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Putting Poetics into Paintings: Album of Sikong Tu’s Modes of Poetry

from National Museum of Korea: Quarterly Magazine, vol.43

by National Museum of Korea

from National Museum of Korea: Quarterly Magazine, vol.43, page 4

Article from: National Museum of Korea: Quarterly Magazine, vol.43

Perceptions and Representation...

SEASON’S HERITAGE

By Lee Heagyeong, Associate Curator, Chuncheon National Museum

Open the volume and a painting in sharp colors appears alongside its corresponding poem on facing pages. Each poem is headed by a title such as “Broad-minded 豪放 ,” “Concise 含蓄 ,” “Unrestricted 疏野 ,” and “Detailed 委曲 ” Figs.2 through 5.

**Fig.2 “Concise” from the Album of Sikong Tu’s Modes of Poetry**

**Fig.3 “Unrestricted” from the Album of Sikong Tu’s Modes of Poetry**

**Fig.4 “Detailed” from the Album of Sikong Tu’s Modes of Poetry**

**Fig.5 “Broad-minded” from the Album of Sikong Tu’s Modes of Poetry**

The late Tang poet Sikong Tu 837–908 wrote a series of twenty-four verses, categorizing twenty-four different poetic modes or styles. This album of paintings and poems was produced to illustrate the meanings of each poem and consists of six pairs of four-character phrases.

Composition of the Album of Sikong Tu’s Modes of Poetry

The Album of Sikong Tu’s Modes of Poetry consists of twenty-two paintings by Jeong Seon 1676–1769 in the true-view landscape painting style of late Joseon period along with calligraphy of their corresponding poems, brushed by Yi Gwangsa 1705–1777 . The album covers just twenty-two of the twenty-four poetry styles that Sikong Tu covered originally; the modes described as “Washed and Refined 洗練 ” and “Clear and Wondrous 淸奇 ” were left out. Of these twenty-two paintings, only eighteen pages of calligraphy survive today. The calligraphic styles are varied to include seal script 篆書 ,clerical script 隸書 , regular script 楷書 , semi-cursive script 行書 , and cursive script 草書 .

The painting and poem covering the “Fluidity 流動 ” category are on the last page. The work has been dated by the two-line phrase “Gyeomjae, a 74-year-old man, in the last ten-day period of the 11th lunar month of the gisa year 1749 ”, which appears on the upper right corner of Jeong Seon’s work. A short commentary about ten characters has also been written on each painting Figs.6.

The Album of Sikong Tu’s Modes of Poetry

1 Imposing and All-encompassing 雄渾 / 2 Limpid and Placid 沖澹 / 3 Delicate and Rich 纖穠 / 4 Unexcited and Calm 沈着 / 5 Lofty and Ancient 高古 / 6 Decorous and Dignified 典雅 / 7 Strong and Sturdy 勁健 / 8 Intricate Beauty 綺麗 / 9 Natural 自然 / 10 Broad-minded 豪放 / 11 Concise 含蓄 / 12 Essence and Spirit 精神 / 13 Fine and Close 縝密 / 14 Unrestricted 疏野 / 15 Detailed 委曲 / 16 The Real World 實境 / 17 Sorrow and Lament 悲慨 / 18 Description 形容 / 19 Transcendence 超詣 / 20 Drifting Aloof 飄逸 / 21 Bighearted and Expansive 曠達 / 22 Fluidity 流動

A Closer Look at One of the Verses: Sorrow and Lament

Below is the text of the verse entitled “Sorrow and Lament 悲慨 ” Fig.7, referring to one of the modes in which a classical Chinese poem must be written. The painting, filled with color, is of a military man with a sword who stands between a pair of lush pines. The man represents Jing Ke 荊軻 , the assassin who attempted but failed to kill King Zheng of the Qin state, who later became the First Emperor r. 221–210 BCE of the Qin Dynasty. Thus, an episode from Chinese history is borrowed to express the meaning of Sikong Tu’sverse. The calligraphy has been brushed in a vibrant cursive script, blending well with a painting that has no margins.

Sorrow and Lament

Powerful wind rolls the water, And trees in the forest break. My anguish is like death, I have called out for rest but it does not come. One hundred years of life pass like a flowing stream, Wealth and honor are reduced to cold ash. The Great Principle seems more distant by the day, Who resembles a heroic man of talent? The valiant knight brushes off his sword, Flood-like and pervasive are his cries. The wind whistles and wails amid falling leaves, Rain seeps into the verdant moss.

In the painting, the lower end of the man’s robe and his hair appear to be tossed by a strong wind. The branches of the mighty pines and other trees in the scene are buffeted by the force of the wind as well. A mission had not turned out the way it was intended, and the sense of frustration is apparent. The man’s indignation is underscored by the painting and calligraphy produced with the most powerful brushstrokes in the entire album. The words to “Melancholy and Depression” contain the most dynamic sentiments of all the verses in this series by Sikong Tu, and the painting also was drawn with dynamic brushwork.

An examination of the paintings in the Album of Sikong Tu’s Modes of Poetry reveals that they are not explanatory illustrations aimed at assisting the reader in understanding the verses. Rather, they were most likely made to express the characteristics of specific poetic modes to someone already knowledgeable of Sikong Tu’s work and to enhance the feel of each mode. In this sense, the paintings in this album were done in the spontaneous style, emphasizing the artist’s intended meaning rather than an accurate representation of the form.

Pinnacle of the Late Joseon Paintings and Impression

Extant works similar to the Album of Sikong Tu’s Modes of Poetry are not known in China or Japan. Indeed, poems on poetry are by their nature difficult to be illustrated by the painting medium. Therefore, the reader seeks to discover how the artist has interpreted and expressed in painting the details of a discussion on poetic theory, and as one digests the content, another side of Jeong Seon starts to emerge. This is an example of an invisible, abstract concept that has been materialized through painting, in contrast to the true-view landscape painting style for which the artist is famous. In other words, the artwork shows Jeong Seon’s painting world, in which he roams freely between the real and the abstract.

This article is from:

National Museum of Korea: Quarterly Magazine, vol.43

by National Museum of Korea