Jieziyuan Huazhuan
Encyclopedia
Chinese painting
Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. The earliest paintings were not representational but ornamental; they consisted of patterns or designs rather than pictures. Early pottery was painted with spirals, zigzags, dots, or animals...
compiled during the early-Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
. Many renowned later Chinese painters, like Qi Baishi
Qi Baishi
Qi Baishi was an influential Chinese painter.Born to a peasant family from Xiangtan, Hunan, Qi became a carpenter at 14, and learned to paint by himself. After he turned 40, he traveled, visiting various scenic spots in China...
, began their drawing lessons with the manual.
The work was commissioned by Shen Xinyou (沈心友), son-in-law of the famous playwright Li Yu
Li Yu (author)
Li Yu , also known as Li Liweng was a Chinese playwright, novelist and publisher. Born in Rugao, he lived in late-Ming and early-Qing dynasties....
, whose mansion in Lanxi
Lanxi, Zhejiang
Lanxi is a county-level city in the municipal region of Jinhua, ZJ.The city executive, legislature and judiciary are at Lanjiang Town , together with the CPC and PSB branches...
, Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
province was known as Jieziyuan, or Mustard Seed Garden. Shen possessed the teaching materials of Li Liufang (李流芳), a painter of the late-Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, and commissioned Wáng Gài (王概), Wáng Shī (王蓍), Wáng Niè (王臬) and Zhū Shēng (诸升) to edit and expand those materials with the aim of producing a manual for landscape painting. The result was the first part of Jieziyuan Huazhuan, which, published in 1679 in five colours, comprises five juan (卷) or fascicles. Li Yu, as the publisher, wrote a preface for this part. The first fascicle deals with the general principles of landscape painting, the second the painting of trees, the third that of hills and stones, the fourth that of people and houses, and the fifth comprises the selected works of great landscape painters.
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
Japan, where woodblock printed copies became relatively easily accessible in all the major cities; the Mustard Seed Garden Manual came to be used by a great many Japanese artists and was a major element in the training of artists and the development of Edo period painting.
Two more parts, which deal with the painting of flora and fauna, were produced by Wang and his two brothers. Shen promised a fourth part, but never published it. A fourth part, which deals with portraits, was produced by some quick profit-seeking publisher, though. Chao Xun (巢勛) (1852-1917), dissatisfied with the fake, produced his own sequel, as well as carefully reproduced the first three volumes. Reprints of the first three volumes are usually based on Chao's reproduction.
An English translation of the work, The Tao of Painting - A study of the ritual disposition of Chinese painting. With a translation of the Chieh Tzu Yuan Hua Chuan or Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting 1679-1701, was made by Mai-mai Sze and published in New York in 1956.