Ayusi
Scattering Rebels with Upraised Spear
Lang Shih-ning (Giuseppe Castiglione, 1688-1766),
Ch'ing dynasty
Handscroll, ink and color on paper, 27.1 x
104.4 cm
The K'ang-hsi Emperor (r. 1662-1722)
personally led battles against the Zunghar tribe
three times, finally bringing their submission
to the Ch'ing as Outer Mongolia from this time
acknowledged obedience to China. In the reign
of the Yung-cheng Emperor (r. 1723-1735), however,
the Zunghar leader Galdantseren rebelled again,
and after a fierce battle, a peace settlement
was agreed upon. In 1755, during the reign of
the Ch'ien-lung Emperor (r. 1735-1796), the
Zunghar khan Dawats and Tsarist Russia collaborated,
leading to another rebellion. After a pincer
attack led by Ch'ing armies, Dawats fled to
the Ko-teng mountains northwest of I-li, where
he became entrenched. The person in this painting,
Ayusi, led more than 20 cavalry in successfully
breaking their defenses, forcing Dawats to flee
south to T'ien-shan, and thereby bringing the
chaos of the Zunghar rebellion to a temporary
halt.
When Ayusi returned to court,
the Ch'ien-lung Emperor, appreciating the fact
that his military leader faced death in the
remote border regions, had Giuseppe Castiglione
paint a commemorative portrait emulating the
portraiture of 28 meritorious officials of the
Eastern Han dynasty at Yün-t'ai and 24 meritorious
officials at the Ling-yen Pavilion in the T'ang.
Though Ayusi's biography does not appear in
Draft of the History of the Ch'ing,
"being known to all for thousands of years"
via this painting has also brought him honor.
Castiglione, an Italian Jesuit
who painted for the court and went by the Chinese
name Lang Shih-ning, did this painting at the
age of 66. He used the method of eliminating
the background and focusing entirely on the
figure and his mount. Ayusi as he appears here
is wearing a peacock-feather warming cap and
a protective suit, while strapped to his back
is a musket rifle and to his waist a quiver
of arrows. With one hand holding the reigns
and the other a spear-lance, he concentrates
in his heroic advance. The horse appears against
a spotless background devoid of any rocks or
trees, not even the ground. This suggests a
sense of speed as if in flight, but also appears
frozen in time, creating an extremely "moving"
scene!
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