Gaozong, Emperor of the Song dynasty
Chinese (1107 - 1187) Primary

After
Ma, Hezhi
Chinese (active ) Painter

The Airs of Tang Section of the Mao Shi Book of Poetry

Southern Song
Published in 1916, after original of 1150-1200

10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm)

This object has the following keywords:

• calligraphy - Art of writing, particularly the creation of beautiful, elegant letters or flourishes by hand with a pen, either in unjoined characters or in cursive writing.
• calligraphy - Works composed primarily of beautiful, elegant letters or flourishes that are typically created by hand with a pen, either in unjoined characters or in cursive writing. May also refer to similar works created by computer or another means.
• Chinese - The cultures, styles, and periods characteristic of China. To specifically refer to the cultures of ancient Chine, use "Ancient Chinese."
• facsimiles - Exact copies of an original object, usually in the same dimensions as the original, especially of books, documents, prints, and drawings. Today often reproduced photographically; in the past, reproduced by engraving or other printmaking process.
• inscriptions - Words, texts, lettering, or symbols marked on a work, including texts, legends, documentation notes, or commemoration. For standardized symbols or notations on objects that convey official information, use "marks (symbols)."
• paintings - Unique works in which images are formed primarily by the direct application of pigments suspended in oil, water, egg yolk, molten wax, or other liquid, arranged in masses of color, onto a generally two-dimensional surface.
• scroll paintings - Refers to paintings having a long, narrow scroll format. Term is often used in the context of Chinese and Japanese paintings on either hanging scrolls (kakemono, if Japanese) or on handscrolls (emakimono, if Japanese). For written documents on long, rolled strips, see "scrolls (information artifacts)."
• Southern Song - Refers to a Chinese dynastic culture, style, and period dating 1127 to 1279. The dynasty was established by Gaozong (reigned 1127-1162), son of the last emperor of the Northern Song. The dynasty had its capital at Nanjing and later at Lin'an and it ruled the area south of the Huai River. Foreign influence was avoided and archaic traditions were often drawn on. Landscape remained the most important genre of painting with artists such as Ma Yuan and Xia Gui depicting local, ethereal, gentle scenery in contrast to the craggy landscapes of Northern Song painters. This school of painting, called the Ma-Xia school, came out of the emperor's painting academy. In sharp contrast are the active and spontaneous brush paintings of Zen monks of the period. Since northern kilns were now unavailable, new southern centers of ceramic production began to be patronized by the court. Special guan (official) wares were made near the palace. Celadon-glazed stoneware in explicitly archaic forms was made at Longquan. A small factory producing Qingbai wares at Jingdezhen expanded during the period, eventually becoming the greatest center for ceramics in China. Jades and metalwork were often made in archaistic forms. The manufacture of the fine silk tapestry known as 'kesi' reached its pinnacle in the Southern Song. Gilded and painted wooden Buddhist sculptures featured sensuous bodies, enigmatic smiles, and a sense of vitality.
• Tang - Refers to the culture, style, and period of a Chinese dynasty of the period 618 to 907 CE, a time considered one of the most brilliant in Chinese history. China flourished as a stable, consolidated empire and the resulting prosperity and patronage created a Golden Age of Chinese painting, metalwork, ceramics, music, and poetry. Chang'an, with its masterful urban planning, remained the main Tang capital and a world center. Taizong (reigned 626-649) and Xuanzong (reigned 712-756) were important Tang rulers and patrons. Buddhism remained influential although it suffered periods of persecution during the Tang dynasty. Paintings from the caves at Dunhuang and stone pagodas such as the Great Wild Goose Pagoda (ca. 652) and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda (ca. 707) in Chang'an have survived. Monumental stone sculpture of the northern provinces displays the new tendency toward fuller, more sensual figures. This tendency also found in secular Tang sculpture, both stone and ceramic. The merging of Indian and Chinese sculpture styles is seen at the cave at Mt. Tianlong, created under the patronage of Empress Wu Zetian (reigned 690-705). Painting, which flourished during the Tang, was dominated by the secular landscape tradition. Li Sixum and Li Zhaodao, father and son, and Wang Wei are three painters' names known to us; probable copies of their work exist. Wang Wei's work, influential for later artists, was intimate and melancholy while the work of Li Sixum and Li Zhaodao features the bright greens and blues of many Tang landscapes. Chinese portrait painting, begun in the Han dynasty, was refined in the Tang by such artists as Wu Daozi. Tang ceramics include sancai earthenware figurines and vessels, typically used as tomb objects, white porcellanous wares such as the well-known Xing ware of Henan province, and the jadelike Yue celadons of Zhejiang province. The use of metal oxides in underglaze decoration was developed in Hunan and Sichuanh provinces and porcelain, although not fully exploited until later, has its origins in the Tang period. Tang decorative arts were influenced by Middle Eastern and other foreign trends during the Tang dynasty, leading to new styles in ceramics and metalwork. For instance, colorful glazed earthenware objects such as ewers and rhytons were made to resemble Persian silverwork and Persian weft patterning were introduced to Chinese textiles. China, in turn, exported its pottery, silk, and printing and paper technology. The Tang dynasty was succeeded by the Later Liang dynasty.

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