Contemplating the Ancients "endnotes"

Notes

1— Introduction

1. Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein on Picasso, pp. 17-18, emphasis added. See also Wendy Steiner, Exact Resemblance to Exact Resemblance: The Literary Portraiture of Gertrude Stein (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1978).

2. As T. J. Clark comments: "In the greatest portraits we can see the tension between the sitter as subject-matter and the sitter as public; in Raphael's Portrait of Leo X we have on the one hand the painter's simple ruthless sight of the Pope, and on the other his scrupulous representation of the sitter's effort to determine the way he is seen. But some such dialogue—and disagreement—goes on all the time, even when the artist is not concerned to give form to it so explicitly" ( Image of the People [Greenwich: New York Graphic Society, 1973], p. 15).

3. Nanjing bowuyuan, "Nanjing Xishanqiao Nanchao mu ji qi zhuanke bihua." See also the English translation and discussion of Alexander C. Soper, "A New Chinese Tomb Discovery: The Earliest Representation of a Famous Literary Theme"; Nagahiro Toshio, "Shin So * kan no Chikurin Shichiken to Eikei-ki no gazu"; Yao Qian and Gu Bing, Liuchao yishu, figs. 162-79.

4. See, for example, Chen Zhi, "Duiyu Nanjing Xishanqiao Nanchao mu zhuanke Zhulin qixian tu de guanjian," pp. 47-48; Lin Shuzhong, "Jiangsu Danyang Nan Qi lingmu zhuanyin bihua"; Nanjing bowuyuan, "Shitan 'Zhulin qixian ji Rong Qiqi' zhuanyin bihua wenti"; Ellen Johnston Laing, "Neo-Taoism and the 'Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove' in Chinese Painting."

5. Nanjing bowuyuan, "Jiangsu Danyang Huqiao Nanchao damu ji zhuanke bihua."

6. Nanjing bowuyuan, "Jiangsu Danyangxian Huqiao, Jianshan liangzuo Nanchao mu zang"; see also Yao and Gu, Liuchao yishu, figs. 183-223.

7. Unfortunately, little uniformity exists in the use of such terms as "Nanbeichao" (Southern and Northern Dynasties), "Liuchao" (Six Dynasties), and so forth. For the purposes of this study, Nanbeichao refers to the period dating from the founding of the Eastern Jin dynasty to the reunification of the empire, A.D. 317-581. Liuchao includes only the southern states or dynasties from Wu (founded A.D. 222) through fall of Chen ( A.D. 589). break

8. A notable exception are the lyrical remarks of Otto Fischer in "La peinture chinoise au temps des Han."

9. Berthold Lauffer, "Confucius and His Portraits" ( Open Court 26.3 [1912]): 147-68; William Cohn, Ostasiatische Porträt Malerei; Serge Elisséev, "Notes sur le Portrait en Extrême-Orient."

10. Max Loehr, "The Beginnings of Portrait Painting in China."

11 Ching-lang Hou, "Recherches sur le peinture du portrait en Chine, au debut de la dynastie Han (206-141 avant J.-C.)."

12. Tullio de Mauro, Luigi Grassi, and Eugenio Battisti, "Portraiture," in Encyclopedia of World Art. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1959-1983.

13. J. D. Breckenridge, Likeness: A Conceptual History of Ancient Portraiture, chap. 1.

14. Ibid., p. 4.

15. Ibid., p. 7.

16. Ibid., p. 10.

13. J. D. Breckenridge, Likeness: A Conceptual History of Ancient Portraiture, chap. 1.

14. Ibid., p. 4.

15. Ibid., p. 7.

16. Ibid., p. 10.

13. J. D. Breckenridge, Likeness: A Conceptual History of Ancient Portraiture, chap. 1.

14. Ibid., p. 4.

15. Ibid., p. 7.

16. Ibid., p. 10.

13. J. D. Breckenridge, Likeness: A Conceptual History of Ancient Portraiture, chap. 1.

14. Ibid., p. 4.

15. Ibid., p. 7.

16. Ibid., p. 10.

17. E. H. Gombrich, "The Mask and the Face: The Perception of Physiognomic Likeness in Life and in Art."

18. E. H. Gombrich, "Action and Expression in Western Art," p. 373.

19. E. H. Gombrich, Art and Illusion, p. 90.

20. Richard Brilliant, "On Portraits," pp. 12-13.

21. Gombrich, Art and Illusion, p. 90. For penetrating comments on culture and sensibility, see Clifford Geertz, "Art as a Cultural System." The witticism of L. Schücking is also pertinent: "The soil does not, of course, create the eel as Aristotle thought, but the generalization no mud, no eel would be fairly near the truth" (cited by Andrew Stewart, Attika: Studies in Athenian Sculpture of the Hellenistic Age [Supplementary Paper No. 14. London: Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, 1979], p. 133).

2— Virtue Triumphant

1. Loehr, "Beginnings," p. 211. For studies of the art of Han, see F. S. Drake, "Sculptured Stones of the Han Dynasty"; Fischer, "Peinture chinoise"; Hou, "Recherches"; Nagahiro Toshio, Kandai gazo * no kenkyu * .

2. Loehr, "Beginnings"; Laing, "Neo-Taoism." When Ellen Laing conducted her research, only one set of Seven Worthies murals was available to her. She was therefore denied the advantage of the broader sample available to me. Indeed, it was the later publication of two more sets of portraits that first prompted my reexamination of the issues.

3. Laing, "Neo-Taoism," p. 8.

4. For a recent application of the concept of individualism, more Western than Chinese in its approach, see Ying-shih Yü, "Individualism and the Neo-Taoist Movement in Wei-Chin China." For important studies of the concept of man in the early period, see, e.g., Donald J. Munro, The Concept of Man in Early China (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1969); Herbert Fingarette, Confucius—The Secular as Sacred (New York: Harper Torchbooks, Harper and Row, 1972).

5. Nagahiro, Kandai gazo no kenkyu, p. 10 (English summary).

6. For the archaeological report of the spectacular Mawangdui finds, see continue

Hunansheng bowuguan, Changsha Mawangdui yihao Han mu; the probable identity of the corpse and date of the tomb are discussed in vol. 1, pp. 156-58. Many of the early research papers on the tomb and its contents have been collected in Hunansheng bowuguan, Mawangdui Han mu yanjiu. See also Chow Fong, "Ma-Wang-Tui"; Michael Loewe, Ways to Paradise, pp. 29-30, for dating. I wish to express my gratitude to the authorities at the Hunan Provincial Museum for their generous help when I visited the museum in 1984.

7. For possible functions, see, e.g., Shang Zhitan, "Mawangdui yihao Han mu 'feiyi' shishi"; Sun Zuoyun, "Changsha Mawangdui yihao Han mu chutu huafan kaoshi"; Hou, "Recherches," p. 55. For the disagreements, see Loewe, Ways to Paradise, p. 33; Anna Seidel, "Tokens of Immortality in Han Graves." For other examples of "journey" paintings, see Wang Zhongshu, Han Civilization, p. 181.

8. Loewe, Paradise, p. 46.

9. Tjoe-som Tjan, trans., Po Hu T'ung: The Comprehensive Discussions in the White Tiger Hall, vol. 2, p. 487. See also James Legge, trans., Li Ki III.V.6; X.II.1.

10. When I was in China, several scholars expressed to me their conviction that the figure of the countess in the painting is a physical likeness of the deceased. Insofar as gender and age are concerned, I agree. Dessication of the corpse, however, prevents an accurate comparison of profiles. One can observe a similarity of all the profiles of the lady and her female attendants, who may all be members of the same family and share a family resemblance. The profile shapes may, however, be conventional. The question of likeness remains open.

11. Innumerable references to inclining the body, bending the body, bowing, etc., as gestures of deference or submission in a variety of contexts are found in the Li ji. See, e.g., Legge, Li Ki IX.III.23. For the offering of the tray, see Li Ki, I.II.I-1.1: "When a thing is carried with both hands, it should be held on a level with the heart."

12. An Zhimin believes these two figures to be the Dasiming and Xiaosiming, the Greater and Lesser Lords of Life ("Changsha xinfaxian de Xi Han bohua shitan," p. 45). Michael Loewe, however, disputes this and believes them to be the Porters, or Gate-wardens, of Heaven ( Paradise, pp. 33, 48-49).

13. Loewe, Paradise, p. 30; Shang Zhitan, "Mawangdui," p. 43, for summoning the soul; Wang Zhongshu, Han Civilization, p. 181, for the funeral procession. For the status of and distances traveled by guests at one Western Han funeral, see Yangzhou bowuguan et al., "Jiangsu Hanjiang Huchang wuhao Han mu," W W 1981.11:17, 20.

14. Hunansheng bowuguan, "Changsha Mawangdui ersanhao Han mu fajue jianbao," pp. 39-48, 63; Jin Weinuo, "Tan Changsha Mawangdui sanhao Han mu bohua," pp. 40-44. The tomb is datable to 168 B.C. When in Changsha, I was informed that the male figure clearly discernible on the copy of this banner, currently on display at the Hunan Provincial Museum, was a reconstruction based on two images in the badly damaged silk painting attached to the wall of the tomb. I do not doubt that the figure on the banner is a portrait of the male deceased, but I do not think that it can be used as evi- soft

dence. For discussion, see Hou, "Recherches," p. 45. Sun Zuoyun suggests that one small figure on the no. 1 coffin may be a portrait of the deceased ("Changsha Mawangdui," p. 254); see also Hou, "Recherches," pp. 45-47. The suggestion is tempting, but this tiny image is so badly damaged as to be barely discernible.

15. Hunansheng bowuguan, "Ersanhao Han mu," p. 43. For the distinction between hun and po, see, e.g., Loewe, Paradise, pp. 9ff. For other kinds of "reports," see, e.g., the list of deities to whom sacrifices were made for the protection of the deceased found in a Western Han tomb in Hanjiang County, Jiangsu ( WW 1981. 11:17).

16. Linyi Jinqueshan Han mu fajue zu, "Shandong Linyi Jinqueshan jiuhao Han mu fajue jianbao," pp. 24-27 (p. 26 for discussion of date); Liu Jiaji and Liu Bingsen, "Jinqueshan Xi Han bohua linmo hougan," pp. 28-31.

17. The figure's blue robe and seated position to the right of the other figures are the traditional "signs" of an elderly woman (Liu and Liu, "Jinqueshan," p. 30). Since the coiffures of the accompanying figures resemble those of the seated woman, we may infer that these figures are also female.

18. No preserved corpse survives to corroborate this assumption. On the contrary, it is the painting that is used as evidence for the assumption that the wood coffin was used for the burial of a female.

19. The collar, or lapel, of this robe has more folds or stripes than have the others; stripes or folds decorate his lower sleeve, whereas none appear on the sleeves of others. More important, the stripe at the bottom of the right figure's robe is measurably broader than the lower stripes of the others', while hanging from his sash or girdle is the shou, the ritual or court braid that reveals the "wearer's station in life." Varying-colored shou were prescribed for different ranks. As Zhongguo lidai fushi points out, headgear denotes office; the shou denotes rank within the office or within the nobility (p. 39).

20. Tjan, Po Hu T'ung, vol. 2, p. 623.

21. Juan 30, p. 1717.

22. Hou Han shu, juan 62, p. 2068.

23. Ibid., juan 64, p. 2108. For the political implications of this act, see Martin J. Powers, "Pictorial Art and Its Public in Early Imperial China," p. 150.

22. Hou Han shu, juan 62, p. 2068.

23. Ibid., juan 64, p. 2108. For the political implications of this act, see Martin J. Powers, "Pictorial Art and Its Public in Early Imperial China," p. 150.

24. Han shu, juan 65, p. 2841. Translated by Burton Watson, Courtier and Commoner, p. 80.

25. "Lu Lingguang dian fu," Wen xuan, juan 1, pp. 233-34.

26. Ibid., p. 233.

25. "Lu Lingguang dian fu," Wen xuan, juan 1, pp. 233-34.

26. Ibid., p. 233.

27. Han shu, juan 53 p. 2428.

28. See Robert L. Thorp, "The Mortuary Art and Architecture of Early Imperial China."

29. Édouard Chavannes, Mission archéologique dans la Chine septentrionale, vol. 2, atlas, fig. 75; Feng Yunpeng and Feng Yunyuan, Jinshi suo, juan 9.

30. Shi ji, by Sima Qian, juan 17, p. 1909; juan 63, p. 2140.

31. For Sichuan, see Wen You, Sichuan Handai huaxiang xuanji, fig. 43; for Jiangsu, Chavannes, Mission, vol. 1, fig. 1218; for Shandong, Chavannes, Mission, vol. 2, atlas, figs. 137, 169; Université de Paris, Corpus des pierres sculptées Han (Estampages), vol. 1, fig. 118; vol. 2, figs. 194, 219; for Helingeer, Helingeer Han mu bihua, pp. 24-25, 138. break

32. For Shandong, Chavannes, Mission, vol. 1, p. 1235; vol. 2, atlas, fig. 194; Université de Paris, Corpus des pierres, vol. 1, figs. 112, 170, 191, 195; vol. 2, fig. 87; Käte Finsterbusch, Verzeichnis und Motivindex der Han-Darstellungen, vol. 2, fig. 352; WW [979.9:3, 4, figs. 5 and 7; WW 1982.5:74-84, figs. 9.12, 10.13; Zeng Zhaoyu et al., Yinan guhuaxiang shimu fajue baogao, p. 40, plate 59, fig. 48. For Henan: KG 1964.2, fig. 1.1; Finsterbusch, Verzeichnis, vol. 2, fig. 1013. For Shaanxi: Finsterbusch, Verzeichnis 2, fig. 404. Finsterbusch also reproduces an uninscribed stone from Sichuan identical to Wen You's fig. 43 (vol. 2, fig. 145).

33. Cited by Anna Seidel, La Divinisation de Lao Tseu dans le Taoïsme des Han, p. 109 and n. 2.

34. Ibid., pp. 122-23.

33. Cited by Anna Seidel, La Divinisation de Lao Tseu dans le Taoïsme des Han, p. 109 and n. 2.

34. Ibid., pp. 122-23.

35. Chavannes, Mission, vol. 2, atlas, fig. 137; Feng and Feng, Jinshi suo, shisuo 4.

36. Michel Soymié, "L'Entrevue de Confucius et de Hiang T'o," pp. 367-87; see also WW 1979 9:3, 4 and figs. 5, 7.

37. Zeng, Yinan, p. 40.

38. Édouard Chavannes, Les Mémoires historiques de Se-ma Ts'ien, vol. 5, pp. 299-301, n. 4; Chavannes, Mission, vol. 1, p. 220. For the disagreements, as well as a full discussion of the historicity of the meeting, see Aat Vervoorn, "Eremitism in China to 220 A.D. ," pp. 95, n. 127; 180, n. 31. The reality of the encounter is of no concern for the problem posed here. What matters is the tradition, or shared belief.

39. For a summary of the political conflicts of Latter Han, see Chi-yun Chen, Hsün Yüeh ( A.D. 148-209): The Life and Reflections of an Early Medieval Confucian, chap. 2; for the nature of Han Confucianism, see Benjamin E. Wallacker, "Han Confucianism and Confucius in Han." For the union of Confucian and Daoist themes in Han funerary art, and for their political implications, see, e.g., Martin Powers, "Hybrid Omens and Public Issues in Early Imperial China," pp. 28-32.

40. T'ung-tsu Ch'ü, Han Social Structure, p. 205. For the discussion of the political uses of this standard for recommendation, see pp. 204-7.

41. Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 16, pp. 514-15. The Hou Han shu states that in A.D. 165 the emperor sacrificed to Laozi at the temple in Huxian; the following year he sacrificed to Laozi in the Palace of the Brilliant Dragon ( juan 8, p. 3188).

42. Shuijing zhu, juan 23, p. 742. This also dates the erection of the temple, for it must have been between A.D. 147, the year of Huan's accession, and 149. If so, the emperor was still a child and under the influence of his relatives by marriage, the Liang family. It was not until 159 that the emperor, aided by the eunuchs, wrested control of the government. During the years thereafter, the Confucian officials and scholars were to become increasingly alienated. For an account of the events that led to the Great Proscription of scholars and officials of 167-184, see Rafe DeCrespigny, "Politics and Philosophy under the Government of Emperor Huan (159-168 A.D. )" and Portents of Protest in the Later Han Dynasty.

43. See DeCrespigny, "Politics and Philosophy," p. 75.

44. Ibid., pp. 76-80; Anna Seidel, "The Image of the Perfect Ruler in early Taoist Messianism" and Divinisation, pp. 37-43, 111-12. break

43. See DeCrespigny, "Politics and Philosophy," p. 75.

44. Ibid., pp. 76-80; Anna Seidel, "The Image of the Perfect Ruler in early Taoist Messianism" and Divinisation, pp. 37-43, 111-12. break

45. Translated by Anna Seidel, in "Image of the Perfect Ruler," p. 225, emphasis added. For the changing status of Laozi during Latter Han, see also Seidel, Divinisation; Ying-shih Yü, "Life and Immortality in the Mind of Han China," pp. 104-5 and n. 103; DeCrespigny, "Politics and Philosophy," pp. 76-80.

46. Tjan, Po Hu T'ung, vol. 2, p. 587.

47. Shi ji, juan 47, p. 1909.

48. Huainanzi, juan 19, p. 17a, adds that Confucius listened to his words.

49. Soymié, "L'Entrevue," pp. 367-73.

50. Han shu, juan 56, p. 2510. The identification of "the person from Daxiang" as Xiang To is made by Meng Kang, n. 2.

51. Soymié, "L'Entrevue," p. 379.

52. WW 1979.9:5, fig. 7.

53. "The Master said, 'To those whose talents are above mediocrity, the highest subjects may be announced. To those who are below mediocrity, the highest subjects may not be announced'" ( Analects 6. 19 [James Legge trans., The Chinese Classics, vol. 1; reprint, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1970]).

54. I wish to thank Martin Powers for sharing with me his interpretation of the Xiang To image. Many of his ideas are incorporated in my discussion.

55. Analects 2. 19 (Legge translation).

56. Tjan, Po Hu T'ung, vol. 2, p. 600. Three chapters of this work are devoted to wearing apparel. With regard to degrees of and dress for mourning, Legge remarks that "no other subject occupies so prominent a place in many of the books of the Li Ki" ( Li Ki, Appendix to Book II, p. 202).

57. For a study of the various forms of Han dynasty eremitism, see Vervoorn, "Eremitism."

58. Rakuro * Saikyo * -tsuka, plates 40-52. For an early report of this find in English, see Kosaku * Hamada, "On the Painting of the Han Period," pp. 36-38.

59. Laurence Sickman and Alexander Soper, The Art and Architecture of China, p. 74, figs. 42 and 43.

60. Rakuro, pp. 1-8 (Chinese text).

61. Ibid., p. 1. Shi ji, juan 55, pp. 2044-47; Han shu, juan 40, pp. 2033-36; juan 72, p. 3056. It is possible that the basket dates from about the same time as the completion of Ban Gu's history, ca. A.D. 80.

60. Rakuro, pp. 1-8 (Chinese text).

62. Shi ji, juan 55, p. 2047; Han shu, juan 40, p. 2036.

63. Vervoorn, "Eremitism," pp. 208-9; for Latter Han rulers' conspicuous attempts to woo recluses and scholars to court, esp. chap. 3; for moral and exemplary eremitism, pp. 237ff; for fame, pp. 321-22.

64. Hamada, "Painting of the Han," p. 38. The remark occurs in a discussion of the very high quality of the painting.

65. Vervoorn, however, cites a lacquer worker, Shentin Pan, who was also a scholar ("Eremitism," p. 249).

66. Maribeth Graybill, "Kasen-e: An Investigation into the Origins of the Tradition of Poet Pictures in Japan," p. 53.

67. Zhongguo lidai fushi identifies the robes of the seated figures as those of government officials (p. 46, fig. 63). The decorous garments of the Four continue

Graybeards make it clear that their flight to the mountains was a virtuous flight that had nothing to do with extra-Confucian concerns.

68. Analects 2. 10 (Legge translation).

3— Portraits of Jin

1. Zeng et al., Yinan, chap. 6, esp. pp. 52ff. Zeng concludes that the tomb must have been constructed before A.D. 193 (pp. 60-61); Hsio-yen Shih, however, suggests late third to early fourth century ("I-nan and Related Tombs," pp. 309-10). An Zhimin, evaluating those architectural and pictorial elements of the tomb that appear to be post-Han, proposed a third-century, Wei-Jin, date (cited in Zeng et al., Yinan, pp. 58, 60).

2. Zeng et al., Yinan, pp. 61-62ff. The argument is forceful, although not conclusive, for the tomb at Yinan may, in fact, reflect already deteriorating conditions in the region. Although larger and appreciably more elaborate than the Six Dynasties tombs I shall discuss, it is less than half the size of the early-third-century stone tomb at Dahuting in Henan province, for example (An Jinhuai and Wang Yugang, "Mixian Dahuting Handai huaxiang shimu he bihuamu" [ WW 1972. 10:49-62]).

3. Zhongshu Wang, Han Civilization, pp. 178-79.

4. Full description and discussion in Zeng et al., Yinan, and Shih, "I-nan."

5. Chhae Pyeong-seo, "Anak-kunbang * pyokhwa * kobunpalgul surok"; Hong Qingyu, "Guanyu Dong Shou mu de faxian he yanjiu"; Okazaki Takashi, "Angaku daisango * fun no kenkyu * "; Su Bai, "Chaoxian Anyue suo faxian de Dong Shou mu"; K. H. J. Gardiner, Early History of Korea, pp. 40-43 and Appendix 1.

6. Dong Shou's tomb is larger than the one at Yinan and measures at its full length approximately ten meters north to south, eight meters at its widest.

7. Su Bai, "Dong Shou," pp. 101-2.

8. Ibid., p. 102. Not everyone accepts Su Bai's third-century dates for the Liaoyang tombs. See, for a Han dynasty date, Wilma Fairbank and Masao Kitano, "Han Mural Paintings in the Pei-Yuan Tomb at Liao-yang, South Manchuria," pp. 168ff for Han-Wei dating, Li Wenxin, "Liaoyang faxian de sanzuo bihua gumu," p. 39.

7. Su Bai, "Dong Shou," pp. 101-2.

9. Su Bai, "Dong Shou," p. 102. The caisson décor, according to Su Bai, includes colored wavy lines, lotus blossoms, and grasses, all characteristic of Buddhist—i.e., Nanbeichao—motifs.

10. For Liaoyang scenes, see Li Wenxin, "Liaoyang"; Fairbank and Kitano, "Han Mural Paintings."

11. Liaoningsheng bowuguan, "Chaoyang Yuantaizi Dong Jin bihua mu," plate 5, fig. 2.

12. Ibid., pp. 30-31, figs. 2 and 3.

13. Ibid., p. 44.

11. Liaoningsheng bowuguan, "Chaoyang Yuantaizi Dong Jin bihua mu," plate 5, fig. 2.

12. Ibid., pp. 30-31, figs. 2 and 3.

13. Ibid., p. 44.

11. Liaoningsheng bowuguan, "Chaoyang Yuantaizi Dong Jin bihua mu," plate 5, fig. 2.

12. Ibid., pp. 30-31, figs. 2 and 3.

13. Ibid., p. 44.

14. Gardiner assesses the controversy in Korea, Appendix I.

15. Jin shu, juan 109, p. 2815. The graph for Dong in the history differs continue

slightly from that of the tomb inscription, the former adding the "man" radical.

16. Gardiner, Korea, pp. 40-43.

17. Ibid., p. 42, in agreement with Su Bai ("Dong Shou," pp. 103-4) and Hong Qingyu ("Dong Shou," p. 35).

18. Ibid., p. 42 and Appendix I. Su Bai and Hong Qingyu also assume the occupant to have been Dong Shou.

16. Gardiner, Korea, pp. 40-43.

17. Ibid., p. 42, in agreement with Su Bai ("Dong Shou," pp. 103-4) and Hong Qingyu ("Dong Shou," p. 35).

18. Ibid., p. 42 and Appendix I. Su Bai and Hong Qingyu also assume the occupant to have been Dong Shou.

16. Gardiner, Korea, pp. 40-43.

17. Ibid., p. 42, in agreement with Su Bai ("Dong Shou," pp. 103-4) and Hong Qingyu ("Dong Shou," p. 35).

18. Ibid., p. 42 and Appendix I. Su Bai and Hong Qingyu also assume the occupant to have been Dong Shou.

19. Han Tang bihua, plate 8 (Beijing: Waiwen chubanshe, 1975); Helingeer, p. 51; Ren Rixin, "Shandong Zhucheng Han mu huaxiang shi" ( WW 1981.10:14-21), fig. 8. The Master of Records portrait depicts, of course, not the deceased but a member of his staff.

20. Liaoningsheng bowuguan, "Gaishu Liaoningsheng kaogu xinshouhuo," p. 93.

21. Construction details of the tomb are fully discussed in Nanjing, "Xishanqiao," and Soper, "Tomb Discovery."

22. Ge Zhigong, "Nanjing Xishanqiao Dong Jin Taihe sinian muqingli jianbao"; Nanjing bowuyuan, "Nanjing Zhongshanmenwai Musuyuan Dong Jin muqingli jianbao."

23. Only one of these bricks has been published. See Nanjing, "Xishanqiao," p. 38 and fig. 8.

24. Wang Zhimin et al., Nanjing Liuchao taoyong; Edmund Capon, "Chinese Tomb Figures of the Six Dynasties Period."

25. Many of the other bricks used in construction of the tomb bore similar instructions; still others were inscribed with what seem to be names of workmen.

26. See, for example, Wilma Fairbank, "A Structural Key to Han Mural Art."

27. Li Weiran, "Nanjing Liuchao mu qingli jianbao." I wish to express my gratitude to the authorities at the Municipal Museum of Nanjing for permitting me to examine these multiple bricks, and especially to Li Weiran for his help.

28. Ibid., p. 232, fig. 2.4.

29. Single bricks with multiple designs are found as early as the Western Han period. The large and superb hollow brick "rose finch" relief found near the tomb of Huo Qubing in Shaanxi, for example, bears a second design in relief on its top, narrow side.

30. Nanjing, "Xishanqiao," p. 41.

31. Terukazu Akiyama et al., Arts of China, vol. 1, pp. 227-29.

32. Agreement on the species of trees in the reliefs, apparent forerunners of those frequently depicted on stone sarcophagi of the sixth century, is scant. Pine, willow, gingko, bamboo, and locust are among those proposed. See, e.g., Nanjing, "Xishanqiao," pp. 41-42; Soper, "Tomb Discovery," pp. 83-85; Akiyama et al., Arts of China, vol. 1, p. 227; Laing, "Neo-Taoism," p. 11 and n. 31. Few earlier pictorial sources for these trees have been found. Their variety may reflect the introduction of new plants from the south. See Huilin Li, Nan-fang ts'ao-mu chuang: A Fourth Century Flora of Southeast Asia (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1979).

33. Biographies in Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 21, pp. 605-7; Jin shu, juan continue

49, pp. 1369-74. See also Donald Holzman, La Vie et la pensée de Hi K'ang (223-262 ap. J.-C).

34. The original report speaks of a small duck floating in the bowl (Nanjing, "Xishanqiao," p. 41; see also Laing, "Neo-Taoism," p. 12, n. 34). I suggest, however, that the object is a dipper with a bird-head handle, a miniature version, for example, of the wine vessel unearthed in an Eastern Jin tomb on the grounds of Nanjing University (Nanjing daxue lishixi kaoguzu, "Nanjing Daxue bei yuan Dong Jin mu," p. 48, fig. 13). See, for another example, Yunmengxian bowuguan, "Hebei Yunmeng Lalidun yihao mu qingli jianbao" ( KG 1984.7:612, fig. 6.6-7).

35. Biographies in Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 21, pp. 604-5; Jin shu, juan 49, PP. 1359-62. See also Donald Holzman, Poetry and Politics: The Life and Work of Ruan Ji A.D. 210-262.

36. Jin shu, juan 43, PP. 1223-30.

37. For the ruyi (lit., "as you wish"), see J. LeRoy Davidson, "The Origin and Early Use of the Ju-i"; E. Zürcher, The Buddhist Conquest of China, vol. 2, p. 407, n. 59.

38. For the official biography, see Jin shu, vol. 43, pp. 1231-35.

39. Ibid., juan 49, pp. 1374-75.

40. Ibid., pp. 1375-76.

41. Ibid., pp. 1362-63.

38. For the official biography, see Jin shu, vol. 43, pp. 1231-35.

39. Ibid., juan 49, pp. 1374-75.

40. Ibid., pp. 1375-76.

41. Ibid., pp. 1362-63.

38. For the official biography, see Jin shu, vol. 43, pp. 1231-35.

39. Ibid., juan 49, pp. 1374-75.

40. Ibid., pp. 1375-76.

41. Ibid., pp. 1362-63.

38. For the official biography, see Jin shu, vol. 43, pp. 1231-35.

39. Ibid., juan 49, pp. 1374-75.

40. Ibid., pp. 1375-76.

41. Ibid., pp. 1362-63.

42. Juan 9, p. 5b. Other casual references in the text make it clear that by the second century B.C. Rong Qiqi was a well-known figure (e.g., juan 11, p. 22b).

43. For studies of the Seven Worthies, see He Qimin, Zhulin qixian yanjiu; Donald Holzman, "Les Sept Sages de la Forêt des Bambous et la société de leur temps."

44. See, for example, Zeng, Yinan, plate 53, fig. 42; plates 56-58, figs. 45-47.

45. That is, none were found aside from those relating to tomb construction. Previous damage may well have destroyed inscribed tablets, which were not uncommon in the fourth century. At some time between 405 and 419, however, the prohibition on the use of stone animals and tablets in burials, which had long been ignored, was once again enforced and remained so at least until the period of Southern Qi ( Song shu, juan 46, p. 407). Thus the tomb may have been constructed after 405, although a few inscribed tablets from tombs constructed during the period of prohibition have been unearthed (see Luo Zongzhen, "Nanjing xinchutu Liangdai mu zhi pingshu," p. 29).

46. See, for example, the discussion in Lin Shuzhong, "Nan Qi lingmu," p. 71.

47. Nanjing bowuyuan, "Huqiao Nanchao damu" and "Huqiao, Jianshan" (translated by Barry Till and Paula Swart, "Two Tombs of the Southern Dynasties at Huqiao and Jianshan in Danyang County, Jiangsu Province"); Nanjing bowuyuan, "Shitan 'Zhulin qixian'"; Lin Shuzhong, "Nan Qi lingmu." For articles on the stone animals of royal burials, see Barry Till, "Some Observations on Stone Winged Chimeras at Ancient Chinese Tomb Sites," Artibus Asiae 42.4 (1980): 261-81, and "Tomb Sculptures of the Southern Dynasties," Arts of Asia 11 (1981): 114-28. break

4— Patterns to the Future

1. Li Wenxin, "Liaoyang," p. 39, fig. 31. See also Fairbank and Kitano, "Han Mural Paintings."

2. LDMHJ, vol. 1, pp. 73-75.

3. For example, Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 16, pp. 512-13; ( Shu shu ), juan 35 PP. 928-29, juan 42, pp. 1033; ( Wu shu ) , juan 54, pp. 1285, juan 57, pp. 1334.

4. "Jingfudian fu," Wen xuan, juan 1, pp. 240-41.

5. LDMHJ, vols. 21, p. 83; 2.2, p. 72.

6. Fan Wenlan, Zhongguo tongshi, vol. 2, chap. 3; Rafe DeCrespigny, The Last of the Han, translates chaps. 58-68 of Sima Guang's Zizhi tongjian. For an excellent summary of events, see Chen, Hsün Yüeh, esp. chaps. I and 2.

7. Biography of Zhuge Liang, Sanguo zhi (Shu shu), juan 35, pp. 911-37. See also Chi Li, "Changing Concept of the Recluse in Chinese Literature," pp. 239-40.

8. The claim is tenuous but a good sign that the clan's more immediate ancestry was less than illustrious. For this, and its local status, see Rafe DeCrespigny, The Biography of Sun Chien, p. 55, n. 2.

9. It is doubtful, for example, that he controlled the marches of Gansu; control of the territories to the northeast—Liaoyang, Lelang, etc.—was most certainly a sometime thing.

10. For a recent study of the capital, see Paul Steven Levine, "The Development of the Medieval City in South China: Chien K'ang from the Second to the Sixth Centuries A.D. "

11. Chen, Hsün Yüeh, pp. 22-23.

12. I use the poor abused word ideology in its OED definition: a system of ideas concerning phenomena, especially those of social life.

13. For the dilemma of one Confucian, see Chen, Hsün Yüeh.

14. Confucianism survived, of course, "in the mystique of imperial rule, and . . . as the heritage of culture in the new elite circles, a cultural continuity sustained by classical education, family traditions, and the clan mores of the great aristocratic households" (ibid., p. 164).

15. For a general account of political philosophy of the period, see Kungchuan Hsiao, A History of Chinese Political Thought, vol. 1, chap. 11.

16. R. P. Kramers, translator, K'ung Tsu Chia Yu: The School Sayings of Confucius.

17. For the biography of Wang Bi, see Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 28, pp. 795-96. For recent translations of his Dao dejing, see Paul J. Lin, A Translation of Lao Tz'u's "Tao Te Ching" and Wang Pi's "Commentary"; Ariane Rump and Wing-tsit Chan, Commentary on the "Lao Tzu" by Wang Pi. For interpretations of Wang Bi's commentaries as attempts to reconcile the philosophies of Confucianism and Daoism, see Yung-t'ung T'ang, "Wang Pi's New Interpretation of the I-ching and Lun-yü"; Arthur F. Wright, "Review of A. A. Petrov, Wang Pi (226-249): His Place in the History of Chinese Philosophy."

18. Wing-tsit Chan has noted that ziran appears as a term in the Laozi text five times, whereas it occurs twenty-five times in Wang Bi's commentary (Rump, Wang Pi, p. xvii). break

19. "Jingfudian fu," Wen xuan, juan 1, pp. 235-36. Translated in Hsiao, Chinese Political Thought, vol. 1, p. 618, n. 42. See also Richard B. Mather, "The Controversy over Conformity and Naturalness during the Six Dynasties," p. 164.

20. "Whatever policies it adopted would spring spontaneously in response to what each situation called for. They would come forth from the Nonactual ( wu ), the substratum of all actual events ( yu ) [ you ]" (Mather, "Controversy," p. 164). And Guo Xiang's commentary: "One must not fail to look carefully into the term non-action. The one who wields the empire . . . thereby undertakes the action of wielding. . . . Such action, however, is that of (the ruler's) own fulfillment for he fully accords with the natures of things, and for that reason it is called non-action" (Hsiao, Chinese Political Philosophy, vol. 1, p. 616). Legitimacy thus requires no longer the Mandate of Heaven but the Concordance with Nature. For wu/you, see A. C. Graham, "'Being' in Western Philosophy Compared with Shih/Fei and Yu/Wu in Chinese Philosophy."

21. For jiupin studies, see Donald Holzman, "Les Débuts du système médiéval de choix et de classement des fonctionnaires: Les Neufs Catégories et l'Impartial et Juste"; Miyakawa Hisayuki, "Chusei * seido no kenkyu * " (in Rikucho * shi kenkyu: seiji shakai hen, chap. 4); Miyazaki Ichisada, Kyuhin * kanjin ho no kenkyu: kakyo zenshi; Tang Changru, "Jiupin zhongzheng zhidu shishi." Of considerable interest for this study are the remarks of Yoshio Kawakatsu, "L'Aristocratie et la société féodale au début des Six Dynasties."

22. With the dislocation brought on by political and military upheavals, it was impossible to utilize the Han principle of relying on officials who were native to the district and who could therefore be expected to know all the local families. For the high rank of the examiners, see Holzman, "Débuts du système médiéval," pp. 406-7.

23. E.g., the complaint of Liu Yi (d. 285), Jin shu, juan 45, p. 1276. For "the old days," see Holzman, "Débuts du système médiéval," p. 391; Tang Changru, "Jiupin," pp. 89-91. For the historical significance of the new system, see Holzman, "Débuts du système médiéval," p. 414.

24. Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 1, p. 32. See also Tang Changru, "Jiupin," pp. 96-97.

25. "Men of superior intelligence, outstanding talent / Supported the Mandate for the imperial house" (Zuo Si, Wei Capital Rhapsody, translated by David Knechtges, Wen xuan, or Selections of Refined Literature, vol. 1, p. 465).

26. Tang Changru has noted this ("Jiupin," pp. 97-98).

27. Biography in Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 21, pp. 617-29. For a translation of Renwu zhi, see J. K. Shryock, The Study of Human Abilities: The "Jen Wu Chih" of Liu Shao. See also Mou Zongsan, Caixing yu xuanli, pp. 43-66. It is interesting that the treatise was written after Liu Shao's retirement from the Wei court, for his biography states that during the Jingchu period (237-239) the emperor commanded him to draft criteria for the recommendation of officials. It further states that Liu Shao, although submitting a statement of seventy-two items, nevertheless demurred that he was not qualified to carry out the command (pp. 619-20). For other studies of ability known to have been composed in the third century, see Mather, "Controversy," p. 167; Shryock, Human Abilities, p. 17. break

28. Renwu zhi: shang, p. 3a, zhong, pp. 2a, 9a; translated by Shryock, Human Abilities, pp. 98-99, 120, 132.

29. Renwu zhi: zixu, p. 1, xia, p. 6b; translated by Shryock, Human Abilities, pp. 2, 148ff.

30. Guo Xiang's commentary to the Zhuangzi, cited in Hsiao, Chinese Political Thought, vol. 1, p. 612. For a recent study of Guo Xiang's philosophy, see Isabelle Robinet, "Kouo Siang ou le monde comme absolu."

31. Guo Xiang, cited in Hsiao, Chinese Political Thought, vol. 1, p. 612.

32. Mou Zongsan, Caixing, p. 59.

33. Renwu zhi, shang, p. 3a; Shryock, Human Abilities, p. 98.

34. Mou Zongsan, Caixing, pp. 55, 59, 63-64.

35. For its history, see Shryock, Human Abilities, p. 27ff. It is listed in Liu Shao's biography, as well as in later dynastic histories. In the fifth century, one Liu Bing prepared a commentary to the text.

36. "The ability of the man of sublime behavior is manifested by his appearance and bearing, and issues in virtuous actions. It shines forth even when not in use . . . therefore even before he is in power, the people unite in recommending him" ( Renwu zhi, zhong, p. 3b; Shryock, Human Abilities, p. 122).

37. " Having a knack for gimmicks and one-liners is essential to the wouldbe film person. With the intense competition for such crucial stakes, a person usually has only fleeting moments to impress their uniqueness upon the movers and shakers of the industry" (Letter from Kenneth D. Merriman, Merriman Productions, in the Los Angeles Times, March 14, 1987).

38. Tang Changru, "Qingtan yu qingyi" and "Jiupin," esp. pp. 96-97; Holzman, "Début du système médiéval," pp. 388, 401-2; Chen Yinke, "Tao Yuanming zhi sixiang yu qingtan zhi guanxi," pp. 180-81.

39. Shishuo xinyu [jiaojian]; see also Richard B. Mather, Shih-shuo Hsinyü: A New Account of Tales of the World, hereafter cited as SSXY, followed by juan and anecdote numbers (the reference applies to both the Chinese and the English editions). Unless otherwise specified, all translations are from the Mather edition.

40. For xuan xue, see, for example, Mou Zongsan, Caixing, pp. 67-99; E. Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, vol. 1, pp. 86-87.

41. SSXY 4.18. The same tale is told of other members of the Wang family, including Yan's cousin, Wang Rong, and of other members of the Ruan family. See Mather, SSXY, p. 101; also, Chen Yinke, "Tao Yuanming," p. 181. Ruan Xiu was Ruan Ji's nephew. For the use of this example as evidence of late Western Jin attempts to harmonize the two schools, see Chen Yinke, "Tao Yuanming," esp. pp. 181-88. I agree with Chen that the weight of the response is toward the affirmative.

42. For the use of such aid-words and their stylistic import, see Kojiro * Yoshikawa, "The Shih-shuo hsin-yü and Six Dynasties Prose Style," esp. pp. 137-38.

43. Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 27, p. 748. The emperor's full list of requirements makes one wonder if any such paragons were ever located.

44. Note here the changing connotation of "pure." In Latter Han, qing was associated with morality, as in the case of those who shunned political activity on moral grounds. In that sense, anyone with moral scruples, regard- soft

less of rank or station., could be "pure." Indeed, one's "purity" was a means to social mobility. Here, however, the emperor links "purity" to other qualities—literary distinction, refinement, cultivation—that are not evidence of morality. In spite of Ming Di's assertion, these latter qualities were class-bound and would become more so in the future.

45. Biographical information in Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 9, p. 292; for sharpness of mind, ibid., juan 29, p. 819. For discussions of his political philosophy, see, e.g., Hsiao, Chinese Political Thought, vol. 1, pp. 607-19; Mather, "Controversy," pp. 163-65.

46. Wei lue (third century?), in Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 9, p. 292. For the use of cosmetics and perfumes in this period, see Wang Yao, "Wenren yu yao," pp. 21ff; Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China, vol. 5.3, p. 126.

47. Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 9, p. 292. Since He Yan is purported to have been a natural son of Cao Cao's, Wen Di's epithet may have other connotations as well.

48. Ibid., p. 283.

47. Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 9, p. 292. Since He Yan is purported to have been a natural son of Cao Cao's, Wen Di's epithet may have other connotations as well.

48. Ibid., p. 283.

49. Donald Holzman, "Literary Criticism in China in the Early Third Century A.D. ," p. 122.

50. "Dianlun lunwen," Wen xuan, juan 5, p. 22. Translated by James J. Y. Liu, Chinese Theories of Literature, p. 12. The entire essay is translated by Holzman, "Literary Criticism," pp. 128-31. For other translations and discussions, see John Timothy Wixted, "The Nature of Evaluation in the Shihp'in (Gradings of Poets) by Chung Hung ( A.D. 469-518)," p. 251, n. 19.

51. Wen xuan, juan 4, p. 140; Sanguo zhi (Commentary, Wei lue ), juan 21, p. 608. Translated by Holzman, "Literary Criticism," p. 123.

52. Mather has demonstrated this ("Controversy").

53. R. H. van Gulik discusses the sources and their value for the Seven Sages in his Hsi K'ang and His Poetical Essay on the Lute, chap. 2. On the basis of what he considers to be accurate, he has constructed a tentative biography of Xi Kang.

54. These latter remnants, although important, must be used cautiously, for by the time of their writing events had altered the view of the past—so much so, that these later writers do not always agree with one another in their recording of events (for but one example of mythmaking—the recluse summoned by the ruler—and contradiction in the sources cited in Pei Songzhi's commentary to the Sanguo zhi, see the biography of Ruan Ji's father Yu, [ Wei shu ] juan 21, p. 600). Morever, their works have survived only in the commentaries of men who lived much later, in the fifth century. That is to say, they were selected from the original, earlier works in order to make a point, and we cannot know what the later commentators chose to omit (for discussion of omissions, see, e.g., Rafe DeCrespigny, Records of the Three Kingdoms, p. 30). It seems a small matter, but it will be useful when we turn to later traditions.

The extant literary works of the Seven Worthies are collected in Quan Han Sanguo Jin Nanbeichao shi: Quan Sanguo shi; Quan Jin shi and in YKJ.

55. For the works of Xi Kang, see XKJJ; Gulik, Hsi K'ang; Robert G. Henricks, Philosophy and Argumentation in Third-Century China; Donald Holzman, "La Poésie de Ji K'ang." LDMHJ states that he was also skilled continue

in calligraphy and painting and lists two paintings as still extant (vol. 21, pp. 91-92; vol. 2.2, p. 73).

56. Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 21, p. 605.

57. Ibid.,juan 28, p. 786.

56. Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 21, p. 605.

57. Ibid.,juan 28, p. 786.

58. "Sijiu fu," Wen xuan, juan 2, pp. 81-83. Translated by Burton Watson, Chinese Rhyme-prose, pp. 61-63.

59. Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 20, p. 583 (citing the Xishi pu ).

60. "Yu Shan juyuan juejiaoshu," Wen xuan, juan 4, pp. 156-62. All quotations are from the elegant translation by James Robert Hightower, "Hsi K'ang's Letter to Shan T'ao," pp. 162-66.

61. Wen xuan, juan 4, p. 157; Hightower, "Letter," p. 162.

62. Xi Kang's literary works contradict the last point.

63. Wen xuan, juan 4, p. 158; Hightower, "Letter," p. 163. Note the similarity of the idea to Liu Shao's views of human nature: being lazy by nature, he could not correct the waywardness. There was no place to go but down. See, for similarity to Liu Shao, Henricks's discussion of Xi Kang's essay "On Wisdom and Courage" in Philosophy and Argumentation, p. 126. Also, in the letter: "What is esteemed in human relationships is the just estimate of another's inborn nature, and helping him to realize it . . . you would not want to pervert its heaven-given quality, but rather see that it finds its proper place" ( Wen xuan, juan 4, pp. 160-61; Hightower, "Letter," p. 165).

64. Wen xuan, juan 4, p. 160; Hightower, "Letter," p. 165. The reference is to the Confucian doctrines upheld by the Sima. Elsewhere in the letter, however, he implies admiration for Confucius, and in the "Essay on Kuan and Ts'ai" he praises and defends the Duke of Zhou (Henricks, Philosophy and Argumentation, p. 123).

65. Wen xuan, juan 4, p. 157; Hightower, "Letter," p. 162.

66. Wen xuan, juan 4, pp. 158, 159, 161; Hightower, "Letter," pp. 163, 164, 165.

67. Vervoorn, "Eremitism," pp. 208-9.

68. Wen xuan, juan 4, p. 161; Hightower, "Letter," p. 166. Compare Holzman's translation of the last two lines of Xi Kang's poem "Parti à boire": "Il ne me reste plus qu'a m'adonner tout entier aux cordes de ma cithare / Et confier ainsi mon coeur à mes amis intimes" (Holzman, "La Poésie," p. 172; XKJJ, pp. 72-73.

69. Kenneth DeWoskin, A Song for One or Two, p. 57. DeWoskin's splendid study deals with many aspects of music in the early periods that cannot be discussed here. It is essential reading for those interested in the early art of China. See also DeWoskin, "Early Chinese Music and the Origins of Aesthetic Terminology." For the qin, see also R. H. van Gulik, The Lore of the Chinese Lute and Hsi K'ang.

70. DeWoskin, Song, p. 113.

71. Of interest to art historians is Xi Kang's account of the painted decorations of the qin: "It shows figures of dragons and phoenixes, and of antique worthies: ones sees Po-tzû-ya playing his lute, and Chung-tzû-ch'i listening to him, brilliant and shining in full colors. . . . Ling-lun adjusts the sonorous tubes, T'ien-lien composes his melodies" (Gulik, Hsi K'ang, pp. 88-89).

72. Ibid., pp. 108-9. break

73. Wen xuan, juan 2, p. 136. Gulik's translation, which differs slightly from mine, appears in Hsi K'ang, p. 112.

74. Wen xuan, juan 2, p. 137; Gulik, Hsi K'ang, p. 120.

75. SSXY 2.1.

76. Ibid. For the powder, see Needham, Science and Civilization, vol. 3, p. 44; vol. 5.2, pp. 287-89; Yu Jiaxi, "Hanshi san kao"; Lu Xun, "Wei Jin fengduji wenzhang yu yao ji jiu zhi guanxi"; Rudolf G. Wagner, "Lebensstil und Drogen im Chinesischen Mittelalter."

75. SSXY 2.1.

77. Needham, Science and Civilization, vol. 5.2, pp. 287-89.

78. Lu Xun, "Wei Jin fengdu," p. 495.

79. See, for example, Holzman, "La Poésie," pp. 340ff., 347-51.

80. Resonances with other poets of the period can be found in all the poems grouped by Holzman as autobiographical, as Holzman notes (ibid., pp. 344-72).

81. Gulik, Hsi K'ang, p. 96.

82. As both Chen Yinke and Donald Holzman have argued (Chen Yinke, "Tao Yuanming," pp. 182ff; Holzman, "La Poésie," pp. 340ff).

83. Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 21, p. 604.

84. Biography in Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 21, pp. 599ff. See also Holzman, Poetry and Politics, pp. 3-5. Ruan Yu was one of the deceased friends to whom Cao Pi alludes in his letter.

85. Wen xuan, juan 4, p. 159; Hightower, "Letter," pp. 163-64. For Ruan Ji's association with the Sima clan and his political activities, see Holzman, Poetry and Politics, pp. 14-17.

86. Holzman, Poetry and Politics, pp. 49-50.

87. YKJ: Quan Sanguo wen, juan 53.1-3. For Ruan Ji's reply, see juan 45.2-3.

88. Holzman, Poetry and Politics, p. 83; see also pp. 82-87.

89. " . . . as far as the technique of the thing is concerned you could be a pure Confucian" (ibid., p. 84).

90. Ibid., nos. 21, 58, 38, respectively. For essays by Ruan Ji that appear to be Daoist in orientation, see ibid., chap. 4; chap. 5 for those of a seemingly Confucian persuasion; for the complete translation of Ruan Ji's reply to Fu Yi, see ibid., pp. 85-86.

89. " . . . as far as the technique of the thing is concerned you could be a pure Confucian" (ibid., p. 84).

91. Many of the numerous critical interpretations of Ruan Ji's life and works throughout the centuries are noted by Holzman. I have never examined any library edition of Ruan Ji criticism that has not been splattered by anonymous vandals with loathsome stars, exclamation marks, and comments proclaiming disagreement with the author's interpretations.

92. Holzman, Poetry and Politics, p. 1.

93. He Qimin, Zhulin qixian, pp. 115-31; Mather, SSXY 4.17, nn. 1 and 4. See also Robinet, "Kouo Siang," for the conclusion that Xiang Xiu's and Guo Xiang's commentaries were different (p. 73, n. 1).

94. For Xi Kang's original essay and the two replies, see XKJJ, pp. 143-60, 161-67, 168-95, respectively; Henricks, Philosophy and Argumentation, pp. 21-30, 31-37, 38-70. respectively.

95. Henricks, Philosophy and Argumentation, p. 24; XKJJ, p. 146.

96. Henricks, Philosophy and Argumentation, pp. 35-37.

97. Jiude song. The text survives, attributed to ZLQXL, in the Commen- soft

tary to SSXY 4.69 (from which this translation by Richard B. Mather is quoted), and in Wen xuan, juan 4, p. 261.

98. SSXY 4.69; Wen xuan, juan 4, p. 261.

99. Chen Yinke says that Shan Tao was related to the Sima clan, but this is disputed by Holzman (Chen Yinke, "Tao Yuanming," p. 187, citing the Jin shu biography; Holzman, Poetry and Politics, p. 250, n. 33). The Jin shu is a compilation of the Tang dynasty and relies heavily on the same fourth- and fifth-century sources I shall use in the following chapter. Hence I do not draw on it here. For the critical historiographic issues in re: official biographies, Denis Twitchett's "Problems of Chinese Biography" is most pertinent.

100. Following Mather's translation of the following titles: libu shangshu, puye, taizi shaofu, situ. Cited in the Commentary to SSXY 3.5.

101. By Yuan Hong (328-376); cited in SSXY 8.12 (Chinese edition only). Charles O. Hucker translates this title as "Gentleman Cavalier Attendant" and says it was originally an honorific conferred upon favored officials ( Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China [Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1985] no. 4837). The Jin shu biography states that Ruan Xian served as the grand warden ( taishou ), first of Wu, then of Shiping District.

102. Jin zhugong zan by Fu Chang. Cited in the Commentary to SSXY 20.1.

103. Yu Yu's Jin shu, cited in the Commentary to SSXY 2.23 (Chinese edition only).

104. Gaoshi zhuan by Huangfu Mi, juan 1, p. 31. It is almost identical with the version in Shuo Yuan, juan 17, p. 170 ( Congshu jicheng ed., vol. 528).

105. Dai Mingyang collects and discusses the purported and frequently reedited fragments in XKJJ, pp. 397-426. The story ofRong Qiqi appears on p. 405. Both Shen Yue's Song shu ( juan 93, p. 2280) and the Commentary to SSXY 9.80 refer to a Gaoshi zhuan by Xi Kang, clearly in circulation in the fifth century.

106. Gulik, Hsi K'ang, p. 82.

107. The exchange of essays on geomancy are translated by Henricks, Philosophy and Argumentation, pp. 144-99. Ruan Kan and the exchange of poems are discussed, and the poems translated, by Holzman, "La Poésie," pp. 161-71.

108. Weishi chunqiu, in Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 21, p. 606.

109. SSXY 4.94.

110. Shuijing zhu, juan 9 p. 301.

111. He Qimin has examined in exhaustive detail the question of their meeting ( Zhulin qixian, pp. 1-15). See also Holzman, "Les Sept Sages," p. 327, and Poetry and Politics, p. 8.

112. For population decrease, see, for example, Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 8, p. 262; juan 16, p. 499.

113. Lien-sheng Yang, "Notes on the Economic History of the Chin Dynasty," pp. 126ff.

114. See, for centers of commerce in the South, Étienne Balazs, "Le Traité économique du Souei-chou, " p. 232, n. 215.

115. Mather, SSXY, p. xv.

116. I have relied extensively for my understanding of the economy of the period on Lien-sheng Yang's "Notes" and Balazs, "Le Traité économi- soft

que," esp. pp. 135-75. Balazs, "Le Moyen Âge: les six dynasties et les empires barbares," offers a useful summary of the period (in Henri Maspero et Etienne Balazs, Histoire et institutions de la Chine ancienne ).

117. Balazs, "Le Traité économique," p. 136 and n. 60; Yang, "Notes," pp. 128ff. For a recent study of these dependents, see Tang Changru, "Gi Shin Nanbokucho * no kyaku to bukyoku."

118. See, for example, Tang Changru, "Sun Wu Jianguo ji Hanmo Jiangnan de zongbu yu shan Yue," pp. 3-29; Wang Zhongluo, Wei Jin Nanbeichao shi, vol. 1, pp. 105-9; Kawakatsu, "L'Aristocratie et la société féodale."

119. For the development from individuals as shi to clans as shi, see Chen Chi-yun, "Zhongguo zhonggu 'shizu zhengzhi' kaolun zhi yi."

120. In his study of the oligarchy, David Johnson found that every reported case of exemption from corvée was based on a person's official rank or that of his immediate ancestors ( Medieval Chinese Oligarchy, p. 15).

121. See Shigeaki Ochi, "Thoughts on the Understanding of the Han and Six Dynasties," p. 44 (in English).

122. Ochi, "Thoughts," pp. 51, 42. These "hereditary" appointments, although only at the local level of administration, were more advantageous than they seem. A local appointment at a high level qualified the occupant for advancement in the central hierarchy. See Miyazaki, Kyuhin * pp. 125-30.

123. It is perhaps more pertinent to say that the Sun upstarts sealed their military and political alliances by marrying into prominent families—a path to social eminence I shall discuss further (Wang Zhongluo, Wei Jin Nanbeichao shi, vol. 1, p. 106).

124. Fan Wenlan, Zhongguo tongshi, vol. 2, p. 456.

125. Biography in Jin shu, juan 65, pp. 1745-54. Fan Wenlan credits Wang Dao's genius with the successful forging of a new dynasty ( Zhongguo tongshi, vol. 2, pp. 454-62).

126. Settled on these "lodged" lands ( qiaojun, qiaoxian ), the most powerful of the clans ruled them as private kingdoms and often found themselves in conflict with the military and civil governments of their district. (See Yang, "Notes," for private enclosure of mountains, p. 134; J. D. Frodsham, The Murmuring Stream, vol. 1, p. 66). For a study of the conflict between powerful émigrés and state authority, see Yasuda Jiro * , "Shin so * kakumei to Yo * Shu * [Jo * Yo] no kyomin."

127. For a conjectural figure of the number of officials appointed in 318, see Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, vol. 1, p. 85.

128. Xin Tangshu, juan 199, p. 5677. Note Liu Fang's contrast, in which he states that during the Han dynasty, office was honored; in Jin and Song, family was honored (:bid.). An excellent summary of this material is found in Balazs, "Le Moyen Âge," esp. pp. 101ff. See also Johnson, Medieval Chinese Oligarchy, p. 99, for a survey of Chinese terms for these genealogies.

129. See Johnson, Medieval Chinese Oligarchy, p. 5; Chen Chi-yun, "Shizu zhengzhi."

130. The three are not identical; the possession of one does not automatically provide the other two: hence the difficulty of defining the precise characteristics that qualified a family for "greatness." For important studies of the subject, see Mao Hanguang, Liang Jin Nanbeichao shizu zhengzhi zhi yanjiu; Wang Yitong, Wuchao mendi; Patricia Buckley Ebrey, The Aristocratic Families continue

of Early Imperial China; Dennis Grafflin, "The Great Family in Medieval South China"; Johnson, Medieval Chinese Oligarchy.

131. Jin shu, juan 99, p. 2597; for the genealogy, see Jin shu, juan 74, p. 1939 (Biography of Huan Yi).

132. For the claim: "Ming zi" (Charge to My Son), translated by A. R. Davis, T'ao Yüan-ming ( A.D. 365-427), vol. 1, pp. 26-27; Chinese text, vol. 2, pp. 22-23. For the "fact": Chen Yinke goes so far as to conclude that Tao Kan (259-334) was not even a Han Chinese (Chen Yinke, " Wei shu Sima Rui zhuan Jiangdong minzu tiao shizhengji tuilun," p. 80).

133. Guhuapinlu, p. 29; LDMHJ, vol. 2.1, p. 24; vol. 2.2, p. 65.

134. See, for example, the fifth-century anecdote about Gu Kaizhi and Huan Xuan in the Commentary to SSXY 21.7.

135. Jin shu, juan 99, pp. 2592, 2594; LDMHJ, vol. 1, pp. 116-17; vol. 2.1, p. 49, n. 9.

5— Contemplating the Ancients

1. See the conclusions, similar to my own, of Richard B. Mather, SSXY, p. 371, and more recently in "Individualist Expression of the Outsiders during the Six Dynasties," p. 201.

2. "At the time [ca. 260] the fame of [their] manner was wafted everywhere within the seas. Even down to the present people continue to intone it" (Sun Sheng, Jinyang qiu, cited in the Commentary to SSXY 23.1).

3. I have found no reference to a painting of the Seven Worthies and Rong Qiqi.

4. Traditions are our concern here. It is what the men of Eastern Jin and Liu-Song believed to be true (or, at least, wanted to be true) that matters. My purpose in examining the historical evidence for the Seven Worthies in the previous chapter was to demonstrate the paucity of this evidence and the significant creative effort later applied to the development of the traditions.

5. SSXY 23.1.

6. SSXY 17.2.

7. SSXY: for Ruan Ji, 23.5; for Liu Ling, Mingshi zhuan, cited in the Commentary to 4.69; for Wang Rong, 29.2.

8. Many of the late third-, fourth-, and fifth-century works referring to the Seven Worthies, now lost, have been preserved in documents of the fifth and sixth centuries. They thus provide the evidence that the anecdotes were in circulation prior to, as well as after, the publication of their later compilations. Pei Songzhi's Commentary to Sanguo zhi was presented to the throne in 429, for example (for historiography see DeCrespigny, Records of the Three Kingdoms ). The editors of the SSXY, compiled probably some time between 420 and 444, clearly drew on earlier works, as attested by comparison of the text with those anecdotes included in the commentary of Liu Jun (Liu Xiaobiao), whose dates are 462-521.

9. SSXY: Deng Can's Jin ji (fourth century) is cited in the Commentary to 9.17; Dai Kui's ZLQXL in the Commentary to 23.13.

10. Jin ji, by Gan Bao. Cited in the Commentary to SSXY 23.2. Gan Bao's remark "Look at Ruan Ji's conduct and you will understand what continue

caused the collapse of the Doctrine of Rites" ( Jin ji, in Wen xuan, juan 5, p. 33) echoes down the ages.

11. Weishi chunqiu, cited in the Commentary to SSXY 23.2. Note the similarities between this account and that of Wang Rong's mourning ( SSXY 1.17).

12. SSXY 9.31.

13. Wujun yong (Songs of Five Gentlemen), Wen xuan, juan 2, p. 212. Four of the five poems in praise of the Seven Worthies are also excerpted in Shen Yue's Song shu, where he states that Yan Yanzhi wrote them in pique over his failure to receive promotion. His failure to include Shan Tao and Wang Rong, says Shen Yue, was a deliberate rejection (i.e., of high-ranking officials) and therefore a criticism of his own superiors ( juan 73, p. 1893).

14. SSXY 23.6.

15. Wujun yong, Wen xuan, juan 2, p. 212.

16. LDMHJ, vol. 2.1, p. 47; vol. 2.2, p. 69. A. C. Graham, translator, The Book of Lieh-tzu, pp. 24-25. For dating see ibid., p. 12, as well as Graham's "The Date and Composition of the Liehtzyy."

17. James Robert Hightower, "T'ao Ch'ien's 'Drinking Wine' Poems," pp. 7, 22.

18. For Ruans and convivial pigs, SSXY 23.12; for the slave girl, SSXY 23.15; for the lice, see chap. 4.

19. Alexander Soper has noted this ("Tomb Discovery," p. 85). Shan Tao said that when Xi Kang was drunk, "he leans crazily like a jade mountain about to collapse," a characterization clearly not depicted in the mural ( SSXY 14.5). Soper has also suggested that Xiang Xiu, who might be characterized as tipsy, but who has no wine cup or bowl, might be meditating (p. 85; see also Nanjing, "Xishanqiao," p. 42).

20. As in the Han dynasty, funerals were large affairs. Clan members, friends, protégés, and former protégés would often travel long distances to attend the funeral. See, for example, Tao Yuanming's account of Meng Jia's journey from Jiankang to Guiji to attend the funeral of Xie Shang (d. 357), under whom he had once served (Davis, T'ao Yüan-ming, vol. 1, p. 204).

21. SSXY 2.18. Ji Mountain (Henan) was the hermitage of the two ancient and virtuous recluses referred to in the anecdote. For discussion of the Seven Worthies as a cautionary tale, see Mather, "Controversy."

22. Ample precedents existed for group compositions—for example, the many banquet or visitation scenes of Han. Ellen Laing cites the Yinan scene of Cang Jie and Ju Song as a possible precedent ("Neo-Taoism," p. 15). The flight to the south must have included many skilled artisans.

23. SSXY: for Gu Kaizhi's characterization, see the Commentary to 8.10 (Gu Kaizhi, Hua zan ); for Zhong Hui's, 8.5; for Pei Kai's, 14.6; for Wang Gong's, 23.51

24. SSXY 14.5 and the Commentary ( Xi Kang bieji ). It is of some interest that the SSXY frequently likens individuals to nature's wonders—wind, trees, pearls, jade—and that often it is the motion or action that is important: wind soughs, jade mountains collapse, lightning flashes, pearls and jade tinkle.

25. SSXY 14.13, 20.1, 8.12.

26. The Jin shu says that Ruan Xian played the pipa, or balloon guitar continue

( juan 49, P. 1363). The archaeological report states that the pipa held by Ruan Xian in the mural is a version of the instrument invented by, and named after, him, the ruan (Nanjing, "Xishanqiao," p. 42).

27. Depicted in three-quarter view, both egg-shaped heads are formed by a continuous, unbroken line that bulges slightly at the cheek, curves inward to form a point, then curves slightly outward, then up to form the chin. An adjoining outward curve travels across and up to complete the lower jaw. A long, bulging line forms the bridge of the nose, then turns sharply in almost a straight line before steeply turning up and in. Mouths and eyes are identical.

28. "When Juan Chi [Ruan Ji] whistled ( hsiao ), he could be heard several hundred paces away. In the Su-men mountains (Honan) there appeared from nowhere a Realized Man. . . . Juan Chi went to see for himself and spied the man squatting with clasped knees by the edge of a cliff. Chi climbed the ridge . . . and squatted opposite him. Chi rehearsed for him briefly matters from antiquity to the present. . . . But when Chi asked his opinion about it he remained aloof and made no reply. [Chi then discoursed on metaphysical issues, but elicited no reply.] He was still exactly as before, fixedly staring without turning. Chi therefore turned toward him and made a long whistling sound. After a long while the man finally laughed and said, 'Do it again.' Chi whistled a second time . . . then . . . withdrew. [When] halfway down the ridge . . . he heard above him a shrillness like an orchestra of many instruments, while forests and valleys reechoed with the sound. Turning back to look, he discovered it was the whistling of the man he had just visited" ( SSXY 18.1). For whistling, see E. D. Edwards, "'Principles of Whistling—Hsiaochih'—Anonymous"; Sawada Mizuho, "Sho * no genryu * "; Holzman, Poetry and Politics, pp. 151-52; DeWoskin, Song, pp. 162-66.

29. I mean, what the men of the fourth century thought they had in common.

30. SSXY: for Xi Kang, see the Commentary to 14.5 ( Xi Kang bieji ); for Wang Rong, see the Commentary to 6.4 ( Mingshi zhuan ); for Shan Tao, 3.5. Xi Kang's extraordinary capacity may also bejudged a defect, as it was by the emperor Jianwen.

31. Yan Yanzhi, Wujun yong, Wen xuan, juan 2, pp. 212, 211, 212, respectively. Yan's poem on Ruan Ji has been translated by Holzman, Poetry and Politics, p. 236.

32. [ Xiang ] Xiu bie zhuan, cited in the Commentary to SSXY 4.17.

33. SSXY 3.7.

34. [ Xiang ] Xiu bie zhuan, cited in SSXY 4.17.

35. SSXY 23.7.

36. ZLQXL, cited in the Commentary to SSXY 8.12.

37. SSXY 14.13. The same un-Confucian behavior is reported of Xi Kang ( Xi Kang bieji, cited in SSXY 14.5).

38. Weiguo tong, by Liang Zuo (fifth-century), cited in the Commentary to SSXY 14.13.

39. For Wang Rong: SSXY 8.5; for Shan Tao: Jinyang qiu, cited in the Commentary to SSXY 19.11.

40. For Xi Kang: SSXY 14.5; for Shan Tao: Hua zan, cited in the Commentary to SSXY 8.10.

41. SSXY 14.5. break

42. ZLQXL, cited in the Commentary to SSXY 4.17. Emphasis added.

43. SSXY 8.8.

44. SSXY: for Liu Ling, see the Commentary to 14.13 ( Weiguo tong ) for Xi Kang, 6.2, 1.16; for Ruan Ji, 23.2; for Wang Rong, 6.5 and the Commentary ( ZLQXL ), where we learn that the emperor, who witnessed the event, was very impressed.

45. Or the painting on which the murals were surely based. Pei Songzhi's inclusion of Cao Pi's letter in his Commentary to the Sanguo zhi is evidence for its currency at the time of tomb construction. Its continued currency is attested by its inclusion in the sixth-century Wen xuan.

46. As indeed we will find them in countless paintings hereafter, for which, see Laing, "Neo-Taoism."

47. I can find no early allusion to Wang Rong and a ruyi (the earliest being the sixth-century Yu Xin's reference to "Wang Rong's ruyi dance." See Nanjing, "Xishanqiao," p. 41). See also SSXY 13.4 for the ruyi, drinking, and Rong's kinsman, Wang Dun.

48. See the discussion in DeWoskin, Song, pp. 123-24, 140-44. "To the cognoscente, the pose with qin in lap is suggestive not of serious playing of the instrument, but simply of its presence" (p. 142).

49. Legge Li Ki, I.I.IV-11.

50. The exaggerated fistlike bulge in which some of the wearers' belts terminate (figs. 24, 26) is found as early as late Zhou in the small painting on silk unearthed at Changsha in 1942 (Hunansheng bowuguan, "Xin faxian de Changsha Zhanguo Chu mu bohua" [ WW 1973.7], pp. 2-4 and fig. 1). The male figure is considered by many to be a portrait of the deceased. It suggests a long history, still to be traced, for some of these forms.

51. See chap. 4. A description of Liezi is brought to mind by the image of Xiang Xiu: "My mind concentrated and my body relaxed, bones and flesh fused completely, I did not notice what my body leaned against and my feet trod, I drifted with the wind . . . and never knew whether it was the wind that rode me or I the winc." (Graham, Lieh-tzu, pp. 36-37).

52. For the question of intent, see, for example, Alexander Soper, "Life-Motion and the Sense of Space," esp. pp. 178-79. For the position that the Seven Worthies mural is one step in the evolution of space-depiction, see Annette Juliano, Teng-hsien, pp. 69-70.

53. "And those who know men are certainly wise."

54. In Richard Mather's literal translation, "cultivated tolerance." See, for his discussion of this crucial phrase, SSXY, p. xvii. Mather's translation of ya as "cultivated" emphasizes the trained, or educated, aspect of this capacity. It is an ability that carl be expressed only if it has been nurtured. Only one who has experienced much in life is capable of controlling his emotions under all circumstances. It implies, moreover, that through self-discipline one has achieved an inner detachment from, an indifference to, worldly matters. Thus, it resonates with ziran, and both concepts conform to Daoist and Buddhist ideals.

Ziran and yaliang may be subsumed under the famous phras efengliu, wind-stream—freely flowing. I refrain from using it because of the connotation of decadence attached to it by later Confucians, a connotation it most certainly did not bear in the Six Dynasties. See, for example, the monk Dao-an's pur- soft

ported remark in 365 that in the capital "are many noble gentlemen, who appreciate the fine manners [ fengliu ] of the cultured priests" (cited in Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, vol. 1, p. 190).

55. SSXY 19.30.

56. Precisely what is meant by manner and style is not spelled out. We may rest assured that Ji Ni meant no allusion to pigs, drunkenness, nudity, etc. Offending the Xies and the Wangs was not normally a safe pastime. For another example of southern conservatism vs. the "new style" see SSXY 24.17.

57. Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, chap. 3.

58. See Arthur F. Wright, "Biography and Hagiography: Hui-chiao's Lives of Eminent Monks. "

59. Biography in Jin shu, juan 56, pp. 1544-47. See also Hellmut Wilhelm, "A Note on Sun Ch'o and His Yu-tao-lun"; Richard B. Mather, "The Mystical Ascent of the T'ian-t'ai Mountains." Sun Chuo's Dao xian lun is quoted in the Gaoseng zhuan of Huijiao. For the comparisons: Dharmaraksa with Shan Tao, juan 1, pp. 326c-327a; Bo Yuan with Xi Kang, juan 1, p. 327b; Zhu Facheng with Wang Rong, juan 4, p. 347c; Zhu Daoqian with Liu Ling, juan 4, p. 348a; Zhi Dun with Xiang Xiu, juan 4, p. 349c; Yu Falan with Ruan Ji, juan 4, p. 35oa. The comparison with Xiang Xiu is also quoted in the Commentary to SSXY 4.36.

60. Zhi Dun, however, like Xiang Xiu, was an authority on the Laozi and the Zhuangzi.

61. Similarly, in 410, the monk Sengzhao compared the monastic community at Lu Shan to Ruan Ji, who "never gossiped but discussed only the philosophical principles underlying a case. (Your songs remind me of) the noble poems (composed by the Seven Philosophers in the Bamboo) Grove" (Walter Liebenthal, Chao Lun: The Treatises of Seng-chao [2nd rev. ed.; Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1968], p. 89).

62. SSXY 9.36.

63. See the genealogy in Wilhelm's "Note on Sun Ch'o," p. 262. Chuo served on the staffs of Yu Liang, Yin Hao, and Wang Xizhi (p. 265).

64. SSXY 27.12. If true, this did not prevent him from marrying his daughter, purportedly by ruse, to the son of Wang Tanzhi, marquis of Lantian, and onetime president of the Central Secretariat. He was a descendant of Wang Chang (d. 259), said to be from Taiyuan ( Sanguo zhi [Wei shu], juan 27, p. 743).

65. E.g., SSXY 5.48, 26.9, 26.15, 26.17, 26.22.

66. SSXY 9.61. The Commentary adds: "[Chuo] and Hsü Hsün both talked in terms of turning their backs on the world, but while Hsün, to the day of his death, never compromised his determination, Ch'o [Chuo] became deeply enmeshed in worldly affairs" ( Wenzhang zhi, sponsored by [Song] Emperor Ming [r. 465-472]).

67. For the concepts of chaoyin and shiyin, see Chi Li, "Recluse," 241ff. See also Wolfgang Bauer, "The Hidden Hero," p. 169; Mather, "Controversy," pp. 168ff.; Wang Yao, "Lun xiqi yinyizhifeng," pp. 82, 95, and passim.

68. Jinyang qiu, cited in the Commentary to SSXY 19.11. See also the Commentary to 3.5. Citing the Shiyu, Pei Songzhi says that Shan Tao warned continue

Xi Kang that his plan to overthrow the regime was ill-advised ( Sanguo zhi [Wei shu], juan 21, p. 607). Compare Sun Sheng's praise with Liezi's "Pick the right time and flourish / Miss the right time and perish" (Graham, Lieh-tzu, pp. 162-63).

69. SSXY 4.91.

70. For the anecdote, see Weishi qunqiu, cited by Pei Songzhi, Sanguo zhi, juan 21, p. 606; SSXY 18.2.

71. Zhongxing shu, by He Fasheng (fifth century), cited in the Commentary to SSXY 4.91.

72. The characterization is Richard B. Mather's, SSXY, p. 529. Wan's disgrace is recounted in SSXY 9.49. It is not irrelevant to note that Wan was son-in-law to Wang Shu, the father of Wang Tanzhi, whose son was married to Sun Chuo's daughter.

73. A.D. 320-385. Biography in Jin shu, juan 79, pp. 2072-77.

74. When, in the sixth century, the rebel Hou Jing demanded of the Liang emperor a marital alliance with the Xie or Wang family, Wu Di was forced to refuse: "They occupy peerless positions in the realm." He offered him, instead, a wife from the Zhu or Zhang clans. Hou Jing consoled himself by marrying the emperor's granddaughter ( Nan shi, juan 80, pp. 1996, 2000).

75. For the famous Battle of the River Fei, see Michael Rogers, The Chronicle of Fu Chien: A Case of Exemplary History.

76. For the most famous gathering, that in the Orchid Pavilion, see SSXY 16.3, where the preface attributed to Wang Xizhi is partially quoted. Ding Fubao has collected many of the poems said to have been composed on that occasion in Quan Han Sanguo Jin Nanbeichao shi: Quan Jin shi, juan 5.

77. SSXY 4.55. Note that we are not given the substance of the debate, merely the judgments of the presentations. This is characteristic of the SSXY. In addition to An's talent for debate, he is said to have been a great calligrapher. See Frodsham, Murmuring Stream 1:5; 2:7, notes 52, 53; Lothar Ledderose, Mi Fu and the Classical Tradition in Chinese Calligraphy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979), pp. 90-93 and passim.

78. Xu Jin yang qiu, by Tan Daoluan (fifth century), cited in the Commentary to SSXY 8.77.

79. SSXY 9.55

80. SSXY 6.28 Emphasis added.

81. SSXY 25.32.

82. Furen ji, cited in the Commentary to SSXY 25.26.

83. SSXY 4.52.

84. Yi's biography is in Jin shu, juan 74, pp. 1939-41; Wen's in Jin shu, juan 98, pp. 2568-80. See also SSXY 19.32, where the Huans are referred to as "upstarts," and 23.34, where Wen is said to have been poor in his youth.

85. SSXY 25.24, 13.9. Tan's reply lays bare the enmities of the period: "For the vitality and duration of the virtue of the Jin, how can you take the credit?" ( Yulin, by Pei Qi [fourth century], cited in the Commentary to 25.24).

86. SSXY 8. 105, 9.45.

87. SSXY 13.8.

88. See also SSXY 2. 102 for the unfavorable comparison of Huan Wen with Wang Dun's loyal brother, the minister Wang Dao. break

89. The SSXY is a work of literature. It can be demonstrated that, in its totality as well as in the individual anecdotes, there are structure, form, and style. It is therefore a work of art, literature that celebrates, as I have noted in chapter 4, yet another art form, Pure Conversation ( qingtan ). For an analysis of the work and the history of the extant text, see Mather's introduction to his translation, as well as Yoshikawa, " Shih-shuo hsin-yü " (in English). See also Yoshio Kawakatsu, "Sie Ling-yun et le Che-Chuou Sin Yu. "

90. See, for a discussion of history and fiction, Kenneth J. DeWoskin, "The Six Dynasties Chih-kuai and the Birth of Fiction."

91. Hence the need for a commentary not long after its compilation. Many of the anecdotes are clearly "insider" stories, early lost on succeeding generations. Another reason for the need for a commentary, as Liu Jun makes clear, is the bias of the work. See, for example, his remarks in SSXY 5.23, 30, 37.

92. SSXY 23.32.

93. See chap. 4. The same source states that, after Wang Dao's emigration to the south, he talked of nothing but three topics, two of which were essays by Xi Kang ( Music Is Without Sorrow or Joy and Nourishing Life [ SSXY 4.21]).

Still another connection is made between the famous minister, Xi Kang, and Ruan Ji, and the values for which they were celebrated: "Chou I [Zhou Yi] was courteous and affable and of a fine prepossessing figure. When he went to visit Wang Tao [Wang Dao], as he first got down from his carriage he was supported by several men. Wang watched him with suppressed amusement. After they had been seated, Chou, completely self-assured, began whistling and intoning poems. Wang asked him, 'Are you trying to imitate Hsi K'ang [Xi Kang] and Juan Chi [Ruan Ji]?' Zhou replied, 'How could I presume to discard a close model like Your Excellency to imitate such distant ones as Hsi K'ang and Juan Chi?'" ( SSXY 2.40).

94. SSXY 9.36.

95. SSXY 8.111. Translation mine.

96. SSXY 9.36.

97. SSXY 9.44 Comparing Meng with Wang Dao, Liu stated that Meng had the "greater endowment of elegance" ( SSXY 9.43); "compared with the chancellor, Wang Meng is more straightforward and uninhibited, more endowed with purity" ( Yulin, cited in the Commentary).

98. I have found no such linkages with Rong Qiqi. Perhaps the modified image we observed in Tao Qian's poems is the reason—the original, happy recluse of the third century no longer fits the new ideal, one who stoops and rises with the times.

99. SSXY 6.29. Emphasis added. The Commentary offers further explanation of the enmity. Compare Liu Shao's remarks in chapter 4.

100. For Xie An as arbiter of fashion, see SSXY 26.24. For Ruan Yu's admiration, 4.24; for the snobbery: "Right in front of his older brother, Hsieh An [Xie An], Hsieh Wan [Xie Wan] was about to get up and look for the urinal. At the time Juan Yü [Ruan Yu] was among the company and remarked, 'Households that have newly become prominent are frank, but without manners [ li ]' " ( SSXY 24.9; see also 18.6).

101. SSXY 1.15; 4.67. break

102. SSXY 8.97. Xie Kun's biography is in Jin shu, juan 49, pp. 1377-79. His grave was unearthed outside Nanjing in 1964 ( WW 1965.6:34-35).

103. Time, however, alters opinions. A characterization of Xie Kun by Prince Liu Yiqing is included in the Commentary to An's characterization: "Hsieh K'un [Xie Kun] was uninhibited and unceremonious and possessed understanding. He did not bother with the rules of decorum or understanding. His actions were free but his mind was correct" ( SSXY 8.97; emphasis added).

104. SSXY 1.36.

105. Cf. Ruan Yu's comment about the Xies with that of Lady Yin in re: the Huans ( SSXY 19.32). For their part, the Langya Wangs endured by the wise expedient of marrying their daughters everywhere.

106. For a study of yet another celebration of the Xie family, see Rogers, Fu Chien.

107. Poor Sun Chuo, whom I have left dangling, was no upstart. Was it his poverty, or rather his too-obvious pursuit of success that led others to consider him "corrupt"? His manner, it would seem, was against him.

108. For literary talent, SSXY 4.102, 4.103; for love of art, Xu Jin yang qiu, in the Commentary to SSXY 21.7; Jin shu, juan 99 pp. 2592, 2594.

109. Jin shu, juan 99 pp. 2593-94. Cf. with SSXY 8.99 and Yin Hao's eremitism as augury for the realm: "Yin Hao had been living in his graveyard hermitage . . . for nearly ten years (336-346). At the time both those at court and in the provinces compared him to Kuan Chung [Guan Zhong] [d. 645 B.C. ] and Chu-ko Liang [Zhuge Liang]. His decision whether or not to come out of retirement they took to be an augury of the rise or fall of the whole area east of the Yangtze River." Similarly for Xie An, and we may assume that Huan Xuan expected poor Huangfu Xizhi, like Zhuge Liang, to eventually heed the summons and thus legitimize the dynasty.

See also the recluse Zhu Daoyi's frightening and successful threat to depart forever from Jin if forced to come to court (recounted by Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, vol. 1, p. 149). The potency of the belief that virtuous recluses added luster to a dynasty was not confined to the south. Shi Hu (r. 333-349), barbarian ruler of the Zhao kingdom (in southern Hebei), was irked by the repeated refusal of the recluse and Yijing specialist Yang Ke to accept appointment. The Buddhist monk and adviser to Shi Hu, Daojin, defended the latter: "Whenever a prince acts, it will surely be written down. Is it desirable to make it so that the record of the house of Chao [Zhao] will have no biographies of hermits?" Impressed, Shi Hu gave Yang Ke a stipend to maintain himself as a recluse (Arthur Wright, "Fo-T'u-Têng," pp. 359-61).

110. See, for example, SSXY 23.50, 33.17, 31.8. As I have noted, the SSXY 's rhetorical use of traditions is subtle, never more so than in its treatment of a major theme of the book, self-control. The reader is rarely told that Huan Xuan lacked self-control, he is merely given repeated examples of such behavior. Xie An's sole incident of loss of control ( SSXY 33.14) is explicitly justified by the allusion to his brother's death and An's consequent human (and virtuous ) reaction: "Even though water by nature is calm and gentle, when it enters a narrow gorge it dashes and plunges. If we should compare it to human emotions, we would certainly understand that in a harassed and narrow place there is no possibility of preserving one's composure" (emphasis continue

added). Several anecdotes in the SSXY suggest that control of the emotions was seen to require almost superhuman efforts. See, e.g., the sympathetic treatment of Wang Rong's grief in 17.4.

111. Mather, in the Commentary to SSXY 13.13.

112. SSXY 6.35.

113. Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 26, p. 729. Translated by J.J. M. de Groot, The Religious System of China, vol. 2, p. 380.

114. Kawakatsu, "Sie Ling-yun." For the life of Xie Lingyun and his poetry, see Frodsham, The Murmuring Stream; Paul Demiéville, "La Vie et l'oeuvre de Sie Ling-yun (385-433)" and "À la mémoire d'un ami."

115. For Xie Lingyun's self-identification and traditional association with Xi Kang, see Frodsham, Murmuring Stream, vol. 1, pp. 78-79; Demiéville, "Sie Ling-yun," p. 352; Richard B. Mather, "The Landscape Buddhism of the Fifth-Century Poet Hsieh Ling-yün," p. 73.

116. Xie Hun, for example, was married to a daughter of the Jin emperor Xiaowu (r. 377-396); in 425 two daughters of Xie Hui married scions of the reigning family. Xie Lingyun himself inherited the title of Duke of Kangle, bestowed originally upon his ancestor, Xie Xuan, as a reward for his victory at the Battle of the Fei River. His mother, not incidentally, was a niece of (Langya) Wang Xianzhi, a son of Wang Xizhi.

117. Shen Yue kept his head through three dynasties, and we need not take too seriously the impressive lineage he provided for the first Song emperor (Liu Yu), which traces his descent back to a brother of Han Gao Di. He later tells us that the family was poor, i.e., they were hanmen ( Song shu, juan 1, p. 1). Yu's father, Qiao, is mentioned only in passing in the Jin shu.

118. Laing, "Scholars and Sages" and "Neo-Taoism."

119. LDMHJ, vol. 2.1, p. 85; vol. 2.2, p. 73.

120. For Gu Kaizhi, LDMHJ, vol. 2.1, p. 47; vol. 2.2, p. 69; for Dai Kui, LDMHJ, vol. 2. , p. 97, vol. 2.2, p. 75. Both men painted pictures of some of the Seven Worthies and illustrated their poems.

121. Exceptions would be the revenge story of SSXY 21.4 and Gu Kaizhi's painting of Vimalakirti * ( LDMHJ, vol. 2.1 , p. 45; vol. 2.2, pp. 68-69).

122. It certainly strains credulity to consider that the disciples of Confucius or Mencius's mother were depicted lolling, half-clothed, etc.

123. So also was the remark of Kun's on which the anecdote is based (see SSXY 9.17 for the original remark, similar to Sun Chuo's characterization of himself; for Gu Kaizhi's painting, SSXY 21.12).

6— Like-Minded Companions

1. LDMHJ lists only one painting of Bamboo Grove images ( xiang ) for the Song-Qi period, by Lu Tanwei, who also painted a picture ( tu ) of Rong Qiqi with Confucius and Yan Hui (vol. 2.1, p. 105; vol. 2.2, p. 77). It fails to mention the painting of Xi Kang commissioned of Lu by (Song) Emperor Ming for Fu Manrong ( Liang shu, juan 42, p. 663; Nan shi, juan 71, p. 1731. Alexander Soper has translated this and other examples of portraiture in his continue

Textual Evidence for the Secular Arts of China in the Period from Liu Sung through Sui ( A.D. 420-618), p. 17).

A painting of the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove is mentioned, however, in the Nan shi, although not in the earlier Nan Qi shu. It is associated, in fact, with one of the candidates for the Jinjia tomb, the infamous Baojuan, whose bloodthirsty and lascivious life-style apparently met all conditions of cyclical theories of history. It may therefore be evidence both for imperial interest in the Seven Worthies and for another tradition. The two historical works agree on the actions of the penultimate Qi emperor (who, not incidentally, is said to have disliked learning), but only the later work documents his evil deeds with such a wealth of detail. After a fire had destroyed much of the palace, the emperor embarked on a great building of halls. "For his favorite, Lady Fan, he erected three . . . halls, . . . all of which were embellished with gold and jade. In the Yü-shou Hall the bed-alcove [showed] flying immortals on the embroidered and figured silks that hung about it. All the spaces between the windows were painted with flying immortals; also were shown the Seven Sages [of the Bamboo Grove], each with a comely handmaiden at his side" (Soper, Textual Evidence, p. 19 [translation of Nan shi, juan 5, pp. 153-54]; translator's interpolation. Cf. Nan Qi shu, juan 7, p. 104, where almost none of the details appear in the account of the rebuilding of the palace). As the historian tells it, no spiritual uplift could have been intended by the patron.

2. Nanjing, "Huqiao Nanchao damu"; Zhu Xizu, Liuchao lingmu diaocha baogao, pp. 16-17; for discussions of the locations of other Nan Qi tombs, see pp. 23-29, 64-67, 78-96.

3. For the reasoning, see Nanjing, "Huqiao, Jianshan," pp. 8-10; Till and Swart, "Tombs," pp. 100-6. The tomb associated with Xiao Baojuan is at Jianshan, Jinjiacun, hereafter referred to as the Jinjia tomb; that of Xiao Baorong is at Huqiao, Wujiacun, hereafter referred to as the Wujia tomb.

4. Reported by Till and Swart, who argue for the identification with Wenhui ("Tombs," pp. 75-76).

5. Indeed, the sources do not present the probable tomb occupants as similar in interests or tastes (about poor He Di, for example, we are told nothing), so that specific links between the individual rulers and the Seven Worthies ideal cannot be argued.

6. Nanjing, "Huqiao, Jianshan," p. 10; Till and Swart, "Tombs," p. 106.

7. It is possible that the no-longer extant Xiu'anling mural of the Seven Worthies was made from the same molds as that of the Jinjia tomb. One surviving relief from the former tomb, "Immortal Sporting with Tiger," is identical to the same scene from the latter. The Jinjia tomb is about 2 km southeast of the Xiu'anling (the Wujia tomb, on the other hand, is some 4 km to the northwest), and the reliefs may well have come from the same workshop.

8. Much fruitful information about the economy of the south during this period is found in Fan Wenlan, Zhongguo tongshi, vol. 2, pp. 494-518. See also Frodsham, Murmuring Stream, inter alia; Jacques Gernet, Les Aspects économiques du Bouddhisme (Publications de l'École Française d'Extrême-Orient, continue

vol. 29 [1956]). For the debasement of the coinage, see Yoshio Kawakatsu, "La Décadence de l'aristocratie chinoise sous les Dynasties du Sud," esp. pp. 32-33, 35.

9. For another example, see Song shu, juan 57, p. 1583, where Shen Yue states that, in addition to the great clans, favorites of the emperor enclosed lakes and mountains, "blocking the way of the people and harming good government." The official in charge, Cai Xingzong, set all to rights "by means of the law." That he was successful can only mean that he had the support of the throne in his endeavors.

10. Biography of Xie Chaozong (d. 483) in Nan Qi shu, juan 36, pp. 635-39 ; Nan shi, juan 19, pp. 542-44. I do not mean to imply that individuals from the families that held sway in the Eastern Jin period did not sometimes rise to high office in the succeeding centuries. (Langya) Wang Jian, for example, in the Southern Qi period was very powerful and managed often to enforce his policies on the emperor he served. Nevertheless, in the later period, as Dennis Grafflin has argued, the majority of important ministers were not from families that had held power in the earlier period and that continued to enjoy high rank ("The Great Family"). Within the category of families entitled to hold office, families were, indeed, always ranked. Within that category, however, there was considerable mobility. Moreover, it was not difficult to enter that category, as we shall see. The problem arises from the failure to distinguish between formal status and informal power. Serving at court may be an honor. It also enables a shrewd ruler to control his nobles, as Louis XIV demonstrated.

11. Zhou Yiliang, " Nan Qi shu Qiu Lingju zhuan shishi jianlun Nanchao wenwuguan wei ji qingzhuo." For the assignment of members of the imperial family to important governing posts, see Zhou, "Nanchao jingnei zhi gezhongrenji zhengfu duidai zhi zhengce." Both Zhao Yi and Ochi Shigeaki attribute the increasing employment of hanmen in office to the incompetence of members of the Great Families (all tainted, of course, by their fengliu ), which, as Zhao Yi remarks, left the emperors with no choice but to turn to the hanmen. I am more inclined to see the shift as a consequence of deliberate imperial strategy. See Zhao Yi, Nianer shi zhaji (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1963), juan 8, pp. 154-55; Ochi, "Thoughts on the Understanding of the Han and Six Dynasties," pp. 42ff. and passim.

12. Biography in Nan Qi shu, juan 1, pp. 1-2. The discrepancies between the genealogies of Qi Gao Di ( Nan Qi shu, juan 1, p. 1 ) and his distant cousin, Liang Wu Di ( Liang shu, juan 1, p. 1) may be the result of scribal error. However, the inconsistency suggests the usual fabrication. See also the first Qi emperor's statement to Wang Jian and Chu Yuan that he is from a commoner clan ( "buyi suzu." Nan Qi shu, juan 2, p. 38).

13. In the short space of approximately twenty years, seven emperors occupied the throne, some for only a few months. Barry Till and Paula Swart have thoughtfully provided a genealogical table of the Southern Qi dynasty in their translation of one of the archaeological reports ("Tombs," p. 120).

14. See, for example, Wang Sengqian's exhortation to his sons to study in order to maintain the family's position, in Nan Qi shu, juan 33, pp. 598-99. For the discussion, see Johnson, Medieval Oligarchy, p. 104; for a more reserved interpretation, see Ochi Shigeaki, "O * Sochin * no kaishisho o megutte." break

15. For fifth-century examples of forging the registers, see, e.g., Nan Qi shu, biography of Yu Wanzhi, juan 34, p. 609; Balazs, Le Moyen Âge, pp. 103ff. For discussion of the controversial issues, see Johnson, Medieval Oligarchy, esp. chap. 7; Grafflin, "The Great Family."

16. Dubious ancestry in this case refers to Man Zhangzhi's mixed official and commoner ancestry. The accusation is included in Wen xuan, juan 4, pp. 91-94 ( Zoutan Wang Yuan ) and is discussed and partially translated by Johnson, Chinese Oligarchy, pp. 9-10.

17. Wen xuan, juan 4, pp. 95-96; translated by Johnson, Medieval Oligarchy, p. 10.

18. Wen xuan, juan 4, p. 91; Johnson, Medieval Oligarchy, p. 9. For an interesting discussion of the regulations and attitudes toward marriage, see T'ung-tsu Ch'ü, Law and Society in Traditional China, pp. 128-35, 154-57. 1 do not suggest that this was a democratic society, for the road to mobility was limited to those with education. Thus, and as always, the majority of the population was excluded.

19. See especially the remarks of Fei Hsiao-tung on the later importance of marriage as a means for social mobility ("Peasants and Gentry: An Interpretation of Chinese Social Structure and its Changes" [ American Journal of Sociology 52.1 (1946)]: esp. 11). T'ung-tsu Ch'ü also cites and comments on this passage ( Law and Society, p. 33, n. 8).

20. For a brilliant reconstruction of the contacts between north and south, see Alexander Soper, "South Chinese Influence on the Buddhist Art of the Six Dynasties Period." For the splendors of Southern Qi culture and its impact on northern emissaries, see esp. pp. 72-81.

21. H. S. Galt, A History of Chinese Educational Institutions, pp. 282-89.

22. Biography in Liang shu, juan 13, pp. 232-44. His great work, the History of the Song Dynasty ( Song shu ), was presented to the throne in 488. His survival was a remarkable achievement, considering the number of rebellions and counter-rebellions in which so many of his cohort lost their lives. Poverty, of course, is always a relative matter in Chinese biographies. The family may have been poor following his father's execution; nevertheless, Shen Yue managed to obtain an education. For recent discussion of Shen Yue, see Richard B. Mather., "Shen Yüeh's Poems of Reclusion: From Total Withdrawal to Living in the Suburbs," and "Individualist Expressions of the Outsiders during the Six Dynasties," pp. 208-10.

23. Galt, Educational Institutions, esp. p. 289. The philosophical debates of the third century were no longer questions of ideology. Laozi, Zhuangzi, and the commentaries of He Yan, Wang Bi, and Guo Xiang were now classics that every educated man was expected to know. Wang Sengqian, exhorting his sons to study, refers specifically to the ideas of the third century, including Xi Kang's Music Has Neither Grief Nor Joy ( Nan Qi shu, juan 33, pp. 598-99). Ying-shih Yü has translated the passage in which Wang points out the pitfalls for one who would discourse on these matters without proper education ("Individualism," p. 142).

24. Liu, Theories of Literature, p. 8. The earliest account is Xiao Zixian's in his Nan Qi shu, juan 52, p. 898 ; juan 48, p. 841. For a study of the literature of the Yongming period, see Ami Yuji * , Chugoku * chusei * bungaku kenkyu * : Nan Sei Eimei jidai o chushin * to shite. David Knechtges provides important back- soft

ground material in the introduction to his translation of the Wen xuan, as does John Marney in Chiang Yen and Liang Chien-wen Ti.

25. Xiao Zixian states directly, for example, that Prince Xiao Ziliang was not a polished ( wen cai ) writer ( juan 40, p. 701). The prince's writings were mostly Buddhist in nature, although he and Changmao both wrote "Double-Ninth Festival poems," a practice made fashionable by Tao Yuanming.

26. For an account of the bibliomania of the period, see Knechtges's introduction, Wen xuan, vol. 1, p. 6; p. 493, n. 46.

27. See, for example, Xiao Zixian's remarks in re: Shen Yue, Wang Rong, et al. in Nan Qi shu, juan 52, p. 898. For a recent translation of this passage, see Knechtges's introduction, Wen xuan, vol. 1, p. 11.

28. Xiao Changmao's biography is in Nan Qi shu, juan 21, pp. 397-402; Xiao Ziliang's, in ibid., juan 40, pp. 692-701. See also Ami Yuji * , "Nan Sei Kyoryo * O * Sho * Shiryo * no bungaku katsudo * ni tsuite" ( Tohogaku * ronsho, vol. 2 [1954]: 116-36) and "Nan Sei Kyoryo * O no chi yu * ni tsuite" ( Zinbun kagaku kiyeo, vol. 4 [Tokyo, 1953]: 1-43). Both papers are included in chapter 3 of Ami's Chugoku * chusei * bungaku kenkyu * .

29. For Ziliang's interest in ancient calligraphy, paper, and ink, see his letter to Wang Sengqian in Zhang Pu, Han Wei Liuchao baisan jia ji, juan 63.1 (Taibei, 1963): 2249.

30. Nan Qi shu, juan 40, p. 698.

31. Biographies are as follows: Fan Yun (451-503), Liang shu, juan 13, pp. 229-32; Ren Fang (460-508), Liang shu, juan 14, pp. 251-58; Wang Rong (467-493), Nan Qi shu, juan 47, pp. 817-25; Xie Tiao, Nan Qi shu, juan 47, pp. 825-28; Xiao Chen (478-519) Liang shu, juan 26, pp. 396-98.

32. Xiao Yan's (464-549) biography appears in Liang shu, juan 1, p. 2; Lu Chui's (470-526), in Liang shu, juan 27, p. 401-3.

33. Shen Yue and Lu Chui were from old southern families. Wang Rong was from the famous northern Langya family; his mother was a Xie; Shen Yue and Fan Yun were said to have been poor; Xiao Yan and Xiao Chen were distantly related to the imperial family, and so forth.

34. So well known were the Seven Worthies that Yang Xuanzhi twice identifies a site outside Luoyang as the place where Xi Kang was executed (W. J. F. Jenner, Memories of Loyang, p. 181). Shuijing zhu identifies the site similarly ( juan 16, p. 538).

35. For the proposed dates of completion, see Wright, "Biography and Hagiography," pp. 399-400; for Huijiao's purpose, pp. 385-87 (note the emphasis on literary ability, p. 386).

36. As Arthur Wright remarks, "Those eulogies were particularly suited to Hui-chiao's inclination to seek for his subjects status in the intellectual life of their times" (ibid., p. 428).

37. See Liang shu, juan 13, p. 242, for the comparison with Shan Tao. The essay is included in YKJ: Quan Liang wen, juan 29.1-2, and has been partially translated by Holzman ("Les Sept Sages," p. 344). For Shen Yue's circumspection and ambivalence, see Mather, "Shen Yüeh's Poems"; for his links with RuanJi and Xi Kang, see Mather, "Individualist Expressions." Professor Mather's discussion of Shen Yue's essay (personal communication) has been of inestimable help. The interpretation is mine alone.

38. In his interpretation Shen Yue clearly links himself with Ruan Ji continue

and Xi Kang and with their ability to discern the truth. See, for example, Xi Kang's poem on Dongfang Shuo ( XKJJ, p. 43; Holzman, "La Poésie," pp. 328-29).

39. For Jiang Yan's imitations, see Marney, Chiang Yen, chap. 2 and pp. 87-91. For Bao Zhao, Wang Su, and Yu Xin, see ibid., p. 158, n. 1. See also Holzman, Poetry and Politics, pp. 237-39.

It is revealing to read the Tang commentary of Li Shan, in which he cites the sources of Ren Fang's allusions in his "Conduct Description of King Wenxuan of Jingling," a prose necrology for Prince Xiao Ziliang. The essay dwells primarily on the prince's many offices held, his concern for the people, his princely virtue. The language is recondite, requiring a commentary some three times the length of the essay. Ren Fang, as one would expect of such a highly educated man, alludes to the Classics, but he also alludes to Ruan Ji, Xi Kang, and Shan Tao—not by name, but by his language. They too had become classics ( Wen xuan, juan 5, pp. 255-64). For the xingzhuang, see Knechtges, Wen xuan, vol. 1, p. 86.

40. The Tang commentary includes also the commentaries by Yan Yanzhi and Shen Yue to Ruan Ji's poems ( juan 2, pp. 243ff.). For the history of the anthology, see Knechtges, Wen xuan, vol. 1, pp. 4ff.

41. Wixted, "Shih-p'in," with full bibliography. The date for the composition of the Shipin is not known. Wixted notes that the latest possible date for its completion is 517.

42. Ruan Ji is placed in the first rank, Xi Kang in the second. For discussion of the latter, see Holzman, "La Poésie," pp. 110-12. For Zhong Rong's evaluations of Ruan Ji, see Chia-ying Yeh and Jan W. Walls, "Theory, Standards, and Practice of Criticizing Poetry in Chung Hung's 'Shih-p'in,'" p. 57; for Xi Kang, ibid., p. 58; Wixted, "Shih-p'in," p. 237.

43. Chinese text and English translation in Vincent Shih's The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons. Two recent articles pertinent to this discussion are Wixted, "Skih-p'in," and Kang-i Sun Chang, "Chinese 'Lyric Criticism' in the Six Dynasties." Yang Mingzhao states that the work was completed at the end of Qi, 501-502, as the internal evidence makes clear ( Wenxin diaolong jiaozhu shiyi, Introduction, p. 3).

44. Shih, Literary Mind, pp. 497, 68-69.

45. Ibid., pp. 309, 83.

44. Shih, Literary Mind, pp. 497, 68-69.

45. Ibid., pp. 309, 83.

46. Note how closely Liu Xie's evaluation of the works of He Yan follows the third-century judgment of Yan's character—"superficial and shallow" ( fu qian; ibid., p. 68).

47. Ibid., pp. 421, 515.

48. Ibid., pp. 513, 515.

46. Note how closely Liu Xie's evaluation of the works of He Yan follows the third-century judgment of Yan's character—"superficial and shallow" ( fu qian; ibid., p. 68).

47. Ibid., pp. 421, 515.

48. Ibid., pp. 513, 515.

46. Note how closely Liu Xie's evaluation of the works of He Yan follows the third-century judgment of Yan's character—"superficial and shallow" ( fu qian; ibid., p. 68).

47. Ibid., pp. 421, 515.

48. Ibid., pp. 513, 515.

49. E.g., "Liu Ling's alcoholic nature was deep . . . ; [the five others] were fengliu ." Xi Kang and Ruan Ji associated with them because "man's basic nature, which includes his feelings, requires other like-minded persons to whom one is committed in friendship, in order to find comfort and delight for one's present years, and to ease and relieve one's pent-up feelings. If there had not been the association with those five, with whom would [they] have associated?" I owe the translation of this passage to Richard B. Mather (personal communication).

50. Shen Yue's identification with Xi Kang and Ruan Ji is obvious, as he continue

recognizes in them his own inner anguish and solutions to survival in a dangerous time (for which see Mather, "Shen Yüeh"). Following Shen Yue's death, when it was proposed to honor him with the name of Wen (surely appropriate for a man of eminent literary achievement) the emperor (Liang Wu Di) demurred. "His feelings and emotions he never fully expressed," he remarked; he therefore changed the name to Yin ( Liang shu, juan 6, p. 243). Yin means secret, or hidden. It is also one of the words for "recluse." Thus the name for Shen Yue implies that he was a recluse at court—as the emperor understood.

51. Shih, Literary Mind, p. xlviii.

52. Ibid., pp. 3, 307 (see also p. 395), 309.

53. Ibid., p. 309 with modification. The characterization of him as gallant is an allusion, I believe, to his friendship with Lü An, said by some to have cost him his life. See the Commentary in Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 21, p. 606.

51. Shih, Literary Mind, p. xlviii.

52. Ibid., pp. 3, 307 (see also p. 395), 309.

51. Shih, Literary Mind, p. xlviii.

52. Ibid., pp. 3, 307 (see also p. 395), 309.

54. Shu zhi wei ben (Shih, Literary Mind, p. 341).

55. Ibid. Note the resonance with Shen Yue's dilemma, as discussed by Mather ("Shen Yüeh").

56. Ibid., p. 463.

57. Ibid., p. 465. "During the reign of Emperor Ming (227-239) the emperor himself wrote poetry and composed musical scores. He collected writers and housed them in the Ts'ung-wen monastery. Here Ho (Yen), Liu (Shao), and other literary men vied to outshine one another. Among the young rulers who succeeded Ming, Kao-kuei (Hsiang-kung, or Mao, 254-260) alone was a man of refinement and grace; his very glance conveyed an impression of literary elegance, and the words he uttered extemporaneously formed perfect essays. . . . In this period we find Hsi (K'ang), Juan (Chi), Ying (Chü), and Miu (Hsi) galloping abreast on the thoroughfare of literature" (ibid).

54. Shu zhi wei ben (Shih, Literary Mind, p. 341).

55. Ibid. Note the resonance with Shen Yue's dilemma, as discussed by Mather ("Shen Yüeh").

56. Ibid., p. 463.

54. Shu zhi wei ben (Shih, Literary Mind, p. 341).

55. Ibid. Note the resonance with Shen Yue's dilemma, as discussed by Mather ("Shen Yüeh").

56. Ibid., p. 463.

54. Shu zhi wei ben (Shih, Literary Mind, p. 341).

55. Ibid. Note the resonance with Shen Yue's dilemma, as discussed by Mather ("Shen Yüeh").

56. Ibid., p. 463.

58. It appears again in a letter of condolence from the Liang prince, Xiao Gang (the future Emperor Jianwen), to the brother of his deceased friend Liu Zun (d. 535), where drinking companions, flushed ears, discussions of literature, and men's characters are all linked in sad evocation ( Liang shu, juan 41, p. 593).

59. Shih, Literary Mind, p. 471.

60. "So I leave it to those who are better endowed with insight and wisdom to sing praise to the time" (ibid., p. 473). These two passages are the surest evidence for the date of the completion of the book. From the text it is not clear which Qi emperor this might be. Shih assumes it to refer to the first years of the reign of Xiao Baojuan (Donghun Hou), 499-501 (ibid.).

61. Ibid., pp. 511, 513-17. See also pp. 518-19, where Liu Xie's ambiguous remarks regarding the gentleman seem to apply to both ruler and subject.

62. In short, almost everybody. For a case in point, see Ochi Shigeaki, "Shin Yaku to Sosho * ."

63. See, for example, Shih, Literary Mind, pp. 251, 301, 321, 343. Later, Xiao Tong also applies it to literature (see his letter to Xiao Yi in YKJ: Quan Liang wen, juan 20.2. See also E. Bruce Brooks, "A Geometry of the Shr * pin * ," pp. 124, 142. That this conception is not very different from the earlier view is clear from Liu Xie's statement that "in the art of literary writing, temperament and readiness for expression are of prime importance: that is, it is essen- soft

tial to keep the mind pure and tranquil so that its vitality may find spontaneous expression" (Shih, Literary Mind, p. 433, as modified by Kang-i Sun Chang, "Lyric Criticism," p. 221; emphasis added).

64. "Letter to Wu Zhi," quoted in the Wei lue ( Sanguo zhi, juan 21, p. 608).

65. Shih, Literary Mind, p. 509; emphasis added. See also the discussion of Kang-i Sun Chang, "Lyric Criticism," pp. 220-21.

66. Fan Yun and Fan Zhen, for example, both of whom participated in the group presided over by Xiao Ziliang. See Soper, "South Chinese Influence," p. 74.

67. Soper reports the Wei emperor's pride in paralleling Qi Wu Di's assignment to Xiao Ziliang's staff of the scholar and poet Wang Rong (ibid., pp. 74-75).

68. By this time the whole world knew, from Liu Yiqing and Liu Jun, that the stories about the Bamboo Grove were probably fictitious (e.g., SSXY 9.71; 17.2). It was a concept too close to each courtier's personal dilemma, too loaded with cultural emblemata for each emperor, to be discarded.

69. Alexander Soper recounts the burial of Wang Su (464-501), who had served both Emperor Wu and his son, Wenhui. Having fled to the north following the execution of his family, he entered the service of the Northern Wei emperor Gaozu. At his death he was given a state funeral, then "assigned an unique tomb site: he was buried midway between the mounds of the recently deceased minister-scholar Li Ch'ung [Li Chong], and of the famous third-century minister Tu Yü [Du Yu], so that their spirits might enjoy each other's company" ("South Chinese Influence," pp. 76-77). The Seven Worthies and Rong Qiqi were brought even closer.

70. By this date the relationship between drinking and love of literature had become a virtual cliché. See, for example, Nan Qi shu, juan, 48, p. 840 (biography of Kong Zhigui) and p. 843 (Liu Tian).

71. Nan Qi shu, juan 51, pp. 881-82. This anecdote is used by Zhou Yiliang to demonstrate that military men, no matter how high their rank, were not of the "pure," or official, class ( "Nan Qi shu Qiu Lingju zhuan," p. 111). Note that there are always clusters of talent and behavior: For the child Xintai's skill at qingtan and at impressing important people, see his biography ( Nan Qi shu, juan 51, p. 881).

72. Of course we can't know whose image the emperor had in mind. It might have been the following: "In the eastern garden grows a green pine / . . . I lift my jug to hang on a cold branch / From time to time I stare into the distance: / Born into the midst of dream-illusion / Why should I submit to dusty bonds?" But then, whose image did Tao Yuanming have in mind? ("Drinking Wine VIII," translated by Hightower, "T'ao Ch'ien's 'Drinking Wine' Poems," p. 18).

73. Nanjing, "Huqiao Nanchao damu" pp. 48-49. See also Nanjing, "Huqiao, Jianshan," pp. 1-17; Till and Swart, "Tombs," pp. 74-124. Good reproductions of the finds may be found in Yao and Gu, Liuchao yishu.

74. For the floral designs, see Susan Bush, "Floral Motifs and Vine Scrolls in Chinese Art of the Late Fifth to Early Sixth Centuries A.D. "

75. All the tombs face south. Viewer's orientation is thus south to the north rear wall.

76. For the shoulu, see Needham, Science and Civilization, vol. 5.2, p. 129. break

77. The authors of the original report refer to these images as female, which, from some of the shapes of faces and from the inscriptions, I doubt (Nanjing, "Huqiao, Jianshan," p. 4).

78. For tianren, see, for example, Lin Shuzhong, "Nan Qi lingmu"; Juliano, Teng-hsien, p. 14; Yoshimura Rei, "Nanbokucho * butsuzo * yoshiki * shiron."

79. The Jinjia and Wujia reliefs are reported as 2.50 m × 0.85 m.

80. Nanjing, "Huqiao Nanchao damu," figs. 16-18; Nanjing, "Huqiao, Jianshan," p. 6 and figs. 20, 21. For discussion, see also, Lin Shuzhong, "Nan Qi lingmu," p. 67 and fig. 5. For military bands in Chinese art, see Yi Shui, "Han Wei Liuchao de junyue—'guchui' he 'hengchui."'

81. For the stone animals, see Nanjing, "Huqiao Nanchao damu," p. 44; Nanjing, "Huqiao, Jianshan," p. 1.

82. These images can be traced back to at least early Han, where they appear, for example, on the painted wood coffin of the Lady Dai at Mawangdui and on innumerable bronze mirrors. For the ancestry of the xian, see Max Kaltenmark's introduction to his translation of the Lie-sien tchouan (Beijing, 1953).

83. Nanjing, "Huqiao, Jianshan," pp. 4-5; Till and Swart, "Tombs," pp. 90-91.

84. Song shu, juan 29, p. 841. Shen Yue is of course transmitting ancient beliefs. His choices for inclusion are what concern us here. Like the Han Confucian scholars, he had messages to convey. Nan Qi shu reports the sighting of a three-footed crow in 486 ( juan 18, p. 358).

85. Song shu, juan 29, p. 867.

86. And not only energy—in sheer economic terms, the costs for alchemic supplies were very great and barred most of the population from undertaking such practices.

87. For discussion of the problematic distinctions between Daoist philosophy and religion, see Nathan Sivin, "On the Word 'Taoist' as a Source of Perplexity"; Michel Strickmann, "On the Alchemy of T'ao Hung-ching," pp. 166-67; Zürcher, Buddhist Conquest, p. 87. The recent, often brilliant, work of many scholars has transformed our understanding of Daoist beliefs of this period, and I list here but a few of these sources as guidelines: For the formation of the Daoist Canon (and much else), Chen Guofu, Daozang yuanliu kao. For the early history of the Mao Shan sect, Miyakawa Hisayuki, Rikucho * shi kenkyu * : shukyo * hen, pp. 127-52; Michel Strickmann, "The Maoshan Revelations; Taoism and Aristocracy," "Alchemy," and Le Taoïsme du Mao chan. Mugitani Kunio has assembled, with interpretation, a chronology of the life of Tao Hongjing in "To * Kokei * nempu koryaku * ." For the history of alchemic practices, see Needham et al., Science and Civilization 5.2-3-4. For analysis of Mao Shan texts, see Isabelle Robinet, La Révélation du Shangqing dans l'histoire du Taoïsme. Michel Strickmann, Le Taoïsme, chap. 5, presents an especially lucid outline of the texts revealed to Yang Xi, and of others edited or annotated by Tao Hongjing.

88. Effectively barred from high office by the northern émigré families, the old southern families were to triumph outside political institutions, in their adherence to, and further development of, a religious system that synthesized many earlier Daoist convictions and added new elements that were to continue

convert Daoism into a belief system for the elite (Strickmann, "Mao Shan" and Le Taoïsme ) For the import of the new revelations, see Strickmann, Le Taoïsme, esp. pp. 204ff. For the southerners, see, for example, Chen Yinke, "Tianshidao yu binhai diyuzhi guanxi"; Tang Changru, "Du Baopuzi tui lun Nanbeixue feng de yixiang"; Zhou Yiliang, "Nanchao jingnei zhi gezhongren."

89. Although the latter always crept in by the back door. For Cao Cao and fangshi, see Kenneth J. DeWoskin, Doctors, Diviners, and Magicians of Ancient China, pp. 83-86, 87-88, 144-46, 151.

90. Strickmann, "Mao Shan," p. 29, and Le Taoïsme, p. 204.

91. SSXY 14.29, 14.30. This characterization of Wang Xizhi was later to be applied to his callgraphy (see Jin shu, juan 80, p. 2093).

92. For the importance of the texts, see esp. Robinet, Shangqing, vol. 1, pp. 113-22; Strickmann, "Mao Shan," p. 27. For the striking parallel with the institutionalization of the Confucian Classics in the Han Dynasty, see Tjan, Po Hu T'ung, vol. 1, p. 95.

93. For an assessment of Tao Hongjing as the true founder of Mao Shan Daoism as a social entity, see Strickmann, Le Taoïsme, p. 29, and "Mao Shan," p. 39. For a summary of Tao's connections with the Qi court, see Strickmann, "Alchemy," pp. 156-57.

94. Liang shu, juan 51, p. 742.

95. Strickmann. Le Taoïsme, p. 86. For writing as a power over demons, see Anna Seidel, "Imperial Treasures and Taoist Sacraments—Taoist Roots in the Apocrypha—," p. 322.

96. Robinet, Shangqing, chap. 10, for the detailed literary analysis.

97. Ibid. For Xi Kang and Ruan Ji specifically, see pp. 149, 151-52, 157-59.

96. Robinet, Shangqing, chap. 10, for the detailed literary analysis.

97. Ibid. For Xi Kang and Ruan Ji specifically, see pp. 149, 151-52, 157-59.

98. Nor should we ignore the folk beliefs that apparently were already in circulation at this tirne—Xi Kang frozen by munching a stalactite, for example. The story, which appears in Xi Kang's biography, may have been known to Shen Yue and Yan Zhitui (see Ssu-yü Teng, Family Instructions for the Yen Clan: Yen-shih chia-hsün [Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1969], pp. 96-97). Several ghost stories featuring Xi Kang are related by Groot, Religious System, vol. 4, pp. 117-18; Gulik, Lore of the Lute, pp. 152-53. Li Daoyuan, in his discussion of the gatherings in the Bamboo Grove, states that people later erected a temple on the property ( Shuijing zhu, juan 9, p. 301). I interpret this as a spirit shrine, erected to propitiate the soul of one who died a violent death (see Rolf A. Stein, "Religious Taoism and Popular Religion from the Second to Seventh Centuries," pp. 65-67).

Folk beliefs and superstitions were deplored and abjured by Mao Shan adherents, who sought to dissociate their sect from them. The fact of repeated abjurement, in my opinion, is sufficient evidence that they were unsuccessful in their attempts.

99. For nourishing life, see Needham et al., Science and Civilization, vol. 5.2, p. 114; Strickmann, "Alchemy," p. 189; Robinet, Shangqing, vol. 1, p. 39. For Mr. Great Man (Daren xiansheng zhuan), YKJ: Quan Sanguo wen, juan 46.5-11; Holzman, Poetry and Politics, pp. 185-226. For Supreme Purity, XKJJ, pp. 4-5; Holzman, "La Poésie," pp. 119-20. For the Purple Court (the first mention of, according to Holzman), XKJJ, pp. 51-52; Holzman, "La Poésie," p. 340. break

Liu Jun, in his Commentary to the SSXY, adds a short abridgment of Nourishing Life, and it is significant that he includes the following: "If a person could truly be impregnated with the vapor of magic mushrooms [ lingzhi ] and bathed in sweet springs . . . he would become self-possessed [ zi de ] and actionless [ wuwei ], his body subtle, his mind abstruse. . . . Peradventure he could match his age [with ancient adepts]" ( SSXY 4.21).

100. SSXY 18.1, 24.3.

101. Nan Qi shu, juan 54, p. 941; Nan shi, juan 75, p. 1862; translated by Soper, Textual Evidence, p. 19. Zong Ce excelled in his knowledge of the Yijing and the Laozi and wrote a supplement to Huang fu Mi's Gaoshi zhuan. For Ruan Ji's encounter, see chapter 5, note 28. Liu Jun, in his Commentary to this anecdote, includes Dai Kui's remark that Ruan Ji composed his Mr. Great Man following this meeting and that the important point is that Ruan Ji and Mr. Great Man are the same. As for the mutual harmony of their whistling, Dai Kui implies that it is a method of communicating the Way ( SSXY 18.1).

102. Zhengao, juan 13.9b. The story is recounted in SSXY 18.2 (as well as in the Commentary to Sanguo zhi (Wei shu), juan 21, p. 606), and is expanded extensively in Liu Jun's commentary.

103. Zhengao, juan 17.16a-b. For discussion of the lost text Xi Kang is said to have copied ( Dongfang xianjin jing ), see Robinet, Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 277.

104. Isabelle Robinet, "Metamorphosis and Deliverance from the Corpse in Taoism." For deliverance by means of the corpse ( shijie ) see pp. 57-66; for transformation by purification, pp. 66-68; Shangqing, vol. 1, pp. 119, 138, 172-73.

105. Robinet, Shangqing, vol. 1, p. 174. For the precedent, the dispensation granted by The Perfected to Xu Mi, see Strickmann, Taoïsme, pp. 194-95. Note their insistence that he guard his inner spirit.

106. Strickmann, "Mao Shan," p. 9. The dragons and tigers associated with the xian images may well be the symbolic representations of the directions east and west. It should be noted, however, that from at least the second century A.D. , the terms for dragon and tiger were important in alchemic texts (Needham et al., Science and Civilization, vol. 5.3, p. 66). For their importance in Mao Shan liturgy, and the amalgamation of the incense burner with the alchemist's furnace, see Strickmann, "Alchemy," p. 169.

107. Zhenjiangshi bowuguan, "Zhenjiang Dongjin huaxiang zhuan mu" ( WW 1973.4, pp. 51-58); Yao and Gu, Liuchao yishu, figs. 146-60.

108. See, for example, K. Schipper's pertinent comments on Daoist belief and ziran: "True spontaneity . . . must be acquired by the training and cultivation of oneself" ( Le Corps Daoïste [Paris: Fayard, 1982], p. 61).

109. In the absence of evidence, I have refrained from speculating about the number eight and its possible metaphoric value, especially since the number eight may not be the significant number for the Seven Worthies mural. Rather, it might be the number nine—eight historical figures plus one, the deceased. One can find metaphysical correspondences for any given number of pictorial images in Chinese cosmology. A tempting speculation, however, is some association with the Mao Shan concept of bajing, Eight Effulgences. For which, see Maspero, Taoism and Chinese Religion, pp. 458, 553-54; Strickmann, "Alchemy," pp. 173-75; and, especially, Max Kaltenmark, "Jing yu bajing" (in Chinese). As a further suggestion, and related to the former, one continue

should not overlook the important Han dynasty precedent of the Prince of Huainan and the eight men who gathered at his court. Shuijing zhu records a shrine at Bagong shan (Eight-Duke Mountain) commemorating the ascent into the sky of Liu An (Huainanzi) and the eight men whose secret techniques made this possible. Li Daoyuan found nine images ( xiang ), apparently paintings ( tu ), of the men in the shrine and describes their apparel and accoutrement, but not, unfortunately, their postures and gestures. He mentions a stele erected in 492, under the Southern Qi, in front of the shrine ( juan 32, pp. 1020-21. Most of the passage has been translated by Soper, Textual Evidence, p. 20).

110. Chang, "'Lyric Criticism,"' p. 219. "This tendency to dwell on the most essential qualities of objects is in keeping with an important device employed by Chinese lyric poets from as early as the Shi jing —namely, the use of simple image. The structure of the simple image is similar to the syntactic pattern known as 'topic and comment,' in which a noun-topic is juxtaposed with a simple comment describing its most typical quality. . . . The assumption is that readers, already acquainted with the object, will be inspired by the simple 'comments' to imagine an entire range of meanings. These 'comments' are sometimes like key words" (ibid.).

As in poetry, so in the pictorial arts: "In looking at a work of art we will always project some additional significance that is not actually given. Indeed we must do so if the work is to come to life for us. The penumbra of vagueness, the 'openness' of the symbol is an important constituent of any real work of art" (E. H. Gombrich, "Aims and Limits of Iconology," p. 18).

111. Although Rong Qiqi was ignored by literary critics, his example was by no means forgotten. See, for example, Yu Wanzhi's reference to Rong Qiqi's "three joys" in his request for retirement ( Nan Qi shu, juan 34, p. 610), or Wang Rong's verse where "Master Jung's [Rong's] three joys are not remarkable" (translated by Richard B. Mather, "Wang Jung's 'Hymns on the Devotee's Entrance into the Pure Life,'" p. 90, poem 21). Shuijing zhu repeats the Liezi version of the ancient encounter with Confucius ( juan 24, p. 792).

112. The absence of bamboo trees in these depictions of the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove remains an intriguing question. It is likely that at the time of the earliest extant relief the specificity of a bamboo grove was not yet firmly associated with these men. Early accounts specifying the bamboo grove as their gathering place do not survive except in later, fifth-century commentaries (see chapter 4 of this volume). Perhaps still other early accounts were more general, so that at the time the original was produced the tradition of a bamboo grove may not have been so firmly established, as it surely was by the end of the fifth century. The Jinjia and Wujia reliefs, whatever the number of intervening copies, so obviously derive from the Nanjing mural (which may itself derive from a still earlier depiction) that any suggestion of independent origin seems untenable. Perhaps by this date conventional forms were more important to patrons and viewers than "correcting errors," a point I shall discuss further in the final chapter.

The curious shrub next to the whistling figure in the Jinjia mural may represent the tree of ringed orbs, or tree with ringlike fruit. For the Daoist associations, see Strickmann, "Alchemy," pp. 135, 176. break

7— Conveying the Spirit

1. See chapter 5, n. 13, above.

2. Note that similarities of all faces within each set prevail. On the reliefs at Wujiacun, for example, all are faces of old men.

3. The same gesture can be found in the Yinan tomb, where the pushed-up sleeves of the respective figures also curve sharply out and up, as in the two Southern Qi images. See, for example, plates 41 and 45 in Zeng et al., Yinan.

4. Nanjing, "Shitan 'Zhulin qixian,"' pp. 18-19.

5. Ibid. The differences have led the author of the Wenwu discussion to conclude that the three murals do not derive from the same original sketch or painting, and that, moreover, the Southern Qi finds were perhaps designed in the workshops in which they were manufactured. The Nanjing mural he believes to derive from a painting, the question of Gu Kaizhi, Dai Kui, Lu Tanwei as artist remaining moot (ibid., pp. 19-21). For other discussions of the identification of the painter, see, e.g., Lin Shuzhong, "Nan Qi lingmu," p. 71; Zheng Minzhong, "Dui Nanjing Xishanqiao Liuchao mu huaxiang de kanfa"; Max Loehr, The Great Painters of China (New York: Icon Editions, Harper and Row, 1980), pp. 20-21.

4. Nanjing, "Shitan 'Zhulin qixian,"' pp. 18-19.

6. Nanjing, "Shitan 'Zhulin qixian,"' pp. 19-20.

7. Zheng, "Nanjing Xishanqiao Liuchao mu," pp. 51-52.

8. I have already argued my disagreement. However, the assumption that an artist at court, whether amateur or professional, would be—or could be—familiar with the correct method of playing the qin is reasonable, although depicting it in proper position may have been of no interest to him. I do not know how the qin was held in the Nanbeichao period, but if the qin held in the lap cannot produce much sound and, in such a position, is evocative more of its mere presence—music without sound—than of actual music, then the direction of the bridge and the finger positions are irrelevant. When, therefore, we observe in Han dynasty funerary art numerous examples of the qin held in the lap—even in entertainment scenes of music and dancing—are we not already viewing a convention, without foundation in reality but with meaning to maker and viewers? A hanging scroll attributed to Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322), "Playing the Qin," in the C. C. Wang collection, shows a scholar with a qin across his lap. The fingers of his right hand arch as if they are actually plucking strings rather than merely resting on them. Gulik publishes a painting he attributes to Shen Zhou (1427-1509) in which, again, the qin rests on a scholar's lap as he assiduously plucks the strings ( Lore of the Lute, p. 67). Are we to assume that these literati painters did not know how the instrument was actually played? Or shall we assume that they were employing conventions, probably in full knowledge that they were doing so? A similar example may be seen in fig. 37, where the hare in the moon stands under a tree that everybody knows is a cassia tree. That it resembles no cassia tree known to me is irrelevant because everybody knows that a cassia grows in the moon. Hence it is a cassia.

9. "No design in portraiture can be beautiful unless it is relevant to the sitter [which is to say, to the patron], because in portraiture irrelevance is ugliness" (Herbert Furst, Portrait Painting: Its Nature and Function, p. 140). break

10. See, for example, E. H. Gombrich's discussion in "The Grotesque Heads," and esp. pp. 69-70 for the Mona Lisa as both portrait and type.

11. Susan Bush, for example, has characterized the Danyang reliefs as inferior to the Nanjing mural ("Floral Motifs," p. 51, n. 9).

12. I do not mean to imply that quality is never an issue. But the criteria for making a judgment must surely rely, to some extent at least, on the intent of the artist and, in the case of the three relief portraits, on understanding the changes that may occur in the process of copying. For a perceptive discussion of the latter, see, for example, the essay by Adam Gopnik, "The Art World: St. Peter's Feet and Rembrandt's Fountain" ( New Yorker, 4 July 1988, pp. 61-65). In the absence of the (presumed) original painting and of intervening reproductions between the earliest extant mural and the two later (badly damaged) reliefs, I can rely only on what must have been acceptable to patrons and viewers as meaningful portraiture. It is their judgment, not mine, that is of concern here.

13. "The artist who treats the clothing of his sitters with levity is taking liberties with the personality of his sitter and deceiving the spectator. For such reasons one may, for example, learn more about Carlyle by looking at his trousers and boots as painted by Greaves, than by looking at his head as rendered by Whistler, the master" (Furst, Portrait Painting, p. 68). For the informational aspects of, for example, Roman clothing (as always expressive of rank, age, social status, etc.), see Larissa W. Bonfante, "Roman Costumes. A Glossary and Some Etruscan Derivations" ( Aufsteig und Neidergang der römishchen Welt Revue Archéologique, vol. 1.4, pp. 584-614).

14. It should be noted, for those cultural or merely temporal situations where facial expression is important in portraiture, that such expression is also behavior, or movement. In that sense, the problem of the Chinese portraitist is no different from that of the European: how to capture, in a single-moment depiction, that essence of an individual that in life we perceive from a series of movements in time. See E. H. Gombrich, "Mask and Face," and compare his remarks on portraiture with Wang Yi's advice on depicting the parts of the face in the fourteenth century: "Only during a lively conversation will they show their original and genuine character. . . . The uncultured painters of modern times are like people who want to play the zither with pegs full of glue and who are ignorant of the laws of change and movement. They ask (the living model) to sit stiffly erected with his garments orderly arranged like a statue of clay and then start painting. This is the reason why they do not succeed . . . even once in ten thousand cases." The translation is by Herbert Franke, "Two Yüan Treatises on the Technique of Portrait Painting" ( Oriental Art 3.1 [1950]: 30).

15. The author of the report remarks that the figures of the reliefs show us gentry at its most self-possessed, and I surely agree. But where he sees indolence and dissipation, I have seen reclusiveness, cultivated self-possession, and ziran, self-so. It is a matter of interpretation, but the issue remains one of character as social ideal (Nanjing, "Shitan 'Zhulin qixian,'" pp. 18, 22). For interesting parallels in discussions of Renaissance portraiture, see Marianna Jenkins, The State Portrait, esp. pp. 32ff.

16. Peter Brown, "The Saint as Exemplar in Late Antiquity," p. 5. I shall continue

quote extensively from this superb paper to emphasize the remarkable analogies between the two cultures. For a discussion of "The Sage as Exemplar in Han-Dynasty China," one need only substitute Chinese particularities for those of Mediterranean Antiquity.

17. Mencius 7.21.4. Translated by Wei-ming Tu, "The Human in Mencian Thought," p. 66. Emphasis added.

18. Brown, "The Saint as Exemplar," p. 4. Compare this with Isabelle Robinet's remark that for the Mao Shan adept, the Saint was never a legendary person, out there. His image, rather, was interiorized; he was the model with which the adept identified himself, personally, continually, in his prayers ( Shangqing, vol. 1, p. 168).

19. Brown, "The Saint as Exemplar," p. 1. And further analogy: "Exposure to the classics of Greek and Latin literature was intended to produce exemplary beings, their raw humanity molded and filed away by a double discipline, at once ethical and esthetic. It was assumed that to be able to put words and thoughts together in an orderly and old-fashioned manner implied that one could also put one's life together with orderly and old-fashioned decency. Books, therefore, were there to produce persons; any other function was considered vaguely ridiculous" (ibid.).

20. The proliferation of anecdotes seems almost an effort to maintain the human quality of the Seven Worthies, not to let them drift into abstraction—heroization, allegory, etc. It is from Yu Xin, in the sixth century, for example, that we first hear of Shan Tao's singsong girls or Wang Rong's ruyi dance (true, earlier traditions may have been lost to us, but I suspect that they are much later inventions. Indeed, Yu Xin's reference to the ruyi dance may derive, not from anecdote, but from pictorial art). We first hear from Yang Xuanzhi in the sixth century of Shan Tao's capacity for wine, in his account of Prince Yu of Linhuai, who rewarded guests for writing poetry. One guest was ordered to drink a picul of wine in punishment for his "feeble verses." He drank four-fifths of it before collapsing in a drunken stupor, leading his contemporaries to compare him to Shan Tao (Jenner, Loyang, p. 236).

21. See, for example, Yu Xin's "Songs of Sorrow" no. 1, where the poet likens himself to "A Juan Chi who drinks no wine / A Hsi K'ang who never played the zither / Worn-out, drained, devoid of vitality" (William T. Graham, Jr. and James R. Hightower, "Yü Hsin's 'Songs of Sorrow,'" pp. 12-13). And compare: "They [i.e., the dead saints] seemed to have maintained a firm profile of beloved and admired persons; and this profile was not the result of a momentary decision or reflex to 'invest' them with sanctity: it had been both constructed and maintained by a long process of sensitization to distinctive, exemplary traits 'learned in early childhood and carried through to the grave"' (Brown, "The Saint as Exemplar," p. 13).

22. Compare: "The late classical sense that the present still lay wide open to permeation by a past conceived of as distant from it merely through the accident of time" (Brown, "The Saint as Exemplar," p. 7).

23. See, for example, John Marney's interpretation of Jiang Yan's poems in the style of Ruan Ji as satire twice removed ( Chiang Yen, pp. 28ff.). They "cannot be read except as intended, in the context of Juan's [Ruan Ji's] models. Only then will the full import of Yen's own satire against the Liu-Sung princes become apparent" (ibid., p. 41). break

24. "Songs of Sorrow" no. 4, in Graham and Hightower, "'Songs of Sorrow,"' pp. 17-18.

25. Wei-ming Tu, "'Inner Experience': The Basis of Creativity in Neo-Confucian Thinking," p. 14. Compare Peter Brown's characterization of the holy man in Late Antiquity as "the average Christian writ large: a bridge of shared values, if often as frail as the path of the moon across the sea, linked the man of the world to his exemplar" ("The Saint as Exemplar," p. 13). The enduring strength of these men as exemplars is noted by Donald Holzman in Poetry and Politics. See, for example, his discussion of a poem by Jao Tsung-i in the manner of Ruan Ji (pp. 240ff.).

26. Holzman, "Les Sept Sages," for a different interpretation of their immortality (pp. 343-44). For their immortality in art, see Laing, "NeoTaoism" and "Scholars and Sages."

27. SSXY 21.9. I have modified Mather's translation slightly. For Gu's remarks on the creative function of dotting the eyes, not relevant to the genre of portraiture, see Audrey Spiro, "New Light on Gu Kaizhi."

28. Ren Fang, "Qi Jingling Wenxuan xingzhuan" ( Wen xuan, juan 5, p. 263; this passage translated by Soper, Textual Evidence, p. 20).

29. Xu hua pin, pp. 45-46. The dates for Xie He and Yao Zui have been established by E. Zürcher, "Recent Studies on Chinese Painting," pp. 378-79. The essay is invaluable for understanding the relationship between literary and art criticism of the period, and especially the influence of literary criticism on Xie He's Guhua pinlu. Compare Yao Zui's criticism with Liu Xie's: "The painter who pays close attention to a hair misses the face, the archer who aims at the very small misses the wall" (Shih, Literary Mind, p. 439, with modification). For theories of art as theories of culture, see Clifford Geertz, "Art as a Cultural System."

30. Quoted by Noel Annan in the New York Review, 29 May 1986, p. 4. With regard to the book under review, John LeCarré, A Perfect Spy, Annan's comment is apropos: "The verisimilitude is so blinding that one can't believe in the truth."

31. Shih, Literary Mind, p. 481, with modification. Emphasis added. Compare the remarks on figure painting attributed to Gu Kaizhi: "To describe the spirit through form but omit its actual object is perverse as a means of trapping life and deficient as an effort to transmit spirit. To lack such actual objects [of attention] is a great failing. To have an object but lack accuracy is a lesser failing. One should not ignore this. The clarity or ambiguity of a single image is not equivalent to penetrating to the spirit through (its) apprehension of an object" ( WeiJin shengliu huazan, in LDMHJ, vol. 2.2, p. 71; English translation in Bush and Shih, Early Chinese Texts, pp. 33-34; emphasis added).

32. Compare Plutarch's remarks about Alexander's permitting only Lysippus to portray him: "because he alone expressed in brass the vigor of his mind, and in his lineaments represented the lustre of his virtue" (Jenkins, State Portrait, p. 43).

33. Kang-i Sun Chang, Six Dynasties Poetry, pp. 47ff. and n. i.

34. R. G. Collingwood, The Principles of Art, p. 53.

35 "It is true that every civilization and every culture can be identified by its style in art, and it follows that every style adopts forms of illusion appropriate to its attitude to reality" (Roland Penrose, "In Praise of Illusion" continue

[in R. L. Gregory and E. H. Gombrich, editors, Illusion in Nature and Art, London: Duckworth, 1973], p. 246).

36. For an interesting Renaissance example of the use of types in portraiture, see Peter Meller, "Physiognomical Theory in Heroic Portraits," pp. 53-69.

37. "Men whose ideal was the ability to recall large chunks of precise and exquisitely shaped material, internalized by memory at an early age, knew only too well what it was like to rummage in a silt of memories for the perfect citation, for the correct word, for the telling rhetorical structure" (Brown, "The Saint as Exemplar," p. 3).

38. Likeness, however, when viewed by the patron, may mean something rather more complicated. A concern for "realism," for example, might be inferred from Wei Shou's Wei shu, where the Liu-Song emperor complains that the portrait of his father (commissioned by him) lacks the pimples he bore in life. Such an interpretation, however, seems superficial in view of the context: examining portraits of his ancestors, the emperor's sole comments are about their character, not their appearance. His first remark upon viewing the portrait of his father was "That one was a great lecher, who didn't draw any line between noble and mean" ( Wei shu [Zhonghua shuju, Beijing: 1974], juan 97, p. 2146; Soper, Textual Evidence, pp. 17-18). It is not unreasonable to suggest that the emperor's concern to depict the "great pimply nose" had other connotations. For interesting examples of Renaissance patrons' influence on their "likenesses," see Kurt W. Forster, "Metaphors of Rule"; Joanna Woods-Marsden, " Ritratto al Naturale: Questions of Realism and Idealism in Early Renaissance Portraits." For recent discussions of likeness, see Richard Brilliant, ed., Portraits: The Limitations of Likeness.

39. "And this total meaning of the painting . . . is capable of directly evoking in the perceiver a certain attitude applicable to every reality with which he will come in contact. Thus it is not only by means of its theme but precisely by means of its artistic, verbally noncommunicable meaning that a work of art influences the way in which a perceiver who has really experienced it thereafter views reality and behaves towards reality" (Jan Mukarovský * , "The Essence of the Visual Arts," p. 239).

40. Similar questions are evoked by Roman portraiture. See, for a penetrating discussion of specific portraiture, Roman, that raises important questions for the analysis of the genre universally, Sheldon Nodelman, "How to Read a Roman Portrait."

41. Sheldon Nodelman, in Roman Portraits: Aspects of Self and Society, First Century B.C. -Third Century A.D. , pp. 15-16. The statement continues: "Necessarily incorporating current conceptions of portraiture—what aspects of a human being deserved representation and how they should be represented—such 'ideal' portraits were just as authentic as the images of contemporaries whose physical appearance could be ascertained at all. In a fundamental sense, indeed, all Greek and Roman portraits were 'ideal,' using details of actual appearance for the effective conveyance of higher truths" (p. 16).

42. "Ressemblant! Personne ne s'informe si les portraits des grands hommes sont ressemblants; il suffit que leur génie y vive" (Jacques Louis David). break

43. "What, then, :is interesting and essential in art is the spontaneous ability the artist has of enabling us to see his way of seeing the world—not just the world as if the painting were like a window, but the world as given by him. . . . The greatness of the work is the greatness of the representation the work makes material" (Arthur C. Danto, The Transfiguration of the Commonplace, p. 207). break