Selected Works of Five Dynasties Masters Jing Hao and Guan Tong

Author: Tianjin People's Fine Arts Publishing House
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: This is the essence of the fine Chinese painting tradition, the best model for practicing and deeply studying the artistic language of masters. It is a collection of exquisite Chinese painting teaching books, the best model for learning and appreciating the famous paintings of renowned masters from past generations. The Sui and Tang dynasties were a period when ancient painting further matured and achieved brilliant accomplishments. During this time, religious paintings depicting figures held a significant proportion in creative works, but landscape painting had already developed independently and achieved great creativity, laying the foundation for the splendid era of landscape painting in the Five Dynasties. A remarkable leap occurred, forming two major landscape painting systems: the Northern and the Jiangnan. Northern landscape painters excelled in depicting the landscapes along the banks of the Yellow River. Representative painters include Jing Hao and his disciple Guan Quan. Jing Hao lived during the late Tang Dynasty and the early Five Dynasties as a literati deeply versed in classics. He was born into chaos, with the conflicts of warlords and political corruption creating long-term turmoil. Jing Hao's hometown, Qinyang, was in the region of contention between the warlord Zhu Wen and Li Kexu. To escape the war, he retreated to Honggu Valley in the Taihang Mountains, adopting the name Hongguzi and living a reclusive life of self-sufficiency, immersed in nature. He observed and studied nature closely, gaining an in-depth understanding and genuine appreciation of landscapes. He once ventured into deep mountains and gorges, encountering ancient pine trees with extraordinary shapes, which inspired his passion for painting. He conducted thorough and comprehensive research on the achievements of various landscape painters of the Tang Dynasty, particularly admiring Zhang Bo's ink landscape paintings. He also incorporated the strengths of Wu Daosi and Xiang Rong in brushwork and ink but avoided their weaknesses, creating lifelike and moving artistic images of real mountains in his works, establishing a profound and comprehensive research approach. The "Brushwork Records" attributed to Jing Hao is a complete early ancient treatise on landscape painting, differing from the spurious sayings of famous masters that were passed down through the ages. Instead, it systematically and comprehensively discusses the creation of landscape painting from an aesthetic perspective. It proposes the theory of "depicting the true," meaning creating artistic images that are more vivid and moving than natural landscapes. "Truth" must achieve "both spirit and substance," rather than merely "capturing the form while losing the essence," which only results in superficial resemblance. To achieve this, one must engage in in-depth and meticulous observation of landscapes.