TIME AND SPACE IN CHINESE NARRATIVE PAINTINGS OF HAN AND THE SIX DYNASTIES

Pao-chen Chen


Time and Space in Chinese Culture


1995, pp. 239-285



p. 239 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS The rise of Chinese narrative painting began in the Han dynasty (207 B.C.-A.D. 220). Famous examples include two murals from Tomb No. 61 in Lo-yang 洛陽 (datable to 48-7 B.C.), one mural from a Han official's tomb in Ho-lin-ko-erh 和林格爾 (datable to A.D. 160s-170s), and many stone engravings from the Wu Liang Shrine 武梁祠 in Shantung (dated A.D. 151). In these paintings, the representations of characters, plots, and settings are simple; figures are almost always shown acting against a blank background in a limited number of scenes; the temporal progression is unclear; and the definition of space is ambiguous. In sharp contrast, the narrative paintings of the Six Dynasties demonstrate dramatic changes. The best examples are the Buddhist narrative paintings in the Tun-huang caves. As we shall see, in those paintings the representations of characters, plots, and settings are much more complicated, and the definitions of time and space become increasingly clearer and more specific than those found in the Han paintings. In this paper, I attempt to characterize various devices for the representations of time and space in narrative paintings from Han to the Six Dynasties in the light of their varied cultural backgrounds. Owing to a limit in space provided here, this paper will not include two important narrative handscrolls attributed to Ku K'ai- chih 顧愷之 (345-406): Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies (Nu-shih chen t'u 女史箴圖 ) and The Goddess of the Lo River (Lo-shen fu t'u 洛神賦圖 ). For a detailed discussion on the problems of these two scrolls, please see my dissertation, "The Goddess of the Lo River: A Study of Early Chinese Narrative Handscrolls, " Ph.D. dissertation, Princeton University, 1987, chapter 2, pp. 53-109. The main idea of the present paper, however, is derived from that of chapter three (pp. 110-189) of my dissertation just mentioned. p. 240 Here I wish to express my appreciation to Richard K. Kent for his kindness in editing my manuscript and to Mr. Pai Shih-ming 白適銘 for his patience in helping me to prepare the drawings for illustrations. NARRATIVE PAINTINGS OF THE HAN PERIOD Han narrative paintings are naive in narrative technique, ambiguous in temporal progression, and simple in spatial representation. According to my observations on archaeological finds, their compositions are of three types: simultaneous (T'ung-fa shih kou-t'u 同發或構圖 ), monoscenic (Tan-ching shih kou-t'u 單景式構圖 ), and continuous (Lien-hsu shih kou-t'u 連續式構圖 ). No evidence shows that these three types of composition evolved in sequence. Instead, they developed independently and show their own limits in representing time and space for a narrative. A detailed discussion follows. Simultaneous composition A simultaneous composition pictorially summarizes a story into one scene, in which figures appear only once; their actions and attributes indicate various incidents that occur in different time periods.(1) The best example is Ching K Assassinating the King of Ch 'in (Ching K'o tz'u Ch 'in-wang 荊軻刺秦王 ) engraved on a stone slab in the Wu Liang Shrine (pl. 1).(2) This narrative is based on Ching K'o's biography recorded in The Historical Records (Shih-chi 史記 ).(3) According to the text, Ching K'o (d. 227 B.C.) was a guest of Prince Tan (d. 225 B.C.) of Yen in the Hopei area, which was seriously threatened by Ch'in, a powerful tyranny in Shensi. In 227 B.C. Fan Yu-ch'i 樊於其 (d. 227 B.C.), a Ch'in general, fled his own country and sought ---------------------- 1. For more about its definition and pictorial examples, see Kurt Weitzmann, Illustrations in Roll and Codex, A Study of the Origin and Method of Text Illustration (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1970), pp. 13-14. 2. There is a second stone relief showing the same story also found in the Wu Liang Shrine; and a third one with a similar composition is found in Szechwan. 3. Ssu-ma Ch'ien, Shih-chi, Po-na-pen erh-shih-ssu- shih 百衲本二十四史, vol. 2, ch. 86, pp. 915-24. p. 241 political refuge in Yen. To punish the Yen state, the Ch'in tyrant, Cheng 政 (r.246-210 B.C.), who was to become the First Emperor of the Ch'in dynasty, demanded that both the general's head and a map of the Tu 都 and K'ang 亢 areas of Yen territory be sent to him. To save the prince from trouble, General Fan agreed to offer up his life and head. Ching K'o volunteered to deliver the general's head, the required map, and to assassinate the tyrant at the same time. What happened next is represented in the following picture. Accompanied by Ch'in Wu-yang 秦舞陽 (d. 227 B.C.), who carried General Fan's head in a box, Ching K'o brought the rolled up map into the Ch'in court, which is suggested by a column in the center of the composition. Inside the roll, he hid a dagger with which he hoped to fulfil his mission. But Ching K'o never got the chance, because the tyrant was alerted when he noticed Ch'in Wu-yang shaking nervously as he presented the box containing General Fan's head. After the Ch'in ruler had examined the head, which is seen in an open box on the ground to the right of the column, Ching E;'o began to unroll the map. As soon as had he reached the hidden dagger he seized the tyrant's sleeve. The tyrant thereupon leaped to his feet, fleeing so desperately that he left in Ching K'o's grasp part of a torn sleeve, which is represented floating in the space near the column. In his great panic, the tyrant forgot how to unshield his long sword to defend himself; instead, he ran in circles around a post and Ching K'o chased behind. Everybody was astounded: Ch'in Wu-yang was so scared that he prostrated himself on the floor shivering, as seen in the space to the upper right of the column; while the tyrant's guards, forbidden an access to the ruler without his command, stood helplessly in their usual array along two palace hallways. Finally, after being reminded by a guard, the tyrant pulled out his sword properly, which is seen in the upper left side of the column. At the same time, Ching K'o was pulled away by a guard, as shown in the upper right side of the column. There when realizing his mission was going to fail, the hero is overwhelmed by fury: his hair stands up, his mouth opens widely, he leaps up into the air, and he uses all his energy to hurl his dagger, which unfortunately misses its target and penetrates the column, as seen in the center of the composition. The assassination thus failed, and Ching K'o was killed. In a simultaneous composition, this Ching K'o picture shows p. 242 only the climax of the story. The temporal progression is represented in five stages, each suggested by one object or one figure. In chronological order, they develop from bottom to top, then from left to right, and terminate in the middle, as we have seen. All the figures and objects are shown in silhouette against a blank background. No spatial depth is represented. Once this narrative method and iconography had been established,(4) it became a pictorial convention and spread as far as the Szechwan area.(5) But, lacking a decipherable temporal progression, a narrative con- ---------------------------- 4. Whether the iconography of Ching K'o in the Wu Liang Shrine was an original design by a local artist at Chia-hsiang 嘉祥, or whether it was based on an established model remains unclear. According to Hsing I-t'ien 邢義田, there were iconographical models (t'u-p"u 圖譜 ) and copybooks (fen-pen 粉本 ) for figure paintings in the Eastern Han period. There were iconographical models for depicting Confucius' disciples (Kung-tzu t'u-jen fa 孔子徒人法 ), and those for depicting virtuous women and filial sons in history (lieh-nu chuan 列女傳, hsiao-tzu chuan 孝 子傳 ) which were designed by Liu Hsiang 劉向. For references, see Hsing I- t'ien, "Han-tai pi-hua te fa-chan han pi-hua mu 漢代壁畫的發展和壁畫墓 (The develop ment of wall paintings and mural-decorated tombs in the Han period), The Bulletin of History and Philology, Academia Sinica (March, 1986), vol. 57, pt. 1. pp. 156- 59, see also his article, "Han-tai Kung-tzu chien Lao-tzu te kou-ch'eng chi ch'i tsai she- hui ssu-hsiang shih shang te i-i 漢 代孔子見老子的構成及其在社會、 思想史上的意義 (The Han representations of 'Confucius meeting with Lao-tzu' and its significance in the social and intellectual history)," unpublished paper (1990), pp. 9, 42-47. 5. This compositional formula apparently was used throughout much of the empire during the Han dynasty. In the Wu Family Shrine there is a second stone relief with a similar composition although the locations of the figures are slightly modified: Ching K'o is shifted from right to left, Ch'in Shih-huang, from left to right, and Ch'in Wu-yang's prostration at the top has become a recumbent position in the lower right corner. In the third example found in Szechwan the composition remains similar to the one that we have just discussed here, but the iconography is different. The Szechwan picture focuses on the dynamic movements of Ching K'o and the Ch'in tyrant on both sides of a central post; and Ch'in Wu- yang's prostration before General Fan's head is again moved to the lower right corner of the scene; in addition to this, two guards are seen running away toward the left end of the picture. For these two plates, see Edouard Chavannes, Mission Archiologique dans la Chine Septentrionale (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1909), planches, No. 123; Richard C. Rudolph and Wen Yu, Han Tomb Art of West-China-- A Collection o/First-and-second-century Reliefs (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1951), pls. 15-16; Wen Yu 聞宥, Ssu-ch'uan Han tai hua-hsiang shih hsuan chi 四川漢代畫像石選集 (Selections of stone and brick engravings of the Han period as found in Szechwan) (Shanghai: Chun-lien ch'u-pan-che, 1955), pl. 55. For more information about the Wu Liang Shrine, see Jung Keng 容庚, Han Wu Liang tz'u hua-hsiang lu 漢武梁 祠畫象錄 (Catalogue of stone engravings in the Wu Liang Shrine of the Han period) (Peking: Yen-ching University, 1936), 2 vols; see also Wilma Fairbank, Adventures in Retrieval, Harvard-Yenching Institute Series 28 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1972), chapter 2, pp 41-86. See also Wu Hung, The Wu Liang shrine--the Ideology of Early Chinese Picto- rial Art (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1989). p. 243 veyed by a simultaneous composition like this one is hard to read, unless the viewer already knows the story. Other Han artists, wishing to create more specific temporal and spatial backgrounds for their narratives, turned to monoscenic and continuous compositions. Monoscenic composition A monoscenic composition shows certain characters' actions in a frozen moment.(6) The Banquet at Hung-men (Hung-men-yen 鴻門宴 ) in Tomb no. 61 at Lo-yang, datable to 48-7 B.C., reveals the Han artist's familiarity with this compositional technique (pl. 2).(7) A well-known story recorded in the Shih-chi, it tells how Hsiang Yu 項羽 (232-202 B.C.) plotted but failed to kill Liu Pang 劉邦 (247-195 B.C.) during a banquet at Hung-men in 206 B.C.; the two were military rivals who were competing for the throne upon the downfall of the Ch'in empire. Liu Pang, less powerful yet faster than Hsiang Yu, had already occupied the Ch'in capital, Hsien-yang 咸 陽 (near modern Hsi-an 西安 ), when Hsiang Yu and his army arrived at nearby Hung-men. Hsiang encamped his army at Hung-men, and invited Liu Pang to a banquet in his camp, where Liu's murder was planned by Fan Chen 范增 (d. 204 B.C.), Hsiang's military consultant. In deference to Hsiang's threatening power, Liu Pang came to the banquet with his assistants, including Chang Liang 張良 (d. 189 B.C.) and Fan K'uei 樊噲. During the banquet, Hsiang Chuang 項莊 was ordered to demonstrate a sword dance, during which he was to kill Liu Pang purportedly by accident. But Hsiang Chuang failed to carry out this stratagem, because Hsiang Po 項伯 purposely used his own body to protect ---------------------- 6. Sometimes a narrative cycle is represented with numerous single scenes, called "multiple monoscenic/episodic composition." For more discussion of this problem, see Kurt Weitzmann, Illustrations in Roll and Codex, A study of the Origin and Method of Text Illustration, pp. 14-17. This compositional device was widely used in narrative handscrolls. The best and early example is the Admonitions scroll attributed to Ku K'ai-chih. For a reference to a detailed discussion of the scroll, see my introductory remarks of this paper. 7. Kuo Mo-jo, "Lo-yang Han mu pi-hua shih t'an 洛陽漢 墓壁畫試探 (A preliminary study of the Han wall paintings from Lo-yang)," K'ao-ku hsueh-pao 考古學 報 2 (1964), pp. 107-125. Yu Ying-shih 余英時, however, does not agree that the scene is about the "Banquet at Hung-men": see his article "Shuo Hung-men yen te tso-tz'u 說鴻門宴的坐次 (On the seats in the Banquet at Hung-men)" in his Shih-hsueh yu ch'uan-t'ung 史學與傳統 (Historiography and tradition) in Shih-pao shu-hsu 時報書序, vol. 336 (Taipei: Shih-pao ch'u-pan shih-yen kung-ssu, 1982), pp. 184-95. p. 244 Liu Pang throughout the dance. Eventually Liu Pang returned safely to his own base, all the while protected by his assistants.(8) This story is illustrated in a monoscenic composition on a trapezoidal lintel under the gable of the central partition of Tomb No, 61, Conflating the banquet participants' different actions into a single moment, the picture shows two groups of figures on both sides of a bear-like tomb guardian (fang-hsiang 方相 / ch'iang-liang 彊良 ). The mood or atmosphere conveyed by the two groups is markedly different, The right groups shows two cooks barbecuing at the fire, and Hsiang Yu holding a horn-shaped wine-jar toasting Liu Pang, who is protected by Hsiang Po on his left, The atmosphere looks cozy, relaxed, and cheerful, In contrast, tension, anxiety, and danger fill the air of the left section, containing Chang Liang, Fan Chen, and Hsiang Chuang. Chang Liang, noted for his elegant appearance, stands to the left of Fan Chen; both are portrayed with stony facial expressions and have stiff poses. General Hsiang Chuang, on the other hand, looks agitated; his eyes are depicted opened widely, and his hand holds a sword pointing toward Liu Pang in the distance. There is no temporal progression between the right and left sections, Thus the painting may be regarded as a dramatization of the main participants' actions at one frozen moment during Hsiang Chuang's sword performance. To the artist, this is the most critical moment of the party; and he bases his imaginative representation of this moment on his thorough knowledge of the text. Continuous composition A continuous composition depicts a narrative cycle in consecutive scenes, which are woven into one organic entity with a clear sense of continuity in time and space. Temporal progression is indicated by the recurrence of certain figures, sometimes in different settings, sometimes against the same background. Through such a compositional device, the continuous pictorial flow of a narrative can be represented more articulately. Han artists used it in at least two murals: Two Peaches Killing Three Warriors (Erh t'ao sha san shih 二桃殺三士 ), also found in Tomb No. 61 at Lo-yang (pl. 3); and Processions of a Han Official in a tomb at Ho-lin-ko-erh, datable to A.D. 160s-170s (pl. 4). Recorded in The Spring and Autumn of Master Yen (Yen-tzu ch'un- ---------------------- 8. Ssu-ma Ch'ien, "Hsiang Yu pen-chi 項羽本紀 (The biography of Hsiang Yu)," Shih-chi, Po-na-pe erh- shih-ssu-shih, vol.I, pp.138-55. p. 245 ch'iu 晏子春秋 ), the Two Peaches Killing Three Warriors represents the story of how Yen-tzu 晏子 (d. 500 B.C.), the Prime minister of Ch'i 齊 , hatched a clever plot to kill the three most powerful state warriors, Kung-sun Chieh 公孫接, T'ien K'ai-chiang 田 開彊 and Ku Yeh-tzu 古冶子, by using two peaches. Robust and muscular, these three warriors once had offended the Prime Minister noted for his small size. Long harboring his anger and hatred, Yen-tzu persuaded Duke Ching of Ch'i 齊景公 (547-489 B.C.) to kill them for their arrogance by having two peaches sent to honor whichever two of the warriors considered themselves bravest among the three. Kung-sun Chieh and T'ien K'ai-chiang, thinking they each deserved a peach, both rushed forward to claim one. But Ku Yeh- tzu condemned their shamelessness and boasted of his own incomparable record of bravery. On hearing this, both Kung-sun Chieh and T'ie K'ai-chiang were so ashamed that they killed themselves by their own swords. Beholding this, Ku Yeh-tzu was so wracked with guilt for having caused his comrades' suicide that he too killed himself. This story is represented in three consecutive sections from left to right on the back of the lintel where the Banquet at Hung-men is shown. The left section alludes to the episode of the warriors humiliating the Prime minister. Here Yen-tzu appears dwarfed small as a child, and is flanked by two strong men talking to him.(9) In the middle section, the diminutive Yen-tzu reappears; here he is shown revealing his plot to Duke Ching, who is accompanied by two senior officials identified by the "pigeon-headed staffs (chiu chang 鳩杖 )" that they hold. The right section shows the disastrous ending of the story, including the marquis' messenger, who holds a tasseled stick in his hand, two peaches on a plate on a table, and three warriors in dramatic poses. The warrior on the left steps forward to take a peach for himself, while the two others hold swords horizontally to their throats, preparing to kill themselves. ------------------------------ 9. There are different interpretations to this scene. Hsing I-t'ien takes it as Confucius Meeting with Lao-tzu, see his article. "Han-tai Kung-tzu chien Lao-tzu te kou-ch 'eng chi ch 'i tsai she-hui ssu-hsiang shih shang te i-i," (op. cit.), P. 12. Jonathan Chaves reads it as Chou-kung fu Ch'eng-wang 周公輔成王 (Duke Chou assisting King Ch'eng), and regards this section as irrelevant to the other two on its right, as seen in his article. "A Han Painted Tomb at Lo-yang," Artibus Asiae 30 (1968), pp. 5-27. Kuo Mo-jo regards it as part of the Yen-tzu narrative. see his article, "Lo-yang Han mu pi-hua shih t'an," (op. cit.), pp. 1-2. The iconographic consistency between the two short figures that appear in this section and reappear in the one on its right satisfactorily convinces me that this section should be considered as part of the story. p. 246 All on the same register, these figures stand out against a blank background. Neither spatial depth nor three-dimendionality of the figures is represented. Narrative continuity relies on the reappearance of the same figures in consecutive scenes. An identical compositional device is seen in the mural of Processions of a Han Official, found in a Han tomb at Ho-lin-ko-erh (pl. 4). Covering the upper walls above four vaulted doors in the front tomb chamber facing east, the mural shows six processions of an anonymous Han official. These processions illustrate important events in his career, which must have been recorded in his epitaph that is no longer extant. They can be grouped into two units in chronological sequence. The first unit includes five processions going counterclockwise, starting in the west, passing through the south, and terminating in the middle of the east wall, One after another, these processions are identified by five cartouches, reading "Elected Filial and Incorruptible Official (Chu-hsiao-lien 舉孝廉 )," "Imperial Guard (Lang 郎 )," "The Governor of Hsi-ho (Hsi-ho ch'ang-shih 西河 長史 )" (all on the west wall), "Acting General of the Major County of a Subject State (Hsing shang-chun shu-kuo tu-wei 行上郡屬國都尉 )" (on the south wall), and "The Governor of Fan-yang (Fan-yang ling 繁陽令 )" (on the south end of the east wall). Present in each procession, the official reappears five times in this unit. The second unit comprises only one long procession, also running counterclockwise, from the middle of the east wall, over the north wall, and terminating at the north end of the west wall, where it meets the beginning of the first unit, In this unit, the official appears only once in a horse-drawn carriage, which is specified by a cartouche reading, "Conferred by Imperial Edict to be the Military Supervisor at Wu-huan (Shih ch'ih chieh Wu-huan hsiao- wei 使持節烏桓校尉 )," located on the west end of the north wall, His subordinate officials preceding him are identified by the carrtouches: "The Governor of Yen-men (Yen-men ch'ang-shih 雁門長史 )," "Milirary Supervisor of?? (?-? hsiao-wei?? 校尉 )," (both on the east wall), "Attendant to Merit Evaluator (Kang-ch'ao ts'ung- shih 功曹從事 )," and "Member of the Mounted Escort (Pieh-chia ts'ung-shih 別駕從事 ) " (both on the north wall).(10) ---------------------- 10. For an English reference to this tomb, see Annel- iese Gutkind Bulling, "The Eastern Han Tomb at Ho- lin-ko-erh (Holingol)," Archives of Asian Art 31 (1977- 78). pp. 79-103. p. 247 Compared with other Han narrative paintings, noted for their simple narrative content and compact composition, this Ho-lin- ko-erh mural stands out as unusual because it is characterized by complicated figure groupings and a large composition. Such a lengthy pictorial record of a deceased official's life betrays its adoption of Buddhist narrative devices used in illustrations of jatakas and the life of the Buddha. It is highly probable that such illustrations would have been known to the Ho-lin-ko-erh artist(s), since Buddhist subject matter has often been found represented in different media from around this period in China.(11) Development of Narrative Paintings in the Six Dynasties The appearance and circulation of Buddhist narrative paintings had a profound influence on Chinese artists of the Six Dynasties period. As seen in the Tun-huang wall paintings of this period. Buddhist narrative paintings exerted a powerful influence on the development of Chinese narrative techniques and figural representations. Thematically, Tun-huang Buddhist narrative paintings of this period can be grouped into three major categories: 1) the life of the Buddha (Fo-chuan t'u 佛傳圖 ), a pictorial biography of Prince Siddhartha from his birth to his attainment of Buddhahood; 2) the jatakas (pen-sheng t'an 本生譚 ), stories of Sakyamuni Buddha's self-sacrifices in his previous incarnations; and 3) the avadanas (p'i-yu p'in 譬喻品 ), the conversion stories of Buddhist ---------------------- 11. This assumption is strongly supported by a picture showing an immortal on a white elephant, on the upper right of the west wall of the central chamber of the Ho-lin-ko-erh tomb. This figure clearly represents the artist's transformation of a Buddhist icon into a Chinese Taoist image. For the plate, see Nei Meng-ku tzu-chih-ch'u po-wu-kuan wen-wu kung-tso tui 內蒙古自治區博物館 文物工作隊 ed., Ho- lin-ko-erh Han mu Pi-hua 和林 格爾漢墓壁畫 (Wall paintings in a Han tomb found at Ho-lin-ko-erh) (Peking: Wen-wu ch'u-pan-she, 1978), fig. 40, p.26; Yu Wei-ch'ao 俞偉超, "Tung-han Fo-chiao t'u-hsiang k'ao 東漢佛教圖像考 (Examination on the Buddhist images in the Eastern Han period)," Wen-wu 5 (1980), pp. 68-77. At the end of the Han period, Buddhist icons were, more often than not, represented in different media, such as stone relief in Szechwan tomb chambers, and bronze mirrors found at Shao-hsing 紹興 in Che-kiang. For references, see Wu Hung, "Buddhist Elements in Early Chinese Art," Artibus Asiae (1986), vol. 47, pp. 263-376; Mizuno Seiichi 水野 清一 and Nagahiro Toshio 長廣敏雄, "Unko izen no zozo 雲崗以前ソ造像 (Buddhist images prior to the Yun-kang caves, in Unko sekikutsu 雲崗石窟 (Yun-kang, the Buddhist cave-temple of the fifth century A.D. in north China) (Kyoto: Jimbungaku Kenkyujo, Kyoto University, 1953), vol. 11, Pl. 2. pp. 1-18. p. 248 disciples.(12) Most of the narrative paintings of this period are represented in continuous compositions, in which characters reappear in different scenes on different occasions, According to my observations, Chinese artists by the mid-sixth century had experimented with at least four types of continuous compositions: 1) different actions sharing a common background (I-shih t'ung- ching-shih kou-t'u 異時同景式構圖 ); 2) continuous narration in serpentine layout (I shih-chien shun-hsu te ch'u-che-shih kou-t'u 依時間順序的曲折式構圖 ); 3) achronological narration in a lateral layout (Pu i shih-chien shun-hsu te heng-hsiang-shih kou-t'u 不依 時間順序的橫向式構圖 ); and 4) chronological narration in a lateral layout (I shih-chien shun-hsu te heng-hsiang shih kou-t'u 依時間順序的橫向式構圖 ). Representative examples and detailed discussions will be given in the following. Different actions sharing a common background In a composition of different actions sharing a common background, figures and their activities are usually represented at a ---------------------- 12. For general references to the narrative paintings in the Tun-huang cavetemples, see Shiao-yen Shih, "Readings and Re-readings of Narrative in Dunhuang Murals," Artibus Asiae vol. 53 1/2 (1993), pp. 59-88; Kojima Tomoko 小島登茂子, "Tonko hekiga no okeru no Hokushu, Suidai no sangaku hyogen-- setsuwa hyogen to no kanren o megutte-- 敦煌壁畫ズ れんペ北周、隋代ソ山岳表現說話表現シソ關連メバをゲ サ (Hills in the Northern Chou and Sui Wall Paintings at Tun-huang--Their Relation to the Narrative Representation)", Bijutsushi vol. 41 (February 1992), pp. 16-30; Tonko bunbutsu kenkyujo 敦煌文物研究所 ed., Tonko Bakukokutsu 敦 煌莫高窟 (Tokyo: Heibon-sha, 1980-1982), 5 vols.; Kaneoka Shoko 金岡照光, "Tonko bunken no honshotan--hekiga to kanren shite 敦煌文獻ソ本生譚 -- 壁畫ソ關連ウサ (Jataka in the Tun-huang manuscripts and the wall paintings in the Tun-huang caves)," Toyogaku ronso 東洋學論叢, 35 (March, 1982), pp. 34-61; Donohashi Akiho 百橋明穗 "Tonko hekiga ni okeru honshozu no tenkai 敦煌壁畫 ズれんペ本生圖ソ展開 (Narrative development in Tun-huang jataka painting), "Bijutsushi 美術史 1 (1978), pp. 18-43; Akiyama Terukatsu 秋山光和, "Tonko hekiga, Bukkyo setsuwa zu 敦煌壁畫, 佛教說 話圖 (Buddhist narratives in Tun-huang wall paintings)," Nihon Sankei Shinbun 日本產經新聞, May 21, 1971; Sawa Ryuken 佐和隆研, "Tonko sekikutsu no hekiga 敦煌石窟ソ壁畫 (Wall paintings in Tun-huang cave-temples), " in Seiiki Bunka Kenkyu 西域文化研究 (Studies of Chinese-Turkestan culture) (Tokyo: Hozokan, 1962), vol. 5, pp 177-178; Tonko no Bukkyo bijutsu 敦煌ソ佛教美術 (special issue on the Buddhist art in Tun-huang cave-temples), in Bukkyo geijutsu 佛教藝術 (Ars Buddhica), no. 34 (1958); Tun-huang wen-wu chan-lan chuan-chi 敦煌文物展覽專輯 (Special issue on the exhibition of the arts from Tunhuang cave-temples), in Wen-wu ts'an-k'ao tzu-liao 文物 參考資料 (1951), vol. 2, nos. 4-5; and Matsumoto Eiichi 松本榮一. Tonkoga no kenkyu 敦煌畫ソ研究 (A study of the Tun-huang wall paintings) (Tokyo: Toho Bunka Gakuin, 1935), 2 vols. p. 249 small scale in sequential order against one background, which can be a landscape or an architectural setting. This type of composition is exemplified by The Jataka of King Sibi in Cave 254, datable to the Northern Wei period 北魏 (386--534) (pl. 5), Based on the Hsien-yu-ching 賢愚經 translated by Hui-chueh 慧覺 of the same period, the painting depicts King Sibi sacrificing his own body to save a pigeon from a starving hawk; in reality both birds were deities testing the king's compassion.(13) In the center of a square wall panel, King Sibi is shown seated on a bench. A white hawk swoops down from the upper corner to chase a blue pigeon, which perches on the king's right hand for refuge. To rescue the pigeon, according to the text, the king promised to pay the hawk a ransom of his own flesh equalling the weight of the pigeon. Under the king's command, an attendant was told to remove the amount of the king's flesh needed to balance the pigeon on a scale, as shown at the lower right of the composition, Yet due to magic, the pigeon grew heavier and heavier; even all the kings flesh could not equal the weight of the small bird. Finally, the fleshless king added his own skeleton and balanced the scale, as seen in the lower right corner of this painting. Only then did he pass the hea\;enly-arranged test and satisfy his judges; his lost flesh was returned, and as a reward for his compassion, he was made even stronger than before. In spite of the fact that the composition is dominated by the king and his family in a hieratic grouping, the temporal progression of this narrative can be seen by reading the images arranged consecutively in the right half of the picture.'" Centuries later we also find this composi- ---------------------- 13. For the Chinese text of the narrative, see Liu Hsiu-ch'iao 劉修橋 ed., Ta- tsang-ching 大藏經 (Buddhist Tripitaka-representation of the Taisho shinshu Daizokyo 大正新修大藏經, co-ed., by Takukusu Junjiro 高楠順次郎 and Watanabe Kaikyoku 渡邊海旭, 1872-1933) (Taipei: Hsin-wen-feng ch'u-pan-she, 1974), vol. 4, pp. 351-352. For more textual references to the Buddhist narratives among the Tun-huang wall paintings of this period, see Takada Osamu 高田修, "Bukkyo sets-uwa zu to Tonko hekiga--toku ni Tonko senki no honen setsuwa zu 佛教說話圖シ敦煌壁畫 -- 特ズ敦煌先期ソ本緣說話 圖 (Buddhist jataka paintings and the Tun-huang wall paintings-especially the jataka paintings in the early caves)," in Tonko bunbutsu kenkyujo ed., Tonko Bakukokutsu (op. cit.), vol. 2, p. 229. 14. The Sibi Jataka was a favorite theme for pictorial representations in India and Central Asia; for references, see Matsumoto Eiichi, Tonko ga no kakyu top cit.), pp. 282-286. In addition to this one, there are at least two other wall paintings that depict this story at Tun-huang, in Cave 275, datable to ca. 420, and in Cave 302, which is datable to the Sui period (581-618); both paintings are con- p. 250 tional device employed in a Japanese narrative painting, showing Nun Myoren at Todai-ji in the Shigisan engi emaki 信貴山緣起繪卷, datable to the twelfth century. Chronological narration in a serpentine layout In a composition with chronological narration in a serpentine layout, narrative scenes are squeezed closely together in a wavy sequence, which is best exemplified by The Jataka of Prince Mahasattva (Mo-k'o-sa-t'o t'ai-tzu pen-sheng 摩訶薩埵太子本生 ), also in Cave 254 (pl. 6). This jataka is based on the Fo-shuo p'u-sa t'ou shen i o hu ch'i t'a yin-yuan ching 佛說菩薩投身飴餓虎起塔因緣經, which was translated into Chinese by Fa-sheng 法盛 of the Northern Liang period 北涼 (397-439).(15) The text tells of Prince Mahasattva's self-sacrifice to feed a starving tigress and her seven cubs. According to the text, the hermit prince one day found the animals under a cliff near his hermitage. His compassion urged him to sacrifice his own body to save them, so he lay down in front of them. But because the animals were too feeble to eat his living body, he decided to kill himself to make it easier for them. Therefore, he climbed up onto a cliff, pierced his throat with a bamboo stalk, and threw himself headlong into the ravine, as shown in the first and second scenes. Devouring his dead body, as seen in the third scene, the animals were saved from starvation. On hearing of this disaster, the prince's mother and wives ran barefoot from the palace to the mountain and cried over his corpse, as illustrated in the fourth and fifth scenes. Gathering his bones, they built a stupa by the mountain to commemorate him, as described in the last scene of the painting. Tightly arranged, these seven scenes wind up and down across the picture plane, starting from the upper right corner and ending at the upper left of the square wall surface. Although each scene slightly overlaps the next to create a sense of pictorial continuity, lack of spatial cohesion among the scenes makes the narrative sequence of this painting hard to follow. Despite the fact that the artist provides a certain picture space for the figures' actions, ---------------------- tinuous compositions, with only two or three scenes juxtaposed in a lateral layout. For plates, see Tonko bunbutsu kenkyujo ed., Tonko Bakuko kutsu (op. cit.), vol.1, pls. 12-13; vol.2, pl. 11. 15. For the Chinese text, see Liu Hsiu-ch'iao ed., Ta-tsang-ching, (op.cit.), vol. 3, pp. 424-28. p. 251 he fails to convey a sense of spatial depth for each scene. Therefore, these figures appear unrelated to the background; their dramatized movements often break through the seemingly arbitrary borderlines and float on the surface of the picture plane. Characterized by its waviness, this Northern Wei compositional formula is also found in two other variant compositions, with their narrative contents represented in a circular and in a zigzag layout. The circular composition is found in a Western Wei 西魏 (534- 557) painting, The Jataka of the Brahman (P'o-lo-men pen-sheng 婆羅門本生, or Sacrificing Life to Hear the Buddhist Law (She sheng wen chieh 捨身聞 偈 ), in Cave 285, dated 538-539 (pl.7).(16) This subject matter and compositional device were later adopted by a Japanese painting, as shown on a door panel of the Tamamushi Shrine in Horyu-ji 法隆寺 Nara 奈良, datable to the seventh century. The zigzag composition is found in the Stories of the Filial Sons (Hsiao-tzu ku-shih hua-hsiang 孝子故 事畫像 ) on both sides of a sarcophagus in the Nelson Gallery, Kansas City, datable to the later half of the sixth century (pl. 8).(17) Because of the narrow space, each narrative comprises no more than three stages, which are sequentially displayed on different ground levels to form a zigzag course. Achronological narration in a lateral layout In a composition with achronological narration in a lateral layout, the pictorial sequence contradicts that of the text. Such a composition is exemplified by The Jataka of the Deer King Ruru (Lu-wang pen-sheng 鹿王本生 ) in Cave 257, datable to the Northern Wei period (pl. 9). Based on the Liu-tu-chi-ching 六度集經 translated by K'ang Seng-hui 康儈會 of the Wu period 吳 (229-280), this paint- ---------------------- 16. Recorded in Ta pan-nieh-p'an ching 大般涅槃經, the story is about a Brahman sacrificing his life in order to hear the Buddhist law chanted by a deity that has taken the shape of a goblin. The sutra was translated by T'an Wu-ch'en 曇無讖 of the Northern Liang 北涼 period (397-439). For the Chinese text of the sutra, see Liu Hsiu-ch'iao ed., Ta-tsang-ching (op.cit.), vol. 12, chuan 14, pp. 449-51. 17. The dating of this sarcophagus is disputed by scholars; for references, see Nagashiro Toshio 長廣敏雄 Rikucho jidai bijutsu no kenkyu 六朝時代 美術ソ研究 (The representational art of the Six Dynasties Period) (Tokyo: Bijutsu shuppan-sha, 1969); see also Wai-kam Ho et al. eds., Eight Dynarties of Chinese Painting: The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City and The Cleveland Museum of Art (The Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1980), catalogue entry 4, pp. 5-6. p. 252 ing represents the Deer King Ruru's betrayal by a man he once had rescued in an achronological sequence of six scenes within a single frieze.(18) The first and second scenes at the left end of the frieze show the Deer King carrying the man on his back crossing a river, and the man subsequently kneeling on the ground to thank him. But in the third and fourth scenes at the right end of the frieze, the man reports to the royal couple seated in their palace, and leads the imperial hunt to find the deer for its nine-colored skin and golden antlers. The fifth scene on the left side of the frieze shows the Deer King, unaware of the danger, lying asleep at its usual place. The concluding scene is placed in the middle of the frieze, and represents the Deer King explaining the earlier rescue of the man. Due to these events, the deer's life was spared, and the traitor was punished. This achronological layout clearly demonstrates that the painter created a pictorial sequence for the narrative which contradicts the plot of the text. He treats the frieze as a stage and organizes the six scenes into two categories, based on their physical occurrence, that move inward from both ends and meets each other in the middle. In other words, he is more concerned with the pictorial arrangement of these incidents than with their temporal sequence in which they took place. This kind of achronological composition derives from Indian narrative illustrations, as shown by the Syama Jataka (Shan-tzu pen- sheng 睒子本生 ), a wall painting in Ajanta Cave 10, datable to the second century (pl.10). Recorded in the Fo shuo p'u-sa Shan-tzu ching 佛說菩薩睒子經, the Syama Jataka recounts how Syama regained his life in reward for his filial piety.(19) The young Syama, who lived with his blind parents in a mountain hut, one day went to a brook to ladle out some water. While there, because he had worn a deer-skin coat, he was mistaken for a deer and shot by the king, who just happened to be out hunting. Upon discovering what he had done, the king contritely led the blind parents to Syama's corpse. Touching Syama's dead body, his grieving mother wailed, praying to Heaven: so moved by her cries, the Heaven returned Syama to life. --------------------------- 18. For the Chinese text of the sutra, see Liu Hsiu ch'iao ed., Ta-tsang-ching (op.cit.) vol.3, p.33. 19. There are at least three versions of this narra- tive, see Liu Hsiu-ch'iao ed., Ta-tsang-ching (op. cit.) Vol.3, pp.436-43. p. 253 On the Ajanta frieze, Syama's leave-taking of his old parents in their hut is seen at one end, the king's departure from his palace for hunting at the other, and Syama's death and revival in the middle. This achronological narration had been adopted by the Northern Wei artist, as shown in The Jataka of the Deer King Ruru just mentioned, and became a compositional convention for most of the Syama Jatakas depicted in the Tun-huang wall paintings, as seen in Caves 301 and 417 (respectively datable to the Northern Chou and the Sui periods) (pl.11)(20) But this Indian compositional formula seems to have been abandoned at the end of the sixth century, since the Syama Jataka in Cave 302, datable to the Sui period, is represented in chronological order, which reflects the Chinese influence (pl.12).(21) Chronological narration in a lateral Layout Most favored by the Chinese artist, the compositional structure of chronological narration in a lateral layout makes a pictorial sequence correspond to the temporal progression of a text. This compositional method was increasingly elaborated upon in the Western Wei 西魏 period (534-557), exemplified by The Avadana of the Five Hundred Robbers ( Wu-pai tao-tsei kuei Fo yuan 五百盜賊歸佛緣 , or Te-yen-lin 得眼林 ) in Cave 285, dated 538-539 (pl.13). Based on the Ta pan-nieh-p'an-ching 大般涅槃 經 translated by T'an Wu- ch'en 曇無讖 of the Northern Liang period, this painting shows how five hundred robbers were converted to Buddhism.(22) In this -------------------------------- 20. For the Ajanta wall painting, c.f. Takada Osamu, "Ajantn--hekiga no Bukkyo setsuwa to sono byosha keishiki ni tsuite ヤЖц⑦У壁畫ソ佛教說話シガソ 描寫形式ズコゆサ(Buddhist stories depicted in the Ajanta frescoes: their identified subjects and representation methods),"Bunka 文化, vol.20, no.2 (March 1956), pp. 61-95, esp., pp.75-76. For the plates of the Syama narratives in caves 301 and 417, see Tonko bunbutsu kenkyujo ed., Tonko Bakukokutsu op. cit.), vol.2, pls.3, 33. For references to the text and the representations of the Syama Jataka. See Ch'eng Ichung 程毅中, "Tun-huang pen hsiao-tzu chuan yu Shan-tzu ku-shih 敦煌本孝子傳與睒子故事 (Lives of devoted sons in Dunhuang manuscripts and the Story of Shanzi), " and Higashiyama Gengoro, "Presentation Forms of Jataka Stories as Examples," both are included in Tun-huang Academy comp., Summary Papers of the International Conference on Dunhuangology (1990), pp. 209-10; pp.110-111. 21. For the plate of this narrative, see Tonko bunbu- tsu kenkyujo ed., Tonko Bakukokutsu (op.cit.), vol.2, pl.9. 22. For a Chinese translation, see Liu Hsiu-ch'iao ed., Ta-tsang-ching (op. cit.), vol.12, chuan 16, p.458. p. 254 painting, the five hundred robbers are reduced to five representatives --each standing for one hundred--which reappear in seven scenes arranged consecutively from left to right. The first and second scenes show two battles in which the five hundred robbers were quelled and captured by the army of King Po-ssu-ni 波斯匿 of the Ch'iao-sa-lo 燆薩羅 state in ancient India In the third scene, the robbers' eyes are gouged out, while in the fourth, they are sent into exile in the wilderness as punishment. The fifth scene depicts the Buddha, then preaching in a distant bamboo grove, hearing their plaintive cries; the merciful savior, pitying them, sends an eye-healing powder on the wind. The sixth scene shows that upon regaining their sight, the grateful robbers pay their homage to the Buddha, who then reveals to them that their misfortunes were retribution for the accumulated misdeeds of their previous lives. Upon this realization, the robbers convert to Buddhism and become arhats, as represented in the last scene. Most of these scenes are represented in landscape settings, especially the last four, which are placed in four space cells, These space cells are formed by tall trees and saw-toothed hillocks in irregular groupings on uneven baselines. These landscape settings correspond to the inner feelings of the figures. For example, in the fourth scene, the hillocks are arrayed on a wavy baseline, an unstable configuration that seems to echo the robbers' unbearable pain. In the fifth scene, the hillocks are place on a slightly curved diagonal baseline that reflects the robbers' gradually stilled emotions. And in the sixth and seventh scenes, the hillocks are stably placed on horizontal baselines, visually expressing the arhats' newly realized peace of mind. This treatment reflects the Western Wei artist's intention to represent a correspondence between man and nature--a concern that was likely to have been informed by southern Chinese aesthetic theories associated with the rise of Neo-Taoist philosophy. The Rise of Landscape Painting in Southern China The rise of "Nature Poetry (shan-shui shih 山水詩 )" was influenced by Taoist "Naturalism (tzu-jan 自然 ), " originally advocated by Lao- tzu and Chuang-tzu.(23) In pursuit of harmony between man and ---------------------- 23. For different translations of the term "tzu-jan," see Ellen Johnson Laing, "Neo-Taoism and the 'Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove' in Chinese painting." Aribus, Asiae 36 1/2 (1974), p.5. p. 255 nature, Taoism advocates that man purify his mind (hsin-chai 心齋 ), emancipate his spirit from the material world (hsiao-yao wu wai 逍遙物外 ), free himself from social bondage (yu shih wu cheng 與世無 爭 ), and model himself after nature (fa tzu-jan 法自 然 )--that which manifests the great "Way (tao 道 )" of the universe.(24) Although Taoism was one of the major schools of philosophy prevalent during the Warring States period (403-221 B.C.), it was surpassed by Legalism and Confucianism in the Ch'in and Han periods (221 B.C.-A.D. 220). But in the tumultuous and war-torn years that ensued, Confucianism lost its prestige and political authority. Legalism rose but quickly fell again, advocated by Ts'ao Ts'ao 曹操 (A.D. 155-220) and his successors who ruled the Wei dynasty (220-265). Buddhism dominated Northern China after the Western Chin (265- 316) had been forced to move to south of the Yang-tzu River by Liu Ts'ung 劉聰 and Shih Hu 石 虎. Taoism was revived, welcomed by common people and intellectuals alike. Commoners mixed it with Buddhism and shamanism to create a religious cult called "Tao-chiao 道教 (Taoism)."(25) As for the intellectuals, known as "Neo-Taoists, " they assimilated the Lao-Chuang philosophy with that of the Book of Change to form the "Three Metaphysics (san- hsuan 三玄 )," as their basic creed. Exemplified by the famous "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove (Chu-lin ch'i-hsien 竹林七賢 )" of the Wei and Western Chin periods, (26) Neo-Taoist intellectuals lived their lives according to the principle of naturalism. Most of them discarded Confucian classics and moral teachings, avoided political activity, and turned ---------------------- 24. For a general understanding of the philosophy of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu, see feng Yu-lan 馮友蘭, Chung-kuo che-hsueh shih 中國哲學史 (History of Chinese phiiosophy) (Hong Kong: T'ai-p'ing-yang t'u-shu kung-ssu, 1959), chapter 8, 10, pp. 210-38, 277-306. 25. The first patriarch of this cult is Chang Tao- ling 張道陵 (fl. A.D. 58-87). At the end of the second century, this cult was known as "Wu-tou-mi chiao 五斗米教 (Five-pecks-of-rice cult), led by Chang Chiao 張角 (fl. late second-early third cen- tury); it enticed a great portion of Chinese with promises of an immortal world. For references, see Wang Chung-lo, Wei Chin Nan-pei-ch'ao shih 王仲犖, 魏晉南北朝史 (History of the Wei, Chin and Southern and Northern Dynasties) (Shanghai: Shanghai jen-min mei-shu ch'u-pan-she, 1979), vol.2, p.785-799. 26. The term was first found in Liu I-ching 劉義慶 Shih- shuo hsin-yu 世說新語 (New Account of Tales of the World), (tr. by Richard B. Mather) (Minneapolis: University of Mennisota, 1976),chapter 23: "Jen-tan 任誕 (The Free and Unrestrained)," pp.371-72). p. 256 their backs on worldly values.(27) They engaged in witty dialectic conversations, known as "pure talk (ch'ing-t'an 清談 ), " based on the "Three Mataphysics, "(28) and lived on special diets, some of which included an arsenic cowpound called the "Five-mineral- powder (Wu-shih-san 五石散 )," to attain longevity. When taking this medicine, they had to drink cold liquor and take walking excursions in order to avoid arsenic poisoning. Intoxicated enchantment with nature's beauty led to their writing poems on landscape, and thus they initiated the genre of "Nature Poetry."(29) The rise of this new literary genre accelerated at the beginning of the Southern Dynasties (317-589): the Eastern Chin 東晉 (317-420), Sung 宋 (420-479), Ch'i 齊 (479-502), Liang 梁 (502-557), and Ch'en 陳 (557-589), which all had their capital at Chien-k'ang 建康 ( modern Nanking). In the south, Chinese intellectuals found themselves deeply moved by the verdant and beautiful mountainous scenery, especially in Kuei-chi 會稽 in Chekiang, and Mount Lu 廬山 in Kiangsi 江西; and they frequently held outdoor literary gatherings that celebrated the surroundings, as testified by Wang Hsi-chih's 王羲之 (321-379) famous "Preface to the Gathering at Orchid Pavilion (Lan-t'ing chi-hsu 蘭亭集序 ).(30) Their view of nature ---------------------- 27. Cf. Etienne Balazs, "Nihilistic Revolt of Mystical Escapism, Currents of Thoughts in China During the Third Century A.D., " in his Chinese Civilization and Bureaucracy. Variations on a Theme, tr. by H.M., ed., by Arthur Wright (New Haven: Yale University, 1964), pp.226-54; Richard B. Mather, "Individualist and Wholism: the Confucian and Taoist Philosophical Perspective," unpublished paper, June 1980, and Ellen Johnson Laing, "Neo-Taoism and the 'Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove' in Chinese Painting," (op.cit.), pp.5-54. 28. Cf. Ho Ch'i-min 何啟民, Wei Chin ssu-hsiang yu t'an-feng 魏晉思想與談風 (The thoughts and the fashion of dialectic conversations of the Wei and Chin periods) (Taipei: Hsueh-sheng shu-chu, 1976). 29. Lu Hsun 魯迅, "Wei Tsin wen-chang yu yao ho chiu te Kuan-hsi 魏晉文章與藥和酒的關係 (The relationship of literary creation to liquor and medi- cine in the Wei and Tsin periods)," in Lu Hsun ch 'uan-chi 魯迅全集 (The collected works of Lu Hsun) (Peking: Jen-min wen-hsueh ch'u-pan-she, 1973), vol.3, pp. 486-501. 30. Wang Hsi-chih's "Lan-t'ing chi hsu" was abbrevi- ated and retitled as "Lin-ho hsu 臨河序 (Preface to [the gathering by] a river) by Liu I-ch'ing in his Shih-shuo hsin-yu (op.cit.), chapter 16: Ch'i-hsien 企羡 (Admiration and Emulation), " pp.6b- 7a; for an English translation, see Richard Mather, Shih-shuo hsin-yu (op.cit.), pp. 321-22. According to Frodsham, an earlier writing on the Orchid Pavilion before Wang Hsi-chih is the "Lan-t'ing chi 蘭亭記 (On the Orchid Pavilion)" by Yu Ch'en 庾闡 (c.286-339) around the beginning of the fourth century; see Frodsham, "The Origins of Chinese Nature Poetry," Asia Major, n.s.8 (1960-61), pp. 86-97. For more discussions about the problems of Lan-t'ing, see Kuo Mo-jo et al., Lan-t'ing lun pien 蘭亭論辯 (Argumentations and discourses on the problems of Lan-t'ing) (Peking: Wen-wu ch'u-pan-she, 1973). p. 257 as the manifestation of Taoist, Confucian, and Buddhist philoso- phy, gave rise to the creation of many penta-syllabic poems (wu- yen-shih 五言詩 ).(31) The flourishing of "Nature Poetry" began in the early Eastern Chin and reached its apex in the Sung period, represented by Hsieh Ling-yun 謝靈運 (385-433). According to Liu Hsieh 劉勰 (ca. 465-522) in his "Exegesis of Poetry (Ming shih 明詩 ):" At the beginning of the Sung (420-479) some development in the literary trend was evident. Chuang and Lao had receded into the background and the theme of mountains and streams then began to flourish.......(32) 宋初文詠,體有因革,莊老告退,而山水方滋...... Because of the flourishing of "Nature Poetry," landscape eventually came to provide intellectuals with a metaphorical language to characterize man's personalities. For example, in an inscription on the portrait of Wang I-fu 王夷甫 (fl. later half of the fourth century), Ku K'ai-chih wrote: "High-towering, the unsullied peak, standing like a cliff a thousand jen 仞 high."(33) Awe for nature also influenced the creation of figure painting, landscape painting, as well as related art theory. In figure settings, characters began to be represented with landscape paintings, which is best exemplified by the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a bas-relief on bricks in a tomb near Nanking (datable to A.D. 484) (pl.14).(34) Nearly one -------------------------------- 31. Frodsham defines "Nature Poetry" as "verse inspired by a mystic philosophy which sees all natural phoenomena as symbols charged with a mysterious and cathartic power;" see "The Origins of Chinese Nature Poetry," (op.cit.), pp.72-73. 32. For an English translation, see Vincent Yu-chung Shih, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons by Liu Hsieh (New York: Columbia University, 1959) p.37. For the Chinese text, see Liu Hsieh, Wen- hsin tiao-lung, Ssu-pu pei-yao 四部備要 edition, chuan 2, p.3a. Echoing Liu's statement, Chung Hung 鍾嶸 (d. 518?) mentions similar ideas in his Shih-p'in 詩品 (Classifications of poetry), Ssu-pu pei-yao edition, ch.I, p.1b. For an English translation, see Frodsham, "The Origins of Chinese Nature Poetry," (op.cit.), pp. 68-69. 33. For an English translation, see Richard Mather tr. Shih-shuo hsin-yu (op. cit.), p.223, no.37; for the Chinese text, see Liu Hsiao-piao's 劉孝標 annotation to Shih-shuo hsin-yu, Ssu-pu-ts'ung-k'an 四部叢刊 edition, chapter 8: "Shang-yu 賞譽 (Appreciation and Praise)," part 2, p.2b. Similar interesting examples are found in Liu I-ch'ing, Shih-shuo hsin-yu, chapter 1: "Te-hsing 德行 (Virtuous Conduct);" chapter 2: "Yen-yu 言語 (Speech and Conversation);" chapter 8: "Shang-yu" and chapter 14: "Jung-chih 容止 (Appearance and Behavior)." 34. For a reference to the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, see Ellen Laing (op.cit.). p. 258 hundred paintings of Taoist, Confucian, and Buddhist themes executed in this period consisted of landscape components.(35) It is also during this period that the three important essays on landscape paintings appeared for the first time in Chinese history: Ku Kai-chih's "Account on Painting Cloud-terrace Mountain" (Hua-yun-t'ai-shan chi 畫雲台山記 )," Tsung Ping's 宗炳 (375-443) "Preface to Painting Landscapes (Hua shan-shui hsu 畫山水序 )," and Wang Wei's 王微 (415-443) "Preface to Paintings (Hsu hua 敘畫 ).(36) Although landscape might still serve as the setting for narative paintings, it took on an added degree of compositional complexity as recorded in Ku K'ai-chih's "Account on Painting Cloud-terrace Mountain."(37) -------------------------------- 35. For the reference, see Chang Yen-yuan 張彥遠, Li tai ming-hua chi 歷代名畫記, I-shu ts'ung-pien, vol.8 (Taipei: Shih-chieh shu-chu, 1962), pt.58, chuan 4-8, pp. 155-266. For the English translation, see William R.B. Acker, "A Record of the Famous Painters of All the Dynasties," in his Some T'ang and Pre-T'ang Texts on Chinese Painting (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1954). See also Michael Sullivan, The Birth of Chinese Landscape Painting (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1962), pp.114-27. 36. For references to the study of these three painting theories. see Hsu Fu-kuan, Chung-kuo i-shu ching-shen (The essence of Chinese arts) (Taipei: Hsueh-sheng shu-chu, 1967), chapter 4, pp.225-249; Susan Bush, "Tsung Ping's Essay on Painting Landscape and the 'Landscape Buddhism' of Mount Lu," in Susan Bush and Christian Murck eds., Theories of the Arts in China (Princeton. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1981), pp.132-64; see also footnote 37 for references to Ku K'ai-chih's "Account on Painting Cloud-terrace Mountain." For the meaning of landscape art in early stage, see Lothar Ledderose, "Religious Elements in Landscape Art," in Susan Bush and Christian Murck eds., Theories of the Arts in China, (op.cit.), pp.165-83. 37. For the Chinese text of the "Account," see Chang Yen-yuan, Li-tai ming-hua chi (op.cit.), chuan 5, pp.189-192. For more discussion of this "Account, " see Ma Ts'ai, "Ku K'ai-chih 'Hua Yun-t'ai-shan chi' chiao shih 顧愷之畫雲台山記校 釋 (Collation and annotation to the 'Account of Painting the Yun-t'ai Mountain' by Ku K'ai-chih)," Chung-shan ta-hsueh-pao 中山大學學報 3 (1979), pp. 105-112; Li Lin- ts'an 李霖燦, "Ka K'ai-chih ch'i jen ch'i shih ch'i hua 顧愷之其人 其事其畫 (Ku K'ai- chih's personality, anecdotes and paintings), " Ku-kung chi-k'an 故宮季刊, vol.7, no. 3 (Spring 1973), pp. 1-29; Johnny Shek, "A Study of Ku K'ai-chih's 'Hua Yun-t'ai- shan chi'," Oriental Art, vol.18, no.1 (1972), pp. 381-84; Sheng I-cheng, "Ku K'ai- chih 'hua Yun-t'ai-shan chi i wen chih yen-chiu 顧愷之畫雲 台山記一文之研究 (A study of Ku K'ai-chih's 'Account on Painting the Yun-t'ai Mountain," Tung-hsi wen-hua 東西文化 (January) 1968), pp. 15-21; Nakamura Shigeo 中村不折, Chugoku garon no tenkai--Shin To So Gen hen 中國畫論ソ展開 -- 晉唐 宋元篇 (The development of Chinese painting criticism from the Chin to the Yuan periods) (Kyoto: Nakamura Bunkado, 1965), pp. 3-23; Wen Chao-t'ung 溫肇桐, "Ku K'ai-chih 'hua Yun-t'ai-shan chi' shih lun 顧愷之畫雲台山記試論 (A discussion on the 'Account on Painting the Yun-t'ai Mountain' by Ku K'ai-chih), " Wen-shih-che 文史哲 4 (1962), pp. 47-49; Yonezawa Yoshio 米澤嘉圃, "Ko Gaishi 'Ga Untaishan ki 顧愷 之 " 畫雲台山 (Ku K'ai- chih's 'Account on Painting the Yun-t'ai Mountain')," in his Chugoku kaiga p. 259 The southern pictorial device, characterized by using landscape setting for narrative paintings was later adopted by northern Chinese artists in depiction of Confucian stories of filial sons, as seen on Teng-hsien 鄧縣 stamped bricks (datable to ca.500); some sarcophagi excavated from Honan(38) and The Avadana of the Five Hundred Robbers described above (pl.13). Another important gift the Southern Chinese artists bequeathed to their western Tun-huang neighbours was the use of space cells. The use of space-cells The early known examples of space cells are found in three jataka scenes on a stone stele dated 425 at Wan-fo-ssu 萬佛寺 in Ch'eng- tu 成都, Szechwan (pl.15).(39) As seen in the three jataka scenes, each space-cell is formed by trees and mountains, or by figures arranged in circles. It is possible that the space-cell device was introduced directly from Szechwan to Tun-huang, by means of a route still used in the T'ang period.(40) According to my observations, Tun-huang artists manipulated three types of spatial representation by using the space-cells device, aiming to create enough space for their increasingly elaborate narrative scenes: 1) serial space-cells (Lien-ch'uan-shih 連圈式 ); 2) hemispherical space-cells -------------------------------- shi kenkyu--sansui ga ron 中國繪畫史研究 -- 山水畫論 (A historical study of Chinese paintings and lands- capes) (Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1962), pp. 39-84. 38. On Teng-hsien archaeological finds, see Annette L.Juliano, Teng-hsien: An Important Six Dynasties Tomb (Ascona, Switzerland: Artibus Asiae, 1980). For references to the Six Dynasties sarcophagi, see Nagahiro Toshio, "Rikucho no setsuwa zu 六朝 ソ說話圖 (Scenes of traditional legends in the Six Dynasties period)," in his Rikucho jidai bijutsu no kenkyu (op.cit.), pp. 175-84. 39. The temple was first built in the mid-second century, and was burnt down in the seventh century. The dates of the archaeological finds from Wan-fo-ssu range from 427 to 847. For the history of the temple, see Liu Chih-yuan 劉致遠, and Liu T'ing-pi 劉廷壁, eds., Ch'eng-tu Wan-fo-ssu shih-k'o i-shu 成都萬佛寺石刻藝術 (The art of the stone engraving of the Wan-fo-ssu temple at Ch'eng-tu) (Peking: Chung-kuo ku-tien i-shu ch'u-pan-she, 1958), pp. 1-7; for more references to the stele, see Alexander Soper, "South Chinese Influence on Buddhist Art of the Six Dynasties Period," Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, vol.32 (1960), pp. 47-111. 40. Ch'en Tso-lung 陳祚龍, "Chung-shih Tun-huang yu Ch'eng-tu chih chien te chiao- t'ung lu hsien 中 世敦煌與成都之間的交通路線 (The ways of communication between Tun-huang and Ch'eng-tu in middle age China)," in Tun-huang hsueh-hui 敦煌學 會 ed., Tun-huang hsueh 敦煌學 (The Tun-huang studies) (Hong Kong: Hsin-ya yen- chiu-suo Tun-huang hsueh-hui, 1974), vol. 1, pp. 79-86. p. 260 p. 261 (Pan-lien-ch'uan-shih 半連圈式); and 3) segmented vestigial space-cells (Ts'an-ch'uan-shih 殘圈式). Serial space-cells Serial space-cells are formed by many individual space cells linked by either landscape or architectural elements on a lateral expanse. The best example of this device is The Jataka of Prince Mahasattva in Cave 428 of the Northern Chou 北周 period (557-581) (pl.16). This painting is based on the P'u-sa pen-sheng man-lun 菩薩本生鬘論,(41) which is slightly different from the Fo shuo p'u-sa t'ou sheng i o hu ch'i t'a yin-yuan ching translated by Fa-sheng mentioned above.(42) While the story as told in these two editions is essentially the same, the prince's biographical background in the P'u-sa pen-sheng man-lun is much more complicated. According to this text, the prince was the youngest son of King Ta-chu 大車. One day while hunting with his two older brothers, he encountered the hungry animals; intending to feed them with his body, he asked his brothers to leave him alone for a nap. After his brothers had left, he sacrificed himself to the animals in the manner recorded in Fa-sheng's text. When the brothers returned to discover his immolation, they gathered Mahasattva's bones and put them into a stupa before returning to report the news to their father. The painting consists of twelve consecutive space cells arrayed on three tiers of a lateral frieze. The top tier consists of four opening scenes (SS: 1-4): moving from right to left, there appear the three princes reporting their hunting plan to their father in the palace and their hunt in the mountains. The middle tier consists of five scenes (SS: 5-9) arrayed sequentially from left to right. There we see the three princes sighting the starving tigers in a valley, the two older brothers leaving Mahasattva behind in feigned sleep, and Mahasattva killing himself in three continuous stages: on the edge of a cliff piercing his throat with a bamboo stalk, jumping headlong into the valley, and lying flat on the ground before the animals. The bottom tier includes three scenes (10-12) arrayed from right to left. These depict the two brothers wailing ------------------------------ 41. The text was translated by Shao-hui 紹慧 of the Liu-Sung 劉宋 period (420-479), see Liu Hsiu- ch'iao ed., Ta-tsang-ching (op.cit.), vol.3, pp. 332-33. 42. For the reference to the text of this sutra, see footnote 15. p. 261 over Mahasattva's bare bones, storing the bones in a stupa, rushing home on galloping horses, and reporting the sad news to their father. A serial space-cells composition like this one was of limited value in representing three dimensional space. Because the space cells, formed by triangular hillocks along a circular baseline, tilt up into the picture plane without showing any recession; they define boundaries but do not convey a sense of pictorial space. Groping for a better technique to represent spatial illusion, Northern Chou artists turned to hemispherical space-cells as a second device. Hemispherical space-cells Hemispherical space-cells result from the elimination of the upper part of serial space-cells. Such a device is represented in the Avadana of the Five Hundred Robbers in Cave 296 (pl.17). Based on the text already summarized above, the painting includes eight scenes that develop form right to left behind a low mountain range along the bottom register. Separated by trees, hillocks, and architecture, these scenes consecutively show King P'o-ssu-ni announcing to six officials his decision to wage a war against the five hundred robbers; he and his army going to the battle; the heated battle between the king's army and the robbers; the captivity of the defeated robbers; the robbers' gory punishment; their exile from the city; their transformation into lohans in front of the Buddha; and finally their meditation on a mountain. In terms of spatial representation, this Five Hundred Rcbbers creates a more successful illussion of open space. Small figures are shown amid a spacious natural environment, in which depth is created by the contrast between large hillocks and tall trees in the foreground and small mounds and short plants in the distance.(43) ------------------------------- 43. An identical spatial representation is found in the Jataka of Syama and in another Jataka of Prince Mahasattva, both in Cave 302 of the same period; for plates, see Tonko Bunbutsu Kenkyujo ed., Tonko Bakukokutsu (op.cit.), vol. 2, pls. 9-10. A similar spatial representational formula is also seen in the Ku K'ai-chih attributed, Goddess of the Lo river, which has three versions, respectively in the Liaoning Provincial Museum, The Palace Museum, Peking, and The Freer Gallery, Washington D.C. According to my study, those three scrolls are twelfth-to-thir- teenth-century copies of an original composition datable to the late sixth century. For a reference to a detailed discussion of this problem, see my Ph.D. dissertation mentioned in the introductory remarks. p. 262 Nevertheless, such hemispherical space-cells did not satisfy early seventh-century artists, who went a step farther to create the third type of the space-cell design-segmented vestigial space-cells. Segmented vestigial space-cells Segmented vestigial space-cells result from further abbreviation of a hemispherical space-cell. This spatial device is discernible in the Illustration of the Sutra of Cause and Effect Past and Present (Kuo-ch'u hsien-tsai yin-kuo-ching 過去現 在因果經 Japanese: Kakko genzai inga- kyo), an eighth-century Japanese copy of a seventh-century Chinese composition, now in the Nara National Museum (pl. 18). This narrative describes five episodes of Prince Siddhartha's life preceding his conversion to Buddhism. The corresponding text is written below each episode.(44) These five episodes take place in landscape settings that develop from right to left. The first episode, the right section of which is missing, shows the prince encountering a monk in a garden. The second episode represents the prince meeting a second monk on one of his outings. The third episode depicts the prince, sitting in his own garden, regarding a third monk. The fourth episode represents the prince entertained by a dance performance, by which his father intends to cheer him up. The last episode shows the prince telling his father of his wish to become a monk. The pictorial continuity of this scroll is enhanced by repetitive diagonals of earthen slopes that border each scene. Usually two diagonal slopes parallel each other, leaving a wide opening for the figures' action in between. The ground plane the figures stand on is defined by patches of grass in front and sparse trees behind. Suggestive of distant borders, these trees are arranged in semicircles-vestiges of individual space cells. Within each scene, spatial depth is suggested by the diagonal arrangement of figures, as seen in the arrangement of the musicians and the king's attendants in the last two scenes. To summarize and clarify the three-stage development of space-cell representation, I refer readers to the diagram. ----------------------------- 44. The sutra was translated into Chinese by Gunab- hadra 求那跋陀羅 (394-468). For the Chinese text, see Liu Hsiu-ch'iao ed., Ta-tsang-ching (op.cit.), vol.3, pp. 620-653. p. 263 Summary As we have seen, the evolution of Chinese narrative painting from Han to the Six Dynasties period is characterized by an increasing tendency to elaborate narrative details and clarify time and space in continuous compositions. This tendency, in my view, was affected by two important factors: the importation of Buddhist narrative art and the rise of Neo-Taoist Philosophy. The entrance and circulation of Indian and Central Asian Buddhist narrative painting aroused an enormous response from Chinese artists of the Six Dynasties period. As reflected in Tun-huang wall paintings, Chinese artists assimilated this alien art both selectively and eclectically. Although in the beginning of the fifth centuIy they open-mindedly adopted the themes, compositions, and iconography of non-Chinese Buddhist art, as seen in The Jataka of the Deer King Ruru (pl.10), they gradually transformed these exotic representational idioms into a Chinese pictorial language, and eventually created a syncretic Sino-Buddhist style. In the process of Sinicization, Buddhist narrative themes were narrowed down to center on those of filial piety and mercifulness, in correspondence with the Confucian values of "hsiao 孝 " and "jen 仁."(45) Buddhist deities are seen coexisting with Taoist immortals --------------------------------- 45. For example, the Confucian concept of "filial piety" was increasingly advocated in Buddhist teachings. This is reflected in the frequent appearance of the Shan-tzu pen-sheng 睒子本生 (Syama Jataka) in Tun-huang wall paintings, and the spread of the Mu-lien chiu mu pien-wen 目蓮救 母變文 (Transformed prose on the story of Mu-lien rescuing is mother from hell) tales elaborated from the sutra of Fo shuo yu-lan-p'en ching 佛說 盂蘭盆經 translated by Chu Fa-hu 竺法護 of the Western Chin 西晉 period (265-316). For the Chinese text of the sutra, see Liu Hsiu- ch'iao ed., Ta-tsang-ching (op. cit.), chuan 16, p. 779. For the Chinese text of the prose, see Wang Chung-min 王重民, Tun-huang pien-wen 敦煌變文 (Transformed prose found at Tun-huang) (Taipei: Shih-chieh shu-chu, 1961), vol. 2, pp. 701- 760; for an English translation, see Victor H. Mair, "Maudgalyayana (Transformation Text on Mahamaudgalyayana Rescuing His Mother from the Underworld)," in his Tun-huang Popular Narratives (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983), pp. 88-172. Ch'en Yin-k'o 陳寅恪 also points out that some Minayana sutras were concerned, and remoulded to fit Chinese ethics and values when they were translated from Sanskrit into Chinese; see Ch'en Yin-k'o, "Lien-hua-se-ni ch'u-chia yin-yuan-p'in pa 蓮花色尼出家因緣品跋 (Postcript to the 'Cause of the conversion of the Buddhist nun nicknamed Lotus-color')," in Ch'en Yin-k'o hsien-sheng lun-wen chi 陳寅恪先生論文集 (The collected essays of Ch'en Yin-k'o) (Taipei: San-jen-hsing ch'u-pan-she, 1974), vol.2, pp.719-24. For the concept of filial piety in this period, see also Lin Lichen 林麗真, "Lun Wei Chin te hsiao-tao ssu-hsiang yu cheng-chih che-hsueh tsung-chiao le kuan-hsi 論魏晉的孝道思 想與政治、 哲學、 宗教的關係 (On the relationship between the concept of filial piety and that of politics, phi- p. 264 within one scene, as found in the paintings on the ceilings of Tun-huang Caves 249 and 285.(46) Ultimately, all iconographical details and settings of Buddhist narratives were divorced from their foreign origins; figures came to be dressed in Chinese costumes and shown within Chinese architectural and landscape settings. The increasing use of landscape settings for Buddhist narrative themes might be seen as a pictorial reflection of the Sinicization of Buddhism.(47) Stimulated by Neo-Taoist philosophy, landscape representation underwent important changes during the Six Dynasties period. Renewed interest in Taoist concepts of nature altered man's vision of the world in which he lived. A new theme, that of figures in a landscape, became popular. As analysis of the Buddhist narrative paintings at Tun-huang shows, artists' began to devote much attention to landscape settings and the problems of representing illusionistic recession and continuous compositions. The elaborative use of continuous composition for a narrative painting had its functional purpose. Buddhist narrative paintings, losophy, and religion in the Wei and Chin periods), unpublished paper for the International Conference on Imperial Rulership and Cultural Change in Traditional China ( 中國古代帝 王統治與文化變遷 ), Taipei, 1992. ---------------------- 46. Scholars have disparate interpretations for the iconography of the deities shown in these two caves. Chinese scholars, including Ho Shih-che 賀 世哲 and Tuan Wen-chieh 段文杰 take them as a mixture of Buddhist and Taoist deities; for reference, see Ho Shih-che, "Mo-kao-k 'u 249 k 'u ting hsi-pi pi-hua nei-jung k 'ao-shih 莫高窟 249 窟頂西壁壁畫內容考釋 (An investigation into the content of the painting on the west ceiling slope of Tun-huang Cave 249)," Tun-huang hsueh chi-k'an 敦煌學輯刊 (1980-83), vol.3, pp. 28-32; see also his article, "Kuan yu 285 k'u chih Pao-ying-sheng p'u-sa yu Pao-chi-hsiang p'u-sa 關係 285 窟之寶應 聲菩薩與寶吉祥菩薩 (Regarding the Bodhisattvas Pao-ying-sheng and Pao-chi-hsiang in Tun-huang Cave 285)," Tun-huang yen-chiu 敦煌研究 (1985), vol. 3, pp. 37-40; and Tun Wen-chieh. "Lueh lun Mo-kao-k'u ti 249 k'u Pi-hua nei-jung han i-shu 略論莫高窟第 249 窟壁畫內容和藝 術 (A brief discussion on the art and the content of the painting in Tun-huang Cave 249), " Tun-huang yen-chiu (1983), vol. 1, pp.1-9. Western scholars, including Judy C.W. Ho and Susan Bush, regard some of those scenes as illustrations to the Vimalakirtinirdesa sutra (Wei-mo-chieh ching 維摩詰經 ); for references, see Judy C.W. Ho, "Dun-huang Cave 249: A Representation of the Vimalakirtinirdesa, " Ph.D. thesis, Yale University, 1985; and Susan Bush, "Problems of Iconography and the Ceiling of Dun-huang Cave 249, " Summary Papers of the International Conference on Dunhuangology (op.cit.), pp.16-7. 47. For a detailed discussion of the Sinicization of Buddhism, see Kenneth Ch'en, The Chinese Transformation of Buddhism (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1973), especially pp. 1-50; see also D.Holzman, "Filial Piety in Ancient and Early Medieval China: Its Perennity and Its Importance in the Cult of the Emperor," unpublished paper for the conference on "The Nature of State and Society in Medieval China," Stanford, August 16-18, 1980. p. 265 like scriptures, are didactic religious vehicles that convey Buddhist values; they teach moral behavior through the pictorial description of virtuous deeds. Therefore, whatever contributes a compelling narrative, with an articulate representation of spatial continuity and temporal progression, will be selected and developed. Such a painting was apparently more easily read by common pilgrims, most of them illiterate, than was a simultaneous composition which lacks a traceable plot, or a monoscenic composition in which the narrative was cut up in pieces. This is one reason for the adoption of a continuous composition for Buddhist narratives, at least whenever the wall space permitted. 1. 同發式構圖 simultaneous composition 荊軻刺秦王 (Ching K'o Assossinating the King of Ch'in) (pl. 1) 2. 單景式構圖 monoscenic composition 鴻門宴 (The Banquet at Hung-men) (pl. 2) 3. 連續式構圖 continuous composition 二桃殺三士 (Two Peaches Killing Three Warriors) (pl. 3) 和林格爾漢墓壁畫出行圖 (Processions of a Han Official at Ho-lin-ko- erh) (pl. 4) 4. 異時同景式構圖 different actions sharing a common background 濕昆王本生 (The Jataka of King Sibi, Tun-huang Cave 254, 386-534) (pl. 5) 5. 依時間順序的曲折式構圖 chronological narration in a serpentine layout 摩訶薩埵太子本生 (The Jataka of Prince Mahasattva, Tun- huang Cave 254, 386-534) (pl. 6) 婆羅門本生 (The Jataka of the Brahman, Tun-huang Cave 254, 538-539) (pl. 7) 孝子故事畫像 (Stories of the Filial Sons, 6th C.) (pl. 8) 6. 不依時間順序的橫向式構圖 achronological narration in a lateral layout 鹿王本生 (The Jataka of the Deer King Ruru, Tun- huang Cave 257, 386-534) (pl. 9) 睒子本生 (Syama Jataka, Ajanta Cave 10, A.D. 2nd c.) (pl. 10) 7. 依時間順序的橫向式構圖 chronological narration in a lateral layout p. 266 五百盜賊歸佛緣 (The Avadana of the Five Hundred Robbers, Tun-huang Cave 285, 538-539) (pl.13) 8. 竹林七賢 (The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove) (pl. 14) 9. 成都萬佛寺石刻 Three Jataka scenes at Wan-fo-ssu (pl. 15) 10. 圈圍式空間 space-cell 11. 連圈式 serial space-cells 摩訶薩埵太子本生 (The Jataka of Prince Mahasattva, Tun- huang Cave 428, 557-581) (pl.16) 12. 半連圈式 hemispherical space-cells 五百盜賊歸佛緣 (The Avadana of the Five Hundred Robbers, Tun-huang Cave 296, 557-581) (pl. 17) 13. 殘圈式 segmented vestigial space-cells 過去現在因果經 (Illustration of the Sutra of Cause and Effect Past and Present, Nara National Museum, an 8th c. copy of a 7th c. composition) (pl. 18) p. 267 Plate 1. Ching K'o Assassinating the King of Ch'in, A.D. 151, rubbing, stone engraving, the Wu Liang Shrine, Shantung Plate 2. The Banquet at Hung-men, ca. 48-7 B.C., drawing, painting on wood, Tomb No. 61, Lo-yang, Honan Plate 3. Two Peaches Killing Three Warriors, ca. 48-7 B.C., drawing, painting on wood, Tomb No.61, Lo-yang, Honan Plate 4. Processions of a Han Offcial, ca. A.D. 160s-170s, drawing, wall painting, Ho-lin-ko-erh Plate 5. The Jataka of King Sibi, Northern Wei period (386-534), drawing, wall painting, Cave 254, Tun-huang Plate 6. The Jataka of Prince Mahasattva, Northern Wei period (386-534), drawing, wall painting, Cave 254, Tun-huang Plate 7. The Jataka of the Brahman, A.D. 538-539, drawing, wall painting, Cave 285, Tun-huang Plate 8. Stories of the Filial Sons, section, ca. later half of the 6th cen- tury, rubbing, stone engraving, sarcophagus, Nelson Gallery- Atkins Museum, Kansas City, U.S.A. Plate 9. The Jataka of the Deer King Ruru, Northern Wei period (386-534), drawing, wall painting, Cave 257, Tun-huang Plate 10. Syama Jataka, A.D. 2nd century, drawing, wall painting, Cave 10, Ajanta Plate 11. Syama Jataka, Northern Chou period (557-581), draw- ing, wall painting, Cave 301, Tun-huang Plate 12. Syama Jataka, Sui Period (581-618), drawing, wall paint- ing, Cave 302, Tun-huang Plate 13. The Avadana of the Five Hundred Robbers, A.D. 538-539, drawing, wall painting, Cave 285, Tun-huang Plate 14. The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, section, ca. A.D. 480s, p. 268 rubbing, bas-relief on bricks, Hsi-shan-ch'iao, Nanking Plate 15. Three Jataka scenes, A.D. 425, rubbing, stone engraving, Wan-fo-ssu, Ch'eng-tu, Szechwan Plate 16. The Jataka of Prince Mahasattva, Northern Chou period (557-581), drawing, wall painting, Cave 428, Tun-huang Plate 17. The Avadana of the Five Hundred Robbers, Northern Chou period (557-581), drawing, wall painting, Cave 296, Tun-huang Plate 18. Illustration of the Sutra of Cause and Effect Past and Present, section, an 8th century copy of a 7th century composition, draw- ing, handscroll, Nara National Museum, Nara, Japan Chen 1. (Serial space-cells, The Jataka of Prince Mahasattva, Tun-huang Cave 428, ca. 557-581) Chen 2. (Hemispherical space-cells, The Avadana of the Five Hundred Rob- bers, Tun-huang Cave 296, ca. 557-581) Chen 3. (Segmented vestigial space-cells, The Illustration of the Sutra of Cause and Effect Past and Present, Nara National Museum, an 8th-century copy of an early 7th-century composition)