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Introduction
Lingnan' or 'South of the Ranges'
refers to that part of China to the south of the 'Five Ranges' which are
Tayu, Qitian, Dupang, Mengzhu, Yuecheng. These ranges separate the river
basin of Changjiang, or the Yangzi River, in the central part of China fr'om
that of Zhujiang or the Pearl River, in the south. In the Tang dynasty
(618-906) Lingnan was the official name for the area covering the provinces
of Guangdong and Guangxi as well as Annan. The region covered by the name
Lingnan has changed with time. Today, 'Ling"'nan' aod 'Guangdong' can almost
be treated as synonyms.
Thus when we speak of 'Lingnan
painting' today, we are referring to the work of painters in the Guangdong
province in general. Strictly speaking, the two terms 'Lingnan painting' and
'Lingnan School painting' are not interchangeable. The 'Lingnan School' is
only one of the many schools of painting in Lingnan, or Guangdong, and it
should not be used to refer to painting of the Guaiigdong province as a
whole.
Since late nineteenth century,
the Lingnan School of painting has exerted tremendous influence on the
painting development of the Lingnan area, so much so that it brought forth a
new movement in Chinese painting in the first half of the twentieth century.
This was the result of the heroic effort of Gao jianfu (1879-195 1), Gao
Qifeng (1889.-1933) and Chen Shuren (1883-1948). The success of these three
painters was so prominent that they are hailed,as the 'Three Masters of
Lingnan'. To trace the early styles of the painting of the Lingnan School,
we shall have to study the work of the famous flower painters, ju Lian
(1828-1904), ju Chao (1811-1865), Song Guangbao (19th century) and Mengjinyi
(19th century.
It is
interesting to note how these masters were related to one another. Gao
Qifeng learnt the art of painting from his elder brother Gao Jianfu. Two of
the 'Three Masters of Lingnan', Gao Jianfu and Chen Shuren, were the
students of ju Lian. Chen Shuren wasrecorded to be the last student of ju
Lian, and their relationship was later further strengthened by the marriage
of Chen
Guangbao and Meng jinyi and
sought compromise between the opposite styles of the two masters. If Gao
jianfu, Gao Qifeng and Chen Shuren were the major exponents of the Lingnan
School, thenju Chao, ju Lian, Song Guangbao and Mengjinyi were the
forerunners.
Both Song and Meng were not
natives of Guang- dong. Song Guangbao, alias Outang, was a native of
Changzhou district injiangsu province. He was noted for his painting of
flowers and plants in a near-to-realistic manner in the style of Yuri
Shouping (1633-1690), one of the Six Great Masters of Early Qing. Meng jinyi,
alias Litang, was a native of Yanghu district, also in Jiangsu province. His
bird-and-flower paintings were modelled after those of Chen Shen (1483-1544)
of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Song and Meng were invited to Guangdong 4
painting teachers by Li Bingshou, a native of jiangxi,.-W!*,@ was appointed
to an official post in Guangdong during the reign of Daoguang (1821-1850).
These two masters soon established themselves as the leading bird-and-flower
painters in the Lingnan district. Among those who followed their style of
painting based .on the study of plant forms were the ju cousins.
Ju Chao, alias Meisheng,
pseudonym jinxianzhu, was a native of the Panyu district in Guangdong
province. He was a versatile scholar noted for his painting, poetry and
calligraphy. He was proficient in the painting Of birds, flowers, inscects,
fish, landscapes and human figures. In the field of bird-and-flower
painting, he was a master of the 'boneless technique'. His paintings on
floral subjects have a touch of refine- ment which reveals his full mastery
of his brush-work and colouring techniques, and his understanding of the
system of growth of flowers and plants. with the niece of his teacher. On
the other hand, ju Lian was the younger cousin ofju Chao. While ju Chao
followed the painting style of Song Guangbao, ju Lian studied the paintings
of both Song
ju Lian first learnt the art of
painting from his cousin Ju Chao. Later he learnt from the works of Song
Guangbao and Meng jinyi and those of earlier masters. He loved to paint
flowers, plants and particularly insects which he kept in his garden. His.
love- for painting insects made him the greatest insect painter in
Guangdong. Although he took Song and Meng and other masters as his models in
painting, he was not bound by the styles of anv of them. He succeeded in
establishing a style of his own. His special colouring technique in which
water and powder colour were skilfully applied to enrici tonal gradation
and textural feeling of leaves and flower petals, and his emphasis on the
importance of detailed study of objects in life laid down the basis on which
the Lingnan Scho6i painting later developed. Among the early masters of the
Lingnan School, ju Lian was by far the most influential of all.
The significance of the
contribution of Lingnan School painters in the development of Chinese
painting in the 20th century cannot be over- emphasized. To promote a better
understanding of the work of this important school of painting, the Hong
Kong Museum of Art of the Urban Council has engaged herself in a long term
exhibition project beginning with the presentation of the exhibition of 'Kwangtung
Painting' in 197 3 when a general survey of the different schools of
Guangdong paintings from the Ming dynasty to mid-20th century was made. A
similar exhibition called by the name 'Lingnan Painting' based on the recent
acquisitions of the Hong Kong Museum of Art to supplement the 1973 survey
was staged in 1976. It was followed by a series of three one-man shows
introducing the 'Three Masters of Lingnan School', Gao jianfu, Chen Shuren
and Gao Qifeng, in 1978, 1980 and 1982 respectively. To bring our survey of
Lingnan School masters up-to-date, two contemporary painters of that Scitool
in Hong Kong were introduced in out exhibition series under the title 'The
Art of Chao Shao-an' in 1979, and 'The Art of Yang Shen-sum' in 1981.
This is the tenth year since we
first presented the 'Kwangtung Painting' exhibition in our gallery, and we
take delight to mark our decade's effort in tracing the work of the Lingnan
School by this exhibition which, we hope, may bring to light the artistic
achievements of the forerunners of the school.
More About Lingnan
School of Art Please go to
www.lingnanart.com
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