Xie Chufang, Fascination
of Nature, a handscroll
painting
China
Yuan dynasty, dated
AD 1321
This is a rare example of a signed and dated
painting from the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). The subject matter is
that of animals and insects feeding off each other. A toad lies in
wait for ants, which in turn are dismembering a butterfly; a
dragonfly attacks a smaller insect which the lizard is hunting, and
the cicada seems destined to be eaten by the mantis. The
colophons
tell us of the deeper significance of the subject matter: the
beauty and brightness of the natural world cover up the confusion
and disorder caused by the fight for survival. It reflects the
dilemma faced by many Chinese of the period: whether to work for
the
Mongols
and survive, or to remain loyal to the fallen imperial dynasty and
starve.
This painting
belongs to a category known as
caochong
('plants and insects'), which dates as far back as
1120 in the Xuanhe
huapu, the catalogue of the Imperial
Collection of the Northern Song dynasty. The vibrant colours are
balanced by the plain ink of the artist's dedication and
colophons. This combination of the twelfth-century
'academic' style with the traditions of
'scholar-amateur' art reflects the revivalism of
earlier styles by Chinese painters under the Mongol regime,
recalling the glorious past. However, little is known about the
artist, Xie Chufang, except that he might have come from Piling in
Jiangsu Province, a centre of production for
caochong
painting.
The signature of
W. [William] Butler and the date 1797 are written inside the
original silk cover; the painting is thus the earliest example of a
Chinese painting that has been documented in a British collection.
The scroll probably arrived in Britain through the East India trade
or as a present given to a member of a diplomatic mission. In the
nineteenth century, the scroll belonged to Sir Thomas Phillipps
(1792-1872). In 1946 it was acquired by Lionel and Philip Robinson,
well-known book-lovers, from the sale of the Phillipps'
library.
R. Whitfield, Fascination of nature: plants (Seoul, Yekyong Publications, 1993)