The Research Of Mao Shi Scrolls

Ma Hezhi is an active scholar artist in court during the reign of Gaozong andXiaozong in Southern Song Dynasty. Ordered by the emperors, Ma drew a series ofMao Shi Scrolls to illustrate Confucian classics the Book of Odes. These scrolls areclassic works for present research of the Chinese Fine Art history. However, somequestions remain to be clarified about Mao Shi Scrolls. Based on the study on MaHezhi and Mao Shi Scrolls, this dissertation will mainly focus on various factorsshaping Mao Shi Scrolls.I. According to the records of painting history of Ming and Qing, the scripture inthese scrolls was written by Gaozong or Xiaozong and the illustration was done byMa Hezhi. But this is not documented in Southern Song history. The data in YuanDynasty are contradictory to one another. Worse still, erroneous data wereincorrectly relayed in Ming and Qing. After careful analysis of relevant painting andcalligraphy styles, the author holds the view that the original version was created byMa Hezhi during Xiaozong’s reign, which is after Gaozong’s abdication. There arethree different versions: Southern Song original version, later－copied vision andlater-forged version. But it is impossible that the two emperors wrote the scripturepart personally in any of these scrolls. Meanwhile, the variation in painting styles andskill levels in each scroll proves that they may not be Ma’s authentic work. The scrollsin existence nowadays are mostly made in aulic workshops.II. Many new interpretation of the Book of Odes arose in Song Dynasty. It waspopular among scholars to interpret the Odes according to their personalunderstandings. These interpretations are the research emphasis in this field. But thetraditional interpretations formed in Han and Tang still has a place in the research. Inthis dissertation, the author summarizes them as Shijiao guan，Shishi guan and Shiliguan. As the creation background of the Odes painting in all Chinese dynasties, theperspectives in the Books of Odes have a long-lasting impact, Song Dynasty included.Created in the reign of Gaozong and Xiaozong in Southern Song Dynasty, Mao Shiscrolls has its unique cultural and historic features, but its creation is still affected bythe traditional Shi Jing Xue (The study on the Book of Odes) and Shi Jing Guan (Theperspective of the Book of Odes).III. As an illustration of the Book of Odes, Mao Shi scrolls must re-illustrate thethree dynasties mentioned in the scrolls. In Song Dynasty, people’s basic visualimpressions of these three dynasties are composed of various historic story paintings,images of clothes and artifacts in Jing Xue Tu Pu (the books of illustration Confucianclassics). All these images were created in or before Song Dynasty. Based on theimpressions, Ma Hezhi established a reasonable and complete image system bymaking full use of his complete knowledge of etiquette covered in Confucian classicsand consulting epigraphy. This system mainly covers three aspects: clothes in thesedynasties, artifacts and etiquette. But what should be pointed out is that this systemis still limited by people’s cognition at that time. IV. When illustrating the Book of Odes, Ma Hezhi used some rhetoric from it asreference, which are fu, bi and xing. And this formed his own unique drawing pattern.Scholar’s tastes and perspectives are also reflected in Mao Shi Scrolls. On one hand,Ma applied a drawing style named Shiren Huafeng (the style of scholar painting),which was not so popular then. On the other hand, images of Gaoshi (virtuousscholar) and Yinshi (recluse scholar) were added to many chapters. In this way, MaHezhi intentionally emphasized scholars’ evaluation of what had happened in thethree dynasties. Meanwhile this also became a precedent content eulogizing literati’svalue.V. As early as Han Dynasty, there were precedents where the Book of Odes wasillustrated. All kinds of signs indicate that the deterministic symbolism of eachchapter in the Book of Odes formed at that time. However, the large scale illustrationof this classic as royal conduct in the reign of Gaozong and Xiaozong, was supportedby the emperors’ personal behavior pattern. This dissertation starts with the analysisof the relation between Gaozong and Xiaozong and develops an original view of thepolitical implication in Mao Shi Scrolls.