China Popular Itineraries |
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Jing Hao (in the Five Dynasties) : The Mountains |
Jing Hao, whose birth and death dates are unknown, was a painter of the later Liang Dynasty. He was a native of the Xinshui county, Shanxi province, active during the late 9th and the first part of the 10th century. Being well versed in poetry and history, he resolved to live in seclusion and abandon him-self to nature during the time of constant wars and political turbulence in the Central Plain Area in late Tang Dynasty. He dwelt in solitude in the Hong Valley of the Taihang Mountain and called himself Hong Guzi. As he was very familiar with the beautiful scenery in the deep Hong Valley and the old tall pine trees on the cliffs, he had painted numerous accurate pictures of them. Through his masterly painting technique, he portrayed the lofty moun-tains and high peaks, layer upon layer of hills and knolls and the tremendous momentum of rivers in the north of China. It was he who further perfected the ink seal painting that appeared in the Tang Dynasty and that made impor-tant contributions to the landscape painting in China.
The Mountains (picture No. 9, see p. 680) presents a panoramic view d the thousand-feet-high sheer cliffs, peaks upon peaks with rugged rocks -- a lofty, far and deep sight. Having proper arrangement of the open space at the top and bottom, the whole picture renders a strong perspective of space. The waterfalls in the mountains, the small hut, the trees, the bridge and the fig-ures, etc. turn up and down, setting each other off in the mountain mist. This picture was drawn in ink and wash without color in the technique d shading and tints of ink, precisely and carefully arranged. Not only does the composition indicate the perspective of heights, depth and remoteness, but it also displays a grand and misty landscape of "high mountains all around with their peaks in the clouds. " Jing Hao' s paintings, due to his observation of and feeling for the natural scenes of Taihang Mountain, express the features of the landscape of the north of China. His landscape paintings indicate that the Chi-nese landscape painting had entered into a mature stage. |
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