Week 4The history of the Chinese art
market
SM 6322 The Art MarketCity University of Hong Kong, School of Creative Media
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Site of Yin Ruins (安阳殷墟) in Henan Anyang The former site of emperorʼs palace of Yin Dynasty
Yin Dynasty - Protective walls
Protective earthen-walls, set in a circle or rectangular shape on both sides of the temple
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Vessel (zun)Late Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–1050
B.C.), 13th–11th century B.C.
Anyang, Henan Province, China
Spouted ritual wine vessel (guang)Shang dynasty, early Anyang period (ca.
1300–1050 B.C.), 13th century B.C.
Anyang, Henan Province, ChinaBronze
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
The Rites of Zhou (周礼)
According to the Rites of Zhou (周礼, Zhouli),
collected items such as sacrificial vessels, weapons, jade and gold were stored in places called Sky
House (天府, Tianfu), Jade House (玉府, Yufu) and
Inner House (内府, Neifu)
New bureaucratic structures such as “book catalogue” (簿录, Bulu) were also invented in order
to inventory the objects collected by the imperial government
Zhou Dynasty (周朝) - House
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Calligraphy and painting were not included until the Han Dynasty (汉朝) and
after the construction of Tianlu Court (天禄阁), Shiqu Court (石渠阁) and
Kirin Court (麒麟阁) (Li, 2001, p. 12).
During the time of Han Wudi (汉武帝), Secret Court (秘阁, Bi Court) was
also set up as a specialized agency for purchasing and collecting artworks (Li, 2001, p. 12).
Han Dynasty (汉朝) - Court
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
In the system of ʻcourtʼ, books, calligraphy, paintings and historical relics were placed within the structure of collected items.
The hierarchy of art forms were also established in the way they were categorized and evaluated, particularly according to their meaning and
material nature.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
The ethical framework employed through the domain of Confucius
thought was applied to the system of Imperial Examination (科舉, Ke Ju)
where calligraphy was used as a criterion for assigning posts in the civil
service, which during the Sui (隋)
Dynasty started to emerge and become consolidated.
Sui Dynasty (隋朝) - Imperial Examination
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
The merits of objects (art) and subjects (individuals) through the national examination system were thus
disseminated from within the imperial court to individuals from the public at
large. On the one hand, new opportunities were created for
individuals to attain positions such as court painter, critic and historian. On the other hand, the systems of Imperial Examination conferred legitimacy on
calligraphy as an art form and the rules on brush strokes and aesthetic ideals were made more definitive and rigid.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
The Record of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering (兰亭序), written by Wang XiZhi (王羲之) in 353
Tang Dynasty (唐朝) - the Imperial Household Department, Academy
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
According to The Record of Book Narration (叙书录, Xushu Lu), Emperor Taizong
was extremely interested in Wangʼs work. He offered large amounts of Jinbo (金帛,
money and cloth goods) drawn from the Imperial Household Department (御府,
Yufu) to trace and purchase the extant works of Wang.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
(蕭翼賺蘭亭圖卷)Xiao Yi Trying to Swipe the Lanting ScrollSong (960–1279) copy of a Tang original painting
Monk Biancai(辨才)
This escapade resulted in Xiao Yiʼs promotion to a rank that included five government posts, along with rewards that included gold, silver, mansions and horses from the
Imperial Household Department. Silk and grain were also given to Biancai for the construction of a pagoda (Ebrey, 2010, p. 113, Li, 2001, p. 15,16)
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Imitation of the Record of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering (虞摹兰亭序, Renmo Lanting
Xu) was then published by calligrapher Yu Shinan (虞世南) as an artistic ideal that
scholars should learn. Apart from imitation books that were published to promote Wangʼs work, emperor Taizong also commented on Wang and different calligraphers from the past dynasties in the chapter of “Lun” (论, discuss) of the Biography of
Wang XiZhi (王羲之传).
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
According to The New History of Tang Dynasty - Bibliographical Treatise (新唐书艺文志,
Xin Tangshu Yiwenzhi), besides operating institutions to house and archive works of art and to commission scholars and/or artists to create new pieces, emperor Xuan Zong (李
隆基) also initiated a new system of Jixiandian Shuyuan (集賢殿書院, Academy of
Classical Learning in the Hall of Gathering Talented People, a.k.a. Jixianyuan 集賢
院), which functioned in a way similar to “court” which had encompassed different
dynasties.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
One of the notable functions of Jixianyuan was to purchase calligraphy and painting that had been collected by individuals by offering these collectors court
money and goods. Notable families that gained a reputation for their private collection during the Tang Dynasty included Zhang Huaiguan (張怀瓘), Dou Meng
(窦蒙) and Zhang Yanyuan (張彦远), who were somewhat like what we now
understand as the “private collector”.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Pei Xiaoyuanʼs (裴孝源) Zhenguan Public and Private History of Art (贞观公私画
史, Zhenguan Gongsi Huashi) which categorizes 293 scrolls of painting and 47
wall paintings according to the name of the author and the painting, the number of paintings, styles of imprint and acquired sources (Li, 2001, p. 17)
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Calligrapher and scholar Zhang Yanyuanʼs (张彦远) “On Price and Quality” and (论
名价品第, Lun Ming Jia Pin Di) of the Records of Famous Paintings of
Dynasties (历代名画记) categorizes works of art according to their price and
quality.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Since works of art were becoming better known among the greater public, counterfeit works produced by artisan painters were often found.
Narration of Imprint System of the Private and Public (叙自古公私印记, Xu Zigu
Gongsi Yinji) includes a chapter that talks about the method “Signature System to Verify the Authenticity” (跋尾押署, Bawei Yashu), which was commonly used
by important collectors and imperial officials of the time (Henansheng Bowuguan, 2004, p. 78).
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Thus, new subject positions such as Appraiser and new sets of techniques to verify authenticity were invented. Private collection not only denotes the interactive exchange of works of art between the Imperial Court and the domestic space, but the flow of works of art in different locations also opens up a new ground for
different subject positions such as artisan painters who makes counterfeit works and the Examiners who evaluates the authenticity of works.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Use of the term Huayuan can be traced back in Later Shu (后蜀, Houshu),
when China established the system of the Imperial Painting House. Similar to the Huayuan we see today, the Imperial Painting House provided jobs for painters who produced specific kinds of work that were desired by
the governing bodies.
Houshu (后蜀) - Imperial Painting House
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
周恩来总理在北京中国画院成立大会
Huayuan (画院) (a term well known to students of Chinese art history) was a
government body that had many branches across the nation under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture (文化部). The modern concept of Huayuan is often associated
with the year 1956, when Prime Minister Zhou Enlai (周恩来) proposed a system for
an Academy of Painting in the Second Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (中国人民政治协商会议).
Zhou Enlai at the inaugural meeting of the Beijing Academy of Painting
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Named after the Tang Dynasty Imperial Academy (翰林院, Hanlinyuan), Hanlin
Imperial Painting Academy (翰林图画院, Hanlin Tuhuayuan) was set up in Song
Dynasty (宋朝), as an alternate reference to the Painter Service (图画处, Tuhua Chu)
within the system of the Palace Domestic Service (內使省, Neishih Sheng).
Song Dynasty (宋朝) - Imperial Painting Academy
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Along with the inauguration of Imperial Painting Academy, proper positions such as Court Painter/Noble Painter (画师, Huashi) and Artisan Painters (画工,
Huakung) were established to serve the imperial government within the agency of Imperial Painting Academy. Groups of Court Painter and Artisan Painters were
considered to be part of the regular civil service officials who were tasked with upholding artistic talent.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
During Song Dynasty, Court and Artisan Painters were categorized as Academy Court Painters (宫廷画院画家). Other than that, Private Job
Painter (民间职业画家) and Literati Painter (士夫文人画家) were also key
players in the field of calligraphy and painting. Other types of painters who were not categorized within the imperial system can be seen in private
collections, within the circles of elites, literati and merchantʼs families.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
According to Song veteran Mengʼs (孟
元老) a Reminiscence of the Glory of
Bianjin (东京梦华录, Dong Jing Meng
Hua Lu), Xiangguo Temple (相国寺),
the largest trading center of Bianjin (汴
京) was opened five times a month for
the general public to trade.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
The Agora beyond the temple and in front of Xisheng Court (资圣阁) is where books,
calligraphy and paintings were traded. Buyers of the products were not only confined to the
monks, but the opening up of space for economic transactions at Xiangguo Temple also allowed believers of Buddhism and the
general public to become consumers of artworks.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Besides the shops that were opened by merchants, Painting Stall (画摊, Huatan)
became a flexible space for Private Job Painters to sell still-life painting. The opening up of space for commercial activities provided a new ground for positions such as merchants, producers and customers to play an active role around the
objects of art.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Painters acquired their skills by imitating works that were produced by Court Painters, in which ʻmaster piecesʼ were often reproduced,
functioning in the same way we now consider work at Dafen Oil Painting Village (大芬油画村) in Shenzhen (深圳).
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
During the time of Chongning (崇
宁) (Song Dynasty), Xu Xiʼs 徐熙
Picture of Peony (牡丹图, Mudan
Tu), which was produced during the Five Dynasties (五代十国),
was sold to the elite collectors Zhao Mingcheng (赵明诚) and Li
Qingzhao (李清照), for 20 million
(Bai, 2003, p. 9).
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Painter and calligrapher Mi Fu (米芾) purchased
Wang Weiʼs (王维) (Tang Dynasty) Drawing of Snow
(雪图, Xue Tu) for seven hundred Gold (金, Jin) and
Xu Xiʼs 徐熙) and Two Branches of Peach Blossom
(桃两枝, Tao Liangzhi) for eight Gold (Yang, 2001, p.
220).
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
According to Overview of Painting (图画见闻志, Tuhua Jian Wen Zhi) written
by Guo Ruoxu (郭若虚), apart from noble painters or collectors, Ya Kuai (牙
侩), which literally means dental occlusion, was a new position that served as a broker for buyers and sellers and art appraiser of the time (Fang,
2004, p. 272).
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
One of the major ways works of art were exchanged was door to door trading (上門求
购, Shangmen Qiugou) where interested individual could buy or sell art by going to a collectorʼs or calligrapherʼs home directly.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Hui traders (徽商, native of old Huizhou merchants or merchant groups)
that were also known as Xinan Merchants (新安商人) or Hui Group (徽帮)
were one of the dominant groups of merchants in the Ming economy. Their trading activities were especially frequent in the southern regions of Jiangnan
(江南, literally south of the River—a region in the lower Yangtze Valley)
Ming Dynasty (明朝) - Pavilion
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Among the accounts of Hui traders, Wang Keyuʼs (汪砢玉) private pavilion well
exemplifies the new spatial activities supported by the networks of commodity exchange among the regions of Jiangnan.
Wang was a private collector who inherited his famous familyʼs collection from his father and grandfather. The massive collection that he acquired demanded new
spaces for storage during his residence in Jiaxing (嘉兴). It was then that he built
Ningxia Pavilion (凝霞阁) and Mohua Pavilion (墨花阁), which functioned
similarly to the Secret Court in the past centuries, except it had not been established by the imperial family.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
In Picture of Ningxia Pavilion (凝霞阁图),
Wang describes his pavilion as beautiful as the Secret Court of Qing (清秘阁).
Famous collector-connoisseurs of Jiangnan, Dong Qichang (董其昌) and Li Ruhua (李日
华) were once invited to the pavilions (Zhang, 2010).
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
According to Historical Timeline of Wang Keyuʼs Connoisseurship (汪砢玉鉴藏大
事记), apart from inheriting an extensive family collection, Wang also constantly
bought, sold and exchanged his collection with famous Jiaxing (嘉兴) collectors
such as Gao Mingshui (高明水), Xiang Dexin (项德新) and Huizhou (徽州) dealer
Wang Yueshi (王越石).
Trading between different administrative regions of Zhou (州) was also common.
Collections from the Huizhou region were constantly exported to Yangzhou (扬州), Hangzhou (杭州) and Suzhou (苏州), where well-established merchants and
collectors were located. Since the region of Huizhou was a center of art-related activities that included financial resources, shops, art experts and merchant-
connoisseurs. Its preeminence in the art market caused painters, literati and collectors from the southern regions of Jiangnan to relocate or travel there for
commercial activities (Zhang, 2010).
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Permanent shops, Buddhist and Taoist temples, imperial institutions (官署), hearing
offices (公室), private residences, bookstores (书铺), framing studios (裱室), street
stalls, cabins and street shops (市肆) have all been documented as locations where
art commodities could be exchanged (Li, 2010).
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
“In the old house next to Yue Temple and West Lake (西湖), the front part is Liesi (列肆,
shops in row) where vintage vases, pine tree cypress, reed-mace and thorn branches are displayed. People who buy these miniature trees grown in containers were known as
Bonsai Appreciator (盆玩者). The other type of
people who come to this market place were interested in calligraphy and painting, they
would not hesitate to use their savings to trade with artworks”.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
“There are a hundred and more shops located on both lanes of Zhaoqing Temple, which are set up by imperial official Sun Long (孙隆) (Lu, 2011).
On August 6, Li in his dairy says, “On the lane, I saw Tang Bo Huʼs bamboo thicket”. Two years later on April 7, he writes, “Walk along the lane, look at the Liesi (列肆, shops in row), I bought Guo
Xiʼs (郭熙) Picture of Mulberry and
Sunrise (Fusang Xiaori Tu)”.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
During the Qing Dynasty (清朝), events such as poetry receptions initiated by
local officials attracted scholars and nobles to Yangzhou. One of the major patrons and collectors in Yangzhou were those who primarily traded in salt,
known as Salter (盐商, Yanshang).
Qing Dynasty (清朝) - Domestic spaces
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
At the time, what is idiomatically known as Fuyong Fengya (附庸风雅)
designated merchants who attached themselves to intellectuals and
fastidiously presumed to be someone of cultural taste. This designation was used to comment on the extravagant lifestyle of Salters. Besides trading salt, Salters of Yangzhou were also key collectors
who acquired and traded exquisite handicrafts, precious gems, clothes, food,
calligraphy and painting. Works of art became a way for these business
tycoons to distinguish their identities in regards to the other classes of that time.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
ʻA house without calligraphy and painting, must be a home of vulgarʼ
was commonly used to denote painting as a symbol of a cultured and elegant life
style.家中无字画,必是俗人家
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Who are the key players in the history of Chinese art market?
What are the key institutions?
What are the values of art?
How are works of art being produced?
How are works of art being transacted?
How is the art market in the past different from the present time?
Wednesday, 20 February 2013