Evidence from Paintings

 

 

 

The unit on Painting, especially the section on Painting as a Social Record, included many paintings from the Song and Yuan period that show how people of various statuses dressed.   Below are a few of those illustrations, supplemented with some later ones.  

 

What are the main differences in how men and women dress?  

 

What do you interpret as differences based on wealth, status, or occupation?

 

Do you notice any major changes in the style of dress over time?

 

What levels of social status are represented in this scene?  Which aspects of the garments give you clues to status?

Song period, detail from  The Spring Festival Along the River by Zhang Zeduan
SOURCE:  Zhang Zeduan (Song), Qingming shanghe tu, in Fu Xinian, ed. Zhongguo meishu quanji, Liang Song huihua, shang (Series Vol. 3),  pl. 51. Collection of the National Palace Museum, Beijing.

How are the men and women distinguished in this scene?

Eleventh century tomb wall painting

SOURCE:  Su Bai, ed., Zhongguo meishu quanji huihua pian 12: Mushi bihua (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1984),  pl. 137,  p. 135.   Mural on west wall of tomb, Baisha Town, Yu County, Henan province. Approx. 90 cm h. x 135 cm w.

Would you have known these men were literati even if they did not hold brushes or documents?

Zhou Wenju (10th c), A Literary Garden

SOURCE:  Jin Weinuo, ed., Zhongguo meishu quanji, huihua bian 2: Sui Tang Wudai de huihua yishu  (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1984),  pl. 63,  pp. 124. Collection of the National Palace Museum, Beijing.  Handscroll, ink and colors on silk, 30.4 x 58.5 cm.

What do you notice about sleeves in this scene?

 

How is color used in these people's garments?

Detail from Ma Hezhi, Classic of Filial Piety (12th c)

SOURCE:  Songdai shuhua ceye mingpin techan (Taibei: Guoli Gogong bowu guan, 1995),  pl. 44a.  Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taibei.

 

 

 How do the clothing of these two pairs compare to what we have seen above?

The Night Revels of Han Xizai, attributed to Gu Hongzhong, detail (12th c)

SOURCE:  Zhongguo lidai huihua: Gugong bowuyuan canghua ji, vol. 1 (Beijing: Renmin meishu chubanshe, 1978),  p. 85.

Yuan wall painting

SOURCE:  Zhou Xun. Zhongguo lidai funu zhuangshi. (Hong Kong: Joint Publishing Co. Ltd., 1988), pl. 146.  The mural is from the Yongle gong Daoist temple.
 

What seems to be the status of the people in the illustration below?

Wall painting from a Yuan period Daoist temple
SOURCE:  Yongle gong bihua (Beijing: Waiwen chubanshe, 1997),  p. 84.
ANSWER:  The man on the left is a literati doctor.  He has diagnosed the problem of the seated woman, but an assistant is providing the actual treatment. 

 

During Ming and Qing times, a conspicuous feature of official dress was the use of rank badges.  Different birds or animals indicated the rank of the official in the civil or military hierarchy.

Ming portrait of Jiang Shunfu

SOURCE:  Mingqing renwuxiaoxiang huaxuan (Nanjing: Nanjing Bowuguan, 1979), pl. 16.

Take a closer look at the badge on his garment.  Also note the subtle patterning of the black silk.

Does anything else besides the badge add distinction to his costume?

HINT:  Notice the belt worn by this official and the one in the portrait below.

Ming portrait of Jiang Shunfu, detail

SOURCE:  Mingqing renwuxiaoxiang huaxuan (Nanjing: Nanjing Bowuguan, 1979), pl. 16.

 

Sometimes the badges were made using gold thread for the background.

Qing portrait of Xu Ruke

SOURCE:  Mingqing renwuxiaoxiang huaxuan (Nanjing: Nanjing Bowuguan, 1979),  pl. 51.

Move on to Evidence from Photographs