In 1127 the Song northern capital was sacked by the Jurchen Jin; Emperor Huizong and members of his family were carried off, only to die later in captivity. The emperor’s ninth son, who was proclaimed Emperor Gaozong (r. 1127–62), escaped and established the Southern Song court at Lin‘an (Hangzhou) in 1138.
As emperor, Gaozong sponsored a number of painting and calligraphy projects that extolled the virtues and legitimacy of his “dynastic revival.” The largest of these undertakings was illustrating the more than three hundred poems of the Classic of Poetry, a work traditionally believed to have been compiled by Confucius (551–479 B.C.). Courtly Odes, Beginning with “Wild Geese,” from the Xiaoya section of the Classic, is part of this ambitious program.
The text of each poem is written in Gaozong’s regular-script style, probably by a scribe or consort. The accompanying illustrations are the work of Ma Hezhi, a court artist known for his calligrphic “orchid-leaf” brush line, which clearly derived from the scholar-painting tradition of Li Gonglin (ca. 1049–1106). Ma’s deliberately archaistic and simplified drawing style is perfectly in keeping with the great antiquity of the Classic.
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南宋 馬和之 詩經小雅鴻雁之什六篇圖 卷
Title:Courtly Odes, Beginning with "Wild Geese"
Artist:Ma Hezhi (Chinese, ca. 1130–ca. 1170) and Assistants
Period:Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
Date:mid-12th century
Culture:China
Medium:Handscroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions:Overall with mounting: 12 3/4 in. × 42 ft. 9 3/4 in. (32.4 × 1304.9 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Edward Elliott Family Collection, Gift of Douglas Dillon, 1984
Object Number:1984.475.1
Inscription: No artist's inscription, signature, or seal
Other inscriptions on the painting[1]
Unidentified artist in the style of the Song emperor Gaozong (r. 1127–1162), 57 columns in standard script, undated:
Section 1 (12 columns in standard script)
Ten poems beginning with “Wild Geese” Courtly Odes with commentaries by Masters Mao [Mao Heng 毛亨 and Mao Chang 毛萇, late 3rd‒2nd c. BCE]
“Wild Geese,” a praise of King Xuan. Myriad people were displaced and could not settle down. He was able to bring them back to live in communities peacefully. All the widowers and widows were taken care of.
The wild geese are flying; Suk, suk go their wings. The soldiers are on the march; Painfully they struggle through the wilds. In dire extremity are the strong men; Sad are their wives, left all alone.
The wild geese are flying; They have lighted in the middle of the marsh. The soldiers are walling a fort; The hundred cubits have all risen. Though they struggle so painfully, At last they are safely housed.
The wild geese are flying; Dolefully they cry their discontent. But these were wise men Who urged us in our toil, And those were foolish men Who urged us to make mischief and rebel.
Unsullied the white colt Eating the young shoots of my stackyard. Keep it tethered, keep it tied All day long. The man whom I love Here makes holiday.
Unsullied the white colt Eating the bean leaves of my stackyard. Keep it tethered, keep it tied All night long. The man whom I love Is here, a lucky guest.
Unsullied the white colt That came so swiftly. Like a duke, like a lord Let your revels have no end. Prolong your idle play, Protract your leisure.
Unsullied the white colt In that deserted valley, With a bundle of fresh fodder. 'Though you, its master, are fair as jade Do not let the news off you be rare as gold or jade, Keeping your thoughts far away.’
O oriole, yellow bird, Do not settle on the corn, Do not peck at my millet. The people of this land Are not minded to nurture me. I must go back, go home To my own land and kin.
O oriole, yellow bird, Do not settle on the mulberries, Do not peck my sorghum. With the people of this land One can make no covenant. I must go back, go home To where my brothers are.
O oriole, yellow bird Do not settle on the oaks, Do not peck my wine-millet. With the people of this land One can come to no understanding. I must go back, go home To where my own men are.
“I went into the country,” a critique of King Xuan.
I went into the country; Deep the shade of the ailanto. It was as bride and wife That I came to your house. But you did not provide for me–– Sent me back to land and home.
I went into the country; I plucked the dockleaf. It was as bride and wife That I came to live with you. But you did not provide for me–– Back to my home you sent me.
I went into the country; I plucked the pokerweed. You thought nothing of the old marriage–– Found for yourself a new mate. Not for her wealth, oh no! But merely for a change.
“No Sheep,” on King Xuan who revitalized livestock husbandry.
Who says you have no sheep? Three hundred is the flock. Who says you have no cattle? Ninety are the black-lips. Here your rams come, Their horns thronging; Here your cattle come, Their ears flapping.
Some go down the slope, Some are drinking in the pool, Some are sleeping, some waking. Here your herdsmen come In rush–cloak and bamboo-hat, Some shouldering their dinners. Only thirty brindled beasts! Your sacrifices will not go short.
Your herdsman comes, Bringing faggots, bringing brushwood, With the cock-game, with hen-game. Your rams come, Sturdy and sound; None that limps, none that ails. He beckons to them with raised arm; All go up into the stall.
Your herdsman dreams, Dreams of locusts and fish, Of banners and flags. A wise man explains the dreams: 'Locusts and fishes Mean fat years. Flags and banners Mean a teeming house and home.'
Transcriptions by the Song emperor Gaozong and illustrations by Ma Hezhi of six poems from the set of ten in the 'Wild Geese' sequence of the Xiaoya [section of the Book of Songs].
Qing emperor Qianlong 清帝乾隆 (r. 1735–1796) Qianlong jianshang 乾隆鑒賞 Qianlong yulan zhi bao 乾隆御覽之寳 Sanxi Tang 三希堂 Sanxi Tang jingjian xi 三希堂精鑒璽 Shiqu baoji 石渠寳笈 Yushufang jiancang bao 御書房鑒藏寳 Yi zisun 宜子孫 Shiqu ding jian 石渠定鑒 Baoji chongbian 寳笈重編 Shou 壽 Xueshu Tang 學書堂 Xinqi heping 心氣和平 Shili tongda 事理通達 Guxi tianzi 古希天子 Wufuwudai Tang guxi tianzi bao 五福五代堂古稀天子寳 Bazhengmaonian zhi bao 八徵耄念之寶 Taishanghuangdi zhi bao 太上皇帝之寳 Xinqi heping 心氣和平 Shili tongda 事理通達 Jiaqing yulan zhi bao 嘉慶御覽之寳 Xuantong yulan zhi bao 宣統御覽之寳
Unidentified: 2
[1] Translations of the poems from Arthur Waley, The Book of Songs, London: Allen & Unwin, 1937, pp. 118, 191, 194, 95, 98, 167–68. Translations of the commentaries preceding the poems by Shi-yee Liu.
Marking:
Ex coll.: Edward Elliott Family Collection ;; Douglas Dillon American, New York (until 1984; donated to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Traditional Scholarly Values at the End of the Qing Dynasty: The Collection of Weng Tonghe (1830–1904)," June 30–January 3, 1999.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Douglas Dillon Legacy: Chinese Painting for the Metropolitan Museum," March 12–August 8, 2004.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Journeys: Mapping the Earth and Mind in Chinese Art," February 10–August 26, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Show and Tell: Stories in Chinese Painting," October 29, 2016–August 6, 2017.
Wang Jie 王杰 et al. Midian zhulin shiqu baoji xubian 秘殿珠林石渠寶笈續編 (Catalogue of painting and calligraphy in the Qianlong imperial collection, second series). Preface dated 1793. Facsimile reprint of an original manuscript copy. 8 vols. vol. 4, Taipei: National Palace Museum, 1971, pp. 2040–41.
Fong, Wen C. Beyond Representation: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 8th–14th Century. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992, p. 222, pl. 29.
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