Literati From The Populace Or Official

Literati from the populace in ancient china was called buyi (布衣) seeing that this kind of people always was dressed in a cloth gown. On the same way, zanju (簪裾) was used to name literati from official who always wore a robe with full front or long sleeve and whose hair was usually fixed in a crown with a hairpin. Since Sui Dynasty(581-618), imperial examinations had been practised which had an affect on social composition and mentality. Government official was selected from the populace but nobility from that time. So the examinationgs was a thoroughfare for lierati from the populace to pracise a convert of social status.Hsu Wei(1521-1593) and Tung Ch’i-ch’ang(1555-1536) lived in Later Ming Dynasty when official was slected by examing ability of baguwen (八股文) regulated-meanning easay which had been impemented since Ealier Ming Dynasty and perfect in16th century. Hsu Wei’s character was diffirent from Tung Ch’i-ch’chang who fit better in with the examinations than he. On the other hand, Success of the examitions as indicator of class aggravated the diffirence of thier characters.As a successor on baguwen, Tung Ch’i-ch’ang was accustomed to analytic language and research which had been determining factor of the style of his painting, who is well known for his famous theory on literati’s paintings which will be proved to have contact in this thesis with a theory on lierrati’s writings which was advanced by Yang Qi-yuan(1547-1599), another famous successor on baguwen. On the contrary, Hsu Wei as a failor suggested painter should disembosom himself in his works, which is fobidden in examinationgs easays. So Tung’s painting is full of analytic structure and designed handwriting but Hsu’s painting rises to another view.The diffirent of social status between Hsu and Tung had a strang influence on style, function and implication of their painting. Since literati from the populace was stranded on the sandbank of society bottom, Hsu’s painting was not only used to change money or goods to support himself or his famlly as he described that he had to work hard just like cattle or horse, but also to please his superiors or ohters, so the style, function and implication of his painting was in accord with his social status. As literati from scholar official, Tung’s painting presented an opposite aspect.Literati was special intellectual in ancient china who assumed civilzation valuas and history tradition consciously, so willpower of civilzation and history usually emweges by acting on them. On the other hand, society selection reflects society willpower which produces literati’s diffirence on social status and economic position. History and civilization provides verious playwriting on ancient biography and art style for literati artist to act, but the role they would act was assigned before performance by society willpower.