Zhao Ji was the eleventh son of Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty. Being so far down the line for succession to the empire, he spent his time devoting himself to his loves of literature, art, and Daoism; surrounding himself in luxury and sophistication. He built up and catalogued an extensive painting collection, Xuanhehuapu, with over 6,000 paintings. To date, no earlier collection, neither court or private, is known to have as much detail as Huizong’s because book length catalogues
Northern Song Emperor Huizong (Sturman, 1990). This painting was made to commemorate a “rare” phenomenon where 20 cranes flying on the sky above the main gate of the palace, Kaifeng, on the day of Lantern Festival on the year 1112. This phenomenon was believed as a Mandate of Heaven under the rule of Emperor Huizong (IBID). This auspicious phenomenon, however, might not be as magical as it seems since Cranes above Kaifeng mirrors Emperor Huizong’s 3 aspects of painting that shows Emperor Huizong’s
When studying the rich history of arts and recreation in the Song Dynasty, it is evident that there were many newly pioneered practices that completely captivated the populous and became the epitome of several long-established genres. When one observes the progression of visual arts through the Song Dynasty, landscape painting established itself as the most prevalent and important of the multitude of forms in this genre. Close examination of entertainment reveals that the dramatic arts, with emphasis
In this paper I will be comparing and contrasting to major garden styles. One arises from Kamakura period of Japan the “Saihō-ji” garden and another derives from Song Dynasty in China the “Master of the Nets Garden.” I Choose these gardens because I felt that the features and style used are distinctive, in the sense of religion, culture and nature come together to create these gardens. The style that is used in these gardens are not used anywhere else. Which led me to be interested in gaining more
event occurring on February 26, 1112, in which 20 Manchurian cranes descend upon the cloud enveloped gates of the imperial palace at Kaifeng during the Lantern Festival. In his article, “Cranes Above Kaifeng: The Auspicious Image at the Court of Huizong,” Peter Sturman, an art history professor at UC Santa Barbara, examines the story behind the painting. His evidence reveals that the image and description shown on the hand scroll do not support a sense of objective realism that it makes claim to
the Song Dynasty began in 960. The bustling towns and cities that developed during the Song Dynasty was full of nuns and monks who were a part of the street scene, all over the Chinese heartland the landscape was full of pagodas and monasteries, domesticating Buddhism. The Buddhism that came about during the Song Dynasty was considerably unlike that of the Tang dynasty. New developments of Song Buddhism that became well known was the dominant form of elite monastic Buddhism during the Song period
Abstract The purpose of this essay is to investigate the use of perspective and pictorial value in traditional Chinese ink painting of Song Dynasty (960- 1279). Traditional Chinese ink paintings are known for depicting landscapes in a unique and profound style, but are usually not credit for their accuracy in depicting scene in a realistic way. Some may even consider that traditional Chinese ink paintings do not have the “correct” use of perspective and pictorial value in them. Did ancient Chinese