Painting in National Palace Museum, Song dynasty part2

Welcome to the National Palace Museum's collection of paintings from the Song dynasty! Here you can explore a variety of works by some of China's most influential painters. You will find works such as Autumn Colors Among Streams and Mountains, Pair of Wild Geese on an Autumn Islet, Bamboo in Monochrome Ink, Travelers Among Mountains and Streams, Early Spring, Blue Magpie and Thorny Shrubs, Magpies and Hare, Wind in Pines Among a Myriad Valleys, Children at Play in an Autumnal Garden and Lohan. Each of these paintings provides us with a unique insight into Chinese culture during this period. We hope you enjoy exploring these incredible artifacts!

1. Autumn Colors among Streams and Mountains

This painting has layers of mountains with shoals and slopes in the lower half. The mountains are rounded and have light ink giving the effect of misty waters. The painting would date from the early Southern Song period.

2. Pair of Wild Geese on an Autumn Islet

The painting shows a pond on an autumn day with a slight breeze. The geese are resting on a shoal surrounded by reeds, red polygonum, and withered lotuses. A kingfisher has just taken flight, interrupting the scene as one of the geese looks up at it.

3. Bamboo in Monochrome Ink

Wen Tong was a talented poet and painter who is credited with inventing the genre of ink bamboo painting. This painting depicts bamboo growing from a cliff on the left, with the motifs being realistic and lively. This painting reflects the trend in Northern Song painting of focusing on the underlying principles of objects.

4. Travelers Among Mountains and Streams

Fan K'uan, a painter from Hua-yuan in Shensi province, is best known for his landscape paintings. He originally followed the style of the Shantung artist Li Ch'eng, but later realized that he needed to take Nature as his teacher in order to accurately portray the land.

5. Early Spring

Kuo Hsi was a court painter in China who specialized in painting large pine trees and scenery enveloped in mist and clouds. He served under Emperor Shen-tsung and was later promoted to the highest position of Painter-in-Attendance in the court Han-lin Academy of Painting.

6. Blue Magpie and Thorny Shrubs

This painting by Huang Chu-ts'ai is an excellent example of the balance between action and stillness. Take, for example, the blue magpie in the lower section of the scroll. It appears to have just jumped onto the rock as it bends down to take a drink from the stream below.

7. Magpies and Hare

Ts'ui Po was a painter from Anhwei province who was especially good at painting birds and flowers. This painting shows two magpies crying out at a hare.

8. Wind in Pines Among a Myriad Valleys

Li T'ang was a painter in the Han-lin Academy of Painting under Emperor Hui-tsung of the Northern Sung.

9. Children at Play in an Autumnal Garden

Su Han-ch'en was a painter who specialized in Buddhist and Taoist figures. He worked at the imperial academy during the Hsuan-ho era (1119-1125) under Emperor Hui-tsung of the Northern Sung. After the court moved south, he resumed his position there.

10. Lohan