,transcriber's ,note3 #a4 ,there is one instance each of ,huang ,yin-,piau and ,huang ,yin-,piao1 and ,yuen ,shou-p'ing and ,yuen ,chou-p'ing so they have been left as printed4 #b4 ,in this text the breve has been rendered as 7u 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chinese ,,painters ,,chinese ,,painters ,a ,,critical ,,study ,,by ,,raphael ,,petrucci ,,translated ,,by ,,frances ,,seaver ,,with ,a ,,biographical ,,note ,,by ,,laurence ,,binyon ,,of ,,the ,,british ,,museum ,,and ,,with ,,twenty-,,five ,,illustrations ,,in ,,duotone ,,new ,,york ,,brentano',s ,,publishers ,,copyright1 #aibj1 ,,by ,,brentano',s ,all rights reserved ,,the 4 ,,plimpton 4 ,,press ,,norwood 4 ,,mass 4 ,u4,s4,a 99 99 99 99 99 ,,preface ,a translator can have but one aim--to present the thought of the author faithfully4 ,in this case an added responsibility is involved1 since one who had so much to give to the world has been taken in his prime4 ,m4 ,petrucci has written at length of art in the ,far ,east in his exhaustive work ,la ,philosophie de la ,nature dans l',art d',extreme ,orient and elsewhere1 and has demonstrated the wide scope of his thought and learning4 ,the form and style in ,peintres ,chinois are the result of much condensation of material and have thus presented problems in translation1 to which earnest thought has been given4 ,in deference to the author's wish the margin has not been overladen and only a short tribute1 by one able to speak of him from personal knowledge1 has been included1 together with a few footnotes and a short bibliography of works of reference indispensable to the student who will pursue this absorbing study4 ,the translator takes this opportunity to make grateful acknowledgement of her debt to the authors named1 who have made such valuable information available1 and to those friends who have read the manuscript and made many helpful suggestions4 ,,frances ,,seaver 99 99 99 99 99 ,,biographical ,,note ,in ,raphael ,petrucci1 who died early in #aiag1 the world has lost one of the ablest and most devoted students and interpreters of the art of the ,far ,east4 ,he was only forty-five years of age1 in the prime of his powers1 brimming with energy and full of enterprises that promised richly4 ,though he did not die in the field1 he was none the less a victim of the war4 ,he had exhausted himself by his labours with the ,belgian ambulances at ,la ,panne1 for ,belgium was his adopted country4 ,he had a house in ,brussels1 filled with a collection of ,chinese and ,japanese art1 and a little cottage near the coast just over the borders of ,holland4 ,he came of the great and ancient ,sienese family of the ,petrucci1 but his mother was ,french and he spent much of his earlier life in ,paris1 before settling in ,brussels and marrying one of the daughters of the painter ,verwee4 ,he had also spent some time in ,russia4 ,in ,brussels he was attached to the ,institut ,solvay4 ,he was a man of science1 a student of and writer on sociology and biology4 ,he lectured on art and had a knowledge of the art of the world which few men in ,europe rivalled4 ,he wrote a philosophic novel1 ,la ,porte de l',amour et de la ,mort1 which has run through several editions4 ,he published a book on ,michelangelo's poetry4 ,at the same time he was a scientific engineer4 ,when war broke out ,petrucci was on his way home from ,italy1 where he had been engaged1 ,i believe1 on some large engineering project and he only got out of ,switzerland into ,france by the last train which left ,basle4 ,he came to ,england for a time1 looking after a number of ,belgian refugees1 including some very distinguished artists4 ,at the end of #aiad he was engaged by the ,india office to do some valuable work in ,london on the collection of ,chinese and ,tibetan paintings brought back from ,tun-huang by ,sir ,aurel ,stein4 ,he then worked at ,la ,panne for the ,belgian army hospital 7he had had a medical training in his youth71 went to ,provence for a rest1 fell ill and died in ,paris after an operation4 ,raphael ,petrucci was a man who seemed to reincarnate the boundless curiosity and the various ability of the men of the ,italian ,renaissance4 ,but for some years before his death he had concentrated his powers chiefly on the study of ,oriental art1 of the ,chinese language1 and of ,buddhist iconography4 ,his most important work in this line is ,la ,philosophie de la ,nature dans l',art d',extreme ,orient1 a sumptuously printed folio published by ,laurens in ,paris1 with illustrations by the ,kokka ,company1 and written with as much charm as insight4 ,petrucci's knowledge of ,chinese gave him an authority in interpreting ,chinese art which writers on the subject have rarely combined with so much understanding of art in general1 though as a connoisseur he was sometimes over-sanguine4 ,his translation from a classic of ,chinese art-criticism1 originally published in a learned magazine1 has lately appeared in book form4 ,with his friend1 ,professor ,chavannes1 whose death1 also in the prime of life1 we have had to deplore still more recently1 ,petrucci edited the first volume of the splendid series ,ars ,asiatica4 ,the present work1 intended for the general reader and lover of art1 illustrates his gift for luminous condensation and the happy treatment of a large theme4 ,a man of winning manners1 a most generous and loyal friend1 ,petrucci wore his manifold learning lightly2 with immense energy and force of character1 he was simple and warm-hearted and interested in the small things as well as the great things of life4 ,,laurence ,,binyon ,,british ,,museum ,october1 #aiai 99 99 99 99 99 ,,contents ,,page ,,preface ,,by ,,the ,,translator #e ,,biographical ,,note ,,by ,,laurence ,,binyon #g ,,introduction #ae ,,part ,,one4 ,,technique ,i4 ,,equipment ,,of ,,the ,,painter #ba ,,ii4 ,,representation ,,of ,,forms #bf ,,iii4 ,,division ,,of ,,subjects #cc ,,iv4 ,,inspiration #ch ,,part ,,two4 ,,the ,,evolution ,,of ,,chinese ,,painting ,i4 ,,origins #de ,,ii4 ,,before ,,the ,,intervention ,,of ,,buddhism #df ,,iii4 ,,the ,,intervention ,,of ,,buddhism #ed ,,iv4 ,,the ,t',,ang ,,period--#g,,th ,,to #aj,,th ,,centuries #eh ,v4 ,,the ,,sung ,,period--#aj,,th ,,to #ac,,th ,,centuries #gb ,,vi4 ,,the ,y,ue,a,n ,,period--#ac,,th ,,and #ad,,th ,,centuries #ib ,,vii4 ,,the ,,ming ,,period--#ad,,th ,,to #ag,,th ,,centuries #aad ,,viii4 ,,the ,,ch',,ing ,,period--#ag,,th ,,to #bj,,th ,,centuries #aca ,,conclusion #adj ,,bibliography #adi ,,index ,,of ,,painters ,,and ,,periods #aea 99 99 99 99 99 ,,illustrations ,,page ,i4 ,sculptured stones of the ,han dynasty4 ,second to third centuries4 ,rubbings taken by the ,chavannes expedition #bc ,,ii4 ,portion of a scroll by ,ku ,k'ai-chih4 ,british ,museum1 ,london #bg ,,iii4 ,kwanyin4 ,eighth to tenth centuries4 ,painting brought from ,tun-huang by the ,pelliot expedition4 ,the ,louvre1 ,paris #ca ,,iv4 ,palace of ,kiu ,cheng-kung by ,li ,chao-tao4 ,t'ang period4 ,collection of ,v4 ,goloubew #cd ,v4 ,portrait of ,lue ,tung-ping by ,t'eng ,ch'ang-yu4 ,t'ang period4 ,collection of ,august ,jaccaci4 ,lent to the ,metropolitan ,museum1 ,new ,york4,a #ci ,,vi4 ,painting by an unknown artist4 ,t'ang period4 ,collection of ,r4 ,petrucci #dg ,,vii4 ,geese4 ,sung period4 ,british ,museum1 ,london #ea ,,viii4 ,white ,eagle4 ,sung period4 ,collection of ,r4 ,petrucci #ei ,,ix4 ,horseman followed by two attendants4 ,sung period4 ,collection of ,a4 ,stoclet #fc ,x4 ,landscape in the style of ,hsia ,kuei4 ,sung period4 ,collection of ,martin ,white #fg ,,xi4 ,landscape by ,ma ,lin4 ,sung period4 ,collection of ,r4 ,petrucci #gc ,,xii4 ,mongol horseman returning from the ,hunt1 by ,chao ,meng-fu4 ,yuean period4 ,doucet collection #gg ,,xiii4 ,pigeons by ,ch'ien ,hsuean4 ,yuean period4 ,collection of ,r4 ,petrucci #he ,,xiv4 ,bamboos in monochrome by ,wu ,chen4 ,yuean period4 ,musee ,guimet #ic ,,xv4 ,paintings of the ,yuean or early ,ming period4 ,style of the ,northern ,school4 ,collection of ,r4 ,petrucci #ig ,,xvi4 ,portrait of a priest4 ,yuean or early ,ming period4 ,collection of ,h4 ,riviere #aja ,,xvii4 ,horse4 ,painting by an unknown artist4 ,yuean or early ,ming period4 ,doucet collection #aje ,,xviii4 ,visit to the ,emperor by the ,immortals from on high4 ,ming period4 ,british ,museum1 ,london #aji ,,xix4 ,egrets by ,lin ,liang4 ,ming period4 ,collection of ,mrs4 ,john ,d4 ,rockefeller1 ,junior #aae ,,xx4 ,flowers and ,insects4 ,ming period4 ,collection of ,r4 ,petrucci #aai ,,xxi4 ,landscape4 ,ming period4 ,bouasse-,lebel collection #abe ,,xxii4 ,beauty inhaling the fragrance of a peony4 ,ming period4 ,collection of ,v4 ,goloubew #acc ,,xxiii4 ,halt of the ,imperial ,hunt4 ,ming period4 ,sixteenth century4 ,collection of ,r4 ,petrucci #acg ,,xxiv4 ,painting by ,chang ,cheng4 ,eighteenth century4 ,collection of ,m4 ,worch #ada ,,xxv4 ,tiger in a ,pine ,forest4 ,eighteenth to nineteenth centuries4 ,collection of ,v4 ,goloubew #ade ,a ,now owned by ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,robert ,woods ,bliss4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,introduction ,whatever its outward expression1 human thought remains essentially unchanged and1 throughout all of its manifestations1 is fundamentally the same4 ,varying phases are but accidents and underneath the divers wrappings of historic periods or different civilizations1 the heart as well as the mind of man has been moved by the same desires4 ,art possesses a unity like that of nature4 ,it is profound and stirring1 precisely because it blends and perpetuates feeling and intelligence by means of outward expressions4 ,of all human achievements art is the most vital1 the one that is dowered with eternal youth1 for it awakens in the soul emotions which neither time nor civilization has ever radically altered4 ,therefore1 in commencing the study of an art of strange appearance1 what we must seek primarily is the exact nature of the complexity of ideas and feelings upon which it is based4 ,such is the task presented to us1 and since the problem which we here approach is the general study of ,chinese painting1 we must prepare ourselves first to master the peculiarities of its appearance and technique1 in order to understand later on the motives which inspired it4 ,while the first part of this study will carry us far from our habitual modes of thought1 the second part will bring us back into a domain which our own philosophies1 sciences and arts have already made familiar4 ,admittedly1 ,chinese painting is governed by distinctive ideas4 ,born of a civilization vastly different from our own1 it may at times appear in a guise that seems incomprehensible4 ,it would be astonishing1 however1 if ,western intelligence were unable to grasp an aesthetic code of a magnitude which is too great to be ignored4 ,the progress of history and of criticism has given us the opportunity to reach a comprehension of the most peculiar formulas4 ,our culture is sufficiently broad to allow us to perceive the beauty of an ,egyptian fresco or an ,assyrian bas-relief as well as of a ,byzantine mosaic or a painting of the ,renaissance4 ,we have therefore no excuse for remaining inaccessible to the art of the ,far ,east and we have surely all the mental vigor that is requisite in order to accustom ourselves to the foreign nature of its presentation4 ,it is in the realm of painting that this foreign element is most noticeable4 ,this is due partly to a special technique and partly to the nature of the doctrines which serve as its inspiration4 ,it behooves us then to acquaint ourselves with these new aspects of the human soul4 ,that is the justification for this little book4 ,it forms an introduction in which gaps are shown without attempt at concealment and is presented in all modesty4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,part ,,one ,,technique ,i4 ,,equipment ,,of ,,the ,,painter ,where our painters have chosen wood or canvas as a ground1 the ,chinese have employed silk or paper4 ,while our art recognizes that drawing itself1 quite apart from painting1 is a sufficient objective1 drawing and painting have always been closely intermingled in the ,far ,east4 ,while the mediums used in ,europe for painting in color1 distemper1 tempera and oil1 led to an exact study of form1 the colors employed by the ,orientals--at times brilliant1 at times subdued with an almost studied restraint--preserved a singular fluidity and lent themselves to undefined evanescences which gave them a surprising charm4 ,the early paintings were generally done on cotton1 coarse silk or paper4 ,in the eighth century1 under the ,t'ang dynasty1 the use of finer silk began4 ,the dressing was removed with boiling water1 the silk was then sized and smoothed with a paddle4 ,the use of silken fabric of the finest weave1 prepared with a thick sizing1 became general during the ,sung dynasty4 ,papers were made of vegetable fibres1 principally of bamboo4 ,being prepared1 as was the silk1 with a sizing of alum1 they became practically indestructible4 ,upon these silks and papers the painter worked with brush and ,chinese ink1#a color being introduced with more or less freedom or restraint4 ,the brushes are of different types4 ,each position of the brush conforms to a specific quality of the line1 either sharp and precise or broad and quivering1 the ink spreading in strong touches or thinning to delicate shades4 ,the colors are simple1 of mineral or vegetable origin4 ,chinese painters have always avoided mixing colors so far as possible4 ,from malachite they obtained several shades of green1 from cinnabar or sulphide of mercury1 a number of reds4 ,they knew also how to combine mercury1 sulphur and potash to produce vermilion4 ,from peroxide of mercury they drew coloring powders which furnished shades ranging from brick red to orange yellow4 ,during the ,t'ang dynasty coral was ground to secure a special red1 while white was extracted from burnt oyster shells4 ,white lead was later substituted for this lime white4 ,carmine lake they obtained from madder1 yellows from the sap of the rattan1 blues from indigo4 ,to these must be added the different shades of ,chinese ink and lastly1 gold in leaf and in powder4 #a ,chinese ink is a very different composition from the ink of ,western countries4 ,it is a solid made of soot obtained by burning certain plants1 which is then combined with glue or oil and moulded into a cake and dried4 ,other ingredients may be added to produce sheen or a dead finish4 ,it improves with age if properly kept4 ,the cake is moistened and rubbed on a slab1 and the ink thus obtained must be used in a special way and with special care to produce the full effect4--,,translator4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,i4 ,,sculptured ,,stones ,,of ,,the ,,han ,,dynasty ,second to ,third ,centuries4 ,rubbings taken by the ,chavannes ,expedition4 ,the brush-stroke in the painting of the ,far ,east is of supreme importance4 ,we know that this could not be otherwise if we recall that the characters in ,chinese writing are ideographs1 not actually written1 but rather drawn4 ,the stroke is not a mere formal1 lifeless sign4 ,it is an expression in which is reflected the beauty of the thought that inspired it as well as the quality of the soul of him who gives it form4 ,in writing1 as in painting1 it reveals to us the character and the conception of its author4 ,placed at the service of certain philosophical ideas1 which will be set forth later on1 this technique was bound to lead to a special code of ,aesthetics4 ,the painter seeks to suggest with an unbroken line the fundamental character of a form4 ,his endeavor1 in this respect1 is to simplify the objective images of the world to the extreme1 replacing them with ideal images1 which prolonged meditation shall have freed from every non-essential4 ,it may therefore be readily understood how the brush-stroke becomes so personal a thing1 that in itself it serves to reveal the hand of the master4 ,there is no ,chinese book treating of painting which does not discuss and lay stress upon the value of its aesthetic code4 ,,ii4 ,,representation ,,of ,,forms ,it has often been said that in ,chinese painting1 as in ,japanese painting1 perspective is ignored4 ,nothing is further from the truth4 ,this error arises from the fact that we have confused one system of perspective with perspective as a whole4 ,there are as many systems of perspective as there are conventional laws for the representation of space4 ,the practice of drawing and painting offers the student the following problem in descriptive geometry3 to represent the three dimensions of space by means of a plane surface of two dimensions4 ,the ,egyptians and ,assyrians solved this problem by throwing down vertical objects upon one plane1 which demands a great effort of abstraction on the part of the observer4 ,european perspective1 built up in the fifteenth century upon the remains of the geometric knowledge of the ,greeks1 is based on the monocular theory used by the latter4 ,in this system1 it is assumed that the picture is viewed with the eye fixed on a single point4 ,therefore the conditions of foreshortening--or distorting the actual dimensions according to the angle from which they are seen--are governed by placing in harmony the distance of the eye from the scheme of the picture1 the height of the eye in relation to the objects to be depicted1 and the relative position of these objects with reference to the surface employed4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,ii4 ,,portion ,,of ,a ,,scroll ,,by ,,ku ,k',,ai-,,chih ,british ,museum1 ,london4 ,but1 in assuming that the picture is viewed with the eye fixed on a single point1 we put ourselves in conditions which are not those of nature4 ,the ,european painter must therefore compromise with the exigencies of binocular vision1 modify the too abrupt fading of forms and1 in fine1 evade over-exact principles4 ,thus he arrives at a perspective de sentiment1 which is the one used by our masters4 ,chinese perspective was formulated long before that of the ,europeans and its origins are therefore different4 ,it was evolved in an age when the method of superimposing different registers to indicate different planes was still being practiced in bas-reliefs4 ,the succession of planes1 one above the other1 when codified1 led to a system that was totally different from our monocular perspective4 ,it resulted in a perspective as seen from a height4 ,no account is taken of the habitual height of the eye in relation to the picture4 ,the line of the horizon is placed very high1 parallel lines1 instead of joining at the horizon1 remain parallel1 and the different planes range one above the other in such a way that the glance embraces a vast space4 ,under these conditions1 the picture becomes either high and narrow--a hanging picture--to show the successive planes1 or broad in the form of a scroll1 unrolling to reveal an endless panorama4 ,these are the two forms best known under their ,japanese names of kakemono and makimono4#b ,but the ,chinese painter must attenuate the forms where they are parallel1 give a natural appearance to their position on different levels and consider the degree of their reduction demanded by the various planes4 ,even he must compromise with binocular vision and arrive at a perspective de sentiment which1 like our own1 while scientifically false1 is artistically true4 ,to this linear perspective is added moreover an atmospheric perspective4 ,having elected from a very early time to paint in monochrome1 ,chinese painters were led by the nature of this medium to seek to express atmospheric perspective by means of tone values and harmony of shading instead of by color4 ,thus they were familiar with chiaroscuro before the ,european painters4 ,wang ,wei established the principles of atmospheric perspective in the eighth century4 ,he explains how tints are graded1 how the increasing thickness of layers of air deprives distant objects of their true coloring1 substituting a bluish tinge1 and how forms become indistinct in proportion as their distance from the observer increases4 ,his testimony in this respect is similar to that of ,leonardo da ,vinci in his ,treatise on ,painting4 #b ,the ,chinese terms are ,li ,chou for a vertical painting and ,heng ,p'i for a horizontal painting4--,,translator4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iii4 ,,kwanyin4 ,,eighth ,,to ,,tenth ,,centuries ,painting brought from ,tun-huang by the ,pelliot ,expedition4 ,the ,louvre1 ,paris4 ,,iii4 ,,division ,,of ,,subjects ,the ,chinese divide the subjects of painting into four principal classes1 as follows3 ,landscape4 ,man and ,objects4 ,flowers and ,birds4 ,plants and ,insects4 ,nowhere do we see a predominant place assigned to the drawing or painting of the human figure4 ,this alone is sufficient to mark the wide difference between ,chinese and ,european painting4 ,the exact name for ,landscape is translated by the words mountain and water picture4 ,they recall the ancient conception of ,creation on which the ,oriental system of the world is founded4 ,the mountain exemplifies the teeming life of the earth4 ,it is threaded by veins wherein waters continuously flow4 ,cascades1 brooks and torrents are the outward evidence of this inner travail4 ,by its own superabundance of life1 it brings forth clouds and arrays itself in mists1 thus being a manifestation of the two principles which rule the life of the universe4 ,the second class1 ,man and ,objects1 must be understood principally as concerning man1 his works1 his belongings1 and1 in a general sense1 all things created by the hand of man1 in combination with landscape4 ,this was the convention in early times when the first painters whose artistic purpose can be formulated with certainty1 portrayed the history of the legendary beings of ,taoism1--the genii and fairies dwelling amidst an imaginary ,nature4 ,the records tell us1 to be sure1 that the early masters painted portraits1 but it was at a later period that ,man and ,objects composed a class distinct from ,landscape1 a period responsible for those ancestral portraits painted after death1 which are almost always attributable to ordinary artisans4 ,earlier they endeavored to apply to figure painting the methods1 technique and laws established for an ensemble in which the thought of nature predominated4 ,special rules bearing on this subject are sometimes found of a very early date but there is no indication that they were collected into a definite system until the end of the seventeenth century4 ,up to the present time our only knowledge of their content is through a small treatise published at the beginning of the nineteenth century4 ,the third class1 ,flowers and ,birds1 deals with those paintings wherein the ,chinese gave rein to their fancy for painting the bird in conjunction with the plant life associated with its home and habits4 ,the bird is treated with a full understanding of its life1 and flowers are studied with such a comprehension of their essential structure that a botanist can readily detect the characteristics typical of a species1 despite the simplifications which an artist always imposes on the complexity of forms4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iv4 ,,palace ,,of ,,kiu ,,cheng-,,kung ,,by ,,li ,,chao-,,tao ,t'ang ,period4 ,collection of ,v4 ,goloubew4 ,this general class is subdivided4 ,the epidendrum1 the iris1 the orchis and the chrysanthemum became special studies each of which had its own masters1 both from the standpoint of painting itself1 and of the application of the aesthetic rules which govern this art4 ,the bamboo and the plum tree are also allied to this class4 ,under the influence of philosophic and symbolic ideas they furnished a special category of subjects to the imagination of the painter and form a division apart which has its own laws and methods1 regarding which the ,chinese treatises on ,aesthetics inform us fully4 ,finally1 the fourth class1 ,plants and ,insects1 is based upon the same conception as that of ,flowers and ,birds4 ,the insect is represented with the plant which is his habitat when in the stage of caterpillar and larva1 or flying above the flowers and plants upon which he subsists on reaching the stage of butterfly and insect4 ,certain books add to this fourth class a subdivision comprising fishes4 ,lastly we must note that in the ,far ,east1 as in ,europe1 there is a special class to be taken into consideration1 ,religious paintings4 ,in ,china1 this refers almost exclusively to ,buddhist paintings4 ,,iv4 ,,inspiration ,the aesthetic conceptions of the ,far ,east have been deeply influenced by a special philosophy of nature4 ,the ,chinese consider the relation of the two principles1 male and female1 the yang and the yin1 as the source of the universe4 ,detached from the primordial unity1 they give birth to the forms of this world by ever varying degrees of combination4 ,heaven corresponds to the male principle1 earth to the female principle4 ,everything upon the earth1 beings1 plants1 animals or man is formed by the mingling of yang and yin4 ,while the mountain1 enveloped in mists1 recalls the union of these two principles1 the legend of forces thus revealed by no means pauses here4 ,fabulous or real1 the animals and plants habitually seen in ,chinese paintings express a like conception4 ,the dragon is the ancestor of everything that bears feathers or scales4 ,he represents the element of water1 the waters of the earth1 the mists of the air1 the heavenly principle4 ,he is seen breaking through the clouds like some monstrous apparition1 unveiling for an instant the greatness of a mystery barely discerned4 ,the tiger is the symbol of the earthly principle1 a personification of quadrupeds as distinct from birds and reptiles4 ,his ferocious form lurks in the tempest4 ,defying the hurricane which bends the bamboos and uproots trees1 he challenges the furies of nature that are hostile to the expression of the universal soul4 ,the bamboo is the symbol of wisdom1 the pine is the emblem of will-power and life4 ,the plum tree in flower is a harmonious combination of the two principles4 ,it symbolizes virginal purity4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,v4 ,,portrait ,,of ,l,ue ,,tung-,,ping ,,by ,t',,eng ,,ch',,ang-,,yu ,t'ang ,period4 ,collection of ,august ,jaccaci4 ,lent to the ,metropolitan ,museum1 ,new ,york4 ,thus is built up a complete system of allusions similar to the allegories of our own classics but superior in that they never degenerate into frozen symbols1 but on the contrary keep in close touch with nature1 investing her with a vibrant life1 in which human consciousness vanishes making way for the dawning consciousness of infinitude4 ,buddhism goes still further4 ,it does not even believe in the reality of the world4 ,in this belief1 forms are but transitory1 the universe an illusion forever flowing into an unending future4 ,outside of the supreme repose1 in the six worlds of desire1#c the things that are susceptible to pain and death pursue their evolution4 ,souls travel this closed cycle under the most diverse forms1 from hell to the gods1 advancing or retreating1 in accordance with the good deeds or errors committed in previous existences4 ,a stone1 a plant1 an insect1 a demon1 or a god are only illusory forms1 each encompassing an identical soul on its way to deliverance1 as it is caught at different stages of its long calvary and imprisoned through original sin and the instinctive desire for life4 ,whence we see emerging a new feeling of charity which embraces all beings4 ,their moral character is felt to be the same as that of man1 their goal is the same1 and in the vast world of illusion each seeks to fulfill the same destiny4 #c ,these are3 the worlds of animals1 of man1 of gods or devas1 of giants or asuras1 of pretas or wandering spirits1 and of hells4 ,freedom from perpetual transmigration in these six worlds is attained only through the extinction of desire4 ,behind the changes of the universe the ,buddhist perceives the primal substance that pervades all creation4 ,there results from this an intimacy with things which exists in no other creed4 ,from inert matter to the most highly organized being1 all creation is thus endowed with a sense of kinship that is destined to make a tender and stirring appeal in the artist's interpretation of nature4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,part ,,two ,,the ,,evolution ,,of ,,chinese ,,painting ,i4 ,,origins ,the origins of painting in ,china are mingled with the origins of writing4 ,written characters are1 in fact1 derived from pictography or picture writing1 those in use at the present time being only developed and conventionalized forms of primitive drawings4 ,the early books and dictionaries give us definite information regarding this evolution4 ,but while history bears witness to this ancient connection1 we do not come into contact with actual evidence until the third century of our era1 through the bas-reliefs of the ,han dynasty1 and in the fourth century through the paintings of ,ku ,k'ai-chih4 ,here we find by no means the origin of an evolution but1 on the contrary1 the last traces of an expiring tradition4 ,,ii4 ,,before ,,the ,,intervention ,,of ,,buddhism ,the bas-reliefs of the ,han dynasty are almost all comprised in the sculptured stone slabs embellishing mortuary chambers and of these the artistic merit is most unequal4#d ,their technique is primitive4 ,it consists in making the contours of figures by cutting away the stone in grooves with softened angles1 leaving the figure in silhouette4 ,engraved lines complete the drawing4 ,the subjects are sometimes mythical and sometimes legendary4 ,there are representations of divinities1 fabulous animals1 scenes of war and of the chase and processions of people bearing tribute4 ,at times the great compositions display imposing spectacles1 a luxurious and refined array4 ,now and then attempts at pictorial perspective are joined to some unrelated scene4 ,all this is in direct conflict with the technique of bas-reliefs and leads to the surmise that the models were drawn by painters and copied with more or less skill by makers of funeral monuments4 #d ,these bas-reliefs have been studied by ,m4 ,chavannes in ,la sculpture sur pierre en ,chine au temps des deux dynasties ,han1 ,paris1 #ahic2 also in ,mission archeologique en ,chine1 ,paris1 #aiaj4 ,rubbings taken from the sculptured slabs are reproduced here in full4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vi4 ,,painting ,,by ,,an ,,unknown ,,artist ,t'ang ,period4 ,collection of ,r4 ,petrucci4 ,this impression is confirmed if certain carved slabs are compared with a painting by ,ku ,k'ai-chih1 of which we can judge by means of a copy made in the ,sung period4#e ,one of the scenes of this long scroll leaves no possible misapprehension as to the pictorial origin of the ,han bas-reliefs4 ,its subject1 a river god on a chariot drawn by dragons1 is similar in composition to the models used by the artisans of the third century4 ,we have1 however1 better testimony than a copy made at a later period4 ,the ,british ,museum1 in ,london1 is the owner of a painting attributed to ,ku ,k'ai-chih4 ,the reasons impelling us to believe in its authenticity are weighty1 almost indisputable4#f;,b ,we therefore accept it here and will endeavor to define the work of one of the greatest painters of ,china in the fourth and the beginning of the fifth century4 #e ,this painting formed part of the collection of the ex-viceroy ,tuan ,fang1 killed in #aiaa1 during the revolution4 ,it was published in #aiaa by the ,japanese archeologist1 ,mr4 ,taki4 #f ,these reasons are set forth in a work which ,mr4 ,laurence ,binyon is preparing1 to accompany a reproduction engraved by ,japanese artists for the ,british ,museum4 ,b ,the preceding footnote refers to a work published in #aiac by the ,trustees of the ,british ,museum1 containing a reproduction of the painting in its entirety and giving a full description4--,,translator4 ,the painted scenes are inspired by a work of the third century containing admonitions addressed to the ladies of the imperial palace4 ,the striking characteristics of these compositions are the lightness and delicacy of style1 the poetry of the attitudes and the supreme elegance of the forms4 ,heavy black tresses frame the ivory faces with refined and subtle charm4 ,the voluptuous caprice of garments in long floating folds1 the extreme perfection of the figures and the grace of gestures make this painting a thing of unique beauty4 ,only through the cultivation of centuries could such spiritual insight be attained4 ,if the copy from the collection of ,tuan ,fang recalls the bas-reliefs of the ,han period1 the painting in the ,british ,museum is related to the bas-reliefs of ,long-men1 which date from the seventh century and of which ,m4 ,chavannes has published photographs4 ,therefore we may say that the style of ,ku ,k'ai-chih exemplifies the distinctive features of ,chinese painting at a period extending from the third to the seventh centuries4#g #g ,a copy of an engraving on stone of the year #ajie1 representing ,confucius sitting amidst his disciples and another representing ,confucius walking1 followed by one of his disciples1 dated #aaah1 have been published by ,m4 de ,chavannes 7,mission archeologique en ,chine1 ,nos4 #hfi and #hga74 ,the latter is considered as having been undoubtedly executed after a painting by ,ku ,k'ai-chih4 ,it should also be noted that toward the end of the fifth or the beginning of the sixth century1 the painter and critic ,hsieh ,ho formulated the ,six ,canons#h upon which the far-eastern code of ,aesthetics is founded4 ,these ,canons introduce philosophical conceptions and technical knowledge which also presuppose long cultivation1 for it is only after rules have been brought to reality in a work of art that they are formulated into a code4 ,therefore when ,buddhism appeared in ,china it found there a native art whose value was proved beyond question by a long succession of masterpieces4 ,after having exhausted every manifestation of strength and vigor1 this art had arrived at expressions of extreme refinement and profound and appealing charm1 closely verging on the disquieting dreams of decadence4 #h ,interpretations of the ,six ,canons by five authorities are accessible in a very convenient form for comparison in ,mr4 ,laurence ,binyon's ,flight of the ,dragon1 p4 #ab4--,,translator4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vii4 ,,geese ,sung ,period4 ,british ,museum1 ,london4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,intervention ,,of ,,buddhism ,chinese books state that between the fourth and the eighth centuries the art of painting man and things underwent a vital change4 ,by this they alluded to the intervention of ,buddhist art1 which made its appearance in ,china toward the fifth century in the form of the ,graeco-,indian art of ,gandhara1 already modified by its transit across ,eastern ,turkestan4 ,this by no means indicates that purely ,indian origins might not be found for it4 ,at ,sanchi1 as well as in ,central ,india and at ,ajanta such characteristics are preserved4 ,but the ,greek dynasties which had settled in northwestern ,india in the train of ,alexander1 had carried with them the canons of ,hellenistic art4 ,the technique and methods of this art were placed at the service of the new religion4 ,they gave to ,buddhist art--which was just beginning to appear in the ,gandharian provinces--its outward form1 its type of figures1 its range of personages and the greater part of its ornamentation4#i #i ,see ,foucher1 ,l',art greco-bouddique du ,gandhara4 ,paris1 ,leroux4 ,buddhism found the expiring ,hellenistic formula which had been swept beyond its borders1 ready at hand at the very moment the new religion was gathering itself together for that prodigious journey which1 traversing the entire ,far ,east1 was to lead it to the shores of the ,pacific4 ,once outside of ,india1 it came into contact with ,sassanian ,persia and ,bactria4 ,with ,hellenistic influences were mingled confused elements springing from the scattered civilizations which had reigned over the ,near ,east4 ,thence it spread to the byways of ,eastern ,turkestan4 ,we know today1 thanks to excavations of the ,german expeditions of ,gruenwedel and von ,lecoq1 the two ,english expeditions of ,sir ,aurel ,stein and the ,french expedition of ,m4 ,pelliot1 that in that long chain of oases filled with busy cities1 ,buddhist art was gradually formed into the likeness under which it was to appear as a finished product in the ,far ,east4 ,here it developed magnificently4 ,the enormous frescoes of ,murtuq display imposing arrangements of those figures of ,buddhas and ,bodhisatvas which were to remain unchanged in the plastic formulas of ,china and ,japan4 ,meanwhile conflicting influences continued to be felt4 ,sometimes the ,indian types prevailed1 as at ,khotan1 at others there were ,semitic types and elements originating in ,asia ,minor1 such as were found at ,miran1 and at length1 as at ,tun-huang1 types that were almost entirely ,chinese appeared4 ,the paintings brought from ,tun-huang by the ,stein and ,pelliot expeditions enable us to realize the nature of the characteristics which contact with ,china imposed upon ,buddhist art4 ,it had no choice but to combine with the tendencies revealed in the painting of ,ku ,k'ai-chih4 ,the painter trained in the school of ,hellenistic technique drew with the brush4 ,he delighted in the rhythmic movement of the line and the display of a transcendent harmony and elegance of proportion such as are seen in the frescoes of ,eastern ,turkestan4 ,perhaps through contact with ,china--herself searching for new expressions--but probably through a combination of the two influences1 ,buddhist painting1 at the opening of the ,t'ang dynasty1 gives us heavier types in which compact and powerful figures take on a new character4 ,from then on we perceive the nature of the great change to which the early books refer4 ,chinese painting had already known the genii and fairies of ,taoism1 the ,rishi or wizards living in mountain solitudes1 the ,immortals dwelling in distant isles beyond the sea4 ,it now knew gods wrapped in the ecstatic contemplation of ,nirvana1 with smiling mouth and half-closed eyes1 revealing mystic symbols in a broad and apostolic gesture4 ,it had more life-like figures1 attendants1 benign and malignant1 terrifying demons4 ,before these impassive gods1 in a fervor of devotion it bent the figures of donors1 men and women1 sometimes veritable portraits4 ,with even greater breadth it portrayed the disciples of ,sakyamuni1 those anchorites and hermits who under the name of ,lohan#aj have entered into ,chinese ,buddhist legend4 ,indian priests with harsh1 strongly marked features and wrinkled faces1 preachers of a foreign race1 disfigured by scourging or else the calm full visage of the ecstatic in contemplation1--such are the types that appeared4 ,chinese painters took up the new subjects and treated them with a freedom1 an ease1 and a vitality which at once added an admirable chapter to the history of art4 #aj ,indian ,arhat2 ,japanese ,rakan4--,,translator4 ,,iv4 ,,the ,t',,ang ,,period--,,seventh ,,to ,,tenth ,,centuries ,the ,t'ang dynasty was the really vital period of ,chinese ,buddhism4 ,among the painters who gave it its highest expression ,wu ,tao-tz7u holds first place4 ,his memory dwells in history as that of one of the greatest masters in ,china and legend has still further enhanced the might of his genius4 ,it is highly probable that his work is entirely destroyed1 but by the aid of copies1 incised stones and wood engravings of the twelfth century1 an idea of the painter's conception can be formed4 ,he seems to have been the creator of a ,chinese type of ,kwanyin1 the ,buddhist incarnation of mercy and charity4 ,drapery covers the high drawn hair4 ,she is attired in the harmonious folds of a plain and ample garment and expresses supreme authority1 the sublimity of divine love4 ,if to these fragments of an immense plastic production is added the analysis furnished by the written records1 we can define with some degree of certitude the place occupied by ,wu ,tao-tz7u in the history of ,chinese painting4 ,the books state that the lines from his brush fairly vibrated2 all united in marvelling at the spirituality emanating from forms thus defined4 ,he adhered almost exclusively to the use of powerful ink-lines and denied himself the use of any color1 whether scattered or prominent1 which would have robbed his painting of the austerity which was the source of its surpassing feeling4 ,but in order to appreciate the full value of the new ideas introduced by ,wu into ,chinese painting1 it is necessary to understand the exact nature of the technique that was in practice up to the seventh and eighth centuries1 at the opening of the ,t'ang dynasty4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,viii4 ,,white ,,eagle4 ,,sung ,,period ,collection of ,r4 ,petrucci4 ,at that time there prevailed the analytic1 painstaking1 detailed and very considered drawing that is common to all periods preceding great constructive work4 ,this technique admitted the use of two fundamental methods3 one called double contour1 the other contour or single contour4 ,the method of double contour was applied chiefly to the drawing of plant life in landscape4 ,it consisted in outlining leaves or branches by means of two lines of ink placed in apposition4 ,the space thus enclosed was filled with color4 ,any peculiarities of formation1 knots in wood and veins in leaves were added subsequently4 ,the name of single contour was applied to drawings wherein a single ink line outlined the object1 the space enclosed being then filled with color4 ,if the application of these analytic methods was sometimes carried to the extreme of delicacy it never became labored4 ,throughout its entire evolution the art of the ,t'ang period is characterized by a sense of the magnificent4 ,once the study of forms was exhausted1 this type of work was bound to be superceded4 ,wu ,tao-tz7u profited by the work of his predecessors4 ,combining in a single stroke of the brush1 vigor and an eclectic character of line1 with values and fluidity of tone1 he brought to a supreme unity the two great principles by which things are made manifest in all the magic of their essential structure4 ,but it must be understood that this patient investigation of forms was not limited to preparing the way for a single master4 ,the logical outcome was an independent movement to which the origin of modern ,chinese painting can be traced4 ,painting has two branches1 the books say1 that of the ,north and that of the ,south2 the separation occurred in the ,t'ang period4 ,these terms ,northern ,school and ,southern ,school must not be taken literally4 ,they serve merely to characterize styles which1 in the eighth century1 liberated themselves from methods demanding such close study and exact definition of forms4 ,the style of the ,northern ,school is strong1 vehement and bold2 the style of the ,southern ,school is melancholy and dreamy4 ,the ideal of ,northern ,china1 impregnated with barbarian elements1 is brought into contrast with that of ,southern ,china1 heir to an already ancient civilization1 and under the spell of ,taoist legends and the bewildered dreams of its philosophers4#aa #aa ,these divisions of ,northern and ,southern ,schools do not correspond1 as might be imagined1 to geographical limitations4 ,painters of the ,south worked in the style of the ,north and painters of the ,north likewise used the ,southern style4 ,moreover the same master was able to employ one or the other according to the inspiration of the moment4 ,these works were produced for a receptive people capable of understanding both styles4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,ix4 ,,horseman ,,followed ,,by ,,two ,,attendants ,sung ,period4 ,collection of ,a4 ,stoclet4 ,li ,ssu-hsuen and his son ,li ,chao-tao 7eighth century7 are considered to be the founders of the ,northern ,school4 ,the paintings attributed to them show the character which the ,northern style preserved up to the ,ming period and which was to be emphasized to the point of brutality at the hands of certain masters in the ,yuean period4 ,at the outset1 in its brilliancy and precision1 the ,northern style held to a certain refinement of line2 later the line is drawn with a firm and powerful brush and strong colors are applied almost pure4 ,in direct contrast the ,southern style is made up of half-tints1 with a feeling of reserve and intentional restraint1 which gives it1 with equal power1 at times a more appealing charm4 ,the lines are pliant1 immersed in shading1 color is suggested in a subtle fashion and1 in contrast to the almost brutal emphasis of the ,north1 it finds expression in chiaroscuro and concealed harmonies4 ,the foundation of the ,southern ,school is attributed to a great landscape painter of the eighth century1 ,wang ,wei4 ,nothing could better determine his tendencies than monochrome#ab painting in ,chinese ink4 ,according to the records1 this was first practiced by him4 ,it constitutes what in ,china1 as well as in ,japan1 is called the literary man's painting and is1 in reality1 quite closely related to calligraphy4 ,the variety of shadings and relative colors of objects depend entirely upon the tones of ink washes4 ,wang ,wei seems to have treated monochrome mainly from the standpoint of chiaroscuro1 in his search for an atmospheric perspective which should be both fluid and ethereal4 ,it appears that the accentuation of lines according to rule that is seen later on1 where forms are synthetized--sometimes to an excessive degree--was only a derivation of the work of ,wang ,wei and caused by the intrusion of calligraphic virtuosity into the domain of painting4 #ab ,monochrome is a starved and lifeless term to express the marvellous range and subtlety of tones of which the preparation of black soot known as ,chinese ink is capable4 ,laurence ,binyon in ,the ,flight of the ,dragon4--,,translator4 ,when we arrive at ,wang ,wei1 landscape is treated as a special subject and with its own resources4 ,it was he who discovered the principles which govern the fading of colors and forms in the distance1 and who formulated the laws of atmospheric perspective4 ,paintings in his style are all executed in a predominating color which the ,chinese call luo-ts'ing1 a mineral color of varying shades ranging from a malachite green to a lapis-lazuli blue4 ,it will be seen why luo-ts'ing gave its name to the style of ,wang ,wei4 ,by means of bluish tints he painted the distant expanse of landscape4 ,mountains forming screens in the backgrounds and masses of trees lost in the distance1 are all indicated by the azure tints which intervening layers of air give to remote objects4 ,but as the foreground is approached1 rightful colors begin to prevail and the azure tints are subtly graded1 passing into a fresh and brilliant green amongst wooded declivities1 and into the natural hue in the foliage of trees4 ,often heavy mists1 spreading at the foot of high mountains1 veil the outlines and still further emphasize the feeling of limitless space4#ac #ac ,i have not seen nor do ,i know of any paintings which can be said with certainty to be from the hand of ,wang ,wei4 ,but from the records as well as from works directly inspired by him1 an idea of his style and technique can be formed4 ,ancient paintings in luo-ts'ing are found in ,japan as well as in ,china4 ,the ,british ,museum of ,london has a scroll painted by ,chao ,meng-fu1 in the manner of ,wang ,wei1 dated #acji4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,x4 ,,landscape ,,in ,,the ,,style ,,of ,,hsia ,,kuei ,sung ,period4 ,collection of ,martin ,white4 ,but when a master has carried his study of the fading of colors and of their relative values thus far1 he must have considered not only the element of color itself1 but also the collective tones which color is capable of expressing4 ,from this to monochrome painting in ,chinese ink is but a step2 historical testimony shows that ,wang ,wei took this step4 ,by the simple opposition of black and white1 and through tone values and gradations of shades1 he endeavored to create the same feeling of atmosphere and space which he had been able to express with luo-ts'ing4 ,no original picture remains to inform us to what extent he succeeded1 but by means of monochrome paintings of the ,sung period which owe their inspiration to him1 the importance of the reform accomplished1 and the tendencies manifested in those lost works of art may be divined4 ,another master whose work can be defined with sufficient accuracy to cite as an illustration of a different aspect of the history of painting during the ,t'ang period1 is ,han ,kan1 who lived in the middle of the eighth century and who is celebrated as a painter of horses4 ,the sculptured stones of the ,han dynasty1 especially the admirable bas-reliefs of the tomb of ,chao-ling1 representing the favorite coursers of the emperor ,t'ai-tsung1 show the manner in which artists1 from the third to the seventh centuries1 were capable of studying and delineating the postures of the horse4 ,it is therefore not surprising to find a great animal painter in the eighth century4 ,beyond question he was not the first4 ,the written records have preserved the names of several of his predecessors and while the honor of having been the great founder of a school was attributed to him1 it is possible that this refers only to an artistic movement bearing his name1 of which he was not the sole representative4 ,but the work of ,han ,kan and the unknown artists grouped around him1 proclaims a powerful tradition1 a well grounded school of animal painters which had attained the highest eminence4 ,it was destined to exert a strong influence upon painters of horses in the ,yuean epoch and even when1 later on1 this great tradition is seen disappearing1 cloying and insipid1 amidst the mannerisms of the ,ming period1 it will still retain sufficient power to carry thus far a reflection of the vigor and vitality attained in the great periods4 ,the painting of ,flowers and ,birds1 and ,plants and ,insects appears to have been already established at this time4 ,the flowers and plants are drawn according to the methods of double contour and single contour1 worked over and brought out with that intensity of analysis to which allusion has been made4 ,the bird is caught in its most subtle movement1 the insect studied in its essential structure4 ,thus we see that ,chinese painting had extended its investigations in every direction and had solved the problems found along its path4 ,it had absorbed foreign influences1 altered its conception of the divine and found a new type of figure4 ,it had endowed landscape painting with all the resources of atmospheric perspective and had established the two essential styles of the ,north and the ,south4 ,the painter was master of the visible2 his thought dominated form and was able to express itself with freedom4 ,v4 ,,the ,,sung ,,period--,,tenth ,,to ,,thirteenth ,,centuries ,the ,t'ang period had been the golden age of ,chinese poetry4 ,it had witnessed an extraordinary outburst of religious fervor1 and the overwhelming domination of ,buddhism4 ,it had1 moreover1 triumphantly re-established the unity of the empire and to the pride of intellectual activity it could add the pride of might and dominion4 ,but the same cannot be said for the ,sung period4 ,from a political standpoint its history is one of cumulative disaster4 ,ancient ,china retreated by degrees before the thrusts of the barbarians1 until the great thunderbolt of ,genghis ,khan's conquest1 reverberating with formidable echoes throughout all ,asia1 announced the approaching downfall of culture in the red dawn of a new era4 ,the ,sung culture1 totally different from that of the ,t'ang period1 was1 however1 swept forward to its culmination4 ,it would seem as if1 under the menace of the barbarians1 the mind had set for its goal the development of ideas embryonic in earlier work1 formulating them in haste and arresting them finally in perfect yet sad images1 in which the heights attained were haunted by the shadow of impending ruin4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xi4 ,,landscape ,,by ,,ma ,,lin ,sung ,period4 ,collection of ,r4 ,petrucci4 ,the dynasty opened with a classical reaction against new ideas and witnessed a return to ,confucian philosophy1 with its conception of the ,state4 ,but centuries of history had not rolled by without effect4 ,in the tenth and eleventh centuries the ancient writings were no longer understood with their original meaning4 ,a whole series of philosophers1 of whom the last is ,chu ,hsi 7thirteenth century71 had formulated a composite doctrine resulting in what might be called an official philosophy1 which has dominated to the present day4 ,some bold spirits1 however1 opposed this reactionary codification1 struggling in vain to give a positive and firm structure to the doomed empire4 ,their influence appears to have been considerable4 ,just as the old heterodox philosophy was being stifled by the dry and colorless metaphysics of the conservatives1 it was awakened to new life by the painters1 who gave it a stirring interpretation in their work4 ,the period of technical research was past4 ,at first1 with care and patience1 forms had been determined by drawing4 ,color had remained a thing apart1 regarded as a work of illumination and quite distinct from drawing4 ,then study was extended still further4 ,color came to be viewed in the light of shades and tones and became one of the means for the expression of form2 it became the very drawing itself1--that which reveals the basic structure4 ,wang ,wei represents the moment when art1 emancipating itself from problems already solved1 had conquered every medium of expression4 ,such is the tradition which he bequeathed to the ,sung artists1 who were destined to add thereto such supreme masterpieces4 ,the ,sung painters were haunted by the old philosophical beliefs as to the formation of the universe4 ,beyond the actual surroundings they dimly perceived a magic world made up of perfect forms4 ,appearances were but the visible covering of the two great principles whose combination engendered life4 ,they believed that1 in painting1 they did more than to reproduce the external form of things4 ,they labored with the conviction that they were wresting the soul from objects1 in order to transfer it to the painted silk4 ,thus they created something new1 an imaginary world more beautiful than the real world1 wherein the intimate relation of beings and things was disclosed1--a world pervaded by pure spirit and one which was revealed only to those whose thought was sufficiently enlightened1 and whose sympathies were sufficiently broad1 to understand and to be stirred4 ,the painters of the line of ,wang ,wei during the ,sung period1 devoted themselves chiefly to the development of painting in monochrome4 ,they pursued the study of relations of tones and values of shading up to the limit of extreme delicacy1 and if they mingled color at all with their subtle evocations1 it was with a feeling of unequalled restraint4 ,they dwelt for the most part in intimacy with ,nature4 ,fleeing from the cares of court and city1 they retired into mountain solitudes1 meditating for long periods before taking up the brush to paint4 ,thus they portrayed those mountains enveloped in mists1 wherein was revealed the harmony of the two principles which control the universe4 ,from the depths of valleys misty vapors arose and cedars and gigantic pines reared their majestic forms1 while1 on the threshold of a thatched cabin upon some rocky plateau1 a hermit deep in meditation contemplated the vast expanse of a landscape of august grandeur4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xii4 ,,mongol ,,horseman ,,returning ,,from ,,the ,,hunt ,by ,chao ,meng-fu4 ,yuean ,period4 ,doucet ,collection4 ,sometimes1 turning to plant forms1 they painted the bamboo in black and white4 ,a single masterly stroke sufficed to draw the cylindrical stalk from one joint to another1 or the pointed leaves which are so quivering with life that we seem to hear the plaintive voice of the wind combed1 as the ,chinese writings express it1 by the reeds4 ,or again1 when a flower was the subject1 they suggested it with a simplicity that presupposes a scientifically exact study of forms4 ,it was by no means the splendid image which they sought to grasp but the soul itself2 at one time the flower barely open in all its enchanting freshness1 at another the softened petals drooping in languid fashion1 revealing a splendor still present but soon to fade2 at times the dew moistening the leaves1 the snow shrouding them with its purity1 or the slow monotonous rain beneath which they drip1 motionless4 ,these paintings are always instinct with deep poetic feeling4 ,at the hands of the ,sung painters the school of landscape and monochrome technique attained a level which will never be exceeded4 ,the masters of this period are numerous and are frequently represented by works of almost certain authenticity4 ,it seems useless to assemble here names which will convey no meaning to the ,european reader4 ,it will suffice to illustrate by a few great figures the three centuries of history during which ,chinese landscape painting reached its culminating point4 ,tung ,yuean and ,chue ,jan are considered by the critics as having founded a special school in the great tradition of ,wang ,wei4 ,their paintings were quiet in coloring and were executed with broad strokes in an impressionist style4 ,these works must be viewed from a distance to see their apparent violence merge into extreme elegance4 ,they furnish a complete demonstration of the laws of atmospheric perspective1 with its feeling of distance and infinite space1 in which forms are immersed4 ,here we find evidence that these painters were the first to attempt the arrangement of lines according to rule1 which led ultimately to calligraphic painting4 ,among the heads of schools cited in the ,chinese writings ,ma ,yuean and ,hsia ,kuei of the ,sung dynasty must be placed in a class by themselves4 ,both of these masters lived at the end of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth centuries4 ,their style can be described with accuracy since original examples are extant--both by themselves and by their disciples--in which their characteristics are fully revealed4 ,ma ,yuean is classed with the ,southern ,school by reason of his restraint in the use of color1 his greatness of conception and his technical treatment of forms4 ,but he brings to his work a virility in which the influence of the ,northern ,school is plainly discerned4 ,he has a broad stroke and a masterful manner which place his works in the front rank of all ,chinese painting4 ,his mountainous backgrounds rear themselves with fierce energy4 ,his old pines1 with branches wreathed in vines1 would suffice alone to define his style1 so freely do they express the force of plant life and the proud defiance of the aged tree4 ,he loved the mountain solitudes to which he gave a new imagery1 so authoritative and so perfect that it served to create a school4 ,the influence of ,ma ,yuean was felt by his brother and by his son1 ,ma ,lin4 ,although the death of the latter occurred under the ,mongolian dynasty1 he was an exponent of ,sung art4 ,the fierce energy of the old master gives way to a somewhat more melancholy and gentle quality in his son4 ,there is the same restraint in the handling of the brush1 the same reserve in the use of color1 but the landscape stretches out into deep and dreamy vistas that are indescribably poetic4 ,the melancholy of autumn1 the sadness of flights of birds that circle in the evening light1 the feeling of seclusion and silence1 such are the things in which this poetic spirit finds its joy1 true heir of the master mind whose genius found expression in the wild aspects of nature4 ,the school of ,ma dominated the entire subsequent period and his influence extended as far as ,korea1 where traces of it were still to be found as late as the fifteenth century4 ,as the history of ,korean painting becomes better known1 we shall be able to say with more accuracy what it owes to other ,chinese masters2 but in so far as those mentioned are concerned1 their influence appears to have been sufficiently strong to impress a certain type on fragmentary works from ,korea which have become known to us recently4 ,we are far from being as well informed regarding ,hsia ,kuei1 but we have that which is worth more than written records1 a few paintings preserved in ,japanese collections1 which it seems legitimate to attribute to him without reservation4 ,it is readily seen why his name is always linked with that of ,ma ,yuean4 ,his work shows the same energy and power and discloses an ideal which is similar to that of his confrere4 ,he seems to have penetrated even further than ,ma ,yuean along the path of daring simplifications1 and to have approached at times the calligraphic style4 ,he painted both landscape and figures and was skilled in obtaining strange effects1 as if of color1 through his use of monochrome4 ,another painter whose name dominates the history of this time and whose work serves to characterize a special aspect is ,li ,lung-mien4 ,it is naturally difficult to prove that all the works attributed to him are authentic4 ,however1 collections in ,japanese temples or privately owned1 possess paintings which passed as his at a very early date and in which at least we can recognize his style4 ,in reviewing the centuries of history1 it is interesting to note that the work of ,li ,lung-mien is not without similarity1 in certain of its elements1 to the paintings of ,ku ,k'ai-chih4 ,his line is delicate and flexible and he draws his outlines with the same subtlety1 the same grace and the same instinct for harmonious curves and an extraordinary rhythm4 ,the tradition which arose in a period antedating the ,t'ang epoch was therefore still unbroken in the ,sung period1 and ,i am sure that proofs of this will increase in number as our information becomes more accurate4 ,new evidence furnished by the paintings found at ,tun-huang and certain frescoes at ,murtuq has recently shown that the type of ,buddhist hermit--the ,lohan meditating in solitude--whose inception had1 until these discoveries1 been attributed to ,li ,lung-mien1 in reality dated much further back and originated in the ,buddhist art of ,eastern ,turkestan1 perhaps even in ,india4 ,from those regions are derived the magnificent subjects of which ,li ,lung-mien made use to express meditation4 ,sometimes there are emaciated faces1 withered bodies with protruding tendons that outline deep hollows1 and again rotund and peaceful figures meditating in tranquil seclusion4 ,from the written records as well as in his works1 there is every evidence that he was one of those who revived ,buddhist painting4 ,no matter what models he chose to follow1 he always gave them a stress and a peculiar distinction1 while from the standpoint of pure art he had the ability to portray them with finished elegance and majestic dignity4 ,li ,lung-mien was not content to paint ,buddhist figures only4 ,he painted landscape also1 and in his youth he had painted horses4 ,a great critic of the ,sung period said of him that his soul entered into communion with all things1 his spirit penetrated the mysteries and the secrets of nature4 ,this critic added that one day he saw ,li ,lung-mien painting a ,buddhist divinity4 ,the words of the god fairly leapt from the lines2 it seemed as if the brush of the master summoned them one by one into being4 ,like all the masters of his time1 ,li ,lung-mien sought to free the spirit from its outward semblance4 ,beyond the material1 he perceived the immaterial force which animates the world4 ,as a landscape painter his conception of ,nature was broad and majestic4 ,his graceful and harmonious line recalls the happiest moments in the history of plastic art1 and he challenges comparison with a facile genius like ,raphael4 ,but he includes the whole realm of nature in his subjects1 and in his work we find traces1 expressed with greater breadth1 but with quite as keen an insight1 of an ancient and noble art1 such as was found almost extinct in the work of ,ku ,k'ai-chih4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xiii4 ,,pigeons ,,by ,,ch',,ien ,h,s,ue,a,n ,yuean ,period4 ,collection of ,r4 ,petrucci4 ,we cannot leave the ,sung painters without devoting some attention to ,mi ,fei and his son4 ,the two ,mi's1 indeed1 accomplished a far-reaching reform in ,chinese technique2 they enriched painting with a new imagery and founded a school which1 like that of ,ma1 exerted an influence on later periods and was strongly felt in ,korea4 ,in addition to being a great painter1 ,mi ,fei was a great calligraphist4 ,this is apparent however little one may have seen of work in his style4 ,he possesses in the highest degree what the ,chinese describe as the handling of flowing ink4 ,he used the technique of monochrome almost exclusively1 and so closely related tone values to the line1 or rather to the brush-stroke1 that it is difficult to decide whether he paints rather than draws1 or draws rather than paints4 ,properly speaking1 he does not employ the line at all but works by masses1 by broad1 heavily inked touches1 without pausing to emphasize the deep warm blacks provided by ,chinese ink4 ,his manner recalls certain drawings by ,rembrandt1 also produced by strong inking1 which evoke a strange and magical effect of light4 ,such was the spirit in which ,mi ,fei treated landscape4 ,this technique marks his style and gives it an individuality that is indisputable4 ,the vehemence with which he attacks forms1 the rapidity of his brush-stroke1 the way in which things spring from such energy1 call to mind pictures by ,european masters1 painted in full color1 and it may be said of the paintings of ,mi ,fei that they are fairly colored by their tremendous vitality1 if the quality of the materials he employed permits the use of such a term4 ,therefore ,mi ,fei and his son are responsible for a new technique1 a strongly individual work1 and the creation of a style which marks the highest achievement in monochrome4 ,the trend which impelled them was1 however1 general4 ,carried to its extreme it led to the style of painting called calligraphic1 of which there has been occasion to speak several times4 ,calligraphic painting1 or the literary style1 has its origin in the studies of ,wang ,wei when1 renouncing the aid of colour1 he strove by harmony of shading and by tone values1 to reproduce the vast reaches of space and all the shifting subtlety of atmospheric perspective4 ,the exclusive use of ,chinese ink necessitated special studies since thus calligraphy was directly approached4 ,the different styles of writing are almost drawing in themselves4 ,each style of writing has its own rules for dissecting the written character and making the stroke4 ,now1 as is known1 the ,chinese painters attached supreme importance to the line and to the brush-stroke4 ,this was due in part to their equipment and in part to the fact that the amateurs of art were prepared by their classical studies to appreciate the strength or the delicacy of a line judged for itself1 quite independently of the forms represented4 ,we must also bear in mind that all of the ,chinese painters were scholars1 belonging to the class of the literati4#ad ,writers1 poets1 statesmen1 soldiers1 ,buddhist or ,taoist priests1 and philosophers have all furnished the greatest names in art4 ,under such conditions the technical relationship between the line of the painter and that of the calligraphist was closer1 since painter and calligraphist were frequently united in one and the same person4 ,thence came the early tendency to use monochrome and to represent forms in the abstract1 rendering them more and more as mere themes1 thus reducing the subject to a few simple calligraphic strokes4 #ad ,the literati1 or lettered class1 were the aristocracy in what was the most democratic of absolute monarchies4 ,no matter how humble his origin1 anyone of the male sex was eligible to compete in the examinations which were based upon literary knowledge and memory of the classics4 ,proficiency in handwriting was a natural result4 ,the successful candidate might aspire to any post in the empire1 as official positions were bestowed through literary merit4 ,during three days and two nights at the time of examination the candidate was not allowed to leave his tiny box-like cell1 lacking even space to lie down4 ,cases of death during the examinations were not infrequent4 ,the examination halls in ,peking are now destroyed and those in ,nanking with #bj1jjj cells are crumbling away4--,,translator4 ,it is difficult for a ,european to follow the thought of the ,chinese painters in these daring simplifications4 ,sometimes they are carried to such an extreme as to leave us with a feeling of perplexity4 ,often however they give rise to mighty conceptions and paintings whose essential character impresses us as a unique product of genius4 ,calligraphic painting reached its highest level during the ,sung and ,yuean periods4 ,it was so closely allied to painting that the ,emperor ,hui ,tsung1 who ascended the throne in #aajj1 founded the ,imperial ,academy of ,calligraphy and ,painting in the first year of his reign4 ,hui ,tsung was himself a painter4 ,the books credit him with especial mastery in the representation of birds of prey1 eagles1 falcons and hawks1 which seems to be sufficient reason for deliberately attributing to him every painting of a bird of prey1 even when there is evidence that it was painted two or three centuries later than his time4 ,perhaps before long we shall find authentic paintings by ,hui ,tsung4 ,a painting belonging to the ,musee ,guimet1 which comes from the collection of ,tuan ,fang1 is the one which by its annotations bears the greatest guaranty of authenticity1 but it is a representation of a figure painting of the ,t'ang dynasty and gives us no information as to the manner in which ,hui ,tsung painted eagles4 ,however1 certain paintings from his collections have come down to us4 ,whether or not by the imperial hand they proclaim a virile art1 an instinct for the grandiose and a majestic character which are the qualities of which the eagle is a symbol4 ,the foundation of the ,academy of ,calligraphy and ,painting had results quite other than those hoped for by its founder4 ,it became imbued with the evils of formalism4 ,it was established in the imperial capital in court surroundings1 in other words1 in an atmosphere from which true artists depart with all possible speed4 ,it suffered inevitably through the influences of a taste1 refined it is true1 but which already inclined toward mannerisms and preciosity4 ,conventions were established1 subjects became stereotyped1 the taste for brilliant colors developed and1 even before the end of the ,sung period1 there was a marked division between academic and national art4 ,pedantry and affectation began to take the place of boldness and strength4 ,doubtless this tendency would have developed still further but for a series of disasters and the menace of a new dynasty looming on the horizon of ,central ,asia1 which was already resounding with the clash of ,mongol arms4 ,,vi4 ,,the ,y,ue,a,n ,,period--,,thirteenth ,,and ,,fourteenth ,,centuries ,from the standpoint of civilization the ,mongolian dynasty of ,yuean brought nothing to ,china4 ,on the contrary1 the foreign elements were absorbed by the ancient culture for1 in the final summing-up1 the mind will always be stronger than weapons4 ,from the standpoint of painting1 however1 this period has marked individuality4 ,the ,sung period had been distinctly dominated by the ideals of ,southern ,china4 ,philosophical inspiration had proven too strong to permit the style of the ,northern ,school to assert absolute sway4 ,in this we must make an exception of ,buddhist painting1 which1--save in the work of a few chance painters of religious subjects--continues the traditions of the ,t'ang period1 preserving the original character of its coloring4 ,it is true that there were masterpieces to the credit of the ,northern ,school but it had by no means kept to the style of vivid illumination which marked its inception4#ae ,it had yielded to the influence of the ,southern style1 was simplified by this contact and took on the austerity and proportion of the ,south4 ,it would seem as if the painters hastened to add their testimony before the philosophy of the ancient sages should disappear4 ,they strove to give the world perfect images in which the great principles of the universe could be felt vibrating4 ,the only suitable medium for such expression was the technique of the ,southern ,school which they followed with more or less fidelity4 #ae ,it should be borne in mind that the author uses the term illumination in the sense of color applied within a distinct and limiting outline4 ,this is illustrated in the definitions of single and double contour4--,,translator4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xiv4 ,,bamboos ,,in ,,monochrome ,,by ,,wu ,,chen ,yuean ,period4 ,musee ,guimet4 ,southern ,china was at that time the scene of awakened faculties4 ,shaken to its foundations by the mystic movement--both ,taoist and ,buddhist--of the ,t'ang period1 the ,confucian doctrine had lost ground but had not yet congealed into the rigid official code of a ,chu ,hsi4 ,while heterodox beliefs still prevailed1 all were free to borrow their prophetic and poetic meaning4 ,when the ,mongols came into power1 they only carried to completion the work of conservation begun by the ,sung emperors4 ,in their contact with ,china they resembled timid pupils quite as much as conquerors4 ,once emperor of ,china1 the ,mongol ,kublai ,khan could not but remember his purely ,chinese education4 ,moreover it was quite the ,tartar custom to extend their conquests to administrative organization1 by establishing a hierarchy of functionaries4 ,the conception of a supreme and autocratic ,state1 paternal in its absolutism1 intervening even to the details of private life in order to assure the happiness of the people1--this idea1 dear to the literary conservators of the ,confucian ,school during the ,sung period1 was also too similar to the ,tartar ideal to be denied immediate adoption4 ,heterodox doctrines were formally banished from schools4 ,rejected with scorn as being corrupt and dangerous1 there remained of these doctrines only such residuum as might be found in the independent thought of artists1 who were more difficult to control4 ,the magnificent movement of the ,sung period began to abate2 it produced its last master pieces and gradually waned1 until under ,ming rule it was to die out completely4 ,the ,yuean epoch1 therefore1 appears in the light of a transition period connecting the fifteenth century of ,ming with the thirteenth century of ,sung4 ,from the point of view which interests us1 it did nothing but complete a work which had been carried on with energy and success by adherents in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries4 ,it strove to reduce ,china to a severely regulated ,state in which all great movements and impulses should be under strict control4 ,it succeeded4 ,it succeeded so well1 indeed1 that the ,europeans who came to know ,china in the seventeenth century and who rediscovered it so unnecessarily in the nineteenth century1 believed it to have been motionless for two thousand years4 ,there is no need to lay stress here upon the absurdity of this prevalent opinion4 ,it has been seen in the past and will be seen in modern times1 that the inner travail1 the evolution and the diversity are by no means arrested4 ,like the nations of ,europe1 ,china has had its evolution2 the causes were analagous1 its destiny the same4 ,this is especially felt in the history of its painting4 ,when the potent inspiration of the ,southern ,school began to wane1 the style of the ,north took the upper hand for obvious reasons4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xv4 ,,paintings ,,of ,,the ,y,ue,a,n ,,or ,,early ,,ming ,,period ,style of the ,northern ,school4 ,collection of ,r4 ,petrucci4 ,partially civilized barbarians occupied the highest places in the ,state4 ,they were the controlling party at the imperial court and had usurped the place of the old society1 refined1 subtle and perhaps too studied1 which formed the environment of the last ,sung emperors4 ,despite their naive efforts and good will1 these barbarians could not fathom an art so austere1 enlightened and balanced4 ,they were utterly ignorant of such a masterly conception of nature as was evoked in ,chinese painting4 ,monochrome to them was dull4 ,they could admire on trust1 but they could not understand4 ,on the other hand1 the ,northern style with its bold assurance1 strong coloring and drawing positive almost to the point of seeming sculptural1 was more akin to their mental outlook4 ,there at least they found something which recalled those rugs on which they appear to have exhausted their artistic resources4 ,in a word1 they were more accustomed to the ,northern style and had brought with them from the ,northern regions their own artists1 both ,chinese and barbarian4 ,the ,northern temperament1 reflective1 strong and positive1 now began to assume mastery over the bewildered reveries of the ,southern nature4 ,things are seen to change4 ,even the masters who continue the ,sung tradition infuse a somewhat more robust quality into their works1 but1 in so doing1 they lose a certain stirring depth which gave the work of their predecessors such an exceptional character4 ,caught between these two tendencies1 ,yuean painting takes on new traits1 which are perhaps more accessible to ,european mentality because they are more simple and direct4 ,these observations apply to the general evolution of ,chinese painting from the end of the thirteenth to the end of the fourteenth centuries4 ,we must now consider it more in detail1 citing by way of illustration a few of the painters who expressed the spirit of the time4 ,at its inception the ,yuean dynasty had inherited the last masters of the ,sung period1 among them two artists who are recognized as of the first rank4 ,chao ,meng-fu--known also under the appellation of ,tzu7u-ang--was born in #abed4 ,he was a descendant of the first ,sung emperor and held an hereditary post which he resigned at the time the ,yuean dynasty came into power4 ,he retired into private life until #abhf1 then when called back to court as a high functionary1 he became a supporter of the new dynasty4 ,chao ,meng-fu painted landscape as well as figures1 flowers and the bamboo1 but he is most celebrated for his horses4 ,numberless paintings of horses are attributed to this master2 needless to say the great majority of these are not by his hand4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xvi4 ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,priest ,yuean or ,early ,ming ,period4 ,collection of ,h4 ,riviere4 ,as a landscape painter he seems to have worked in the style of the ,southern ,school1 with a fine1 simple line in which may still be seen traces of the ancient tradition that extends back to ,ku ,k'ai-chih4 ,this characteristic line is found in the paintings of men and horses where the hand of ,chao ,meng-fu is distinguishable4 ,he bequeaths it to the large school which he founded1 and1 through his pupils1 it becomes the inheritance of his imitators in the ,ming period4 ,it is more than probable that almost all of the paintings by his pupils1 bearing the signature ,tz7u-ang1 are attributed to the master1 while his own paintings are ascribed to ,han ,kan1 painter of horses in the ,t'ang period4 ,however1 among the numerous works attributed to ,chao ,meng-fu1 there are a few in which we recognize the vibrant and flexible line which is seen in his landscapes4 ,these paintings bear the signature of ,tz7u-ang1 in all probability a false one1 but the work of art itself will always be of greater value in determining its authenticity than the most impressive of inscriptions4 ,if the technique and the quality of the line are sufficiently similar to warrant attributing to the same hand the landscape in the ,british ,museum1 and any particular painting of horses1 this may be regarded as sufficient evidence on which to base our own opinion as to his style4 ,amongst his grooms and mounted soldiers1 ,chao ,meng-fu painted the different races which the wave of ,mongolian invasion had swept into ,china3 ,chinese from the central provinces1 ,tartars1 ,mongols with fur caps1 ,moslems of a ,semitic type from ,turkestan1 with white turbans and heavy earrings4 ,whether his subject was the little ,tartar horse from the ,mongolian plains or the beautiful steeds of ancient ,transoxiana1 always brought as tribute by way of ,khotan to the ,chinese court1 he gave the life of the horse a singular beauty1 portraying him in an equally happy manner whether in the act of racing or in the attitudes of repose4 ,in his mind still dwelt the vision of ,sung ideals1 which proclaimed the hidden soul of things and valued spirituality and life in a painting4 ,although we see marked evidence of the ,southern style in his work1 his paintings are more strongly colored than are those of that school4 ,the influence of the ,yuean period begins to make itself felt4 ,it brings out values in colored pigment1 emphasizes its violence and paves the way for a new tradition4 ,chao ,meng-fu has been compared by ,chinese critics to his great predecessor ,han ,kan4 ,the writings1 however1 are unanimous in stating that1 notwithstanding his undeniable mastery1 he lacked something of the vigor of the earlier master4 ,when we attempt to compare the two styles through the aid of paintings of the ,t'ang period1 wherein a reflection of the great animal painter may be sought1 the writings appear to be confirmed in attributing a more positive and forceful character to the work of ,han ,kan or the unknown group of painters around him4 ,but ,chao ,meng-fu seems to have possessed in a higher degree the feeling of movement and life1 and to have been less hampered in his choice of poses4 ,centuries of study and of observation had intervened between the great animal painter of the ,t'ang epoch and his worthy rival of a later period4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xvii4 ,,horse ,painting by an unknown artist4 ,yuean or ,early ,ming ,period4 ,doucet ,collection4 ,like ,chao ,meng-fu1 ,ch'ien ,hsuean1 or ,ch'ien ,shun-chue1 retired from public life at the downfall of the ,sung dynasty4 ,he was a member of a group of the faithful over which ,chao presided1 but1 more decided than the latter in his opposition to the new dynasty1 he was indignant at his confrere's defection and refused to follow his example4 ,he lived in retirement1 devoting himself to painting and to poetry up to the time of his death4 ,he also continued the ,sung tradition under the ,yuean dynasty to which1 as a matter of fact1 he belonged only during the second part of his life4 ,he painted figures1 landscape1 flowers and birds4 ,his delicate line is not lacking in strength1 and he seems to have been especially endowed with a sense of form which approached greatness in its simplicity4 ,whether the subject is a young prince or a pigeon perched on the summit of a rock from which chrysanthemums are springing1 the same dignified and tranquil nobility is asserted with ease4 ,he still used the quiet and restrained coloring of the ,sung period and prolonged1 without impairing it1 the great tradition that a century and a half could not quite efface4 ,of ,yen ,hui we know almost nothing2 the books state briefly that he painted ,buddhist figures1 birds and flowers1 and that he was past master in the painting of demons4 ,nothing is known of the date of his birth or if1 by his age and training1 he could be classed in the ,sung period1 but several admirable paintings by him are extant which serve to show how ,sung art was still interpreted by exceptional masters in the ,yuean period4 ,his line is strong1 broader1 fuller and more abrupt than that of ,chao ,meng-fu or ,ch'ien ,shun-chue4 ,the quivering vitality that emanates from his pictures is thrilling4 ,whether the subject is a peony heavy with dew1 whose drooping petals presage the approaching end1 or a ,buddhist monk patching his mantle1 the fleeting moment is seized with such intuitive power that prolonged contemplation of the painting creates the impression that it is suddenly about to come to life4 ,there is something sturdier1 more startling1 less dreamy in these great painters who continue the traditions of ,sung art2 their work alone demonstrated that tradition could be revived and that ancient ,china1 under the ,mongolian dynasty1 was still preserving its creative spirit and advancing resolutely into fertile fields4 ,in ,huang ,kung-wang and ,ni ,tsan1 we approach a different order of things4 ,lines began to take on a classical character1 to be divided into a series of different types1 which painters adopted according to their temperament and requirements1 and finally became impersonal and academic4 ,both of these painters1 nevertheless1 were under the spell of early influences extending back to the ,t'ang artists4 ,through study of these old masters they returned to the use of a full and sometimes vivid color1 but kept a profound love of nature1 and a fresh and original vision1 by which they still perpetuated the inspiration of ,sung painting in a new form4 ,with these painters1 however1 new features appeared4 ,reds and purples became dominant notes amidst rich greens which set them off and enhanced their brilliancy4 ,the vision of landscape itself is somewhat more realistic and less subtle4 ,in all of these essentials ,ni ,tsan1 who died in #acgd1 brings us nearer to the ,ming period4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xviii4 ,,visit ,,to ,,the ,,emperor ,,by ,,the ,,immortals ,,from ,,on ,,high ,ming ,period4 ,british ,museum1 ,london4 ,simultaneously1 though quite apart1 marked tendencies of a different character were evident4 ,the old masters of the ,t'ang period had again returned to favor4 ,the vivid illumination and color distinct from drawing1 in these firm and vigorous works appealed to the untutored barbarian4 ,on the other hand1 the studies of the ,sung period had not been fruitless2 therefore when1 under these influences1 the use of color was resumed1 the painters profited by what the practice of monochrome had taught meanwhile4 ,in the ,yuean period appear those paintings which are attacked directly with a dripping brush without preliminary drawing1 the forms being modeled in the color itself4 ,the ,chinese called this painting without bones1 in other words1 deprived of the assistance of line4 ,this procedure was first used by a painter of the ,sung period1 but it did not take root definitely until the time when the practice of using ,chinese ink as a medium to express tones had taught painters how to model forms in color itself1 making the structure depend upon color4 ,seen as a whole1 the ,yuean period witnessed the assembling1 the concentration1 so to speak1 of the ardent but scattered inspirations of the great masters of the preceding school4 ,it produced splendid compositions in which the golden age of ,chinese painting continued to be manifest4 ,masters arose and if1 in spite of all1 they mark a reaction toward the ,northern style1 seeking rich and vivid color1 they give us a vision of beauty that is equal to the work of their predecessors4 ,meanwhile grave signs of decadence were apparent4 ,composition became overladen and complex and began to lose something of the noble simplicity1 greatness and supreme charm of the old masters4 ,it was evident that the ,yuean painters were working under the eye of the barbarians4 ,they yielded to the taste of the latter for anecdote1 for surmounting difficulties and for sentimental detail4 ,thus far there were only scarcely perceptible shadows and momentary weaknesses1 warning signs of decadence2 but when such signs are evident1 decadence is at hand1 and that which the virility of the barbarians had preserved was to be lost through the creed-bound dignity of an academic ,china1 which was imprisoned in a rigid system of rules4 ,,vii4 ,,the ,,ming ,,period--,,fourteenth ,,to ,,seventeenth ,,centuries ,the ,ming dynasty came into power on the wings of national feeling4 ,china rallied her forces and expelled the foreign tyrants4 ,without doubt the nation cherished the illusion of rebuilding itself upon the model of the past1 and the first emperors of the dynasty believed that the empire could be re-established upon an unshakable foundation4 ,but the ,ming dynasty1 in reality1 was but the heir and follower of ,yuean4 ,the latter itself had been only a connecting link4 ,it had changed nothing1 but had tended rather to absorb into the ,chinese system the ,northern barbarians1 who up to that time had been foreigners4 ,it had unwittingly achieved unity for ,china1 despite itself and against its own inclination4 ,in the administration of the empire1 it had finished the program of conservation which the ,sung dynasty1 through impotence1 had been unable to carry to completion4 ,the ,ming dynasty inherited the work of the ,mongols and consolidated it4 ,it survived under their reign and under that of the ,ch'ing rulers until the final disintegration1 of which we have but recently seen the results4 ,the peaceful ideals of the ,ming dynasty1 the marked predominance of ,confucianism as a code of ethics1 with certain modifications by ,chu ,hsi1 combined to form an ensemble that was apparently perfect and which made it possible to have faith in the excellence of the principles laid down by the monarchy4 ,thus a school was formed which had its own philosophy1 manners and ideals1 all of them cold1 stiff and without spontaneity4 ,it was an over-perfect machine which went like clockwork4 ,the world was judged with a narrow and somewhat stupid self-confidence4 ,the ideal dwelt in the word of ,confucian writings1 divorced from their true meaning1 and so badly interpreted that they ceased to be understood aright4 ,the meticulous1 bureaucratic and hieratic administration of the ,tartars was a perfect system of government4 ,the machine was still new and worked well1 whence arose a false impression of permanence which added still further to the complacency of the conservative mind4 ,an art was necessary to this ,china4 ,she had it4 ,it was academic painting4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xix4 ,,egrets ,,by ,,lin ,,liang ,ming ,period4 ,collection of ,mrs4 ,john ,d4 ,rockefeller1 ,junior4 ,side by side with this and yet apart1 other influences were at work4 ,notwithstanding the prohibition of books on heterodox philosophies in schools1 accompanied by the widespread decadence of ,buddhism1 and the complete downfall of ,taoism owing to gross practices in popular magic1 and despite the disdain of the official world1 another element in ,china was preserving the spirit of the past1 the restless spirit that craved novelty4 ,in all probability its obscure workings did not appear immediately upon the surface1 concealed as they were by the strictly prescribed screen of official ,china4 ,they were sufficiently strong1 however1 to give rise to an art which differed essentially from academic art1 and which numbered masters who were comparable with those of the past4 ,in spite of adverse circumstances and the weight under which these movements were buried1 they made themselves felt in violent upheavals4 ,first let us draw a picture of the decadence of an art and later we shall return to activity and life4 ,official painting in the ,ming period rapidly stiffened into convention4 ,to understand how it took shape1 we must go back to the time of ,hui ,tsung and observe the method of recruiting talent in the ,academy which he founded4 ,that painting was allied to philosophic and poetic thought is already known4 ,it was always a refined diversion of poets and painters to unite in a quest for the beautiful4 ,the poet wrote verses and the painter painted a picture suggesting1 sometimes remotely1 the thought enshrined in the poem4 ,such were the conditions upon which ,hui ,tsung instituted examinations1 following which the doors of the ,academy were open to the victor4 ,he gave1 for example1 as subject for a competition a verse saying1 ,the bamboos envelop the inn beyond the bridge1 which suggested a landscape with flowing water1 a rustic bridge thrown across the stream1 a cluster of bamboos on the bank1 a winehouse half hidden in the verdure4 ,all the competitors1 the records say1 set to work drawing with minute care the inn which they made the essential feature of the picture4 ,only one implied its presence by showing1 above a dense cluster of bamboos1 the little banner which in ,china denotes the presence of a winehouse4 ,two verses of another poem in which allusion was made to the red flowers of spring were interpreted by the representation of a beautiful young girl dressed in red1 leaning on a balustrade1 for according to ,chinese ideas1 the thoughts of young men in spring turn there1 as elsewhere1 toward thoughts of love4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xx4 ,,flowers ,,and ,,insects ,ming ,period4 ,collection of ,r4 ,petrucci4 ,we have here an example of the subtle allusions1 at times profoundly poetic1 with which ,chinese painting abounds4 ,but these things retain their value and charm only in so far as they depend on a free play of mind or upon personal1 living sentiments4 ,as accepted conventions regulated in an academic competition1 repeated with sustained effort and without enthusiasm1 their rigid monotony becomes intolerable4 ,such was the ultimate fate of that ability to express by half meanings1 to suggest without directly stating1 to which the ,sung painters attached so great an importance4 ,the day it was understood that a little banner fluttering over bamboos indicated the presence of a winehouse in a sylvan retreat1 or that a young girl dressed in red symbolized the crimson blooming of a garden pink in springtime1 banners and young girls dressed in red were seen in paintings innumerable to the point of satiety4 ,thus were established those dry conventions of a somewhat stupid erudition which were so much the fashion in the academic painting of the ,ming and the ,ch'ing periods1 and whose great success repressed the artistic aspirations of a people4 ,under these influences was rapidly assembled a complete arsenal of allegories1 allusions and symbols that gave birth to an art which was possibly very learned1 but which was inartistic to the last degree4 ,an academician of the ,ming period would have thought himself disgraced if he had not proven by complicated compositions the extent of his knowledge of things of this character4 ,art was no longer anything but a kind of puzzle4 ,furthermore1 the decadence of eye and hand followed that of the mind1 and there next appeared a taste for brilliant colors1 overladen compositions1 and fine and meticulous lines1 culminating in an unbearable nicety4 ,the work of the ,academy is summed up in these words4 ,let us turn aside from an art that is inert4 ,it robbed things of the creative spirit that animated them4 ,we shall now see what was achieved by those who followed in the steps of the old masters4 ,the fifteenth century in ,china witnessed a continuance of the style prevalent during the ,sung and ,yuean periods4 ,chou ,chih-mien1 for example1 was true to that profound feeling for form1 that delicacy of coloring1 and rhythm in composition which were the endowment of the greatest masters4 ,shen ,chou belonged entirely to the ,yuean school1 and to prove that the old ideals were not dead1 we have in the fifteenth century the magnificent group of painters of the plum tree1 with ,lu ,fu and ,wang ,yuean-chang at their head4 ,as before stated1 a special philosophy was associated with this tree and its flowers4 ,the white petals scattered on vigorous branches had long typified an inner soul1 whose purity was the very likeness of virtue and of tenderness4 ,chung ,jen1 who in the eleventh century wrote a treatise on the painting of the plum tree1 explains in his chapter on the derivation of forms that it is a symbol1 a concentrated form1 a likeness of the universe4 ,the great fundamental principles mingle harmoniously within it2 they express themselves in its shape and reveal themselves through its beauty4 ,similar to this was the philosophy associated with the bamboo1 which endured up to the fifteenth century4 ,the subtle monochromes of ,lu ,fu show branches of flowering plum swaying in the breeze4 ,in the great works of ,wang ,yuean-chang trunks of old trees1 still bearing hardy blossoms1 stand proudly in the magical radiance of the moon4 ,vibration and power1 grandeur and majesty1 such are the qualities which were still sought amidst the severe conditions imposed by the use of black and white4 ,here we feel that the creative force is not yet spent4 ,we find it equally fresh and vigorous in the ink bamboos of ,wen ,cheng-ming in the sixteenth century4 ,in landscape1 however1 new elements appear which mark a decline4 ,i have already laid stress on the overladen composition which developed in the ,yuean epoch4 ,this was still more noticeable in the ,ming period4 ,when pictorial art has had a long series of masters1 a certain eclecticism is infallibly produced4 ,this leads to the rejection of the direct study of nature1 in favor of viewing it only through the eyes of the old masters4 ,this phenomenon appeared in ,china as well as in ,europe4 ,the landscape painters of the ,ming period studied the technique of the ,t'ang and the ,sung epochs and codified their system of lines1 arranging them in series according to types and schools2 in short1 they drew from these a ready-made technique by which they were controlled4 ,turning from nature they yielded to imagination4 ,they delighted in painting fanciful landscapes and were inclined toward images that were more external and less inspired than in the past4 ,their works1 however1 were invested with great charm1 and the impossible disposition of their clustering peaks and oddly cleft rocks cannot but appeal to the imagination4 ,in these overladen compositions the unity of the picture is lost4 ,we are no longer in the presence of a simple and forceful idea1 but behold a thousand incidents1 a thousand little details1 exquisite in themselves1 but which require a search4 ,it is a new conception of landscape4 ,we may possibly prefer the gripping formula of ,sung and ,yuean art1 but we are forced to acknowledge that this later work has great charm and extreme refinement4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xxi4 ,,landscape ,ming ,period4 ,bouasse-,lebel ,collection4 ,to this general trend was added a new taste in color1 which became brilliant and complex like the composition itself1 harmonious and graceful in the paintings of the masters and always charming in the work of painters of the second rank2 but this was the herald of a blatant and vulgar manner which gradually gained ground until it came to be generally adopted by the artisans of the ,ch'ing period4 ,while landscape under the ,ming painters was assuming a different guise1 and1 forgetful of the observances of the past1 was beguiling the mind by its charm and delicacy1 a new type of figure was also developing4 ,here we must pause for a moment4 ,we have seen that figures were treated before landscape by the painters of periods preceding the ,t'ang dynasty4 ,this early tradition had submitted to the influence of ,buddhist art and1 while certain of its elements were revived in the work of a few masters1 there is no doubt that figure painting from the seventh and eighth centuries on1 was absolutely revolutionized4 ,the inevitable result was a new type in the sixteenth century4 ,painters studied the line for itself1 determined its proportions1 and analyzed features and drapery4 ,as far as our present knowledge extends1 their observations were not collected and codified until the end of the nineteenth century1 but the assembled writings testify that the result of their studies was expressed along the lines indicated from the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries4 ,their ideal was totally different from that of the old masters4 ,the figure treated for itself with but few accessories became the sole aim of the painter4 ,he endeavored to show the charm of a woman's face1 the dainty and elegant gestures1 the supple and voluptuous gait1 and he grasped the characteristics and peculiarities of a man's figure by means of an intensified drawing4 ,at times1 the influence of analysis was so objective that it resulted in a painting closely approaching ,european standards4 ,the taste expressed in landscape was likewise evident in figures4 ,there were brilliant and harmonious colors1 a charm which became exquisite in the coquettish and vivacious faces of women with ivory skin and brilliant eyes1 of graceful movements1 and with long1 slender1 delicate hands1 incarnations of the fairies of ancient legend or historic beauties whose memory still lived4 ,in a word1 the philosophical inspiration to which the ,sung dynasty owed its glory was discarded to make way for the painting of everyday life1 a realistic representation of the world and its activities1 which in ,japan gave rise to the ,ukioyoye school1 and in ,china recruited a series of painters of the first rank outside the limits of academic tradition4 ,it would be interesting to study the influence of this movement of the ,china of the time of ,ming upon the originators of the ,ukioyoye in ,japan4 ,it is certain that the movement on the continent preceded similar manifestations in the island empire by a century1 and it is also certain that the ,japanese empire was directly influenced by the ,china of the ,ming period4 ,chinese painters were established in ,japan as early as the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries4 ,there is one of whose family name we are ignorant and who is known only under the appellation of ,ju-sue1--in ,japanese ,josetsu4 ,he left ,china1 where the domination of official art stood in the way of an independent career1 carried the traditions of ,sung and ,yuean art to ,japan1 gathered pupils about him there1 and had the glory of being the founder of that magnificent school of which ,sesshiu is the leading exponent4 ,there is only one small painting which can be attributed to ,ju-sue with certainty4 ,this is preserved in a ,japanese temple4 ,unfortunately it is a work of small importance which1 notwithstanding its intrinsic value1 by no means furnishes sufficient information to enable us to pronounce on the authenticity of several other works which are said to be by his hand4 ,we find in the latter an extremely individual art1 in accordance with early traditions1 but with the addition of something fanciful and unexpected which gives this painter marked distinction4 ,having worked outside of ,china1 however1 his influence was not felt in the evolution of ,chinese painting4 ,in the seventeenth century ,ming art came in contact with the art of the ,europeans4 ,the methods and rules of the ,italian ateliers of the end of the ,renaissance were brought to ,china by missionary painters whose talent was of a secondary order4 ,the system of monocular perspective and modeling1 strongly accentuated by the opposition of light and shade1 made a forcible impression on the ,chinese mind4 ,indications of this are found in the ,chinese books on art4 ,but the technical methods were too different and the systems too much at variance to meet on any common ground4 ,notwithstanding its effect upon certain painters1 the influence of ,european painting was on the whole negligible4 ,father ,matteo ,ricci worked at the end of the ,ming period under the ,chinese name of ,li ,ma-tu and ,father ,castiglione1 at the beginning of the ,ch'ing dynasty1 used the name of ,lang ,chue-ning1 but1 although the former continued to use ,european methods1 while the latter adopted the ,chinese procedure1 these were only isolated efforts submerged in the great wave of ,asiatic evolution4 ,,viii4 ,,the ,,ch',,ing ,,period--,,seventeenth ,,to ,,twentieth ,,centuries ,the ,ch'ing or ,manchu dynasty1 whose downfall we have recently witnessed1 brought no new vigor to ,china4 ,barbarians once again invaded the aged and enfeebled empire usurping the methods1 history and organization of the preceding periods4 ,the change in ,china at the end of the seventeenth century was only dynastic4 ,the evolution of ,ming tendencies continued1 and despite the reorganization undertaken by ,kang ,hsi and maintained by his two successors1 the excessive requirements of the old system1 which had been formulated during the ,sung epoch and definitely established in the ,yuean and ,ming periods1 were so exacting that irremediable decadence was inevitable4 ,thenceforward no great changes in the realm of painting need be expected4 ,it only continued its logical evolution4 ,it is necessary1 nevertheless1 to lay stress on the value of ,chinese painting from the seventeenth to the twentieth century1 for an opinion is current that1 while there might still be something of value under the ,ming dynasty1 nothing good was produced under the ,ch'ing4 ,it is undeniable that marked signs of decadence are seen in the latter period1 but by the side of some inferior works1 others exist which maintain the vitality of the past and the hope of a renaissance4 ,in refutation of such hasty and ill informed opinion1 it is sufficient to recall a number of paintings1 signed and dated1 of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries1 which dealers or collectors calmly attribute to the eleventh and twelfth4 ,chinese painting at the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth century was still full of vitality4 ,the taste for brilliant color gradually diminished1 and the composition became broader and more noble at the hands of certain painters1 in whom is seen the revival of the vigorous race of yore4 ,this was the time when ,yuen ,shou-p'ing1 more commonly known under the name of ,nan-t'ien1 painted landscape and flowers with the restraint and power of the old style1 and when ,shen ,nan-p'ing set out for ,japan to found a modern ,chinese school which was to rival the ,ukioyoye in importance and activity4 ,about them was grouped a large following1 foretelling fresh developments4 ,no support was given to this movement by the new government1 which was infatuated with the academic style of the earlier reigns and becoming more and more ignorant as the last years of the nineteenth century approached4 ,in the eighteenth century a comparatively large number of ,chinese painters settled in ,japan1 where they continued the traditions of ,ming art4 ,the observation of a ,nan-t'ien or of a ,shen ,nan-p'ing was keen and painstaking1 but the objectivity and realism now coming to the fore1 were conspicuous in their works4 ,no longer was it the world of pure substance and abstract principle that was sought1 but the real1 everyday world1 the world of objective forms studied for themselves1 living their own life1 on the threshold of which the spirit halted1 no longer guided by the old philosophies4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xxii4 ,,beauty ,,inhaling ,,the ,,fragrance ,,of ,a ,,peony ,ming ,period4 ,collection of ,v4 ,goloubew4 ,this character was maintained up to the nineteenth century4 ,it is seen in the painting of flowers and landscape as well as in figure painting4 ,these traits are equally apparent in an iris by ,nan t'ien and a personage by ,huang ,yin-piao4 ,the latter1 working in the middle of the eighteenth century1 evoked the personages of ,buddhist and ,taoist legend with a skillful brush1 but his daring simplifications were more akin to virtuosity than to that deep reflection and freedom from non-essentials which were the glory of the early masters4 ,herein are discerned the elements of decadence1 which are wont to assume precisely this aspect of a mastery over difficulties4 ,for such ends genuine research and the true grasp of form were gradually abandoned4 ,calligraphy and the literary style were not overlooked1 but they were carried to a point of abstraction that is beyond the province of art4 ,a personage was represented by lines which formed characters in handwriting and which1 in drawing the figure1 at the same time wrote a sentence4 ,doubtless that is a proof of marvelous skill4 ,i agree in assigning such masterpieces to the realm of calligraphy but refuse to admit them to the domain of painting4 ,this applies as well to the so-called thumb nail painting held in high repute under the last dynasty4 ,in this the brush is abandoned and the line is drawn by the finger dipped in ink or color4 ,the painting is done on modern paper of a special kind which partially absorbs the paint1 in the manner of blotting paper2 this results in weak lines1 and ink and color schemes devoid of firmness1 in short1 in a lack of virility which places such works1 notwithstanding their virtuosity1 in the category of artisan achievements4 ,these works are numerous in the modern period and constitute what so many regard as ,chinese painting4 ,one cannot be too careful in discarding them4 ,during every period decorative paintings1 religious paintings and ancestral paintings made after death1 were executed in ,china by artisans1 ordinary workmen at the service of whosoever might engage them4 ,such work should not be consulted in studying the styles of great periods or the higher manifestations of an art4 ,these paintings were the first to leave ,china and find their way to ,europe4 ,there is no reason for analyzing them here4 ,to sum up1 ,chinese painting of the last two centuries still numbers masters of the first rank4 ,this alone indicates that the sacred fire is by no means extinct4 ,who shall say what future awaits it amidst the profound changes of today8 ,after a period of indecision which lasted for twenty-five years1 ,japan has found herself anew and is seeking to revive her artistic traditions4 ,it is to be hoped that ,china will1 at all costs1 avoid the same mistakes and that she will not be unmindful1 as was her neighbor1 of the history of the old masters4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xxiii4 ,,halt ,,of ,,the ,,imperial ,,hunt ,ming ,period4 ,sixteenth ,century4 ,collection of ,r4 ,petrucci4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,conclusion ,this brief survey has shown how the distinctive features of ,china's artistic activity were distributed4 ,though subjected to varying influences1 this evolution possesses a unity which is quite as complete as is that of our ,western art4 ,in the beginning there were studies1 of which we know only through written records4 ,but the relationship existing between writing and painting from the dawn of historic time1 permits us to carry our studies of primitive periods very far back1 even earlier than the times of the sculptured works4 ,we thus witness the gradual development of that philosophical ideal which has dominated the entire history of ,chinese painting1 forcing it to search for abstract form1 and which averted for so long the advent of triviality and decadence4 ,the goal sought by ,chinese thought had already been reached in painting when1 in the third and fourth centuries1 we are vouchsafed a glimpse of it4 ,it is a vision of a high order1 in which the subtle intellectuality corresponds to a society of refinement whose desires have already assumed extreme proportions4 ,like ,byzantium1 heir to ,hellenistic art1 the ,china of the ,han dynasty and of ,ku ,k'ai-chih was already progressing toward bold conventions and soft harmonies1 in which could be felt both the pride of an intelligence which imposed its will upon ,nature1 and the weariness following its sustained effort4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xxiv4 ,,painting ,,by ,,chang ,,cheng ,eighteenth ,century4 ,collection of ,m4 ,worch4 ,this refinement1 arising from the exhaustion of a world which even thus retained a certain primitive ruggedness1 was succeeded by a stupendous movement which followed in the wake of the preaching of ,buddhism4 ,with the new gods we see the first appearance of definite and long-continued foreign influences4 ,civilization was transformed and took on new life4 ,then1 as in the days of the great forerunners of the ,florentine ,renaissance1 there appeared a whole group of artists1 prepared by the art1 at once crude and refined1 of an earlier people4 ,this group set resolutely to work at the close study of forms1 ascertaining the laws of their structure and the conditions of the environment which produced them4 ,the period in which the work of ,li ,ss7u-hsuen1 ,li ,chao-tao and ,wang ,wei was produced may be likened to the fifteenth century in ,florence with ,pisanello1 ,verocchio1 ,ghirlandajo and ,masaccio4 ,similar conditions gave birth to a movement that is directly comparable with the ,italian movement for1 no matter how varied the outward appearances due to differences of race and civilization1 the fundamentals of art are the same everywhere and pertain to the same mental attitudes4 ,the great leaders in periods preceding the ,t'ang dynasty paved the way to the culmination which took place in the ,sung period1 and thus the fruit of that prolonged activity is seen ripening between the tenth and the thirteenth centuries4 ,through the gropings of the primitive period1 the heterodox philosophies and the mystic stirrings of ,buddhism1 ,eastern thought had arrived at an unquestionably noble comprehension of existence4 ,the impersonal mystery of the universe1 its mighty principle1 its manifold manifestations and the secret which unveils itself in the innermost soul of things are the conceptions which form the inspiration of ,chinese painting4 ,these lofty thoughts are the source of that spirituality which declares itself therein with such nobility4 ,the religion to which they are due will seem perhaps1 to certain people1 to be broader and less trammeled than our own4 ,there is no doubt that the entire ,far ,east was under the spell of its grandeur4 ,up to this point art had sounded every depth and attained the highest summits of human achievement4 ,thenceforward it concerned itself with varying manifestations which were only the different modes of a formula that was still flexible1 until the time when--the great inspirations of the past forgotten--there appear signs of a spirit on the quest for realism1 emerging from the ancient tradition4 ,this is the distinctive note in the evolution of ,chinese painting under the last two dynasties4 ,it would seem as if1 even in this guise1 a universal need of the mind is being satisfied1 a need which we1 too1 have known after experiencing a chilling academicism1 and when modern culture had overthrown the ancient idols4 ,chinese painters have thus completed a round analogous to that traveled by our own artists4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xxv4 ,,tiger ,,in ,a ,,pine ,,forest ,eighteenth to ,nineteenth ,centuries4 ,collection of ,v4 ,goloubew4 ,for the ,far ,east as for ,europe1 the problem now presented is that of a revival4 ,bent beneath the weight of the prestige of the past1 too learned in the last word of culture1 modern art is seeking to find itself1 groping blindly1 full of promising but unfinished works4 ,the time has come when there are signs throughout the world of a desire for a universal civilization1 by the reconciling of ancient divergencies4 ,europe and the ,far ,east bring into contrast the most vigorous traditions in history4 ,henceforward there is interest for both civilizations in studying and in coming to understand a foreign ideal4 ,though incomplete1 these pages will perhaps help to show that such a mutual comprehension is not impossible and that1 if egotistic prejudices are overcome1 apparent dissimilarities will be resolved into a profound identity4 ,thus will arise the elements of a new culture4 ,in coming to understand a mood which so fully reflects an unknown world1 the ,european mind will discover principles which will make it rise superior to itself4 ,may this broad comprehension of human thought lead ,europe to estimate with greater justice a civilization numbering its years by thousands1 and to refrain from thwarting the fulfillment of its destiny4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,bibliography ,an ,introduction to the ,study of ,chinese ,pictorial ,art4 ,herbert ,a4 ,giles1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d41 ,professor of ,chinese in the ,university of ,cambridge4 ,second ,edition1 revised and enlarged4 ,london1 ,bernard ,quaritch4 #aiah4 ,painting in the ,far ,east4 ,laurence ,binyon4 ,second ,edition1 revised4 ,london1 ,edward ,arnold4 #aiac4 ,the ,flight of the ,dragon4 ,laurence ,binyon4 ,wisdom of the ,east ,series4 ,london1 ,john ,murray4 #aiaa4 ,epochs of ,chinese and ,japanese ,art4 ,ernest ,f4 ,fenollosa4 #b volumes4 ,f4 ,a4 ,stokes and ,co41 ,new ,york4 #aiab4 ,scraps from a ,collector's ,note ,book4 ,f4 ,hirth4 ,leiden1 ,new ,york4 #aije4 ,chinese ,art4 ,stephen ,w4 ,bushell1 ,c4,m4,g41 ,b4,sc41 ,m4,d4 ,victoria and ,albert ,museum ,handbook4 #b volumes4 ,london4 #aiaj4 ,chinese ,painting4 ,mrs4 ,francis ,ayscough4 ,the ,mentor of ,dec4 #b1 #aiah1 ,serial ,no4 #afh4 ,new ,york4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,index ,,of ,,painters ,,and ,,periods ,the following summary furnishes additional information regarding the painters to whom reference has been made4 ,those to whom the subject is not familiar will find this of assistance in placing in their proper historical order the different trends which have been indicated elsewhere4 ,they will also find dates useful in comparing1 if so desired1 the artistic evolution of ,china with that of ,europe4 ,this1 however1 is only an outline4 ,the names of some great masters are omitted1 for ,i have no wish to overload the margin of a statement which should be kept clear and convenient of access4 ,i trust nevertheless that these few notes in concise form will be of use in connection with the preceding text4 ,i4 ,,before ,,the ,,intervention ,,of ,,buddhism ,the ,bas-reliefs of the second ,han dynasty belong to the second and third centuries of the ,christian era4 ,ku ,k'ai-chih1 also called ,chang-k'ang and ,hu-tou1 was born in ,wu-hsi in the province of ,kiang-su4 ,he lived at the end of the fourth and beginning of the fifth century4 ,his style1 resembling that of the ,han period1 informs us as to the character of painting from the second to the fifth century4 ,it is such as to indicate a long antecedent period of cultivation and development4 ,hsieh ,ho 7#dgi-ejb71 painter of the figure4 ,he wrote a small book setting forth the ,six ,canons or ,requirements of painting4 ,this work informs us regarding the philosophy of art in ,china of the fifth century4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,intervention ,,of ,,buddhism ,it is difficult to set an exact date for the first contact of ,buddhist with ,chinese art4 ,it may be assumed that the influence of ,buddhist art began to be felt noticeably in ,china in the fifth century4 ,in the seventh and eighth centuries it was so widespread as to be definitely established4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,t',,ang ,,dynasty ,a4,d4 #fah-ije ,wu ,tao-tz7u1 also called ,wu ,tao-yuean4 ,born in ,honan toward the end of the eighth century4 ,his influence was felt in ,japanese art as well as in that of ,china4 ,he painted landscape1 figures and ,buddhist subjects4 ,li ,ss7u-hsuen 7#fea-gae or #gbj7 is considered as the founder of the ,northern ,school4 ,he appears to have felt the influence which ,buddhist art brought in its train4 ,li ,chao-tao1 son of ,li ,ss7u-hsuen1 lived at the end of the seventh and beginning of the eighth centuries4 ,he is said to have varied from his father's style and even surpassed it4 ,wang ,wei1 also called ,wang ,mo-k'i 7#fii-gei71 poet1 painter and critic4 ,the great reformer of ,chinese landscape painting4 ,considered as the founder of the ,southern ,school and the originator of monochrome painting in ,chinese ink4 ,han ,kan1 renowned in the period t'ien-pao 7#gdb-gei74 ,according to tradition he was a pupil of ,wang ,wei4 ,his school possessed in the highest degree knowledge of the form1 characteristics and movements of the horse4 ,,iv4 ,,the ,,sung ,,dynasty ,a4,d4 #ifj-abfj ,tung ,yuean4 ,tenth century4 ,landscape painter4 ,he worked in both the ,northern and ,southern styles4 ,chue ,jan1 ,buddhist monk4 ,tenth century4 ,he was at first influenced by the work of ,tung ,yuean1 but later created an individual style4 ,ma ,yuean4 ,end of the twelfth and beginning of the thirteenth century4 ,member of the ,academy of ,painting4 ,he was the author of a strong and vigorous style which characterized the school founded by him4 ,hsia ,kuei served in the college at ,han-,lin in the reign of the ,emperor ,ning ,tsung 7#aaie-abbd74 ,he was considered a master of chiaroscuro and atmospheric perspective4 ,ma ,lin1 son of ,ma ,yuean4 ,thirteenth century4 ,his work shows that he painted even more in the tradition of the ,southern ,school than his father and uncle4 ,li ,lung-mien or ,li ,kung-lin4 ,born at ,chou in ,ngan-huei4 ,he held public offices1 which he resigned in #aajj to retire to the mountain of ,lung-mien1 where he died in #aajf4 ,noted for his calligraphy as well as for his painting4 ,at one time in his life1 under religious influences1 he painted a great number of ,buddhist figures4 ,mi ,fei or ,mi ,yuean-chang or ,mi ,nan-kung 7#ajea-aajg74 ,calligraphist1 painter and critic4 ,he used strong inking in a style in which the simplification of monochrome is carried to the extreme4 ,he had a son1 ,mi ,yu-,jen1 who painted in his father's style and lived to an advanced age4 ,hui ,tsung1 emperor1 poet1 painter and calligraphist4 ,born in #ajhb1 ascended the throne in #aajj1 lost his throne in #aabe and died in captivity in #aace4 ,in the first year of his reign he founded the ,academy of ,calligraphy and ,painting4 ,he made a large collection of valuable paintings and rare objects of art which was scattered at the plundering of his capital by the ,tartars in #abbe4 ,v4 ,y,ue,a,n ,,dynasty ,a4,d4 #abfj-acfh ,chao ,meng-fu1 also called ,ts7u-ang4 ,born in #abed4 ,man of letters1 painter and calligraphist4 ,he was a great landscape painter and in the first rank as a painter of horses4 ,ch'ien ,hsuean1 also called ,ch'ien ,shun-chue1 lived at the end of the thirteenth and beginning of the fourteenth century4 ,he painted figures1 landscape1 flowers and birds4 ,he employed the style and methods of the ,sung dynasty4 ,yen ,hui lived in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries4 ,his paintings were numerous and indicate a master of the first order4 ,he painted many ,buddhist and ,taoist subjects4 ,huang ,kung-wang4 ,fourteenth century4 ,at first influenced by the style of ,tung ,yuean and ,chue ,jan1 he later acquired an individual style and was one of the great founders of schools in the ,yuean period4 ,ni ,tsan1 also called ,yuen-lin 7#acja-acgd74 ,man of letters1 calligraphist1 collector of books and paintings4 ,he is considered to be one of the greatest painters of his time4 ,,vi4 ,,the ,,ming ,,dynasty ,a4,d4 #acfh-afdd ,chou ,chih-mien lived in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries4 ,his subjects were principally birds and flowers4 ,shen ,chou1 also called ,shen ,ki-nan or ,shen ,k'i 7#adbg-aejg74 ,landscape painter4 ,his composition is at times overladen1 as is often seen in ,ming art4 ,lu ,fu lived in the fifteenth century4 ,he made a special study of the plum tree in monochrome4 ,he is comparable to the great ,sung masters4 ,wang ,yuean-chang4 ,died in #adjg at the age of #gc4 ,he painted the bamboo and plum tree in monochrome4 ,he carried on the ,sung tradition1 with which he was directly connected1 and was the founder of a school4 ,wen ,cheng-ming 7#adhj-aeei71 painter1 poet and calligraphist4 ,he is often compared with ,chao ,meng-fu4 ,ju-sue4 ,known only under this appellation4 ,he lived in the fifteenth century and went to ,japan1 where his influence was marked4 7,japanese ,josetsu47 ,,vii4 ,,the ,,ch',,ing ,,dynasty #afdd-aiab ,yuen ,chou-p'ing1 appellation ,nan-t'ien1 true name ,yuen ,ko 7#afcc-afij74 ,he studied at first under the influence of ,wang ,shu-ming and ,siu ,hi4 ,he painted figures1 flowers and landscape4 ,shen ,nan-p'ing lived in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries4 ,he was called to ,japan in #agbj and founded there the school of ,ming-,ch'ing or the modern ,chinese school4 ,huang ,yin-piau or ,huang-shen4 ,at the height of his career between #agbg and #agdf4 ,he painted landscape and1 toward the end of his life1 legendary figures of ,buddhism and ,taoism with a technique that was skillful but often precise and somewhat weak4