Wu Wei’s Song and Dance Chart Axis

[Wu Wei’s Song and Dance Painting Axis]

Song and Dance Painting Axis, Ming Dynasty, Wu Wei’s painting, paper, ink, 118.9 cm vertically and 64.9 cm horizontally
No author recognition. At the lower right corner is the seal of “Xiao Xian Wu Wei” Zhu Wenfang. On the top of the painting are six titles: Mingzhu Zhishan, Tang Yin, Jiuhua Legacy, Jinting Jushi, Qiyi Jushi, and bearded Jiuweng. Qianzhu Zhishan’s “Yunming”, Tang Yin’s “Tang Bohu” and other seals, as well as the “Qianlong Imperial Treasure”, “Imperial Study Imperial Treasure”, “Shiqu Treasure Collection”, “Xuantong Imperial Treasure” and other seals, totaling 10 square meters
This picture truly reflects the scene of the literati visiting prostitutes and watching dance. The prostitutes and the second female prostitute sat around for a week with different looks. Visiting guests or sipping, or staring down, or looking up, or twirling the beard to meditate. The female prostitutes who sat with them either played the accompaniment mechanically, or sat with their sleeves absently, in sharp contrast to the attentive look of the visitors. According to Tang Yin’s painting “Wu Men Tang Yin inscribed Li Nunu’s song and dance picture, Li Nunu was ten years old in the late March of Hongzhi Guihai”, the dancer in the circle was Li Nunu who was 10 years old but had been a prostitute for several years. The Ming Dynasty was a prosperous period for the brothel industry. On the one hand, the sprout of capitalism gradually rose, the urban economy grew increasingly, and the commodity market grew rapidly, which provided a broad space for the survival and development of the brothel industry; On the other hand, the corrupt Ming government implemented the policy of punishing the good as a prostitute, and set up the famous 16th floor (brothel) in Jinling (i.e. Nanjing): Nanshi, Beishi, Heming, Zuixian, etc., which prompted many women, including Li Nunu, to fall into brothels and become playthings after suffering various misfortunes in life. In view of the prosperity of brothel culture, many talented and frustrated painters such as Wu Wei and Tang Yin have drunk alcohol and sex with prostitutes, trying to get rid of the depression of frustration and the burden of ethics by visiting prostitutes, and gain psychological balance and spiritual relaxation. They don’t hide their behavior of wanton behavior. Tang Yin carved the seal of “the most talented man in the south of the Yangtze River” and the picture created by Wu Wei are all intended to show their outlook on life, which is glorified by prostitutes and cynical
This picture was made by Wu Wei at the age of 45. In terms of expression techniques, it is similar to the Spring Painting of Wuling, and belongs to the fine brush sketch figure painting. The composition is simple and clear, the main characters are prominent, and there is no complicated scenery to set off. Only through the vivid modality and behavior of the characters and the mutual echo between them, the poetic flavor of life is expressed
Description of Shiqu Treasure Collection of the Qing Dynasty.