Poetry, calligraphy and painting enjoyed unprecedented efflorescence in the Qing Dynasty. Apart from the development of these art forms, the prevailing distinguished assembly of scholars and publication of prints on books also made inscribed paintings the latest craze among literati in that period. Many of these literati wore more than one hat, flourishing as poets and painters. They would either inscribe poetry on their paintings by themselves, or entrust this task to their friends. Through the reciprocal exchange of admiring paintings and composing poetry, they not only strengthened their emotional bonds and expanded their personal connections, but also articulated their identity and cultural status. Such a common practice remained throughout the Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period.
Using inscribed paintings, literati sang the praise of prosperous peace and reflected a poised attitude of life when the nation was booming, and lamented the political turbulence and sighed with sorrow at the elapsing time when the nation declined. Although the “realistic” quality of pictures allowed readers to intuitively understand authors’ purposes of drawing and ergo acquire many resonances, literati paintings served as a predilection of poets due to the former’s “freehand style” that not only offered multiple perspectives but also created a multi-layered space in which one could find inner sustenance. Be it realistic or freehand, what mattered was the inner voice and life of a painting per se, and readers’ innovative interpretations carried the craze for inscribed paintings toward unparalleled popularity in the Qing Dynasty.
Focusing on inscribed paintings that enjoyed great popularity in the Qing Dynasty, this dissertation delves deep into several works of this kind, including Huang Juezi’s Such a Landscape, Yu Zhi’s A Man of Iron’s Tears for Jiangnan, Hou Mingguei’s Admiring the Clouds in Shule, Wang Pengyun’s Nostalgia in Lovely Spring Sunshine, Dai Sanxi’s Sailing for Sichuan in Spring, and Gao Xu’s Discussing Martial Art in a Cluster of Flowers, insofar as to outline the development of inscribed paintings during the late Qing and early Republican period. On a more specific basis, this dissertation seeks to represent the academic pursuit and political situation at that time by reference to these paintings’ allusions and literati’s poetry. Investigating the changes in the situation and mental state of scholars flourishing during the late Qing and early Republican period, this dissertation tries to identify the commonalities they shared, thereby grasping how they fulfilled their purposes of self-expressing and mutual consoling by means of inscribed paintings.