Object: Landscape in the Style of Li Tang F1939.4

Classification: Painting

Maker(s): Artist: Qiu Ying 仇英 (ca. 1494-1552)

Historical period(s): Ming dynasty, mid-16th century

Object Date: mid-16th century

Medium: Ink and color on paper

Dimension(s): H x W (image): 25.4 x 306.7 cm (10 x 120 3/4 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1939.4

Provenance: To 1939
Tonying and Company

From 1939
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Tonying and Company in 1939

Previous owner(s): Tonying and Company 通運公司 (established 1902)

Past label text: 1. ("Landscape in the Style of Li Tang," October 1996): This handscroll by Qiu Ying, one of the four masters of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), bears the red seal marks of many previous owners, including Xiang Yuanbian (1525-1590), the artist's major patron. A professional artist, Qiu Ying was renowned for his unusual ability to paint in both an academic, highly refined style and in a more scholarly, calligraphic mode. Here, Qiu Ying created his own mixture of styles, while also basing his work on the antique model of of the Song dynasty painter Li Tang (circa 1070s - ca. 1150s). The painting is a panoramic landscape filled with public and private buildings, including business establishments and residences.

One of the most eye-catching structures is a typical Ming dynasty scholar's garden located to the left of a small wooden bridge, which a scholar crosses on his way from visiting the garden proprietor. The property is surrounded by a wall, a quintessential feature of Chinese garden architecture; bamboo, drawn in ink and colored with blue wash, grows inside the courtyard. Chinese scholars referred to bamboo as a "gentleman" and symbol of moral integrity, since its stalks always return upright, even after bending in a violent wind.

Beyond the scholar's garden (to the left), Qiu Ying depicted a tavern, with customers inside eating a meal. Farther to the left, a second garden is depicted with two scholars sitting on a terrace overlooking water. The red lacquer table visible inside one pavillion suggests the fine furnishings that most Ming garden owners enjoyed; its portrayal here is unusual, as many Ming artists downplayed the luxury of garden villas.

Best known for his precise, jewel-like landscapes, here Qiu Ying mostly used free, lively brushwork and soft colors. Later collectors who admired this painting noted the rarity of seeing a landscape by Qiu Ying with such a spontaneous style of brushwork.

2. Stephen Allee; Guests of the Hills: Travelers in Chinese Landscape Painting, 24-Aug-2008 - 22-Feb-2009

Traveling through Hills and Streams
By Qiu Ying (ca. 1494-1552)
China, Ming dynasty, mid-16th century
Handscroll; ink and color on paper
Purchase F1939.4

Skirting lakes and rivers, a level trail dotted with travelers stretches below a range of rocky mountains, punctuated at intervals with bridges and buildings. Beginning at right, a curving stream cascades over a water wheel and down a long sloping valley in front of the two-story country retreat of a gentleman living in retirement, his walled garden planted with bamboo. The mountains open to reveal a broad lake or river, where another scholar sits on a high ledge above two moored boats, gazing out over the expanse. Beyond a rocky outcropping, the trail forks around a cove fed by a large waterfall. One path leads back to an island pavilion surrounded by swirling currents, where two seated gentlemen relax on the stone terrace. The other path continues across a small bridge, behind some rocks, and along the far shore of a river. On the bank, a robed scholar attended by a porter engages a ferry, while another gentleman observes them from the open window of a nearby structure built on pilings above the stream. On the opposite shore, an open-sided pavilion sits among a grove of trees, its emptiness inviting one to come and enjoy the view.

Curatorial Remarks

Ink and color. Inscription with signature and fourteen seals on the painting; 2 labels, 8 inscriptions and 35 seals on the mount. Paper makimono:

1. Bought from Tonying and Company, Inc., New York. For price, see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase list after 1920.

2. T. Sugihara repaired outside silk cover, October, 1953.

3. (Mrs. H. C. Lovell, 1969)

Title label (1)
     Genuine landscape by Ch'iu Shih-fu [Ch] [Ch'iu Ying [Ch]] in the style of Li Hsi-ku [Ch] [Li T'ang [Ch]]. In the collection of Liu [Ch] of Wu-chin [Ch]. Authenticated at the K'uai-yu-t'ang [Ch] [the studio of Wang Wei-chih [Ch]]. (See the yin-shou, below).
     A red-script square seal, Wang shih Yu-ch'ing [Ch], at the bottom of the label is partially overlapped by the written title. [Yu-ch'ing was the tzu of Wang Wei-chih].

Title label (2)
     Genuine landscape by Ch'iu Shih-fu in the style of Li Hsi-ku. Superlative painting, in the collection at the Feng-meng-lou [Ch] [the studio of Yeh Meng-lung [Ch]]. (See the sixth colophon).
     A white-script square seal, Yeh Meng-lung yin, is at the bottom of the label.

The yin-shou [Ch]
     The yin-shou is a piece of gold-sprinkled paper 46 inches by 9 1/2 inches on which the title is written horizontally in large characters: "Ch'iu Shih-chou chen chih [Ch]," an authentic painting by Ch'iu Shih-chou. To the left of the title is written vertically, "T'an-t'u Wang Wen-chih [Ch]." [Wang Wen-chih, a native of Chen-chiang [Ch], Kiangsu, was a calligrapher who lived from 1730 to 1802.]
     This is followed by two seals, a white-script square one, Wen-chih ssu yin [Ch], the other a red-script square one, wen-chang t'ai shou [Ch].
     Near the end of the yin-shou is an inscription written vertically in small characters which can be rendered as follows: "Landscape by Ch'iu Shih-fu, number one painting within the realm, obtained in the i-hai [Ch] year by Ch'u-an [Ch], happiness without end." This is followed by a white-script rectangular seal, Ch'u-an [Ch], a seal of Ho Yuan-yu [Ch]. [[Ch] is interchangable with [Ch].]

The mounting
     On the mounting to the right of the scroll are the following three seals: a red-script rectangular seal, Hsu-chai shen-ting [Ch], a seal of P'ang Yuan-chi [Ch]; a red-script gourd-shaped seal Chieh kuan [Ch]; a red-script square seal, Ch-ih-yun [Ch], a seal of Kuo Chieh [of the Ch'ing Dynasty]. (See the second colophon.)

The painting
     Landscape and figures. Ink and colours on paper. Length 137-4/5 inches, height 9-1/2 inches.
     At the beginning of the scroll are the following seven seals:
     A red-script gourd-shaped seal, t'ui mi [Ch], a seal of Hsing Yuan-pien [Ch], the famous Ming Dynasty collector, 1525-1590. (Wang and Contag, p. 610, no. 22.)
     A red-script square seal, lai-ch'en hsin-shang [Ch], a seal of P'ang Yuan-chi.
     A red-script square seal, Ch'ih-yun chen-shang [Ch], a seal of Kuo Chieh.
     A red-script square seal, P'o-ho-an mo yuan [Ch], a seal of Wu Jung-Kuang ? (One of Wu's hao was Ho-an [Ch].)
     A white-script square seal, Tzu-ching so tsang [Ch], a seal of Hsiang Yuan-pien. (Wang and Contag, p. 610, no. 10.)
     A red-script square seal, Hsiang Yuan-pien yin [Ch]. (Wang and Contag, p. 610, no. 9.)
     A red-script square seal, Tuan-ch'i Ho Shu-tzu Yuan-yu hao Ch'u-an kuo-yen ching-chi chin-shih shu-hua yin-chi [Ch], a seal of Ho Yuan-yu.

     At the end of the scroll is a twelve-character inscription in two columns: "A design after Li-Hsi-ku by Ch'iu Ying, [tzu] Shih-fu, of Wu-men [Ch]." Immediately below is a red-script gourd-shaped seal, Shih-chou [Ch]. Underneath that is a white-script square seal, Ch'iu Ying chih yin [Ch].
     At the left edge of the painting are the following seals:
     A white-script square seal, Hsu-chai shen-ting [Ch], a seal of P'ang Yuan-chi.
     A red-script square seal, Hao-lu pi-chi [Ch]. [The Chung-kuo li-tai shu hua chuan-k'e chia tzu-hao so-yin lists two individuals as having Hao-lu as their tzu: Wei Hsi-ts'eng [Ch] (died 1882) and Ting Jen [Ch] (active after 1911).
     A rectangular red-script seal, Mo-lin Hsiang shih tsang hua chih yin [Ch], a seal of Hsiang Yuan-pien.
     A square white-script seal, Wu Jung-kuang yin [Ch]. (Wang and Contag, p. 542, no. 2.) (See the fourth colophon.)

     Partly on the left edge of the painting and partially on the mounting is a red-script seal, Po-yung shen-ting [Ch], a seal of Wu Jung-kuang.

The mounting

     On the mounting to the left of the painting are six seals:
     A rectangular red-script seal, Hsu-chai ? ching chih p'in [Ch], a seal of P'ang Yuan-chi.
     A rectangular red-script seal, Chu-p'eg shen-ting [Ch], a seal of Li Tso-hsien [Ch]. (See the fifth colophon).
     A square white-script seal, Ho K'un-yu yin [Ch]. [Ho K'un-yu was active during Kuang-hsu period (1875 to 1907).]
     A red-script seal, Fu - ? - an [Ch]?[Ch].
     A red-script rectangular seal, P'ang Lai-ch'en chen tsang yin [Ch], a seal of P'ang Yuan-chi.
     A red-script square seal, Hsu-chai pi-wan [Ch], a seal of P'ang Yuan-chi.

     On the right edge of the paper on which the first colophon is written are two seals: a red-script square seal, Hsu-chai pi-chi chih-yin [Ch], a seal of P'ang Yuan-chi; a white-script rectangular seal, Ch'u-an, a seal of Ho Yuan-yu.

The first colophon
     The three Ming masters T'ang Liu-ju [Ch] [T'ang Yin [Ch]], Ch'iu Shih-fu [Ch] [Ch'iu Ying [Ch]] and Chou Tung-ts'un [Ch] [Chou Ch'en [Ch]] all did paintings in the style of Li Hsi-ku [Ch] [Li T'ang [Ch]]. Liu-ju's paintings are luscious and at the same time other-worldly; Tung ts'un's paintings are technically competent and at the same time mature; Shih-fu's paintings are excessively competent in technique, insufficiently mature, and altogether lacking in the other-worldly quality, and they have been adversely criticized by Li Chu-lan [Ch] [Li Jih-hua [Ch], a connoisseur who lived from 1565 to 1635]. However, I have seen Ch'iu Ying's small picture called "Playing the Lute in the Maple Groves", which is superlatively lovely. The reds and yellows of the trees are vivid and beautiful, and have an archaistic air. On the top of the hill is a person with a pheasant; underneath them float white clouds, sketched with a few strokes of the brush. There are no trees and no rocks [on the hill]. One cannot say that this painting is lacking in other-worldliness. Many paintings like this are all typical of his intention, and that is why connoisseurs often group Ch'iu Ying with Wen [Cheng-ming [Ch]] and Shen [Chou [Ch]]; that is not without justification. People take it that this gentleman [Ch'iu Ying] excelled [only] in painting buildings, but this is far from the truth. Examined and inscribed by [Liang [Ch]] T'ung-shu [Ch], [hao] Shan-chou [Ch] [1723-1815], on a day after the winter solstice in the kuei-hai [Ch] year in the reign of Chia-ch'ing [1803], aged 81.
     Two seals are affixed after the colophon, both white-script and square. One reads Shan-chou [Ch], the other Liang T'ung-shu yin [Ch].

     Below Liang T'ung-shu's seals is the twenty-character seal of Ho Yuan-yu which is on the right side of the paintings.

The second colophon

     Shih-fu did blue-and-green [landscapes] in the style of the Little General Li [Li Chao-tao [Ch]], and from Li he learned certain of his mannerisms which were not transmitted to any other painter and which Ch'iu Ying executed with consummate skill. Little did one realize that he [Ch'iu Ying] could achieve such excellence as this in copying the style of Li Hsi-ku. Those who [only] value technical competence [in painting] are truly lacking in their knowledge. Legend has it that many of Shih-fu's paintings bear signatures and inscriptions written for him by P'eng K'ung-chia [Ch] [P'eng Nien [Ch], the famous calligrapher who lived from 1505 to 1566]. The title of this scroll is in two columns of small k'ai-shu style characters. The calligraphy is beautiful as the goddesses of the Lo River and must be the tsan hua style [Ch] [of calligraphy] by the hermit of Lung-ch'ih [Ch] [P'eng Nien]. Inscribed by the Master of the Ch'ih-yun-ko [Ch] in the first month of the chia-tsu [Ch] year. [Ch'ih-yun-ko was the studio name of Kuo Chieh [Ch], of the Ch'ing Dynasty, exact dates unknown.]
     The colophon is followed by a red-script square seal, Ch'ih-yun.

The third colophon
     There are more forgaries of Shih-fu's works than those of any other painter. People think that his paintings are of popular appeal, and that those who are good at architectural paintings would be able to copy his works. Therefore, out of a hundred paintings [attributed to Ch'iu Ying], there may not be one genuine specimen. If we consider the fact that Ch'iu Ying's paintings are very fine and detailed, and the fact that he did not live to an old age, it becomes apparent that he could not have painted so many pictures to fill the market. Landscapes in the free style were done very occasionally, so that it is even more difficult to come across them. I have only seen three album leaves on gold paper and this particular scroll. It has been said of Ch'iu Ying's pictures done in the styles of Northern Sung masters than the smaller their size, the better their quality. This scroll captures the vastness of thousands of miles in a few inches. Its style is imbued with purity and antiquity, and its superiority is by no means derived solely from its beauty. Inscribed by Hsieh Lan-sheng [Ch] of Nan-hai [Ch] [Kuangtung Province], two days after the Autumn Festival in the ping-hsu [Ch] year in the reign of Tao-kuang [Ch]. [Hsieh Lan-sheng was a Ch'ing Dynasty calligrapher, painter and poet. The exact dates of his birth and death are not known, but he became a chin-shih in 1802.]
     To the left of the signature are two seals. One is a white-script rectangular seal, Hsu-ching-shih [Ch]. The other is a red-script round seal, Hsieh Lan-sheng yin [Ch].

     To the right of the fourth colophon is a small square seal on the seam of two pieces of paper, Yun-ku [Ch], a seal of Yeh Meng-lung. The first character is in white script and the second is in red script.

The fourth colophon

     This is the technique known as hsiao-fu p'i-ts'un [Ch] [a way of producing rocks and mountains to resemble the cuts made by a small axe. There is not one stroke which does not belong to the scheme. If Shih-fu had followed his own inclination, the atmosphere and logic may not reach this level of attainment. The hills and valleys in the breast of the ancients can only be transmitted by being copied by posterity. In this painting, the two persons on the hill are conversing, oblivious to the unbroken line of passing carts, horses and people. This exemplifies the meaning in "The world whirls endlessly as smoke, yet I am still as a mirror." Hence, I am inspired to write the following verse. "The autumn breeze sends [a chill] through the painting into [my] poetic being. The water is becoming cool and the woods turning into autumnal colors. On the same hills, mountain hermits linger in leisure while travellers bustle past. [This picture, with its] axe-cut dots in Li [T'ang's] style were sold [to me] at Lin-an [Ch] [Hang-chou] as by some painter other than Ch'iu Ying?] Good care is taken [of it] so that it seems new each time it is brought out [for examination.]" Written by Wu Jung-kuang [Ch], at the Lai-fu-chi-chai [Ch] in the Treasury Office at Fukien, on the 14th day of the 8th moon in the mou-hsu [Ch] year in the reign of Tao-kuang [1838], aged 66.
     The seals follow the signature. One is a red-script square seal, Shih-yun shan-jen [Ch], a seal of Wu Jung-kuang. The other is a square seal, Wu Jung-kuang, the first character of which is in red script and the two others are in white script.

The fifth colophon
     The whole world knows that Shih-chou excels in kung-pi, the meticulous style of painting. This scroll combines meticulousness and spontaneity. His brush-strokes are so strong that [the ink] has seeped through the back of the paper. There used to be in our family collection a painting by Ch'iu Ying called the T'ing ch'in t'ing juan t'u [Ch], "Listening to the juan [a stringed musical instrument] in the silence of the ch'in", which is similar to this one. Now I know that this gentleman is a master of these two styles, the meticulous style being his usual one, and the spontaneous style being his occasional one. The latter is rare. Those who are fortunate enough to see this painting should treasure the experience. Li Tso-hsien [Ch] of Li-chin [Ch]. [Li Tso-hsien was a calligrapher who became a chin-shih in 1833; exact dates unknown.] Underneath the signature is a red-script square seal, Chu-p'eng [Ch], a seal of Li Tso-hsien. (Wang and Contag, p. 546, no. 1)

     To the left of the fifth colophon are two seals. One is a red-script rectangular seal, Yu-yu-hsien-t'ang pao tsang [Ch]. The other is a red-script square seal, Lai-ch'en shen-tsang chen-chi [Ch], a seal of P'ang Yuan-chi.
     To the right of the sixth colophon are two seals. One is a white-scripts square seal, Yeh Meng-lung chien tsang [Ch]. The other is a red-script square seal, Yun-ku tseng tsang shih-chi pao chi [Ch], a seal of Yeh Meng-lung.

The sixth colophon

     Ranges of winding mountains, torrential waterfalls, lapping waves, boats of different types judiciously placed, retreats and rest-houses in the wooded hills, literary recluses, wood-cutters--all these can be found in this scroll. The wonders of the universe are rendered with visionary breadth and the beauty of nature depicted in subtle detail; there is not one brush-stroke used without the utmost care. How many such paintings chould he [Ch'iu Ying] have produced in his lifetime to leave behind in the world? I bought it for twenty i [Ch] [each i was equivallent to twenty taels of gold]. What a tremendous stroke of luck that was. Now, after living with it for more than fifty months, it is still the only painting which dwells in my heart and which I cannot forget even in my sleep. I look at it several times a day. I recall that I saw the Ch'ung chiang tieh chang t'u [Ch], "Myriad rivers and peaks", by Wang Shih-ku [Ch] [Wang Hui [Ch]] in the palace collection when I was in the capital in the chi-mao [Ch] year [1819]. [This painting is listed in the Shih-ch'u sui-pi [Ch], Chuan 7, p. 2]. The picture was done in the style of Chu-jan and incorporated some of the characteristics of the painters of the Hua-yuan [Ch] [the Academy of Painting instituted by Liu Hou-chu [Ch] at Nanking, the capital of the Southern T'ang Dynasty of the Five Dynasties Period]. The imperial inscription reads, "This is the best painting of the Dynasty, the best painting by Wang Hui." The painting is still hovering in my [mind's] eye, even though its excellence does not approach that of the famous paintings of the Sung and Yuan date. This [Ch'iu Ying's] scroll is really of the same caliber as Sung works, and in addition it embodies the charm of the Yuan masters. Although there are many famous paintings in my Feng-meng-lou [Ch], this scroll should occupy first place among them. But even that does not do full justice to its marvelous qualities. This picture can be called without hesitation the first among the famous paintings in Kuangtung province. It teases the imagination to envisage how the scroll would be treasured and favoured if it had by any chance entered the palace. Inscribed by Yeh Meng-lung [Ch], on the first day of the fourth moon in the hsin-mao [Ch] year [1831]. [Yeh Meng-lung, a native of Nan-hai [Ch], Kuangtung, lived from 1775 to 1832].
     To the left of the signature is a small square seal, Yun-ku [Ch], the first character of which is in white script and the second character is in red script.

     To the left of the sixth colophon are two seals. One is a red-script rectangular seal, Wu-hsing P'ang-shih chen tsang [Ch], a seal of P'ang Yuan-chi. The other is a red-script square seal, Hsu-chai mo yuan [Ch], also a seal of P'ang Yuan-chi.
     This painting is recorded in P'ang Yuan-chi's Hsu ming hua lu [Ch], chuan 3: 55b-59b.

4. (Fu Shen, 1982, from the "Che and Wu Schools: Mainstreams of Landscape Painting in the Ming Dynasty" exhibition label): "According to the artist's inscription at the end of the handscroll, this painting is a copy of a work by Li T'ang [Ch] (1049 - 1130). It depicts rocky mountain scenery beside a wide river, with dwellings and monasteries, a ferryboat and sails, and a variety of foliage. The scene is populated with travelers and others who are enjoying the view.
     "The brushlines are sharp and the textures strokes are in the so-called "axe-cut" style [Ch] associated with Li T'ang. The work of this early 12th century master was a common source for both the Southern Sung Academic Style and the Che School. However, the expressive qualities of the two schools are very different. Compared to the Che school paintings, the present work is more suitable and gentle.
     "Ch'iu Ying was considered one of the four great masters of the Ming dynasty. He excelled in very fine brushwork."
     Painting title is changed from "Mountain Landscape" to "Landscape in the Style of Li T'ang."

5. (Stephen Allee, August 1996) Dates of artist changed from "fl. 1500-1551" to "(ca. 1494-1552)." Format changed from "paper makimono" to "Handscroll."

6. (Stephen Allee, April 1, 2008) Changed "Copy after Qiu Ying" to simply "Qiu Ying," and date from "16th century" to "early to mid-16th century."

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

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Landscape in the Style of Li Tang

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