Hong Kong Palace Museum | The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Stories Untold — Figure Paintings of the Ming Dynasty from the Palace Museum

4100. Opulent versus Untrammelled

There was a cultural rejuvenation in the early Ming dynasty, with the court actively recruiting cohorts of painters and granting them official positions. The painters primarily served the royal family, and their subject matter was strictly regulated. Their paintings had distinctive political and didactic function, often portraying the virtuous rule of the Ming dynasty or the Ming emperors’ wise appointments of officials. The painters’ style and technique were often precise and meticulous, and their colours were vibrant to reflect the royal family’s stature and dignity. These painters created what came to be known as “court painting” style.

During the early to mid-Ming dynasty, another group of artists were active farther south, in the Zhejiang area. They were professional painters, and their style was different from the court painters. The works of the Zhejiang painters encompassed diverse styles and usually featured fast, bold brushstrokes. Since daily life was their main subject, their paintings resonated with the general public and gained popularity. These professional painters were later classified as the “Zhe school” of painting. Two notable representatives were Dai Jin and Wu Wei.

Court painting and Zhe school painting thrived within the palace and the public sphere, respectively, but both traditions can be traced back to the court painting of the Southern Song dynasty, the last Chinese dynasty before Mongol rule. The two eminent painters of the Zhe school, Dai Jin and Wu Wei, had even served at court before leaving it and becoming leading artists outside court. They were well versed in the techniques and styles associated with court painting, and when they left, they fostered an exchange between court art and popular art. In this section, you can appreciate the similarities and differences between t the painting traditions of the court painters and the Zhejiang school.

4104. Gathering of Five Officials

The “elegant gathering” painting genre has its roots in the work Elegant Gathering in the Western Garden by Li Gonglin of the Northern Song dynasty. It later became a popular subject for imitation in paintings. The painting before you, Gathering of Five Officials, follows this tradition. It depicts an elegant gathering of five high-ranking officials from Suzhou in the capital city during the late years of the Hongzhi period in the mid-Ming dynasty. The term “wutong” in the Chinese title, meaning “five similarities”, refers to the shared time, hometown, court, ambition, and principles of the officials. According to the preface and colophons of the scroll, this work was painted by an artist with the surname Ding.

Pay attention to the persons in their official robes in red, blue or dark green in the painting; from right to left, they are the Minister of Rites Wu Kuan, Vice Minister of Rites Li Jie, Left Assistant Censor-in-Chief of the Nanjing Censorate Chen Qiong, Vice Minister of Personnel Wang Ao, and Chief Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud Wu Hong. They display a natural composure and refined demeanour. The eldest, Wu Kuan, sits with hands clasped, while Li Jie beside him smiles gently and tilts slightly to the right. The remaining three engage in conversation as they stroll, relishing the harmonious ambiance. The garden setting features cranes, deer, and pine trees, symbolising auspiciousness and longevity while the presence of a zither, a chess set, books, plantain trees, bamboo and rocks reflect the refined tastes of literati.

Although these five men used to gather frequently, their meetings became less regular due to changes in official positions and other circumstances. Wu Kuan’s preface and poem suggest that this painting likely records their final gathering. To lessen the sorrow of parting, each of them kept a copy at home.

In Gathering of Five Officials, light ink outlines the portraits with fine brushwork, and the garden scenery is depicted with meticulous precision. It is a masterpiece of group portraiture from the Ming dynasty, showcasing the elegant gatherings and social interactions among high-ranking officials of that period.

4200. Antiquarian and Elegant

In the mid-Ming dynasty, a group of painters known as the “Wu school ”rose to prominence. The rise of the Wu school coincided with the growing prosperity of the Jiangnan region’s economy. The increasingly affluent society pursued refinement and elegance in their lifestyles.

A group of painters gathered in and around Wu County, which is the Suzhou region of present-day Jiangsu province. With these painters, a fresh and elegant painting style emerged. Two renowned painters, Shen Zhou and Wen Zhengming, successively played a leading role in this group. They primarily inherited the literati painting tradition of the Yuan dynasty. The Yuan literati painting tradition was exemplified by the works of Zhao Mengfu, Huang Gongwang, and Wang Meng. The painters who inherited their style and created their masterpieces in Wu County during the Ming dynasty were collectively referred to as the “Wu school ”or the “Wen school”—literally the “literati school”.

The leaders of the Wu school—Shen Zhou and Wen Zhengming, along with Tang Yin and Qiu Ying—are remembered as the Four Masters of the Wu school or the Four Masters of the Ming dynasty. Shen Zhou excelled in poetry, literature, and calligraphy. He mainly demonstrated his talent in landscape and bird-and-flower painting. His disciple Wen Zhengming—who mastered not just painting but also poetry, literature, and calligraphy—had numerous students of his own. Together, Shen Zhou and Wen Zhengming established the fresh and elegant style of the Wu school. The two other masters of the Wu school were Tang Yin and Qiu Ying. Tang Yin, who was known as the First Talent of Jiangnan, was proficient in poetry, calligraphy, and painting. He integrated both literati and court painting traditions into his practice, displaying versatility in subject matter and techniques. Qiu Ying, who followed the tradition of copying ancient paintings, excelled in figure and landscape paintings, which he executed with fine brushwork (gongbi) and heavy colours.

The figure paintings of the Wu school reflect a collective nostalgia for ancient elegance. The Wu school painters frequently depicted famous stories, like the story about Tao Yuanming and the Orchid Pavilion Gathering hosted by Wang Xizhi. Their paintings also document the refined lifestyles in Wu County in the mid-Ming. They portrayed the Ming admiration for ancient practices as well as local gatherings of social elites.

You can appreciate the refined elegance of Wu School paintings in the following section.

4204. Appreciating Antiques

Can you tell what the five scholars in the painting are doing?

The scholar standing behind the stone table is holding a scroll open, appreciating the calligraphy and painting along with the other scholars beside him. Several attendants stand by their sides, with one carrying a wine vessel and another holding a large fan. The courtyard is adorned with craggy rocks, parasol trees, plantain trees, and verdant bamboo, creating a picturesque scene. On the small tea table in front, antiques like porcelain, incense burners, and bronze vessels are placed, exuding an elegant ambiance. These activities of appreciating and evaluating ancient artefacts were not only a refined pastime favoured by the Ming dynasty literati but also a popular painting subject for artists throughout history.

This painting, Appreciating Antiques, is a work by the Ming dynasty painter You Qiu. He excelled in plain drawing (baimiao), outlining figures and objects with the simplest strokes without applying colours. His style of figure painting was influenced by Tang Yin and Qiu Ying, who are two of the Four Masters of the Wu school. In this painting, figures and objects are meticulously outlined using plain drawing techniques, whereas natural elements such as rocks and parasol tree leaves are depicted with ink wash and texture strokes, achieving a perfect balance of light and dark, sparse and dense. It is one of You Qiu’s masterpieces.

4300. Worldly and Strange

In the mid-Ming dynasty, the philosopher Wang Gen said, “The daily life of the common people is the Way”. In other words, he suggested that the Way of the sage can be found in everyday life and can be understood and achieved by anyone. This concept places common people and sages on an equal footing and affirms the value of popular culture. In this context, some painters focused on representing secular customs. Paintings depicting the lives of common people flourished from the mid- to the late Ming dynasty.

This was also a time of intellectual liberation and a yearning for freedom. The exotic and the unusual became fashionable. A group of painters who emerged in the late Ming represented these trends. They became known as the Transformative school and included Ding Yunpeng, Wu Bin, Chen Hongshou, and Cui Zizhong.

Chen Hongshou, who was active in Jiangnan, in the south, and Cui Zizhong, who was active in the north, were leading regional figures in the late Ming period. Chen Hongshou’s paintings had stylistic elements of both literati and professional painting. He excelled at figure painting: his figures, which are both majestic and melancholic, reflect his profound humanism. Cui Zizhong, who was equally erudite, aspired to ancient elegance and transformation in his paintings while retaining the spirit of the Confucian literati. Because of his reclusive and aloof nature, Cui rarely showed his paintings to others, so only a limited number of his works have survived.

In this section, you can explore the paintings depicting everyday life from the mid- to the late Ming dynasty, as well as representative works of the Transformative school.

4304. Drunk Yang Shen with Flowers on His Head

Do you see the man with flowers adorning his hair in the painting? This is Yang Shen, a famous literary figure from the Ming dynasty who was also known by the sobriquet Sheng’an. After getting demoted to Yunnan province, Yang went wild. He powdered his face, styled his hair in double buns with flowers, and drunkenly staggered through the busy market, singing with courtesans. This painting depicts a tipsy Yang Shen, singing and stumbling along with one maid carrying a wine vessel and another with a feather fan.

Titled Drunk Yang Shen with Flowers on His Head, this painting was created by Chen Hongshou, a prominent figure of the transformative painting style of the late Ming dynasty. He and fellow painter Cui Zizhong were known as Chen of the South and Cui of the North. His style is peculiar yet elegant, honest, and quaint. The figures in this painting are depicted in an exaggerated yet lively manner, with flowing and smooth lines illustrating the clothing akin to iron wires. The twisted branches of old trees and the rugged rocks are portrayed with vigorous strokes, emphasising the arrogant and unruly personality of the protagonist. This work is a quintessential representation of the mature period of Chen Hongshou's figure painting. It not only records Yang Shen's eccentric behaviour through artistic means but also reflects the inner turmoil of late Ming literati such as Chen Hongshou.