Chinese Landscape Painting and Poetry Tang and Song Dynasties

Landscape Painting Often pen and ink on silk scrolls Often combined with poetry Not intended as realism To express emotion To express the rhythms of nature

“Scholar By a Waterfall,” Ma Yuan, Southern Song dynasty, 12th-13th century

“The Simple Retreat,” Wang Meng, Yuan Dynasty, 1370

Landscape Poetry Ancestor of haiku Contemplation of nature Yin and yang: natural dualities: dark/ light, masculine/feminine, etc. Vivid natural images, daily life Mood often in harmony or in contrast with a season Calligraphy often integrated into landscape paintings

“Wooded Mountains at Dusk,” Kuncan, 1644, Qing Dynasty I want to go further, But my legs are bruised and scratched. The bony rocks appear chiseled, The pines look as if they had been dyed. Sitting down, I feel like a small bird, As I look out at the crowd of peaks gathered before me. Having ascended the heights to the brink of the abyss, I hold fast and ponder the need to sincerely face criticism. Wherever a road ends, I will set myself down, Wherever a source opens, I will build a temple. All this suffices to nourish my eyes, And rest my feet. (Translation by Yangming Chu and Maxwell K. Hearn)

Tang Dynasty 618-907 “Golden Age” of literature and the arts 3,000 Tang poets still known today Extensive and unified empire Rise of Buddhism (from Confucianism) Aristocracy = education, property more than birth Cosmopolitan, open to foreign influence

An Lushan Rebellion Bloody civil war, 755-763 Last Tang emperor, Xuanzong, distracted by love of concubine Famine, floods, droughts also weakened Tang An Lushan: general, favorite of emperor, plotted revolt in secret Estimated 36 million killed (most till WWII)—out of world pop.: 224 million Disrupted intellectual/cultural life

Tu Fu, 712-770 Wanted to be a civil servant, failed test Mother died young, raised by aunt Asthma Best friend, other famous poet Li Bo Distressed by social inequalities Horrified by carnage of An Lushan rebellion Family disruptions: son died, many moves Lived in Three Gorges area towards end of life

Night in My House by the River It is late in the year; Yin and Yang struggle In the brief sunlight. On the desert mountains Frost and snow Gleam in the freezing night. Past midnight, Drums and bugles ring out, Violent, cutting the heart. . . .

Three Gorges

Song Dynasties Northern: 960-1127 Southern: 1127-1269 First paper money, gunpowder, compass Wet-rice production: population doubled Neo-Confucianism: world is real (vs. Buddhism: world is illusion Huge emphasis on education

Li Ch’ing-chao, 1084-1151 Most famous Chinese woman poet At 17, challenged a male poet Husband a court official, travelled a lot Big collection of art, elegant furnishings House burned when capital city fell Husband died—she never recovered Many poems about love, sexuality, loneliness

Alone in the Night The warm rain and pure wind Have just freed the willows from The ice. As I watch the peach trees, Spring rises from my heart and blooms On my cheeks. My mind is unsteady, As if I were drunk. I try To write a poem . . . .

Works Cited: “An Shi Rebellion.” Wikipedia. Last modified: 11-9-08. Elements of Literature: World Literature. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. 2006. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org Rexroth, Kenneth, trans. One Hundred Poems from the Chinese. New York: New Directions, 1971. Yonglin, Jiang. “Tang Dynasty.” Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. New York: Scribner's, 2002. _________. “Song Dynasty.” Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. New York: Scribner’s, 1988