Ahura

The Yung-lo Reign

明成祖像

Events of the Yung-lo era played a major role in the formation of the basic structure of the Ming Painting Academy. As might be expected, the better educated Yung-lo emperor showed more interest in painting than his father. His taste in painting was not limited to portraits and wall decorations as was that of the Hung-wu emperor, but extended to such themes as flower and bird, animals, and landscapes. It was recorded that he once viewed the imperial painting collection with T'eng Yung-heng (滕用亨) and some other scholar painters at court. He even showed a special interest in the landscape style of Kuo Ch'un (郭純). As a result, painters in the Yung-lo court increased in both number and specialty.

Some of the Yung-lo painters were summoned to the court for a limited amount of time for specific imperial commissions. These painters include: Ch'en Wei (陳撝), Chang Tzu-ming (張子明), Hsieh Hsiu (解琇), Kung Yung (鞏庸), Wang Shun (王順), Hu Liang (胡良), and Shang-kuan po-ta (上官伯達). Most of them did not receive any official titles, although in some cases this is unclear due to the lack of information. All these painters were summoned to paint decorations for the palaces and temples. For example, Wang Shun and Hu Liang were summoned to paint decorations for the imperial ancestral temple (t'ai-miao 太廟). Hsieh Hsiu was selected by the emperor to paint the walls of the Pao-en Temple (報恩寺) in Nanking. Shang-kuan po-ta was summoned to paint the new palace in Peking. Ch'en Wei was called to paint an imperial portrait for the Yung-lo emperor. Like the Hung-wu artists, they were not considered as official employees of the court. Little information is available regarding these painters's dates or activities. Their paintings were seldom recognized for individuality.

A new development occurred when the Jen-chih-tien was first designated for court painters in the Yung-lo era. Evidence of this is found in the biography of Shang-kuan po-ta in SHAO-WU-FU-CHIH(邵武府志) which mentions that Shang-kuan was summoned to the court during the Yung-lo era when the new palace in Peking was completed. He was assigned to work in the Jen-chih-tien where he painted the famous work Pai-niao ch'ao-feng (百鳥朝鳳 Hundreds of Birds Worshipping the Phoenix). The emperor was pleased and offered him an official title but Shang-kuan declined the offer because of his advanced age. It should be noted that the Jen-chih-tien mentioned here was not the Jen-chih-tien in Nanking but rather the one in the new palace of Peking completed at the end of 1420. The designation of this new hall for the use of court painters is significant because, as will be discussed later, the Jen-chih-tien of the Hsüan-te era was to become the location for the painting academy.

Other than these briefly employed painters, there was a group of officially assigned court painters. The include: landscape painters, Kuo Ch'un and Hsieh Huan (謝環); flower-and-bird painters, Pien Wen-chin, Fan Hsien (范暹, and Fang Ch'ang-ling 方昌齡; tiger painter, Chao Lien 趙廉; Buddhist and Taoist figure painter, Chiang Tzu-ch'eng 蔣子成; and horse painter, Han Hsiu-shih 韓秀實. The improved cultural milieu reflected by this group of Yung-lo painters was not incidental. It was the result of the Yung-lo emperor's first attempt to establish a painting academy. According to Huang Huai (黃淮 1367-1449), the emperor intended to restore the painting academy from the very beginning of his reign. Even though the attempt was not fully implemented, some very important progress was made. Information concerning this event is provided by Huang Huai, the Yung-lo grand secretary of Wu- ying Hall. According to Huang:

…after the Yung-lo emperor succeeded to the throne, with the peace and order that followed, the emperor was able to enjoy some literary and artistic activities in his leisure time. He first selected a group of calligraphers to serve in the Wen-yüan-ko and provided them with the imperial collection of calligraphy works for further improving their skills. Then the emperor expressed his wish to reestablish the painting academy in the court and ordered me [Huang Huai] to be in charge of the selection of painters. My first choice was Kuo Ch'un with whom I was familiar since Kuo was from my hometown. Kuo received an imperial audience and was honored with an official feast at the Kuang-lu-ssu [光祿寺 Court of Imperial Entertainments]. Yet the plan for the academy was interrupted by the imperial expedition to the north. Kuo was then ordered to paint temporarily in the Wu-lou [武樓 Military Tower]. During this period he had the chance to view numerous ancient masters' works and improved his skill…

According to the above text, it is clear that from the beginning of his reign the Yung-lo emperor intended to reinstitute both the Shu-yüan (書院 Academy of Calligraphy) and the Hua-yüan (畫院 Academy of Painting) in the court patterned after those of the Sung dynasty. Although the term Shu-yüan was not used by Huang when he referred to the group of selected calligraphers in Wen-yüan-ko, it is implied in Huang's text by his mentioning of Hua-yüan along with the calligraphers. The nature of a calligraphy academy is also suggested by other sources of information concerning this group. Since these calligraphers had a close relationship with the court painters of early Ming," and since they were also the predecessors of the Wen-hua-tien chung-shu she-jen of the Ch'eng-hua era (1465- 1487), it is helpful to introduce them briefly before discussing the Yung-lo preparation for the Painting Academy or Hua-yuan.

As Huang mentioned, the calligrapher group was formed in 1403 when the Yung-lo emperor placed them in the Wen-yüan-ko. In fact, many of them were also scholar painters such as Wang Fu, Shen Tu (沈度), Chu K'ung-yang (朱孔陽), Hsia Ch'ang, and Ch'en Tsung-yüan (陳宗淵). A detailed discussion of this group of scholar painters who served as calligraphers in the Yung-lo court is included in another article. Here it is necessary to point out that these calligraphers entered the court mainly through recommendations of the grand secretaries. Their major duty was to assist the grand secretaries with copying work. They were also responsible for copying sutras and writing title pieces for imperial halls or palaces. Later, they were all offered the title of Chung-shu she-jen (Secretariat Drafter). It is interesting to note that Huang Huai was also the supervisor for these calligraphers. The group originally consisted of twenty- eight members, but the number was increased to twenty-nine when Ch'en Tsung-yüan joined following his recommendation by Huang Huai. They were encouraged to practice the calligraphic styles of Wang Hsi-chih (王羲之) and his son Hsien-chih (獻之) and eventually formed the distinctive style of kuan-ko-t'i (館閣體 academician style). Thus, even though this group of Yung-lo calligraphers cannot be compared with the Sung Yü-shu-yüan (御書院) or Shu-i-chü (書藝局) in its scale and organization, it was gathered with the intention of forming an organization similar to the past shu-yüan.

沈度，不自棄說

Also worth considering here is Sun Ch'eng-tse's comparison of the Wen-hua-tien chung-shu with the Shu-hsüeh (書學 Calligraphy School) of the Sung dynasty. As mentioned earlier, Wen-hua-tien chung-shu was first established in the Hsüan-te era. According to Shen Te-fu, Emperor Hsüan-tsung first selected a group of calligraphers, placed them in the east gallery of the Wen-hua gate, and offered them the title of Wen-hua-tien chung-shu (she-jen). Their duties included writing couplets for decorating doors and for seasonal greetings. Apparently, their duties and status were less important than those of the Chung-shu she-jen serving in the Wen-yüan-ko (or Nei-ko chung-shu 內閣中書). Thus, it is understandable that Huang associated the Wen-Yuan- ko chung-shu with the Shu-yüan and Sun compared the later established Wen-hua-tien chung-shu to the Shu-hsüeh.

As for the Hua-yüan or Painting Academy, although Emperor Yung-lo's plan for its reinstitution was halted by his expeditions to Peking, Kuo Ch'un, the first painter Huang Huai recommended to the court for this purpose, stayed at the court and continued to serve under three more emperors. Furthermore, the official status and titles Kuo received during the Yung-lo era initiated the first set of guidelines for court painters in the following periods. The titles are also crucial for our understanding of the formation of the Painting Academy.

Thus, Kuo Ch'un entered the court in the beginning of the Yung-lo era and served without any official title at this time. According to Huang Huai, Kuo received his first official title, Ying-shan-so ch'eng (營繕所丞 Director of the Work Project Office), in 1414. This took place on December 3, 1414, when the emperor happened to see a painting by Kuo and was deeply impressed. He immediately summoned Kuo, but by then he had already left the court after serving more than ten years. On the following day, as soon as the morning court ceremony was over, the emperor gathered Hsia Yüan-chi (夏原吉), the Minister of Revenue, Fang Pin (方賓), the Minister of War, and Wu Chung (吳中), the Minister of Works and asked them about Kuo. While none of the three was aware of Kuo's talent, the emperor instructed them to offer him the new name of Ch'un (純 sincere) as an indication of his virtue, the title of Ying-shan-so ch'eng (in the Ming official ranking system), and some other gifts. Kuo then continued to serve in the Yu-yung-chien (御用監 Directorate for Imperial Accouterments) of the Yung-lo court for ten more years.

Kuo's title, Ying-shan-so ch'eng, belongs to the Ying-shan-ssu (營繕司 or Ying-shan-ch'ing-li-ssu 營繕清吏司) which was a subsection of the Ministry of Works (Kung-pu 工部). Yet it was made clear that the title was not functional, but was only used to indicate Kuo's prestige and salary. It should be noted that at this time Kuo was enlisted in the military service. According to Huang Huai, Kuo came from a poor family and could not afford a normal education. After learning painting with his relative, Lin Tan-jan (林澹然), in his childhood, he then studied with a master in K'uo-ch'ang (Chekiang 浙江) for more than ten years. Kuo was then recruited by the military guard unit of Hsing-wu (Hsing- wu-wei 興武衛) as a civilian soldier. This guard unit was stationed in the provincial capital, Nanking. Kuo's talent was soon recognized by his superiors, Commander Hsieh and his escort, an imperial consort. The two often invited Kuo to paint at their homes and through them Kuo's name spread among court officials. After Kuo was recommended by Huang Huai to serve as a court painter, he was still registered in the guard unit. This obviously was the reason the Yung-lo emperor summoned the Minister of War, Fang Ping, along with the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Works, to discuss Kuo's official status. This may also be the reason Kuo was first assigned to the Wu-lou (Military Tower) to work. As will be discussed later, Kuo's affiliation with the three ministries set a significant precedent for later court painters in the Ming Painting Academy.

The office of Ying-shan-so can be traced to the Sung dynasty when it was a subsection of the Chiang-tso-chien (Directorate for Palace Buildings). From the time of its establishment in the Sui dynasty, the Chiang-tso-chien had been generally responsible for construction and maintenance. In the Yuan the name of the office was changed to Chiang-tso-yüan (將作院) and became an agency that supervised various artisans in the manufacture of gold, silver, jade, and other luxury utensils for imperial use. The Chiang-tso-yüan of the Yuan is especially worthy of our attention because it was under this office that the Hua-chü (畫局 Painting Bureau), a workshop for hua-kung (artisan painters), was placed. Since the Yuan had no painting academy, this was the office where painters were employed at court. It is, therefore, understandable that the Yung-lo court, before its reinstitution of the Painting Academy, adopted the practice similar to that of the Yuan by placing its first court painter, Kuo Ch'un, in the Ying-shan-so of the Ministry of Works, the institution that absorbed the function of the Yuan dynasty Chiang-tso-chien.

As for the other Yung-lo court painters, there is less information. Hsieh Huan entered the court during the early Yung-lo era and was also very likely recommended by Huan Huai. The friendship between Hsieh and Huang can be traced to their childhood and before that to the friendship between Hsieh's teacher, Ch'en Shu-ch'i (陳叔起) and Huang's father, Huang Hsing (黃性). Yet Hsieh's great fame and success in the later Hsüan-te era must have overshadowed his early career because most of his biographies mention nothing about his official status during the Yung-lo era.

The case of Pien Wen-chin is more complicated. Pien first entered the court in the early Yung-lo era. This is well documented by three of his paintings: San-yu t'u (三友圖 The Three Friends), dated 1410; San-yu pai-ch'in (三友百禽 The Three Friends and Hundred Birds), dated 1413; and Chu-ho shuang-ch'ing (竹鶴雙清 Bamboo and Cranes), a collaborative work with Wang Fu (1362- 1416), painted between 1414 and 1415 in Peking. However, Pien's biographies listed in MING-HUA-LU, WU-SHENG SHIH-SHIH, MIN-SHU (閩書), and YEN-P'ING FU-CHIH (延平府志) only mention that he entered the court during the Hsüan-te era and was offered the title of Wu- ying-tien tai-chao. In fact, Pien's service in the Hsüan-te court was less than one year because, according to HSÜAN-TE SHIH-LU (宣德實錄 VERITABLE RECORDS OF THE HSUAN-TE REIGN), January 10, 1427, Pien was stripped of his official title, Wu- ying-tien tai-chao, and made a commoner for having accepted bribes in recommending two of his friends to the court.

The lack of information concerning the official status of these Yung-lo court painters has often led scholars to the conclusion that they did not receive any official titles.Yet most of the painters in the Hsüan-te court had started their service in the Yung-lo era and their titles were carried on from the previous dynasty. This is evidenced through some information concerning a few Yung-lo court painters.

One of the new findings is a clue to Pien Wen-chin's status in the Yung-lo court. As discussed earlier, most of Pien's biographies only mention his title of Wu-ying-tien tai-chao (武英殿待詔), held until his retirement in 1426. Yet a different title was recorded in the SHA-HSIEN CHIH (沙縣志) of the Tao-Kuang (道光 1821-1850) version. According to this late Ch'ing dynasty gazetteer, Pien was summoned to the court in the Hsüan-te era to serve in the Wen-ssu-yüan (Crafts Institute) and served as a tai-chao in the Chin-shen-tien (謹身殿). This information apparently contains some errors because Pien's title during the Hsüan-te era was confirmed to be Wu-ying-tien tai-chao, as recorded in the HSUAN-TE SHIH-LU and many other sources.

It has been my suspicion that the title Chin-shen-tien tai-chao attached to Wen-ssu-yüan could be an earlier title of Pien's, offered to him during the Yung-lo era. Fortunately, this suspicion was confirmed through an earlier Chia-ching (嘉靖 1522-1566) edition of the same gazetteer. According to this Ming dynasty SHA-HSIEN-CHIH, Pien was summoned to the Wen- ssu-yüan during the Yung-lo era and offered an official position there. Thus, it is clear that Pien's first employment was in the Wen-ssu-yüan of the Yung-lo court. As for the title tai-chao attached to the Chin-shen-tien, since it is not mentioned in the Ming version of SHA-HSIEN-CHIH, it could be a title offered to Pien either at the same time of the Wen-ssu- yüan assignment or slightly later in the Yung-lo era. The term tai-chao here should be distinguished from the Sung "T'u-hua-yüan tai-chao (圖畫院待詔)," which, along with i-hsüeh (藝學), chih-hou (祇候), and hsüeh-sheng (學生), formed the official ranking system of the Sung Painting Academy. During the Ming, however, tai-chao was often attached to the name of a palace or hall to indicate the location where the painter was assigned. This is especially true after the Hsüan-te era when almost all tai-chao worked in the Jen-chi-tien and after Ch'eng-hua (成化) in the Wu-ying-tien and the Wen-hua tien. However, if the title Chin-shen-tien tai- chao can be established as having been offered to Pien in the Yung-lo era, then the Chin-shen-tien would be another hall where the tai-chao of the Yung-lo era worked. Except for the Wen-yüan-ko tai-chao of the Hung-wu era, no other tai-chao title was known among the Yung-lo painters. Unfortunately, the date and exact location of the Chin-shen-tien are not known. During the Yung-lo era, halls with the same name existed in three palaces: the Nanking palace built in 1367, the old palace of the Yuan in Peking, and the new Peking palace built in 1417. Judging from the information available, it appears that during the Yung-lo era there were no definite locations for the painters.

The institute Wen-ssu-yüan, where Pien Wen-chin served in the Yung-lo era, played an even more important role in the Ming Painting Academy. After the Hsüan-te era most of the court painters were placed in this institution. A close relationship between this institute and the Painting Academy can be traced to the Northern Sung dynasty. To understand the relationship, it is helpful to introduce briefly the historical background of this institute.

The Wen-ssu-yüan (Crafts Institute) was a eunuch-staff workshop for the production of jewelry, fine brocades, etc. for imperial use. It was first established in the T'ang dynasty and was subordinate to the Tien-chung-sheng (殿中省 Palace Administration). In the Northern Sung dynasty the institute was placed under the Shao-fu-chien (少府監 Directorate for Imperial Manufactories) and increased in both its scale and importance. Its staff included a group of artisan painters whose duties were to paint decorations for the palace walls or halls.

These duties, as Suzuki Kei pointed out, sometimes overlapped with those of the painters in the Painting Academy and thus formed a close relationship between the Wen-ssu-yüan and the Painting Academy. Unfortunately, little information is available concerning the details of the organization and operation of the painters in the Wen-ssu-yüan. Yet the painters in the Wen-ssu-yüan were apparently more restricted to painting decorative art and their status was the same as the other artisans there. While co-existing with the academic painters in the Northern Sung, they enjoyed less freedom in individual expression and were secondary to the painters in the Painting Academy.

In the Southern Sung in 1129 the Wen-ssu-yüan came directly under the Kung-pu (Ministry of Works) and split into two subsections. The first section was staffed with craftsmen for gold, silver, and pearls. There is no longer any mention of painters in either section. What happened to the painters in the Wen-ssu-yüan of the Northern Sung? This writer has not been able to find the answer to this question. However, it is interesting to note a new development concerning this institute in the Jurchen state of Chin (1115-1234) which adopted many Northern Sung systems into its central government. In 1196 the Wen-ssu-shu of the Chin merged with the T'u-hua-chü (Office for Drawing and Painting) into a Chih-ying-ssu (Crafts Office). Thus, it is not unlikely that the artisan painters of the Northern Sung Wen-ssu-yüan were also absorbed the T'u-hua-yüan (Painting Academy) of the Southern Sung. In the Yuan dynasty the Wen-ssu-yüan was replaced by the Chiang-tso-yüan which, as mentioned previously, also included a Hua-chü (Painting Bureau). During the Ming dynasty the Wen-ssu-yüan was reestablished and continued to be subordinate to the Kung-pu. Thus, the early Ming practice of placing court painters under the Wen-ssu-yüan was directly related to that of the Northern Sung and Chin.

In summary, among the Yung-lo court painters at least two, Kuo Ch'un and Pien Wen-chin, received specific titles in the Ying-shan-so and the Wen-ssu-yüan. Although they are not familiar conventional titles for court painters, the Ying-shan-so was related to the Yuan dynasty. Chiang-tso-yüan where the Chin dynasty Painting Bureau was located. The Wen-ssu-yüan can be also traced to the Northern Sung when the artisan painters co-existed and had a close relationship with painters of the Painting Academy. While Kuo's title, Ying-shan-so-ch'eng, belonged to the Yü-yung-chien and Pien's to the Wen-ssu-yüan, both were subordinate to the Ministry of Works. Both titles also belonged to the artisan institutes dominated by eunuchs.

Thus, it appears that before establishing a formal painting academy the Yung-lo court adopted some of the artisan-painter related institutions of Northern Sung, Chin, and Yuan to serve the same purpose. As will be discussed below, these two institutions, Wen-ssu-yüan and Ying-shan-so, formed the backbone of the Ming Painting Academy in the Hsuan-te era.