Chinese.

Author: / Country: Mainland China
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Publishing Date: 2003-03-01
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In the magnificent and glorious history of Chinese painting, flower-and-bird painting is one of the three major painting genres, alongside landscape and figure painting. If we trace the reflection of flowers and birds as a theme in art history back to the Neolithic Age, as evidenced by plant patterned pottery fragments unearthed from the Hemudu site in Yuyao, Zhejiang, their lineage can be traced back approximately 7,000 years. Looking into painting treatises, a group of flower-and-bird painters emerged during the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties periods.
Zhang Yanyuan's Record of Famous Paintings of Past Generations from the Tang Dynasty provides us with a list and catalog of such painters and their works:
- Simashe of Jin Dynasty: Painted works such as Various Birds and Beasts (No. 5), Various Fearful Birds, and Various Birds and Beasts.
- Gu Kaizhi of Jin Dynasty: Duck and Goose by Water, Water Goose, and Water Bird Screen
- Shi Daoshuo of Jin Dynasty: Skilled in painting horses and geese, he created works like Geese.
- Xie Zhi of Jin Dynasty: Pure Friendship Painting
- Gu Bao Guang of Song Dynasty: Shooting Pheasants, Pure Peach Painting, and Roosters Fighting in Luozhong.
- Gu Jingxiu of Song Dynasty: His flower-and-bird works, such as Cicadas and Sparrows, were granted to the minister He Ji by Emperor Wu of Song, and Xie He remarked, "It was Gu Jingxiu who first painted cicadas and sparrows on fans."
- Liu Yanzu of Song Dynasty: Skilled in painting cicadas and sparrows.
- Tao Jingzhen of Qi Dynasty: Peacock and Parrot Painting.
This list and catalog indicate that flower-and-bird painting was on the verge of becoming an independent genre, though it was still immature. First, the subject matter was narrow, lacking flowers and birds, with most painters only able to depict bees, butterflies, cicadas, sparrows, eagles, and geese. Second, the techniques were still somewhat naive, with critics commenting that their works lacked "spirit and vigor," had "light and weak brushwork," and were "not meticulous but lacked vitality." In fact, this is the true appearance of flower-and-bird painting during its incubation period.
As for the history of xiaopin painting, I haven’t conducted serious research, but I know that fans are particularly suitable for xiaopin painting. Record of Famous Paintings of Past Generations cites Xie He, who believed that Gu Jingxiu of the Southern Dynasties period was the earliest to paint cicadas and sparrows on fans. This is the earliest recorded flower-and-bird xiaopin painting. From this, we can conclude that flower-and-bird painters during the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties periods already possessed strong modeling skills and generally emphasized the accuracy of form.
Record of Famous Paintings of Past Generations records:
- Liu Yanzu’s Cicadas and Sparrows were "exquisitely subtle."
- Gao Xiaoheng once painted a white eagle in a hall, so lifelike that onlookers mistook it for real, and doves and sparrows dared not approach.
- Liu Shaogui painted fighting sparrows on a wall, and the emperor initially thought they were alive until he brushed them away and realized they were paintings.
These records tell us that during the incubation period of flower-and-bird painting becoming an independent genre, realism was the criterion. This aesthetic taste paved the way for the meticulous flower-and-bird paintings of the Tang and Song dynasties.
During the Tang Dynasty, flower-and-bird painting gradually evolved from being a background or complement to figure painting into an independent genre. From the early and mid-Tang murals, we can see that flowers and birds were still supplementary to figure painting. However, the changes in the subject matter of figure painting during this period brought opportunities for the development of flower-and-bird painting.
When the Tang Dynasty was first established, paintings with strong political themes and those depicting the images of founding officials and relatives were clearly more valued than religious paintings. As the mid-Tang period progressed, the content of figure painting expanded again to include people's daily lives and emphasized the depiction of inner emotions. Figure painting shifted from being solemn and dignified to being more lively and engaging, providing opportunities for landscape and flower-and-bird painting. Therefore, flower-and-bird painting (including those within figure painting) saw significant improvement during the early Tang Dynasty.
During the early and mid-Tang periods, many figure painters were also skilled in flower-and-bird painting, and a group of flower-and-bird painters with considerable talent emerged. Among them were members of the royal family and nobility, such as Li Yuanchang and Li Yuanying, who were renowned for painting eagles, hawks, bees, and butterflies. There were also court officials and artists who served in the imperial court, such as Dou Shilun, Yin Zhongrong, Xue Ji, Feng Shaozheng, and Jiang Jiao.
Dou Shilun, known as Lord Lingyang, once designed patterns for Shu brocade and was hailed as the "Lingyang Pattern." There was also the ethnic minority painter Kang Saduo, who integrated frontier aesthetics with traditional Chinese culture, enriching the content and techniques of flower-and-bird painting. Unfortunately, none of their works have survived to this day. However, contemporary art historians and famous poets described the styles of a few renowned flower-and-bird painters.
Xue Ji (649–713) was a painter with comprehensive artistic in poetry, calligraphy, and painting, and also one of the Tang Dynasty’s most accomplished flower-and-bird painters. His eldest son specialized in painting cranes and pioneered six-panel crane screen paintings, which became highly popular. The poet Du Fu wrote in his poem Behind the Wall of the Gua House in Tongquan County, Xue Shaobao Painted Cranes:
"Xue Gong’s eleven cranes, all true to Qingtian’s grace,
Their colors fade, yet their elegance transcends the mortal world.
Each crane holds its own intent,
Like towering figures, majestic and grand."
Du Fu’s poem summarizes the characteristics of Xue Ji’s works: realistic yet not stiff, with each crane embodying its unique posture. Xue Ji did not paint cranes merely for the sake of painting them but used them to express his subjective feelings, comparing them to transcendent "towering figures" and opening up the lyrical depth of flower-and-bird painting.
Jiang Jiao was an expert in painting eagles and held the position of Minister of Court Music. He was enfeoffed as Lord of Chu. Du Fu wrote a poem titled Song of Jiang Chu Gong’s Painted Eagle:
"This eagle’s realism is unmatched,
Its portrayal is so lifelike that sparrows and swallows in the rafters
Fear to approach,
And soar towards the heavens."
Additionally, theorists recorded the styles of several flower-and-bird painters:
- Liu Xiaoshu: His bird-and-bird paintings were "extraordinary and remarkably lifelike."
- Kang Saduo: Early flowers, late leaves, with " transformations and myriad forms of exotic beasts and rare birds."
- Feng Shaozheng: His eagles, hawks, chickens, and pheasants were "exquisitely rendered," with "brilliant beaks, eyes, claws, and plumage."
From these descriptions and critiques, we can infer that Tang Dynasty flower-and-bird painting had become increasingly mature. Especially notable was "the flower-and-bird painter of the generation" (as recorded in Record of Famous Paintings of Past Generations), Bian Luan, who served during the reigns of Emperor Daizong and Emperor Dezong (762–805) of the Tang Dynasty. He was renowned for his "brilliant brushwork" and was particularly skilled in flower-and-bird painting, capturing the "vitality of living things." During Emperor Dezong’s reign, the Goryeo Kingdom presented peacocks and skilled dancers, and Bian Luan was summoned to paint them. Beyond the vibrant colors and intricate decorations, Bian Luan captured the dancers’ graceful postures, as if in rhythm with the music, earning Mi Fu’s praise: "Bian Luan’s paintings are as alive as real birds."
In addition to his rich and luxurious depictions of rare birds and flowers, Bian Luan’s works also included "mountain gardens and vegetables" (Record of Famous Paintings of Past Generations), indicating that flower-and-bird painters of this period began to focus on life studies in nature, enriching the subject matter of flower-and-bird painting and even influencing its techniques and style.
From the late Tang Dynasty to the early Five Dynasties, Teng Changyou and Cao Guangyin took flower-and-bird painting to an even more mature level after Bian Luan. Teng Changyou, who "planted flowers, bamboo, to observe the prosperity and decline of plants," achieved "the semblance of forms through his brush" over time (Xuanhe Painting Catalogue), with works characterized by "prioritizing resemblance" and "mimicking life through colors" (Record of Famous Paintings of Sichuan). His floral and bamboo paintings were highly similar to Bian Luan’s. Cao Guangyin, who followed Zhao Zong into Shu during the chaos, was a diligent painter who "did not rest his brush for a moment" for over thirty years (Record of Famous Paintings of Sichuan), with works described as "exquisitely refined" (Record of Famous Paintings Seen and Heard), belonging to the meticulous and vibrant style.