Lotus Flowers in a Wood Vase: Qing Dynasty Art Schools
The Individualists consisted of artists who remained dedicated to the fallen Ming dynasty. These artists produced highly personal works that dealt with their personal feelings in reaction to the conquest of china by the Manchus. Individualists held a very low opinion of Manchus viewing them as uneducated barbarians unworthy of exercising control over Chinese culture. Members of this school often retreated from governmental roles and society and many isolated themselves by becoming Buddhist monks.
It is likely that our piece was created by a member of the Individualist school since the lotus flower is a very important Buddhist symbol. The lotus flower grows in dirty ponds but once it blooms it is pure white. In Buddhist tradition the flower symbolized achieving freedom from the vices of the material world. As a result, much Buddhist art, especially depictions of Buddha himself, contain images of lotus flowers to symbolize the quest for nirvana and to demonstrate the achievability of this quest despite the impurities of the material world. It is quite possible that our piece was crafted by a Buddhist artist contemplating his journey towards enlightenment. However, the presence of the lotus flower does not guarantee that this is an individualist work. The lotus flower holds great symbolic importance outside of Buddhist tradition as well. The lotus flower was used to adorn the Confucian temple at Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius. The pillars of the Dachengdian, or main temple building, are decorated with multitudes of lotus flowers. This temple was erected in 479 BC demonstrating the long held significance of the lotus flower in Chinese culture outside of the Buddhist tradition which did not surface until the first century CE. Chinese reverence for the lotus is often linked to the flowers medicinal properties. Every part of the flower was utilized in Chinese medical practice making it one of the most important natural products of the Chinese landscape.
The Orthodox school was populated by artists dedicated to the preservation of Chinese artistic style and culture. Under the early Qing dynasty this school was led by Wang Shimin. Shimin was accomplished in the art of traditional Chinese painting and was also a collector of Chinese artwork. His influence led members of the school to first study masterworks of the past and then to try and incorporate these styles into their own art works. Members of the orthodox school often combined poetry and painting. A typical orthodox work would contain a poem describing a beautiful landscape followed by a painting offering a visual depiction of the same scene. Chinese painting was basically an extension of the art of calligraphy. Chinese painters sought to depict natural scenes using the same brushwork that they had developed while practicing calligraphy. Synthesis of written and visual work follows logically since the origins of Chinese painting are directly linked with the art of Chinese writing.
The Qing emperor Kangxi used the orthodox school in an effort to link the Qing dynasty with past Chinese culture. Kangxi commissioned Whang Hui, one of the prominent students of the orthodox school, to create a visual depiction of his journey to the south to survey his lands. Compiled in the “Southern Inspection Tour Scrolls” images of the young emperor surveying his land were created in accordance with traditional Chinese painting practices helping to link the emperor to Chinese culture heritage and consolidate support amongst dissidents still loyal to the Ming dynasty. Kangxi continued to use the knowledge of Whang Hui to expand the royal painting collection in a further effort to unite the current dynasty with Chinese culture of the past. This shrewd political maneuvering by Kangxi shows the important role that art played in both the cultural and political landscape during the Qing dynasty.