Dong Qichang Paintings and Calligraphy Collection

Author: Yuan Liezhou
Responsibility: Compilation
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1996-12-01
Features: Dong Qichang (1555—1636), styled Xuanzai, styled Xiangguang, styled Sibai, was a native of Dongjiahu in Shanghai County (now part of Shanghai) in the Ming Dynasty's Jiangnan straight. He was born on January 19, 1555. At the age of 17, he participated in the Huikao of Songjiang Prefecture. At that time, he wrote a very satisfactory eight-legged essay, believing he could win, but when the results were announced, he was ranked second to his Dong Yuanzheng. The reason was that the prefect Zhong Zhenji disliked the handwriting in his exam paper and, despite the excellent essay, ranked him second. This incident deeply shocked Dong Qichang, and from then on, he devoted himself to studying calligraphy. At first, he took the "Dabao Ta" by Yan Zhenqing of the Tang Dynasty as his model, but later switched to studying the Wei and Jin dynasties, imitating the calligraphy of Zhong Yao and Wang Xizhi. After more than ten years of hard work, Dong Qichang's calligraphy improved significantly, and he gradually mastered landscape painting as well. In 1589 (the 17th year of the Wanli reign), Dong Qichang finally passed the imperial examination and was selected as a Cishitu for his excellent essays and calligraphy, entering the Hanlin Academy for further study. That year, he was 35 years old. In addition to studying classics and history, Dong Qichang discussed painting and calligraphy skills with his colleagues and friends, engaging in debates on the past and present, and evaluating the high and low. He borrowed precious calligraphy scrolls from Han Shining, imitating and pursuing them with great dedication, sometimes neglecting sleep and meals, thus greatly advancing his knowledge and gaining some reputation in the capital. In his hometown, Dong Qichang built the "Lai Zhong Tower," "Bao Ding Studio," "Xihong Hall," "Huachen Studio," and "Xiangguang Studio," with scrolls and calligraphy on the left and right, immersing himself in writing and exploring the art of calligraphy and painting of the past and present. He tirelessly collected the calligraphy of famous masters such as Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi, Xie An, Huan Wen, Zhao Gao, and Mi Fu, and published the "Xihong Hall Calligraphy Collection" in the 31st year of the Wanli reign. During his illness in Songjiang, he was in his prime, knowledgeable, and collected various strengths, living a leisurely life in nature, with skillful hands, creating many famous landscape paintings depicting the scenery of Jiangnan, such as "Fengjing Ancient Tour Map," "He Lin Spring Society Map" (Figure 5), "Floating Mist Warm Green Map," "Shen Tower Map," "West Lake Eight Scenery Map," and "Stream Turning and Turning Map." In August 1640 (the 10th year of the Chongzhen reign), he passed away in his residence in Songjiang at the age of 82 and was later buried in Dongshi Cemetery in Yuyang Bay, Wuxian County (now part of Jiangsu). In the first year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644), the Southern Ming regime in Nanjing, under the rule of the Prince of Fuguo, awarded Dong Qichang the same posthumous title "Wenmin" as Zhao Mengfu of the Yuan Dynasty, thus earning him the nickname "Dong Wenmin." Dong Qichang advocated "traveling ten thousand miles and reading ten thousand books," and his complex life of alternating between official and hermit status, along with his multifaceted talents, perfectly embodied this principle. His rich erudition bore fruit in his poetry, prose, calligraphy, and painting. Dong Qichang's poetry was elegant, natural, simple, and brisk, mostly depicting natural scenery and exploring hidden gems, revealing his love for his homeland and his longing for a secluded life, reflecting his idea of transcending worldly concerns, which aligned with his avoidance of political entanglements. The "Rongtai Poetry Collection" contains hundreds of his poems, along with many five-character and seven-character regulated verse scattered in inscriptions and letters. Although these poems were composed spontaneously and expressed emotions, they were skillfully crafted with rich rhymes and profound meanings, directly conveying his thoughts, with both subtlety and elegance, giving a transcendent feeling. Dong Qichang was also an expert in prose, equally renowned as Tao Wangling. His essays, travelogues, epitaphs, and prefaces were often masterpieces that harmoniously combined storytelling and emotional expression. Qian Qianyi praised his works as "warm and gentle yet full of brilliance, leisurely and composed yet profound and natural." His calligraphy, especially in annotations, was often fluent and elegant, perfectly capturing the essence; sometimes, even a few words could be witty and insightful, like painting a dragon with a single stroke, leaving a lasting impression. For example, in his annotation on Zhao Mengfu's "Quhua Autumn Colors Map," he wrote: "With the refinement of the Tang Dynasty but without its fineness, and with the boldness of the Northern Song but without its roughness." These writings are mostly included in books such as "Huachen Studio Notes," "Rongtai Collection," and "Rongtai Separate Collection." His rich erudition and multifaceted talents provided continuous inspiration for his calligraphy and painting, making his brushwork divine and dominant in his era. Dong Qichang was one of the most influential figures in the history of Chinese calligraphy, and his calligraphic style and theories had a significant impact on later generations. In the late Ming Dynasty, the calligrapher He Sanwei praised Dong Qichang's calligraphy: "Natural and unrestrained, with a well-structured composition, often with the brush not fully expressing the intent, and the intent not fully expressed by the brush. Dragons, snakes, clouds, and objects dance between the fingers, making this the pinnacle of calligraphy." After the "Songxue style" of Zhao Mengfu, with its graceful and round brushwork, dominated the calligraphy scene for hundreds of years, Dong Qichang created a unique style with a slender, elegant, and refined touch, establishing his own school and leading the trend of the time, so much so that "a single sheet of paper was highly sought after," and his fame reached foreign lands, adding glory to cultural exchange between China and the world. His landscape paintings, especially, emphasized the technique of ink, combining the methods of splashing ink and preserving ink, with natural and harmonious combinations of thick and thin, dry and wet. With minimal ink, he created profound and endless artistic conception; without showing off or exaggerating, his true spirit overflowed, filling the paper. In his colored landscape paintings, he sometimes used Yang Sheng's boneless method, replacing ink with color to complete lines, contours, hooks, strokes, and textures, creating exquisite and lifelike scenes without meticulous depiction. Alternatively, he imitated Huang Gongwang's light red and blue method, incorporating Zhao Dayan and Zhao Mengfu's green and blue method, establishing a unique style with clear layers and a fresh, elegant, and vibrant atmosphere. Dong Qichang emphasized the spirit of painting in his works, adding a touch of romanticism to the beautiful and varied landscapes. Especially skilled in calligraphy and poetry, he often inscribed poems with his paintings, his running script and regular script appearing like crawling silkworms and lightning, creating a harmonious and expressive artistic conception. Thus, Dong's creations became a model for literati painting in pursuing artistic conception. For example, in "Diao Feng Po Green Map," the entire scene is merely a dry distant view, with simple brushwork, yet full of spirit and strength. In the foreground, a small slope is depicted with several stones. On the slope stand three old trees, intertwined. The middle one is a broad-leaved tree, slightly outlined but with full branches and leaves; the two side trees fully utilize the effect of splashing ink, with vertical strokes on the left to show twists and turns, and horizontal dots on the right to show pride, with alternating thick and thin ink creating a vibrant scene. The upper part of the scene is completed with a light ink stroke, with distant mountains stretching across, only visible as faint outlines disappearing into the horizon, with the mountain bodies vast and misty, as if surrounded by clouds and mist, majestic beyond compare. The artist then used thick ink to add several high and low leaves in the distant and faint scenery, creating a sense of depth and richness, with flowing clouds and mist filling the shores. On the left, a small slope is drawn, with horizontal ink strokes showing several straight trees. In the middle, a vast expanse of water is depicted without ink, yet the boundless of the ten-thousand-acre lake is vividly portrayed. This vertical scroll, measuring 225 cm in length and 75 cm in width, captures the essence of the scene—distant peaks, vast water, and green trees—with only a sparse arrangement of near and far trees and mountains. This is the result of Dong Qichang skillfully applying the principle: "Wang Qia's splashing ink, Li Cheng's preserving ink, combining the two to create the art of painting" (as seen in the self-inscription on the scroll). The entire work seems sparse yet complete, with no neglected areas, using vigorous and nimble brushwork, yet subtle and elegant, moving the mind with the richness and clarity of ink and momentum. Without a deep understanding of the technique of "leaving space for painting," such a brilliant composition would not have been possible. Some believe that Dong Qichang gained this insight from the structure of calligraphy that is "wide enough for horses to gallop and dense enough to prevent wind from passing," which is not without reason. The entire vertical scroll is uncolored but appears elegant, with the effect of a thousand miles in a single foot, giving a sense of depth and tranquility. Another example is his late work "Guanshan Snowy Clear Map," with mountain ranges and valleys stretching endlessly. On the right, towering peaks rise with a majestic. In the middle, deep valleys and steep cliffs stand, with villages, forests, streams, and paths arranged in a harmonious yet orderly manner; the winding river meanders among them, with no sense of obstruction despite the rocky terrain. On the left, clouds and mist fill the air, soaking the trees and rocks, with distant mountains and heavy forests disappearing into the mist, profound and unfathomable, with endless meaning. The painting uses a thirsty brush to outline the peaks and rocks, with extremely accurate and flexible use of crinkling and rubbing techniques, while the lines flow lightly and appropriately. The convex and concave of the ridges and rocks are completed with horizontal dots and giant moss, paired with layered rendering of light ink strokes, demonstrating perfect technique. The artistic conception is profound and deep, full of the poetic feeling of "a thousand mountains with no birds flying, and ten thousand paths with no human traces." The entire painting uses vigorous and unrefined brushwork, with strong bone force and fresh ink, completely free of sweetness and vulgarity, capturing the cold and distant scenery with sparse and expansive strokes. The final few lines of running script in the scroll are elegant and vigorous, further enriching the painting with a scholarly atmosphere, bright and unrestrained, with its own unique style.