Ping Foong-Guo Xi\'s Intimate Landscapes and the Case of Old Trees, Level Distance

Guo Xi's Intimate Landscapes and the Case of "Old Trees, Level Distance" Author(s): Ping Foong Source: Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 35 (2000), pp. 87-115 Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1513027 . Accessed: 24/04/2014 13:44 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. . The University of Chicago Press and The Metropolitan Museum of Art are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Metropolitan Museum Journal. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 129.128.216.34 on Thu, 24 Apr 2014 13:44:46 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Guo Xi's Intimate Landscapes and the Case of Old Trees, Level Distance PING FOONG Princeton University N THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM of Art is an enig- matic painting named Old Trees, LevelDistanceattrib- uted to Guo Xi IE, (b. after looo, d. ca. 1o90), who is unanimously considered to be one of the great- est painters in the history of China (Figure 1).' The present article attempts to elucidate the historical con- text of this painting with textual documentation, which consists of a group of poems written by Guo's contemporaries about his intimate landscape hand- scrolls. The poets found, as do we, that these small handscrolls differed from the large-format works that Guo, in his role as a court painter, designed to fit into an architectural, and therefore public, context. Of such monumental ink landscapes by Guo, only the spectacular Early Spring in the collection of the National Palace Museum of Taiwan survives today (Figure 2). As the literature suggests, the intimate landscapes Guo Xi painted were considered new and original in his own time. In describing this facet of Guo's production, and in identifying Old Trees, Level Distance as a painting ? The Metropolitan Museum of Art 2000 METROPOLITAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 35 The notes for this article begin on page 1 13. in kind, we will begin by demonstrating the stylistic affinities between Old Trees, Level Distance and Early Sping, in order to establish the former as a work by Guo. In this connection, the second section will trace the provenance of Old Trees, Level Distance, based on an analysis of an important seal and some of its colophons. In order to characterize Guo's intimate landscapes and to surmise a date for these paintings, the third, fourth, and fifth sections will then present the evidence from the written record of the eleventh century, namely, poems by Guo's contemporaries. With the deeper understanding of the historical position and the private function of Guo's intimate landscapes provided by these poems, a new interpretation of the subject matter of Old Trees, Level Distance becomes possible. This inter- pretation will be considered in the concluding sections. OLD TREES, LEVEL DISTANCE AND EARLY SPRING: STYLISTIC AFFINITIES Old Trees, LevelDistance is a short handscroll executed in ink on silk and now considerably darkened with age. Two fishing boats appear in the still, low-tide waters of a chilly, autumnal river at the beginning of the paint- ing, at right. Not far from the boats, along the river- ~'''~'~'~:::~~~~~r~5~~"~, ,~ .~ .t .~ . _:. inJ1......... Figure 1. Guo Xi (b. after looo, d. ca. oo90), Old Trees, LevelDistance Handscroll, ink and light color on silk, 35.9 x 104.8 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift ofJohn M. CrawfordJr., in honor of Douglas Dillon, 1981 ( 1981.276) 87 This content downloaded from 129.128.216.34 on Thu, 24 Apr 2014 13:44:46 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 4 I..>6 A! t AR44 i j -AX ^ ?i vf XaH *. 7. .. i7- Ait f... . - Figure 2. Guo Xi, Early Spring. Signed and dated 1072. Hanging scroll, ink and light color on silk, 158.3 x 1o8.1 cm. Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, Republic of China (photo: courtesy Taipei National Palace Museum) 88 This content downloaded from 129.128.216.34 on Thu, 24 Apr 2014 13:44:46 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions bank, are two half-withered, fernlike trees with hanging vines (Figure 4). Almost disappearing into the light mist is a pair of tiny, forlorn birds flying across the river (Figure 5). Looking across a level plain delineated with layers of carefully gradated light ink wash, the viewer encounters a group of low-lying mountains beyond the river's far shore (Figure 6). Traveling toward these mountains are two woodcutters with their pack donkey, themselves fading away into the misty mountains as they cross the bridge toward home (Figure 5). The gray lowlands are accented here and there with wet, slightly darker dabs of ink, representing scrubby brushwood on the riverbank and scattered trees along the hilly terrain (Figure 6). If it were not for these indi- cations of foliage, it would be hard to tell the differ- ence between land and water, mountain and mist, solid and ephemeral. We read these amorphous shapes both as an atmospheric depiction of a misty autumn evening landscape and as a suggestion of spatial recession in a level distance view. A distinct change occurs halfway along the hand- scroll, where the viewer encounters large, old, withered trees (Figure 7a). As with the first pair, the trunks curve toward each other as if in conversation, but, in contrast to their wan relatives by the riverbank at the beginning * : 1 . -. . 'I 4' -p A Figure 3. Detail of Figure i, Old Trees, Level Distance, Xuanhe zhongbi seal . .,, ...~.5 '-....~.~.~ m m.. :.,:. .~:.>... .......................:... ? d;.. r.'^ :. ~ . ,* _ v$SPW . . .kr, - . . E E E =. , . ... *t--.- \ -, f~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~S~ LL~ -;?-- - -? ' c?~~~??Q ~ .... . ..~ , o~ lil.- 4Jf,i#- - . ... ,, J-~ ~ ~ ~~. -4 '~?W? -nr- '' . ",. . li: , . Y, ..$ , . . -,.-- .-. ? ~~~~~~~~~~~ rl~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~..~. -?- ~...- ::: .... 'i'~:,Lg3.E'TE.- ......~?;~ _..... . ~.??? ~.I? _,~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~_-.,.;.::.: - . ::..... , :.: .,..-....~CC ... ...... r_-~~~~~~~~~~~~~E~~~~~~~?? u?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~L~~~~~~~? ? ri-~~~~~~~~~~~~~, ...... :-~":"-"' ': ~ 4 ~""'i. ?~"'~'-'~ :'~"~ :, "~~~_ca~ "~-. . . ~', ~.. -~ . ~ . ' " ,:"',~~ " .~ 7.~-~'~' ..' " '"~i~!? , ......:.'": .~....-.~'~',-'-~"d......,:""....--,- ''~-:'i'.i ..,-"-~ ''-~ 7~7 ~o~,, - -. ~ . ;- .7r, I;-.. -- - +. . ' .-r* ..,.. - 1 Nft#%C'?QTi .. "?r -??. i?' * i: .,,,,. ? i- 'iIf,cr.: s: -;?;.? rirti' ?_;i;::1Cfff??I.:???::+ i; -.? ?- r-? .?;F? ?..?- .?' r?*r ,; r ?? ? r .... Figure 4. Detail of Figure i, Old Trees, Level Distance, fishermen and small trees 89 1 -% ... _ a.* '.. 4 Al. -tr '-?:? ,??? ..; "I-- r This content downloaded from 129.128.216.34 on Thu, 24 Apr 2014 13:44:46 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions ?r ?--r- - .c? -. - -"'rr--L- r: ? ?'?:-E'- ' a;. :? c?- "-TiSi*l': - .iYL Ce: ...:??Q' ?jELrjl-I: ? --' ??:-?:: ? 'f_ TLi:i ??I'? ? ?? .='. i.l. '7? r?.. -: '':'.. ?:'':. -? ?_?-- ?" ?; '"I'* -: ._,.,.. ":?5" '' _gel?; ?1:-.r?-"'" rs-i,f: ?; .-? i'' ' ''' ' :I? ... -- -:id??C;llii+*F??;i::-i?? Ii ;v?? ?e ;?- ???I:- ?-???-j .?.?:.= -"i?i. -?? ?r, L --?--- -?? ? ?sr -- ;; ;:-*?;- .._: r _.,;;.i,,-s ... ....I -i ...-. ..?;?:: ::?5t::... ........:..... :* .. .I.1??-E -.?zi; --?? r? 1` ---"-?I -';I -*2r-: -.-- :? -?-L? ??;? .;;-.j__ ___ : _:3 '?...?'.:L; -'?-?- ": I-.??.--???; --c- i ?c 1?,-:-,?:- -???,.,. ??--?-:r,i i? ?., '. L;' ;:i ia? -a ;. .. I :??"' P- ;t -srT, i i p-, 1i ~ . '~' _ ' i .. - .:: _ ' .. 's- ? ?.5.-. .. ._s.. ;, '?. t ~ '5 4 :_ ' ~ -..- . .. .- - i. Figure 5. Detail of Figure , Old Trees, Level Distance, woodcutters and birds Figur 5 Detai of Figr i, OldI Tre,Lee isac, odutesan id of the scroll, these are presented forcefully. They are outlined in jet-black ink, as is the bulbous rock in front (Figure ga). A main motif, the two figures located at the end of the scroll, is also sharply rendered (Figure 8). The two old men walk slowly toward the rustic pavilion overlooking the river. Five servant boys attend them at their picnic: one has gone ahead to prepare the pavil- ion, two accompany their masters, and two more help carry boxes. One box is probably a multitiered food carrier, and the other contains a qin (lute) for musical entertainment. These boldly delineated motifs (Figure i, left) contrast with the delicate, silvery forms found at the beginning of the painting (Figure i, right). After having so quickly reached the end of the scroll, the viewer's eyes are drawn back along the plane of the painting, a diagonal initiated at the left by the bridge to the pavilion, continuing with the woodcutters' path, and ending with the low-lying mountains (Figure 1). An adjacent diagonal, forming another side of the trapezoidal composition, is provided by the path sand- wiched between the large pair of trees and the bulbous rock. The fishermen, the woodcutters, and the smaller pair of trees are located along the remaining two sides. 90 This method of organization not only gives the com- position a sense of containment, but also enhances the distance between objects in the long but narrow hand- scroll format. The contrast of light and dark ink in the main motifs in the earlier and later sections of the scroll alters the viewer's relative sense of distance from them, giving an impression of receding distance across the lowlands. By placing these motifs along diagonals, the artist leads the viewer's eyes into the landscape without actually presenting a painting organized by a unified ground plane. This treatment is consistent with our under- standing of how an artist of this period might approach the problem of space and spatial recession.2 These features of Guo Xi's style in Old Trees, Level Distance are also found in Early Spring, a hanging scroll that is ascribed with certainty to his hand, reliably signed, sealed, and dated by the artist to 1072 (Figure 2). At first glance, the two paintings seem to be con- trasting works, differing in format and subject matter: the former is a handscroll depicting the autumn sea- son, the latter a hanging scroll of early spring. Upon closer inspection, they have much in common in terms -??? ?': "' ? ?. ?i? ? ::?---i- :: 'ir i :"? ?:--Fii?- -?- _r ..-.-.; .-.; ???clr. ?;e ? :?`?- 5.: I: .._ .,:??r--.i?c-?'; i"?': -,. c??v ??;?r????l-''i:I4 __;r -?c ;:. ::: ;:'.s ;''''U.; '? *:????? ri. -1 I-? ?,: ??id-L-i ? " I?-I.: r ;;;ff: -"- ;iS-?ir?-?;-? ii5;i :?..i-l. -? a. -C. *ir-f'?.t?' -''? -??r?.- ... ??IP_ *r'? yetrsl??I-r-?*r :? sr* u- tr.ui?? k if i-r c;e -?-' ?): . :? i.'??* *f:" ,.,,; C:IIL a-?;- c :I? .. rc-;:: ,...;r.,-; Zli; ;;-.?r;ttWd .i . :fZ r-a? This content downloaded from 129.128.216.34 on Thu, 24 Apr 2014 13:44:46 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Y~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~- ? i~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.* ; ? *.?.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ? '~' ~ ;r.~;-c:':~'~ "' ..- . .? : : - ~?'"I ~ . ~~ . . :: .:_,:: ' ,:;;: "'_i~ . .' - * . G. ,, - r . -... - .:. *.";.'? ', ^ .. ..... . . Figure 6. Detail of Figure i, Old Trees, Level Distance, distant mountains of composition and in employment of ink and line. Although the massive central mountain formation in Early Spring almost moves like a living organism, as if along a random path, the underlying composition is lucidly planned. As in Old Trees, LevelDistance, the main motifs are plotted along a trapezoidal framework. The foot of the mountain, beginning at the lower left cor- ner of the hanging scroll, demarcates one side of the frame. Parallel to this is a wide band of glowing mist that reaches from the center of the scroll to the upper right, implying another edge. Leading our eyes in the opposite direction are similar structural devices, such as the tunnel-like recession of land in the level distance at the left edge of the scroll, the line of leafy shrubbery dotting the mountain ridge near its uppermost peak, or the multitiered waterfall, which cascades along the same axis. The alignment of the major features-the mountain ridges, the mist, the level distance, the water- fall-along this framework leads the viewer's eyes in a zigzag, ascending path up the scroll. As in Old Trees, Level Distance, this composition creates the perception of a progressively remote landscape, without the need to ground the forms along any single baseline. The impression of far distance in Early Spring is also enhanced by juxtaposing light and dark ink. Overall, the bottom half of the mountain is heavily inked in a roughly hewn manner. In contrast, the less distinct top half is painted with smaller, layered, rubbed brush strokes, done with relatively lighter ink. Following the changes in tonality along the winding spine of the mountain, the viewer also feels that this mass recedes backward, in the same way that an object that is farther away is less visible to the eye. This careful deployment of ink is manifest in both paintings at a local level as well. For example, clearly dif- ferentiated tonalities of ink distinguish tree from shrub, front from back. The large deciduous trees in Old Trees, Level Distance are depicted with a bold, sure brush and thick, black ink (Figure 7a). The leafy shrubs growing underneath them are done with dark, watery, though solid strokes, creating a soft-edged foil to hoary trunks and spiky branches. Farther in the background are two other trees in lighter gray ink, again one soft and the other spiny. Such layered tree vignettes appear in a number of places in Early Spring, for instance in the center of the scroll (Figure 7b). Judiciously applied 91 This content downloaded from 129.128.216.34 on Thu, 24 Apr 2014 13:44:46 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Figure 7a. Detail of Figure , Old Trees, Level Distance, large trees Figure 7a. Detail of Figure i, Old Trees, Level Distance, large trees wash, from the layers of which discrete forms and tex- tures emerge, is evident in both paintings. With apparent ease, the artist also utilizes tightly controlled ink gradations to build up a sense of plastic- ity in the rock formations of both paintings. Layers of restless line and fluid wash fuse to form bulging rocks. On top of the layered wash, a few selectively placed dabs of ink call attention to the pitted texture of the rock in Old Trees, LevelDistance (Figure ga), a technique applied with a slightly dryer brush in Early Spring (Figure gb). Here and there, inky outlines are added to suggest rugged edges. In Old Trees, Level Distance, such dark highlights give substantial definition to the cloudlike rock. At the same time, the artist literally undercuts this solidity by allowing the base of the rock to fade away 92 into the silk. The base of the rock in Early Springalso dis- appears (into water), and from afar it almost seems to float. A distinctive feature of Guo Xi's landscapes is this delight in the contradiction presented by baseless mountains and weightless rock. Guo Xi employs line masterfully. Here, we might point out three uses common to Old Trees, LevelDistance and Early Spring. The first has already been mentioned- the way in which line is used to transform an area of layered wash into substantial rock. In addition, this line sometimes defines a place behind which figures can appear. In Old Trees, LevelDistance, the rock, edged with a fluctuating, charcoal-black line, acts as a window through which we glimpse two servant boys with their loads approaching the pavilion (Figure ioa). This fea- This content downloaded from 129.128.216.34 on Thu, 24 Apr 2014 13:44:46 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Figure 7b. Detail of Figure 2, Early Spring, trees and shrubs in mid-ground (photo: from Guo Xi Zaochuntu 5 Pe [ [Taipei: National Palace Musem, 1979], p. 47) ture appears in Early Spring (Figure 1 ob). Although the spatial relationship between the rocky overhang and the travelers is more ambiguous in Early Spring, the dark line also denotes space below and behind. A second use of line occurs in the rendering of figures. While the relative sizes of the figures in the two works differ, the depiction is quite similar, in demean- or and arrangement. For instance, the hunched figures in both paintings are comparable: in Old Trees, Level Distance, he is curved with age (Figure 1 la); in Early Spring, she is bent under her load (Figure 1 c). Both seem to have the heel of the forward foot off the ground, as if stepping out toe first. Their respective companions turn their heads, as if to suggest they are courteously waiting for them (Figures i lb and 1 id). Travelers depicted in three-quarter view from the back have V-shaped feet (Figures 1 if, 1 ih, and 1 ii) and carry packs that are practically indistinguishable from their bodies since they are meant to be moving away from the audience into the distance. Guo Xi depicts these human figures with the same quivering, round- ed line as that found on the edges of his rocks. He favors outlines broken into plump dashes and dots, delineating both clothing and body, as in the uneven sleeves of the scholars in Old Trees, Level Distance (Figures i la and i lb) and in the jagged arms of the fishermen in Early Spring (Figure 1 e). A final use of line to be noted seems to be a habit born of a nimble brush. In Early Spring, we find a num- ber of instances where a single stroke depicts multiple 93 .~~~~~~~~~~~~Y? This content downloaded from 129.128.216.34 on Thu, 24 Apr 2014 13:44:46 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions sC-A Figure 8. Detail of Figure 1, Old Trees, Level Distance, pair of old men and pavilion parts of the tree. In one example, the line begins as the hollow in a tree branch, is transformed into an edge, and ends as a flicking twig (Figure 12b). The fernlike stump in Old Trees, LevelDistance is an abbreviated man- ifestation of this mannerism (Figure 1 2a). Also in a kind of shorthand is the way the taller tree next to the stump is outlined. The same witty technique is used in Early Spring to describe the bumpy edge of a gnarled tree trunk (Figure 12c). In Early Spring, the brushwork is still relatively naturalistic; in Old Trees, Level Distance, it has been distilled into a whimsically curling outline, executed with speed that might come from years of repetition and practice of the same brush idiom. This comparison of composition, ink, and line in Old Trees, Level Distance and Early Spring has sought to establish the similarity of the two works in these three respects. The variations described above may be 94 accounted for by their different dates of execution. It will be shown that Old Trees, Level Distance was painted about a decade after Early Spring. The two paintings were created for different purposes and at two separate stages in Guo Xi's career at court, which lasted from 1068 to the time of his death around the logos. A SEAL AND SOME COLOPHONS Seals and colophons are important aids in authenticating a painting by prov