Six Masters of the Early Qing Period

The Manchus from northeast China conquered and ruled China from 1644 until 1912. The Qing Dynasty was from this period. Traditional art forms flourished under the prosperous Qing rule, as did innovations across various art disciplines. Following Confucian precepts, the Qing successfully promoted high levels of literacy, as well as the publishing and cultural industries. In the arts, two main schools of painting developed, the orthodox, or traditionalist, school and the individualist school. Both followed similar art theories, but expressed differently. In the orthodox school of the early Qing period—during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—six painting masters became particularly renowned. The Six Masters, as they are known to art historians, were painters who practiced the technical brushwork and calligraphy of earlier periods, but with a subtle and nuanced style much in contrast to the more vigorous and lively style of their individualist peers.

Background

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of the five ruling dynasties of China. It lasted from 1644 to 1912 with a brief restoration in 1917. It was ended by the establishment of the Republic of China. Scholars consider the Qing dynasty as the one that transitioned China from its traditional period to modernity, and was particularly known for fostering the arts and culture. It also reflected the fusion of the Manchurian traditions of the Manchu rulers and native Chinese traditions. In order to better rule their Chinese subjects, as well as those beyond China’s borders, Qing emperors sought to present a Chinese identity. Therefore, they covered themselves with a Chinese "veneer" by, among other things, promoting indigenous Chinese culture. Nevertheless, they did not completely discard their Inner-Asian cultural roots and tended to show an interest in other cultural forms as well.

Painters in the early Qing Dynasty generally belonged to one of two main groups of painters: The traditionalists and the individualists. Traditionalists were scholar-artists who preserved the orthodox school, and as such represented the dogmatic and to a certain extent "authentic" school of art. Traditionalists followed the precepts of critics from the Yuan (1271–1368) and Ming (1368–1644) Dynasties; in fact, some of these traditions were rooted as far back as the Song Dynasty (960 to 1279). They were, then, more ideologically connected to the ruling powers than the individualists.

The artists who identified with the individualist movement rebelled against many of the dogmatic traditions of painting and followed more expressive ways of painting through freer brushwork and vigorous colors. Individualists tended to stay away from the central regions of government and were also known to engage in more exchanges with foreign missionaries and be more exposed to foreign art forms.

The Six Masters of the early Qing period were a group of Chinese artists of the orthodox tradition, who lived in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The Six Masters of the Qing included a group of four artists known as the "Four Wangs": Wang Shimin (1592–1680), Wang Jian or Chien (1598–1677), Wang Yuanqi (1642–1715), and Wang Hui (1632–1717). They also include landscape artist Wu Li (632–1718) and Yun Shouping (1633–1690), who specialized in the traditional form of flower painting.

Overview

All of the ruling Chinese dynasties established an Imperial Academy of Paint. Academy painters were considered imperial court officials. After the Qing Dynasty take-over, the new rulers continued to sponsor the Imperial Academy and traditional art disciplines. At the time, Chinese tradition considered calligraphy, painting, and poetry as the perfect arts and these were often interrelated.

During the Qing Dynasty the tradition of Chinese painting continued, understood as a continuation of Chinese methods and aesthetics from past masters, allowing very limited innovation. Some of these styles perpetuated aesthetics popular centuries ago, during the Song Dynasty. Emperors Kangxi (1654–1722) and Quianlong (1711–1799) followed the model of enlightened despots—that is, they sought reform and development, as long as it did not challenge their absolute rule. As art patrons, they tended to sponsor calligraphers, painters, and poets who would continue to uphold traditional methods and styles.

Some artists left the court—and the region—not only as a rejection of narrow possibilities for innovation, but also out of political protest. They tended to move south, and developed a freer style under less restrictive conditions. Some even joined monasteries. These artists became known as the individualists.

Traditionalists, however, preserved the idea of replicating ancestral ideas. They studied all past techniques conscientiously, and their work reproduced that of past masters "in the manner of" one particular artist or another. In fact, some traditionalists, such as Hong-Jen (1610–1663)—also known as Hungren—became experts in the style of one single artist; in the case of Hong-Jen, that of Ni Tsan (1301–1374), one of the masters of the Yuan Dynasty. Traditionalists in general followed the style of the great masters of the Ming and Yuan Dynasties, although it is important to note that individualists were also greatly influenced by some masters from previous periods. Among these ancient masters were Dong Quichang and others who had rejected conventions of their era.

The main group of traditionalists of the early Qing was formed by "The Four Wangs": Wang Shimin, Wang Chien, Wang Hui, and Wang Yuanchi. Another of the Six Masters of the Qing, Wu Li, maintained relations with foreign missionaries and became ordained as a Jesuit priest with the European name of Simon A. Cunha. All of them contributed significantly to the tradition of Chinese landscape painting.

Wang Shimin in particular, according to historians, was a revered master of the early Qing; in fact, the other five members were his pupils at some point. He was also a famous calligrapher. His grandson Wang Yuanchi, another master, became an important court official during the rule of Emperor Kangxi, in charge of the Imperial Academy. Wang Yuanchi, however, infused his style with some freshness, incorporating elements of personal expression.

By the end of the seventeenth century, the relatively more obscure individualist school had gained greater recognition, as new generations of painters began to move away from the academic imperatives of the early Qing masters, in search of innovation in representation and new solutions to recurring problems.

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