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Chinese portrait painting

Painting portraits of women from Han to Qing dynasty

Portrait painting of women in ancient China from Han to Qing Dynasty (206 B.C. – 1912 CE) developed under great impact of the Confucian patriarchal cosmology, yet the subject and style varied within the culture of different dynasty.

In Han dynasty (206 B.C.- A.D. 220), women in the portrait painting are mainly a type rather than a specific individual. The major subject was idealized exemplary women (lie nu) with virtues prompted by Confucianism such as chastity, three-fold obedience (san cong) to father, husband, son. Gu Kaizhi’s handscroll Exemplary Women (lienu tu) created shortly after Han dynasty represents the genre.

In Tang dynasty (618-906), palace women (shi nu) performing daily chores or entertainment became popular subject. The feminine beauty and charm of the palace ladies are valued, but the subject remained nonspecific under the painting name “Palace Ladies”. Characteristics encouraged by the Confucianism including submissive and agreeable were encompassed as standards of beauty and emphasized in the portrait. Correctness and likeness to the sitter are believed to reveal the purity of the soul and thus highly valued.

In Song dynasty (960-1279), many portrait paintings of women are created based on the love poems written by court poets. Although depicted as living in luxurious fashion and comfortable housing, women in the painting are usually portrayed as lonely and melancholy because they feel deserted or trapped in the domestic chores while the husbands are out pursuing their career. Common settings include empty garden path and empty platform couch which hint the absence of male figure. Common background included flowering trees which are associated with beauty and banana trees which symbolized vulnerability of women.

In Ming dynasty (1368-1644), literati painting (wenren hua) which combined painting, calligraphy, and poetry became popular trend of art among elites. Most female figures in the literati painting were abstracted to visual metaphor serving for the poetry and remained nonentity. In Qing dynasty (1644-1912), the literati painting developed more variety of brushstroke and use of bright color.

During Qing Dynasty, portraiture of the emperors was influenced by the European court masquerade portraits and emperors were portrayed in various costume and environment, engaging in different activities. The masquerade portraits of emperor Yongzheng and his son emperor Qianlong were considered to have various political implications. Some of Yongzheng’s masquerade portraitures depict him dressing as western gentleman and reflects his curiosity in the European culture and desire to conquer the world. Whereas his son Qianlong commissioned double portraits of Yongzheng and himself to legitimize his reign and emphasize his filial piety. The Spring’s Peaceful Message underscores the similarity between the father and the son through the depiction of physical features and costumes. They stands next to each other in traditional Confucian scholar robes. In addition, Yongzheng was handing a flowering branch to Qianlong as a symbol of transmission of the imperial power. Compare with Yongzheng’s preference in European costumes, Qianlong commissioned more portraitures in the constume of traditional Han religious setting such as him dressing as Confucian scholar and Daoist or Buddhist monk, combining with the inscription, reflecting his interests in studying “the Way of the ruler” proposed by ancient philosophies.