By Tan Tan-chiung
With 226 illustrations in 146 plates, two in full color. Published by the Ming Hwa Book Co., Taipei, 1959. pp. 220. NT$280
Reviewed by Anli Chen
The philosophy of life, the culture and religions of the Chinese people are clearly reflected in their art works. There is no better way to learn how the Chinese lived and worked through the centuries than to make a study of the artifacts of various Chinese periods and dynasties.
This annotated collection of reproductions of Chinese art, compiled by Mr. Tan Tan-chiung of the National Central Museum, is the result of 30 years of study and preparation. For the past two decades, Mr. Tan has been collecting materials preparatory to writing a history of Chinese art, an idea which formed in his mind when he was about to pursue his graduate studies in France. But it was possible for the author to evaluate these materials and arrange them in a condensed form only after he came to Taiwan.
Following a general introduction, Mr. Tan discusses Chinese art under ten headings: 1) Stone and Jade, 2) Pottery and Porcelain, 3) Calligraphy, 4) Bronze, 5) Architecture, 6) Sculpture, 7) Painting, 8) Tapestry and Embroidery, 9) Lacquer and Cloisonne and 10) Carving.
The general introduction deals succinctly with the origin, development, historical background and cultural influence, motif and style of each of these ten categories of Chinese art. In each category, representative works are reproduced in monochrome plates with detailed description and comments to enlighten the reader.
In Stone and Jade, stone implements and axes of prehistoric age found in Kansu and Honan provinces reveal the early life of the Chinese people. In Pottery and Porcelain, the painted pot, bowl from Yangshao and the cauldrons (Ting) (Kuei) from Chengtzu-yai reveal the civilization of the neolithic period. Stone sculptures, the owl, the tiger and the two-headed creature from the Yin-Shang site at Anyang now preserved in the Academia Sinica are just a few examples among many well-chosen specimens in this category. Ritual and ceremonial jades, Pi, Kuei, Pei of Yin-Shang and Chou dynasties were selected from the collection of the National Palace Museum and the white pottery Pou, a wine pot from Loyang of the Warring States Period are now treasured in the Freer Gallery (Washington, D. C.) and the Nelson Gallery (Kansas City, Kansas) respectively.
Specimens of Calligraphy include inscribed plastrons, inscribed scapulas, inscriptions on a deer's skull from Anyang treasured in the Academia Sinica; inscriptions on the cauldron of Duke Mao (Mao Kung Ting) and on the washer of the Kingdom of San (San Pan) both of Western Chou Period and preserved at the National Central Museum and the National Palace Museum respectively; early Bamboo Slips bearing written characters of the Warring States Period and Wood Slips bearing written characters of the Han dynasty discovered at Edsin Gol and treasured at the National Central Library.
Most reproductions of Bronze objects are made from the collections of the two national museums in Taichung. Some of them are, however, now in foreign collections. An axe-head with Tao-tieh mask of the Yin-Shang dynasty is with the British Museum and a squat pitcher (Ho) with a human-face cover of the Yin-Shang dynasty is a rare specimen owned by the Freer Gallery. A bronze altar (Sze-chin) with vessels of the Chou Dynasty is seen at the Metropolitan Museum of New York and a bronze dragon of the Warring States Period is preserved at the Stoclet Collection in Brussels, Belgium.
In Architecture, the author gives 20 illustrations. To choose the most representative specimens, the author went to Liaoning for a picture of a Dolmen; to Shanghai for the Dwelling Cave; to Hopei for the Great Wall; to Szechwan for the Impregnable Pass; to Honan, Shensi, Chekiang and Hopei for the pagodas of various dynasties and to Peiping for the spectacular Imperial Palace Shots.
Under Sculpture, there are some 20 reproductions of the figures of Buddha of Yung-kang and Lungmen Caves. Others are made from Buddha Maitreya of Northern Wei preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of New York and from votive stele of Western Wei preserved at the Museum of Fine Arts of Boston and from the renowned bas-reliefs of Buddhist donors on a stele base of Northern Wei preserved at the University Museum, Philadelphia.
There are 45 reproductions of ancient Paintings. That of "An Empress and Her Court" on a lacquer toilet box (Lien), discovered in a tomb of the Warring States Period in Changsha, Hunan, is one of the oldest painting known to man. The picture of "Filial Devotion" painted in color on a lacquered basket of the Han dynasty is comparable to the beauty of that painted tile "Gentlemen in Conversation" of the same period now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The "Admonition to the Court Ladies", a renowned work attributed to Ku Kai-chih of the Chin dynasty now preserved in the British Museum is also included here. Among the masterpieces in the collections of the National Palace Museum and the National Central Museum, Mr. Tan has selected the "Figure Painting" of Chan Tzu-chien of Sui, "Emperor Ming-Huang's Flight to Szechwan" of Tang, "Taoist Temple in the Mountains" by Tung Yuan, "Early Snow on the River" by Chao Kan and "Red Leaves and Bird" by Huang Chuan of the Five Dynasties to show the development of this art before Sung. In addition, he has chosen many representative works thereafter to indicate the characteristics of different schools and individual talents in painting.
In Tapestry and Embroidery, we find reproductions of a piece of polychrome silk discovered in Noinula, Northern Mongolia, and a piece of embroidery discovered in Loulan, Sinkiang. These specimens prove that the Chinese people had lived in a state of luxury as early as the first century. The silk tapestry industry flourished in the Sung period and the skilled workmanship in reproducing flowers and birds and landscape paintings in tapestries was able to match the talent of a painter. Four of these specimens are included in this book. There is one embroidered white eagle of the Sung dynasty. For Embroidery, we find a figure of bodhisattva. Some embroidered works of Yuan and an imperial robe of Ching are masterful by any standard.
Lacquer and Cloisonne enamel wares are well represented in this book. A toilet box and a table top both unearthed from a Chu tomb in Changsha, Hunan, give us some idea about this unique industry of the third century B. C. A winged-cup from Loyang of the Late Chou period now kept in Hakkaku Art Museum in Japan is a beautiful piece of China's craftsmanship. The much later and more matured beauty of Ming lacquer is revealed by a round box of Yung-lo and a plate of Chia-ching. The cloisonne enamel was first introduced into China during the reign of Hsuan-teh. A washer from the National Central Museum is shown and an incense burner of Ching-tai is definitely superb in design.
Under Carving, the last classification but not the least interesting, are a carved bone with Tao-tieh design and double-headed grotesque animal of Yin-Shang and Chou dynasties.
The author apparently meant to offer his book as an introduction to the history of Chinese art, and to present the rare Chinese antiquities for popular appreciation. The monochrome plates, which help to keep the book at low cost, are nevertheless beautifully done. The notes on each item are clear and concise. Readers will find Mr. Tan's style lucid and reading of his book a pleasant experience and a wonderful education.
(File photo)
SELECTED SPECIMENS OF CHINESE PORCELAIN
By Tan Tan-chiung
Published by Chinese Ceramic Research Institute. 1959. pp. 114 with 103 plates. NT$360
Reviewed by Leon Chang
"In none of the higher civilizations of the world have ceramics held so prominent a place as in China, and nowhere has so sound a tradition of pottery making been built up. Quality was preferred to intrinsic display of precious materials, or to profusion—not grand dinner services, nor gold plates are to be found, but perfection of form and glaze, vitality, elegance and appropriateness of decoration."
These are the words of Mr. Basil Gray, curator of the oriental collections at the British Museum, in Early Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, published in London in 1952.
Renowned scholars all over Europe and Japan have written and published quite a number of monographs and illustrated catalogues on Chinese pottery and porcelains found in public and private collections the world round, but there was no satisfactory publication by a Chinese author in evaluating masterpieces of this important branch of Chinese art until April 1959 when this book became available to the public.
As curator of the National Central Museum, Mr. Tan has the advantage of an eye trained by years of examining the treasures of China in addition to the discernment required by his position. The combination makes his book comprehensive and commendable. He has chosen enough specimens—15 in full color and 88 in monochrome plates—to illustrate the zenith of the Chinese porcelain industry from the Northern Sung to the early part of the Ching dynasty. In selecting the articles, the author has made profound studies of the remains of the ancient kilns.
The specimens are selected from such government and private collections as are available on this island. There are some 120 monochrome illustrations including many rare reproductions of the treasured pieces.
In this book, Mr. Tan provides the reader with a general introduction to the history and development of the Chinese ceramic art. He explains the origin, kinds, forms and patterns, glaze, body, crackle lines, styles and markings of various makes of pottery and porcelains. Aside from his own findings, he has quoted comments and findings of experts and connoisseurs of the past and the present with footnotes.
The author discusses at length the colors of the glaze: white, blue-green, black, sacrificial red, blue-white and also enamels in contrasting colors. Under each topic, specimens are compared and analyzed in detail. The color plates beautifully reproduced here include: Chun ware, flower-pot with deep purple glaze of Sung; Ju ware, vase fashioned in the shape of three bulls with blue-green glaze of Sung; Ju ware, elliptical narcissus-pot with pale-blue glaze of Sung; Kuan ware, square incense-burner, with greenish-blue glaze of Sung; Kuan ware, vase in the shape of a double-gourd with pale-blue glaze of Sung; Lung-chuan ware, celadon pot with dragon and tiger relief around shoulder of Sung; Chien-yan ware, bowl with golden black glaze of Sung; Hsuan-teh ware, jug in the shape of a monk's cap with ruby-red glaze; pair of Hsuan-teh ware, sauce-pots with sacrificial red and sky-blue glaze of Ming; Hsuan-teh ware, washer decorated in under-glaze blue of Ming; Chen-hua ware, washer in enamel contrasting colors of Ming; Wan-li ware, dish in enamel contrasting colors; Kang-hsi ware, pair of bowls decorated in cloisonne enamel and Chien-lung ware, pair of bowls decorated in cloisonne enamel. There are notes attached on the size, shape, glaze and markings of each and every item.
The book is prepared in Chinese with a brief summary and a table of contents in English. Mr. Tan has led his readers into new appreciation of Chinese porcelain and presented the finest specimens in the National Palace and Central Museums as well as those in private collections of members of the Chinese Ceramic Research Institute in color photo to art lovers of the world. If Mr. Hobson's Catalogue of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain in the collection of Sir Percival David is considered as a "must" for students and connoisseurs of ceramics, the book under review is its counterpart in Chinese.