Dimensions of Originality：Essays on Seventeenth-Century Chinese Art Theory and Criticism

Acknowledgements............................................................... xiii

Notes to the Reader.............................................................. xvii

Preface................................................................................... xix

Part I

1. Some Problems of Expectation or

Speculations on Why Originality Cant Be a

"Traditional Chinese" Value (When It Is)....................... 3

Key terms indicate values 3

Local and time specific terms.............................. 3

Terms of more universal application................... 4

The curious case of "originality".......................... 5

Why not? 5

Chinese art historical literature hovers around the

concept of originality............................................. 5

The importance of originality is debatable......... 6

Terms and phrases suggestive of originality

in the critical literature........................................... 7

Phrases involving "originality".............................. 7

Passages with terms implicating originality....... 7

More about yi 逸 and du獨.......................... 12

Qi 奇.................................................................. 16

1. Why insist on talking about originality in

Chinese art theory and criticism?........................ 17

Why does the belief persist that originality is

antithetical to Chinese cultural demands?.............. 17

Copying and Confucianism.................................. 18

Copying and Xie He.............................................. 18

Late i9th-early 20th century Chinese taste and values 19

US collectors and the display of Chinese art..24

May Fourth ideology........................................... 26

Cold War ideology.............................................. 30

Originality as a "traditional Chinese" value............. 35

Xie He's Six Laws of Painting......................... 35

Conclusion................................................................ 38

2. Some Problems of Interpretation or Discerning the

Flavors of a Fine Kettle of Fish 41

Terms of identification............................................. 42

Models of interpretation.......................................... 45

Relevance................................................................. 60

Part II Ideas and Words

3. How Ideas Spread Across China and Among the Classes 65

Political and economic change.............................. 65

Imperial exams........................................................... 7¹

New social roles and acceptable professions...... 72

The publishing industry and public lectures............. 75

Words and the art world.......................................... 77

4. The Importance of a Word: A Discussion of Critical Terms 81

Qi in dictionaries..................................................... 84

Qi in early texts........................................................ 87

Correlates of qi.......................................................... 91

Related terms........................................................... 98

Part III What the Theorists and Critics Had to Say

5. What the Texts Say: Originality in Pre-Seventeenth-Century

Art Theory and Criticism 103

Qi in art theory and criticism of the Six Dynasties

Period (220-581)..................................................... 104

Qi in art theory and criticism of the Tang

Dynasty (618-906)................................................... 108

Qi in art theory and criticism of the Song

Dynasty (960-1279)................................................. no

Qi in art theory and criticism of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368)
through the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1400)........ 118

Qi in art theory and criticism of the mid Ming

Dynasty (1400-1600)............................................... 125

6. What the Texts Say: Originality in Seventeenth-Century

Painting Theory and Criticism 135

Basic meanings of qi in theory and criticism........ 137

Qi as originality........................................................ 142

The importance of breaking the rules.................... 153

The Qi-Zheng dialectic............................................ 163

7. What the Texts Say: Originality in Seventeenth-Century

Calligraphy Theory and Criticism 167

Calligraphy theorists, critics, and texts.................. 167

Qi as ineffable.......................................................... 172

Qi as different and strange..................................... 177

Qi as unbalanced..................................................... 179

Qi as extraordinary and great................................ 180

Qi as original............................................................ 181

Qi and zhuo............................................................. 187

Qi and zheng.......................................................... 188

Qi and rule breaking............................................... 198

Part IV Images

8. The Other Dong Qichang.............................................. 203

Originalism in Dong Qichangs paintings............... 205

Originalism in Dong Qichang's calligraphy........... 209

9. What Originality Looks Like:

Wu Bin's On the Way to Shanyin 221

The painting.............................................................. 221

Illustrations to Chapter 9.......................................... 227

The inscription.......................................................... 276

The title and subject matter..................................... 286

Part V The Legacy of a Concept

10. The End of Originality as the Seventeenth Century

Knew It 291

The effects of Qing policy on aesthetics................ 295

Conservative aesthetic theory and criticism of the

early Qing Dynasty................................................... 299

Early Qing discourse moves away from qi as original 303

Epilogue

A New Canon: Qi Becomes the New Zheng............ 325

Appendix

Instances of the Use of Qi, Yi, and Guai in

Sobriquet Dictionaries.................................................. 331

Notes...................................................................................... 339

Bibliography........................................................................... 385

Index....................................................................................... 403