양주팔괴 신라산인 인장

3 Dynasty Minwha

Southern School Literari Paintings

Why Southern School?
Often I hear questions from my around about Chinese paintings. Most of the times, the inquury is regarding whether the paintings they keep is worth to keep. They want to know the value of their artwork collections.

Surprisingly, in most times, people who have question also have accurate answers. Their hunches are respectable in assessing the market value of paintings and thus is particularly true when the painting in question is with elaborated schetches and colorings. But many people wonder the value of Southern painting. In fact it is so hard to appreciate such artwork for untrained minds that I even have some personal experiences: my brother in law told me 'that is less than nothing' when I showed him one of the most expensive Southern Style painting. I do not blame him because I know that is the common reaction from most of people.

Literari of Scholars

By the way, what is the Southern Style painting? Before giving you any simple definition, let me share an image.

What you are looking at is a piece of Southern Style painting. It is simple black and white. Not many lines or objects. Angles are not sophisticated. Nor complicated descriptions of persons or things. But some mountain and small houses secluded from the 'dusty world.' This is a typical southern style presentation. By the way this is another master piece of famous Korean painter Gyum Jae . Master Jung, a well known professional painter of 15C Chosun periods, is also from a high rank noble family. In facts, his uncle was the Teogye Lee Whang, one of the best known Korean confusionism scholar. Literari as they called, means that the painiting was the mirror images of the abstract ideal in the learned minds of scholars. Why mirror images? because that is the indirect expression of their philosophy and academics. House in the seclusion was the reflection of self ego, that was to stay away from the dirty palace politics; simple and bold brushing was to present honesty and moral stability from treachery and conspiracy of partisan struggles. Note that most of the scholars were also nobles and were encouraged to serve the emperor and poeple by taking the public office at that time. However, in reality it was very hard, almost impossible to keep oneself for clean ethics and moral amid of silly dictatorship and crony partisanism coupled with bribery and corruptions.

They draw the mountain as they wish to leave the palace politics. (sometime mountain also means the big struggle in the palace one must overcome) Almost always you can find a small cottage or person (figure) walking through the mountain ally or bridge; that is the true avatar of the painter himself. He expressed the surrounding circumstances in the scene of mountscape. The higher the mountain goes up, the harder the challenge was up against (Chinese way) or higher his own ambition was (Japanese way).

South v. North
They say distinctions between Nothern and Southern Styles can be traced back to old Tang Dynasty where you could find Ma-Ha school. (named after Ma won and Ha Kyu). During the Song Dynasty both schools have made notable progress toward their own ways. Nothern Style, basically it is very splendid luxury painting, more elaborated in sketches and colours, favored by the kings, nobles, and emperors as it was mean to reflect their powers.

This is one of the nothern style painting. Nothern style is either with elaborated lines or strong green colors.

Sothern style
To the contrary, Southern painting focused the pride and intelligence (cultivated mind); Southern style abhored the splendid color tending to despise it as poudered prostitute. Southern ideal rested on the good scholar official who owe duty to educate and enlighten the public, fighting against corruption and abuse of power. They thought best painting must be best simple in color; claimed that water and ink is the only twin pilars necessary to construe perfect art. BW painting bear specific meaning as they understood water (empty space) was spirit; whereas the ink part was the flesh. It was their ideal to make cross point of incarnation where the meta physics of spirit meets physics through the painting. Souther painters were all scholars and nobles who wished to present thier own cultivation and education through the paintings.


Sothern Representative
In China Southern painting is well known by Dong Ki Chang whose painting is presented below.

The painting present so peaceful riverside. There is no mountains around, meaning that Dong did not have any problem with the politics or self actualization when he was drawing this painting. If there was a mountain, he would have to go up beyond. He must have drawn this at his late age because the painting says there is no moutain to climb up any more. (since he already addressed all major issues of life) But at the same time, the riverside is windy, and you can see the willow branches are being blown, and shaking. That may gives some clues of minor issues around his life. Please note how he did save ink and minimize the touches with lots of empty space. It is the heart of Southern style highly cultivated mind. The below is also a Southern style painting, made by Dong's Korean disciple Kimg Jung Hui. (Chu Sa), titled in Warm house in Cold winter.

See this painting does not seem to say much. However if I remind you that this was drawn when Kim was suffered from a mandatory exile by royal order, perhaps you could come up with better idea. The cold riverside, windy in winter represents Kim himself. He was that much lonely when he was kicked out of the palace. People turned around and kept themselves from him. But one of his former students despite the political risk paid visitation to him. The old teacher was so much moved and immediately draw this painting; and attendant calligraphy says ..'I did not aware that the pine oaks were green color until it becomes winter...' Yes, he expressed his sentiment of thanksfulness for the forever companionship of visitor by comparing him with the forever greens of pine oaks. Kim was interesting person in many ways;  in fact he was the champion of Korean Southern worshippers. His view is well reflected in the following quote..

'..need to be more than just a painting.. what we are talking here is..aroma of the letters; coupled with aura of literature..' Now do you understand why they call it as literari painting?  By the way, the ink painting aboves goes more than $1200,000,000 in value.

Asian Tiger Paintings

Tiger paintings have long history in Asian. You might have well seen at least some of them somewhere sometime before- even if you are not oriental mania or antique collector- I am pretty sure. Originally tiger (Tigres, L) mean the fire based on the elemental theory. In old Asia, the tiger was the most powerful real animal they could see from around whereas lion was somewhat legendary and even imaginary. Chinese people imported lions from Bizantine long time, but the display and exhibition were allowed only for nobles and lay poeple rarely had have chance to experience the real one. In general, tiger has meant power, passion, , bravery, pierce fury, and threat as well as protection.

Chinese Tiger
Tiger painting was known to have originated from Ming Dynasty when they started put the tiger painting onto the wall. Sometime tiger was seating down under pine tree while it came up with maggpies.

Korean Tiger

As time goes more, the Korean tiger painting adopted more geometrical rendition. When you see any Yin Yang style tiger (Korean national symbols adopted 19C), that probably tells you that the painting is made after 1904 when the Japanese imperialism forcefully took the Korea to their colony.

Korean tigers sometimes come up with rabbits holding long smoking pipe. Along with the magpie, the rabbits symbolize counter balance power of tiger. Unlike magpies, the rabbits are humorous symbol of lay people who make fun of the nobles in the rigid social caste system in old Korea. The point is that the rabbits are never afraid of the powerful tiger and rather they look smater than the tiger itself.

Japanese Tiger

Tiger and Dragon Paintings screen panel - edo period ink paintings.

Portrait of God

The Bible says nobody ever has seen the God and even further state that anybody who confront God in face fate to immediate perishment. But men have tried to attempt to make the portraits of the God even from the begining of their history. The great civilization of ancient Greek to the mistical murals of Egyptian Pyramid, where they build a secred place, there also to be the portrait of secred gods. Asian civilizations no exceptions. So many depicted God's images can you find from Japanese, Chinese and Korean cultural assets.

People love to see God and trying to find his image from the prehistroic cave ear ever through the modern cyber space becuase they need to or they want to, or may be both. But here is caveat; you can see his image onl　y to the extent your brain can visualize him. Here is risk: you want to make your image absolute while your perception is far from the accuracy if any. How could you limited relative beings bring definite image of someone who is well beyond your sense of ability? Reporters of the Bible has well recognized this when they prohibited the visualizing the God to worship. Perhaps the Moses would have seen a lot of mischeif from the Egyptians who visualized the gods in their tomb as they tried to use the images for the political and social injustice. But here is the bottom line, you can see the visualized image out of your heart. That is why people keep trying to make the image because it is real derivative from their hearts. Furthermore there is a real commonality that every god, or a God has immutable trait of good father, even in any religious scheme under worst syncretism. (below is Chinese Painting for the same subject)

The father who is gentle, generous, powerful, rigorous, and belovable. Koreans and Chinese were not for exceptions.

Koreans historically have had their own tradition to worship the Heaven; Chinese also had same tradition. Koreans did not know the name of the emperor who rule the heaven although Chinese claimed they have known the last name of the God. (Gong Son- means public sons; that the descendant of everybody- may be ancestor of everybody) The western missionaries who came to Korean in the late 19C in her falling years confessed that Korean tradition facilitated them to gain Gospel mission among the people; because people who already had open mind for the Heaven were prompt to accept and understand the notion of the existence of the God, creation, and provisions.

The following is titled in Oak Whang Sang Je; Emperor of Heaven. Amazingly the Heavenly emperor is wearing beautiful royal robes; and surrounded by the beautiful 5 colors of clouds, meaning his powers and authorities are supported by the 5 basic elements. He looks noble, gentle as source of love, but somewaht regorous as source of justice.

My dad told me this is sharman painting and may be not matched with Christianity; and I agree. However, I would like to respect this because this was the max visualizable image of the God by the poor lay people in the 19C Korea that they tried to keep him in their lives.

What and why arts?

What is Art? You can find the definition from Wikipedia beginning with sentences of '..Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, sculpture, and paintings. The meaning of art is explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics..'
Yes, art is  Homo sapiens specific feature and in fact the latin denotes the original meaning of 'wise men'.

Here is our human specific instinct, exclusive of all other creatures, that is to find value of life. In fact, the Bible says that the God was happy to see what he just made in the beginning!  His creatures were so good to see. The Bible reporters knew the entire creation is intended art that God has emotion and followed His immensible desire of aesthetic value in bringing the world into existence.

We humen have the same desire for beauty and happiness. We do love to see what we have made; and even make things to view and appreciate. Those are the arts. Good arts are good to look, because they make the viewers happy and that is inherent defintion of the good art.

Some arts are relying on second hypo type of sophisticated reasoning - that is creating some aesthetics by denying other aesthetics. Such denial comes in extreme simplification and restraint as shown in the Asian ink paintings or reversification or adversification of nortion of beauty as shown in early recent Dadaism.

In any case, there is one thing common in every arts, that is all arts have aesthetic values of their own for the viewer's sake, that is for them to enjoy appreciation.

Why they are so happy to see the art? because the art gives joy and inspiration on their lives. That is why the value of arts last longer than its own artist and stay forever as long as there live audience who love it. Permanant value, that is the divinity of art derived from the God.

The following Ancient Greek-Roman exerp will give you something to think about regarding the arts and life.
(citation- from Wikipedia)

Ars longa, vita brevis is part of an aphorism by Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, usually truncated to its first two statements: art is long, life is short. The full text in Latin is:

Ars longa, vita brevis, occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile.

In this commonly found Latin translation, the first two statements have been switched from the Greek original. Its original form in Hippocrates' work Aphorisms, (sect. I, no. 1) is:
Ὁ βίος βραχὺς, ἡ δὲ τέχνη μακρὴ, ὁ δὲ καιρὸς ὀξὺς, ἡ δὲ πεῖρα σφαλερὴ, ἡ δὲ κρίσις χαλεπή.
The full text is often rendered in English as:
Life is short, [the] art long, opportunity fleeting, experiment dangerous, judgment difficult.
Consider also Chaucer's “The lyf so short, the craft so longe to lerne,” (from Parlement of Foules)

In facts your life itself is an art in a sense, because at least one person, that is you would like to enjoy to appreciate.