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south of Beijing. Attendants are shown carrying items
related to funeral customs used to welcome the soul of the
deceased (Pl. 6.18): soul-guiding banners (yinhun fan 引魂幡)
and a soul-guiding lantern (yinhun deng 引魂燈), also known
as ‘following-the-body lantern’ (suishen deng 隨身燈) during
the Ming dynasty. Their inclusion in the painting suggests
the returning of Kuai Xiang’s body and soul to his native
place. According to ancient customs, it was necessary to
summon and guide the soul of the deceased before and
during the journey when bringing the deceased back to his
native place for burial. This provides reassurance to family
members that both the body and soul of the deceased have
been properly interred. Some farming villages in Jiangnan
still practice this custom today, while tools of the ritual can
be found in folk museum collections. They are quite similar
to those depicted in the Zhu Bang version. The painting
captures an important moment in the funeral arrangements
for Kuai Xiang. It is unlikely to have been painted for the
imperial court, since the silk surface of the painting is not
sufficiently fine. Instead, it was most likely painted for the
builders and carpenters of the Xiangshan group according
to their wishes. Normally a painting depicting the ritual of
summoning the soul can only be painted shortly before the
funeral. In 1481 when Kuai Xiang died, Zhu Bang was
probably still in Beijing, and maybe even in the area of the
Suzhou Alley. It is possible that he accepted a commission
from the Xiangshan group to paint this work, which
commemorates Kuai Xiang and expresses the group’s
concern for his afterlife.
Depictions of the ritual to summon the soul can be found
in other Ming dynasty images. For example, a woodblock- Plate 6.19 ‘Funeral of Li Pinger’ from Plum in the Golden Vase (Jin
printed illustration of chapter 65, ‘Funeral of Li Pinger’ (Li ping mei 金瓶梅), reprint of the Chongzhen edition (Jinan, 1989)
Pinger chubin tu 李瓶兒出殯圖) in the novel Jin ping mei 金瓶梅
(Plum in the Golden Vase), shows a procession carrying for court and Xiangshan group artisans to conduct
ceremonial banners that follows a winding path towards the commemorations and make offerings.
burial grounds (Pl. 6.19). This image and the objects the After Kuai Xiang another talented artisan, Xu Gao,
figures carry are similar to the scene depicted in the lower emerged at the Ming imperial court. Painting of Xu Gao (see
part of the Zhu Bang version. Pl. 6.14), also known as Imperial Palace of Beijing (Beijing
Likewise, Imperial Palace of the Ming Dynasty portrays the gongdian tu 北京宮殿圖), is based almost entirely on the Zhu
summoning of the soul of the deceased in its lower section Bang version. In an inscription below the painting, Kan
(Pl. 6.20). The main figure in this painting could be Kuai Duo 闞鐸 (1875–1934) identifies the main figure depicted in
Xiang as well. The work must have been painted by a court the painting as Xu Gao, which he probably learned from the
painter, perhaps from the Work Project Office of the painting’s title label. He writes that:
Ministry of Works, probably for artisans working at the Initially [Xu Gao] assisted Vice Minister of Works Lei Li in the
imperial court. The spread of this composition beyond the renovations of Yongshougong (Palace of Eternal Longevity),
court provided other painters with an initial model that they and was recognised by Shizong (Jiajing emperor). At the time
could follow. Over time, portrayals of the summoning and people said that he was the one succeeding Kuai Xiang.
guiding of the soul disappeared from the lower part of the 初以佐工部侍郎雷禮修永壽宮，受知於世宗，時人謂為蒯祥後
composition. Instead, subsequent paintings were used in the 一人而已。
same manner as images of deities by providing a focal point

Plate 6.20 Detail of Pl. 6.15, showing the scene of the summoning of the soul of the deceased

Painting of the Imperial Palace and Zhu Bang | 65