Beijing

Prior to the Yuan Dynasty, the Song Dynasty, although advanced culturally and prosperous economically, was inferior militarily and was constantly bullied by its neighboring states and tribes. The imperial court usually appeased its enemies by paying tribute in order to avoid war. This policy of appeasement enabled the Song leaders to govern some parts of China but they were forced to adjust to reality and give up large parts of their kingdom in order to survive. This all came to an end with the arrival of the Mongols, a superior force that built the biggest empire in world history. The Mongols were not interested in negotiating and very soon occupied the whole of China under the rule Kubilai Khan the grandson of the infamous Genghis Khan. Once the Mongols consolidated their power the intellectuals of the old Song Dynasty were badly persecuted, most of these Confucian Literati’s preferred to retire and lead a life of seclusion than serve under the brutal Mongols that were looked down upon and seen as uncultured tribesmen. For the Chinese the Yuan era was a period of economic decline, hardship and anguish, however, this is also a period of intense creativity, mainly in drama, calligraphy and painting. The dramatic changes in painting are crucial for understanding later developments in this art and are a milestone in the evolution of Chinese aesthetics.

 Chinese painting has started as a tradition of professionals painters. Expert artists would specialize in painting images and themes that were fashionable and customary. There were different schools and preferences for a number of different themes but there was a general uniformity in style and attitude towards how art is done and what purpose it serves. During the Northern Song period a revolution took place, where Su shi, Mi Fu and their followers advocated a more relaxed and unrestricted attitude towards art. These intellectuals who had no background in painting as a profession, promoted an ideal of self expression and casualness. They regarded meticulous technique and the ornamental function of art as secondary to the intuitive expression of the artists inner feelings. They saw the need to resemble reality by using special technical effects, as 'childish games', it was the inner world of the artist and not the world outside that these scholars, also known as the Literati School of painting,  wanted to depict. However, the Literati School did not manage to establish itself as a major school of painting during the Song Dynasty and was marginalized and downplayed during the South Song Period by the professional painters of the flourishing imperial academy. It was only during the Yuan period that this school returns and eventually becomes the main trend in Chinese painting.    

The Mongols established their capital in Beijing far away from the former South Song capital of Hangzhou. This enabled the old officials and intellectuals that were naturally situated around the old capital to form a kind of underground scholar society where they would engage in the pleasures of scholarly life such as poetry, calligraphy, painting and intellectual discussions. These people had no imperial patronage or professional skills in painting but like all scholars in traditional China, were well trained in calligraphy and very proficient in handling a Chinese brush. They created spontaneously and painted without attaching importance to meticulous technique or realism. The Yuan scholars revived the Literati School of Painting and brought Chinese painting to a new climax of a completely different nature to the monumental landscape paintings of the Song. This revolution in painting is the beginning of a trend in which the Literati School establishes itself as the leading school in Chinese painting. As mentioned, the art of the Yuan Literati School differed considerably from that of the preceding Song Academy. The Song painters, especially the Ma-Xia School, were involved in expressing a strong sense of space and a feeling of spiritual infinity and endless void. They used mists, special compositions and elimination of unnecessary element such as trees, vegetation and rocks in order to reach this goal. The Yuan literati, on the other hand, were preoccupied with form and content, their main goal was to express their individual sentiments and moods through diverse, untamed and spontaneous brushwork, they were not as artistic and refined as previous generations, most of them down played the ornamental role of art and displayed condensed compositions abundant with repetitive forms through which they could express their individuality.

It is still debatable as to what are the reasons behind the great changes in art during this period. Some scholars argue that the professional painters of the glorious Song Academy worked under imperial patronage and made a living by selling their art, were highly dependant on the survival of the dynasty and political stability. Considering the strong connection between the Song Academy artists and political power, it was only natural that once the Song Court disappeared the artistic tradition that depended on it would vanish as well. Other scholars believe that the artistic tradition of the Song declined as a result of reaching a climax that it could no longer surpass. This view believes that southern Song landscape painting brought an artistic tradition to its full potential and that any persistence in keeping it alive would fall victim to stagnation and repetitiveness. Tt seems like both views are true to some extent and can account for this drastic change in artistic style and preference.  

The beginning of the Yuan artistic revolution was sparked by Zhao Mengfu, a controversial figure that agreed to serve under the Mongol rulers although he himself was a descendent of the Song imperial family. In art Zhao Mengfu began a new trend of archaism, using compositions that referred to the past while executing them with innovative and original brushwork. This reference to the past was a kind of defiance of the new foreign rule and longing for what was originally Chinese. He was also one of China’s greatest calligraphers, often incorporating calligraphy into his paintings. Zhao Mengfu exerted great influence over later generations and especially over the group who brought this revolution to full maturity. This group, which is representative of the Literati School of Painting was known as The Four Great Masters of the Yuan and consisted of Huang Gongwang, Ni Zan, Wu Zhen and Wang Meng. These masters changed the course of Chinese landscape painting with their new and fresh interpretations. The Yuan Dynasty is a period where Chinese painting makes its final shift from professional art that stresses ornamentation, technique and expertise into an art that seeks the expression of emotions and meaning, understanding this period is crucial in order to better understand the development of the Chinese painting tradition. 

   >Link Partners         >Contact Us      

- The World of Chinese Art (tm) -