The Silken Embroidery of Antique Collection(part 1)

Antique business has not given much attention to the traditional embroideries or the category of needle works.In past days,such silken embroideries were sold in some second-rate antique shops situated on the Qianmen Street in Beijing.But we should not underestimate the artistic value of this kind of antique,and their archaeological value is also worthy of our attention. In Beijing,besides some traditional needle works being sold in the Qianmen Street,there was also a “Purse Alley” selling purses specially behind an embrasured watchtower at Zhengyangmen where in the open space the vendors sold a variety of pockets. These delicate and exquisite embroideries were not woman-specific items which were also vade mecum for men to put small objects in them.

The people’s purpose of carrying on purses in the past was different from ours as they not only put change and money in these beautiful small bags.The usage of these pockets were manifold. They were capsules for watches, glasses, fans, sachet powder, pull fingers, jewelries, snuff bottles and so forth. The antique line called all these types of sachets as “the design of live”. Because of their fine embroideried handiworks, during the Qing dynasty(1644-1911),the officials hanged them outside their robes as decorations besides the functional purpose. Some of these compact adornments even were the bestowments by the emperor or the queen dowager as it was usual etiquette of the court to grant these gadgets to the ministers and their family dependants at that time.These sachets were valuable rewards. The configurated sachets were decorated with colorful vivid images of clear effect,such as flowers, figures,scenery,celestial beings which were all constructed with diverse stitches with iridescent filaments and threads with dexterous craftsmanship.After the subversion of the Qing dynasty,the former Beijing residence courtiers sold these bestowments which had been handed down to them from one generation to another to the antique dealers. The dealers just spent a few pennies to buy the adornments and sold them to the foreigners for hundred dollars each,just telling the buyers that these silken embroideries were the royal awards to ministers in former days!

The construct of the silken embroidery is a configuration of a splendid and glittering world where night, ugliness,impropriety do not exit. This world is ignated by the eternal brightness,so that our visions can sweep the mythological wonders delightfully.The magnificent Chinese culture,the noble and superb skills of constructing such pristine images are all embodied in such miraculous embroidery. A stunning visual effects make people sense why Chinese embroideries are famous worldwide and deserved to be called an ancient country of spinning and weaving immediately. From the picture we can see a colorful patch which was sewed on the front of the robe to show the rank of the officials in Qing dynasty.The true-to-life red-crested crane as the.subject matter vividly makes the focal point amid the flourish and prosperity of the decorative patterns. To achieve sequence of priority in such elaborateness needed the commanding skill of an overall arrangement and the highest degree of dexterity.The purpose of making this piece of patch to indicate the status of the wearer was the first importance in the feudal bureaucratic hierarchy.However the décor of the official uniform is a product of the combination of practical and aesthetic value.

Away from the Mundane World

Knowing how to appreciate art is a blessing in life, for knitting into the vicissitudes of our lives is the undying value of the true, the good, and the beautiful of the real treasure; thus we could have a much more meaningful life. In the presence of this imperfect society which is established by mankind with inherent frailties, frivolous and dismal would sometimes disappoint us.

The perpetual peaceful quality of a traditional landscape painting, could be source of pleasure and helps to banish the unmerited spleen for our bad moods could find a vent ; nevertheless the power of higher appreciation has to be cultivated, lest the recourse to art for amusement should be in vain.

No matter what trials and tribulations we have experienced in this world, our ancestors also had gone through, and their situations always were worse than us. Suffering, misery, sorrow are just commonplaces, mere platitudes in human history.

Our precursors accepted the encounter with all these unpleasant events, and had their ways to extract themselves from their predicaments. In the past, the literati would indulge their passions for excursions so as to strive for perfect union with Nature. Then all the concerns of mundane world could be left behind. However what could they do when they were getting too old to travel, and how could they marvel at the wonders of Nature when they were confined at home?

In Chinese, the expression‘woyou’which means‘to travel while reclining’first appeared in biography of Zong Bing(375-443)in History of the Song that related how this famous painter and traveler of Southern Dynasties(420-479) was prevented from traveling by his physical frailty when old and how he resorted to admiring while reclining at home the landscapes that he had painted from memory in order to quench his yearnings. Figuratively speaking, Zong was making a landscape journey that brings together his love for art and love for Nature. Incidentally, he has thus ushered in a brand new philosophy that has changed the painting and appreciation of the Chinese landscape for ever.

Therefore in traditional landscape paintings, the artists are telling us that they explore for beauty beyond the explored; picture the truths beyond the pictured. This ideology being translated into the landscape make Chinese painting unique,which in Chinese art does not represent the outward appearance of thing but the reality of the human spirit. What is created in a painting is a landscape that borders on the imaginary that echoes with a sense of isolation and relief felt by the painter.     

                                                                     

The Freehand Brushwork in Traditional Chinese Painting

The Freehand Brushwork in Traditional Chinese Painting

The two main techniques in Chinese painting are Meticulous painting and Freehand painting. However, if the expressive techniques were not restricted within one type of genre, then we not only made our description of things more complete, but also gained access to a both colorful and dynamic perceptual abundance. Therefore modern painters have often mixed several color on one brush or mixed their colors with black inks. As a result, they have obtained more natural and richly varied color tones.

Nevertheless we should keep in mind to make sure that the use of the extraordinary Chinese brush of capturing instantaneously the vital life force of nature is the mission of a particular culture; otherwise there is no difference with the water color painting. Most watercolor paintings are comprised of washes ,linear or dry-brush marks. Every mark we make is influenced by how saturated the brush is with pigment and how much pressure we apply to the brush as we move it across the paper surface, although which to a certain degree is similar to the creating method of Chinese painting, the building-up of all these marks in order to construct a three dimensional world, or just the visual impact is the goal of the watercolor paintings.

The painting above is Slight Freehand Style. The two frogs are the main images which are represented with a few freehand brushworks. No colors added to the frogs as to retain the varying degrees of intensity of ink and vivid brushworks. Black does not please the eye or awaken another sense. It is the agent of the mind even more than the beautiful color of the palette or prism. In traditional culture, the inherent potential serene power in Black can leave sobriety and calmness in our minds. In ancient culture, the Chinese word to express the meaning of dark or black was written as玄,which also means mysterious and abstruse. When something we could not understand by reasoning, and only could through the power of enlightenment or be inspired by meditation, we could refer it to玄.

Therefore in order to create the ambience of tranquility to settle the minds, some ink is added in the colors to tone down the brightness of them. In the picture, the colored

banana leaves were a bit darkened. While contemplating the overall structure of a painting, my mindset was in a tranquil state to show the reverence for the spirited nature through the vigorous movements of the brush.

Flower-and-bird painting

Flower- and-bird painting was separated from decorative art to form an independent genre around the 9^th century. A great many artists painted in this genre during the Song dynasty and their subject matter included a rich variety of flowers, fruit , birds, insects and fish. Therefore this genre is not confined the images of a painting to something floral and avian. The other genres in Chinese paintings are landscapes and figures.

Expressive methods regarding the representation of flowers, the floral images could be executed solely in washes of ink or color without outlines, and such style is named as the ‘boneless’ manner in China for we do not need to depict the contour of the flowers. Another method is that we draw the contours of the flowers first, and color it.If the flowers are white in color then we could leave them blank.

The painting above is the ginger flower behind the banana leaf. The flower is white in color. The curved strokes, involved a little but forceful wrist movement from heavier pressure to lighter pressure with the elbow stationary, determine the shape of the petals. As Chinese painting is essentially a linear art, so the qualities of lines are valued. Therefore the lines have to be unhesitant, vivid, and full of life. Drawing the lines, the artists would exert all their effects and emotions in them. Looking at the outlines of the petals, we can feel there is something more than just the drawing of the contour of the subject matter. Moreover it is such profound quality of lines to make the Chinese Calligraphy unique.

Form is the visible shape of content. Shape serves, first of all, to inform us about the nature of things through their external appearance. The flower in the painting goes beyond the practical identifying function. I imagined it to be a shy lady hiding behind the banana leaf while I was doing the creation.