Mini-biographies have their origins in the traditional biography genre. They share basic attributes with biographies such as focusing on painters and including personal anecdotes, but are shorter in length. As a prolific and long-lasting style of writing, mini-biographies are commonly found in artwork histories and other historical literature about art. They constitute an important element of ancient art writings by relating to ways of appreciating and critiquing painting, and also by involvement in the creative process itself. This style later spread to other literature genres such as guides on painting techniques and manuals, influencing the entire system of art writing and shifting how people perceived and communicated about art. This lecture focuses on the writing of this genre. It selects Xia Wenyan's "Tuhui baojian" as the main research object. The book arranges biographies of painters from all dynasties as a history of painting. It includes an "ancient" section covering the Wu Jin period through the Song and Jin dynasties, drawing from a large quantity of previous documents to trace the writing process. The "contemporary" section on the Yuan dynasty was modified from inscriptions, monographs, collections, and notes, allowing inferences about the author's historical concepts, writing habits, and thought processes. The text provides a rare and clear example of multi-layered writing. By examining it, we can explore the author and world behind the work at each level.
Pan Gongshou’s (1741-1794) Paintings with Wang Wenzhi’s (1730-1802) Inscriptions: A Case Study of Paintings and Their Copies in the Mid-Qing Period by Phil, Kwun-nam CHAN
In the history of Chinese painting, imitating or copying ancient master’s works was a crucial and effective means of learning. The purpose of doing so was not only to practice techniques, but also to understand the great tradition, so as build up linkage to the ancient masters, in turn to create a new style. This logical mind, however, had already been changed in the mid-Qing period. Pan Gongshou (1741-1794) and Wang Wenzhi (1730-1802) is an interesting case. Being the most remarkable painter and calligrapher in the Zhenjiang area in the 18th century, Pan and Wang were good partners, who co-operated for nearly twenty-five years in the format of paintings by Pan with inscriptions by Wang. They made quite a number of painting copies. However, the purpose was not to make forgeries. In fact, they regarded making copies as a way of literati game and entertainment, as well as creating gifts for social interaction. In addition, they also regarded making copies as a way to preserve the original pieces. This lecture tries to see how and why painting copies were made? How does it relate to collectors and artistic ideal? By investigating the Pan-Wang case, this lecture should be able to provide another understanding of painting copies in the mid-Qing period.
CAO Rong
Associate Curator, Calligraphy and Painting Department, Shanghai Museum
Dr. Cao Rong is a curator of painting and calligraphy at the Shanghai Museum with a research interest in Yuan and Ming paintings and the history of connoisseurship and collections. She received her Ph.D. in Art History from the China Academy of Art in 2019. Her recent research focuses on the issue of draft paintings in Chinese art history.
Phil, Kwun-nam CHAN
Associate Curator (Painting and Calligraphy), Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Phil, Kwun-nam Chan received his Phi.D. from the Department of Fine Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He is now the Associate Curator (Painting and Calligraphy) at the Art Museum, CUHK. With a primary research interest in paintings and calligraphy from the Ming and Qing dynasties to modern times, Phil has participated in a number of research projects and exhibitions. He has edited eight academic catalogues. The most recent ones are Seon1: Cultural Symbols of Chinese Landscape Painting, and Sincere Brush: Works of Ting Yin-yung Courtesy of His Students and Friends in the Department of Fine Arts, CUHK. Phil is also one of the authors of “Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, an online catalogue of the Seattle Art Museum” (sponsored by the J. Paul Getty Foundation, Seattle Art Museum), “The Bei Shan Tang Legacy: Chinese Calligraphy, Rubbings of Stone Engraving and Model Calligraphy, and Painting” (sponsored by the Bei Shan Tang Foundation, Art Museum, CUHK) and Minghua Quanji: Volume of Dong Qichang (Published by Zhejiang University), etc. In 2018-2019, he was awarded the J. S. Lee Memorial Fellowship for work in the P.Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Center for East Asian Art of the Department of Art and Archaeology, and the Art Museum, Princeton University.