Dong Qichang Hangzhou Issues Comprehensive Examination

This essay is a comprehensive historical survey of Dong Qichang(1555-1636) and Hangzhou, a then regional capital in east China. Through his entire life, Dong was connected to Hangzhou. His visits to the town as well as his social activities in town influenced his theories and practice of painting and calligraphy. Based on available literature from Ming and Qing Dynasties, and with a reference to related paintings and calligraphy works as well as dozens of records of such works, this essay tries to touch issues such as Dong's early calligraphy theory, the theory about the Southern and Northern schools, his enlightenment and bliss of Dhyana, his social network, his collection and connoisseurship. Vajra Sutra in the collection of Linyin Temple, Hangzhou, is a piece by Dong yet not well-known. This provides evidence for studies of Dong's early calligraphy theory. From his coterie of collectors and friends in Hangzhou, especially Jiangshan Xueji Tu (Rivers and Mountains after Snow) collected by Feng Mengzhen, and Wangchuan Tu (Wang-ch'uan Villa) traced by Guo Zhongshu and collected by Gao Lian, decisively impacted Dong's view of Wang Wei, which further leads to the cornerstone of his theory of Southern and Northern school. Dong's exposure to various paintings, calligraphy works and other antiquities in Hangzhou nourished his mind while the scenery of West Lake inspired his art practice. Dong's friendship with Lianchi, an eminent monk, is rarely mentioned in previous research, yet is pertinent to his enlightenment and bliss of Dhyana. Constructing a narrative of Dong's attachment to Hangzhou, this essay also tries to develop a new approach to some outstanding disputes in Chinese art history.