In pursuit of heavenly harmony : paintings and calligraphy by Bada Shanren from the estate of Wang Fangyu and Sum Wai

250 Pages·2003·22.6 MB·English

by  Zhu, Da, 1626-approximately 1705

Heavenly Harmony
n Pursuit of Paintings and Calligraphy by Bada Slianren
from the Estate ofWang Faugyii and Sum Wai
n Pursuit of Heavenly Harmony
Paintingsand Calligraphy hy Bada Shanren
from theEstate ofWang FangyuandSum Wai
The celebrated Chinese artistBada Shanren (1626-1705)
was borninto abranch ofthe Mingdynasty (1368-1644)
imperial family thatwas known forits literary and artistic
accomphshments.When the Ming dynastyfell in 1644,Bada
fledhis hometown ofNanchang,Jiangxi,and took refuge in
aBuddhist temple,where he remained as a monk formore
than thirtyyears andsoon rose to the position ofabbot.
During this period,hepainted andwrote calligraphyundera
—
variety ofBuddhist names Xuege,Chuanqi,Ren'an,Fajue,
and Geshan.In the early 1680s,the artist returned to the sec-
ularworld,marriedbriefly,and began landscape painting for
the first time.In 1684 he startedwriting andpaintingunder
thepseudonymBada Shanren,becomingone ofthe most
prominentindividuaUstpainters ofthe early Qingdynasty
(1644-1911).
Bada Shanren developed an idiosyncratic visualvocabu-
laryfiiU ofpersonalsymbolism andartistic gesture thathas
made his deceptively simpleworks endlessly intriguing.While
his spontaneous,almostabstract,brushwork may appearplay-
ful,manypaintings also reveal a troubledpsychological edge
to his characterand an innately dark oudook on his own for-
tunes and the condition ofthe world atlarge.Three hundred
yearslater,Bada's works continue to exert a powerful influ-
ence on manymodern and contemporary Chinese painters.
With essays by renowned Chinese arthistoriansJoseph
Changand Qianshen Bai,this compellingand lavishly illus-
—
tratedpresentation ofBada Shanren's works bequeathed to
the Freer Gallery ofArtby Shao F.Wangfrom the collection
ofhis parents.ProfessorWang Fangyu and SumWai,and also
acquired through the generosity ofthe E.Rhodes and Leona
—
B.CarpenterFoundation offers fresh insightinto the mys-
terious Hfe andworks ofBada Shanren.The central catalogue
ofBada's works,luxuriantly designedwith manylife-size
reproductions,details the significantfeatures ofeach artwork
alongwith annotated translations ofall texts and calligraphy
by the gifted translator ofChinese Hterature,Stephen D.AUee.
This newvolume brings this elusive subjectto Hfe forawider
general audience than everbefore. From an exploration ofthe
artist'sbiography and his style as an artist to a sumptuouspres-
entation ofhis engagingworks.In PursuitofHeavenly Harmony
reveals the uniqueworld ofthis esoteric artistthrough an
exceptional collection ofworks thathave made the Freer
Gallery ofArt the mostimportantcenterforthe studyand
exhibition ofBada Shanren's ouevre outside the People's
RepubHc ofChina.

Harmony
n Pursu itofH eavenly

Heaven Harmony
n Pursuit ot
y
Paintings and Calligraphy by Bada Slianren
from the Estate ofWang Fangyu and Sum Wai
JOSEPH CHANG AND
QIANSHEN BAI
CATALOGUE
STEPHEN D. ALLEE
Freer Gallery ofArt
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C.
in association with
Weatherhill, Inc.

(04-^
IVaii^^F<jn}^y!i^iidSiiiiiUiii,
C20(13Snuthvom.in Institution BOARD OF THE FREER AND SACKLER GALLERIES
Allnghfiieser\ed. Mrs.HartFessendeii,CiiaifoftheBooni
Mr,RichardM,Danziger, IViTChtiirofllic Bo.iid
PublishedbytheFreerGalleryofArt,Smithsonian Mr,JeffreyRC"uiiard
Institution,Washington.D,C.,inassociationwith Mrs,MaryPatriciaWilkieEbrahimi
WeatherhiU,Inc. Mr,GeorgeJ,Fan
Dr,RobertS.Feinberg
HEAD OF PUBLICATIONS LyiineShaner Dr,KurtA.Gitter
EDITOR CiilSpilsburv Mrs.MargaretM.H.ildem.m
DESIGNER K.iteLvdon Mrs.RichardHelms
Mrs.AnnR.Kinney
COVER Li/.if//diiH;and Cdlligmpliy. 1690, Mr.H.ChristopherLuce
cat.entry p.4.^. Mrs.JillHornorMa
ENDPAPER Deail,Rubbingofthe"HolyMotlior Mr.Paul G.Marks
Mamisaipt," 1698.cat.entry 17,p.93. Ms.Ehzabeth E.Meyer
HALf.TITLE PAGE Detail.LlUFhnra>and Mrs.ConstanceC.Miller
Ciilligwphy. I(.90.cat.cntr\ 3.p.43. Mrs.DanielP.Moynihan
TITLE PAGE Detail.Lddi.i, ca. 1665.cat.entry 1, Mr.FrankH.Pearl
p.33. Dr.GursharanSidhu
PREFACES Detail.Lyh1>oipcafiorNi Zaii. Mr.MichaelR.Sonnenreich
ca. !703-l7().S.cat.entry33,p.141. Mr.AbolalaSoudavar
CATALOGUE DIVIDER PAGE Detail,fjUingBower, ProfessorElizabethtenGrotenhtiis
ca. 1692.lat.entrv 5.p.46. Mr.Paul FWalter
CHINESE DOCUMENTATION DIVIDER PAGE Detail, Ms.ShelbyWhite
Satpmico!theliiihi ('/rlic^'oHoirCoin!,
1684,cat.entiN' 2,p.39, HONORARY MEMBER
APPENDICES DIVIDER PAGE Detail,LoliisOlid SirJosephHotung
Diicki.ca. 169(1,cat.entr\-9,p.67.
NOTE Dimensionsaregivenincentimeters;height
prcLedeswidthprecedesdepth.Allcatalogueentries
arebyB.idaShanren (1626-i70-S).
LibraryotCongressCataloging-in-PubhcationData
Chang,Joseph,
Inpursuitofhea\eni\ harinc^n\:paintingsand
calligraphybyBadaShanren/byJosephCiiangand
QianshenBai;cataloguebyStephenD.Alice,
p.cm.
1, Zhu.Da, 1626-]705--E>;hibitions.2, Calligraphy
Chinese—History—Mlng-Qingdvnasties, 1368-1912-
-Exhibitions.3. Wang.
Fangyu, 1913-1997—Artcollections—E.xhibitions.
4. Sum.Wai-Art
collections—E.\hibirions.5. Calligraphy—Private
collections—Washington,D,C,—Exhibitions.6.
Calligraphy—Washington,
D.C.—E.xhibitioiis.7, FreerGallery—Exhibitions, I,
Zhu.Da,1626-1705,II.Bai.Qianshen.HI,Alice,
Stephen D, IV,Title.
ND14,57,C56Z4.S32003
745,6'1995r092-dc21
2002012387 4^
t ^ Smithsonian
Printed m Chin.i FreerGalleryofArt