Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains: Underlying philosophy between human and nature
Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains (Wuyong Version) is a handscroll painting by Huang Gongwang 黃公望 (1269-1354), portraying the stunning scenery along the Fuchun River in East China (Fig.1). The handscroll is relatively long, measuring 33 x 639.9 cm. It was executed with brush and monochromic ink on paper. The number of inscriptions on the left of the painting indicates the significance of this masterpiece in traditional Chinese landscape paintings. Having passed through the hands of different collectors, the painting is currently being exhibited at the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
The lingering charm of this composition lies in the artist’s spirit hidden in every brush and ink. Rather than visual resemblance to forms, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains is a translation of the unique ideal realm of Huang Gongwang. His painting is an expression of his personal aesthetics of nature connecting with the life experience and his contemplation of the spiritually sublime through rejoicing in the landscape. The panorama of sceneries along the river reveals a journey of life, and mutual interaction between nature and individual beings.
The configuration of mountains, waterways and blank space shows a harmonious journey progressing through time and space. The varied shapes and changing density of mountains and groups of trees expand the breadth and depth of the composition and become the substance of spiritual interaction with nature. In the middle of the composition, for example, lies the lofty mountain peaks, while the end ebbs out in remote ink-wash hills by the river. Echoing the spiritual idea of the painting, the majestic mountains represent the coalesce of Heaven and Earth, and the distant ink-wash hills, seemingly dissolved into rivers, show a harmony between waters and mountains. Throughout the entire handscroll, the artist demonstrated a good mastery of the layout of landscapes and blank space, corresponding to the flow of air and light. The blank space naturally reverberates with the thoughts of the audiences, into scenic wonders beyond the painting. The use of blank space associates visual art with audio imagination. Like a symphony climaxing with triumphant tunes but ending softly with an oboe which evokes the audience’s recollection and reminiscence, the painting is a symphony of space, providing artistic inspiration and aesthetic imagination to all audiences.
Upon closer inspection, intricate application of brush and ink were carefully designed and developed through years of composition. The two elements, brush and ink, not only portrayed the realistic appearance of landscapes, but also conveyed emotions, thoughts and atmosphere based on the artist’s underlying aesthetic value.3 Across this long handscroll, various texture strokes and brush dots were distributed according to different forms of landscape. As is written in Huang Gongwang’s Secrets of Landscape Painting (寫山水訣), he was greatly inspired by the art style of Dong Yuan and Juran of the Five Dynasties (901-979).4 For example, hemp-fiber textural strokes and alum-head strokes, which are associated those two masters, shaped the texture of the slopes and angular small rocks on the top of the hills (Fig. 2). While learning from skills of past masters, Huang also adopted a unique dynamic composition of himself. The mountains on the left side and the right side, for example, were rendered in light paint and not so detailed as the others; the brushstroke in the middle part was relatively rier, elaborate and non-washed, which suggests a focus on the centric part of the composition. Apart from the mountains, the depiction of tree limbs and foliage also involved layers of painting, with darker paint on the lighter ones, in order to create cubic and lifelike effect. The spontaneous ink-play involved the painter’s profound observation of the landscape and inner interaction with nature.
The spiritual landscape forms in this masterpiece, through perfect configuration and skillful brush and ink work, conveyed the poetic philosophy behind nature and humans. The vicissitudes of life, which resemble the cycles and “Dao” of nature, are beautifully expressed in this dialogue with the landscapes along Fuchun River.
(863 words)
1 “興之所至，不覺亹亹，佈置如許。The painting was executed in a spontaneous state, gradually formed into the existing configuration.” “Inscriptions on Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains” by the artist, HuangGongwang. Z. Wen, Historical Materials on Huang Gongwang, (Shanghai: Shanghai People’s Fine Arts Publishing House, 1963), 30. eighties, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains shows a mature understanding of nature and a beautiful use of brush and ink. Huang Gongwang showed his exceptional talent at an early age in the “Prodigy Examination” in the local county. 2 He was once an official scholar but later imprisoned due to entanglement with the slander case of a minister. The ups and downs of his life and his later retreat into Daoism resulted in his profound understanding of nature and life, which was later incorporated into the rich variety in his landscape paintings. In this composition, arguably the greatest artwork of him, he integrated his insight into Laozi’s metaphysical idea of the oneness of man and nature, showing his state of finding wisdom in the waters and taking joy in the mountains. As a literati painter living a reclusive life in the mountains, he also combined sentiments from his own life experience and the spiritual dialogue with the landscape through painting.
2 Z. Wen, Historical Materials on Huang Gongwang, (Shanghai: Shanghai People’s Fine Arts Publishing House, 1963), 35.
3 Y. Wang, Looking at Chinese Painting, (Tokyo: Nigensha Publishing Limited, 1996), 91.
4 Z. Wen, Historical Materials on Huang Gongwang, (Shanghai: Shanghai People’s Fine Arts Publishing House, 1963), 9.