In this painting, a scholar sits
on a lounge in deep thought holding a brush as if take a rest from reading or ready to
write something. A servant is at his side pouring wine. Behind is a screen with a painting
of a sandy shore and waterfowl. Hung over the painting is a portrait featuring the visage
of the scholar himself, thus making this an interesting "painting within a
painting" and a "double portrait." Several objects are displayed in the
setting, including a low table, upon which is placed a lute, chess board, calligraphy,
paintings, and various antique vessels to symbolize the status and traditional leisure
activities of the scholar in traditional China starting from the Sung dynasty. Though
perhaps meant to evoke the image of China's sage-calligrapher Wang Hsi-chih (ca. 303-ca.
361), in the Southern Sung (1127-1279), it had already become popular to "burn
incense, drink tea, hang paintings, arrange flowers" and other such refined
activities. If so, then this custom may have begun in the late Northern Sung. The lines in this painting, the first leaf
from the album "Li-tai hua-fu chi-ts'e," are delicate and fluid, forming a fine
and descriptive style. The screen painting of birds
and flowers is unusual, since most such "paintings within a painting" include
landscapes. Furthermore, the style here was one popular in the reign of emperor Hui-tsung.
(r. 1101-1125).
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