Kuncan
Landscape of Tianxin Mountains
Ink and color on paper 41 5/8 x 11 1/8 inches Gift of Mrs. Virginia Kettering 1976.277
Painter, Poet, Monk
Kuncan was a combination of many things: painter, poet, Zen Buddhist monk, and scholar. This work by him is also a hybrid, combining painting, calligraphy, and poetry. Look closer at the parts and see the whole in a new way.
A Day in the Life
Tools and Techniques
Calligraphy
In the upper-right corner of this work is a poem composed by Kuncan and written by him. Look closer at the writing. Even if you cannot read it, can you still sense something unique? Watch the following video to learn more about how to appreciate calligraphy, one of the oldest and most cherished art forms in China.
© Copyright Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture, 2003.
Transcript:
Appreciating Chinese calligraphy without being able to read Chinese may sound difficult. What is one to look for? Everyone can appreciate the abstract quality of the line in Chinese calligraphy. The energy present at the moment of writing is visible in the finished piece. Changes of speed and force in the handling of the brush create a rhythm which observers can follow—almost like the moves of dance. Red seals contrast with the black ink and enliven the composition. They are not only the seals of the artist, but of owners and collectors as well. The more esteemed a piece, the greater number of seals can be found. Brush, paper, ink, and ink stone were called “the four treasures” of the scholars studio. To be able to compose poetry and write calligraphy was an ideal most learned Chinese strove to achieve.
John Way has been practicing the art of writing for most of his life. He is one of the contemporary masters of calligraphy. Here, Mr. Way is writing the character for tiger in four of the major styles of calligraphy. In the oldest style, which is almost 4,000 years-old, the tiger is still easily recognizable. Several hundred years later, the character has evolved into a completely abstract shape. The character fits neatly into an imaginary square. Each stroke is executed carefully. When written quickly, strokes blend together, and the character becomes almost illegible, but very dramatic. Many calligraphers favor this style because of its expressive qualities. The last style to be developed originated around 2,100 years ago. It is the style used in everyday writing and for neon signs in bustling cities. All these styles are still practiced today. This makes Chinese the oldest writing in continuous use, with a history spanning almost 4,000 years.
Behind the Scenes
Look Closer
A Unique Perspective
Since the Renaissance, European paintings tend to employ one-point perspective to give the viewer the feeling that he or she is looking into a very deep space. Lines in the painting draw the viewer’s eye toward a vanishing point, creating the illusion of depth. Bernardo Bellotto’s The Pantheon, in Gallery 213, is a good example of one-point perspective.
However, “reading” Kuncan’s Landscape of the Tianxin Mountains is not as simple. The eye is encouraged to wander up and down the painting, drawn between the majesty of the mountains and small, dwarfed person at the bottom; your eye might take any number of paths while viewing this painting. Take a closer look and see where your eye is drawn.
Just for Kids
Imagine!
Kuncan was a monk who painted and wrote poetry. What do you notice in this painting? In the upper, right corner Kuncan also wrote a poem about the painting.
If you do not know how to read Chinese calligraphy, then you probably cannot read Kuncan’s poem. Write your own poem about Landscape of Tianxin. A poem can be written in many ways. Some poems are lists and some rhyme.
Look at the painting by Kuncan. Carefully look at the details. Where is this? Would you want to visit? Is it a real place or place you imagine? Are others there with you? What are you doing there? How does it feel to be there?
Signs & Symbols
Dig Deeper
Arts Intersected
Poetry
The poem in the upper-right corner was composed and written by Kuncan. It makes a sly comparison between nature’s abundance, happiness, and good government—a risky statement, considering that he was criticizing the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) when it had just risen to power.
Inscription:
Heaven creates mountains and rivers,
Settled down in the South.
Being able to sustain a square house,
The married couple shares the candles.
The auspicious influences [of the sovereign] are luxuriant,
As if the Emperor shepherds the people.
The divine waterfalls are full of waves,
Which can be used for cleansing and bathing.
Trees, torrents and shoals
Are the bones of snow-fed creeks.
The roads are hidden in the rushes,
Built a thatched hut and set up a whisk.
Never destroyed for a thousand years,
The Divine Glory again in charge.
Here is a wise man,
Who obtains a divine cave.
Carrying a fan to get rid of influences,
Bless my native land.
After countless years,
The true models [principles] are always fragrant.Done in the winter of the guimao year, the twelfth month [December 29, 1663-January 1664] at the monastery in Changgan Temple [Nanjing].
[Signature:] Shiqi; Can Daoren
[Artist’s seals:] Jieqiu, Shiqi [a pseudonym of Kuncan]
Additional information: Poem translated for The Dayton Art Institute by Nora Ling-yun, with assistance from Dr. Tsing Yuan of Wright State University and Mr. Joseph Chang of Kansas City, Missouri; audio narration provided by Dave Harker.
The Sculpture Speaks
Did You Know?
Expert Opinion
A Hidden Message
Explore this peaceful landscape with Lisa Morrisette, an Asian art specialist and manager of school and docent programs at The Taft Museum of Art, and find within it a subtle political message.
Transcript:
San sui, literally “mountains and water,” means “landscape” in Chinese, and landscape is one of the most preeminent aspects of Chinese painting. The long, narrow format of a hanging scroll gives the viewer a vertical slice of a vast panorama. Humans, indicated by meandering paths and a small thatched hut at the bottom of the painting, are dwarfed by the majesty of mountains and waterfalls. This landscape paints the scene with the energy of life; composed in an undulating s-curve, mountains pile up, one on top of another. The viewer’s eye travels on the path in the lower left corner that gives entry to the scene, is carried across the picture plane to visit the small hermitage, and then again we travel back across the picture, climbing the path and the ridge to the top of a mountain. The mountain almost seems to point at the artist’s own calligraphic inscription. Kuncan, a monk painter, was also a scholar, a member of the literati class who were accomplished in both writing and painting (considered sister arts and rendered with the same calligraphic brushstrokes). Kuncan’s energetic and bristling brushstrokes can be seen in both his painting and his characters, contributing to the dense, almost seething quality of his landscape. The poem in the upper-right adds yet another dimension to his painting, for in a poetic tone he draws a parallel between the abundance of nature and a harmonious state, and that of good government—rendering the seemingly neutral subject of landscape into a political statement and subtle condemnation of the Qing dynasty [1644–1911].
Look Around
About the Artist
Talk Back
Multiple Art Forms, One Artwork
Kuncan mixes painting, calligraphy, and poetry in this work. Would you prefer to experience them separately, or is the combination of art forms better than the sum of its parts?
