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Chapter 6 This chapter will focus on a Ming-dynasty hanging scroll
entitled Portrait of an Official in Front of the Beijing Imperial Palace
Painting of the Imperial in the British Museum collection (Pl. 6.1). The discussion is
divided into three sections. Firstly, it will analyse the
Palace and Zhu Bang painting itself and the main figure depicted in it, identified
as Kuai Xiang 蒯詳 (1398–1481). Secondly, it will discuss the
painter Zhu Bang 朱邦 (active mid to late Ming) to whom
Yu Hui the painting is attributed, his life and his surviving works.
Thirdly, it will compare and discuss several works that are
similar to the painting in the British Museum, in order to
Translated by Luk Yu-ping understand who might have painted these works, their
characteristics and function, as well as to explore the pattern
of development and change in this type of imagery.

Kuai Xiang and the Portrait of an Official in Front of the
Beijing Imperial Palace
Portrait of an Official in Front of the Beijing Imperial Palace
measures 170cm in height and 110.8cm in width. A signature
that reads Fengxi 豐溪 is visible on the right side of the
painting, which is the shortened form of Fengxi daoren 豐溪
道人 (Master of Fengxi) – one of the sobriquets of the painter
Zhu Bang. Below it is a seal mark in relief that reads Zhu
1
Bang zhi yin 朱邦之印 (seal of Zhu Bang) (Pl. 6.2). In his
article from 1972, Roderick Whitfield noted that this seal
mark is identical to one found on another painting in the
British Museum entitled Fishermen in a River Gorge, which he
also considers to be an authentic work by Zhu Bang (Pl.
2
6.3). His view can be accepted without doubt. There are
some fine landscape paintings of the Zhe school (Zhepai 浙派)
and Jiangxia 江夏 school in the British Museum. This is
very much related to the importance that Professor
Whitfield placed upon them while he was working at the
then Department of Oriental Antiquities in the 1970s and
1980s. The main figure dressed in red in the Portrait of an
Official in Front of the Beijing Imperial Palace should be Kuai
Xiang, who was alive during the early part of Zhu Bang’s
life. This will be discussed further later in this chapter.
In the painting, Kuai Xiang is shown holding a tablet,
standing to the left of Jinshuiqiao 金水橋 (Bridge of Golden
Water) of Chengtianmen 承天門 (Gate of Heavenly
Succession; renamed Tiananmen 天安門 or Gate of
Heavenly Peace during the Qing dynasty). Behind him are
Wumen 午門 (Meridian Gate), Fengtianmen 奉天門 (Gate
for Worshipping Heaven) and Fengtiandian 奉天殿 (Hall
for Worshipping Heaven). Fengtianmen and Fengtiandian
were renamed Taihemen 太和門 (Gate of Supreme
Harmony) and Taihedian 太和殿 (Hall of Supreme
Harmony) in the Qing dynasty. In front of Kuai Xiang are
Da Ming men 大明門 (Gate of the Great Ming) and
Zhengyangmen 正陽門 (Gate of the True Yang). The
Chinese characters for Wumen are now clearly visible in
gold following conservation work on the painting for the
exhibition Ming: 50 years that changed China at the British
Museum in 2014.
3
Kuai Xiang was born in Xiangshan village 香山村 next
to Tai Lake 太湖 in Wu 吳 county in modern Jiangsu
province. He was revered as the leader of the Xiangshan
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group of artisans (Xiangshan bang 香山幫, literally Fragrant
Mountain Gang), also known as the Wushan school 吳山派.
Xiangshan village is renowned for its carpentry tradition.

56 | Ming China: Courts and Contacts 1400–1450