Leo Martínez
Landscape painting in China emerged as an independent genre during the later years of the Tang dynasty (618-906). As the dynasty collapsed, the elite longed to retreat to the countryside, and painters responded by creating images that reflected their patrons' idealised visions of nature. By the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), court painters were producing monumental landscapes with imposing mountains and intricate streams and trees, which were seen as metaphors for a well-ordered state. The period from the Five Dynasties (907-960) to the Northern Song dynasty is known as the Great age of Chinese landscape. Artists in the north, such as Jing Hao, Li Cheng, Fan Kuan, and Guo Xi, depicted towering mountains using strong black lines, ink wash, and sharp, dotted brushstrokes to suggest rough stone. In the south, artists like Dong Yuan and Juran painted the rolling hills and rivers of their native countryside using softer, rubbed brushwork. These two styles became the classical foundations of Chinese landscape painting.
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What You'll Learn
The Great age of Chinese landscape
The period from the Five Dynasties (907–960) to the Northern Song (960–1127) is known as the "Great age of Chinese landscape". During this time, landscape painting emerged as an independent genre in Chinese painting. The crumbling of the Tang dynasty (618–906) led to a yearning among the elites to withdraw to the bucolic setting of their country estates. Painters responded by creating images that reflected the idealised retreats envisioned by their patrons.
By the Northern Song dynasty, court painters were producing monumental landscapes with imposing mountains, streams, and trees, which were viewed as visual metaphors for the well-ordered state. The classic northern tradition was transformed and transmitted to the Southern Song by Li Tang, who is credited with a monumental style based on the "ax-cut texture stroke". His style and influence dominated artistic expression in the twelfth century, making him a vital link between the remote grandeur of the Northern Song masters and the brilliant romanticism of Southern Song painters such as Ma Yuan and Xia Gui.
During the Song dynasty (960–1279), landscape painting continued to develop, with immeasurable distances conveyed through blurred outlines, mountain contours disappearing into the mist, and impressionistic treatments of natural phenomena. The shan shui style of painting, meaning "mountain and water", became prominent in Chinese landscape art. This emphasis on landscape was grounded in Chinese philosophy; Taoism stressed that humans were tiny specks in the vast cosmos, while Neo-Confucianist writers pursued the discovery of patterns and principles that caused social and natural phenomena.
Under the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), when many educated Chinese were barred from government service, the model of the Song literati retreat evolved into a full-blown alternative culture. These gatherings were frequently commemorated in paintings that conveyed the shared cultural ideals of a reclusive world through symbolic shorthand. The Yuan dynasty also witnessed the emergence of the "mind landscape", which embodied learned references to the styles of earlier masters and, through calligraphic brushwork, the inner spirit of the artist.
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The Northern tradition
Artists of the Northern tradition include Jing Hao (荊浩, ca. 880-940), considered the founder of this style, along with his pupil Guan Tong (關仝, fl. mid-10th century), and other notable masters such as Li Cheng (李成, 919-967), Fan Kuan (范寬), and Guo Xi (郭熙). These artists often painted towering mountains, using strong black lines, ink wash, and sharp, dotted brushstrokes to suggest rough stone. Their works embodied the universal longing of cultivated men to escape their everyday lives and commune with nature, reflecting the theme of withdrawal into the natural world that became prevalent during the turbulent times of dynastic change.
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The Southern tradition
The Southern School of Chinese painting, often called literati painting, is a term used to denote art and artists that stand in opposition to the formal Northern School of painting. The distinction is not geographic but stylistic, and to some extent, it relates to the position of the artist. Professional, formal painters were typically classified as Northern School painters, while the Southern School was made up of scholar-bureaucrats who had retired from the professional world or were never a part of it.
The Southern School painters worked with ink wash painting with black ink, focusing on expressive brushstrokes and a somewhat more impressionistic approach than the Northern School's formal attention to detail and use of colour. The stereotypical literati painter lived in retirement in the mountains or other rural areas, immersed in natural beauty and far from mundane concerns. They were also lovers of culture, enjoying and taking part in all Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar as touted by Confucianism: painting, calligraphy, music, and games of skill and strategy. They would often combine these elements into their work and gather together to share their interests.
The Southern School of painting was inspired by the Southern School of Chan Buddhism, which held that enlightenment came spontaneously and suddenly, as opposed to the Northern School, which maintained that enlightenment could only be attained after a lifetime of preparation and training. This theory has dominated Chinese art criticism for centuries, but its inconsistencies have also caused endless confusion and debate among scholars.
During the Song period, landscape painting became a refuge and form of muted protest for officials who were out of favour or opposed and avoided the court. In the Southern Song period (1127-1279), court painters such as Ma Yuan and Xia Gui used strong black brushstrokes to sketch trees and rocks and pale washes to suggest misty space.
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The Song literati retreat
The Song dynasty (960–1279) saw the development of landscape painting, with artists conveying immeasurable distances through blurred outlines, mountain contours disappearing into the mist, and impressionistic treatments of natural phenomena. The shan shui style of painting, with "shan" meaning mountain and "shui" meaning river, became prominent during this period. Landscape painting was linked to the philosophy of Taoism, which emphasises harmony with nature, and Neo-Confucianism, which sought to discover patterns and principles behind social and natural phenomena.
During the Song period, court painters were highly esteemed, and landscape painting was considered the highest form of Chinese painting. Artists like Zhang Zeduan (1085–145), who painted the original "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" scroll, were given patronage by the Song court. By the Northern Song dynasty, court painters created monumental landscapes with imposing mountains and intricate streams and trees, which were seen as metaphors for a well-ordered state.
The paintings of such gatherings were more than just descriptions of physical spaces; they expressed the inner landscape of the artist's heart and mind. This concept of a "'mind landscape' embodied the artist's spirit and their connection to the styles of earlier masters. The Song literati retreat marked a shift in the purpose of painting, from representing the visible world to conveying the artist's emotions and values.
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The mind landscape
The "mind landscape" is a style of cultivated Chinese landscape painting that emerged under the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1279). During this period, many educated Chinese were barred from government service, and the model of the Song literati retreat evolved into a full-blown alternative culture. This led to the creation of paintings that conveyed the shared cultural ideals of a reclusive world through symbolic representations. For example, a man's villa might be depicted as a humble thatched hut, or his studio or garden might be portrayed as an extension of himself, with the painting serving as an expression of the owner's values.
The "mind landscape" style embodies both learned references to the styles of earlier masters and the inner spirit of the artist, conveyed through calligraphic brushwork. This style of painting is also referred to as "literati painting" or "xieyi" (寫意), meaning freehand style, as it was traditionally practised by gentlemen or scholar-artists. Landscape painting was regarded as the highest form of Chinese painting, and it is linked with the philosophy of Daoism, which emphasizes harmony with the natural world.
The emergence of landscape painting as an independent genre in Chinese art occurred during the tumultuous later years of the Tang dynasty (618-906). As the dynasty crumbled, elites yearned to retreat to the bucolic setting of their country estates, and painters responded by creating images that reflected these idealized retreats. By the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127), court painters were producing monumental landscapes with imposing mountains and intricately arranged streams and trees, which were seen as visual metaphors for a well-ordered state.
The time from the Five Dynasties period (907–960) to the Northern Song period is known as the "Great age of Chinese landscape". Artists in the north, such as Jing Hao (ca. 880–940), Guan Tong (fl. mid-10th century), Li Cheng (919–967), Fan Kuan, and Guo Xi, painted towering mountains using strong black lines, ink wash, and sharp, dotted brushstrokes to suggest rough stone. In the south, artists like Dong Yuan and Juran painted the rolling hills and rivers of their native countryside using softer, rubbed brushwork. These two styles became the classical styles of Chinese landscape painting.
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Frequently asked questions
The Chinese term for "landscape" is made up of two characters meaning "mountains and water".
Landscape painting emerged as an independent genre in Chinese painting during the later years of the Tang dynasty (618-906). During the Song dynasty (960–1279), landscape painting reached a further development, with artists conveying immeasurable distances through blurred outlines and mountain contours disappearing into the mist. The time from the Five Dynasties period (907–960) to the Northern Song period (960–1127) is known as the “Great age of Chinese landscape”.
Chinese landscape paintings often invite the viewer to mentally travel through the scene, with a point of entry provided by a path or a sliver of land in the foreground. These paintings are seldom representations of real places but rather imaginary, idealized landscapes. They are also linked with the philosophy of Daoism, which emphasizes harmony with the natural world.
During the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), when many educated Chinese were barred from government service, the model of the Song literati retreat evolved into a full-blown alternative culture. These gatherings were frequently commemorated in paintings that conveyed the shared cultural ideals of a reclusive world through symbolic shorthand.
Chinese landscape painting has influenced the development of landscape painting in Japan, with two distinct strains emerging by the fourteenth century. One strain followed the example of the monochromatic landscapes of China's Song dynasty, while the other focused on brilliantly coloured scenes.
