The focus of this article is a handscroll of ink chrysanthemums attrib-
uted by signature to the ... more The focus of this article is a handscroll of ink chrysanthemums attrib- uted by signature to the painter Xiang Shengmo (1597–1658), and com- posed for the Fujianese collector Yu Junshen (1628–after 1697), who at the time was living in Nanjing, the centre of Ming loyalists (yimin) during the second part of the seventeenth century. After analyzing the various elements that challenge the current attribution to Xiang Shengmo and reattributing this painting to a less famous master of the time, the arti- cle highlights the very specific context of its creation and undertakes an analysis of the picture’s formal aspects and symbolic dimension. It then turns to a detailed discussion of some of the colophons, composed by famous loyalists of the time, to consider how they responded to the dynastic transition. The argument concludes that although the painting is not by Xiang Shengmo, it is, nonetheless, an important work, emblematic of the pivotal moment of shift of the Nanjing’s yimin community from a position of active resistance towards the recently established Qing dynasty to a condition of passive resistance of the new rule, symbolized by a lifestyle of social and political withdrawal.
Iconographie de la faim: Substituts alimentaires et cannibalisme de survie dans les sources visuelles de la Chine prémoderne
https://hal.science/hal-04063301
Politique et société au miroir de l'alimentation, 2023
This essay explores the representation of blindness and its metaphorical dimension in scholar pai... more This essay explores the representation of blindness and its metaphorical dimension in scholar painting of Qing China (1644-1911), a period marked by a major increase of these images. Focusing on a 1757 Zhu Yan’s handscroll titled Groups of Blind People, where one hundred blind characters are engaged in comic or incongruous situations such as appreciating antiquities, fighting or grabbing a giant copper coin, it examines the use of humor and visual satire to express moral criticism, with emphasis on identifying and explaining some of the puns or familiar sayings on which these images rely. By casting some light on this and similar works, as well as sorting out other modes in which the blind were depicted in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century China, the article also aims to open the way to further studies of this topic.
Narrativité : Comment les images racontent des histoires. Paris : Presses de l’Inalco, 2022. Disponible sur Internet : <http://books.openedition.org/pressesinalco/45194>. ISBN : 9782858314034., 2022
Help! Illustrated Tales detailing the Aftermath of Disasters in Late Imperial China
Sequential... more Help! Illustrated Tales detailing the Aftermath of Disasters in Late Imperial China
Sequential images depicting disaster and relief emerged as an independent genre in China during the late imperial period. These images have the peculiar feature of representing one-time events that do not rely on well-known sources or fictional tales, even though they contain a textual element. The aim of this chapter is to determine how and using which narrative ingredients these illustrated tales of disasters and their aftermath were constructed. First it defines the historical circumstances of their creation, their function and the main formats used for this kind of pictures. The chapter then focuses on two albums produced during the 19th century. If both series represent floods, in the first one, the bird’s eye views keep the viewer at a distance from the subject, while the second one displays a more dramatic style with powerful and vivid images of the disaster, as photo reports will do a few years later.
This article examines the understudied and little-noticed pictorial genre of Liumin tu 流民圖 (Image... more This article examines the understudied and little-noticed pictorial genre of Liumin tu 流民圖 (Images of disaster refugees), a tradition dating back to the Chinese scholar-official Zheng Xia 鄭俠 (1041-1119) who submitted a memorial to the throne along with a painting representing famine victims in order to request assistance and denounce the misguided politics of the time. From the Ming dynasty onward, Zheng Xia’s work served as a model for other officials who resorted to such means of persuasion with higher authorities or with an emperor to obtain quick relief or tax reductions from the central government. Although the genre of the illustrated memorials subsequently underwent interesting developments, to date, scholars have paid it little attention, since most of the original documents are no longer extant. However, a thorough search of the database of Chinese local gazetteers, Zhongguo fangzhi ku 中國方志庫, has made it possible to uncover a substantial body of texts (prefaces, memorials, poems and prose inscriptions, postscripts) associated with these now-lost visual materials. These allow us not only to confirm the existence of a pictorial genre, but also make it possible to study this tradition and enquire into the methods used to describe and paint disasters and their victims, the functions of these works, and their modes of transmission. To provide a comprehensive overview of this largely unexplored genre, this essay also takes into account the so-called Tielei tu 鐵淚圖 (Pictures to draw tears from [a man of] iron) series produced during the nineteenth century, which can be considered as later developments of the Liumin tu tradition. The aim of this paper is to show how the study of this overlooked written material, alongside the illustrations that survive, allows for new insights into the role of vernacular images in social and cultural practices during the late imperial period. I also suggest that these visual productions constitute a component of the historical events themselves, mediating the viewer’s perception and awareness of the disaster.
dans Vincent Durand-Dastès et Marie Laureillard (dir.), Fantômes dans l’Extrême-Orient d’hier et d’aujourd’hui, Paris : Presses de l’Inalco, 2017
In China, beggars and other marginal and displaced figures with no clear social place or identity... more In China, beggars and other marginal and displaced figures with no clear social place or identity have long been associated with ghosts an demons. Both were considered marginal beings, dangerous and capable of harm and disruption if ignored. In order to expel or cope with ghosts and malevolent spirits, local communities staged a wide range of apotropaic or prophylactic ritual performances, which often involved street beggars or beggar households (gaihu) in the Suzhou area. In particular, at the end of the lunar year, beggars and the local poor dressed up like ghosts and demons and executed exorcism dances to drive out threatening malevolent forces and start the new year afresh. Zhou Chen's now famous Beggars and Street Characters, painted in Suzhou in 1516, might have been informed by contemporary practices surrounding ritual expulsions of this kind. Providing an inventory of wretchedness, degradation and physical affliction, his figures are indeed often shown with a combination of human and demonic visual features. Through a closer examination of some of the characters, it is the aim of this article to consider the reasons for their fiendish aspect and to explore how their iconographical feat ures shaped audiences' understanding of their overlapping identities.
Essay from the Catalogue " Walasse Ting, the Flower Thief", Paris, Editions Paris Musées, 2017. E... more Essay from the Catalogue " Walasse Ting, the Flower Thief", Paris, Editions Paris Musées, 2017. Exhibition held at Musee Cernuschi, Paris, October 2016-February 2017.
Les oeuvres de jeunesse de Walasse Ting, réalisées à Shanghai durant les années 1946-1948, demeur... more Les oeuvres de jeunesse de Walasse Ting, réalisées à Shanghai durant les années 1946-1948, demeurent mal connues. L'artiste pratique alors uniquement la peinture à l'encre, adoptant volontiers le format du rouleau horizontal et puisant dans un répertoire de thèmes issus pour la plupart de la tradition chinoise. Certaines de ses figures rappellent ainsi celles des décors historiés des vases en bronze des Zhou orientaux ou des bas-reliefs sculptés et des briques estampées des Han, d'autres font clairement allusion au monde du théâtre chinois. Cette période se distingue toutefois par son côté expérimental. Le peintre explore des styles différents, et ses recherches formelles et chromatiques semblent trahir l'influence des avant-gardes occidentales. En témoigne un ensemble de rouleaux horizontaux, qui sont autant de variations sur un thème cher à l'art funéraire Han -celui du char occupé par des personnages importants -, dans lesquels Walasse Ting introduit la distorsion et une certaine déconstruction des formes qui ne sont pas sans évoquer les recherches cubistes 1 . Leurs couleurs franches et non réalistes, dissociées de toute référence à l'objet, montrent que le peintre a également intégré l'apport des fauves. Ces recherches chromatiques se retrouvent dans la plupart de ses oeuvres shanghaiennes, à l'instar d'un rouleau représentant des personnages de l'opéra chinois et illustrant une scène de combat entre trois guerriers qui s'affrontent à coups de sabre, à travers laquelle il explore les rapports entre couleurs et mouvement (fig. 1). L'attention pour les figures
Réalisé en couleurs et à l'encre sur papier, ce long rouleau horizontal anonyme comporte une succ... more Réalisé en couleurs et à l'encre sur papier, ce long rouleau horizontal anonyme comporte une succession continue de scènes figurant quarante-sept mendiants et autres personnages de rue. La peinture s'ouvre sur un groupe de trois personnages. Un enfant s'amuse en tirant sur une sacoche accrochée à la taille d'une vieille femme aveugle. Devant lui, un mendiant s'est arrêté pour jouer du tambour et des claquettes de bambou. Les regards de ces gens se tournent vers un garçon qui pointe du doigt le groupe tout en regardant la scène suivante. Une femme, vue de dos, marche en s'aidant d'un bâton, et semble rappeler l'enfant à elle, tandis qu'un homme s'avance en regardant derrière lui. Il porte sur son dos un panier de bambou, duquel sortent des drapeaux, et mène un singe en laisse. Il s'agit d'un dresseur de singes (shuahou'er 耍猴兒) 1 . Dans la main gauche, il tient un tambour, et la baguette qu'il empoigne de la main droite lui sert à le frapper pour signaler sa présence dans les rues qu'il parcourt. Plus loin, deux aveugles se disputent. L'un, tombé par terre, essaie d'éloigner son agresseur en s'aidant de ses mains et de ses pieds. L'autre homme, debout, lui tire les cheveux et s'apprête à lui asséner un coup. Trois aveugles se tiennent près de ce duo. L'un d'eux, la tête tournée en direction des deux bagarreurs, se tient debout sur une seule jambe à l'aide d'une béquille, alors que l'autre jambe est levée. À côté de lui, un homme tient une canne dans une main et s'accroche au troisième personnage : un musicien aveugle jouant du luth. Apparaissent ensuite deux personnages portant des habits taoïstes, aux postures se faisant écho : l'un vu de dos, la tête tournée vers la droite, porte sur les épaules une palanche à laquelle sont suspendus une boite, une gourde et un ballot ; l'autre, de profil, est aveugle et tient un gong dans la main. Dans le passage suivant, des musiciens aveugles en sont venus aux mains, tandis qu'un homme et un enfant, par leurs gestes, semblent vouloir les calmer. Plus loin, nous apercevons un homme vu de profil, une vieille dame portant un bébé dans les bras et un vieil indigent marchant à l'aide d'une canne et tenant un petit tambour dans la main gauche. Ils sont précédés par un enfant jouant des claquettes qui suit trois individus. Une femme agite un petit tambour pour amuser un marmot porté sur les épaules d'un homme. La scène semble plus divertir l'adulte que le bambin, qui regarde dans la direction opposée. Deux gamins, dont l'un porte un lapin sur les épaules, observent la scène. Devant eux, se tiennent un charmeur de serpents (nongshe'er 弄蛇兒) 2
A partir de l’époque Ming, des peintures se rattachant au genre des Liumin tu 流民圖 (littéralement ... more A partir de l’époque Ming, des peintures se rattachant au genre des Liumin tu 流民圖 (littéralement Les Errants), présentent des mendiants et autres personnages de rue en groupes constitués. Certaines œuvres se présentent comme des critiques d’un gouvernement incapable de pourvoir aux besoins fondamentaux du peuple. D’autres mettent en scène des chemineaux hauts en couleurs, souvent dépeints dans des situations comiques et grotesques qui semblent vouloir susciter plus le rire que la pitié. C’est précisément à ce dernier type de peintures que nous nous intéressons dans cet article, en étudiant un ensemble de quatre rouleaux réalisés selon toute vraisemblance aux époques Ming et Qing et déclinant le même thème. Après en avoir proposé une première interprétation iconographique grâce à la comparaison avec d’autres œuvres produites aux mêmes époques, la lecture et l’analyse d’une postface accompagnant l’une des peintures nous permettent d’envisager ces rouleaux comme des parodies de lettrés qui s’arrangent avec la morale confucéenne pour acquérir richesse et honneurs.
From the Ming dynasty onwards, we see paintings associated with the genre known as Liumin tu流民圖 (Wandering People) representing beggars and street characters in constituted groups. The different existing pictorial presentations of these characters, offer contrasting images of them. Some paintings aim at criticizing the government’s ineffectiveness in providing for people’s needs. Other works portray these lower class figures not in a disturbing or very moving way, but in comic or picaresque situations which show them as more funny than pitiable. This paper examines precisely this latter type of paintings through the analysis of a family of four handscrolls of the same subject, produced in all likelihood during the Ming and Qing dynasties. After proposing an iconographic interpretation of this ensemble by comparing it to works of the same period, we argue that according to the analysis of a colophon appended to one of the scrolls, images of this kind could have been intended as social satire targeting the educated elite, in particular those literati who came to terms with the Confucian values to improve their wealth and position.
Autour du Honchô gashi : sources, place dans l’histoire des traités de peinture, postérité. Journée d'étude organisée dans le cadre du groupe de recherches « Manuscrits à peintures » du CEJ de l’INALCO
This paper will focus on the pictorial representation of blind people during the Qing dynasty, ex... more This paper will focus on the pictorial representation of blind people during the Qing dynasty, exploring the circulation and meaning of these images. Even though village scenes that include blind street musicians already appeared during the Song dynasty – often considered as the golden age of genre painting, it was in fact not until the late seventeenth century that these characters started to be treated as an independent theme in pictorial art. Two distinct sub-genres seemed to have emerged that depict the figures in comic or absurd situations including: blind musicians in the middle of a fight and blind beggars and entertainers dressed as scholars and enjoying antiquities, playing musical instruments, and drinking. Focusing on a neglected group of works produced mainly in Yangzhou, this paper aims to explore the function, meaning and audience of these paintings in particular, so as to reconsider the nature of genre painting (in general) by examining the flourishing of the comic and satirical modes in the specific context of Qing China. I will argue that, far from being simply intended to ridicule blind people themselves, these images rather target the literati or the newly risen merchant class trying to mimic the literati way of life, those people blinded by power and glory and fighting each other for fame and profit. By so doing, the painters are not merely condemning and criticizing these categories of people. In fact, the hope of reforming societal evils underlines in these bitter commentaries.
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Papers by Alice Bianchi
uted by signature to the painter Xiang Shengmo (1597–1658), and com-
posed for the Fujianese collector Yu Junshen (1628–after 1697), who at
the time was living in Nanjing, the centre of Ming loyalists (yimin) during
the second part of the seventeenth century. After analyzing the various
elements that challenge the current attribution to Xiang Shengmo and
reattributing this painting to a less famous master of the time, the arti-
cle highlights the very specific context of its creation and undertakes
an analysis of the picture’s formal aspects and symbolic dimension. It
then turns to a detailed discussion of some of the colophons, composed
by famous loyalists of the time, to consider how they responded to
the dynastic transition. The argument concludes that although the
painting is not by Xiang Shengmo, it is, nonetheless, an important
work, emblematic of the pivotal moment of shift of the Nanjing’s yimin
community from a position of active resistance towards the recently
established Qing dynasty to a condition of passive resistance of the
new rule, symbolized by a lifestyle of social and political withdrawal.
Sequential images depicting disaster and relief emerged as an independent genre in China during the late imperial period. These images have the peculiar feature of representing one-time events that do not rely on well-known sources or fictional tales, even though they contain a textual element. The aim of this chapter is to determine how and using which narrative ingredients these illustrated tales of disasters and their aftermath were constructed. First it defines the historical circumstances of their creation, their function and the main formats used for this kind of pictures. The chapter then focuses on two albums produced during the 19th century. If both series represent floods, in the first one, the bird’s eye views keep the viewer at a distance from the subject, while the second one displays a more dramatic style with powerful and vivid images of the disaster, as photo reports will do a few years later.
From the Ming dynasty onwards, we see paintings associated with the genre known as Liumin tu流民圖 (Wandering People) representing beggars and street characters in constituted groups. The different existing pictorial presentations of these characters, offer contrasting images of them. Some paintings aim at criticizing the government’s ineffectiveness in providing for people’s needs. Other works portray these lower class figures not in a disturbing or very moving way, but in comic or picaresque situations which show them as more funny than pitiable. This paper examines precisely this latter type of paintings through the analysis of a family of four handscrolls of the same subject, produced in all likelihood during the Ming and Qing dynasties. After proposing an iconographic interpretation of this ensemble by comparing it to works of the same period, we argue that according to the analysis of a colophon appended to one of the scrolls, images of this kind could have been intended as social satire targeting the educated elite, in particular those literati who came to terms with the Confucian values to improve their wealth and position.
Talks by Alice Bianchi