Characteristics of court painting

① During the more than 100 years of the early Song Dynasty, the painting tradition of the Five Dynasties was generally followed. After the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Bianjing area became the center of painting art. The Palace Painting Academy successively gathered Huang Ju□, Huang Weiliang, Xia Houyan□, Zhao Yuanchang, Gao Wenjin, etc. from Western Shu, and Dong Yu, Li Zhaoqing, Cai Run, Xu Chongsi, etc. of the Southern Tang Dynasty. As well as painters such as Wang Ai, Zhao Guangfu and Gao Yi from the Central Plains area. The flower and bird paintings in the courtyard are based on the Fugui style of the Huang family. Among the Taoist and Buddhist paintings, the Wu family style has the greatest influence. In the landscape paintings, the painters outside the academy have the highest achievements. In addition, Li Chengshan painted cold forests and distant mountains, Fan Kuanshan painted lofty mountains, and Xu Daoning painted plain fields, wild waters, and trees. All three of them developed and enriched the northern painting schools of Jing Hao and Guan Tong in different aspects. The Jiangnan School of Painting, represented by Dong Yuan and Ju Ran, had little influence during this period. At that time, those who were famous for their landscape paintings inside and outside the Academy included Yan Wengui, Zhai Yuanshen, Gao Keming, Li Zongcheng, Qu Ding, etc.; those who were good at religious murals included Wang □, Gao Wenjin, Wu Zongyuan, etc.; and those who were good at flower and bird paintings included Zhao Chang, Yi Yuanji, and Wang You. wait. The creative practice of these painters brewed new changes in the style of painting in the Northern Song Dynasty.

② During the period of Xining and Yuanfeng, figure paintings of pommel horses represented by Li Gonglin, landscape paintings represented by Guo Xi, and flower-and-bird paintings represented by Cui Bai appeared. They all show a brand-new style in content and art, and all have exquisite skills and profound cultivation. Li Gonglin used simple and simple line drawings to accurately express the characteristics of people from different classes, nationalities, and regions. In particular, he achieved great success in portraying the life images and interests of scholar-bureaucrats. Both Cui Bai and Guo Xi could paint without starting a draft. Cui Bai depicts the moods of birds in seasonal climate changes, and is good at expressing the wilderness and wildness of wild geese. He breaks through the norms of the Huang family system in the painting academy since the early Song Dynasty and achieves more natural and vivid effects. Through the depiction of scenery, seasons and climate, Guo Xi expressed the elegance and beauty of mountains, rivers, forests and springs, pushing the northern landscape painting school since Li Cheng to a higher level. The trend of painting by literati and officials, represented by Su Shi and Wen Tong, also took shape at this time. Prince Consort Wang Shen built a treasure painting hall to collect famous paintings and calligraphy, and gathered poets and painters to write poems and paintings in the west garden of the mansion. The royal family Zhao Lingrang was good at painting beautiful and poetic landscapes, and Mi Fu had already carried out calligraphy activities during this period. All show the active artistic activities of this class. Guo Ruoxu's "Pictures and Knowledge", Guo Xi and his son's "Linquan Gaozhi" and poems on painting by Su Shi and others show the new achievements of painting theory in this period.

③ The reigns of Huizong Zhao Ji and Gaozong Zhao Gou were the most prosperous periods for the court painting academy of the Song Dynasty. The painting academy system was quite complete during Huizong's time, and the improvement of the artistic level of folk painters in society brought many outstanding painters to the painting academy. At this time, there were many masters in the painting academy, including Ma Bi, who was good at painting hundreds of horses and geese, Li Tang, who pioneered a new style of landscape painting in the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhang Zeduan, who was good at painting genre paintings, Wang Ximeng, a talented young landscape painter, and Han Ruozhuo and Meng Ying, who were good at painting flowers and birds. Among them, Xue Zhi, Su Hanchen, who was famous for his paintings of baby peddlers, Liu Yi, Fu Xie and others who wrote for Huizong and provided imperial paintings, are all famous for their exquisite painting skills and extraordinary pen and ink. During Huizong's reign, the imperial palace had a very rich collection of paintings and calligraphy, and there were also many collectors among officials and officials. The "Xuanhe Painting Book" reflects the grandeur of the palace's collections at that time. During the Jingkang Incident, Bianjing was looted by the Jin soldiers, and some painters were taken captive to the north. Many of the palace paintings were scattered in the north, which had a considerable impact on the development of painting in the areas ruled by the Jin Dynasty. In addition, a large number of painters fled to the south of the Yangtze River and became the backbone of Gaozong's Painting Academy in the Southern Song Dynasty, promoting the development of painting in the south of the Yangtze River.

④ In the Southern Song Dynasty after Xiaozong, especially in the Guangzong and Ningzong periods, landscape painting showed obvious changes in style after Li Tang. The representative painters were Liu Songnian, Ma Yuan, Xia Gui and others. They attach great importance to the tailoring of compositions and skillfully use large blank spaces in the picture to highlight distinct images. The effect of the picture is subtle and concise, concise and poetic, with a beautiful artistic conception. The simple and expressive ax chop shows the improvement of pen and ink skills. . Historical story paintings and genre paintings were relatively developed throughout the Southern Song Dynasty. Li Song, who appeared at this time, is a particularly noteworthy painter. He has painted "Thirty-Six Figures in the Songjiang River", "Serving the Fields", "Four Mysteries", "Viewing" "Tide Pictures" and so on, most of the works contain profound meanings. The ink and brushwork of Liang Kai, Mu Xi and Wen Riguan started the style of freehand painting in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties.

The inscription of Li Tang's "Picture of Pine Wind in Ten Thousand Valleys" is inscribed on a distant peak: "Xuanhe Jiachenchun of the Emperor Song Dynasty, written by Li Tang of Heyang." It can be seen that it was painted in 1124, when Li Tang Tang was about seventy years old and was written before his journey to the south. The picture shows high peaks, jagged rocks, waterfalls and springs between the cliffs, and white clouds floating around the mountainside.

From the foothills to the top of the mountain, the pine forest is dense and lush. At the foot of the mountain, there are rocks and water flowing. The majestic spirit of nature rushes towards you, giving people a majestic feeling. In Li Tang's layout, a close-up view was taken to highlight the main peak and the cliff bank to create an imminent visual experience. The mountain stone chapping method combines the techniques of Li Cheng, Fan Kuan, and Guo Xi, and uses a variety of chapping methods to express different stone qualities. For example, on the main peak, long nails are used to scrape the iron chaff at the upper end, and occasionally in the middle to remove the chaff; below the mountainside Use original horse tooth chamfer. In addition, it can also be seen that he later created the prototype of small ax chop and large ax chop. The use of chamfering method is Li Tang's biggest feature in this painting, which had a great influence on later generations. It is still being studied and discussed by people to this day.

The development of various painting subjects. The painting subjects in the Song Dynasty were more detailed and specialized. During the Huizong period of the Song Dynasty, the painting school was divided into six categories: Buddhism and Taoism, figures, landscapes, birds and animals, flowers and bamboos, and house wood. "Xuanhe Painting Book" records the collection of paintings, which are divided into 10 categories: Taoism, figures, palaces, tribes, dragons and fish, landscapes, animals, flowers and birds, ink bamboo, and fruits and vegetables. When the "Hua Ji" compiled in the third year of Emperor Xiaozong's reign (1167) cataloged the painters, it was divided into immortals, Buddhas and ghosts, biographies of people, landscapes, forests and stones, flowers, bamboos and feathers, animals, insects and fish, houses, wood, boats and carts, vegetables, fruits and herbs, small 8 categories including landscape paintings and miscellaneous paintings. These phenomena reflect the expansion of the scope of painting expression and the detailed and in-depth division of subject matter.

Figure painting has made great progress in reflecting real life. From the Tang Dynasty, it mainly painted major historical events and aristocratic life, and expanded to depict all aspects of civilian life in urban and rural areas: such as Wei Xian's (biography) "Turn the Wheel at the Gate", Wang Juzheng's "Spinning Wheel", Zhang Zeduan's "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" , Su Hanchen's "Baby Playing in the Autumn Courtyard", Li Song's "Seller's Picture", Zhu Rui's "Walking Cart", Yan Ciping's "Herding Cows" and Anonymous's "Farming and Weaving Picture", "Farming and Harvest Picture", "Willow Shade and Clouds Picture", " "Jiang Tian Pavilion Picture" and Gao Yuanheng's "Arriving at the Theater from the Corner of Two Armies" and Yan Wengui's "Qixi Night Market Picture" found in records, etc., all show the expansion of the painter's vision and his interest and enthusiasm for real life. Seasonal paintings depicting folk themes such as "Sui Dynasty Picture", "Five Auspicious Pictures", "Da Nuo Picture" and "Guan Deng Picture" also appeared in the cities of the Song Dynasty. Paintings depicting the lives of aristocratic literati are still popular, and portrait paintings with plots, such as Li Gonglin's "Gathering in the West Garden" and Zhao Ji's (Biography) "Listening to the Qin", also have high artistic achievements. Historical story paintings often incorporate folk legends to express the political attitude of the time in a tortuous way. For example, the "Picture of Picking Wei" depicting characters with integrity and unyielding integrity, "Picture of Zhu Yun folding the threshold", "Picture of Yuan An sitting on the sill", "Picture of Chen Yuanda locking admonishment", which depicts outright admonishment and struggle against power, reflect the correctness of the situation. The "Picture of Freeing the Crown", "Picture of the Bridge Alliance", etc. are strategic solutions to ethnic issues. It is particularly noteworthy that paintings depicting unfortunate and sad experiences caused by wars and complicated ethnic relations are very popular, such as "The Return of Wen Ji to the Han Dynasty" and "The Picture of the Concubine Ming's Departure from the Fortress". Like the folk history telling at that time, they showed the Distinctive feelings of patriotism and sense of urgency. The rulers of the Song Dynasty promoted Taoism and built temples and temples. Although the Taoist murals lacked the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty, they still maintained a considerable scale. For example, the murals at Daxiangguo Temple in Tokyo, Yuqing Zhaoying Palace, Jingling Palace, Wuyue Temple, Bao□ Palace, and Xianying Temple, West Taiyi Palace, and Wusheng Temple in Lin'an during the Southern Song Dynasty were mostly painted by famous artists from the Academy of Painting. During the reign of Zhenzong, he built the Yuqing Zhaoying Palace and recruited painters from all over the world. More than 3,000 people took the exam. During the reign of Emperor Huizong, he built the Five Sacred Mountains Temple and gathered famous painters from all over the world. Hundreds of people responded to the imperial edict, which shows that he has many talents. A more distinct secular trend appeared in the religious paintings of the Song Dynasty. To attract audiences with lively scenes and interesting plots, a large number of images of gods were created in Taoist paintings, many of which were based on real-life characters. In the early Song Dynasty, Wu Daozi's painting school occupied an absolute position in murals. Its artistic style can be seen from the existing pink version of the mural "Chaoyuan Immortal Battle Picture". The quantity and quality of the tomb murals of the Song Dynasty can no longer be compared with those of the Han and Tang Dynasties. The murals at Kaihua Temple in Gaoping, Shanxi, the murals at the base of Jingzhi Temple Tower and Jingzhongyuan Tower in Zhengding, the Song Dynasty murals at Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, and the Song tomb murals discovered in Henan and other areas are all important remains for the investigation of Song Dynasty murals.

Landscape, flower and bird paintings made rapid progress in the Song Dynasty. In terms of art, it greatly surpassed the Tang Dynasty. The flower-and-bird painters of the Song Dynasty paid great attention to the observation and study of the images and situations of animals and plants, and raised flowers and birds for this purpose. Zhao Chang played around the fence in the early morning and sketched flowers and colors; Yi Yuanji went deep into the mountains of Jinghu Lake to observe the wild conditions of apes; Han Ruochu painted feathers, and every bird he made was famous from beak to tail and feet, and he was familiar with the anatomy. The flower-and-bird painters of the Song Dynasty painted flowers, fruits, and vegetation with four seasons, yin and yang facing away, bamboo shoots old and young, and the coxacalyx first, in order to be vivid and lifelike.

Therefore, critics regarded the cat's pupils in the painting as vertical lines and pointed out that "Peony and Civet Cat" was a painting at noon. Farmers pointed out the mistake in the famous painting "Bullfighting" that the ox's tail should be hanging down instead of being raised up, and Zhao Ji's depiction of the peacock The discussion that the left foot must be raised first to ascend the pier requires that the image be true and reasonable. The flower-and-bird paintings of the Song Dynasty include Huang's style, which depicts rare birds and trees in the palace, with exquisite workmanship; and Cui Bai's and Wu Yuanyu's style, which depict lotuses and wild geese with simple pen and ink and light colors, and are full of Jianghu interest; there are also styles that directly express the sentiments of scholar-bureaucrats. A literati ink opera style that specializes in writing about ink bamboo, ink plum, etc.

The painting "Wen Ji Returns to the Han Dynasty" by Zhang Yu is well-organized. There are two seals of "Emperor's Book" and "Baowanzhi" written by Wanli of Ming Dynasty on the front end, and "Seal of Wanli" on the back end of the book. It was passed down to the Qing Dynasty and collected by the inner government of the Qing Dynasty. The scroll is signed by Qianlong, Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty: "Picture of Wen Ji from the Song Dynasty returning to the Han Dynasty", with the four words "internal government appraisal" and two seals of "divine grade" and "Qianlong Chenhan". . While Emperor Qianlong was appreciating the painting, he still had unfinished thoughts and wrote poems about it on the scroll. At the end of the poem, there are two small square seals of "Bide" and "Langrun". After that, ten seals from Jiaqing, Xuantong and other places were stamped on the screen. In front of the water, there were "Liang Qing's seal" and "Jiaolin secret play". On the back of the water, there were "Jiaolin Jade Collection of books". In addition to the back of the water, there were also There are two collection seals of "Cangyanzi" and "Jiaolin Jushi".

“The most wonderful words in paintings are landscapes”. Due to the attention paid by society, landscape paintings have gradually become the mainstay of painting. Many landscape painters go deep into the natural mountains and rivers, observe and experience them repeatedly day and night, thus accurately painting the characteristics of different regions, seasons, and climates, and pursuing beautiful and moving artistic conceptions. From the panoramic views of mountains, rivers, turquoise, to the corner scenes with concise brushwork and highly tailored compositions, they show the outstanding creations of different periods. The landscape scenery is not only the scenery of fairy mountains and pavilions, the aristocratic gardens and the secluded mansions of scholar-bureaucrats, but also the natural scenery of the mountains and countryside in the north and south, interspersed with turning wheels, water mills, ferries, shipping, fishing, woodcutting, mule harvesting, etc. The ordinary life scenes such as traveling, temples and temples, markets and wine shops have a strong flavor of life. Through the description of real scenery, it embodies beautiful imagination and creates a poetic artistic conception.

Achievements in Painting Song Dynasty painting was the peak of the development of Chinese painting art. The wide range of real life content it reflects is extremely prominent in the history of ancient painting. Using diverse and beautiful art forms, he created many artistic expression techniques, which are closely related to society. Most of the styles and theories in the paintings of the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties can be found in the paintings of the Song Dynasty, which shows the maturity and maturity of Chinese painting. Highly prosperous.

The painting art of the Song Dynasty had many important creations in technique. Focus on exploring the mental state of the characters and touching plots, and focus on creating artistic images with distinctive personalities. Flower-and-bird paintings and landscape paintings pursue beautiful and moving artistic conceptions, pay attention to true and ingenious artistic expressions, and strive to refine images, with a high degree of realism. The paintings of literati and officials also promoted the prosperity and improvement of the art of painting. They made special contributions to the exploration of subjective expression and the effect of pen and ink. Court painting has been highly developed based on the prosperity of painting in the entire society, and its artistic achievements cannot be ignored.

There is still controversy in academic circles as to whether "Snow Scenery and Cold Forest Picture" is the original work of Fan Kuan. For a long time. The circulation of this picture is unknown. The text and color of the seal "Treasure of the Royal Book" in the picture have the characteristics of the Song Dynasty. It can be seen that it was hidden in the palace during the Song Dynasty. From then until the Ming Dynasty, I don’t know where he lived. In the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, it was collected by collector Liang Qingbiao. On the picture, there are two red seals with "Jiao Lin" and "Jiao Lin Collection" and one white text with "Guan Qi Rong". Later recorded in "Dark Green Huiguan", there are "An's Yizhou Calligraphy and Painting Seals", two "Siyuantang" white text square seals and a "Luyin" Zhu Wen square seal. At about the same time, there was a "Treasure of Qianlong's Imperial Letters" attached, indicating that this picture had been collected by the Qing Palace. When the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing, it became homeless again and was purchased by collector Zhang Yi. Today there are two seals, "Luhe Zhang Yizang Secretary" Zhu Wenfang Seal and "Wenfu Sishou" Bai Wenfang Seal. This picture depicts the magnificent snow-capped mountains scenery in the north. In the painting, the snow peaks stand out, the mountains are towering and covered with white snow. In the deep valley and cold forest, the Xiao Temple is hidden, the water flows without waves, and the peaks and ravines are filled with clouds. Its mountains are winding upwards and far away, its water is calm and condensed, and its trees are deep and cold. From this picture, we can appreciate that the author is no longer limited to the style of carving objects, and has separated from the real mountains and rivers, expressing a tendency to write about the mountains and rivers in his heart and convey the mountains and rivers in his mind.

The representative figures of Song Dynasty painting are Li Gonglin, Su Shi, Wen Tong, Mi Fu and others. In art, we strive to wash away the lead and tend to be plain and elegant, advocating an innocent and fresh style.

The calligraphy of Cai Xiang, Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu and others who appeared in the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty truly established the unique look of Song Dynasty calligraphy and most reflected its high achievements. In the history of calligraphy, these four people are called the "Four Schools of Song Dynasty". Most calligraphy in the Southern Song Dynasty cannot escape the boundaries of Huang Tingjian and Mi Fu. Its achievements are far less than those in the Northern Song Dynasty, and there is a lack of calligraphers who are leading the generation and have far-reaching influence