reigns of Daoguang and Xianfeng. Painted enamel was first produced during the Qing Dynasty by both workshops in Guangzhou and the imperial court. At the time, Guangzhou called this type of produce »foreign porcelain,« but was actually an enamel painting that was painted directly on the surface of a metal object. During the reign of Kangxi, Guangzhou took advantage of sea routes that import enamelware, raw materials and technologies, which allowed it to successfully develop the technique. Meanwhile, successful enamelware by the Imperial Workshop by the noted Jingdezhen artisan Song Sanji included enamel vessels in the famille rose style. In 1716 (55th year of Kangxi), the famous Cantonese painted enamel masters Pan Chun and Yang Shizhang participated in the creation of painted enamel for the imperial household, which helped their techniques become even more mature. The style of Qing-era painted enamel can be divided into those created for the Qing court and those produced in Guangzhou. This type of art work may have been inspired by Western ideas and adopted Western techniques, but it had already taken on very different characteristics than its European counterpart. Painted enamel made for the court was fine, clean and elegant. Designs and images were clean, even and realistic, while the varieties of objects produced showed the preferences of the members of the imperial family. Painted enamel produced in Guangzhou, on the other hand, used bright colors that were shiny and dazzling. Metal bases were thin and light with a great deal of variety, while many designs directly used European subject matter. During the reign of Qianlong, many large-scale painted enamel vessels were sent to the Cantonese Customs Office for supervision and firing by special court-designated officials to carry out the work.

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This shows how painted enamel produced for the imperial court and that produced in Guangzhou, blending both traditional and European-inspired designs, formed the unique elements of Qing-era painted enamel. The functions of and techniques used in Qing-era works in precious metals also saw new developments with changes in both their shape and the decoration used. These objects would be dotted with clear enamel and then use a cloisonné filled enamel technique. The »silver works« of the palace’s Imperial Workshop included several hundred artisans that were in charge of creating objects in gold and silver. Of the decorative objects or vessels in precious metals of the Qing Dynasty still in existence, those produced for the imperial palace are the most representative. They are exquisite beyond compare and reached a level of artistry that had never been achieved before. Common techniques included mold casting, hammering, engraving, carving, assembly, cloisonné, inlay, gold leaf and creating patinas. Not only were there a wide range of various technologies, the shapes, size and number of these objects was also even greater than ever before. At one time there had been a 5.5-meter tall golden Buddhist tower in the Hall of Rectitude at the Forbidden City that used as much as 350 kg of gold. In 1715 (54th year of Kangxi), a set of 16 bells known as the »Golden Bells for Imperial Court Music« (Zhonghe shaoyue jin bianzhong 中和韶乐 金编钟) (Fig. 9.12.6) were created for grand ceremonies held by the emperor. The weight of these bells reached more than 460 kg and were engraved with patterns of dragons and clouds as well as the pitches to which they were tuned like huangzhong and dalü. These were some of the greatest achievements of classical artistry in precious metals. A »Celestial Sphere in Gold with Inlaid Pearls« (Jinqianzhu tianqiu 金嵌珠天球) currently in the collection of the Palace Museum is so exquisite in its engravings and carvings that it amazes viewers to this day. This model of the sky is made from two

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distinct halves and its surface contains over 300 constellations made up of over 3,000 stars that are all represented by inlaid pearls of all sizes, with their names carved beside them. The sphere is bound by meridian and equatorial lines and nine lifelike dragons that support it from below. The beards and scales of the dragons are very distinct, carved with precision and detail that is rich but not excessive. This celestial sphere also indicates the astrological knowledge of the time, and is an absolutely irreplaceable artistic treasure. Other than those made by gold and jade work in the palace, there were also many gold and silver objects used in the palace that were produced by local governors and sent to the imperial court.

9.12.6  Gold bell, Palace Museum

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During the Qing Dynasty, the manufacturing of gold and silver objects had reached a very high level in cities like Beijing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Guangzhou. All of the items sent to the capital were technically exquisite and each had their own local flavor. China was one of the earliest countries in the world to invent a time piece, but techniques for manufacturing clocks were adopted from outside China. During the late Ming, Matteo Ricci presented a chimed clock to Emperor Wanli, which attracted the attention of the court to this new and curious object. Emperor Kangxi of the Qing was fascinated with the Western clocks that were continuously gifted to him, reserving a location

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at the southern end of the Hall of Concentrated Attention that he called the »chimed clock room.« He also established a dedicated office to research the manufacturing of clocks, bringing in technologies that would allow him manufacture clocks for imperial use. There were capable clock makers in both Guangzhou and the capital, as well as missionaries. By the reign of Emperor Qianlong, this multidisciplinary manufacturing process had reached an impressive level. At that time, each hall within the palace had clocks of all manner, and they were placed in the carriages, sedan chairs, boats—even saddles—used by the imperial court, numbering in the thousands. In addition to those produced by the imperial »clock works,« there were also clocks produced in Guangzhou and Suzhou that had been sent to the capital as well as clocks from England, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland. Clocks produced by the Qing court were rarely mass produced, and each design resulted in only one or two clocks. Most of the clocks produced by the imperial clock works were either chiming clocks or hour clocks that used a pendulum. Chimed clocks automatically rang each quarter hour, while hour clocks struck at the quarter hour during the day, but every two hours at night. Most of these clocks were made of wood with dark colors and styles that included tower clocks, turning clocks, ruyi clocks, pillow clocks and hat-rack clocks. The largest chimed clock in the Qing imperial palace was 5.85 m tall and its largest bell was 3.65  m high with a case of zitan wood. The imperial clock works reached its height during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, and clocks from this period all contain four characters that read »Imperial Production of Qianlong.« Skilled artisans used the best materials to produce complex, delicate and amazing clocks at the request of the emperor. This, along with the addition of exquisitely executed decorations, made these practical time pieces works of art unique to the Qing imperial palace.

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The convenience of Guangzhou’s geographical location made it one of the first commercial ports where Western clocks entered China. English merchants actually established workshops to manufacture clocks in Guangzhou during the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods. At that time, Guangzhou led the country in clock manufacturing techniques, and the clocks produced there were structurally complex with chimes every quarter hour as well as music, rotating flowers, flowing water and moving people. The exteriors of these clocks were often gilded and covered in auspicious designs. Some of them even included enamel or gemstone inlay with brilliant and luxurious colors that were famous as gifts. Suzhou was another important center of clock production, and while the shapes and internal mechanisms were relatively simple, the exterior sof the clocks were grander and more substantial, with subtly elegant colors and a unique style all their own. The process of bronze casting that had been handed down from the bronze age also continued to maintain a unique path of development during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The techniques for casting bronze during the Qing Dynasty were very exacting and very strict, and produced some largescale objects. The decorative and practical bronze objects that appear in and around the Forbidden City like lions, censers, tortoises, cranes and bronze as well as the massive bronze censers and vats in the temples at Wutai Mountain in Shanxi are representative of the high level of skill used to make bronze vessels during the Qing Dynasty. In terms of the metallurgical arts, the iron paintings and balls of the Qing Dynasty are another example of new innovations at that time. Iron paintings were made from low-carbon materials that were hammered into shape based on a draft painting. The earliest example of this is from the Kangxi Period and was created by Tang Tianchi and Liang Yingda of Wuhu in Anhui Province. The creation of an iron painting needed to go through several

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stages including the cutting of the design, hammering, welding, cooling and firing. They could reproduce landscapes, pine-and-eagle and bambooand-stone and flower paintings, as well as works of calligraphy—to the point of even conveying the »boneless« brush technique of traditional Chinese painting. Set against the backdrop of a white wall, they have a rough, classically simple appearance that creates a different style of their own. A four-panel iron painting screen by Tang Tianchi is still housed in the collection of the Palace Museum. The painting contains flowers, grasses, insects and crabs, each of which has a curious lifelike appearance. In ethnic communities in southwest China, bronze drums used in religious ceremonies as well as musical performances were still being produced during the Qing Dynasty, and count as a unique metallurgical art of that period.

Section 4  Bamboo, Wood, Ivory, Horn, and Other Craft Arts 1. Bamboo, Wood, Ivory, and Horn Carvings Bamboo and wood are both widely used organic materials and have held an important place in architecture, furniture, and craft arts for generations. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the carving of wood and bamboo flourished—and this spilled into other materials including ivory, shell, horn, bone and coral. Along with glass, cutting, weaving, carved woodblock printing and gourds, this created a rich and diverse environment in the craft arts during the Qing Dynasty. Since Zheng He opened up trade routes during his naval expedition to the west, large amounts of hardwoods like huali and zitan were imported, which, along with the rich range of domestic woods, drove rapid development of furniture manufacturing during the

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Ming and Qing and artistry and techniques that surpassed all other periods. Other unique folk craft arts, like imitation flowers in silk or velvet, and the ubiquitous manufacturing of lanterns and parasols and fans, were very common among the general population. During the Ming Dynasty, bamboo carving was divided into two large schools—Jinling and Jiading. The former was impressive in that it did not use knives or chisels and instead accented the natural character of the material, using the bowl-like shape of the root of the bamboo and only slightly shaping it to create frames for fans, wine cups, brush holders and wrist rests. The latter produced detailed openwork carvings that could have five or six layers of detail. Master carvers included the »Three Zhus of Jiading«: Zhu Lin, Zhu Xiaosong, and Zhu Sansong. By the Qing Dynasty, famous masters of the Jinling School included Pan Xifeng and Fang Qie, while masters like Wu Zhifan, Feng Xijue, and Feng Xilu belonged to the Jiading School. Pan Xifeng was also known by the courtesy name Tonggang and the pseudonym Laotong. He lived during the reign of Qianlong and was a native of Xinchang in Zhejiang Province, later moving to Yangzhou. He was named by Zheng Banqiao as next in line to be founder of the Jinling School, Pu Zhongqian. The inscribed brush holders and wrist rests by Pan Xifeng all used natural materials that were changed only slightly, then polished for an extremely natural feel. Wu Zhifan lived during the reign of Kangxi and was also known by his courtesy name Luzhen and the pseudonym Donghai Daoren. He was a native of Jiading, but resided in Tianjin. He was trained in both calligraphy and painting, but he is most well-known for his bamboo carvings. His thinbase, relievo carvings were his most impressive works and he was the top master of the Jiading School during the Ming just after the Three Zhus. The strokes of his knife were always rounded and full, and his pieces have a clear and simple com-

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position, similar in style to a scroll of calligraphy, which was something average artisans could not achieve. Feng Xilu was also known by the courtesy name Yihou and was a native of Jiading (present-day Shanghai). He was a master of the round carving method of the Jiading school and both he and his younger brother excelled at bamboo carving. Members of the Feng family entered into the service of the Qing court during the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. Zhou Hao, who was from the same native place as Feng Xilu, was also a master of the Jiading School. His knife flowed like a brush and he could use multiple techniques to create landscapes and flowers without first creating a draft, achieving variations in depth and intensity with shading and outlines that stunned those who saw them. Other famous master bamboo carvers included Zhang Xigui, Shang Xun and Fang Qie. Other anonymous carvings that have survived to the present day are also exquisite examples and reflect the style of the period. There was another type of bamboo carving that is known as bamboo veneer, that uses the thin yellow layers on the inside of bamboo stalks, boiling them and then applying them to a wooden surface. The surface of bamboo veneer pieces is known for its bright, plain yellow color. They also include intaglio text and shallow carved designs. There is also a style that combines bamboo veneer with bamboo carving in a way that uses a different method, but is still rich and varied. Wood carving was far more common than bamboo, used more highly developed techniques, and was practiced throughout China. The most famous locations for wood carving in China during the Qing Dynasty were Dongyang in Zhejiang Province, Fuzhou in Fujian Province, Nanchang in Jiangxi Province, Chaozhou in Guangdong Province, and Xiangtan in Hunan Province. The wood carvings of Dongyang were mainly used in architecture and furniture during the transition

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between the Ming and Qing dynasties, but also included decorative items that were used for display. Dongyang carvings are included in the structures and palace furniture of the Forbidden City. The techniques used in this style of carving included low-relief and high-relief carving, openwork carving and ronde-bosse, but most famous is its relief carving. In addition to Dongyang craftsmanship, the cities of Wenzhou and Leqing in Zhejiang Province also produced wood carvings in boxwood. Boxwood has a fine texture, but is very strong and does not easily split. It has a lustrous color and is suitable for small decorative figurines. The cities of Fuzhou, Putian, and Quanzhou in Fujian Province were also known for their carvings in longan wood. This material used is aged longan wood, which is hard and has a deep brown color. Longan wood carvings usually follow the flow of the material, using the shapes of the roots and each section of the plant, which are carved and then polished, cleaned and dyed for a style that is known for its founded, flowing and vivid shapes and meticulous carving techniques. Most of the carvings using this wood depict traditional stories or birds and animals, emphasizing decorative elements. The different styles within this medium also formed several different schools, namely the Xiangyuan School, Chen School and Yanta School. Chaozhou carving was native to the cities of Chao’an, Chaoyang, Raoping, Puning and Chenghai in Guangdong Province. The traditions of this style were also linked with those of neighboring Fujian Province. Chaozhou carving has a clear style. Most of the pieces in this style are painted and decorated with gold leaf. They are delicate and meticulously rendered with a brilliance and richness that lend the name »golden sculptures.« In terms of technique, this style has integrated intaglio, relief, in-the-round and alto-relievo. After the addition of gold leaf, these carvings became beautiful and dazzling with a rich degree of decorative value.

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Other examples, similar to bamboo and wood carving, included the wooden puppets of Quanzhou, the spotted bamboo art works of Dongting Lake, the wooden canes of Liuba in Shaanxi Province, as well as the carvings of nuts, calabash gourds and roots in Fujian or coconuts in Hainan. Carving was common throughout the folk culture and used all manner of material and technique, each with their own style. There is a long history of carvings in precious materials like ivory and rhinoceros horn in China. An ivory cup was excavated from the remains of a site from the primitive Dawenkou Culture and decorative items and wine vessels were also made from rhinoceros horn during the Han Dynasty. There was no strict designation between the carving of ivory, rhinoceros horn, or wood, metal and stone during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Many noted sculptors worked in many different media. Ivory carvings flourished mainly during the reigns of Yongzheng and Qianlong, and could be divided into two main schools, Jiangnan and Guangdong. At the time, the artisans in the »ivory works« of the Imperial Workshop included famous sculptors of the Jiangnan Jiading School like Feng Xilu, Feng Shiqi and Shi Tianzhang. Other individuals from the Guangdong School of ivory carving who worked in the Imperial Workshop included Chen Zuzhang, Tu Kuisheng and Yang Youqing. In terms of regional styles, the Jiangnan School was experimental and innovative, while the Guangdong School was delicate and exquisitely beautiful. However, while the artisans that were in the employ of the Imperial Workshop and worked on famous works displayed the styles of their respective schools, they also produced classic works that gathered the best of all schools. The high level that was reached in ivory carving was first evident in the ivory balls that were created with multiple openwork layers that could be turned within each other. This was an innovation of the Guangdong School artist Weng Wuzhang, which was then carried on and promoted by his

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descendants. Another innovative work were ivory mats. According to records of the Qing court, ivory mats were a tribute item given by officials in Guangdong. These were extremely lavish and very difficult to make, which later inspired Emperor Yongzheng to order that »Guangdong no longer need produce ivory mats.« Rhinoceros horn carvings were produced in multiple cities including Suzhou, Yangzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou, but those that used the best techniques and highest quality material were still produced by palace artists. They not only represented the highest level of horn carving at the time, they also showed a marked difference from rhinoceros horn carvings from Europe at the time. From both the shape of the pieces and the carving techniques used, it is clear that they did not vary much from classical bronze vessels or carvings styles used in bamboo and wood. Other materials that were similar to ivory were objects made of turtle shell and coral that were produced in the palace.

2. Furniture and Studio Items The »Ming style« hardwood furniture that was popular during the Ming and early Qing Dynasties was the result of a gradual perfection of the methods used in Song-era furniture, in terms of structure, form, mortise and tenon structure and decorative techniques. It was clearly a high point in the development of Chinese furniture. Furniture made for the imperial palace or high-ranking officials was mostly made from precious woods like Chinese rosewood, zitan, jichi, Ceylon ironwood or beech. These high-quality woods were treated with the finest workmanship and richly decorated, producing furniture that most families could not hope for. Generally, Qing Dynasty furniture can be divided into three phases. The first of these was the early Qing era that came before Yongzheng, and was basically an extension of Ming-style furniture. The mid-Qing style, centered on the reign of Emperor Qianlong, was the height of furniture

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production and is the most representative of Qingera furniture. The late-Qing Period was a period of decline, with both capital-style and Cantonese furniture losing ground in terms of craftsmanship and materials, putting great an emphasis on decorative carvings, which ultimately made them overly elaborate and common. The styles that existed during this time can be divided into four categories—Capital, Suzhou, Yangzhou and Cantonese. The height of Suzhou-style furniture continued the traditions of Ming-style design with tightly fitting mortise and tenon structure, and an emphasis on chiseling and sanding techniques. It had even proportions, clean and simple decoration, and classically elegant form. Production was based in Suzhou, but there were imitations throughout China. Cantonese furniture placed great emphasis on decoration, and was unique in shape, decoration, and its use of materials. Most of the artists in this school came from the cities of Huizhou and Haifeng in Guangdong Province. Yangzhou furniture was a blend of Suzhou and Cantonese styles and, during the late Ming, a native of Yangzhou named Zhou Zhu created »Zhou style« furniture that used »hundred treasure« inlay. The materials he used were extremely precious and his workmanship exhibited all of the key elements of Yangzhou-style furniture. Capital style furniture incorporated elements of Suzhou, Yangzhou and Cantonese styles into classic Ming-style furniture for a unique style all its own. Luban Hall was the most famous producer of this furniture during the Qing Dynasty. Structurally, capital-style furniture preferred using fish glue and had openwork carvings that were simple and clean with exquisite workmanship that produced a style with a classical elegance. Most of the artists of this school were from the city of Jizhou. The inlay works of the Imperial Workshop brought in artisans from Suzhou, Yangzhou and Guangzhou as well as other areas to produce furniture and decorative pieces with »hundred treasure« inlay as directed by the emperor. In addition to furni-

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ture produced by the teak workshop and Cantonese workshop within the Imperial Workshop, pieces were also directly brought in from Suzhou, Yangzhou, Guangzhou and Changlu. It can be said that the palace gathered all of the best that Chinese furniture at the time had to offer. According to descriptions in Qing court records and writings by other contemporary individuals, designers responsible for palace furniture included Liu Yuan, Li Yu, Dashan, Haiwang and Nian Xiyao. Liu Yuan, Haiwang and Nian Xiyao were in the service of the Imperial Workshop under the imperial household and greatly influenced Qing-era furniture. Methods of decoration included black lacquer and wucai-style mother-of-pearl during the early Qing, and later also included mica coloring for an appearance that was luxuriant, beautiful and stable. Many different types of wood were used in furniture during the Qianlong era and each according to their own strengths. Decoration was meticulous and painstakingly carried out, with incredible artistry. Later, this style became overly elaborate and ornate, as can be seen in the appearance of the bizarre »Antler Chair.« Locally produced furniture included pieces produced in Boshan in Shandong Province, highly praised by Pu Songling. The strong hardwood frames and softer inner panels along with a heavy, full-bodied layer of paint gave Boshan furniture a very unique style. Ningbo also had a long history of furniture making, with some examples from the Sui and Tang dynasties still preserved in the collection of the Shoso Repository. Inlaid furniture produced in Ningbo was famous for a period of time during the Qing Dynasty, with artists using both raised inlay and flat inlay of materials like mother-of-pearl, ivory and colored stones on dark wood, producing a feel that was both elegant and richly beautiful. During the reign of Daoguang, the city of Weifang in Shandong Province also produced silver inlay furniture, which integrated the inlay of silver strands and plates with openwork and relief carvings. The addition of a shiny

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lacquer coating gave these pieces an even more unique appearance. In addition to their quality and practical value, items that were used every day in the studio of literati and scholars gradually developed a greater number of purposes, including display, decoration, and collection. These items had not only achieved a high level of technical and artistic skill, they also had a strong cultural significance that made them highly prized collectibles among later generations. These included masterpieces in the »four treasures« of the studio—ink brushes, ink sticks, paper, and inkstones. Other items in the studio such as water pots, brush holders, brush stands, paperweights, ink rests and wrist rests were also exquisitely crafted and beautiful decorated.

3. Glass and other Craft Arts »Glassware« was another name for glass and was a non-crystalline solid substance that solidified when cooled from a melted substance. This is different from glazes applied to pottery (mainly comprised of lead oxide) and then fired again in a kiln. In the past, the raw materials used were impure, and glass was mixed with glaze, making them hard to distinguish. Glass production peaked at the end of the Qing Dynasty. In 1734 (12th year of Yongzheng), the Qing court established Boshan County on the site of the town of Yanshen in Yidu County, Shandong Province, a center of glass making that had existed from the Yuan Dynasty. From that point forward, Yanshen glass became known as »Boshan colored glass.« Beijing glassware was a major industry during the Qing Dynasty. This glass, with its low melting point, was brought back to Beijing from Boshan in bricks, and then melted down to create decorative items like zodiac animals or sculptures of fruit. Perhaps the most innovative aspect of this period was the creation of cover glass. During the reign of Kangxi, people were already producing clear glass, blue glass with gold flecks,

SECTION 4 BAMBOO, WOOD, IVORY, HORN, AND OTHER CRAFT ARTS

and colored glass in a style that was rough and simple. During the reign of Qianlong, colored glass in a wide range of colors was produced, including gold-star glass and silk-strand glass. Decorative techniques included carving, gilt decoration, gold paste and enamel. These pieces were famous for their elaborate shapes and rich decorative patterns, marking the peak of glass making during the Qing Dynasty. Glass vessels included vases, bowls, zhan 盏 (short cups), yu 盂 (broad-mouthed jars), zun 尊 (large wine vessels), dou 豆 (food containers), water bowls for ink stones, and spittoons. In addition to colored glass and glass appliqué, there were other types of decorative materials in various colors that were used. During the Qianlong Period, the manufacturing of glass snuff bottles was also very prosperous, with famous stores named according to the master craftsmen that ran them—Xin, Le, or Yuan. The glass snuff bottles manufactured at the glass factory at the Imperial Workshop included single color glass and knotted glass. There were also techniques that imitated field-yellow stone, amber, and agate, producing elegant pieces that were exquisitely crafted. The innovative inside-painted snuff bottles that were created at the end of the Qing Dynasty, which had painted scenes on the inside wall of a glass or crystal bottle, required incredible skill. Master craftsmen included Zhou Leyuan and Ye Zhongsan. Other unique folk craft arts included silk and velvet flowers, the most famous of which were produced in Beijing and Yangzhou. The art of lantern making could also be found throughout the country with palace lanterns, muslin lanterns, paper lanterns, dragon lanterns and flower lanterns made from bamboo, wood, paper and silk. Lanterns came in all different shapes from square to hexagonal to octagonal and they were painted with scenes of landscapes, figures and flowers all in bright color. The making of parasols and fans had already been in existence for a long time. All manner of parasol, from the paper parasols of Fu-

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zhou to the silk parasols of Hangzhou, served a range of purposes. Fans, like the folding fans of Hangzhou, the silk palace fans of Suzhou, the bamboo silk fans of Zigong, and the palm fans of Guangdong, all had their own unique regional flavor. Other crafts like mats, baskets, door screens, and hats were crafted from bamboo paper, grass, palm fronds, vines, hemp, willow branches and even corn husks. They were also very common in folk culture. In this richly complex world of craft arts of the Qing Dynasty, objects made from the calabash gourd were especially unique. These vessels were made to resemble the calabash gourd and, during the reign of Kangxi, these were reserved exclusively for the imperial family. At the time, the manufacture of these objects had already developed from a wood form to pottery, which marked a considerable technological advancement. Pottery was allowed for airflow, did not decay, and could be used repeatedly. They could also be made into

CHAPTER XII FLOURISHING CRAFT ARTS

sets. Most of the calabash gourds of the Qing court were grown in the Garden of Abundant Favor, with dedicated individuals to grow and create these objects. After the calabash gourd had ripened, it was covered with a pattern mold that it would grow into, taking on the pattern that it contained. After it was cut down, it would be painted or covered in lacquer and sometimes inlaid with ivory or tortoise shell, producing a decorative gourd vessel. However, the fact is that out of a hundred gourds that were placed into molds, only one or two would fit, making it a very difficult process and the final product very precious. After the reigns of Jiaqing and Daoguang, the number of gourd vessels produced for the palace fell, but imitations later produced by individuals remained impressive. This is especially true of calabash gourds made into cages for pet grasshoppers, which were called Liang calabash gourds. Other famous gourd craftsmen included Master Liu of Sanhe and Master Mo of Ansu.

CHAPTER XIII  ARCHITECTURE OF THE QING DYNASTY Section 1  Continuation and Construction of Official and Ceremonial Buildings Architecture has considerable momentum in terms of the continuation of traditions and is easily subject to the restrictions imposed by official policy. The fact that Qing troops quickly took Beijing at the end of the Ming Dynasty meant that nearly all of the structures in the city were preserved in their entirety. As a nomadic people of the northern plains, the Manchus did not have a better alternative to reconstruct or alter the structure or scale of Han architecture, which had been developed over a long period of time. This was especially true during protracted periods of war and efforts to unify the country during the early Qing, which made it necessary to take over and use existing structures, which in turn caused them to gradually become used to this system of architecture. The impact of this system on later official Qing Dynasty architecture was considerable and decisive. Increased social stability and further economic development caused the ruling classes of the Qing Dynasty to adopt a building policy that incorporated the architectural styles of various ethnic groups as well as a number of different construction methods, which resulted in an architectural style unique to the Qing Dynasty. First, the Qing Dynasty was a period that benefited from the great achievements throughout the history of Chinese architecture. This was similar to other plastic arts of the Qing Dynasty. In the more than two centuries of Qing rule, a great deal of Ming Dynasty and pre-Ming architecture continued to be used and was restored, expanded,

or rebuilt. On a large scale, this could be said of urban planning overall, while on a smaller scale, it was also true of the restoration of individual buildings. From the structure of buildings to the internal and exterior decoration, Qing Dynasty architecture generally continued using forms that had existed before the Ming Dynasty and developed them further, standardizing and formalizing them. In 1734 (12th year of Yongzheng), the Ministry of Works published the Regulations of Construction Practices of the Ministry of Works (Gongbu gongcheng zuofa zeli 工部工程做法则例), a collection of industry standards for Chinese architecture of the period. Second, the Qing Dynasty was also a period of diversity in architecture. The Qing Dynasty ruled over a vast area and included many different ethnic groups, which meant that when incorporating the architectural styles of various ethnic groups into construction projects, it adopted an integrative and interactive method. This was especially true of Tibetan and Mongolian styles of architecture. The adoption and spread of Lamaism during this period also influenced the overall architectural style of the Qing court. This diverse exchange of architectural styles both resolved the issue of a singular, fixed architectural paradigm, and hinted at the inception of a new contemporary architectural philosophy. Finally, while architectural decoration of the Qing Dynasty continued using traditional paradigms, it also incorporated others, which resulted in a comprehensive, cautious, frivolous and even ostentatious style, which gave structures of the late Qing Dynasty an overly technical and soulless quality.

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1. The Succession of Palace Complexes and Ceremonial Buildings The Qing Dynasty took over the nearly perfectly preserved Ming capital and basically maintained the scale and layout of the city. The main success in the development of Beijing under the Qing Dynasty was mainly in its gardens, which were unprecedented in terms of their scale and level of skill. The three lakes within the city walls (Beihai, Zhonghai and Nanhai) as well as the five gardens outside the city walls (Old Summer Palace, the Garden of Exuberant Spring, the Summer Palace, the Garden of Tranquility and Pleasure, and the Garden of Tranquility and Brilliance) were all masterpieces that surpassed all that came before. Other buildings within the city of Beijing such as princely mansions and private residences all reached a very high level. A careful inspection of the layout of Beijing reveals a central axis that stretches for 8 km from north to south, which was the basis for the layout of the entire city. The inner city had three clear layers. The innermost of these was the royal city, also known as the Forbidden City, which encompassed around 3 km and had 8 gates. The second of these layers was the imperial city, which encompassed about 9 km and had 6 gates. This was an administrative center that contained the residences and offices of officials of the imperial household. The third layer was the capital city itself, which encompassed 23 km and was surrounded by a city wall that was around 12 m high and had 9 gates and a moat, forming a formidable defensive structure. This method of building a city not only perfectly expressed the classical concept of what a city should look like, it also reflected some of the fundamental standards of urban planning in ancient China. First, it fully expressed the ancestral codes and ceremonial structures that were a part of China’s traditionally stratified society. The strict arrangement of the city, its symmetry and the clear dis-

CHAPTER XIII ARCHITECTURE OF THE QING DYNASTY

tinction between different areas, was centered around the imperial city, which expressed the imperial authority of the emperor. Second, the artistry of the layout of the city emphasized a planning concept that was centered on palace structures. The city was planned around its central axis and resulted in a well-ordered and structured plan, which was unusually advanced in the world at the time. Third, residential areas were placed around the imperial city and still used the structure of the wards, which were orderly. While there were no centrally planned green spaces, the city was still covered in a blanket of vegetation. This method of managing the relationship between public spaces and private residential areas was a way of coordinating different spaces that was extremely unique to China. Fourth, the most important aspect of a city was its waterways. Beijing’s water system can be attributed to Li Bingzhong and other designers who constructed the Yuan Dynasty capital of Khanbaliq. Their design produced a network of waterways that traversed the entire city and retainedmany of the lakes within the city as well as a well-designed system of sewers. These also served as methods of transportation, protection, and provided flood alleviation. The design of Beijing’s system of waterways ensured the continued development and prosperity of the city. It is worth noting the contribution of the Qing Dynasty to survey work done on Beijing and the creation of maps of the city. Survey maps of Beijing from the early Qing Dynasty include the Map of Palaces and Offices of the Imperial City of the Great Qing (Daqing huangcheng gongdian yashu tu 大清 皇城宫殿衙署图), the Map of Rivers and Canals of Beijing (Beijing hedao gouqu tu 北京河道沟渠图) and the Qianlong Complete Map of the Capital City (Qianlong jingcheng quantu 乾隆京城全图). The Qianlong Complete Map of the Capital City can be said to have been one of the best maps of a city made at that time in the world.

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In new urban construction, the Qing Dynasty generally followed the Ming system, restoring and altering structures with very little innovation. However, in some cities in remote areas populated by other ethnic groups, there was planned construction. Important cities like this included the walled city of Jingzhou in Hubei Province, Huangsiqiao in Hunan Province, Hetu’ala and Dongjing in Liaoning Province, Aigun in Heilongjiang Provine, as well as Huiyuan in Xinjiang. These walled cities all have a relatively large portion remaining and represent the culmination of ancient Chinese urban planning and construction. Palaces have always been some of the most important structures from any period in history. They encapsulate the highest level of artistry and grandest scale of architecture from a particular period. However, the Qing Dynasty did not make any considerable contributions to palace architecture. Before crossing into China proper, the Qing court had already built a palace in Shenyang, which they had initially called the Palace Fortress of Shengjing, but later renamed to the Imperial Residence at Fengtian. Both Qianlong and Jiaqing made additions to the palace, which covered a total of 90 mu and contained structures with a total of over 300 bays. After entering China proper and establishing their capital at Beijing, the imperial palace was moved to the Forbidden City and the Qing continued using the former palaces of the Ming, which they restored and altered, though the structure and scale changed very little. The inner palace was rebuilt in 1655 (12th year of Shunzhi) and in 1695 (34th year of Kangxi) after a fire ravaged the palace, the Hall of Supreme Harmony was rebuilt and expanded based on a design by Liang Jiu, who expanded it from the original nine bays to 11 bays. In 1765 (30th year of Qianlong), three major halls were rebuilt and in 1774 (39th year of Qianlong), and the Belvedere of Literary Profundity (Wenyuange 文 渊阁) was commissioned, marking an end to construction in the imperial palace. While this mas-

SECTION 1 CONTINUATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF OFFICIAL AND CEREMONIAL BUILDINGS

sive scale was basically inherited from the Ming, the many expansions and continued refinement by the Qing Dynasty resulted in an even larger and grander complex of buildings with boundless halls, balconies and endless rooms that resulted in a palatial space. (Fig. 9.13.1) The successes of the Qing Dynasty in palatial architecture are better expressed in their building of imperial villas and gardens. Most of these were related to the southern expeditions carried out by the emperors Kangxi and Qianlong. In the capital, imperial gardens like the Summer Palace, the Old Summer Palace, the Western Gardens, Southern Gardens, the Fishing Terrace and the Garden of Tranquility and Pleasure were all constructed for political purposes. The Imperial Residence at Jehol (also known the Imperial Villa or Mountain Lodge for Fleeing the Heat), along with the Western Gardens (Three Lakes) to the north of the Forbidden City, were models for imperial residences and gardens and had elements that were unique to the Qing Dynasty. The Mountain Lodge for Fleeing the Heat is located in Rehe (previously Jehol) in Hebei Province, at the source of a spring. This was originally an attempt by Emperor Kangxi to placate the Mongolian nobles and get away from the heat of the city. Construction began in 1703 (24th year of Kangxi) with an imperial villa and gardens, which is why it is also called the Imperial Residence at Jehol, or the Chengde Imperial Villa. It was expanded during the reign of Qianlong with several scenic spots being added, and by 1790 (55th year of Qianlong) work had been completed. At the time there were many major state events that were held there, and it became known as the second political center of the Qing Dynasty. The Mountain Lodge for Fleeing the Heat was built on a massive scale, covering a total area of over 8,000 mu and surrounded by a wall that was 20  km long and had 5 gates that provided access including the Gate of Beautiful Propriety (Lizhengmen 丽正门), the Gate of Collected Virtue

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CHAPTER XIII ARCHITECTURE OF THE QING DYNASTY

9.13.1 Hall of Supreme Harmony, Forbidden City

(Dehuimen 德汇门), and the Gate of Azure Peaks (Bifengmen 碧峰门). The imperial residence was surrounded by a »tiger skin stone wall« that was built using stones of standard size and followed the rise and fall of the land for a natural charm. Mountains and ridges covered four-fifths of the area of the lodge and flat areas only one-fifth where most of the bodies of water formed by the springs at Rehe gathered. These were surrounded on all sides by forested valleys. The water that formed the lakes flowed from the northeast to the south and into the Garden of Ten Thousand Trees. It was said to fall from high peaks through the clouds and was clear straight to the bottom. All of the buildings, from open halls to towers, terraces or interior rooms were built according to the contour of the land and emphasized a natu-

ral flow. The grounds were divided into the palace complex and gardens, while the gardens were further divided into the lake area, the plains, and the mountains. Both Kangxi and Qianlong each named 36 different scenic views, which changed throughout the four seasons. The names were chosen based on the natural scenery like mountains, water, forests or springs. The buildings also combined styles from both northern and southern China. Not only was an abundant number of scenic views within the gardens themselves, there were also imposing mountains and rivers as well as the eight outer temples, each of which had their own ethnic characteristics, forming a broad yet unified diverse cultural setting. The lake district was the most unique element of the Mountain Lodge, and the most important

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areas were built to resemble the gardens of the Jiangnan Region. The Zhiyun Dike, built in 1703 (42nd year of Kangxi), resembled the Su Dike on West Lake in Hangzhou, while the Hall of Mist and Rain (Yanyulou 烟雨楼) on Qinglian Island, built in 1780 (45th year of Qianlong) was based on the Hall of Mist and Rain in Jiaxing’s South Lake. The group of buildings on the western side of the lake were built to resemble the Temple of the Golden Mountain in Zhenjiang. The large island in the middle of the lake was called Ruyi Island and contained many structures with a variety of elegant scenes. The Mountain Lodge for Fleeing the Heat covered a broad area and the abundant use of terrain in building various structures resulted in a large number of scenic spots in the lake, plains and mountain districts, which encompassed a plethora of images. While there was not a large amount of surface water in the gardens, they were able to maintain a uniqueness that encompassed the elegance of Jiangnan gardens, the simplicity of northern architecture, as well as elements of Tibetan and Mongolian culture. Another success of the Mountain Lodge was the use of distant natural and man-made vistas like Jade Hammer Peak and the Eight Outer Temples. The Western Gardens of Beijing were imperial palace gardens that almost merged into one with the Forbidden City and became increasingly larger after additional construction over several reigns during the Qing Dynasty. The three lakes of the Western Gardens were located within the imperial city, to the west of the Forbidden City. The Mongolian people called lakes »sons of the sea,« and this term continued to be used in Beijing. These three lakes were originally the site of the Palace of Great Tranquility (Daninggong 大宁宫) within the Northern Imperial Villa of the Jin Dynasty capital Zhongdu. Under the Yuan, they were incorporated into the imperial city of Khanbaliq and were named Taiyechi, a name that continued to be used during the Ming.

SECTION 1 CONTINUATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF OFFICIAL AND CEREMONIAL BUILDINGS

Later, Nanhai, the south lake, was dug and became one of three lakes along with the Zhonghai and Beihai. Each ruler of the Qing Dynasty added to this, building temples, pavilions, pagodas and terraces that all followed the natural contour of the land, bringing new life to these three lakes. The principle for the layout of each of building complex was a single courtyard formed by a main hall and two side halls with some additional variation. The buildings that have been preserved are mostly from the Qing Dynasty. Their proximity to the royal city meant that these lakes became an important place for the emperor to entertain, live and carry out administrative duties. The shape of each of the three lakes are irregular, but each of them is exquisitely unique. Nanhai is the smallest of the lakes and is centered around Yingtai Island. The buildings on the island mostly originate from the reign of Kangxi and the fact that the shape of the small hill on the island means that the courtyards are irregular with their halls and pavilions flanked by man-made hills, poplar trees and willow trees that create a charming atmosphere. There is a hundred-meter long dike between Nanhai and Zhonghai. On the western bank of the west end of the dike there is a complex of structures with 34 courtyards that contain approximately 400 bays of rooms. The main central buildings are the Hall of Residing Benevolence (Jurentang 居仁堂) and the Hall of Benevolence Embraced (Huairentang 怀仁堂), which have simple structures similar to private homes and include trees like pine, juniper, poplar and willow as well as orchids and crabapple blossoms, creating a light and elegant air. Zhonghai is long and narrow with a thick line of vegetation through which the Hall of Longevity (Wanshoudian 万寿殿) and the Pavilion of Purple Light (Ziguangge 紫光阁) can be seen. There is also a small pavilion on an island in the center, which finishes the scene. Beihai is the largest of these three lakes, with an area of 1,000 mu. It is also the most beautiful with the most structures, which were mostly built

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during the reign of Qianlong. The layout of this garden is centered on Jade Flower Island with groups of buildings that are scattered elegantly throughout. The temple on the southern side of the island backs up against a hill with a ceremonial arch at the bottom of the hill near the water’s edge. A bridge crosses the lake here and leads to the Hall of Bearing Light (Chengguangdian 承光 殿) in the Round City (Tuancheng 团城). There is a call and response between these structures that is unusually powerful. On the northern side of the island, pavilions and other smaller buildings that are hidden among the rocks from the top of the hill to its base, forming a richly varied complex of structures. At the bottom of the hill there is a covered walkway that forms a semi-circle near the water from the Tower of Clear Skies (Yiqinglou 倚晴楼) in the east to the Pavilion of Coolness (Fenliangge 分凉阁) in the west. It cleverly curves around the island and is full of interesting charm. Jade Flower Island was a remnant of the Jin and Yuan dynasties and was also known as Longevity Hill and the Hill of the White Dagoba. It was created by piling earth, but the northern face had a tunnel that was made of laid stone and had many outlets that led to each of the structures around the island. During the Ming and Yuan, the top of the mountain was the site of the Palace of Vast Cold (Guanghangong 广寒宫) and in 1651 (8th year of Shunzhi), a white stupa was built in its place and the Temple of Eternal Peace (Yong’ansi 永安 寺) was built on the side of the hill. In 1679 (18th year of Kangxi) and 1731 (9th year of Yongzheng), earthquakes caused the structure to collapse and it was rebuilt twice. The white stupa is a Tibetan chorten and is 35.9 m high. The base is in the form of a sumeru throne with folded corners and supports the body of the stupa, which is the shape of a monk’s alms bowl and contains a kun-style niche known as the Gate of the Light of the Eyes (Yanguangmen 眼光门). The upper part of the body of the stupa is in the shape of a long, thin prayer

CHAPTER XIII ARCHITECTURE OF THE QING DYNASTY

wheel (also known as the Thirteen Heavens) and the next two levels are made up of a copper parasol and banner with copper bells that hang from the edges. It is topped with a gilded pinnacle in the shape of a flame and jewel. The white stupa stands in the middle of dense vegetation and is the central piece of the entire Beihai complex. The island also contains buildings including the Ripple Hall (Yilantang 漪澜堂), the Hall of the Joyful Heart (Yuexintang 悦心堂), the Tower of Celebrated Heaven (Qingxiaolou 庆霄楼), the Hall of the Light of Gems (Linguangdian 琳光殿) and the Tower of Reviewing the Ancient (Yuegulou 阅古楼). Several religious buildings are located on the northern shore of Beihai, including the Small Western Paradise (Xiaoxitian 小西天), the Great Western Paradise (Daxitian 大西天), the Temple of Revealing Fortune (Chanfusi 阐福寺) and the Brahma Realm of the Western Paradise (Xitian fanjing 西天梵境) as well as the Pavilion of Five Dragons (Wulongting 五龙亭) and the Nine Dragon Wall (Jiulongbi 九龙壁), which was built using embedded colored glazed tiles. The area between the northern and eastern shores of Beihai contains three smaller closed and winding scenic areas—the Moat Ravine (Haopujian 濠 濮涧), the Studio of the Painting Barge (Huafangzhai 画舫斋) and the Studio of the Clear Mirror (Jingqingzhai 镜清斋). Compared with broad, open spaces, these are the most light and pleasing areas of the gardens and are rich in the literary charm of Jiangnan gardens. The Studio of the Painting Barge of overall very concise in its layout with delicate construction and painted beams, making it a garden within the larger garden complex of Beihai. The Studio of the Tranquil Heart (Jingxinzhai 静心斋) was originally named the Studio of the Clear Mirror, and was located on the northern shore of Beihai near the Hall of the Heavenly Kings in the Small Western Paradise to the west. Built in 1758 (23rd year of Qianlong), the complex covers a total of over ten mu and the irregular terrain causes it to have high and low areas, but

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the ingenious layout of the complex is worthy of the great praise it has been given. In a small area, the visitor is given an expansive and completely natural feeling, which has earned it the names »Qianlong’s Little Garden« and »Garden within a Garden.« These structures reflect the artistic features of Qing Dynasty architecture, which inherited ancient systems while also incorporating and integrating other techniques, providing a perfectly preserved example of structures used in Qing-era palace gardens. Another point worth noting is that, in addition to building a great number of palatial gardens, the Qing Dynasty also carried out unprecedented work on converting, restoring and rebuilding many temples in Beijing—including the Lama Temple (Yonghegong 雍和宫), the Temple of the Azure Clouds (Biyunsi 碧云寺), and the Temple of Longevity (Wanshousi 万寿寺).

9.13.2  Pavilion of Infinite Fortune, Lama Temple

SECTION 1 CONTINUATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF OFFICIAL AND CEREMONIAL BUILDINGS

The Lama Temple is a well-known Tibetan Buddhist religious compound from the Qing Dynasty. Located in the northeastern corner of Beijing, the Lama Temple was built in 1694 (33rd year of Kangxi) and was originally the residence of the emperor’s fourth son, Prince Yong Yinzhen (who later became Emperor Yongzheng). In 1725 (3rd year of Yongzheng), the princely residence was converted into a temporary imperial residence and called the Temple of Harmony and Peace (Yonghegong 雍和宫). In 1744 (9th year of Qianlong), a large-scale restoration and expansion project was carried out. The green roof tiles were exchanged for yellow tiles and the name was changed to the Lama Temple (Lamamiao 喇嘛庙). The Pavilion of Infinite Fortune (Wanfuge 万福阁) within the temple (Fig. 9.13.2) is a three-story wooden structure with a hip-gable roof. It is five bays wide and three bays deep and is surrounded

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by a covered corridor. The second story contains an ambulatory and bridges to the Pavilion of Eternal Health (Yongkangge 永康阁) and the Pavilion of Extended Pacification (Yansuige 延绥阁) to the east and west. From a distance, these three pavilions create a unique image and have a distinct Liao and Jin dynasty influences. There are two levels of ambulatories within the hall with murals depicting Buddhist stories and colored decorative patterns on all sides, creating a luxurious and eye-catching space. The hall contains an 18-meter standing statue of the Maitreya Buddha carved from white sandalwood and is one of the temple’s most famous artworks. The Temple of the Azure Clouds is located on the eastern slope of the Fragrant Hills, west of Beijing. Temples had been built here during the Yuan Dyansty and in 1748 (13th year of Qianlong), a massive expansion project was carried out and the Stupa of the Vajra Throne (Jingang baozuota 金刚宝座塔) was constructed. An Arhat Hall (Luohantang 罗汉 堂) was also built in the southern courtyard as well as a temporary imperial residence in the northern yard. The Qianlong-era Stupa of the Vajra Throne was built in an Indian style, but also incorporated traditional methods from Chinese architecture. The stupa measures 34.7 m high and is made of white marble. It also has a tunnel in the center. There are stairs on either side of the base that lead to the top. At the exit on the top of the platform there is a flat-roofed square pavilion with chorten to the left and right of it. Behind the pavilion are five 13-level tight-eaved square pagodas with one in the center and four on each corner, forming a complete set of pagodas. These »thrones« contain exquisite relief carvings that depict Buddhist teachings. The Arhat Hall at the south of the complex is laid out in a square shape with a cross in the middle and contains 500 statues of arhats completed in gold lacquer as well as statues of seven deities. There is also a statue of Ji Gong on a rafter, which is extremely lifelike and very expressive. The northern courtyard of the complex served as a temporary

CHAPTER XIII ARCHITECTURE OF THE QING DYNASTY

imperial residence and is a complete, delicate example of traditional garden complexes. The Temple of Longevity is located outside the former Western Upright Gate and was originally the family temple of the Ming Dynasty eunuch Gu Dayong. The temple was restored and expanded twice, once in 1751 (16th year of Qianlong) and again in 1761 (26th year of Qianlong). The impetus for these works was the birthday of Qianlong’s mother and as a result the temple became an imperial temple. Temples commissioned by the emperor enjoyed the highest quality workmanship and were exquisitely beautiful, reflecting the architectural mindset and skill of the Qing Dynasty. In one sense, the structures of these temples came from a diverse ethnic and cultural background, but at the same time, there was constant innovation in the carvings and decorations within the temples. This was especially true in the structure of the roofs of temple halls and the carvings on Buddhist pagodas, which became an important characteristic of Qing-era temples. In addition to the imperial temples mentioned above, Beijing also had a large number of religious structures. These include the Temple of Universal Awakening of the Ten Directions (Shifang pujuesi 十方普觉寺), the Abbey of Mercy (Cibei’an 慈悲庵) at Taoranting, the Temple of Salvation for All (Guangjisi 广济寺), the Temple of Saving the Nation (Baoguosi 报国寺), the Temple of the Origin of Dharma (Fayuansi 法源寺), the Temple of Wisdom Attained (Zhihuasi 智化寺), the Temple of the Dharma Sea (Fahaisi 法海寺), the Temple of the Pool and the Mulberry Tree (Tanzhesi 潭柘 寺), the Temple of the Ordination Altar (Jietaisi 戒 台寺), the Temple of the Cloud Residence (Yunjusi 云居寺), the Temple of the Great Awakening (Dajuesi 大觉寺) and the Temple of the Cypress Forest (Bolinsi 柏林寺). These were mostly built on the foundations of previous temples and their scale and planning did not differ past iterations. However, it was thanks to the protection and res-

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toration carried out by the Qing Dynasty on these temples that they were preserved, including many of the precious artistic masterpieces and cultural relics they contained. In addition to official structures like palaces and governmental offices, Confucian schools, sacrificial altars and imperial tombs were also under the direct control of official systems, which, in a broad sense, places them under the category of »ceremonial architecture.« The style of sacrificial architecture is represented in the Temple of Heaven, where the emperor would make sacrifices to heaven. The Temple of Heaven is located in the »Outer City« to the east of Yongdingmen Inner Street. The boundaries of the complex are rounded in the north and square in the south, symbolizing that the »heavens are round and the earth is square.« The entire complex covers an area of around 4,000 mu with the distance between the east and west walls measuring 1,700 m and 1,600 m from north to south. There are two layers of walls within the complex and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is located within the inner walls at the northern end of a north-south central axis along with several auxiliary structures. The Circular Mound, used for making sacrifices to heaven, is located at the southern end of this axis along with the Imperial Vault of Heaven and other related structures. While the Temple of Heaven is based on the plan set down by the Ming Dynasty, but during the reign of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, the Circular Mound was expanded to double its original size and the Hall of Great Offering (Daxiangdian 大享殿) was renamed the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. The triple-eave roof is covered completely in blue glazed tiles and makes this one of the most successful buildings of the Qing Dynasty. In terms of architectural artistry, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Circular Mound are the focus of the entire Temple of Heaven complex, but the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is without a doubt the most important building.

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The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests was originally a great sacrificial hall dedicated to both heaven and earth. The plan of the structure is circular and is topped with a triple-eave tented roof. 12 columns support the outer eave and symbolize the concept of twelve as a single cycle. When the hall was rebuilt during the reign of Guangxu, it strictly followed the original plan set down by Emperor Qianlong. The entire hall is set on top of a three-story foundation of white marble in the style of a sumeru throne. The lowest level measures 90 Ø, while the hall itself measures 38 Ø. The columns, lintels, and dividing walls are all painted vermilion red. Above this is a triple-eave roof covered in blue glazed tiles and topped with a gilded decorative pinnacle. There are also painted decorations under each of the eaves, creating a richly dazzling effect. The courtyard outside the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is 4 m higher than the surrounding grounds and, with the addition of the base of the hall, the foundation of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests rises over 10 m above the ground below—giving anyone who visits the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests a sense of how it rises above, creating a sense of awe. The designers of this structure further accentuating this feeling of loftiness by not placing any other structures near the main hall and the two wings that stretch out from either side stop abruptly in order to not interrupt the expansive view. The Hall of Imperial Heaven behind the main hall is relatively small and is overwhelmed by the larger hall. From a distance, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests rises tall above the horizon and gives a sense that it is on the same plane as the Heavens themselves. The entire Temple of Heaven complex is not only a preeminent example of ceremonial and sacrificial architecture, it is also a masterpiece that is unequaled in Chinese architectural history, fully encompassing all of the highest standards of traditional Chinese architecture. The design of the Temple of Heaven follows an extremely strict set of requirements in both form

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and technique. Visually, highlighting references to »heaven« is the most important element of this. These kinds of aesthetic demands make the entire structure seem majestic, sacred and imposing, symbolizing the relationship between imperial power and the Mandate of Heaven. The layout of the Circular Mound, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests are all round, while the inner and outer walls of the complex as well as the walls surrounding the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Circular Mound are arched in order to convey the ancient cosmological concept that »heaven is round.« The number of stone slabs and banisters that comprise the Circular Mound use even numbers, which symbolize yang and even heaven itself, also alluding to the cosmological number of 360 degrees, symbolizing a complete cycle of the heavens. The number of columns both inside and outside the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests are closely related to agricultural cycles of the twelve months, twelve solar terms and the four seasons. The reason that all of the main buildings of the complex use blue glazed tiles is also a reference to the sky and thus the heavens. Everything here is directed by the Mandate of Heaven and represents a higher power that cannot be refuted—even by the command of the emperor. There were six tomb complexes built during the Qing Dynasty. Those outside China proper include Yongling, Fuling, Zhaoling and Dongling, while those within China proper include the Eastern Tombs and the Western Tombs. The last two complexes are the most spectacular. The Eastern Tombs are located in Malanyu in Zunhua County, Hebei Province. Five tombs are located here and include Xiaoling (Shunzhi), Jingling (Kangxi), Yuling (Qianlong), Dingling (Xianfeng) and Huiling (Tongzhi). There are also four tombs of belonging to empresses and five of imperial consorts as well as one belonging to a princess. A total of five emperors, 14 empresses and 136 imperial consorts were buried there. Construc-

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tion began in 1663 (2nd year of Kangxi) and the entire complex stretches 125 km from north to south and 20 km from east to west with a protective road surrounding it. 15 of the tombs were built at the foot of the Changrui Mountains and are centered around Xiaoling. Xiaoling is set at the foot of the main peak of the mountains and upon entering the main Dragon Gate, there is a massive stone altar five bays and six columns wide with 11 levels. The structure is 13 m tall and 32 m wide with relief sculptures on the lintel with painted decoration. The superstructure is supported by stone dougong and at the top there is a wood semi-wood structure with flying eaves and decorative mythical animals, creating an impressive and powerful feeling. The relief sculptures on the cross-beams include lifelike images of animals lying down. The Great Red Gate is the entryway to the tomb complex and from it extends a winding red wall that is both solemn and elegant. After entering the gate, major structures, in order, include the Tower of the Stela of Carrying Virtue and Divine Power, stone figures, the Hall of Grand Grace (Long’endian 隆恩殿), east and west side halls, the Triple Gate (Sanzuomen 三 座门), the Gate of Two Columns (Erzhumen 二柱 门), the Five Stone Offerings, the Square City and Bright Tower (Fangcheng minglou 方城明楼) as well as the baoding, below which the burial chamber lies. A Sacred Way laid in stone runs through the center of this complex of buildings, measuring 12 m wide and several kilometers long. The interior of the tomb lies within the gate and the entire area is surrounded by a wall. Within the wall there is also a massive mound of earth that was planted with pine and cypress trees. The beams and lintels of all the buildings have painted decoration and the roofs and tops of the walls are covered in yellow glazed roof tiles that can be seen through the pine forests, creating an impressive and spectacular view. The Western Tombs are located at the base of the Yongning Mountains in Yi County, Hebei Province. Tombs located here include the tombs of

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four emperors, Tailing (Yongzheng), Changling (Jiaqing), Muling (Daoguang) and Chongling (Guangxu), as well as the tombs of three empresses, three tombs of imperial consorts, and four tombs belonging to princes and princesses. A total of 76 people are buried there. This tomb complex began construction in 1730 (8th year of Yongzheng) and has a perimeter of over 100 km in length and an inner wall that encompasses 750 mu. The scale of each of the tombs follows the system of feudal rank. Tailing is located in the center at the base of the Yongning Mountains and is the main tomb of the Western Tombs. There are three large and exquisitely crafted stone archways in front of the tomb and a 2.5 kilometer long Sacred Way that leads to each section of the tomb complex. After entering the Great Red Gate, there is a Hall of Objects and Clothing and to the north of that a building containing the Stela of Sacred Power and Divine Virtue. The structure measures 30 m high and has a double-eave hip-gable roof. There are ceremonial columns made of white marble at each of the corners that are covered in relief carvings of dragons and clouds. After crossing a bridge, lifelike stone figures line either side of the pathway. To the north is a small hill called Zhizhu Mountain, which acts as a »shadow wall.« After rounding this small hill, one comes to the Gate of the Dragon and the Phoenix (Longfengmen 龙凤 门), which is adorned with glazed tiles with cloud, dragon and flower patterns. To the north of this gate is the Stela Hall of the Sacred Way, the Sacred Kitchen Store and the Well Pavilion. After passing through Gate of Grand Grace (Long’enmen 隆恩门) one arrives at the Hall of Grand Grace that contains exposed columns wrapped in gold leaf. The ceiling is decorated with winding patterns and the rafters are also decorated with gold lines and patches of gold decoration that makes the space glitter with glorious splendor. After this hall, there is the Triple Gate, the Gate of Two Columns, the Five Offerings carved in stone, the Square City and Bright Tower, a ramp into the tomb itself, which is

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covered with a baoding mound below which lies the burial chamber. With Tailing at their center, the other tombs are situated to the east and west and are generally the same as Tailing with the exception of the stela towers and stone figures. Overall, the ceremonial architecture of the Qing Dynasty was not any less impressive than previous dynasties in size and scale, but it did not differ in form. With the exception of adding elements of color and content from other ethnic groups such as the Tibetans, Mongolians, or Manchus, the dynasty’s greatest success was in the refinement of techniques. These massive buildings and their stone sculptures were elaborately carved, but lacked vigor. They no longer had the grandiose spirit of older structures that awed the world. Instead, they became huge, pretty decorations. The soul of art had already given way to deference to a deeply ingrained system.

2. Religious Architecture: Enrichment and Change The rulers of the Qing Dynasty followed Tibetan Buddhism (commonly known as Lamaism), which resulted in a style of religious architecture that was different from previous dynasties. The architecture used in Tibetan Buddhism became the most unique architecture used in the Qing Dynasty. It is also the style that has been best preserved and was built on the largest scale. Both its decorative style and the techniques used had far-reaching implications that are worth a closer look. Buddhist and Daoist temples of the Qing Dynasty basically continued the traditions of the Ming Dynasty whether in terms of their layout or the style of individual structures, and was Han-style palatial architecture. There was almost no innovation except that structures were built on a larger scale than the previous dynasty. However, the decoration of some temples was carried out meticulously with an impressive level of skill, which reflected the unique style of carved decoration used in ar-

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chitecture during the Qing Dynasty. Two examples of this are the Temple of Returning to the Origin (Guiyuansi 归元寺) in Hubei Province and the Temple of the Auspicious Response (Jiayingguan 嘉应观) in Henan Province. The Temple of Returning to the Origin is located on Cuiwei Street in Hanyang near the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province. It was built in the early years of the reign of Shunzhi, and is one of the four great forest temples of Wuhan. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times because of war, and existing structures date from 1864 (3rd year of Tongzhi), 1894 (20th year of Guangxu), and the early Republican Era. While it may be a Buddhist temple, the design has a clear garden style to it. Carvings in its Arhat Hall were completed with incredible skill. The Sutra Library is dazzling, with elegant decorations that encapsulate the cultural trend of the Ming and Qing dynasties to integrate elements of palace architecture, gardens, and even private residences into Chinese Buddhist temples. The Temple of the Auspicious Response is located in the village of Miaogong, in Wuzhi County in Henan Province. Built in the early years of the reign of Yongzheng, the temple still contains over 100 bays of halls with a rigorous structure that closely follows the building codes of the Qing Dynasty for palace-style construction. With the exception of architectural and decorative elements that are uniquely religious in nature, this is a perfect example of a palace complex, while also reflecting the overall appearance and level of architecture used in Chinese Daoist temples. The most unique, and grandest, religious structures of the Qing Dynasty were Tibetan Buddhist structures like the Lama Temple, Yonghe gong. For historical and cultural reasons, Tibet had always been a region where religion and politics were intertwined. They followed the Tibetan form of Buddhism and their architecture exhibited the characteristics of this blend of politics and religion. Nearly all important buildings had Tibetan Buddhist elements. The most important example

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of this architectural style within Tibet proper is the Potala Palace. The Potala Palace is located in the center of Lhasa, in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. It stands high above the Lhasa River valley on Red Hill, following the contours of the land. »Potala« is an adaptation of Mount Potalaka. According to Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama is a reincarnation of Avalokitesvara, and the faithful of Tibet view Mount Potalaka, where she passed on her teachings, as a sacred place. The Potala Palace took its name from this sacred place. In 1645 (2nd year of Shunzhi), the 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617–1682), decided to rebuild a religious and political center on Red Hill. Construction began with the White Palace and the Sangka Gatsai. Work on the palace was directed by Solang Rodeng, and took three years to complete. In 1690 (19th year of Kangxi), eight years after the death of the 5th Dalai Lama, Regent Sangye Gyatso took control of construction and built a burial stupa for the 5th Dalai Lama and expanded the Red Palace, completing construction in three years. Later, each of the subsequent Dalai Lamas continued to maintain and slightly expand the palace. By the early 20th century, when the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, was installed, another wave of expansion began. After his death, Gelaidun Hall was built to the west of the Red Palace, where he was laid to rest. It was at this point that the Potala Palace reached its current size. Construction of the Potala Palace lasted a total of three centuries and became one of the most influential Tibetan Buddhist structures of the Qing Dynasty. The Potala Palace covers an area of over three hundred mu, measuring 360 m from east to west, 180 m from north to south, and reaching a height of 117.19 m. The exterior rises 13 stories high, but there are in fact only nine usable floors. The structure can be divided into three parts—the palace, fortress and the lingka (garden). There are over 2000 individ-

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9.13.3 Red Palace of the Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet

ual structures in the Potala Palace, all of which are made of wood and stone. The large stone wall rises sharply and the structure becomes one with the steep hillside providing the viewer with a magnificent and glorious vista, which is the only one of its kind in the history of Chinese architecture. The major palace of the Potala Palace complex include the Red Palace (Fig. 9.13.3) and the White Palace. The Red Palace is the highest building in the center of the Potala Palace complex and is recognizable by its red wall. This was where the Dalai Lama would worship and carry out administrative affairs, providing both offices and living quarters for all government departments.

Just to the east of the Red Palace is the White Palace, which served as the living quarters of each Dalai Lama, the living quarters of regents and Dalai Masters of Scripture as well as offices of the Kashag and meeting halls. The White Palace is slightly lower in elevation than the Red Palace, and its walls are painted white. It is extravagantly decorated and is a typical administrative structure. While the Potala Palace may have been built over the course of centuries, its artistic elements have remained unique. In terms of location, its integration with the surrounding environment, the arrangement and construction of the buildings, and

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the interior and exterior decorative details—the Potala Palace reached a very high level, and incorporates all the successful elements of Tibetan architecture. Overall, the Potala Palace has the following notable characteristics: First, it ingeniously blends the structures with the mountain itself, emphasizing the majestic nature of the structure. Second, the layout and architectural forms used in the Potala Palace reach a state that is richly varied yet unified and harmonious while retaining its own unique personality. The overall layout of the palace did not employ a central axis or a symmetrical arrangement and instead used scale, location, area and other elements to emphasize importance and provided a sense of primacy, which immediacy provides the entire structure with an order of high and low. The palace also deftly incorporated the Sino-Tibetan traditions with great success. Finally, the decoration and arrangement of interior spaces throughout the Potala Palace achieves a state of flowing spaces, an orderly exchange of light and dark and clever skill to produce a unified yet constantly changing architectural space that produces strong emotional reactions and exudes the dual authority of both religion and government, all culminating in a sense that one has entered an otherworldly, sacred place. The Potala Palace has also preserved a large number of sculptures and murals from a number of periods, 108 extremely rare copies of Buddhist scripture and golden patents, golden seals and gifts presented to generations of Dalai Lamas and Tibetan government officials by the emperors of both the Ming and Qing dynasties. This is in addition to countless gifts from local faithful. This also makes the Potala Palace a museum of art and a cultural treasure trove that is invaluable to understanding and researching the history and culture of Tibet. In addition to the Potala Palace complex, areas that also contain a large number of Tibetan Bud-

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dhist temples include Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Liaoning, and the area around Beijing. Larger and more representative examples of Tibetan Buddhist architecture include Labrang Monastery (Labulengsi 拉卜楞寺) in Xiahe County in Gansu Province; the Shiretu Juu (Xilituzhao 席 力图召. the Temple of Extended Longevity) in the city of Huhhot in Inner Mongolia; and the Eight Outer Temples in Chengde in Hebei Province. Other important Tibetan Buddhist temples built during the Qing Dynasty also include the Shigatse Tashilhunpo Monastery (Zhashilunbusi 扎什 伦布寺), Tradruk Temple (Changzhusi 昌珠寺) and the Norbulingka (Luobulinka 罗布林卡) in Tibet; the Kumbum Monastery (Ta’ersi 塔尔寺), Rongwo Monastery (Longwusi 隆务寺) and the Upper and Lower Wutong Temple (Wutunshangxiasi 五屯上下寺) in Qinghai; the Temple of Sacred Protection (Shengyousi 圣佑寺) in Xinjiang; the Temple of Vast Benevolence (Guangrensi 广仁寺) in Shaanxi; the Ih Juu (Dazhao 大召), Wusutu Juu (Wusutuzhao 乌素图召), Xar Moron Juu (Xilamulunzhao 锡拉木轮召), the Relic Stupa of the Vajra Throne (Jingangzuo sheli baota 金刚座舍利宝塔), Badekar Monastery (Wudangzhao 五当召), the Temple of Universal Gathering (Puhuisi 普会寺), Temple of the Beiles (Beizimiao 贝子庙), the Temple of the Halls (Shitangsi 室堂寺), the Temple of Extended Fortune (Yanfusi 延福寺) and the Temple of Vast Fortune (Guangfusi 广福寺) in Inner Mongolia; the Lama Temple, Western Yellow Temple (Xihuangsi 西黄寺), Temple of Universal Transcendence (Pudusi 普度寺) and the Stupa of the Vajra Throne at the Temple of the Azure Clouds (Biyunsi 碧云寺) in Beijing; the Temple of Vast Benevolence, the Temple of Taming the Sea (Zhenhaisi 镇海寺) and the Bodhisattva Mound (Pusading 菩萨顶), the Temple of Precious Victory (Baoshengsi 宝胜寺) and Temple of Protection and Ease (Youshunsi 祐顺寺), as well as the Double Pagoda in Heilongjiang Province. Some of these temples were build and expanded from the foundations of previous temples, but more of them were built

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due to the unprecedented expansion of Lamaism. The format of these temples did not differ widely from Tibetan, Han or Sino-Tibetan styles of architecture. Labrang Monastery is located a long, narrow basin that was created by a river between two mountains to the west of the city of Xiahe. Construction began in 1710 (49th year of Kangxi), the structure was continually expanded until it became one of the six great temples of the Gelug Sect. The Labrang Monastery is massive and was once the political, religious and culture center for Tibetans living in at the meeting point of Gansu, Qinghai. and Sichuan. It housed over 3000 monks of all ranks, and covered an area of over 1,300 mu. It had six great scripture halls, 16 halls dedicated to the Buddha, 18 offices of the tulku, as well as many gold stupas, altars for debating scripture, scripture libraries, printing halls and residences to house the monks. The area of the structures numbered over 10,000 bays, and the monastery was much like a small city. The layout and style of the buildings was done in the classic Tibetan style with lecture halls, worship halls and the offices of the tulku making up the main buildings, while other structures were built around them. There was no overall plan, but the main structures were obvious and the overall layout was logical and it retained a visual impression of religious teachings. The lecture hall is the most unique of the buildings at Labrang Monastery. The ground gradually rises as one moves from the main gate, through the forecourt and corridors to the main hall. Spaces also become smaller and more enclosed, while lighting becomes increasingly subdued. After entering the rear hall, the golden statues of the Buddha, bejeweled spirit stupas and colorful thangka and scripture banners appear and disappear in the weak lamp light. This atmosphere, along with the fierce appearance of the statue of the deity worshiped in the Hall of Protecting Dharma, which is also decorated with bows and

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arrows on the walls, inspires fear in visitors and has a strong sense of religious spiritual power. Kumbum Monastery is located in Huangzhong County, in Qinghai Province. Construction on the monastery began in 1560 (39th year of Jiajing, Ming) and construction was carried out many times during the Qing Dynasty. Of all Tibetan Buddhist temples, it is second only to the temples of the Potala Palace in terms of scale and at its height contained over fifty bays of halls of all sizes. The Gelug Sect declared Kumbum Monastery the second most sacred place after the birthplace of Sakyamuni himself. The temple complex could be divided into six categories including halls of worship, lecture halls, scripture libraries and Buddhist stupas. All of the buildings were constructed on either side of the Mountain of the Lotus Blossom and on terraced land on the sides of mountain valleys. The overall layout of the structures clearly integrated elements form Han-style temples, but unlike Han-style temples, they did not strictly follow a central axis and symmetrical plan. Instead, they followed a free layout based on the contour of the land. They blended together and interlocked without affect each of their own styles, indicating an extremely refined aesthetic concept. The Eight Outer Temples is the general name for eleven lama temples built on the hills to the northeast of the Mountain Lodge for Fleeing the Heat in Chengde. These were built by Qing Dynasty emperors with the intention of incorporating Tibetan and Mongolian elements. They include the Temple of Pervading Benevolence (Purensi 溥仁 寺) built in 1713 (52nd year of Kangxi), the Temple of Pacifying Distant Lands (Anyuanmiao 安远庙) built in 1764 (29th year of Qianlong) and commonly known as Yili Temple, the Temple of Universal Joy (Puelsi 普乐寺) built in 1766 (31st year of Qianlong) and commonly known as the Round Pavilion, the Temple of the Potala Tenets (Putuo zongcheng si 普陀宗乘寺) built in 1771 (36th year of Qianlong), the Temple of Majusri (Shuxiangsi 殊像寺) built in

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1774 (39th year of Qianlong), and the Meru Temple of Fortune and Longevity (Xumi fushousi 须弥福 寿寺) built in 1780 (45th year of Qianlong). These lama temples were all built during the reigns of Kangxi and Qianlong over a period of no more than 60 years. It was during this period that the Qing Dynasty was at its height and the Eight Outer Temples represented a relatively high level of temple architecture. The Eight Outer Temples combined a large number of different styles of religious architecture, but ensured both variety and harmony, which was a unique element of the overall style of Qing Dynasty architecture. These temples still contain a large number of imperial commemorative stelae, which have important historical and cultural value. Lama temples scattered in other areas include those in Tibet, Inner Mongolia, and Qinghai as well as remote areas of Shanxi Province, which have been relatively well preserved. Most of the older temples used Han-style forms or were rebuilt or expanded based on existing Tibetan temples. Most new temples used a Sino-Tibetan blend of architecture or pure Tibetan style architecture. Structures that have been exquisitely preserved reflect the busy artistic style of Qing Dynasty architecture, which sought an ornately rich and integrated many different styles. There are also many examples of high-quality Islamic and Catholic religious structures built during the Qing Dynasty. Islamic religious architecture mainly includes mosques and cemeteries (also known as mazar or gongbei), while Catholic architecture was mainly expressed in churches. Islam arrived in China around the 7th century CE and by the Qing Dynasty there were over ten ethnic groups in China that followed the religion. These ethnic groups were mainly located in western and northern areas of the country including Xinjiang, Gansu and Ningxia. The Qing rulers adopted a protective policy with regards to Islam and ensured that Islam grew quickly in many areas.

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This resulted in large Islamic structures appearing in many parts of China during the Qing Dynasty, which were exemplified by mosques. Mosques built during the Qing Dynasty mainly had three styles. One was based on the Middle Eastern style of mosque, and these were mostly located in Xinjiang and Gansu. The most representative example of this style is the Id Kah Mosque (Aitiga qingzhensi 艾提尕清真寺) in Kashgar. Another type was built in the Han style, but redesigned to serve the functions required of a mosque. These were mostly located in areas of China proper, where there were high concentrations of the Hui ethnic minority. A classic example of this style is the Grand Mosque of Tianjin. The third style was built in the general shape of a mosque while incorporating various regional and local ethnic elements. This type of mosque was built throughout China and is represented in the Grand Hui Mosque in Hohhot in Inner Mongolia. These three types of mosque reflect the overall look and level of mosque architecture during the Qing Dynasty. The Id Kah Mosque is located in the center of Kashgar on Id Kah Square and is the largest mosque in Xinjiang, covering an area of 15 mu. Construction began in 1798 (3rd year of Jiaqing) and it reached its current size in 1838 (18th year of Daoguang). The mosque faces to the east and the main entrance is located int he southeastern corner. The entrance to the mosque and its towers are connected by low walls that form a unified whole. The light yellow bricks are spaced by snow-white gapes and decorative patterns, which give a dignified, solemn and clean feeling. There is a white arched dome above the main entrance and it is flanked on either side with towers that are topped with a crescent moon pinnacle, which form a shape with three major elements. The prayer hall is 160 m wide and 16 m deep, and is divided into interior and exterior halls. It is supported by 140 green carved wooden columns that form a grid pattern and support a white ribbed

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roof. The space between each rib is not far and each serves as a caisson that is painted with a floral pattern. The space is regular, simple, tranquil and spacious, yet also mysterious and enables the faithful to watch, listen and concentrate. The Grand Mosque of Tianjin is located in the northwestern corner of the old city and was built in 1703 (42nd year of Kangxi) using Han-style palatial architecture as a main theme. It includes a reflective wall, an entryway, a worship hall, lecture hall, side halls and a hall of cleansing. The main hall of worship faces east and is made up of four closely connected halls. The first is a portico with a rolled roof, which is followed by two large hip roof halls. The last hall has five hexagonal or octagonal towers that rise above its roof along with covered corridors running along either side. The exterior of the structure rises and falls for a richly varied visual effect. The ceilings, doors, and windows within the temple are decorated with stone and wood carvings, most of which are geometrical or floral patterns, strictly adhering to the religious doctrine of Islam to not depict human or animal figures. It also maintains the unique style of carvings used in Ming and Qing architecture. The Grand Mosque of Hohhot is located in the Hui quarter of the city on Tongdao Street and was built during the reign of Kangxi. In 1789 (54th year of Qianlong), a large number of ethnic Hui people moved to this area from Xinjiang and through an extended period of construction, the mosque reached its current scale. While the mosque mainly uses a Han-style wooden structure, the different techniques used give it a unique architectural style. The five tented towers on the great lecture hall and a pavilion on top of the Moon Gazing Tower form a rich outline of this group of buildings. In addition to the mosques mentioned here, there are also many other famous mosques throughout China. These include the Grand Mosque of Kuqa, the Grand Mosque of Yarkant and the Grand Hui Mosque in Xinjiang; the mosque of Tongxin

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County in Ningxia; the Mosque of Lhasa in Tibet; the Xi’an Mosque in Shaanxi Province; the Niujie Mosque in Beijing; the Qinyang Mosque in Henan Province; the Chengdu Mosque in Sichuan Province; the Huihui Mosque in Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province; and the Shouxian Mosque in Anhui Province. While some of these mosques contain structures from previous dynasties, most of them were restored or expanded during the Qing Dynasty, and are important examples of Qing Dynasty religious architecture. In addition to mosques, there are other types of influential Islamic architecture, which include the Afaq Khoja Mausoleum in Kashgar and the Emin Minaret in Turpan. The word »mazar« refers to a tomb. The Afaq Khoja Mausoleum (Fig. 9.13.4) is the tomb of Afaq Khoja of the Aqtāghlïq Sect of Islam. It is located in the outskirts of Kashgar and covers an area of over forty mu. Construction began in the early Qing Dynasty with large scale expansion and restoration carried out in 1807 (12th year of Jiaqing). The order of the buildings is fitting, and organically forms a perfect tomb complex. Structures include a grand entrance, the mausoleum itself, a small mosque, lecture hall and a grand mosque all set in a free layout that follows the contour of the land. Within the crypt, the burial vaults are layered and interlocked, holding a total of 72 members of the Afaq family. The northwestern side of the crypt has both an inner and outer hall surrounded by an openwork wooden lattice barrier, which serves as a lecture hall. The grand mosque is on the western side and its rice yellow walls and white Islamic arches peek through a multistory reddish brown colonnade. A ring of poplar trees surround a broad square in front of the mosque, which provide a tranquil, serious backdrop for the building. The Emin Minaret is located in the southern suburbs of Turpan and was built in 1778 (43rd year of Qianlong) by Suleiman to commemorate his father Emin, which is why it is also known as the Minaret of Master Su. Emin Khoja was once a

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9.13.4  Afaq Khoja Mausoleum, Kashgar, Xinjiang

Uyghur leader in the Turpan Region, and generations of his family had fought against foreign invasion and division of their lands. He made great contributions and in 1733 (11th year of Yongzheng), he was granted the title of Jasagh Bulwark Duke and in 1756 (21st year of Qianlong) he was elevated to Guardian Duke, then, in 1758 (23rd year of Qianlong), he was given the status of a Prince of the Second Rank, and in the following year received the official title, under order to be »inherited by all future generations.« The Emin Minaret measures over 36  m high and its base is 14  m wide. The minaret stands near a mosque and the two are in perfect proportion to each other from any angle, creating a balanced appearance. The body of the minaret is made of brick with bricks inlaid in the walls to create fifteen unique patterns. The sizes are well-proportioned and treated well. The simple use of a single color and the cadence along

the horizontal lines gives artistic elements of the structure a very stable quality. Because most of the Islamic architecture in Xinjiang retained the traditional elements of Middle Eastern Islamic buildings, they are considered works of art among Qing-era architecture that have been preserved to the present day. Relatively speaking, the style of Catholic structures in China basically retain the same basic forms of traditional churches. Catholicism first entered China during the Ming Dynasty with the arrival of Western missionaries. The religion spread quickly during the Qing Dynasty and the number of Catholic churches increased rapidly. Early churches followed a pure Gothic style, while later churches incorporated Chinese architectural elements. There are a few churches that have survived to the present day, including the Church of the Savior (Xishiku jiaotang 西什库教堂) and the

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Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Nantang 南堂) in Beijing; the St. Nicholas Cathedral (Nangang nigula jiaotang 南岗尼古拉教堂) in Harbin; the Wanghailou Church (Wanghailou jiaotang 望 海楼教堂) in Tianjin; St. Ignatius Cathedral (Xujiahui jiaotang 徐家汇天主教堂), St. Francis Xavier Church (Dongjiadu tianzhutang 董家渡天主堂), and Songjiang Catholic Church (Songjiang tianzhutang 松江天主堂) in Shanghai; as well as the Sacred Heart Cathedral (Shengxin dajiaotang 圣心 大教堂) in Guangdong. Many of the religious structures of the Qing Dynasty reflect the artistic tradition of the Qing Dynasty—of adopting the best of all traditions and creating ornate and sometimes chaotic designs. This was the result of the demands of the rulers of the Qing court as well as an aesthetic preference that emphasized the technical elements of art.

creating gardens extended from the emperor down to wealthy individuals, who filled unused spaces with water features, rock sculptures, flowers and trees to provide comfortable places to relax, emphasizing entertainment and visual appreciation. The opulence of Qing garden architecture reflected the needs of domestic culture at the time, indirectly showcasing the changes and unique aspects of aesthetics from that period. In terms of cultural context, there was a very close relationship between garden architecture and painting, and the involvement of the literati and the educated classes along with artists directly enhanced the cultural content in architecture. Garden architecture of the Qing Dynasty can be divided into two periods. The first period was during the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. The number of gardens, the techniques used, and the artistry all saw rapid growth with a number of famous designers appearing. Gardens from previous periods were also restored and expanded. At the same time, imperial gardens also borrowed from the styles used in the Jiangnan Region, creating a large number of gardens at imperial villas on a massive scale. The second period was after the Opium Wars, and it was during this wave of construction that private gardens like the Lingering Garden (Liuyuan 留园), the Garden of Pleasance (Yiyuan 怡园) and the Couple’s Retreat Garden (Ouyuan 耦园) in Suzhou, as well as imperial gardens like the Summer Palace.

Section 2  Vernacular Architecture and Garden Architecture During the Qing Dynasty, different levels of material wealth and the cultural histories of different ethnic groups resulted in a diverse range of popular architectural styles. Compared with the »methodological« styles of other structures, these popular buildings looked more varied, but there was also a common simplicity and naturalness to residential buildings throughout the country. Most of them used locally sourced materials, and the most economical buildings methods—that suited the local climate, landscape and environment. They equally emphasized practicality and aesthetics, paying close attention to create buildings that were in harmony with nature to adapt to needs of different regions, different ethnic groups and different lifestyles. Qing Dynasty garden architecture stands out in the history of Chinese architecture. Centered in Beijing and the Jiangnan Region, the passion for

1. Integrated Creations of Vernacular Architecture One of the basic characteristics of Qing Dynasty architecture was the ability of vernacular architecture to create rich and diverse views. Not only was the organization and construction of private residences improved and enriched, a large number of ancestral halls and guild halls were built with their own unique style and scale. All manner of temples dedicated to folk religions also appeared.

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The fundamental characteristics of Chinese architecture were clearly expressed in the artistry of Qing Dynasty buildings. First was the use of wood as main a building material and the basic principle of a wooden frame. Beams and columns were the main weight-bearing elements of these structures. The walls were not weight bearing, which allowed for a flexibility in the placing of doors and windows that was an important source of expression of aesthetic elements and cultural content. Second was the use of the dougong as a key structural feature and its function as a basic unit of measurement. It is for this reason that buildings tended to be generally square and the expansion and overall arrangement of these buildings was both standard and free with forms that were both richly varied and simple, making this style the polar opposite of arched structures made of stone. Third was the unique outline of the exterior of the buildings. Roofs placed great emphasis on the treatment of ridges, corner beams, winged corners, flying rafters and cornices, which were both straight and curved for a majestic and dynamic effect. Thick foundations echoed the styles of the roofs with a hefty and grounded feel. The central space of these wooden buildings were empty and pure with decoration that attracted people’s attention. The fourth element was a method of decoration that gave these structures a striking visual effect. In addition to ordinary painting, nearly all varieties of craft were used adding exquisite decorative features to every part of the structure. A variety of painting techniques along with the unique colors and patterns in other materials (i.  e., gray brick, glazed roof tiles, lime, and granite) resulted in an infinite variety of decorative effects and limitless room for cultural adaptation. The 5th element were the moral and ethical aspects of the overall layout that existed in concert with the aesthetic environment. The rules for the

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layout of these structures were based on ancient codes and systems that indicated leadership primacy and status, while auxiliary structures like side halls, corridors and walls served as a background by connecting, intersecting and encompassing the space, providing variation to a unified whole. Sixth was the emphasis on the choice of location, which showed the function that natural aesthetic effects played in the development of people’s cultural consciousness. The concept of fengshui was used heavily in choosing locations for buildings as was the concept of setting aside empty space. This resulted in many structures that placed cultural elements first and livability second, which included elements like pavilions, terraces, towers, watch towers, entry gates, ceremonial arches, multistory halls, winding corridors, shadow walls, burial chambers, gardens and grand halls. Regardless of the type or style of the building, this architectural style was second to none in the world. The above elements are the basic characteristics of Chinese architecture, but they are also unified under the wider context of traditional Chinese culture. We can provide a number of reasons for why these various characteristics formed as they did. Each of them, with the exception of the use of wood and the general structure of the buildings, all resonate with Chinese thinking and concepts related to politics, religion, customs, ceremony and fengshui. Similarly, these characteristics directly influenced the interests of the people, and Chinese philosophy, literature, and art were also influenced by the fundamental aesthetic charm of these architectural elements. The basic requirements that buildings be central, straight, upright, stable, symmetrical, have empty space and be broad and open also became basic forms and aesthetic requirements in traditional Chinese art. These were also widely expressed in the aesthetic preferences of China’s various forms of folk art.

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Decoration in vernacular architecture is one of the main topics in the study of art history. In a broad sense, architectural decoration at the very least should include two main elements, decorative elements on structures and decoration of the environment around the buildings, which is the final state in the completion of architectural works of art. The embellishment of these two elements ensures that a building achieves the aesthetic requirement of blending texture, form and color, thus achieving the basic appearance and air of a completed structure. The decoration of a building is an important stage in ensuring that it serves an aesthetic purpose and, in a very basic way, all of the basic techniques and requirements in architectural decoration originate from vernacular architecture. They cover many different types of folk art and include nearly all of the techniques used by artisans, ultimately resulting in a synthetic architectural creation. Decoration in Chinese architecture can be broadly divided into a number of areas including roof decoration, interior decoration, doors and windows, columns and beams, foundations and banisters as well as decoration on stone and brick. Having developed over a long period of time, architectural decoration has formed many general rules and each part has a relatively fixed decorative technique. The ridges of roofs and side ridges are often decorated with molded figures of people or mythical animals made of pottery or glazed tile. Beams, columns and rafters are generally painted in color. Doors and windows are also often decorated with patterns assembled from pieces of wood or carvings, while walls are often treated with techniques like engravings, openwork carving, relief carvings or grinding. In this way, not only does the overall decorative style take on a varied appearance, but individual decorative elements are also able to maintain a relationship with each other and form a delicateness that is not overly elaborate, and maintains an overall style that is elegant and richly appealing. Of the many techniques used in

architectural decoration, perhaps the most representative element of Chinese architectural decoration is painting and carving. The architecture of different periods and dynasties placed greater emphasis on different designs, most of which were similar to the designs that were used in the wider world of art at the time. The patterns of animals and mythical creatures of the Shang and Zhou, noble men and women, immortal realms, bacchanals and scenes of entertainment of the Qin and the Han, the lotus patterns and scrolled grasses, Buddhist images, scenes of riding and dancing, exotic objects depicted during the Sui and the Tang, flowers and animals, stories and tales, the lives of farmers and merchants, and mythical legends of the Song and the Yuan were all elements that could also often seen in architecture of those periods. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, architectural decoration had become increasingly opulent and full with a much wider range of subject matter. In palatial buildings, dragons, phoenixes, auspicious symbols, scenes from operas, stories and curios were important elements of decoration. Temples and private homes generally contained elements like auspicious or lucky symbols, flowers and grasses, Buddhist stories or folk legends. Of course, the choice of subject matter also reflected the different functions and aesthetic demands of the building. In areas where merchants gathered, people were often wealth, but not well educated, and carvings and decoration that adorned their buildings was often densely packed and overly elaborate. Many of the designs were taken from stories about historical figures or from operas, which were relatively content rich and often shared a great deal in common with folk art. She County, in southern Anhui Province, and Dingcun, in southern Shanxi Province, were both centers where a large number of merchants lived. The carvings in their homes were typical of this style. In areas where literati and scholars lived, the content and patterns used in carvings had a stronger decora-

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tive element and blended more closely with the aesthetic preferences of the literati. More common elements included cloud patterns, interlocking curves, cracked patterns and twisted vine patterns. Suzhou and Yangzhou were centers where literati gathered in the Jiangnan Region and this is clearly represented in the style used in the architectural decoration there. Architecture in northern China took a different path and is represented by Beijing. Generally speaking, cities in northern China were mostly political, economic and cultural centers, with merchants, scholars and average citizens mixing together. While the homes of the various classes very distinct from each other, they did tend to influence each other, which is why patterns of flowers and curios appeared on a variety of structures. The techniques that were used can be divided into two large categories based on the needs of the building and its decoration. The first category was generally decoration that was used on narrow or linking elements within the structure, and appeared mainly as graphics of fixed patterns. Some of these patterns seem to still have traces of the original object they represent, such as cloud patterns, stylized dragon patterns or ruyi patterns. Most of these gradually turned into a decorative pattern with a fixed structure, like interlocked lozenge patterns, the characters for happiness and longevity, the Buddhist swastika, and crack patterns. There were many patterns that fit into this category and, while they had certain rules they followed, they were also very flexible and could be adapted to different locations and different shapes. The other category was very close to painting, or used the most mature painting techniques of the time. This type of decoration appeared on walls, columns, beams or other exposed surfaces. Most of these paintings were presented in symmetrical or curved shapes depending on the area to be decorated. The content of this decoration was extremely free and broad with all manner of subject matter. Nearly everything could be included

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in these paintings, from landscapes to flowers and birds, figures, deities, monsters, everyday objects and auspicious symbols. The painting techniques used varied with the artist and many works were the product of talented folk artists, while others were based on famous historical works or the works of other famous artists. The Long Corridor in the Summer Palace in Beijing contains several thousand paintings, each of them different, creating an impressive visual feast. With the variety of decorative designs in architecture in both northern and southern China, it is difficult count them all. Generally speaking, designs were suited to the building that they decorate and through generations of artisans, many of these forms have become fixed. Examples of fixed decorative forms for individual architectural elements include coiled dragons on columns, double-dragon patterns on square beams, seated dragons or dragon medallions on ceiling panels, and recesses into cornices and beams. They were used as needed and blended both straight and curved forms, creating dazzling yet harmonious visual effects on various architectural elements. Naturally, there are many forms and patterns in Chinese architecture that have unique connotations or symbolism. The chiwen, ao, seahorses and other scaled creatures symbolize water and therefore represent protection against fire, which is a major threat to wooden structures. Bats, sika deer, and peaches respectively represent good fortune, wealth, and longevity, and are used as auspicious symbols, making them very popular designs. As stories were passed among artisans, they may have also incorporated historical tales or folk legends into their works, adding their own interpretations or expectations, resulting in different forms and different methods used in decoration. In addition to accenting the building itself, they also served as platforms for passing on cultural treasures and aesthetics. While the two major categories mentioned above use different techniques, the decorative patterns

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they used in architecture had already cast off the shackles of »formalism.« In addition to painted decoration, colors used in all of these patterns strictly followed the overall architectural style. For example, carvings on roof tiles and walls were all the same color as the tiles and bricks themselves, very rarely applying additional color. However, scrolled grass and cloud patterns could be adorned with an entire range of colors with an overall effect that emphasized the calm, pure nature of the colors. This ensured that the richness of Chinese architecture was both bold and reliable. Naturally, the use of color differed noticeably depending on the function of the building with a few basic rules that were followed in this respect. Large, open spaces almost always used a single color, subdued colors or colors that brought out the characteristics of the materials used. Some of these colors expressed fixed meanings. Yellow represented luxury, black represented solemnity and harmony. Red walls, blue roof tiles, black doors and golden halls were all examples of this use of color. Detailed patterns, however, used a range of bright colors with meticulously painted patterns or the addition of gold leaf, which created a stark contrast to the larger structure. The most common colors in Chinese architecture are blue, green and red, with the addition of black, white and yellow. These colors were often layered with a shadowing technique that resulted in a unique style that could create both a dignified and solemn atmosphere as well as a naturally luxurious feeling as was needed. Overall, the forms and patterns used in architectural decoration were inextricably linked to cultural traditions and the fact that architecture was everywhere meant that decorative elements in that architecture was one of the most common and pervasive way of artistic expression. China’s decorative architectural features are one of the most unique aspects of Chinese architecture and indirectly provide insight into the unique characteristics of its architectural traditions, linking

both the artistry of architecture and traditional cultural themes.

2. Residential Building Systems »Private residences« refer not only to common homes, but also include a wider range of buildings that serve as locations for residential life. Personal homes are the structures that are the richest, most widespread and most diverse form of vernacular architecture that remain. Of the private residences that remain today, the majority are from the Qing Dynasty or were rebuilt during that period. Most of the categories are derived from ancient Chinese residential buildings like »nest homes« and »cave homes« that differed from north to south. Generally speaking, the different forms of architecture were mainly the result of climate and environment, or lifestyle. The Chinese people originated in the areas around the Yangtze and Yellow River basins, which provided them with something that is not seen anywhere else in the world. Both the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers flow in the same direction of the earth’s rotation, which means that the climate along these rivers is the similar throughout its entire watershed. This resulted in the cultivation of similar crops and the development of similar lifestyles within a single watershed. The difference in latitude of these rivers resulted in differences in their climates. This means that the main styles of Chinese residential architecture can be clearly divided into a number of regions according to the river systems in which they are found. The first of these is centered around the Yellow River basin, specifically the middle and lower reaches of the river, which is traditionally known as the Central Plains. The style of architecture in this region is representative of northern Chinese architecture. The second includes northeastern China, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Tibet and parts of Gansu and Qinghai, which make up China’s northern and western border regions. Architectural styles

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in these areas, while being also being influenced by northern Chinese architecture, were also influenced by regional and religious cultural elements, which gave them architectural elements of the regions and peoples that surrounded them. The third region includes the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, which was historically the most developed part of China both culturally and economically. This area is made up mainly of the coastal provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which in ancient times were the kingdoms of Wu and Yue. Architecture there was represented by the light and elegant courtyard, and Wu-Yue architecture is one of the main forms of Jiangnan architecture. The ancient region of Huizhou, which included areas of Anhui, Zhejiang and Jiangxi, is characterized by residential buildings that are tightly packed, tall, narrow and richly decorated with carvings, making it one of the most representative examples of southern Chinese architecture. The fourth region is concentrated in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the area around Dongting Lake, which includes most of Hunan, Hubei and Sichuan as well as parts of southern Henan and Shaanxi. This area demonstrates a mixture of northern and southern styles with a simple style that can be incorporated into a singular architectural style. The 5th region covers much of southwestern China including Yunnan, Guizhou, western portions of Sichuan and Hunan and northwestern Guangxi. There are many different architectural forms here, each with their own unique style. Most of these are closely linked to the different lifestyles of each ethnic group. The majority of these are stilt houses, but there are also many other styles that use stone walls or wooden frames. This is the most architecturally diverse region of China. The sixth region includes Guangxi and Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan and Taiwan, which incorporate styles of both the Central Plains and Jiangnan Region, but also have their own unique elements. In terms of materials, they use both wood

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and stone, while incorporating decorative elements that are both light and elegant, luxurious and even ostentatious, while taking on elements unique to homes in a southern climate. The most representative example of northern residential architecture is the courtyard home of Beijing. The manors, mansions and even the simple homes of the common people were all based on courtyard format with additions or combinations where needed. Even non-residential buildings like folk temples and guild halls also used the courtyard structure with slight changes or additional expansions. Even the temples of major religions and imperial palaces were clearly influenced by the courtyard style. The classic courtyard home is positioned along a north-south central axis with the buildings and courtyards laid out symmetrically on either side of it. The overall layout can be divided into two sections—the forecourt or outer courtyard, containing rooms like the meeting hall, study, guest apartments, male servant quarters and store rooms, and the rear or inner courtyard, housing the living quarters of senior family members in a main hall and side halls to the east and west for younger family members. There are also »ear« rooms to the left and right of the main hall along with smaller courtyards, while in some cases there may also be another row of buildings behind the main hall that house the kitchen, toilet and more storage space. The main entrance of the courtyard is located in the southeast corner and is generally not positioned along the central axis. There is a »shadow wall« immediately opposite the main entrance and visitors are required to turn to the west to enter the forecourt. The forecourt is generally smaller and the gate at the southern end of the central axis and leads to the rear courtyard is known as the second gate. Wealthy or well positioned families may often choose to elaborately decorate the second gate in a style known as a »hanging flower gate.« After passing through the second gate, one enters the rear courtyard, which

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is relatively large and the main courtyard of the residence. It is often decorated with flowers and trees as well as bonzai (penjing 盆景) displays. These are often carefully selected and normally include flowers and trees like orchids and crabapple trees. Potted plants or flower beds are often planted with flowers according to the season including Chinese peonies, orchids in spring and chrysanthemums in autumn, creating a tranquil, natural setting. The courtyard is also surrounded by a covered walkway that enables passage between the various rooms regardless of the weather. The forecourt and rear courtyard are all surrounded by an outer wall that creates an enclosed whole that generally has no outward facing windows. Most larger courtyard homes also have another courtyard behind the main hall as well as a larger building prior to the second gate, which serves as a meeting space for guests, which brings the total number of courtyards in the structure to four. In even larger courtyard homes, there are sometimes two separate axes along which several courtyards are placed, resulting in two parallel groups of courtyards with a more freely arranged garden space. The Tibetan people live in western China, in the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, and Tibet proper. Their cultural and religious traditions are very different from those of the Central Plains. The majority of their architectural efforts are placed in the construction of temples, which means that private homes and other forms of folk art are considerably influenced by religious themes, resulting in a unique regional style. Generally speaking, Tibetan homes have flat roofs and are rectangular or square. The abundance of stone in mountainous areas mean that most homes are made of stone with three stories against a mountainside. The lowest level is used to house animals and store grains. The middle level is the living area with two or three rooms, the largest of which serves as a communal area, bedroom and kitchen, while the small rooms are for storage or stairwell access. The upper floor contains a prayer room and toilet. On

the plains, most buildings are made of rammed earth and mainly have two stories. Decoration in the homes of the Tibetan people was heavily influenced by religious themes with simple patterns and bold colors. Wealthy families richly decorated their hallways, prayer halls and interior spaces, while poorer people tended to decorate a few particular areas to beautify their homes. Exterior decoration was rare. The main structure was made of heavy stone and the flat roof and simple layout create a geometric shape that is irregular with a mix of full and empty spaces. This created a unique outline in contrast with the tall mountains and wild plains. The bright colors of the windows and doors contrast strongly with the simple, natural colors of the earth and stone of the walls as well as the bright sun, blue sky and white clouds of the high plains. The lower reaches of the Yangtze River have been one of China’s most prosperous regions culturally and economically since the Han and Wei dynasties. The architecture of this region has a clear northern influence, but did not retain the stiltstyle structure of the past and mostly adopted stone foundations with structures that allowed for increased airflow and drainage. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi became the most developed economically and culturally, while the area around Lake Tai was the most productive agriculturally. The large size of the cities and the high population density produced a unique style of residential architecture that was unique to the Jiangnan region. Areas where wealthy merchants and officials lived formed massive compounds that included several homes as well as family temples and gardens. Generally speaking, the unit by which these homes were measured was an enclosed courtyard, known as a jin, or »entry.« Homes with several jin are arranged along several different axes, the orientation of which is often toward the south or the southeast. The central axis of larger homes

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includes an entryway, a sedan chair port and living quarters along with rooms for entertaining, a studio, side halls and a kitchen as well as storage to the left and right, resulting in three groups of parallel courtyards. A passageway connects each of these courtyards, serving as a walkway and escape route in the case of fire. The main living quarters, meeting halls and studios often have pools in front of them with piles of stones as well as flowers and trees, creating a neat little independent courtyard. Most rear buildings have two stories with a winding covered walkway that connects it to the rest of the complex. In order to allow for airflow and cool the building, the courtyards usually have a layout that opens to the east and west enclosed on each side with high walls that shade the interior of the courtyard. The walls and roofs are much lighter and thinner than those in the north. External walls use a rat-trap bond technique and there are drainage openings on the tops of the walls as well as large windows in the front and rear of the buildings. Large families often built gardens in the rear or to the sides of their compounds, while others created entirely separate gardens that formed private gardens that contained a residence. While gardens are considered an independent category in Chinese architecture, it should be recognized that they are an inseparable part of a residential complex. Many guild halls, temples and government offices also built gardens with some of them becoming places for the public to gather and relax. These can be found in many medium-sized and smaller cities and even towns and villages. The fact that they were so influential shows that many of the basic requirements of garden construction had been applied to vernacular architecture and even made their way into folk art. The areas of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Hainan and Taiwan had also been known as the Lingnan Region, and with the exception of border areas with a large number of ethnic minorities, this area had been influenced mainly by the culture of the Central Plans since the Qin and Han. This resulted

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in a system of residential architecture that was based on the style of the Central Plains with elements of the style of the Jiangnan Region as well as clear regional influences. A relatively unique style of residential architecture can be seen in the homes of the Hakka people in the mountainous regions of Fujian and Guangdong. The Hakka were originally Han people who had moved south during the Three Kingdoms and two Jin periods. They formed a communal clan-based lifestyle that resulted in massive residential compounds. One style of these compounds is a massive earth-wall structure that is usually round or square, known as tulou. The many types of vernacular architecture in China are an important part of the multi-regional and multi-ethnic makeup of the Chinese people. People have a close connection to the place where they live and this has given birth to a number of forms of folk art, each with their own unique style. In researching residential cultural habits, we should pay close attention to the fact that they are both places where people live as well as environments where folk art is cultivated and grows, providing it with a foundation for integration and development. Without this kind of living space, filled with artistic and cultural context, it is difficult to imagine how the cultural and spirit of a people can be maintained and developed. Of the residential compounds from the Qing Dynasty that have been preserved to the present day, some still retain their complete facade. This helps us understand the overall feel of Qing-era vernacular architecture in all aspects, from location to arrangement, structure and decoration. This is especially true of villages that have been preserved intact, which demonstrate the level of vernacular architecture even more completely. Dingcun, in Xiangfen County in Shanxi Province, is an outstanding of a preserved village from that period. To this day, the village still contains over 20 private homes from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Most of these are traditional courtyard homes

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and collectively demonstrate the basic characteristics of northern residential architecture. Southern Anhui and Jiangxi Provinces originally belonged to a region known as Huizhou. A large number of villages have been preserved in this area, which showcase the unique characteristics of classical Huizhou residential architecture. Most of these villages are located in Yi County and Jing County, in Anhui, or Wuyuan, in Jiangxi Province. The most famous of these villages are Xidi and Jilian, in Yi County, and Yancun, in Wuyuan. The inner areas of these villages are laid out in a convenient, logical manner suitable for daily living and harmonious coexistence. However, even more impressive is their ability to incorporate water features into residential architecture, creating a perfect blend of the surrounding landscape, the fields and the village itself. The ancient towns of Dali and Lijiang in Yunnan have preserved a relatively large number of Bai and Naxi homes from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and are well known for a large number of villages with homes from that era. Another unique example of a collection of collective residential architecture is the »stockade village« or zhai. A typical example of this style of collective living is the Qing-era village of Baoshizhai, which is located on Yuyin Mountain on the banks of the Yangtze River and was built in 1819 (24th year of Jiaqing, Qing). This stockade village was built on the side of the mountain in layers that reached over 50 m in height, to very top of the hill—with only one path leading up the mountain. The village contains a nine-story tower built on the side of the cliff with multiple eaves, and is an imposing and beautiful piece of architecture. There is also a flat stone platform at the top of the mountain that covers an area of around 1,200 m² and originally contained the Hall of the Son of Heaven (Tianzidian 天子殿), which was part of the Temple of the Three Rites (Sanchong gumiao 三重古庙), built during the reigns of Kangxi and Qianlong. The main gate, the buildings and the temple of this

stockade village seem to have been completed in one breath and are a sight to behold. Meanwhile, the contrast of the power of the mountain and the flow of the river along its stone banks give it an almost mysterious and imposing energy. The village of Baoshizhai is like a beautiful seal that was imprinted on this picturesque island in the middle of a river, giving Yuyin Mountain a literary air, draped in exquisite finery in the form of beautiful architecture that gives this natural landscape an artistic spirit. The cleverness of its design and the uniqueness of its construction is something very rare in the history of Chinese architecture. Buildings that are integral to the lives of those living in a village often form a large scale and functional part of a collection of residential buildings. There were an incredible number of these groups of buildings created during the Qing Dynasty, but very few of them have been preserved to the present day in their original form. One example is the Tower of the Five Phoenixes (Wufenglou 五凤楼) at the Temple of the Fortunate Nation near Zhishan in Lijiang. This three-eaved polygon-shaped wooden structure was 17 m tall. The structure is exquisite and was built in the shape of five phoenixes standing. The current building was rebuilt during the reign of Emperor Guangxu. Manor homes were large-scale residential complexes built by wealthy individuals or influential clans in rural areas. Meanwhile, mansions were generally private residences of famous families or officials in a particular city or town. Relatively representative examples of this type of architecture that has been preserved today include the Manor of Mu Erhei in the County of Qixia in Shandong Province, the Manor of Li Menggeng in Huoqiu County in Anhui Province, the Qiao Family Compound in Qi County in Shanxi Province, the Guilinzhai Stockade in Tiepu Township in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province, the Nanseling Manor in Zhalang County in Tibet, the family home of Confucius in Qufu, Shandong Province, and the Mansion of Huang Li in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Prov-

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ince. Of these, some have much longer histories and were either restored or rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty. These include both the Confucius family home and the Nanseling Manor. Some, however, were built entirely during the Qing Dynasty and better represent the overall style and artistic elements of Qing Dynasty vernacular architecture from concept to completion. Another unique style of Chinese architecture is the guild hall. These began to appear during the reign of the Ming Emperor Yongle and were built with funds collected by merchants from a particular region or of a specific trade that needed temporary accommodations away from their native place. These structures were public spaces that served a number of functions including holding religious ceremonies and competitions, socializing, providing living quarters and discussing business. Commerce flourished during the Qing Dynasty with an especially large number of merchants coming from Shanxi, Shaanxi, Guangdong and Fujian, which resulted in a large number of guild halls being built. Important examples of guild halls that have been preserved include the Guangdong Guild Hall in Tianjin, the Guild Hall of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu in Kaifeng, the Guild Hall of Shanxi and Shaanxi in Jia County, the Boat Builders Guild Hall in Danfeng County in Shaanxi, the Western Shaanxi Guild Hall in Zigong in Sichuan, the Fujian Guild Hall in Yantai, Shandong Province, the Guild Hall of Shanxi and Shaanxi in Liaocheng, as well as the Merchant Vessel Guild Hall, Chaozhou Guild Hall, Guild Hall of Shanxi and Shaanxi, and the Siming Guild Hall in Shanghai. In terms of numbers, temples dedicated to China’s various folk religions also constitute an important architectural heritage. Of the larger temples dedicated to folk religions, one of the most representative examples is the Temple of Guandi in Xiezhou in Shanxi Province (present-day Yuncheng). Guandi is one of the most widely revered deities in Chinese folk religion and this temple first began construction in 589 (9th year of Kaihuang, Sui). This

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was destroyed by fire in 1702 (41st year of Kangxi) and the current structure is a reconstruction completed during the reigns of Kangxi and Qianlong. The overall layout of the structure is tightly packed with a clear axis and tall halls that are exquisitely built and have an imposing bearing. It is a rare example of a perfectly preserved Qing Dynasty temple. Other examples of important folk temples from the Qing Dynasty include the Temple of the Duke of Zhou in Qishan County in Shaanxi Province, a complex of temples centered around the Temple of the Queen of Heaven in Gushan in Liaoning Province, the Beigang Temple of Mazu in Taiwan and the City God Temple in Shanghai. This multitude of residential compounds and building complexes are exemplary of the basic style and common characteristics of Qing Dynasty architecture. In summary, the style that they display is one of loose rules and extravagant carving that reveals a cultural context that is markedly different from previous periods and represents a trend in Chinese architectural history from minor changes to major change. The wooden structure and layout of Chinese buildings often means that many important structures and building styles have not survived. In vernacular architecture, unique individual structures tend to become a symbol of a region or a certain environment as well as a famous cultural icon that can have an important impact on the living environment and daily lives of people who live near it. Their unique architectural style can have a major impact on local architecture and even other artistic activities. In this sense, important subjects of research in art history like bridges, ceremonial arches and all type of tower or pavilion can be categorized as architectural works. Bridges of the Qing Dynasty can generally be divided into two categories. The first is simple bridges that do not have superstructures built on top of the bridge. Structurally, bridges are also divided into bridges with slabs placed between the piers and arched bridges. The first type is easier

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for carts and horses to pass, while the latter makes it easier for boats to pass below. Examples of both of these have survived to the present day. This is especially true of arched bridges, which often look like arched rainbows with their elegantly beautiful shapes. Regardless of the number of arches, these bridges blend naturally with classical architecture and natural landscapes alike. Of the many bridges that have survived, the Bridge of the Bejeweled Belt (Baodaiqiao 宝带桥) is one of the most representative. The Bridge of the Bejeweled Belt is also known as the »Small Long Bridge,« and has multiple arches. It is located 6 km to the southeast of Fengmen in Suzhou on the western side of the Grand Canal, at the outlet to Dantai Lake. This bridge was first built during the Tang Dynasty and was later rebuilt four or five times. The current bridge is mainly from a reconstruction carried out in 1873 (12th year of Tongzhi). The body of the bridge is built entirely of stone and is 317 m long, 4.1 m wide, and supported by 53 arches. There was originally a stela pavilion and a stone tower at the northern end of the bridge as well as a pair of stone lions at either end (today only one at the north end remains). The bridge heads fan out like horns and most of the bridge is generally flat with slight rises over the arches. There is movement in this stillness of the bridge with slight waves in it like a long rainbow. It is a beautiful example of architecture that is unforgettable for those who visit it. The second type of bridge includes a covering or a pavilion to protect those crossing it from the wind and the rain. The names for this type of bridge differ from region to region, with some calling it a »corridor bridge,« while others call it a »rain and wind bridge,« and still others call it a »pavilion bridge.« The Five Pavilion Bridge (Wutingqiao 五 亭桥) in Yangzhou is a typical example of this type of bridge. It was built in 1757 (22nd year of Qianlong) and was built by local salt merchants to welcome the arrival of Emperor Qianlong. It is one of China’s most well-known pavilion bridges. The Five

Pavilion Bridge was built on the Lotus Blossom Dike on the western banks of the Thin West Lake, which is why it is also known as the Lotus Blossom Bridge. Measuring over 55 m long, the foundation of the bridge rests on twelve granite bases of varying sizes. The body of the bridge is supported by 15 arches in three different styles, the largest of which spans a width of 7 m. There are four wings at the base of the bridge, and five pavilions of different sizes on top, the largest in the center and four smaller pavilions over each of the wings; each of the pavilions is connected by a covered walkway. Each of the arches are connected to the other and each provide a different view that seem like something out of a poem or a painting. In the villages of the Dong ethnic group of Guangxi, Hunan and Guizhou, there are also unique wooden framed »wind and rain« bridges. In addition to bridges, ceremonial arches are another widely used architectural feature. Of the large number of these arches in both wood and stone from the Ming and Qing dynasties, most have been destroyed, with only a few stone archways remaining. Most of these archways are commemorative and served the same purpose as memorials today. The Zhang Family Archway erected in 1778 (43rd year of Qianlong) in Shan County in Shandong Province, the Zhu Clan Archway in the village of Yangwu in Yuanping County, Shanxi Province, erected in 1855 (5th year of Xianfeng), and The East Gate Stone Arch outside the eastern gate of Xianyou in Fujian Province, erected in 1825 (5th year of Daoguang), are all exquisite examples of stone arches built during the Qing Dynasty. There are also a variety of pavilions, terraces and halls in vernacular architecture that are outstanding examples of architecture of the period. These have become famous landmarks that later generations have flocked to visit. Many of these Qingera buildings were rebuilt on the foundations of versions that had been built prior to the Ming Dynasty, but many were also new constructions. The Tower of the Flying Clouds (Feiyunlou 飞云楼) in

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the Temple of the Eastern Peak (Dongyuemiao 东 岳庙) in Wanrong County in Shanxi Province is a typical example. The Tower of the Flying Clouds is commonly known as the Tower of Xiedian. It was originally built during the Tang Dynasty, but the current structure dates from a reconstruction in 1746 (11th year of Qianlong). The tower is 22 m high and the eaves have a total of 32 »flying corners.« The overall structure is refined with a delicate exterior, and it can be seen from several kilometers away. The shape of the building is majestic yet elegant, and is one of the most representative of Chinese tower-style buildings. Most tower-style buildings in southern China were delicate and airy, serving to accent the landscape that surrounded them. This is the case with famous examples of those built during the Qing Dynasty including the Grand View Tower (Daguanlou 大观楼) on the banks of Dian Lake in Kunming, the Pavilion of Literature and Waves (Wenlan’ge 文澜阁) in Hangzhou, as well as the River View Tower (Wangjianglou 望江楼) in Chengdu in Sichuan Province. In many of the historical villages of the Miao, Dong and Buyi ethnic groups that populate Guzihou and Guangxi, the older structures mainly originate from the Qing Dynasty and most of them retain an ancient stilt house wooden structure. However, in terms of tower-style architecture, the villages of the Dong ethnic group in border regions of southwest China have preserved another type of wooden structure—the drum tower—a unique structure in the shape of a pagoda. Both the Zhaoxing Jitang drum tower in Liping County in and the Tingdong Zengchong drum tower in Congjiang County, located in Guizhou Province, are from the middle of the Qing Dynasty and have been preserved to the present day. The Mapang drum tower in Sanjiang in Guangxi Province is around 12  m high and made entirely of fir tree wood, using a mortise and tenon frame. Most of the decoration is made up of traditionally Dong colored patterns, providing a wealth of information for the research of Dong society and culture.

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Many of the architectural treasures that are scattered around China have their own unique style and provide us with a picture of the form and artistry of ethnic architecture during the Qing Dynasty. Clearly, while there was an incredibly diversity in vernacular architecture, the common thread of practicality combined with cultural expression can be seen. In fact, this was not only limited to architecture, and was one of the fundamental elements that influenced artistic pursuits from the Qing Dynasty onward.

3. The Masterful Art of Classical Garden Architecture Gardens are an architectural form that appeared very late and are extremely important because they best express the cultural spirit of the Chinese people. The appearance and development of garden architecture is similar to the later rise of literati painting in China. Regardless of the requirements of garden architecture or its inherent artistic elements, the artistry and spiritual purpose of Chinese gardens is more apparent than most other forms of architecture. It is, therefore, better able to better reflect the aesthetic preferences and spiritual characteristics of the Chinese people. Chinese gardens are one of the world’s most unique architectural forms. These gardens originated in the desire of Chinese people to express the essence of the aesthetics of the relationship between the spiritual and the physical, stillness and movement, man and nature. Chinese gardens are also a fundamental medium, one that had an incredible impact on the private culture of China’s cultured elite. If China had not developed a cultured elite and subsequent private culture, and deep passion for nature and its beauty, their world view based in nature and filled with lyrical transcendence would never have emerged and neither would the unique art form that is the Chinese garden. The Ming and Qing dynasties were a high point during which the art of creating gardens culminated in great achievements. From the middle of

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the Ming Dynasty, garden architecture flourished throughout China, resulting in an entire theory surrounding the art of gardening. The publication of The Casting of a Garden (Yuanye 园冶) during the late Ming was a detailed discussion of every aspect of gardening. The Words of One Master (Yijiayan 一家言) by the Qing Dynasty author Li Yu was dedicated to interior spaces, landscapes, and the use of trees and flowers. With the arrival of the Qing Dynasty, the art of gardening reached an unprecedented period of prosperity. On the whole, the art of gardening as it had developed by the Qing Dynasty showed a great deal of commonality between the techniques used and the concepts created. These common characteristics not only pervaded the entire history of Chinese gardening, but were also expressed in the different schools and styles of gardens. The first fundamental principle of Chinese gardens is the emphasis on the unity of man and nature. The second emphasis is on the flexibility and adaptability of the methods used in creating the gardens. Finally, Chinese gardens also prize artistic expression and cultural refinement. These unique characteristics and the maturity of techniques used in Qing Dynasty gardens as well as the unique arrangement and artistic forms they used caused Chinese garden architecture to develop a global presence. On the whole, compared with the past, the most obvious change in the gardens of the Qing Dynasty was their tendency toward oddity and refinement that employed complex and meticulous techniques that only became more intense toward the late-Qing. The art of gardening as it had developed by the Qing Dynasty peaked in many areas. This also signaled the arrival of a new historical transition. Imperial gardens represented the highest level and mainstream style of garden architecture in northern China, with a basic style that was dignified, rigorously planned, and spacious. The most

famous gardens of the Qing Dynasty are the Summer Palace and the Old Summer Palace. The Old Summer Palace is located in the east of Beijing’s Haidian District and was built on the remains of an older Ming Dynasty garden. It was granted to the fourth son of Emperor Kangxi, Yinzhen (later Emperor Yongzheng), in 1709 (48th year of Kangxi). After ascending to the throne, Yongzheng expanded the gardens, which were expanded even further a number of times before reaching their final size in 1744 (9th year of Qianlong). When the gardens were destroyed in 1860 (10th year of Xianfeng), they had been in use for over 150 years and comprised the largest garden complex that had been built by the Qing Dynasty. On October 6, 1860 (10th year of Xianfeng), the allied forces of England and France entered Beijing and set the gardens on fire. While Emperors Tongzhi and Guangxu had wanted to restore the Old Summer Palace to its former glory, they did not have the resources and could only use the ruined materials from the damaged portions of the gardens to rebuilt a small portion. In 1900 (26th year of Guangxu), the Old Summer Palace was sacked once again by the allied forces of eight nations and later plundered by eunuchs, raiders, warlords, corrupt officials and petty thieves, leaving only broken ruins behind. The Old Summer Palace covered an area of 5,200 mu with a circumference of over 10 km. There was originally a total of more than 140 buildings with over a hundred major scenic points that included countless rare flowers, trees, and rock formations. The layout of the gardens was in the shape of an inverted triangle and included the Garden of Eternal Spring (Changchunyuan 长春园) in the east, the Garden of Perfect Brightness (Yuanmingyuan 圆明园) to the west and the Garden of Ten Thousand Springs (Wanchunyuan 万春园) to the south, all centered around the Residence of the Sea of Fortune (Fuhaiju 福海居). The buildings in the gardens were mostly traditional in form, combining both the best of palatial architecture as well

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as the introduction of new, innovative styles. At the same time, Western palace architecture and gardens were also added included, providing traditional garden architecture with new content. The Garden of Perfect Brightness was the largest garden in the Old Summer Palace, in terms of area, and included 48 unique scenic spots, each of which included several minor scenic views. While the many of the buildings followed traditional forms, their layouts wound and twisted, and individual elements were clever and innovative. The Garden of Eternal Spring was less than half the size of the Garden of Perfect Brightness, and built between 1747 (12th year of Qianlong) and 1759 (24th year of Qianlong), with a total of 30 scenic spots. The architecture in the garden was famous for its blend of Eastern and Western styles, whether in terms of the appearance of the buildings or the atmosphere that accented them, giving visitors something they had never before experienced. The Garden of Ten Thousand Springs was only one third the size of the Garden of Perfect Brightness, but it was the most varied and mysterious of the gardens, and served as the residence of the Empress Dowager for the entire Qing Dynasty. The design of the three gardens of the Old Summer Palace was first rooted in the placement of its hills and water features, among which halls, pavilions and other architectural features were scattered. While the floor plan of these buildings still followed the basic tradition of a symmetrical space with a main hall flanked by two auxiliary halls, there was also abundant variation that made them far from stiff and boring. Furthermore, the adoption of Western architectural features like the »Throne for Viewing Waterworks« (Guanshuifa 观水法), specifically requested by Emperor Qianlong, completely copied Baroque features. The Western Mansions covered an area of one hundred mu and were designed and built using Western architectural theories and styles by Giuseppe Castiglione and Michel Benoist. All of the settings and decorations were western in style

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using examples of European imperial gardens from Switzerland and France. However, the brick carvings, glazed tile decoration, and the method in which the rock features were created, clearly incorporated Chinese elements. At the time, the Old Summer Palace was known as the »Garden of Gardens,« a reputation that was not undeserved. The Summer Palace is also a very representative example of the gardens of northern China. The Summer Palace is located to the northwest of Beijing and covers a total area of over 5,000 mu and contains over 3,000 bays of buildings in all manner of styles. In 1750 (15th year of Qianlong), the emperor expanded the gardens for the 60th birthday of his mother, and renamed it the Garden of Clear Ripples (Qingyiyuan 清漪园). Most of the main structures are located in the northern part of the gardens on Longevity Hill, which is known as one of the famed »three hills« of the Qing Dynasty. Originally, the view to the south of the hill overlooked a small pond, but was later made into a massive lake that was named West Lake. A dike was built on the eastern edge of the lake and was one of Beijing’s reservoirs at the time. Qianlong Later changed the name of the lake to Kunming Lake. In 1860, the allied forces of England and France laid waste to Beijing and completely destroyed the Garden of Clear Ripples. In 1888 (14th year of Guangxu), the Empress Dowager Cixi used 20 million silver taels of funds appropriated for China’s navy to rebuild the palace, and named the Garden of Nurturing Peace (Yiheyuan 颐和园), serving as a place to escape the summer heat and provide entertainment. The layout of the Summer Palace and the original Garden of Clear Ripples were basically the same, but a portion of the gardens was once again damaged by the allied forces of eight nations in 1900 (26th year of Guangxu), though restored in 1903 (29th year of Guangxu) with the exception of a few structures and scenic spots to the north of Longevity Hill. The Tower of Buddhist Incense (Foxiangge 佛香阁) is one of the most important buildings in the gar-

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dens. It is an octagonal building with three levels and four sets of double-eave roofs. It is 41 m tall with a 20-meter-tall stone platform that is built on the front of Longevity Hill. This structure was destroyed by English and French troops in 1860 and the current building is a reconstruction that was built in 1903 (29th year of Guangxu), retaining the original appearance it had during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. The Tower of Buddhist Incense includes a number of densely packed Buddhist temple structures along a central axis that are placed like stars surrounding the moon in the night sky. At the southern end of this axis there

is a platform that extends into the lack and contains a ceremonial archway, emphasizing the central importance of the Tower of Buddhist Incense. (Fig. 9.13.5) In addition to the Tower of Buddhist Incense, other important buildings in this part of the g ­ ardens include the Hall for Dispelling Clouds (Paiyundian 排云殿), the Long Corridor (Changlang 长廊), the Sea of Wisdom (Zhihuihai 智慧海), and the Barge of the Clear Banquet (Qingyanfang 清晏舫). The Long Corridor stretches for 728 m along the northern shore of Kunming Lake and contains 273 individual bays. The beams on the inside of the corri-

9.13.5  Tower of Buddhist Incense, Summer Palace, Beijing

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dor are painted with over 8,000 exquisite scenes in the Suzhou-style with views of West Lake, figures, landscapes, birds and flowers. It is also known as the »Corridor of Paintings.« The Barge of the Clear Banquet is also known as the Stone Barge and is located at the western end of Longevity Hill. It is famous among the garden’s buildings because it was built on the lake. Originally built in 1755 (20th year of Qianlong) and later burnt by English and French troops, it was rebuilt in 1893 (19th year of Guangxu) in the style of a foreign pleasure boat and was named the Barge of the Clear Banquet, alluding to a Chinese saying for peace in the world. The barge is 36 m long and built of massive stone blocks. The two-story superstructure is made of wood and painted to mimic the lines in marble, while the top is decorated with carved brick for an elegantly beautiful appearance. The northern side of Longevity Hill in the Summer Palace contains a long, winding waterway that is lined with dense trees, creating a mysterious and private space that provides a stark contrast with the open, bright spaces to the south of Longevity Hill. The east side of Kunming Lake is bordered by a long dike. The Seventeen Arch Bridge (Shiqikongqiao 十七孔桥) connects to this dike and is the largest stone bridge in the entire palace. It is 150  m long, 8  m wide, and contains seventeen arches, stretching across the lake from the Eastern Dike to Nanhu Island, creating a gradual arc like the shape of a rainbow. It is similar in form to Beijing’s Lugou Bridge and Suzhou’s Bridge of the Bejeweled Belt, while its banisters and carvings of lions and mythical creatures at either end, which were carved during the Qianlong Period, are exquisitely vivid. The buildings of the Summer Palace creatively arranges these very differently scaled buildings into a contrasting yet harmonious whole. The large number of palatial buildings in the gardens vary in size and are scattered throughout the grounds, but through ingenious integration with the sur-

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rounding terrain, resulted in an aesthetic effect that was varied yet strictly unified, which is a unique element of garden architecture. Another famous example of imperial gardens are the »three lakes«—Beihai, Zhonghai, and Nanhai—nearby the Forbidden City. Some of the larger compounds of officials in the inner city of Beijing during the Qing Dynasty also included gardens behind the main structures. One well-known example is the Mansion of Prince Gong near in Beijing’s Xicheng District. Other cities in northern China also contain the private homes of high-ranking officials and wealthy families. This includes gardens of the Qing Dynasty like The Garden of the Ten Tablets (Shihuyuan 十 笏园), in the city of Weifang in Shandong Province. These generally adhere to the same style used in Beijing, but they rarely surpass those of Beijing in terms of scale or construction. In addition to the imperial gardens previously mentioned, there are still many private gardens built during the Qing Dynasty that have been preserved throughout the country. The most important of these number in the dozens. Examples of these include Liu Manor (Liuzhuang 刘庄), Fenyang Villa (Fenyang bieshu 汾阳别墅), the Lesser Lotus Manor (Xiaolianzhuang 小莲庄), Garden of the Peaceful Cave (Andongyuan 安洞园), Garden of Beauty (Qiyuan 绮园) and the Pavilion of Writing in the Sun (Baoshuting 曝书亭) in Zhejiang; the Humble Administrator’s Garden (Zhuozhengyuan 拙政园), the Lion Grove Garden (Shizilin 狮子 林), Master of the Nets Garden (Wangshiyuan 网 师园), the Lingering Garden (Liuyuan 留园), the Gazing Garden (Zhanyuan 瞻园), the Garden of Following (Suiyuan 随园), West Garden (Xiyuan 西园), Surging Wave Pavilion (Canglangting 沧浪 亭), the Mountain Villa of Embracing the Verge (Yongcui shanzhuang 拥翠山庄), the Garden of Pleasance (Yiyuan 怡园), the Retreat & Reflection Garden (Tuisiyuan 退思园), Close Garden (Jinyuan 近园), the Garden of Cultivation (Yipu 艺圃), Water Painting Garden (Shuihuiyuan 水绘

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园), Geyuan Garden (Geyuan 个园), He Garden (Heyuan 何园), the Lesser Valley (Xiaopangu 小 盘谷), the Garden of Leisure (Yipu 逸圃), the Yu Garden (Yuyuan 余园), the Wei Garden (Weiyuan 蔚园), the Yang Family Garden (Yangshi xiaozhu 杨氏小筑), the Garden of the Sparrow (Yanyuan 燕园) and the Zhao Family Garden (Zhaoyuan 赵 园), all of which are in Jiangsu. Other examples include the Garden of Happiness (Yuyuan 豫园), the Inner Garden (Neiyuan 内园), the Garden of Ancient Ripples (Guyiyuan 古漪园) and the Garden of Autumn Twilight (Qiuxiapu 秋霞圃) in Shanghai; the Shuzhuang Garden (Shuzhuang huayuan 菽庄花园) and the Cassia Studio (Guizhai 桂斋) in Fujian; the Ke Garden (Keyuan 可园), West Garden (Xiyuan 西园), the Mountain Abode of Remaining Shade (Yuyin Shanfang 余荫山房) and the Garden of Clear Sun (Qinghuiyuan 清晖园) in Guangdong; and the Villa of the Western Woods (Xilin bieshu 西林别墅) and the Garden of Brilliant Elegance (Mingxiuyuan 明秀园) in Guangxi. All of these famous gardens have their own unique characteristics, whether they be the use of rock and stone, rare flowers, elegant architecture, or the works of famous artists. Some are carefully planned, some are delicately wrought, and some are simple, while yet others are relaxed and open. Each of them have their own character and represent the achievement of a generation. While they have experienced the trials of time, it is not difficult to imagine their past glory. The fact that many gardens still exist shows just how gardens flourished during this period, especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The gardens of Suzhou and Yangzhou constitute a style in and of themselves, one that is famous worldwide. Of the gardens of Suzhou, the prime example is the Humble Administrator’s Garden. This garden is located in the northeastern quarter of the old city and was originally the residence of the Tang Dynasty poet Lu Guimeng. During the Yuan Dynasty it became the Temple of Great Magnificence (Dahongsi 大宏寺). In 1509 (4th year of Zhengde,

Ming), the temple was bought by imperial censor Wang Xianchen, and at that time the gardens covered a massive area of 13.4 hectares, complete with pavilions, terraces, docks and water falls that made up a total of 31 individual scenes, resulting in a natural beauty that was famous for a time. By 1631 (4th year of Chongzhen, Ming), the land to the east of the garden was unused and was bought by Vice-Minister Wang Xinyi. Master Wang was an accomplished painter and had an extensive knowledge of how to build gardens, from selecting trees and stones, to building pavilions and other buildings—which he transformed into four scenic areas filled with flowing water used for drinking games. During the early Qianlong Period, the area west of the eastern portion of the Humble Administrator’s Garden was divided into middle and western sections. The western section, that can be seen today, was laid out in 1877 (3rd year of Guangxu) and built by the famous Qing scholar Zhang Lüqian, which he renamed the »Supplementary Garden« (Buyuan 补园) after its completion. The central section of the Humble Administrator’s Garden is the most impressive and, while it has lost some of its original glory with the passage of time, the basic style has been retained. The main element is still the water features, which are surrounded by manmade stone mountains and interspersed with open pavilions, waterside covered rests and other buildings. The impressive sight that is the today’s Humble Administrator’s Garden is most likely only from the late Qing, during the reign of Xianfeng and Guangxu, and its entire area is only 4.1 hectares. The changes that have been made to the Humble Administrator’s Garden over the years have given it several unique characteristics. First, water was the impetus for the creation of the gardens, which used the natural surrounds to create meaningful scenic views. A variety of methods were used to create vistas that focused on the water, creating an aesthetic prose that spoke to the beauty of the

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water and positioning the pavilions, walkways and other structures to bring the space together. Second, the garden maintains a natural charm that exudes elegance and expands the space for an open, relaxed feeling. The Humble Administrator’s Garden of today still retains the feeling that it had when it was first built. Traditional landscape vistas make up three-fifths of the entire garden and include two islands, dotted with delicate pavilions and waterside rests, which gives the garden a wide, open feeling from the moment visitors enter it. Finally, the garden borrows and matches scenic elements in a very clever manner, with courtyards scattered about in an almost random way. This effectively makes the space seem larger than it is and achieves a state that is both compact and open at the same time. The garden is thick with vegetation with an abundance of both trees and flowers, which has always been a unique feature of the Humble Administrator’s Garden. Of the original 31 scenes of the garden, those that featured plants made up a full two-thirds. To this day, scenes that utilize plants still make up the same proportion. To the present day, the lotus flowers, camellia and rhododendron are the flowers most associated with the Humble Administrator’s Garden. These flowers bloom in each season of the year, seeming to compete for brilliance. One can see the ingenuity of Suzhou gardens in the Humble Administrator’s Garden, but these are also elements that are emphasized and sought by all styles of garden throughout the Jiangnan Region. The gardens of Suzhou just happen to use the natural and cultural resources at hand to develop these elements into a unique style, which has brought renown to Suzhou and its gardens (Fig. 9.13.6). The gardens of Suzhou also enable people to see a vivid representation of the ideal state of »man and nature as one,« which pays respect the natural world and attaches emotional value to land-

CHAPTER XIII ARCHITECTURE OF THE QING DYNASTY

scapes. The creation of manmade natural scenes also require that the viewer can both stop and wander in order to satisfy the spiritual need to visit places that one cannot reach. The goal of providing spiritual context is the deciding factor in how the creator of the garden uses the space to create scenic views. In looking at the gardens of Suzhou, we can see that the creation of these spaces was actually an attempt to realize a state of consciousness. In order to reach this within a limited space, no effort was spared in using different methods of arranging the space to increase the sense that one is wandering in order to make the scene longer and deeper. In this sense, the key to the layout of these gardens is in how various spaces can be divided up as naturally as possible. The result of this is that the individual separations between spaces transition to a layering effect through overlapping spaces. The most classic example of this is the effective use of open doors and windows. This can be seen in the Crane Landing at the Lingering Garden, which is just to the west of the Hall of the Five Peak Immortal to the east. There are multiple openings in the wall that create an organic connection between the interior space and the exterior space from which it has been separated. This allows the scenes that can be viewed through these windows to enter into the space and be shared. The white walls divide the space into several smaller courtyards, but they also contain a large number of windows and doors. While these doors and windows seem to limit the view of the visitor, they in fact enhance his or her visual experience, which make distant or empty spaces a visible reality. It is for this reason that the walkways, pavilions, waterside rests and terraces play an essential role in the artistry of the garden and demonstrate the incredible skill employed in the design of the Lingering Garden. The positioning of these scenic elements, which use concepts like matching, dividing, enclosing, revealing, layering and borrowing, has become a classic part of the experience of Chinese gardens.

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SECTION 2 VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE AND GARDEN ARCHITECTURE

The gardens of southern China are generally not large, and some area as small as a half mu, while larger gardens are mostly no more than several dozen mu. This means that they must create rich scenic elements within a very limited space. Over a long period, southern Chinese gardens developed a few commonly used design techniques and layout methods. First, dividing limited space into several scenic areas with different functions and styles to ensure that each smaller space contains unique visual elements while also maintaining a link between the whole space. Second, these gardens pay very special attention to the use of water. The size of ponds denotes their importance and they are never the same shape. This ensures that a space is not stiff or boring.

The third element is the use of »fake mountains« and »strange stones.« These two elements are the »eyes« of the garden and, without them, these tiny gardens would lose much of their elegance and vibrancy. Fourth, the unique way in which various types of structures are used. The fact that they directly indicate the function of the garden, and they are almost always in the center of a scenic spot, therefore makes them extremely important. The 5th element is the selection and positioning of plants. The skilled use of these various techniques not only gives Chinese gardens an extremely unique style, but also makes them one of the most outstanding forms of expression for Chinese culture and art.

9.13.6  »Small Flying Rainbow,« Humble Administrator’s Garden, Suzhou

CHAPTER XIV  ART THEORY AND CONNOISSEURSHIP Section 1  The Expansion of the Theory of Painting The achievements of written works on the fine arts during the Qing Dynasty surpassed all other periods in terms of scale, number of writers, the number of works, genres covered, and the length of works. The creations and collections of works of fine art during the Qing Dynasty was the culmination of great achievements, and known for its diversity. Providing summaries of and guides to works and collections, the written works on fine arts of the Qing Dynasty shared the same qualities. There were also a large number of writings on painting produced during the Qing Dynasty, along with a complete opening up of the theories behind painting, developing styles that were quite different from the past. This included emphasis on creative works based on nature, on the integration of a work and emotion, a wider recognition of form, energy and consciousness, as well as innovations in brush and ink technique. All of these demonstrate a deepening of the theories of painting during the Qing Dynasty, which had far-reaching and long-lasting implications.

1. An Overview of Writings on Painting Not only were there a large number of written works on the fine arts during this period, they were also very extensive. In 1708 (47th year of Kangxi) a group of 11 individuals including Sun Yuesong, Song Junye and Wang Yuanqi compiled the 100-volume imperially commissioned work, the Manual of Calligraphy and Painting from the Stu-

dio of Respect for Literature (Peiwenzhai shuhuapu 佩文斋书画谱). This work drew from over 1,800 different kinds of books and was praised by later artists like Yu Shaosong and others as »the most complete work of its kind since the invention of manuals on calligraphy and painting.« In 1754 (19th year of Qianlong), Zhang Zhao, Liang Shizheng and Dong Bangda were directed by the emperor to compile the 44-volume Collected Treasures of the Stony Moat (Shiqubaoji 石渠宝笈). Most of the examples of calligraphy and painting included in this work were from the imperial household and were divided into categories based on where they were stored. This was yet another example of books dedicated to the recording of works of calligraphy and paintings after the initial 1744 (9th year of Qianlong) publication of the 24-volume Collection of the Pearl Forest (Midian zhulin 秘殿 珠林). An extended version of the Collection of the Pearl Forest was also published in 1794 (59th year of Qianlong). Meanwhile, the Collected Treasures of the Stony Moat was recompiled in 1791 (56th year of Qianlong) and a third time in 1815 (20th year of Jiaqing). The amount of work involved in compilations of calligraphy and painting produced by the palace was massive, but private efforts to compile works of calligraphy and painting were also not small. Peng Yuncan’s Collection of Histories of Painting (Lidai huashi huizhuan 历代画史汇传) had a total of 72 volumes as well as two appendices. A Collective Study on Calligraphy and Painting in Shigu Studio (Shigutang shuhua huikao 式古堂 书画汇考) by Bian Yongyu had 60 volumes. Ni Tao’s Record of One of the Six Arts (Liuyi zhi yi lu 六艺之一录) totaled an impressive 406 volumes with additions to over a dozen of them. This large

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number of works on Chinese painting also meant that the concepts were disorganized. A Record of Studies on Chinese Painting ­(Zhongguo huaxue zhuzuo kaolu 中国画学著作考录) was compiled based on a number of categories, including classics, histories, master artists, and collections with the number of individual works included nearing 3,000. To date, it is the largest collection of topical and annotated works and includes a total of 833 writings on painting from the Qing Dynasty. Works from the Qing Dynasty make up 35 % of all writings on Chinese painting, which is a very large number. First, a large number of comprehensive multi-volume works that summarize and gather past achievements were compiled, organized, and printed at the time. The Manual of Calligraphy and Painting from the Studio of Respect for Literature from the reign of Kangxi, Chen Bangyan’s Examples of Poems Inscribed on Paintings from the Studio of Respect for Literature (Peiwen tihua shilei li 佩文题画诗类例), A Collective Study on Calligraphy and Painting in Shigu Studio by Bian Yongyu, the Collection of Histories of Painting by Peng Yuncan and Record of One of the Six Arts by Ni Tao are all included in this category. Second, there were also a considerable number of historical reviews that were divided by genre, indicating a trend toward more professional and in-depth works. Examples of this include works that focus on a specific dynasty or period of time, such as Zhang Geng’s A Record of Paintings of the Nation, Feng Jinbo’s Knowledge of Paintings of the Qing Dynasty (Guochao huashi 国朝画识) and Notes on Painters and Calligraphers of the Qing Dynasty (Guochao shuhuajia bilu 国朝书画家笔录), by Dou Zhen. Meanwhile, works like A History of Calligraphy from the Jade Terrace (Yutai shushi 玉 台书史) by Li E, and Tang Shuyu’s A History of Painting from the Jade Terrace (Yutai huashi 玉台 画史) recorded the lives of female calligraphers and painters. Works like Yu Yi’s A Brief Account

SECTION 1 THE EXPANSION OF THE THEORY OF PAINTING

from the Haiyu Garden of Painting (Haiyu huayuan lue 海虞画苑略), Insights into Yue-style Painting (Yuehua jianwen 越画见闻) by Tao Yuanzao, and A Collection of Calligraphy and Paintings by Liang Xi (Liang Xi shuhua zheng 梁谿书画征), by Ji Chengxian, focused on artists from a specific region. Writings like A Collection of Palace-style Paintings of the Qing Dynasty (Guochao yuanhua lu 国朝院画录) by Hu Jing and A Collection of Palace-style Paintings of the Southern Song (Nansong yuanhua lu 南宋院画录) by Li E focused specifically on palace-style painting. Finally, works like Tong Yiju’s A Record of Names of Painters of Ink Wash Plum Blossoms (Momei renming lu 墨梅人 名录) and Xu Rong’s Authoritative Record of Plum Blossom Paintings from the Country (Huaigu tianshe meitong 怀古田舍梅统) focused on painters of plum blossoms throughout history. Among historical works, topic-specific writings like these were a rare occurrence. Furthermore, a large number of technical illustrated manuals began to appear. These works came in many forms with some that included painted images, while others were in rhyming stanzas and yet others were written like legal documents. A representative work among these illustrated manuals was Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden (Jieziyuan huazhuan 芥子园画传). Works that used rhyming stanzas as a format were quite common. Painting Secrets from Stone Village (Shicun huajue 石村画诀) by KongYanshi, Painting Secrets from the Shade of the Tung Tree (Tongyin huajue 桐荫画诀) by Qin Zuyong, Secret Essentials for Capturing the Spirit (Chuanshen miyao 传 神秘要) by Jiang Ji, and Secret Techniques in Realism (Xiezhen mijue 写真秘诀), by Ding Gao, were all examples of this category of works. Theoretical studies of painting and calligraphy were also very prolific, with a large number of theoretical works written. Some of the more outstanding discussions opened a new chapter in Chinese aesthetics. A Record of Discussions

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on Painting (Huayulu 画语录) by Shi Tao, Shen Zongqian’s A Study of Painting from the Mustard Boat (Jiezhou xuehua bian 芥舟学画编), Tricks of Painting (Huaquan 画筌) by Da Chongguang, and other theoretical works by Bao Shichen and Kang Youwei, were very influential. Finally, there was also a large group of works that focused on collecting, appraisal, and the appreciation of all manner of antiques, calligraphy, painting and other works of art. These included the Xiqing Catalog of Ancient Works (Xiqing gujian 西清古鉴), that was compiled by court scholars as well as many works by individual collectors. These will be further examined in the section on appraisal and collection. One other category worth noting is the large number of critical comments, acclaim, and impressions that were written during this period. The large number and rich variety of content in these resulted in works by bibliographers dedicated to categories like discussion, appreciation, acclaim, appreciation and impressions, but it is difficult to include all of the content. This period also saw growth in terms of the style of these works. The Qing Dynasty produced a number of influential reference-style works. The Collection of Histories of Painting was an example of a large-scale reference work. This work included over 7,500 artists throughout history, which could be searched according to their surnames and included a short biography as well as sources used. The stringent style used in this work is no less rigorous than the methods used in compiling major reference books today. The 20-volume Catalogue of Calligraphers of Great Dynasties (Xichao shujia xingzuan 熙朝书家姓纂) by Shen Fucan, the Catalog of Painters since the Song and Yuan Dynasties (Song Yuan yilai huaren xingshilu 宋元以来画人 姓氏录) by Lu Jun, the Compilation of the Names of Ming Painters by Chen Yuzhong, and A Collection of Calligraphers and Painters (Shuhuayuan 书 画缘) by Shen Chen went further to arrange their contents in order of pronunciation, which made

CHAPTER XIV ART THEORY AND CONNOISSEURSHIP

searches even more convenient and demonstrates how mature the reference, or »dictionary,« format had become. Of course, the prolific printing of books also created the problem of false claims. This was the case with A Record of Calligraphy and Painting from the Pavilion of Ancient Fragrance (Gufen’ge shuhuaji 古芬阁书画记) by Du Ruilian, which recorded over 600 works, but, as readers soon pointed out, contained lies and false claims. Other false works included A Record of the Reverents of the Mists (Yanyun gongyang lu 烟云供养录) under the name Wu Qian, A Comprehensive Examination of Calligraphy and Painting (Shuhua zongkao 书画总考) under the name Gao Shiqi, and the anonymous Record of Calligraphy and Painting from the Donghua Pavilion (Donghuating shuhua lu 董华亭书画录). Similarly, historical works were also not only being produced in large numbers, they were also divided into different categories, including split-period histories, dedicated histories, and local histories. Here, we will take a short look at the more representative examples of these works. A Voiceless History of Poetry (Wusheng shishi 无声 诗史), by Jiang Shaoshu. Jiang Shaoshu, also known by the courtesy name Eryou and the pseudonym Yanru Jushi, was a native of Danyang in Jiangsu province. He was likely born in 1597 (25th year of Wanli, Ming Dynasty) and died in 1679 (18th year of Kangxi). He served as a vice-director in the Ministry of Works in Nanjing. The Jiang family had collected a large number of books, antiques and works of both painting and calligraphy. Jiang enjoyed searching for ancient curios and later retired to the countryside, dedicating himself to writing. A Voiceless History of Poetry was finished around 1678 (17th year of Kangxi), and it seems as though it was not sent to be printed before his death and may be an unfinished version. The book was seen by only around 400 people, but did not escape the attention of the critics and became a key reference for writers of historical works. Jiang Shaoshu also wrote the

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two-volume Notes from the Studio of the Rhyming Rock (Yunshizhai bitan 韵石斋笔谈), which was published in 1649 (6th year of Shunzhi), and which cataloged jade pieces, bronze vessels, pottery, seals, stelae models, stone inscriptions, works of calligraphy and painting, coins, and ink stones using a notational style. A Record of Reading Paintings (Duhualu 读画录), by Zhou Lianggong. Zhou Lianggong (1612–1672) was also known by the courtesy name Yuanliang and the pseudonym Liyuan, and was a native of Xiangfu in Henan Province (present-day Kaifeng). He became a palace graduate in 1640 (13th year of Chongzhen, Ming) and served as a vice-minister of the right in the Ministry of Revenue. Zhou was well-versed in ancient literature and poetry. He was also skilled in painting, but excelled at appraising and appreciating works of art. He was well-known in Jinling. His collections included a wide variety of books, paintings, calligraphy and seals. He also frequently interacted with literati and artists. His works, including A Record of Reading Paintings, Biographies of Seal Carvers (Yinrenzhuan 印人传) and A Manual of Seals from the Laigu Hall (Laigutang yinpu 赖古堂印谱), were all very influential. A Record of Reading Paintings is four volumes in total and records 77 painters from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, all of which were individuals with whom he had interaction. The book included a short family history, life events, the inspiration for their paintings and stories from his interactions with each artist. His descriptions are vivid and intimate, while the language is a perfect combination of complexity and simplicity. His critiques of individual works are eye opening. A Record of Paintings of the Ming (Minghualu 明画 录), by Xu Qin. Xu Qin, also known by the courtesy name Yegong, was a native of Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province) and was active between 1621 and 1686 (reign of Tainqi, Ming, through the 25th year of Kangxi). He lived to the age of 60. He was an

SECTION 1 THE EXPANSION OF THE THEORY OF PAINTING

imperial scholar during the reign of Chongzhen, and after the fall of the Ming he served the loyalist camp of Huang Zongxi. After they were defeated, he went into hiding and became a farmer to support himself. His works include A Record of Paintings of the Ming, The Life of Xie Gaoyu (Xie Gaoyu nianpu 谢皋羽年谱), and An Annotated Record of Journeys through Jinhua (Jinhua youlu zhu 金华游 录注). A Record of Paintings of the Ming is eight volumes and was a split-history work. Compilation of this book originally began in 1652 (9th year of Shunzhi) and it was edited in 1677 (16th year of Kangxi), covering a period of over 12 years. A Record of Paintings of the Qing Dynasty (Guochao huazheng lu 国朝画征录) by Zhang Geng. Zhang Geng (1685–1760) was also known by the courtesy name Pusan and the pseudonyms Pushan and Guatian Yishi. He was a native of Xiushui (present-day Jiaxing in Zhejiang Province). In 1736 (1st year of Qianlong) he attended the erudite examination as a layperson. He was knowledgeable in histories and local records, trained in poetry and painting, and his works include A Record of Paintings of the Qing Dynasty and Discussions on Painting by Pushan (Pushan lunhua 浦 山论画), A Record of Paintings of the Qing Dynasty, in three volumes, as well as An Additional Record of Ming Painters (Mingren fulu 明人附录), that was initially a single volume and later expanded to two volumes. Compilation of the book began in 1722 (61st year of Kangxi) and was completed in 1735 (13th year of Yongzheng), and included 466 artists from the early Qing through the period before the reign of Qianlong. Each artist had a critical biography that included their courtesy names and pseudonyms, life events, the masters they followed, unique elements of their painting, and theoretical insights. These historical and critical elements make it a very comprehensive work. New Interpretations from the Ink Forest (Molin jinhua 墨林今话) by Jiang Baoling. Jiang Baoling (1781–1841) was also known by the courtesy name Ziyan and the pseudonym Xiazhu.

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He was a native of Zhaowen (present-day Changshu in Jiangsu Province) and a student of Qian Du, excelling at paintings on small items like plates, bowls and cups. In 1839, he established the Painting Society of Little Penglai with a group of friends. His written works include Collection from the Country Home of Qindong (Qindong yewu ji 琴 东野屋集) and New Interpretations from the Ink Forest. His son, Jiang Chaisheng, studied at home when he was young, and excelled at landscape paintings, later adding a volume—Extended New Interpretations from the Ink Forest. New Interpretations from the Ink Forest originally contained 18 volumes with another volume added later, recording artists from the reigns of four emperors—Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang and Xianfeng—for a total of over 1,560 individuals. The format of the book adopted a »poetic story« style with a rather free and relaxed writing style. Written works in the very clearly defined history category also included a large group of works. A Collection of Palace Style Paintings of the Southern Song by Li E (1692–1752) was completed in 1721 (60th year of Kangxi) and gathered materials on a total of 94 artists from a number of sources, providing a short biography for each artist. A Collection of Palace Style Paintings of the Qing Dynasty by Hu Jing (1769–1845) provided a detailed overview of the development of the Painting Academy and extracted 53 artists from the Collected Treasures of the Stony Moat, with an additional 28 individuals as well as 33 individuals that were not included in the Collected Treasures of the Stony Moat, which were added at the end, demonstrating the caution used in creating the collection. A History of Painting from the Jade Terrace by Tang Shuyu copied the example of A History of Calligraphy from the Jade Terrace by Li E, and included a total of 201 female painters from throughout history. A Record of Names of Painters of Ink Wash Plum Blossoms by Tong Yiju focused on providing a record of famous painters of plum blossoms throughout history. A Record of Paintings from

CHAPTER XIV ART THEORY AND CONNOISSEURSHIP

the Eight Banners (Baqi hualu 八旗画录) by Li Fang was a collection of records of Manchurian artists. This category of histories, and the scope they cover. are characterized by a factual, singular style. This style of biographical composition is very common. Of the large-scale encyclopedic compilations, volumes on art include the »Painting Section« of the »Compendium on Art« of the Imperial Encyclopedia (Gujin tushu jicheng 古今图书集成), and the »Masters« and »Histories« sections of the Complete Library in Four Sections (Siku quanshu 四库 全书). Others include the Collected Treasures of the Stony Moat and the Manual of Calligraphy and Painting from the Studio of Respect for Literature from the Kangxi era. It was difficult for private efforts to reach the scale of these writings and compilations, and to a certain extent both their content and format revealed the views of the imperial court on art during the period. The Complete Library in Four Sections took ten years to compile. Prince Yongrong led the project and Ji Yun served as Chief Compiler, while other famous scholars such as Yu Minzhong, Jin Jian, Dai Zhen, Yao Nai and Weng Fanggang participated in the compilation and editing. The »Masters Section« incorporated a total of 46 works on the study of painting, including A Record of Ancient Paintings (Gu huapin lu 古画品录) by Xie He. Works by random masters and on matters of painting numbered over 40, while minor discussions numbered over 20. The »Collections Section« also incorporated a large number of inscriptions and postscripts on paintings. The Imperial Encyclopedia was compiled by Chen Menglei and Jiang Tingxi during the Kangxi and Yongzheng periods, comprising a total of 10,000 volumes and an unfathomable 160 million characters. It is also known as the »Kangxi Encyclopedia.« The work was divided into six compilations and 32 compendia, each of which had its own root sections and sub-sections below those. Under the »Nature Compilation,« there was a the »Art Compendium,«

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which included the »Art Section,« which collected all manner of historical works on the fine arts. The following are several relatively representative encyclopedic works. Manual of Calligraphy and Painting from the Studio of Respect for Literature was compiled based on books in the collection of the Qing Dynasty imperial household. In 1708 (47th year of Kangxi) Emperor Kangxi ordered vice ministers Sun Yueban and Wang Yuanqi of the Ministry of Rites to compile this book. In the foreword, Emperor Kangxi noted that »all previous books that recorded works of calligraphy and painting were misaligned and were not comprehensive,« which was the impetus for his order to compile this book, which resulted in categories that could be followed. The entire book contained a total of 100 volumes. It incorporated a total of 1,844 individual books, the names of which were all noted, which added to the book’s authoritativeness. This was a paragon of officially commissioned works in art history. A Collective Study on Calligraphy and Painting in Shigu Studio was written by Bian Yongyu (1645– 1712), who was also known by the courtesy name Lingzhi and the pseudonym Xianke. He was a vice-minister of the right at the Ministry of Justice. He had a large collection and was skilled in appraising and appreciating works of art. This book is divided into two sections, one on calligraphy and one on painting. Each section has 30 volumes and incorporates books written by past authors on the subjects as well as the author’s own views. These works are then divided into categories, examining their origins and authenticity with an order and logic that is impressive and in an innovative format. After this work, Bian Yongyu also wrote the Record of Calligraphy and Painting in Red and Black from the Shigu Studio (Shigutang zhumo shuhua ji 式古堂朱墨书画记), which contained 80 volumes. This book collected information on over 6,700 artists, organizing them by year. Emperors were noted in red ink with blue year markets, while the rest used normal black

SECTION 1 THE EXPANSION OF THE THEORY OF PAINTING

ink, which is why the book was called the »record in red and black.« Bian wrote this book alone and spent five years in completing it. Records show that the only copies are one in the National Library of China and one in Taipei, without records of any other printings. The Collection of Histories of Painting was written by Peng Yuncan (1780–1840), who was also known by the courtesy name Zhencai and the pseudonym Langfeng. His studio was the Hall of Esteemed Aspiration (Shangzhitang 尚志堂). He was a native of Changzhou (present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu Province). He enjoyed collecting and was skilled in painting, but excelled in appraising and authenticating works of art. His Collection of Histories of Painting contained a total of 72 volumes with two appendices. The work incorporated 1,263 different sources and compiled biographies for over 7,500 artists in a format that is similar to present-day reference books. In this fervent scholarly environment, the exploration of techniques and theories in painting during the Qing Dynasty produced a number of valuable theoretical works that surpassed previous works in terms of both breadth and depth. The following are several works that focus on theory and methodology. Discussions on Painting from the Residence of Mountain Tranquility (Shanjingju hualun 山静居 画论) was written by Fang Xun (1736–1799), who was also known by the courtesy name Landi and the pseudonyms Lanru and Changqing. He was a native of Shimen (present-day Tongxiang in Zhejiang Province). He was trained in poetry, calligraphy and painting, writing works like Comments on Poetry from the Residence of Mountain Tranquility (Shanjingju shi hua 山静居诗话). Discussions on Painting from the Residence of Mountain Tranquility was a work from his later years. The work is divided into two volumes, which use a notational style to present 244 discussions on painting. The most impressive portion of this work is the first section, which is an overview that examines the

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theory, methodology and charm of painting. It provides insightful and unique views on traditional aesthetic themes including form, spirit, composition, brush and ink use as well as rhythm and vividness. A Study of Painting from the Mustard Boat (Jiezhou xuehua bian 芥舟学画编) was written by Shen Zongqian (c.  1737–1819), who was also known by the courtesy name Xiyuan and the pseudonym Jiezhou. He was a native of Wucheng (present-day Huzhou, Zhejiang Province). When he was young, he studied in a local school and was known throughout Zhejiang and Jiangsu for his painting and calligraphy, attracting the attention of Cao Xiuxian and Qiandaxin. A Study of Painting from the Mustard Boat contains a total of four volumes and was the culmination of Shen Zongqian’s three-decade long study of painting. His astute insights have been an important reference for generations. A Manual of Paintings by Xiaoshan (Xiaoshan huapu 小山画谱) was written by Zou Yigui (1686–1772), who was a well-known artist in the bird-and-flower style. His A Manual of Paintings by Xiaoshan was also the earliest work dedicated to painting techniques for flowers. The work is divided into two volumes. The first volume outlines »eight methods« and »four admonitions,« with 115 unique elements of flowers as well as 11 methods for preparing pigments. His detailed examination is extremely practical. The next 43 entries are taken from the works of classical scholars, along with his own insights. Methods for using paper, silk, gelatin alum, painting instruments, and water are included in an appendix. The final section is a manual on foreign blossoms, which was the result of an imperial audience of 1756 (21st year of Qianlong), in which Zou Yigui was a asked to paint 36 foreign flowers and their leaves. Zou Yigui is confirmed to have been the son-in-law of Hui Shouping. This work was mainly a self-inspired work and did not borrow from any previous works on the subject. It emphasized observation

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of nature and displays an outstanding level of knowledge and experience. Secret Techniques in Portraiture (Xiezhen mijue 写 真秘诀) was written by Ding Gao, who was also known by the courtesy name Hedan. While he was a native of Danyang in Jiangsu, he resided in Ganquan (present-day Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province). Three generations of his family were trained in portraiture. His work Secret Techniques in Portraiture contains a total of 28 essays and 49 different illustrations. An appendix titled »Questions and Answers from the Pavilion of Retirement and Study« (Tuixuexuan wenda 退学轩问 答) contains eight entries, which were a record of questions and answers between Ding Gao and his son. Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden (Jieziyuan huazhuan 芥子园画传) was written by Wang Gai (1645–c. 1710), who was also known by the courtesy names Anjie and Dongguo. He was a native of Xiushui (present-day Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province), but resided in Jinling. He was trained in poetry and was skilled in painting as well as bamboo carving. This book is a manual of landscape paintings. The first volume is dedicated to an overview of theories and methods in painting. The second volume is a manual of trees, focusing on the methods used for the painting of various trees. The third volume is a manual for painting mountains and rocks, the fourth a manual of figures and buildings, and the 5th a manual of landscapes by famous masters, teaching readers how to copy their works, with illustrations and explanations. The work has a progressive format, explaining complicated subject matter in a simple way that was convenient for new students. The book was printed in color in 1679 (18th year of Kangxi), and was the first installment of the Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden. Later, Shen Xinyou asked the master painter Zhu Sheng to prepare a manual on orchids and bamboo and Wang Yun’an to create a manual on plum and chrysanthemum blossoms. He then asked Wang Gai’s brother to edit them into

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the book, which was separated into two volumes and printed once again in color. The popularity of the book caused the printing house to print more copies, resulting in second and third editions. The Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden was named for the private villa of Li Yu in Nanjing, which was called the Mustard Seed Garden. In introducing traditional painting techniques, these works were clear, orderly and concise, filling practical needs, that made them very popular. After being edited once again by Chao Xun, the work became even more widely used. There were a large number of illustrated manuals of painting techniques produced during the Qing Dynasty. The most important ones include Secrets of Painting by Master Gong Anjie (Gong Anjie xiansheng huajue 龚安节先生画诀) by Gong Xian, Painting Methods for Trees and Mountains from Xi Tiesheng (Xi Tiesheng shumu shanshi huafa 奚铁生数目山石画法) by Xi Gang, Draft Paintings of Zhang Zixiang for Students (Zhang Zixiang ketu huagao) by Zhang Xiong, Mei Yin’s Manual of Blending Plum Blossoms and Stone (Ye mei shi pu 冶梅石谱), Manual of Blending Plum Blossoms and Figures (Ye mei renwu pu 冶梅人物谱), Manual of Blending Plum Blossoms (Ye mei mei pu 冶 梅梅谱) and Manual of Blending Plum Blossoms and Orchids (Ye mei lan pu 冶梅兰谱), as well as A Collection of One Hundred Plum Blossoms (Xiaobai mei ji 小百梅集) by Gai Qi and Manual of Bamboo from the Mountain Abode of Clear Leisure (Qingyi shanfang zhupu 清逸山房竹谱) by Wei Rong.

2. Characteristics and Contributions In one sense, the flourishing of writing and printing during the Qing Dynasty expressed the aesthetics of an era. The characteristics of these theoretical contributions are worth special examination. First, the emphasis on basing works on nature was a key aesthetic trend during the Qing Dynasty. The second characteristic was a further understanding of the relationship between a work and

SECTION 1 THE EXPANSION OF THE THEORY OF PAINTING

its emotional aspect, which enriched the context of literati painting. The third characteristic was the relationship between preserving tradition and pushing innovation, which was characterized by a critical theoretical eye. The fourth was a deeper understanding of key aesthetic concepts like form, sprit, rhythm, energy and mood. Finally, theories of brush and ink technique were collected and summarized, which helped them to become more comprehensive, richer, and expanded. Technical questions on subjects like inscriptions, seals, bindings, and preservation also saw the creation of writings that contained detailed discussions. Of the hundreds of written works on the fine arts created during the Qing Dynasty there were several like Shitao Record of Discussions on Painting (Shitao huayulu 石涛画语录), that represents the theoretical contributions made during this period. Shitao Record of Discussions on Painting is a systematic and comprehensive theory on the study of painting and a summary of the artistic practices and experiences of Shitao throughout his life. Shitao Record of Discussions on Painting enjoys a unique place of honor among the many writings on painting created by Qing Dynasty scholars. The theoretical contribution of Shitao Record of Discussions on Painting is also particularly remarkable in the library of writings on traditional Chinese painting. Shitao Record of Discussions on Painting was original titled A Manual of Painting (Huapu 画 谱), and in a 1731 (9th year of Yongzheng) copy by Wang Yichen was titled A Record of Discussions on Painting by the Bitter Melon Monk (Kugua heshang huayulu 苦瓜和尚画语录). There were also several other titles given to various publications throughout history. Comparatively speaking, A Manual of Painting and Shitao Record of Discussions on Painting were respectively initial and

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final drafts and while there are differences in the language, the overall structure is the same. As an outstanding example of a treatise on traditional painting, the impact of this work was considerable and reached beyond China’s borders. Shitao Record of Discussions on Painting contains a total of 18 chapters that cover all aspects of landscape painting. First, in the »Single Picture« and »Finished Method« chapters, issues of observation and technique are discussed. Second, the »Learning« and »Technique« chapters mainly discuss how to reflect true impression of nature. Third, the »Location« and »Journey« chapters analyze questions of working with subject matter and artistic conceptualization. Fourth, the »Brush and Ink,« »Hand Technique,« »Blending,« »Texture,« and »Four Seasons« chapters deal with different questions of how to use various artistic techniques in creating works of art. Fifth, the »On Characters« and »Variation« chapters look at revealing how art developed and the influence of the past on the presence as well as how to innovate and break the mold. The book has a strict structure and is carefully arranged, dealing with all types of important questions regarding landscape painting. Tricks of Painting by Da Chongguang is another relatively important theoretical work from the Qing Dynasty. Da Chongguang (1623–1692) was also known by the courtesy name Zaixin and the pseudonyms Junyi and Jiangshang Waishi. He was a native of Dantu in Jiangsu Province, and in 1652 (9th year of Shunzhi) he passed the imperial examinations in Beijing and was made an imperial historian. He was skilled in poetry and writing as well as calligraphy and painting. He also excelled in appraisal and appreciation with writings including the Raft of Calligraphy (Shufa 书筏) and Tricks of Painting. Tricks of Painting was not divided into volumes, but included over 4,600 entries and could essentially be divided into six sections. The first discusses the origins of landscape painting. The second examines artistic forms and general rules of land-

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scape painting. The third covers essential points of composition and the placement of objects. The fourth features the first use of the word »mood,« and initiated discussion of the key elements and use of mood. The 5th deals with the use of brush and ink as well as specific techniques for applying color. The sixth contains various additional topics. The book was not separated into paragraphs, and used the »parallel writing« technique, presenting a comprehensive theoretical system. The notational format of writing in traditional discussions on painting was a style that appeared throughout history. By the Qing Dynasty, methods like poetry, formal writings, critiques, or inscriptions became a more common way for individuals to express their views. In the large volume of works included in this category, many valuable views were expressed. Well-known works of this type included Painting Postscripts of Clear Brightness (Qinghui huaba 清 晖画跋) by Wang Hui, Painting Postscripts of the Ink Well (Mojing huaba 墨井画跋) by Wu Li, a Collection of Painting Inscriptions by Lu Tai (Lutai tihua gao 麓台题画稿) by Wang Yuanqi, Painting Postscripts from the Southern Field (Nantian huaba 南田画跋) by Hui Shouping, and other poetic inscriptions. Others included Painting Inscriptions from the Plank Bridge (Banqiao tihua 板桥题画) by Zheng Xie, Painting Postscripts from Xilu (Xilu huaba 西庐画跋) by Wang Shimin, Painting Postscripts from the Abbey of Permeated Fragrance (Ranxiang’an huaba 染香庵画跋) by Wang Jian, Postscripts in Paintings and Calligraphy from the Pavilion of Writing in the Sun (Baoshuting shuhua ba 曝书亭书画跋) by Zhu Yizun, Postscripts in Paintings and Calligraphy from the Hall of Fullness (Mantang shuhua ba 漫堂书画跋) by Song Luo, Postscripts in Paintings and Calligraphy from the Abbey of Frequent Gathering (Pinluo’an shuhua ba 频罗庵书画跋) by Liang Tongshu and Postscripts in Paintings and Calligraphy from the Pavilion of the Garden of the Little Pine (Xiaosongyuange shuhua ba 小松园阁书画跋) by Cheng Tinglu.

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The inscriptions of Shitao, Hui Shouping and Zheng Banqiao are exquisite lines that are all too prevalent and worth further examination. Among discussions of painting, other works worth mentioning are Discussions on Painting in the Shade of the Tung Tree (Tongyin lunhua 桐荫 论画) by Qin Zuyong, Twenty Four Paintings (Ershisi huapin 二十四画品) by Huang Yue and Paintings of the Red Snow Mountain Abode (Hongxue shanfang huapin 红雪山房画品) by Pan Zengying. Their critical insights tend to focus on style without being judgmental. Compared with critical works prior to the Qing Dynasty, these are clearly unique.

Section 2  Theories of Calligraphy and Seal Carving Theories on calligraphy during the Qing Dynasty showed considerable achievements similar to those made in calligraphy itself. The theories of individuals like Ruan Yuan, Bao Shichen, Liu Xizai and Kang Youwei had a broad impact on the calligraphy of the period. Their positions on the study of calligraphy were closely related to the rise and fall of calligraphic styles, which was something theretofore unheard of in the history of Chinese calligraphy. The appearance of these different and innovative ideas about calligraphy was also closely related to the rich theoretical explorations of Qing-era calligraphy. The art of seal carving during the Qing Dynasty also became more social with an expansion in the number of seal carvers and the appearance of many schools of carving. The participation of literati painters and the invention of the study of epigraphy also expanded the perspective of these seal carvers and increased the number of writings on seal carving, which in turn strengthened the traditional foundations of the art of seal carving. Meanwhile, painters and calligraphers made

SECTION 2 THEORIES OF CALLIGRAPHY AND SEAL CARVING

considerable use of the benefits shared between poetry, calligraphy, painting and seal carving, which also resulted in more exacting demands of the aesthetic function of seals. All of these factors caused seal carving of the Qing Dynasty to draw from seals of the Qin and Han eras, but was also not limited by them, resulting in a burgeoning, multifaceted world of seal carving that took this art to a new height.

1. Writings on Calligraphy and Theoretical Achievements There were a considerable number of writings on the study of calligraphy during the Qing Dynasty, with dozens of major works. These works surpassed all previous periods in terms of both the completeness of the formats used to the variety of styles. The various types of formats used are listed below. Compilations include: A Record of Epigraphy of the Western and Eastern Han Periods (Lianghan jinshi ji 两汉金石记) by Weng Fanggang, which includes 24 volumes and contained carvings from the Western and Eastern Han dynasties that had been personally viewed by Weng Fanggang. It includes 286 stelae carvings from the Han Dynasty as well as an additional ten examples from the Wei, Wu and Jin dynasties. The book included full scripts as well as notes on style and the number of lines. It also provided references for each entry, which demonstrates the extent of Weng’s knowledge and his meticulous research methods. A Record of Visits to Stelae throughout China (Huanyu fangbei lu 寰宇访碑录) by Sun Xingyan and Xing Shu includes 12 volumes that record stelae from the Zhou through the Yuan dynasties. There wae over 7,760 entries, each of which included the text of the inscription, the name of the composer, the date of its creation and its current location or the collector who held it. A Collection of Stone Inscriptions (Jinshi cuibian 金石萃编) by Wang Chang includes a total of 160 volumes and took 50 years to complete. It was

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finally finished in 1805 (10th year of Jiaqing) and includes a total of 1,052 entries that date from the Zhou through Jin. Entries are ordered by date and include the style of the stela, the text of the inscription, and its location. The scripts and texts compiled in this book were derived from previous writings and inscriptions, with author comments added afterward. The completeness and accuracy of this work makes the author a great contributor to the recording of epigraphic works. A Further Collection of Stone Inscriptions (Jinshi xubian 金石续编) by Lu Shaowen includes a total of 21 volumes with 428 entries that stretch from the Han to Jin dynasties. These items were not included in Wang Chang’s A Collection of Stone Inscriptions, but the format follows Wang Chang’s old format. This book was published as an appendix to A Collection of Stone Inscriptions. Zhao Zhiqian’s Addendum to A Record of Visits to Stelae throughout China (Bu huanyu fangbei lu 补寰宇访碑录) included three volumes of newly unearthed stelae carvings or those that had been overlooked by Sun Xingyan and Xing Shu. A Record of Stone Inscriptions from the Pottery Studio (Taozhai cangshi ji 陶斋藏石记) by Duan Fang includes 44 volumes that record inscriptions from stelae, coin molds, and roof tiles in the personal collection of Duan Fang. These included 700 items ranging from the Han to Ming dynasties with an appendix of their provenance. An Official Record of Calligraphy (Shufa zhengzhuan 书法正传) by Feng Wu is ten volumes, the first seven of which use previous commentary along with the author’s own comments. The eighth volume included biographies of calligraphers. The ninth volume described the origins of major works and the tenth volume was taken from Dull Mutterings on the Essentials of Calligraphy (Dunyin shuyao 钝吟书要) by his father Feng Ban (courtesy name Dingyuan, late pseudonym Dunyin Laoren). Ni Tao’s Record of One of the Six Arts (Liuyi zhi yi lu 六艺之一录) was an impressive 406 volumes, with

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an additional 12 volumes added later. Content is divided into topics like recognition of bronze objects, scripts used in stone carvings, discussions on rubbings, styles of calligraphy through history, discussions on calligraphy, and manuals on calligraphy. Unfortunately, more detailed categories were not made. There is a rich amount of information in this book that is considerable, the most comprehensive of which is the collection of writings on calligraphy from after the Tang Dynasty. Discussions on Scripts (Fenli oucun 分隶偶存) by Wan Jing is divided into two volumes with discussions of techniques used in clerical and regular scripts as well as the differences in clerical scripts of the Han and Tang dynasties. It also includes examinations of stelae from the Han and Wei periods as well as clerical scripts throughout history and the names of calligraphers. These include 312 individuals from the Qin through the late Ming periods, each with a short biography. This book compensated for previous oversights or incomplete commentaries on clerical script. Similar compilations included the eight-volume Debates on Clerical Script (Li bian 隶辨) by Gu Aiji, the Collection of Cursive Characters (Caoziji 草字 集) by Shi Liang, the two-volume work The Flying-White Record (Feibai lu 飞白录) by Lu Shaozeng and Zhang Yanchang, and Essays on Clerical Script (Lipian 隶篇) by Zhai Yunsheng, which had 15 volumes in the original edition and 15 additional volumes, as well as 15 addenda. There was also the 15-volume Origins of Regular Script (Kaifa suyuan 楷法溯源) by Pan Cun and Yang Shoujing, as well as the eight-volume Orchid Pavilion Review from the Sumi Studio (Sumizhai lanting kao 苏米 斋兰亭考) by Weng Fanggang. Meanwhile, the eight-volume General Explanation of Calligraphy from Hanxi (Hanxi shufa tongjie 汉溪书法通解) by Ge Shouzhi borrowed language from older studies on calligraphy and blended into a falsely original work. However, the notes that were added were very insightful, which also made it a very useful work.

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Critiques include: The single-volume work Works in Calligraphy (Shupin 书品) by Yang Jingzeng, which divides calligraphy into 24 categories. While it was entirely his own opinion, it is still the work of a master. The eight-volume work Incidental Writings by Dapiao (Dapiao oubi 大瓢偶笔), by Yang Bin, was originally extracted from Yang’s own notes by Lai Weinong, who edited the volume and added comments. There is a copy that has survived printed by the Guangdong Grain Office. The single-volume work Critiques of Calligraphic Rubbings (Pingshutie 评书帖) by Liang Yan contains 141 entries all from everyday notes from the artist, which were later discovered by others after his death and compiled into a book. He adored calligraphy of the Tang Dynasty and promoted both Dong Qichang and Zhang Zhao from calligraphers of the Ming and Qing. His critical perspective is meticulous, which made it invaluable among later scholars. Theory and Method include: The Raft of Calligraphy by Da Chongguang, a single volume with 29 entries discussing calligraphy and covering topics including brush technique, ink technique, canvas, and style, each of which include the author’s own unique interpretations. This work was similarly prized by scholars, similar to his Tricks of Painting. The single-volume work Dull Mutterings on the Essentials of Calligraphy, by Feng Ban, focused mainly on discussion related to regular script with insightful overviews of the calligraphy of the Jin, Tang and Song dynasties. Remnant Comments on the Discussion of Calligraphy (Lunshu shengyu 论书剩语) by Wang Shu is a single-volume work divided into topics including holding the brush, moving the brush, the structure of characters, ink use, copying ancient works, seal script, clerical script, regular script, semi-cursive script, cursive script, plaque script and discussions of ancient works. The work is

SECTION 2 THEORIES OF CALLIGRAPHY AND SEAL CARVING

written in simple language that is concise with unique insights. The single-volume work Short Writings on Calligraphy (Shufa yueyan 书法约言) by Song Cao was a general commentary on calligraphy as well as views on the Brush Form Diagram (Bizhentu 笔 阵图) and the Manual of Calligraphy (Shupu 书 谱) and methods for all types of scripts including clerical, semi-cursive and cursive, written in easily understood language that is clear and concise, and above all extremely practical. The single-volume Discussions on Calligraphy from the Abbey of Frequent Gathering (Pinluo’an lunshu 频罗庵论书) is divided into four sections, which correspond to letters containing discussions on calligraphy between the author and Zhang Yanchang, Kong Guyuan, Chen Lianting and Wen Yizhai. It promotes the use of long-tip goat hair brushes and the concept that a soft-haired brushes could better demonstrate the strength of the hand, representing the views of the author. The two-volume work Quick Essentials of Calligraphy Studies (Shuxue jieyao 书学捷要) was completed in 1800 (5th year of Jiaqing). The first volume contains commentary from past scholars and is divided into four topics, including brush use and holding the brush, while at the same time interspersed with additional notes. The second volume expounds on the personal views of the author on calligraphy, which were unique and innovative. The single-volume work Random Notes on Discussions of Calligraphy from the Hall of the New Moon (Chuyuelou lunshu suibi 初月楼论书随笔) by Wu Dexuan focuses exclusively on semi-cursive and cursive scripts without touching on any of the other forms. In the periods following the Jin, Tang and Song, it particularly emphasizes the works of Su Shi and Dong Qichang, providing a uniquely individual scope and viewpoint. Studies on Views of Brush Technique (Linchi guanjian 临池管见) by Zhou Xinglian is also a single-volume work. Zhou became a palace graduate during the reign of Qianlong and was appointed

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as a district magistrate. This work focuses on the methods used in semi-cursive and regular scripts with a total of 31 entries, each of which is inspired and does not follow the fixed commentary of past scholars. Comments on Inscriptions (Yushi 语石) by Ye Chichang is a ten-volume work that focuses exclusively on stelae inscriptions. The various entries relate to the purpose of the stela, titles and summaries, the rise and fall of calligraphic styles, collecting and provenance, as well as methods for copying and displaying works. There are 416 entries in total, which are well-written and researched. Histories and examinations included: A History of Calligraphy from the Jade Terrace by Li E, which compiles information on 211 female calligraphers from various periods throughout history. Entries included a biography of the artist and a list of their works. An appendix also includes inscriptions with notes of the works to which they belonged. This dedicated history focusing on women calligraphers blazed an entirely new trail. Short Biographies of Calligraphers of the Qing Dynasty (Guochao shuren jilue 国朝书人辑略) by Zhen Jun contains a total of 12 volumes. The opening volume contains calligraphers of the Qing imperial family, while the first volume goes on to list Ming loyalist calligraphers that had survived to the Qing and were living in retirement. Volumes two through ten list calligraphers of the Qing Dynasty, while the 11th volume lists young women, foreigners, and Daoist nuns who were calligraphers. There are a total of 848 entries. This is a relatively comprehensive work that provides an overall record of the calligraphic world during the Qing Dynasty. Examinations of Rubbings from the Secret Pavilion of Genuine Teaching (Chunhua mige fatie kaozheng 淳化秘阁法帖考证) by Wang Shu contains ten main volumes and two appendices. It was completed in 1730 (8th year of Yongzheng). The begin-

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ning of the book includes inscriptions or examinations by Mi Fei, Huang Bosi and others. This is followed by individual examinations of rubbings held at the Pavilion. The content of this book is obvious from its title. An Examination of Rubbings from South Village (Nancun tiekao 南村帖考) was a four-volume work by Cheng Wenrong that examines 46 different rubbings, providing detailed analyses and precise provenances. The entry titled »Red Rubbings« is especially detailed. Unfortunately, the book was never fully published. Collected Views on Ink (Moyuan huiguan 墨缘汇观) by An Qi originally contained four volumes with two added later, mainly containing works in An Qi’s personal collection. An Qi also researched the provenances of his pre-Song calligraphic works. Another important characteristic of Qing Dynasty writings on calligraphy was their flexibility of form. Most of these works were in the form of collections of inscriptions or letters, or simply notes and individual writings, the content of which could be historical fact, conjecture, critique, or the provenance of works. There was also influence between different art forms. The Collection of the Shrine of Red Frost (Shuanghongkan ji 霜红龛集) by Fu Shan is written in a relatively free style with clear views that are relatively critical. He writes: »I would rather be awkward than crafty, ugly rather than flirtatious, fragmented rather than superficial, direct rather than passive. In this I can return to my ink stone and overturn the wild tides.« These »four rathers« have become well-known to learners of calligraphy. At the time, these concepts and ways of writing spread throughout the country and represented the characteristics of the period. The first milestone in Qing Dynasty theories on the study of calligraphy was the theoretical system established by Ruan Yuan and Bao Shichen on the study of stelae. Ruan Yuan (1764–1849) was also known by the courtesy name Boyuan and the pseudonym Yun-

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tai. He was a native of Yizheng in Jiangsu Province. In 1789 (54th year of Qianlong), he became a palace graduate and served in positions that included editor, service of the heir apparent, an educational official in Shandong and Zhejiang, a vice-minister in the Ministry of Rites, Grand Secretary of the Belvedere of Embodying Benevolence as well as Grand Mentor. He was granted the posthumous title »Wenda.« Ruan Yuan was a scholar of all subjects as well as a painter and calligrapher. Ruan Yuan’s insights on the study of calligraphy were founded in his consummate academic achievements and his outstanding perspective. What’s more, his views were published at a time when calligraphy was stagnant and uninspired, which made them very poignant. His Discussions of Northern and Southern Schools of Calligraphy (Nanbei shupai lun 南北书派论) and Discussions of Stelae and Rubbings (Beibei nantie lun 北碑南帖论) are discussions on calligraphy dedicated to specific topics. These texts are not long and are included in the Collection from the Room of Studying the Classics (Yanjingshi ji 揅经室集). These two »discussions« provide detailed research and analysis of the unique characteristics, origins and the rise and fall of schools of calligraphy in northern and southern China. It is for this reason that he focused on major points and provided only a single direction and model. The importance of this kind of theoretical work to stelae studies of the Qing Dynasty should not be overlooked. This is particularly true in the case of Bao Shichen, who came slightly after Ruan Yuan, providing specific explanations and contributions to this topic. He also bolstered and complimented some of the weaker points of Ruan Yuan’s theories, making them more profound. This provided a platform for a powerful wave of styles of calligraphy based on stelae studies to form during the Qing Dynasty. Both the »two discussions« of Ruan Yuan and A Boat of Art with Double Oars (Yizhou shuangji 艺舟双楫) became the pillars of this theoretical movement.

SECTION 2 THEORIES OF CALLIGRAPHY AND SEAL CARVING

Bao Shichen (1775–1855) was also known by the courtesy name Shenbo and the pseudonyms Juanweng and Xiaojuanyouge Waishi. He was a native of Jingxian in Anhui Province. He was also popularly known by the name Bao Anwu after the historical name for Jingxian, which was Anwu. He passed the provincial level imperial examinations during the reign of Jiaqing and became a district magistrate in Xinyu, but was later stripped of his office and took up residence in Jiangning (present-day Nanjing). He learned from Deng Shiru and was trained in calligraphy, for which he gained a name for himself in the Jiangnan region. He gained followers and eventually his style became known as the Bao School. He had considerable influence, especially in his theories on the study of calligraphy. A Boat of Art with Double Oars includes discussions on both language and calligraphy, which expresses his theories on the arts as well as his insights into aesthetics. Content includes his discussions on calligraphy with his own commentary and answers to common questions, as well as his research into the origins and authenticity of works. It also includes letters, notes, and other essays, but lacks very clear organization. Despite this, there is always a clear sense of importance given to various topics throughout the work. Bao Shichen’s views were founded on specific understandings and experiences in the course of studying calligraphy. He first turned his examination of brush technique to the origins of calligraphy—seal and clerical scripts as well as the stelae of northern China. He also noted good and poor examples of regular, semi-cursive and cursive scripts, which used standards based on the elements of seal and clerical script they retained. He also developed a systematic and comprehensive brush technique for the Stelae School of calligraphy. He not only enabled the Stelae School to establish a system of its own, Bao Shichen also proposed the concept of »full energy« in his eval-

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uation of the aesthetics of calligraphy. He specifically states that being »full of energy« is »leaving form behind and speaking exclusively of spirit.« Clearly, expounding on topics of form and texture from such a high level was something that had not been seen before in studies on calligraphy. If Ruan Yuan’s studies of stelae were mainly a kind of principle-based aesthetic choice and theoretical orientation, then Bao Shichen moved in a more specific and deeper direction through more meticulous and in-depth exploration. The milestone theories on calligraphy by both Ruan and Bao represent a deep consciousness that is representative of aesthetics in stelae studies during the Qing Dynasty. Among the writings on calligraphy from the Qing Dynasty, An Overview of Calligraphy (Shugai 书 概) by Liu Xizai also established a new theoretical benchmark with its broad and profound content. Liu Xizai (1813–1181) was also known by the courtesy name Bojian and the pseudonyms Rongzhai and Wuyazi. He was a native of Xinghua in Jiangsu Province. In 1844 (14th year of Daoguang), he became a palace graduate and became a left companion at the Left Secretariat of the Heir Apparent, an educational officer in Guangdong, and in his later years worked as a lecturer at the Longmen Academy in Shanghai. In his later years, he was known as a famous scholar of the classics and an art theorist. His Overview of Art (Yigai 艺概) was divided into six sections, namely »An Overview of Texts,« »An Overview of Poetry,« »An Overview of Rhapsody,« »An Overview of Lyric Songs,« »An Overview of Calligraphy« and »An Overview of the Classics,« which comprehensively and succinctly encompass his thoughts on art. This makes him one of the most representative art theorists of the Qing Dynasty. »An Overview of Calligraphy« is a chapter within the Overview of Art dedicated to discussions on calligraphy. All 245 entries are interlinked and cover an extremely broad range of information. These letters and individual commentaries on calligraphy are short and simple, but contain a

CHAPTER XIV ART THEORY AND CONNOISSEURSHIP

wealth of innovative ideas that include the following theoretical positions and characteristics. The first isthe proposal of an ontological view of calligraphy of »full meaning in form.« This was the first time that form was clearly pointed out to be an aesthetic expression of meaning. Second are the emotional qualities of calligraphy, that »calligraphy is a study of the mind.« This emphasized the guiding role of the calligrapher’s own spirit and individual awareness. Third was the analytical way in which different styles of calligraphy were viewed. There were no shocking statements made in the text, and the overall tone is objective and peaceful—which at the time did even more to prompt people to think. Fourth was his egalitarian attitude toward northern and southern styles of calligraphy, which he criticizes objectively and brings out both their strengths and weaknesses. Toward the end of the Qing Dynasty, when Liu Xizai was active, calligraphic styles based in stelae studies were very popular—but Liu Xizai used this unique period to make a fair and comprehensive examination of this trend. His observations represented a larger trend in calligraphy toward blending and mutual benefit between studies of stelae and models. It was for this reason that he has remained influential up until the present day. The arrival of Kang Youwei and his Expanded Boat of Art with Double Oars (Guang yizhou shuangji 广艺舟双楫) marked the end of classical studies of calligraphy in China. Whether during the Qing Dynasty or in other periods of history of theoretical or critical works on calligraphy, this is an extremely important piece of writing. Kang Youwei (1858–1927) was originally given the name Zuyi. He was also known by the courtesy name Guangsha and the pseudonyms Changsu and Gengsheng, as well as the alternative appellation Xiqiao Shanren. He was native of Nanhai in Guangdong Province. He became a palace graduate during the reign of Guangxu and was ap-

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pointed as a secretary at the Ministry of Works. In 1898, he led the Hundred Days’ Reform Movement and, after the movement failed, he was exiled to Japan. Writings by Kang Youwei in literature and the arts included The Mirror of Painting (Huajing 画镜), The Mirror of Literature (Wenjing 文镜), A Record of Paintings at the Thatched Hall of Ten Thousand Trees (Wanmu caotang suocang hua muji 万木草 堂所藏画目记) and A Record of Antiquities and Paintings from Myriad Lands at the Thatched Hall of Ten Thousand Trees (Wanmu caotang suocang baiguo guqi tuhua ji 万木草堂所藏百国古器图画 记). The Expanded Boat of Art with Double Oars was also known as The Mirror of Calligraphy (Shujing 书镜), and includes six volumes with 27 chapters as well as an introduction. The book not only has a very strict format, it also expounds the author’s views on stelae studies in a comprehensive, indepth, and systematic way, essentially providing a summary of stelae studies during the Qing Dynasty. The most unique thing about Expanded Boat of Art with Double Oars can be summarized in one word—variation. Kang Youwei laid out a complete set of discussions on the development of calligraphy studies with clear viewpoints. His views can be understood from each of the headings, which include »Honored Stelae,« »Origins in the Han,« »Transmission through the Wei,« »The Precious South,« »Retention of the Wei,« »Absorption during the Sui,« and »The Vulgar Tang.« The perspectives he uses to examine these topics and the basis for his theories were also characterized by the idea of variation. In his both historical and discursive descriptions, there is a clear and strong sense of thought and analysis. However, Kang Youwei had a very low opinion of rubbings, or models, and his analysis of Tangera calligraphy lacks depth. His critique of Zhao Zhiqian’s calligraphy states that»it has weak character and form,« which is slightly inappropriate.

SECTION 2 THEORIES OF CALLIGRAPHY AND SEAL CARVING

2. Writings and Theories of Seal Carving Theories of the study of seals had reached a comprehensive and in-depth level by this period. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, discussions on seals were built on the remnants of the late Ming and the atmosphere was intense. A great number of viewpoints that were innovative and had theoretical value appeared during this period. The following are a simple description of those. Zhou Lianggong was a famous scholar and collector of paintings who lived during the late Ming and early Qing. He was a prolific writer and his works included A Collection of Writings from the Hall of Ancient Remnants (Laigutang wenji 赖古 堂文集), Shadows of Calligraphy (Shuying 书影), Touching upon Characters (Zichu 字触), A Short Record of Fujian (Minxiaoji 闽小记), A Record of Reading Paintings (Duhualu 读画录) and A New Collection of Transcribed Letters (Chidu xinchao 尺牍新钞). In 1670 (9th year of Kangxi), when Zhou Lianggong was 59, he suddenly »realized the futility of empty fame« and declared that his only true love was seal carving. This was the driving force for his first compilation, Biographies of Seal Carvers (Yinrenzhuan 印人传). Unfortunately, Zhou Lianggong died before the book was published. In 1673 (12th year of Kangxi), Zhong Lianggong’s son, Zhou Zaijun, continued his father’s work, »choosing from the myriad of copies and compiling them, he published them with respect.« This was what ultimately became the Biographies of Seal Carvers from the Hall of Ancient Remnants, which later became simply known as Biographies of Seal Carvers. As a biographical work, Biographies of Seal Carvers has important value because of the historical material it contains. In this book, Zhou Lianggong recorded the biographies of 59 seal carvers beginning with Wen Peng, including several addenda and one unknown individual. He also included 61 individuals famous individuals like Zhu Jian

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and He Tong, who had no one to carry on their work. The main body of text includes historical information on the lineage of teachings, travels, creative works, writings and styles of seal carvers at the time. This was the first book in China’s history dedicated exclusively to seal carvers, and it was because of this book that many master carvers have not been lost to history. Zhou Lianggong also interspersed the book with his own theoretical views on seal carving. A Guide to Seals (Yinzhi 印指) and Thirteen Strategies for Seal Carving (Zhuanke shisan lue 篆刻十三 略) are two works that leaned toward the aesthetics of seal carving, but were not independently published. However, because the views contained in these works are representative of the Qing Dynasty, they are worth a short introduction. The author of A Guide to Seals, Qin Cuangong, was active during the early Qing, but there is no record of him in historical records and the details of his life are unclear. A Guide to Seals uses concepts like »energy,« »the charm of life« and »coloring,« which have a certain value to the study of aesthetics in seal carving. Yuan Sanjun, also known by the courtesy name Yuzun and the pseudonym Baoweng, resided in Fengmen in Suzhou, and was active from the Kangxi through Qianlong periods. His Thirteen Strategies for Seal Carving is a collection of 13 discussions on the art of seal carving. Topics include »Studies of the Ancient,« »Structure,« »Composition,« »Fullness,« »Vertical and Horizontal,« »Darkness,« »Light,« »Heaviness,« »Balance,« »Inspiration,« »Impression,« »Natural Charm« and »Refinement.« Content covers a range of concepts from rules, composition, carving technique, personal cultivation as well as the artistic beauty of the carved form of seals. However, it places more emphasis on the expression of form and appreciation of the beauty of seal carving, while less of the text is dedicated to technique. However, there were also very dedicated researchers in the world of seal carving that focused on the

CHAPTER XIV ART THEORY AND CONNOISSEURSHIP

rules and techniques of seal carving. The views of Xu Rong and Zhang Zaixin were especially representative of this group. Xu Rong was the founder of the Rugao School of seal carving. He was not only both a skilled carver and painter, but also a renowned writer for his books on carving. In 1675 (14th year of Kangxi), Xu Rong wrote his Discussions on Seal Script (Shuozhuan 说篆) to which he attached his own seal carving manual, titled Seal Collections of the Valley Garden (Guyuan yinpu 谷 园印谱). His »thirteen carving techniques« include 13 methods for carving and using a carving chisel. Each of these includes clear and practical notes. In terms of exploring the techniques of seal carving, Zhang Zaixin’s Methods of the Heart in Seal Carving (Zhuanyin xinfa 篆印心法) is a more indepth and meticulous work. Methods of the Heart in Seal Carving is just one of Zhang Zaixin’s many written works, and was completed when he was 88 years old. The content of the book emphasizes discussion of the techniques used in seal carving, and is a collection of the author’s lifetime of experience creating carved seals. Methods of the Heart in Seal Carving is divided into six chapters: »Methods for Recognizing Characters,« »Methods for Coordinating Composition,« »Methods for Tracing in Ink,« »Methods for Knife Use,« »Methods for Finishing« and »General Commentary«—including a progressive description of each of the steps used in creating a seal. The work focuses on the practical and is like a master carefully guiding his apprentice. The discourses put forth by Xu Rong and Zhang Zaixin represent trends in techniques used in seal carving during the Qing Dynasty toward more practical and more precise applications. Without a foundation of well-defined rules, it is difficult to imagine that concepts like »acceptance of the awkward« or »the seal beyond the seal,« or even the discussions of Zhao Zhiqian on the balance between precision and roughness, could be possible. The indisputable prerequisite of »method

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without a set method« is the existence of the concept of »method« itself. The Brief Study of Seal Inscriptions (Yinwen kaolue 印文考略) was written by the famous seal carver Ju Lühou, who carried out extensive research and had a discerning eye when choosing what material to include. This has made his Brief Study of Seal Inscriptions a representative work among compilations in this field. The book was completed in 1756 (21st year of Qianlong) and incorporates discussions on seal carving from the Yuan, Ming and early Qing. Content includes representative voices from all schools of seal carving and to a certain extent provides an overview of the historical development of studies of seal carving throughout history. The Extended Thirty Five Examples of Seals (Xu sanshiwu ju 续三十五举) was compiled by the book collector, scriptographer and seal carver Gui Fu. It was completed in 1778 (43rd year of Qianlong). Two years later he compiled another edition, An Addendum to the Extended Thirty Five Examples of Seals (Zaixu sanshiwu ju 再续三十 五举). Five years after that, he combined the two books and made further additions, which was titled simply Extended Thirty Five Examples of Seals and is known as the Yisi Edition. After Gui Fu published this book, similar examples of »extended« volumes with two, three and four extensions were produced. While these were popular for a time, the large amount of material was not well organized and was copied many times. In 1843 (23rd year of Guangxu), Gu Xiang compiled the Compendium of Seal Studies (Zhuanxue congshu 篆学丛书), which succeed in separating the wheat from the chaff, and includes 30 of the most representative texts on seal studies by scholars like Wu Qiuyan, Gan Yang, Zhou Jian, Zhou Gongliang and Gui Fu. While Gu Xiang did not provide his own commentary on seal carving, his compendium was an incredible contribution to the art world.

SECTION 3 ART COLLECTIONS AND WRITTEN RECORDS

Section 3  Art Collections and Written Records The fashion of collecting and appreciating works of art became even more popular with the arrival of the Qing Dynasty and included a much broader range of genres and objects. In addition to the fixed categories of the past, specialized items like cricket holders and incense became targets for passionate collectors. The imperial household was naturally a major collector, but there were also considerable private collections that were amassed. This resulted in a myriad of both official and private records. These provided the artistic achievements of feudal China with a fitting end.

1. Imperial and Private Collections Under the influence of trends in collecting fine arts, the categories of collectible items during the Qing Dynasty included the following types: First, painting remained a major category. Second, calligraphy and famous rubbings or models were treasured by both the imperial palace and private collectors. Third, porcelain and pottery retained an important place in collections. Works like Comments on Pottery (Taoshuo 陶说) by Zhu Yan give us a small peek into how pottery flourished at that time. A large number of decorative porcelain pieces were produced during the Qing Dynasty, which was in large part a response to the demand of collectors at the time. Fourth, both the imperial palace and private collectors had a passion for bronze pieces. The number of bronze vessels recorded in the Xiqing Collections (Xiqing gujian 西清古鉴) alone reached 1,529. The writings of famous Qing Dyansty collectors like Wang Chang, Chen Jieqi, Wu Dacheng, Sun Yirang and Luo Zhenyu also recorded a large amount of text and images that recorded the movement of bronze vessels. Fifth, jade and other carved pieces were also popular during this period. Emperor Qianlong’s love

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of jade was even greater than that of Emperor Huizong of the Song. Jade pieces produced by the jade works of the Imperial Workshop during this period were exquisite in both craftsmanship and the materials used, which inspired later critics to state that »the most exquisite works came from the Zhou, Han, Song and Qing dynasties.« By the reign of Guangxu, there were still over 200 jade workshops outside Suzhou’s Heavenly Gate, which must have been a bustling scene. Curios carved in stone, ivory, bamboo, wood and lacquer also became some of the favorite items of the palace and wealthy collectors. Stone carvings included those crafted in qingtian stone from Zhejiang, shoushan stone from Fujian, and chrysanthemum stone from Hunan. Meanwhile, duan and she inkstones reached an even higher level of artistry during the Qing Dynasty. Carvings in wood, ivory, horn, nut and lacquer were also extremely popular for a period of time. In addition to the major categories mentioned above, glassware of the Qing Dynasty became a new genre. Snuff bottles were perhaps the most technically exquisite of glassware pieces during this period. Other objects that were favorite collectibles during the Qing Dynasty included ancient coins, seals, stelae rubbings, famous fabrics, ancient bricks and roof tiles, silk embroidery, Yixing teapots, objects in ivory, famous stones, round fans, seal ink, incense, censers, screens, furniture, clothing accessories, coral, objects for the study and curiosities from foreign countries. There was endless variety, which showed the wide range of interests at the time. It is safe to say that whether the collections were in the hands of the palace or in private hands, the range of variety and the techniques of this period surpassed anything that had come before. It was during this period that nearly all art works including calligraphy, paintings, historical relics and other treasures, had been gathered and cataloged. A massive demand for art also drove the rapid development of the craft arts industry.

CHAPTER XIV ART THEORY AND CONNOISSEURSHIP

The collections of the imperial household best represents the level of collectors during the Qing Dynasty. The emperors of the early Qing Dynasty loved calligraphy, painting and antiques, and actively searched for them. Not only were the collections of the imperial family far richer than private collections, they also surpassed those of previous dynasties. By the reigns of Qianlong and Jiaqing, the number of treasures housed in the collections of the imperial palace were astounding and were stored in a number of locations. An idea of their size can be gained from the records compiled by the imperial family. August Collections of Imperial Portraits in the Hall of Southern Fragrance (Nanxundian zuncang tuxiang mu 南薰殿尊藏图像目) was a list of 79 scrolls, 15 pamphlets and three volumes containing portraits of emperors throughout history in the stores of the imperial household, which were restored and placed in the Hall of Southern Fragrance in 1747 (12th year of Qianlong). A Collection of Portraits of the Tea Storehouse (Chaku cangzhu tuxiang mu 茶库藏贮图像目) is a list of 21 scrolls and 3 pamphlets containing portraits of loyal ministers of throughout history in the Tea Storehouse of the Imperial Household. These were restored in 1749 (12th year of Qianlong) and remained in the Tea Storehouse. In his Examination of Portraits in the Hall of Southern Fragrance (Nanxundian tuxiang kao 南薰殿图 像考), Hu Jing divided the portraits of emperors and ministers contained in the Hall of Southern Fragrance and the Tea Storehouse into 121 categories containing a total of 583 large and small images. In addition to noting the material on which they were painted, their size and the clothing worn, he also added a short introduction of the individual in the painting. The Collection of the Pearl Forest (Midian zhulin 秘殿珠林) is a work in 24 volumes compiled by Zhang Zhao, Liang Shizheng, Li Zongwan and Zhang Ruo’ai at the request of the emperor. It re-

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cords works of calligraphy and painting, carvings in wood and stone as well as textiles with Buddhist or Daoist themes from the collections of the Imperial Household located in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, the Hall of Longevity, the Palace of the Heavenly Vault and the Hall of Rectitude. It was completed in 1744 (9th year of Qianlong) and was later reprinted a second and third time. The 44-volume Collected Treasures of the Stony Moat was completed in 1745 (10th year of Qianlong) and recorded paintings and works of calligraphy in the collection of the Imperial Household following the creation of the Collection of the Pearl Forest. Later, Wang Jie, Dong Hao and Ruan Yuan were ordered to compile a new volume that included new works or works that had been omitted. This new edition contained 40 booklets. In 1816 (21st year of Jiaqing), Ying He, Huang Yue and Hu Jing received an imperial request to compile three editions (112 booklets in 28 cases), which contain over 2,000 works of calligraphy and painting. In 1778 (43rd year of Qianlong), the official Xiqing Inkstone Manual (Xiqing yanpu 西清砚谱) included 24 volumes that recorded 240 examples of inkstones from the Han through Ming dynasties. In 1750 (15th year of Qianlong), the imperial household compiled the 16-volume Imperial Record of Coins (Qinding qianlu 钦定钱录), which was arranged chronological and recorded a range of foreign objects. The late Qing scholar Jin Liang (1878–?) compiled the Record of Calligraphy and Painting for the Former Palace at Mukden (Shengjing gugong shuhua lu 盛京故宫书画录). He was the head of the administrative offices for Fengtian Province at the time and the work contained records of the art works contained in the former palace in Shenyang. While it only incorporates collections from the Pavilion of the Soaring Phoenix (Xiangfengge 翔凤阁) in the imperial palace, this includes a total of 449 works of art.

SECTION 3 ART COLLECTIONS AND WRITTEN RECORDS

Most of the works of calligraphy and painting in the collection of the imperial household were appraised and evaluated by master artists, divided into ranks and recorded. Individuals in charge of imperially commissioned compilations were mostly outstanding experts in appraising works of art and included individuals like Liang Shizheng, Dong Bangda, Ruan Yuan and Hu Jing. While collections of calligraphy, painting and other works of art have been mainly in the hands of the palace, there is also a long tradition of private collecting in China, which was considerable. There were not only a great number of private collections during the Qing Dynasty, they were also very diverse with a group of collectors who amassed impressive collections. Major collectors from this period include Liang Qingbiao, Sun Chengze, Geng Zhaozhong, An Qi, Bian Yongyu, Gao Shiqi and Bi Huan. Later, others included Sun Xingyan, Liang Zhangju, Wu Rongguang, Tao Liang, Kong Guangtao, Ge Jinlang, Lu Xinyuan and Shao Songnian. Wu Sheng, An Qi, and Wu Qizhen were famous sellers of paintings and works of calligraphy as well as collectors with records of their collections that were circulated publicly. Collectors known for their stone inscriptions included Wang Chang, Chen Jieqi, Wu Dazheng, Sun Yirang, and Weng Fanggang. Wang Qishu had a large collection of carved seals. Famous collectors of potter included Yan Fuji, Wu Yankang, Lu Xinyuan, and Liu E. Others, like Zhoug Lianggong, Ruan Yuan, Song Luo, Qian Dian, He Shaoji and Yao Nai were known for their skills in appraisal and appreciation of works of art. Liang Qingbiao (1620–1691) was also known by the courtesy names Yuli and Cangyan. He was a native of Zhending in Zhili Province (present-day Zhengding in Hebei Province) and became a palace graduate during the Chongzhen period. He became Minister of Revenue and Grand Secretary and Grand Councilor of the Hall of Preserving Harmony. During the early Qing Dynasty, Liang

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Qingbiao gathered a large collection of Songand Yuan-era artworks. He had a keen eye and all of the works that bore his seal were authentic pieces. Works that he collected included Traveling in Spring (Youchuntu 游春图) by Zhan Ziqian, Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy (Buniantu 步辇图) by Yan Liben, Noble Lady with a Fan (Huishan shinü tu 挥扇仕女图) by Zhou Fang, The Night Revels of Han Xizai (Han Xizai yeyan tu 韩 熙载夜宴图) by Gu Hongzhong, Nested Rocks on a Plain (Keshi pingyuan tu 窠石平远图) by Guo Xi, Ox Herding Inspired by Wei Yan (Lin Wei Yan fangmu tu 临韦偃放牧图) by Li Gonglin and the Latter Ode on the Red Cliffs (Hou chibifu tu 后赤 壁赋图) by Ma Hezhi. The seals that he placed on these works included the following inscriptions, »Seal of Liang Qingbiao,« »Crabapple Village,« »Hebei Crapabble Village,« »Banana Forest,« »Seal of Master Yuli,« »A View of the General State,« and »Disgraceless.« The seal ink that he used was extremely fine, and difficult to copy. The way in which these works were mounted and the materials used in that mounting was also very unique, and Liang personally wrote inscriptions on the works that he had mounted. Liang Qingbiao was famous throughout China for his impressive collection and many called him the »greatest collector of ancient calligraphy and paintings.« Unfortunately, however, his collection was not cataloged. An Qi (1683–?) was also known by the courtesy name Yizhou and the pseudonym Lucun as well as the later pseudonym Songquan Laoren. He was an ethnic Korean, though later joined the Manchurian banners. He sold salt in Tianjin and Yangzhou. He owned a large collection of books and antiquities, while his collection of calligraphy and paintings was known throughout China. In 1743 (8th year of Qianlong), he wrote Collected Views on Ink, a record of his entire collection. Famous paintings that he owned included Traveling in Spring by Zhan Ziqian and the Admonitions Scroll (Nüshizhen tu 女史箴图) by Gu Kaizhi and

CHAPTER XIV ART THEORY AND CONNOISSEURSHIP

finished with Dong Qichang. His works of calligraphy began with Recommendation for the Commendation of Ji Zhi (Jian Ji Zhi biao 荐季直表) by the Three Kingdoms painter Zhong Xi, the Pacification Rubbing (Pingfutie 平复帖) by Lu Ji of the Jin and also concluded with Dong Qichang of the Ming. His collection of paintings and calligraphy contained nothing but masterpieces. The seals An Qi used on the works of art he collected included inscriptions like »Appraised by Yizhou,« »Lucun,« »Library of Ancient Fragrance« and »Library of Imperial Works.« Gao Shiqi (1645–1704) was also known by the courtesy name Zhanren and the pseudonyms Jiangcun and Hangpinglu. He was also granted the pseudonym Zhuchuang. He was a native of Pinghu in Zhejiang Province. He came from a poor family and originally came to the capital to work as a scribe, later becoming a vice-minister in the Ministry of Rites. He was skilled in poetry, composition, calligraphy and painting, but he was truly skilled in appraisal and collecting, especially in finding the provenance of works. He owned a very large number of famous works in calligraphy and painting with many whose provenance was proven in poetry and other writings. Records of his collections include Record of Jiangcun Cooling in the Summer (Jiangcun xiaoxia lu 江村销夏录) and A List of Paintings and Calligraphy from Jiangcun (Jiangcun shuhua mu 江村书画目). Sun Chengze (1592–1676) was also known by the courtesy name Erbo, also written as Erbei, as well as the pseudonyms Beihai and Tuigu. He was a native of Yidu in Shandong Province. He became a palace graduate during the reign of the Ming Emperor Chongzhen and became a vice-minister of the left in the Ministry of Personnel under the Qing. He owned a rich collection of calligraphy and paintings and was skilled in appraisal. His written works include A Record of Ceremonies at Siling (Siling dianli ji 思陵典礼记), A Collection of the Minister’s Notes (Shangshu jijie 尚书集解), An Examination of Yuan Dynasty Allegories by

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Year (Yuanchao diangu biannian kao 元朝典故 编年考), Random Notes from the Mountain Residence (Shanju suibi 山居随笔), Examination of Landscapes (Jiuzhou shanshui kao 九州山水考), and Studies in the Classics (Xuedian 学典). His eight-volume Record of Summer Cooling in the Year of Gengzi (Gengzi xiaoxia ji 庚子销夏记) was a record of the works in his collection and works that he had personally viewed. The seals he used on the works he collected included inscriptions like »The Retired Master,« »Seal of Sun Chengze,« »Old Man from the Valley,« »Hermit of the Deep Mountains,« and »Remembering Benevolence.« Sun Chengze resided in the Sun Gardens outside the Gate of Martial Declaration in Beijing, which contained the Pavilion of the Leisurely Man (Xianzhexuan 闲者轩) and the Studio of the Inkstone Mountain (Yanshanzhai 砚山斋) where his collection of calligraphy and paintings were kept. His written works also include the Examination of Rubbings from the Pavilion of the Leisurely Man (Xianzhexuan tiekao 闲者轩帖考) and Works of Calligraphy from the Studio of the Inkstone Mountain (Yanshanzhai mo ji 砚山斋墨迹), which recorded the works kept in these locations. Song Luo (1634–1713) was also known by the courtesy name Muzhong and the pseudonyms Mantang, Xipi, and Mianjin Shanren. He was a native of Shangqiu in Henan Province, and his father, Song Quan, served as a counselor for six years after the founding of the Qing Dynasty. He entered government by virtue of his father’s service and served as Minister of Personnel and Junior Preceptor to the Heir Apparent. He was a skilled painter and very well educated. He also had a penchant for antiquities and was knowledgeable about collecting, with a number of famous items in his own collection. Many of the exquisite items in Song Luo’s collection have marks that read »Authenticated by Song Luo« or »Authenticated to be a True Work by Song Luo of Shangqiu.« Ma Lin’s Layers of Icy Silk (Cengdie bingxiao tu 层叠冰绡图), Lin Chun’s Bird Feeding on Ripe Fruit (Guoshu laiqin

SECTION 3 ART COLLECTIONS AND WRITTEN RECORDS

tu 果熟来禽图), the anonymous Song-era painting Withering Lotus (Kuhe tu 枯荷图), and Dong Qichang’s Eight Views at the Height of Autumn (Qiuxing bajing tu 秋兴八景图) were all part of Song Luo’s collection. Chen Jieqi (1813–1884) was also known by the courtesy name Shouqing and pseudonyms Fuzhai and Haibin Bingshi. He was a native of Weixian in Shandong Province. In 1845 (25th year of Daoguang) he became a palace graduate and served as a junior historiography compiler at the Hanlin Academy. During the reign of Xianfeng he also took on the title of academician reader-in-waiting. Chen Jieqi collected all types of bronze vessels, seals, rock carvings, pottery, roof tiles and sculptures. He also was very influential in the study of epigraphy and authenticated several hundred piece of pottery from the Xia, Shang and Zhou as well as thousands of Han-era seals. His collection once included the Ding of the Duke of Mao, which was said to be »the most auspicious piece in the land.« He also possessed ten bells, which is why his residence was known as the Mountain Abode of the Ten Bells. His collection included over 7,000 seals from the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin and Han dynasties and a structure known as the Tower of Ten Thousand Seals was built to house them. His Han-era bronze mirrors and jade seals from Huaiyang were the most exquisite examples of their kind. Chen Jieqi also had the most extensive collection of carved stelae during the Qing Dynasty. He also wrote extensively during his life and most of his works were records or provenance of ancient epigraphic works of art. The Qing Dynasty produced a very large number of collectors and, in addition to those mentioned above, other famous individuals include Cao Rong, Bi Huan, Yao Jiheng, Sun Xingyan, Tao Liang, Hu Jitang, Liang Zhangju, Pan Zhengwei, Han Taihua, Jiang Guangxu, Kong Guangtao, Shen Shuyong, Li Zuoxian, Fang Ruiyi, Ge Jinlang, Gu Wenbin, Lu Xinyuan, Shao Songnian, Fei Jingfu and Pang Yuanji. Literati scholars like

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Qian Dian, He Shaoji, Liu E, Liang Zhangran, Yao Nai and Liu Tiren also had extensive collections. It is difficult to describe in words the extent to which collecting flourished during the Qing Dynasty.

2. Records of Collections The popularity of collecting meant that there was also an increase in the number of records of the works of calligraphy and painting that were in collections. In addition to those previously mentioned, there were also records of private collectors that were not only comprehensive, but also had a discerning eye and had considerable influence over other collectors. This included the ten-volume Great Visions of a Common Life (Pingsheng zhuangguan 平生壮观) by Gu Fu. Gu Fu was also known by the courtesy name Laihou and the pseudonym Fangjing Shangnong. His native origin is unknown (one source says Wuling in Hunan Province), and he lived from around 1628 to 1698. He owned a large collection of works of calligraphy, paintings and antiques. He was also gifted in appraisal, and the list of famous works of art that he had seen grew from notes into a full book over the course of 35 years, recording each of them. The first five volumes of the book are dedicated to calligraphy, while the second five volumes contain famous paintings stretching from the Wei and Jin dynasties through the late Ming. They are organized chronologically with short introductions that include the materials used, the size, inscriptions by famous individuals and the script or painting technique used. There is also a short description of the artist’s training and his artistic achievements, while also noting the authenticity of the work. Another work is the Record of Great Observations (Daguanlu 大观录) by Wu Sheng. Wu Sheng, also known by the courtesy name Zimin, was a native of Wuxian (present-day Suzhou) and was fascinated by antiques from a young age. He was especially skilled at appraising calligraphy and paintings. He compiled his broad life experiences

CHAPTER XIV ART THEORY AND CONNOISSEURSHIP

into the 20-volume work Record of Great Observations. The first nine volumes are dedicated to calligraphy, while the tenth volume contains short biographies of painters from the Yuan and Ming dynasties. The remaining ten volumes contain lists of famous paintings starting with the Eastern Jin through the Ming Dynasty, all listed chronologically. The detailed descriptions include the materials used, the size, the number of characters and lines as well as the text of works of calligraphy, while paintings also contain the content of the work and any inscriptions. Notes of inscriptions by later individuals were also made. The only omission was the seals that were affixed to the works. This was intermixed with commentary, which provide a very unique perspective. All of these were masterworks that had passed through Wu Sheng’s hands. The next work is A Record of Paintings and Calligraphy (Shuhuaji 书画记), by Wu Qizhen. Wu Qizhen was also known by the courtesy name Gongyi and the pseudonym Jigu. He was native of Huizhou in Anhui Province (present-day Shexian) and lived from around 1609 to 1681. He was wellread as a child and enjoyed calligraphy and painting. From the reign of Chongzhen through the reign of Shunzhi, he sold old works of calligraphy and old paintings, traveling throughout Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. He had very close interactions with many collectors and was a skilled appraiser. A Record of Paintings and Calligraphy has a total of six volumes and records the more than 1,200 paintings and works of calligraphy from the Tang, Song and Yuan that he viewed. They are ordered by the date that they were viewed and not by the dates of the works. This book is clearly a collection of notes and most of the works are from the Song and Yuan dynasties. While it was written by an antiques merchant, the content is accurate and rich, making it a great reference source. Another work is A Record of Paintings and Calligraphy Seen in Wuyue (Wuyue suojian shuhua lu 吴越所见书画录) by Lu Shihua. Lu Shihua

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(1714–1779) was also known by the courtesy name Runzhi and the pseudonym Tingsong. He was a native of Taicang in Jiangsu Province and entered the Imperial Academy as a student with outstanding marks, but no affinity for officialdom. He had a massive collection of books and often purchased books that he would edit himself. He also enjoyed calligraphy and painting, keeping a considerable collection. He was also a skilled appraiser. Over the course of over 30 years, he traveled throughout Jiangsu and Zhejiang, making notes each time he came across a work of calligraphy, missives, letters of patent and famous paintings. Once he had amassed a sufficient amount, he compiled them into a book. The book has six volumes and collects a total of 628 works of calligraphy and painting from the Tang through the early Qing, but most are from the Ming. At the end of the book, there s an additional section titled »Further Discussions on Forging Paintings and Calligraphy« (Shuhua zuowei jilun 书画作伪畸论), as well as »Comments on Seals on Paintings and Works of Calligraphy« (Shuhua shuo qian 书画说钤), touching on topics on methods of forging that had not been discussed before. This section was especially useful in determining authenticity and was used for many appraisers throughout history. The Record of Painting and Calligraphy from the Ormosia Hall (Hongdoushuguan shuhua ji 红豆树 馆书画记) is by Tao Liang (1772–1857), who was also known by the courtesy name Fuxiang. He was a native of Changzhou in Jiangsu Province, and served as a scholar in the Grand Secretariat. This book was completed in 1836 (16th year of Daoguang) and contains over 300 examples of calligraphy and painting as well as several famous works that the author viewed. The works included in the work range from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing, but most are from the Ming and Qing. The artists also have short biographies. Yet another work is A Record of Cooling in the Summer of Xinchou (Xinchou xiaoxia ji 辛丑销夏记), by Wu Rongguang. Wu Rongguang (1773–1843) was

SECTION 3 ART COLLECTIONS AND WRITTEN RECORDS

also known by the courtesy name Borong and the pseudonym Hewu. He was a native of Nanhai in Guangdong Province (present-day Guangzhou), and in 1799 (4th year of Jiaqing) he became a palace graduate and served as Supreme Commander for the Huguang region. His ancestors had been salt merchants and had a large collection of inscribed stelae, rubbings, and paintings, as well as calligraphy. A Record of Cooling in the Summer of Xinchou contains five volumes and was completed in 1841 (21st year of Daoguang). It contains 146 works, including his own collection as well as works that he had seen, including three types of copies of the Preface of the Orchid Pavilion, which end in the late Ming, many of which were masterworks that had been passed down. At the end of the book there are examples of his own inscriptions, most of which provide accurate and appropriate provenance. Postscripts in Stone Inscriptions, Calligraphy, and Paintings from the Abbey of Retirement (Tui’an jinshi shuhua ba 退庵金石书画跋), by Liang Zhangju, was another seminal work. Liang Zhangju (1775–1849) was also known by the courtesy name Chailin and the pseudonym Tui’an. He was a native of Changle in Fujian Province and served as a Grand Coordinator in Jiangsu Province. His collections were extensive and he was an expert in the appraisal of antiquities. This book was completed in 1845 (25th year of Daoguang), and while the title contains the word »postscript,« it is in fact a record of collections. The first five volumes contain over 100 ancient bronze vessels, ancient inkstones and stelae rubbings. Volumes six through ten contain 125 works of calligraphy and volumes 11 through 20 record a total of 258 paintings. While information on the size, content, and seals on the works is limited, descriptions of the origin, authenticity and confirmation of the birth and death of each artist is very detailed. His artistic critiques are also very well-formed and are complimented by lines of poetry of his own or provided by friends.

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Other works include the 24-volume Reflections on Calligraphy and Painting (Shuhua jianying 书画鉴 影) by Li Zuoxian, the 40-volume Record of Reviews from the Hall of Abundant Pears (Rangliguan guoyan lu 穰梨馆过眼录) by Kong Guangyong, the five-volume Record of Calligraphy and Painting from the Hall of Mountain Snows (Yuexuelou shuhua lu 岳雪楼书画录) by Kong Guangtao, the ten-volume Record of Calligraphy and Painting from the Hall of Passing Clouds (Guoyunlou shuhua ji 过云楼书画记) by Gu Wenbin, the 24-volume Record of Calligraphy and Painting from the Garden of Dreams (Mengyuan shuhua ji 梦园 书画记) by Fang Ruiyi, the 16-volume Record of Famous Paintings from the Empty Studio (Xuzhai minghua lu 虚斋名画录) by Pang Yuanji, as well as the four-volume Record of Meaning (Yuyilu 寓 意录) by Liao Yuezao, the three-volume Record of the Family Collection of Paintings and Calligraphy from the Hall of Love for Antiquity (Haogutang jiacang shuhua ji 好古堂家藏书画记) by Yao Jiheng, the two-volume Compilation from One Corner (Yijiaobian 一角编) by Zhou Erxue, the Record of Collections of Calligraphy and Painting from the Hall of the Peaceful Ford (Pingjin’guan jiancang shuhua ji 平津馆鉴藏书画记) by Sun Xingyan, Reviews in the Mist from the Studio of Requisite Silence (Xujingzhai yunyan guoyan lu 徐静斋云 烟过眼录) by Pan Shihuang, the 30-volume Record of Paintings and Calligraphy from the Studio of Personal Joy (Ziyiyuezhai shuhua lu 自怡悦斋 书画录) by Zhang Dayong, the three-volume Record of Paintings and Calligraphy from the Pavilion of the Pen’s Whistle (Bixiaoxuan shuhua lu 笔啸 轩书画录) by Hu Jitang, the four-volume Record of Painting and Calligraphy from the Hall of Jade Rain (Yuyutang shuhua ji 玉雨堂书画记) by Han Taihua, the 24-volume Record of Painting and Calligraphy from the Studio of Uniqueness (Biexiazhai shuhua lu 别下斋书画录) by Jiang Guangxu, the three-volume Record of Reviews of Paintings and Calligraphy (Shuhua suojian lu 书画所见录) by Xie Kun, and the four-volume Record of Paintings and

CHAPTER XIV ART THEORY AND CONNOISSEURSHIP

Calligraphy from the Hut of Lament for the Love of the Sun (Airiyinlu shuhua lu 爱日吟庐书画录) by Ge Jinlang. These works have often been used up to the present day by appraisers and collectors as references. Records of masterpieces of painting and calligraphy have naturally made up the vast majority of these writings, but other important genres include bronze vessels, pottery and porcelain, jade works, embroidery, items used in the studio and other curios. A wide variety of these book were published during the Qing Dynasty. The 40-volume Xiqing Collections (Xiqing gujian 西清古鉴), by Liang Shizheng and others, was the result of an imperial commission. Liang Shizheng was also known by the courtesy name Yangzhong and the pseudonym Xianglin. He was a native of Qiantang in Zhejiang and served as the Grand Secretary of the East Hall. The book was compiled in the Southern Study (Xiqing) of the imperial palace, finalized in 1751 (16th year of Qianlong) and exquisitely published in 1755 (20th year of Qianlong) by the imperial household. The book contains 1,529 ancient bronze vessels in the collection of the imperial palace, starting with a list of the items, followed by illustrations with the dimensions and weight of each item. If there were inscriptions on the vessel, these were also explanations. This book was followed by two others, the First Addendum to the Xiqing Collections (Xiqing xujian jiabian 西清续鉴甲编) and the Second Addendum to the Xiqing Collections (Xiqing xubian yibian 西清续鉴乙编), edited by Wang Jie and others by order of the emperor. The First Addendum includes 20 volumes with a single-volume appendix, which contains 975 bronze vessels and seals. The Second Addendum contains 900 bronze vessels then held in collections at the imperial palace in Mukden (present-day Shenyang). These two books were completed in 1793 (58th year of Qianlong), but were not printed that year. 701 bronze vessels held in the Palace of Tranquil Longevity were also compiled by the imperial palace

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into the 16-volume A Collection of Antiquities from the Palace of Tranquil Longevity (Ningshou jiangu 宁寿鉴古). Later, this was compiled into a series of works along with the previous three additions of the Xiqing Collections, known collectively as Four Xiqing Collections (Xiqing sijian 西清四鉴). The »Four Collections« record a total of 4,074 bronze vessels (with an additional 31 in the appendix), 990 of which had been lost. With the exception of the 179 that are seen in later records, there are hundreds whose whereabouts are unknown and precious little can be learned about them. Nearly one-third of the items in the »Four Collections« are fakes, and there are also mistakes in the descriptions and provenance of the pieces. Another important work is A Collection of Stone Inscriptions (Jinshi cuibian 金石萃编), by Wang Chang (1724–1806), who was also known by the courtesy name Defu and pseudonym Lanquan. He was a native of Qingpu (present-day Songjiang District in Shanghai) and became a palace graduate during the reign of Qianlong, serving as a vice-minister of the right in the Ministry of Justice. He was a prolific writer throughout his life. A Collection of Stone Inscriptions contains a total of 160 volumes, recording over 1,500 examples of stone inscriptions from various periods in history, with a small number of inscriptions from bronze vessels, bricks, and roof tiles. This book has long been held up as a major work in the study of inscriptions with many later works and addenda that copied its format. There are three additional volumes that were not included in the printing of A Collection of Stone Inscriptions, which contain 80 examples of Yuan Dynasty stelae. Other writings on the study of epigraphy include the three-volume An Additional List to A Collection of Stone Inscriptions (Jinshi cuibian bumu 金石萃 编补目) by Huang Benji, the four-volume Corrections to A Collection of Stone Inscriptions (Jinshicuibian buzheng 金石萃编补正) by Fang Lüjian, the two-volume Supplements to A Collection of Stone Inscriptions (Jinshi cuibian bulue 金石萃编

SECTION 3 ART COLLECTIONS AND WRITTEN RECORDS

补略) by Wang Yan, the 21-volume Addendum to A Collection of Stone Inscriptions (Jinshi xubian 金石 续编) by Lu Yaoyu, the 200-volume Addendum to A Collection of Stone Inscriptions (Jinshi xubian 金 石续编) by Lu Xinyuan, and the 130-volume Corrections to A Collection of Stone Inscriptions from the Room of Eight Treasures (Baqiongshi jinshi buzheng 八琼室补正), by Lu Zengxiang. The work A Record of Visits to Stelae throughout China (Huanyu fangbei lu 寰宇访碑录) by Sun Xingyan and Xing Shu was another influential work. Sun Xingyan (1753–1818) was also known by the courtesy names Boyuan and Yuanru. He was a native of Yanghu in Jiangsu Province (present-day Changzhou), and once served as a grain administrator in Yunyi in Shandong Province. He was also a well-known scholar of the classics. The 12-volume A Record of Visits to Stelae throughout China contains around 8,000 examples of stone carvings from the Zhou and Qin through to the Yuan Dynasty, including some examples of inscriptions on roof tiles. Each of the stelae recorded include the dates erected, the style of script, the composer and the calligrapher, as well as the location of the original stone. For stelae that had been lost, or for which the original location is unknown, the name of the collector is given. This book contains the largest number of stelae recorded in a single work up to the present. An Examination of Ancient Jade with Illustrations (Guyu tukao 古玉图考) by Wu Dacheng focuses on works in jade. Wu Dacheng (1835–1902) was a calligrapher, an expert in Chinese characters, and a scholar of epigraphy. He was native of Wuxian in Jiangsu Province and served as the Grand Coordinator of Hunan Province. He was also a prolific writer. His Examination of Ancient Jade with Illustrations was completed in 1889 (15th year of Guangxu) and contained nearly 200 works in jade. The illustrations were completed by his cousin Wu Dazhen, which were followed by text that included the name of the piece, its dimensions, use, and the year it was made along with an explana-

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tion of its provenance. The combination of text and illustration makes this book a valuable reference for researchers of ancient works in jade. Comments on Pottery by Zhu Yan and A Record of Pottery from Jingdezhen (Jingdezhen tao lu 景德镇 陶录) by Lan Pu were two more important works. Zhu Yan was a native of Haiyan in Zhejiang Province. His six-volume Comments on Pottery focus on works from the kilns of Jingdezhen, providing provenance for pottery wares and individual pieces throughout history. He provides descriptions of a range of pieces from the Tang Dynasty onward, including their shape, glaze color, raw materials, the final product and how they were made, with many supplementary sources. After the influence of Chinese ceramics had expanded in the 19th century, it was translated into English and French and printed in Europe. Later, Lan Pu wrote A Record of Pottery from Jingdezhen in eight volumes, but it was never printed. Later, his apprentice Zheng Tinggui added ten volumes to the work and printed it in 1815 (20th year of Jiaqing). It makes up for deficiencies in Comments on Pottery. A Catalog Raisonné of Clay Seals (Fengni kaolue 封泥考略) in ten volumes by Wu Shifen and Chen Jieqi was published in 1904 (30th year of Guangxu). It recorded 849 examples of clay seals and was expanded upon by Zhou Mingtai along with the original works by Luo Zhenyu and Chen Baochen, including the six-volume Extended Catalog Raisonné of Clay Seals (Xu fengni kaolue 续封泥考略) and four-volume Further Extended Catalog Raisonné of Clay Seals (Zaixu fengni kaolue 再续封泥 考略), which recorded a total of 800 clay seals. Collections from the Ancient Spring (Guquanhui 古 泉汇) by Li Zuoxian covered yet another genre. Li Zuoxian’s personal collection contained a large number of antiquities and old coins. During the reign of Xianfeng he compiled Collections from the Ancient Spring in 64 volumes, which contained 5,003 coins of all kinds from the Eastern Zhou through the Ming Dynasty. In the initial years of

CHAPTER XIV ART THEORY AND CONNOISSEURSHIP

Guangxu’s reign, he worked with Bao Kang to compile the 14-volume Extended Collections from the Ancient Spring (Xuquanhui 续泉汇), which included two additional volumes and contained a total of 984 coins. These two books were printed, respectively, in 1864 (3rd year of Tongzhi) and 1875 (1st year of Guangxu). Both Li and Bao were consummate appraisers, who were very selective about the content they chose and careful in providing provenance for each piece. While they did include some replicas, this is the most complete manual of coins produced during the Qing Dynasty. Written works on other objects were also very numerous. Books like A History of Ink Brushes (Bishi 笔史) by Liang Tongshu, A Journey through Incense (Xiangcheng 香乘) by Zhou Jiazhou, A Manual of Feather Fans (Yushanpu 羽扇谱) by Zhang Yanchang, A New Record of Staffs and Fans (Zhangshan xin lu 杖扇新录) by Wang Tingding, A Record of Curious Stones (Guaishilu 怪石录) by Shen Xin, and A Record of Bamboo Carvers (Zhurenlu 竹人录) by Jin Yuanyu show the range of items that were collected during this period by their names alone. Wang Shizhen commented on this trend in volume 24 of Records of Easy Living (Juyilu 居易录): There have been many skilled artists in the minor crafts of late and they are all from Zhejiang. The value of roof tiles or decanters by Gong Chun or Shi Dabin fetch 2,000–3,000 qian. Hu Si is known for his bronze censers, He Dezhi for his fan skins, Zhao Liangbi for his tinware, and buyers fight for their works. Their wares are fine and others cannot compare, which attests to their fame.

It seems that it was not only antiquities or masterworks in calligraphy and painting that collectors loved. They also craved new, smaller items. If they were well-made and could be appreciated, they met the needs of people at the time and there was a market for them. Clearly, the trend of collecting flourished during this period.