A free translation and abridgement of the Foreword by Sir Ti-liang Yang, GBM
When Huang Binhong discussed painting, he often emphasized“渾厚華滋”, the vital qualities of depth and volume, luxuriance and integration. This could very well describe the breadth and richness of Chinese culture and art, with its numerous varieties.
It is often a pleasant experience to meet with like-minded friends who share the same interests in learning and enjoying the many splendours of Chinese art. Pikyee’s passion about Chinese painting and calligraphy goes back some forty years. I have known her and her husband Robert and his family for even longer. After her marriage to Robert, apart from being the excellent mother, housewife and efficient manager at home, Pikyee was able to devote herself to her studies and research with diligence and perseverance. Her enthusiasm can be quite infectious.
In the 80’s and 90’s, Pikyee worked as a volunteer in Christie’s, the auction house, participating, and being involved, in many auctions. These hands-on activities exposed her to a variety of Chinese art, painting and calligraphy, and enabled her to acquire firm practical foundations. Later she spent years studying Chinese art history, connoisseurship, classical Chinese and calligraphy with well-known scholars and teachers in Hong Kong and China. Ever so eager to see more paintings and to increase her understanding of the subject, she visited museums worldwide, viewing numerous exhibitions and attending seminars, which helped to develop further her insights and appreciation into the many facets of Chinese painting and calligraphy.
Pikyee specialized in the work of Huang Binhong which became the subject of her doctoral thesis. I was on the stage welcoming Pikyee when her doctorate was conferred by the University of Hong Kong. Thereafter, she taught periodically at the University of Hong Kong and at the Chinese University of Hong Kong as a way of sharing what she had learnt over the years.
The Analects contain this well-known aphorism,“知之者不如好之者,好之者不如樂之者”. This might loosely be translated as “one who knows his subject pales in comparison to one who is devoted to it, and one who is devoted to his subject in turn is inferior to one who delights in it.” As someone who has strong interest in matters Chinese myself, I understand the extra pleasure in moving onto the next plane from appreciation to building a collection which Pikyee started more than thirty years ago. Her fine assemblage ranges from the Song to the Ming and Qing dynasties and thereafter. She has chosen to use each piece, some very rare, to describe a certain theme in Chinese painting history. The combination of pictures, annotations plus writing, of and about the pieces, their creators, and their background, allow readers to form some idea of the diversity and development of Chinese painting throughout the dynasties. The presentation is done clearly and concisely, and the deep scholarship involved worn lightly. This approach is far more likely to encourage others to embark on similar journeys of appreciation and understanding.
Pikyee does not view collecting as a financial venture, but as objects of study and appreciation. I believe this work, which I have read with pleasure and by which I have been enlightened, is a signal contribution to understanding and enjoying Chinese art and its evolution and development.
I write these words in appreciation of Pikyee’s study and to express my wish that others may benefit from this carefully researched, balanced and well written work.
Classical Chinese painting and calligraphy have their common origin in the use of the brush and ink. Painters and calligraphers deploy the expressive and multifarious use of the brush and ink, aspiring to infuse into their works the spirit resonance (氣韻生動) , which is the quality prized throughout the ages in the art. The inscriptions of poems and literary writings on paintings and works of calligraphy enrich further their content and give them extra artistic dimensions. As is said in a well-known aphorism, “there is painting in poetry, and poetry in painting.” However, the use of seals is also another important feature. Though literary in nature, seals can also serve a playful role and be full of delight. Seal carving, an independent art form, emphasizes calligraphic lines and aesthetic placement of characters. The harmonious combination of poetry, calligraphy, painting and seal in painting and calligraphy, not only nourishes the spirit and defines the changing concept of beauty in different times, but also reveals the accomplishments and self-cultivation of individual painters and calligraphers.
In the long history of traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy, there are many different forms and schools of expression. Different categories, besides displaying distinctive styles, have their own artistic origins. It is important to understand their historical background and the prevailing artistic milieu in which they were created. I have tried, in this work, to trace briefly the development of Chinese painting and calligraphy from the Ming through to the Qing dynasty. The path I have taken is to use individual pieces of work to illustrate the different themes and strands in its development throughout the dynasties. The appreciation of Chinese painting and calligraphy has been considered a difficult skill to acquire. Those with the right instincts and interest can simply go with the flow in appreciating its visual beauty. The difficult part is how to get to the next plane to develop a deeper knowledge of the pieces. Besides being adept in its history, one has to be familiar with the skills involved in painting and calligraphy, understand the literary connotations involved, acquire certain degree of connoisseurship in authenticating, and has a firm grip of the works’ artistic and intrinsic value.
I have spent close to forty years pursuing the beauty of Chinese painting and calligraphy and in learning how to fully appreciate them. I started doing the research which eventually became this publication many years ago. My main purpose is to share what I have learnt over the years with those with such a common interest. I also hope that those who are interested, but without the necessary background of Chinese history and culture, can add to their arsenal of appreciative faculties by seeing how one interested individual has gone about her journey.
I am deeply indebted to my esteemed teachers, Professor Wan Qingli, Mr. Harold Wong, Professor Chou Ju-hsi, Mr. Ho Shu-hui and Professor Shih Hsio-yen. They have taught me so much over the years and filled my journey, in learning and collecting Chinese art and painting, with such happiness and excitement. I hope this book can reflect, to a very limited degree, my gratitude and affection to them. I am immensely grateful to Sir Ti-liang Yang for his encouragement and Foreword. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Lee Chi-Kwong, for his many suggestions about content and format, to Dr. Laura Ng for her help in matters of style and syntax, and to Ms Feng Xiaoen for her assistance in the layout and design of the book. My husband, Robert, in his indulgent ways, has given me the most wonderful support and encouragement throughout the years.
Such errors and omissions which remain are my own and I would welcome suggestions and comments from those who share this interest.
Pikyee Kotewall at Mulu in Hong Kong On a sunny day, 26th of January, 2023
5. DRAMATIC VIEWS OF JINLING Wei Zhihuang, Scenery of the Jinling Region 34
6. DONG QICHANG’S CALLIGRAPHY ON SILK Dong Qichang, Calligraphy after Mi Fu and Cai Xiang 36
7. HONOURING FAMILY AND FRIENDS - A PRIVATE GARDEN IN LATE MING SUZHOU Chen Huan, A Reclusive Garden Home 44
8. WANG DUO’S FREE-SPIRITED CALLIGRAPHY IN CURSIVE SCRIPT Wang Duo, Poems Dedicated to Yehe in Cursive Script Calligraphy 51
9. WORKS OF A GROUP OF LATE MING YIMIN ARTISTS ASSOCIATED WITH FUSHE Various Artists, Landscapes, Figures and Bamboo 54
10. A TRADITION OF SCHOLAR PAINTING – INK BAMBOO Dai Mingyue, Bamboo and Rocks 62
11. EARLY QING INTERPRETATIONS OF SHEN ZHOU’S LANDSCAPE Qi Zhijia, Landscape 66
12. AN INNOVATIVE STYLE OF BLUE-GREEN LANDSCAPE IN THE 17TH CENTURY Zhao Cheng, Stylized Landscapes after Ancient Masters 70
13. IDEALIZED LIFESTYLES OF SCHOLARS Liu Du (attributed), Landscapes 78
14. LANDSCAPES IN XIN’AN STYLE Zha Shibiao, Sparce Landscapes 82
15. A NEW WAVE OF BOLD AND FORCEFUL CALLIGRAPHY IN EARLY QING Fa Ruozhen, Poem of Du Fu in Running Script Calligraphy 88
16. JIANGXI SCHOOL OF PAINTING Luo Mu, Calligraphy and Landscape 92
17. ONE OF THE FOUR MONKS Shi Tao, Lotus 96
18. EMPEROR KANGXI FAVOURING THE CALLIGRAPHIC STYLE OF DONG QICHANG Zha Sheng, Poem of Lu You in Running Script Calligraphy 102
19. PAINTING STYLE OF THE JINLING REGION IN EARLY QING Wang Gai, Settlement by the Lake 106
20. ONE OF THE FOUR WANGS Wang Yuanqi, Landscape after the Style of Huang Gongwang 110
21. A CLANSMAN OF WANG YUANQI Wang Yu, Autumn Landscape 116
22. A GREAT-GRANDSON OF WANG YUANQI Wang Chen, Summer Landscape 120
23. YANGZHOU SCHOOL OF PAINTING Zheng Xie, Album of Painting and Calligraphy 122
24. JINGJIANG SCHOOL OF PAINTING IN ZHENJIANG a. Pan Gongshou, Landscape in the Mi Style 128 b. Zhang Yin, Misty Mountains 130
25. TWO MASTERS OF ZHEXI a. Fang Xun, An Autumn Excursion 132 b. Xi Gang, Poem of Shen Zhou in Cursive Script Calligraphy 134
26. THE GROWING INFLUENCE OF BEIXUE IN CALLIGRAPHY DURING THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES Yi Bingshou, A Five-Character Couplet in Clerical Script Calligraphy 136
27. A SOFT AND METICULOUS STYLE OF PAINTING IN THE JIAQING AND DAOGUANG ERAS Qian Du, Autumn Landscape after Rain 140
28. OF A FAMILY MEMBER Huang Jun, White Clouds Encircling Mountain Peaks 142
29. THE DEVELOPMENT OF BIRD-FLOWER PAINTING UP TO THE 19TH CENTURY a. Jiang Jie, Ink Plum Blossoms 152 b. Jiang Jie, Cypress and Chrysanthemum 156 c. Yao Yuanzhi, Hibiscus 158 d. Ji Fen, Auspicious Plants and Rocks 160
30. A SCHOLAR PAINTER IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY Tang Yifen, Studying Alone in the Cold 162
31. PORTRAIT OF ZHONG KUI Weng Luo, A Poetic Zhong Kui Ponders under the Moonlight 166
32. THE DEPICTION OF LUOHANS IN THE BAIMIAO STYLE BY A GUANGDONG PAINTER Su Liupeng, Luohans 172
33. THE PREDOMINANCE OF BEIXUE IN COUPLETS OF THE 19TH CENTURY a. He Shaoji, Seven-character Couplet in Running Script Calligraphy 176 b. Shen Zengzhi, Seven-character Couplet in Running Script Calligraphy 179
34. THE SHANGHAI SCHOOL OF PAINTING Ren Xiong, Madam Gongsun Practising the West River Swordplay 182
35. CAMARADERIE AMONGST A GROUP OF JIANGNAN SCHOLARS IN LATE QING Wu Guxiang, Living in Reverie 188
36. TRADITIONAL DEPICTIONS OF THE FOUR SEASONS IN LATE QING Gu Yun, Four Seasons Landscapes 202
37. AN UNKEMPT STYLE OF THE SHANGHAI SCHOOL Pu Hua, A Rampant Landscape 208
38. LITTLE ANIMALS Ren Yi, Two Squirrels 212
39. INTRODUCING YUN SHOUPING’S ART TO LINGNAN a. Meng Jinyi, A Pair of Mandarin Ducks Swimming in the Lotus Pond 216 b. Ju Lian, Of Flowers and Insects 220 c. Ju Lian, Plum Blossoms 224
40. HOW JINSHI CALLIGRAPHY INFLUENCED FLOWER PAINTING Wu Changshuo, Magnolia in Bloom 230