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Ancient illustrations aid the imagination

By Vico Lee
STAFF REPORTER
Sunday, Jan 27, 2002, Page 19

Readers of classical Chinese plays and novels must have often imagined their scenes and characters. The demureness of Tsuei Ying-ying (崔鶯鶯) in The Tale of the Western Chamber and the braveness of General Yang Liu-lang (楊六郎) in the Legend of the Loyal and Brave Yang Family have come alive countless times in many readers' minds.

To present how ancient Chinese artists imagined these scenes and characters, the National Palace Museum is now holding "Exquisite Engravings: Special Exhibition of Characters from Fiction and Drama in Antiquity," (細繪精雕：古代戲曲小說版畫人物特展) showing 80 engraved illustrations made in the Ming and Ching dynasties in both large prints and the original book versions.

Although the museum's collection includes many illustrated books which were part of the Forbidden City's collection, the books on show this time are mostly from the Beijing Library collection.

"This is because of our thematic emphasis on drama and fiction, which were not considered elevated or educational enough to be part of the royal collection in the past," said Lu Hsuei-yan (盧雪燕), curator of the exhibition. "To present the beauty of the ancient art of engraving, we considered the exquisiteness of a picture the top priority when we selected the exhibits," Lu added.

Reading Letters in Secret, is one of Chen Hung-shou's illustration for The Tale of the Western Chamber. Madame Hsiang, left, is taken from Chen Hung-shou's illustrations for The Chu Poems. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM

Many of the works can therefore be appreciated independently of the books from which they come.

The high quality of Ming-dynasty illustrations is a result of the maturity of the printing technology as well as the popularity of fiction at the time.

Chang Tao-ling, Ren Hsiung's illustration for Drinking Menus of the Deities. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM

Originally used to make Buddhist images in the Sui and Tang dynasties, printing technology steadily progressed through the reign of Wan-li (萬曆, 1573-1620) in the Ming dynasty. His reign brought about widespread prosperity, prompting the public to find new forms of entertainment. Large numbers of plays and novels were produced, and large-scale printing houses were set up to satisfy the unprecedented demand for books. Printing houses tried to outrun others by offering exorbitant sums to get renowned artists to illustrate their books. Chen Hung-shou (陳洪綬), whose illustrations of Chu Poems (楚辭) are among the exhibits, was the most sought-after illustrator of the time. The harsh competition resulted in the golden age of Chinese printing.

Art Notes: What: Exquisite Engravings: Special Exhibition of Characters from Fiction and Drama in Antiquity (細繪精雕：古代戲曲小說版畫人物特展) Where: The National palace museum When: Until March 31

Stored at a fixed temperature and humidity at the museum, these centuries-old pages show a beauty that's almost intact.

In the exhibition, viewers will find many works from printing hubs in Anhui and Zhejiang provinces arranged into four sections -- "Love Stories," "Spirits and Immortals," "Histories" and "Other Stories."

In the first section, four scenes from Tale of Return of the Spirit at the Peony Pavilion, (牡丹亭還魂記) the most famous work by Ming dynasty master playwright Tang Hsien-tsu (湯顯祖), are illustrated in a delicate and careful composition.

The play tells of the romance between a young scholar and a female ghost. Du Li-niang (杜麗娘) is from an aristocratic family which keeps her in the confines of her big house. One day, when she goes for a stroll in the garden accompanied by her maid, she suddenly realizes how lonely she has been. She falls asleep in the garden shed and has a dream. She dreams of a rendezvous with a young scholar. When she awakens, the image of the man in her dream preoccupies her all day long.

She languishes and dies of lovesickness. Her body is buried at the Wintersweet Garden.

Later, a young scholar named Liu Meng-mei (柳夢梅) stops by Wintersweet Garden, where he chances upon a self-portrait of Li-niang and is immediately filled with admiration for the beautiful girl in the portrait. However, knowing nothing about who she might be or where she is, he feels helpless.

That night, Li-niang comes into Liu's dreams and tells him to open her grave. He does so and Li-niang rises to spend her new life with Meng-mei.

The illustrations show a comic quality despite of the many tragic turns in the plot. The interesting scene in which Li-niang dreams of the rendezvous is presented in lively details: The petite Li-niang, a joyous smile on her sleeping face, leans on the table in a sumptuous garden. In a dreamscape balloon next to her is a garden less decorated but more leafy and exuberant. She is led, arm in arm, by an amiable young man. Li-niang seems a little shy but anticipating in her dream, an appropriate depiction considering the character's background.

An illustration of when Meng-mei sees Li-niang's portrait is an atmospheric rendition of love at first sight. The dream scene where Meng-mei meets Li-niang's ghost is given a sadness but at the same such sweetness that readers expect a happy twist in the story will soon follow.

Adventures of the Deities (仙佛奇蹤), edited by Hung Ying-ming (洪應明) during the Ming dynasty is a book of legends about supernatural beings. The "Pei Tu Monk," (杯渡和尚) or "the monk who crosses rivers in a cup," is an eccentric who indulges freely in meat and wine. As the legend goes, the monk was once put up overnight at a house, but instead of returning the hospitality he receives, he steals a golden statue from the house when he leaves. The host goes after him on horseback. When he is about to catch up with the monk, they reach the Mengchin River. Here the monk takes out a wooden cup, steps into it with one foot, and swiftly crosses the river beyond reach.

Although the scene of river crossing is depicted rather delicately, it presents the character with shocking precision, the monk's ominous yet expressionless face suggest a bad temper. In loose garments, the squat figure tightly holds the golden statue. So convincing is the depiction of his vicious power that viewers are led to believe not even water can stand in his way.

In other parts of the exhibition, viewers can get to know the then popular Wu-hsien illustration style through the scenes from Tale of the Pipa (琵琶記) in many exhibits. These illustrations emphasize the lyrical quality of the scenes and a balanced composition, sometimes at the expense of the relevance between the illustration and the plot.

As ancient Chinese illustration is not paid as much attention as ink paintings and artifacts, the comprehensive exhibition is a rare opportunity for book lovers to find out how ancient Chinese themselves imagined these intriguing characters.
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