Cultivating Rectitude

Cultivating Rectitude

• Image Number: K2A001468N000000000PAB
• Dynasty: Song dynasty
• Category: Paintings
• Author: 劉松年
• Form: 卷
• Exhibition dimension: 30.1×545
• Description:
  This painting is named after Liu Songnian, a painter of the Southern Song Dynasty, but it was actually painted by workshops in the late Ming Dynasty with the Yangzheng Diagram compiled by Jiao Hong (1540-1620) in the 22nd year of Wanli (1594). The original book contains 60 cautionary stories, which were originally used to educate the prince. The painter collected the contents of the book and presented them in the same way of drawing first and then writing. In the order, there were ten stories of ancient sages and emperors, such as the story of financing the poor, the story of Tongye Fengyu, the story of self forming shoes, the story of Jin people showing precepts, the story of entrusting objects to explain politics, the story of learning to be famous and virtuous, the story of observing and obtaining rules, the story of learning to shoot the palace, the story of restraining oneself and appointing virtuous people, and the story of dispatching palace people. In the late Ming Dynasty, the printing industry was developed, and most of the books were equipped with illustrations to attract buyers in the competitive market. These books and periodicals with rich pictures and texts became the best source for workshops to counterfeit ancient paintings. This kind of story painting should be very popular at that time. It is said that there are also several Yangzheng Paintings painted by painters in the Song and Yuan Dynasties in the Freer Art Museum in the United States. (Lin Lijiang)