Qian Xuan, Young nobleman
on horseback, a handscroll
painting
From China
Yuan dynasty,
dated the 27th year of Zhiyuan (AD 1290)
Qian Xuan (about 1235-1300) was a
scholar-official from Wuxing, Zhejiang Province. After the Mongol
conquest of China in 1279, he became a
yimin ('leftover
subject'). Yimin
were officials who preferred retirement from public life to serving
the alien Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). Like many of his compatriots,
he turned to artistic pursuits to support himself. A
literati
painter, Qian painted landscapes, historical figures and
flowers.
Yimin
painters revived past styles of painting to remind them of
China's glorious past
(fugu - 'return
to the past'). The nobleman's costume is painted in
the fine linear style reminiscent of Gu Kaizhi (about 345-406). The
flat use of colour and bare background add to the sense of
restraint and detachment typical of Yuan
painting.
The accompanying
poem was copied from a painting by Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322), the
leading artistic and literary talent of the Yuan period. Zhao, who
briefly served the
Mongols,
painted men and horses to reflect his ambivalence towards public
service. The sad tone of the poem must have echoed Qian's
feelings:
'Wuling
is in the prime of youth, Energetic and restless, with white steed
and golden saddle, He is in high spirits, Holding his bow he calls
the oriole, but no oriole comes. Ancient catalpa and setting sun:
what can be done about
age?'
(translated by R.
Whitfield)
A. Farrer, The brush dances and the ink s (Hayward Gallery, London, 1990)
J. Rawson (ed.), The British Museum book of Chi (London, The British Museum Press, 1992)
K. Suzuki (ed.), Comprehensive illustrated cata (University of Tokyo Press, 1982)