Chinese Painting Masterpieces Classic Library. Ancient Part. Dong Qichang

Author: Jia Dejiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: Dong Qichang (1555–1636), styled Xuancai, known as Sibai and Siweng, also called Xiangguang Jushi, was a native of Huating (now Songjiang, Shanghai). He passed the imperial examination in the 16th year of the Wanli reign and was selected as a Cishiji, appointed as a compiler, and rose to the position of Minister of Rites in Nanjing. After his death, he was posthumously granted the title of Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent and honored with the posthumous name "Wenmin." He was renowned in poetry, prose, calligraphy, and painting. His paintings excelled in landscapes, following the styles of Dong Yuan, Ju Ran, the "Two Mi" (Mi Fu and Mi Shen), and the "Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty." He extracted the essence and applied it broadly, establishing his own school and setting a unique style, becoming the founder of the "Songjiang Painting School."
In his painting, he emphasized the use of traditional brushwork techniques, winning praise for his elegant ink tones and profound artistic conception, rather than striving for meticulous realism. His brushwork was sparse yet refined, subtle yet expressive, with spontaneous yet lively strokes. Living in the picturesque Jiangnan region and having traveled extensively across Hunan, Hubei, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Anhui, Shanxi, and Beijing, he drew inspiration from nature and his deep cultural and artistic cultivation, enriching his works with profound meaning. He captured the spiritual essence of natural landscapes with exaggerated brushwork, yet was not bound by the actual scenes, often embedding poetic imagination in his lush, simple, and paintings. His works combined the beauty of poetry, calligraphy, and painting, becoming a model for literati painting after the late Ming Dynasty.
Dong Qichang's landscape paintings were not particularly strong in spatial composition or modeling, but he excelled in incorporating calligraphy into painting, emphasizing the relationship between brushwork and composition, and pursuing the artistic realm of "simplicity and naturalness." His works such as Painting Principles and Notes from the Studio of Painting Meditation advocated for the "spirit of literati" in art, opposing the "artistry of craftsmen." He emphasized expressing one's own intentions directly and opposed imitation and following suit. He was the first to propose the theory of dividing painting into the "Northern and Southern Schools," advocating the fusion of the mystical "sudden enlightenment" of Buddhist Chan sect with painting techniques and cultivation, representing the main schools and viewpoints of painting theory at the time.