Unknown
Japanese, 17th-18th c., Edo period
Tang Dynasty Emperor Minghuang and his Consort Yang Guifei, n.d.
ink, watercolor, and gold on paper; single six-panel screen
67 1/8 x 148 5/8 in.
SBMA, Gift of Lawrason Driscoll
1997.62
COMMENTS
Since the inception of Japanese painting, Japanese artists have looked to the Asian continent, particularly China, for inspiration... The continental influence is visible in Japan’s earliest paintings—tomb murals from the sixth and seventh centuries. In the Heian period (794-1185), paintings were imported directly from China, particularly Buddhist works brought back (for use in Esoteric rituals) by monks who studied on the continent, such as Kūkai (774-835) and Saichö (767-822). By this time, the term kara-e, or “Chinese painting,” had come into use to distinguish a separate tradition in Japan from yamato-e, literally “Japanese (style) painting.”
The newly arrived styles immediately evolved into distinctive Japanese traditions, with their own aesthetic principles. The Japanese art world experienced periodic revolutions as new schools of painting in China continued to serve as fresh sources of inspiration. The 15th century marked one of the most important of these revolutions, when the monk-painter Sesshū (1420-1506) and his student Shūgetsu (1427-1510) were allowed to travel as government ambassadors to China, where a century of Mongol invasion had recently come to an end.
Arriving in the port city of Ningbo, for centuries the source of Japan-bound Chinese Buddhist paintings, Sesshü and Shügetsu were exposed to popular new styles of Chinese painting. The new native Chinese dynasty, the Ming (1368-1644), had instituted a revival of earlier court-painting styles, particularly in the Zhe school that, privileged with official patronage, dominated the Chinese-painting world. Sesshū and Shūgetsu brought Ming-painting styles to Japan, setting a new standard for landscape painting that defined official painting schools such as the Kano and Unkoku even into the early modern period...
- Continental Style: Chinese Influence in Japanese Paintings, Honolulu Museum of Art, 2008
http://honolulumuseum.org/art/exhibitions/5136-continental_style_chinese_influence_japanese_paintings
SBMA CURATORIAL LABELS
This richly decorated screen references a narrative poem The Song of Everlasting Sorrow, written by the celebrated Chinese poet Bo Juyi (772-846) of the Tang dynasty (618-907). The poem recounts the tragic story of Tang emperor Minghuang (reign 712-756) whose excess love for his beautiful consort, Yang Guifei (c. 720-756) caused him to neglect state affairs and social disorder ensued. Yang Guifei was put to death in 756 during the An Lushan uprising. The passionate love and inconsolable grief in the poem found a sympathetic audience in the Japanese imperial court as early as the 9th century and had a lasting impact on Japanese literature, drama and art throughout history.
This screen shows the two lovers admiring the blossoming flowers from a high tower while the emperor is playing a small hand drum to the beat of the musicians below. The elaborate gold used on this screen not only underscores the intensity of the emotional entanglement of everlasting love and sorrow, but also provides a glimmering atmosphere of wealth for its owner.
- Asian Art Reopening, 2022
The tale illustrated is the “Song of Everlasting Sorrow” ("Chang henge") written during the golden age of Chinese poetry in Tang dynasty (618-907) by Bai Juyi (772-846). It recounts the love story of the Tang Emperor Minghuang and his favorite consort Yang Guifei. Utterly besotted by her beauty, the emperor neglected state affairs which led to chaos in the court. In the wake of a rebellion led by the top general An Lushan, the emperor was sent into temporary exile and was forced to have Yang killed. After Yang's death, the emperor sent a Daoist priest to search for his beloved. He found her on the island of Penglai, home of the immortals in Eastern sea.
This narrative had an impact on Japanese literature, drama, and art throughout history. It was translated and then interpreted in Japanese court poems as early as the ninth century. It was reinterpreted as part of the first chapter of Lady Murasaki’s novel, "The Tale of Genji," around the year 1000. In the 16th and 17th centuries, court and feudal lords often requested screens on the “Song.” The elaborate gold used on this screen not only underscored the intensity of the everlasting love and sorrow, but also provided a glimmering atmosphere of wealth for its owner.
- Paths of Gold, 2018