Jieziyuan Huazhuan
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Jieziyuan Huazhuan (Chinese: 芥子園畫傳 "Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden"), sometimes known as Jieziyuan Huapu (芥子園畫譜), is a manual of Chinese painting complied during the early-Qing Dynasty. Many renowned Chinese painters, like Qi Baishi, 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, whose mansion in Jinling 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, and commissioned Wang Gai (王概) 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.
Two more parts, which deal with the painting of flora and fauna, were produced by Wang and his two brothers. Shen promised a forth part, but never published one. A forth 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. Today the reprint of the first three volumes of the work is 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 1779-1701, was made by Mai-mai Sze and published in New York in 1956.
[edit] References
- Zhongguo da baike quanshu. First Edition. Beijing; Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe. 1980-1993.
[edit] External links
- (French) KIAI-TSEU-YUAN HOUA TCHOUAN [Jieziyuan huazhuan]. Les Enseignements de la Peinture du Jardin grand comme un Grain de Moutarde. Encyclopédie de la peinture chinoise Traduction et commentaires par Raphaël PETRUCCI (1910), at les Classiques des sciences sociales, l'Université du Québec.
