Understanding of Chinese Paintings - Essay Example

Written Texts in Changing our Understanding of Chinese Paintings Poetry, calligraphy and painting were three perceptions of Chinese art history. The three were tightly related to each other. Poetry and painting had equal status in Chinese history. Chinese Poetry reached its highest point during Tang dynasty. So, there were lots of painters who were interested in painting based on Tang poetry during Tang dynasty or even after. The great monumental landscape Autumn Mountains at Dusk, attributed to Guan Tong, was one such an example.

This work was a visual representation on one of the famous Tang poets Li Bais poem The Road to Shu is Hard. Paintings and written texts are used together to give more meaning and interpretation to the paintings, which could otherwise be interpreted. "Yeee―hooo―syee! How perilous! So high! Hardships of the way to Shu― Much harder than climbing the blue sky! Cancong it was, and also Yufu, Who founded this state in the oh so dim past, Thence were four myriad, eight thousand more years Till its home fires were joined up with the Qin frontier…….

I ask you, sir, as you travel west, when is it youll come back? One dreads the craggy steeps of the route, impossible to scale. There youll see only disheartened birds, calling in age-old trees; The male takes wing, trailing his mate, circling amidst the grove. And too, youll hear the cuckoos crying― In the moonlight, sorrowing in empty hills. " (Kroll, 227) While considering the poem above, poetry could be considered as a vocal painting while painting could be considered as visual poetry. Viewers could feel about the winding and steepness of the road to Shu.

From the poem, readers could get more information. The hard road to Shu is a metaphoric representation of the hardness of engaging in politics and the turbulence faced by the Empire. These indications could not easily be noticed by just looking at the painting. Some paintings were created to take record of important events. For this kind of paintings, there usually were inscription beside to indicate the event. For example, Cranes of Good Omen attributed to Emperor Huizong. This was a handscroll of both painting and inscription on it.

This was an event of 20 cranes appeared in the sky. Even two of them standing on the top of the building. Huizong recorded this kind of miracle day by himself using both inscription and painting. Readers could get the information of specific description of how the cranes are coming and positioning themselves. Huizong also indicated that this was an auspicious sign, which can reflect the fact that he was the person who was chosen by God to be the emperor. The empire under his governance would be flourishing and steady.

It is difficult for viewers to get this politic implication behind the painting by mere looking at it. Although written text could assist people to have a deeper understanding of paintings, sometimes, it leads viewers to go to another direction that brings a totally different interpretation. Minghuangs Journey to Shu was the depiction of the history of the Tang Emperor Ming Huang, Xuanzong and his love concubine Yang Guifei. At first, the court under Ming Huangs governance was the most brilliant and prosperous in Chinese history.

However, in 745, Ming Huang indulged into his concubine Yang Guifeis beauty and paid less attention to his government affairs. So in 755, there was a rebellion called An Lushan Rebellion to oppose Ming Huangs ruling. This made Ming Huang and his concubine flee to Shu. The soldiers who directed their anger to Yang Guifei asked to kill her. Finally, without a better solution, the emperor permitted it. This painting depicted this tragic moment. The painting was dominantly into the green. There was a text wrote by Qianlong Emperor.

Qianlong Emperor intentionally avoids writing about Minghuangs tragic escape and Yang Guifeis execution, which mislead viewers to another interpretation of the painting. The painting depicted the winding mountains path as well as a group of people riding on horses with bigger, red-dressed figure. Combined with the text, it almost looked like a spring travelling painting by Ming Huang.