The Connoisseurship Of Caligraphy And Painting In Northern Song China

This doctoral dissertation focuses on imperial and private collections of works of calligraphy and painting in Northern Song period (960-1127), probing into the meaning of these collections to Northern Song in this transforming time. Through considering works of calligraphy and painting in the background of imperial political culture, the paper brings out that these art forms are the embodiment of the dynamic accumulation in Northern Song's "Ancestor Rules". They went through the open "bi ge" (secret cabinet) system and "yushu" (emperor's hand writing) culture started by Emperor Song Taizong and "xiangrui"(auspicious omens) paintings under the reign of Song Emperor Zhenzong. Finally, Hui zong Emperor created "yuhua" (emperor's painting) with the combination of "yushu" and "xiangrui" painting, establishing this noblest artistic form in royal culture and presenting it before his courtiers.Private collections also influenced the taste of imperial collections. The prosperity of Song cities stimulated the consumption of paintings and calligraphy works, especially in the capital city, where high officials as well as the wealthy merchants could boast of their calligraphy and painting collections, contributing to the shift of the taste. At the same time, "keju" (imperial examination system) in Northern Song actually made it possible for the lowborn to get official posts. As a result, a class of scholar-officials came into being. In mid-eleventh century, this class began to play a leading role in calligraphy and painting connoisseurship. At the same time, communication between the South and the North and the growth of the economy of Jiangnan area encouraged a preference to paintings in "southern" style, especially landscape paintings. Due to the rise of antiquarianism and literati's interest, calligraphy and painting, which used to be unimportant entertainments, became accepted as an essential part of Chinese culture.