Page 52 - Yuan Dynasty Ceramics

Chapter 07 (pp. 330-385)_Layout 1 7/7/10 5:42 PM Page 381

funerary traditions of native Chinese emperors. 233 In often resulted in expressive, brilliant works. 239 The
1369, during a trip rich in the symbolism of linking Shundi emperor was a true patron who was passionate
heaven and earth, he erected stone memorial tablets at about art and actively sought out gifted artists. By con-
the graves of his parents and grandparents. Borrowing trast, the approach of the artisans working for the
from Tang and Song art and architecture, he began con- Hongwu emperor appears relatively heavy-handed, and
struction of the imperial Huangling tomb for his parents, the resulting designs seem formulaic. The Hongwu em-
followed by the Zuling tomb for his grandparents. In peror, who rose from the status of a peasant through mil-
1370, he asked for the exact plans of the Northern Song itary skill, was more concerned with the use of art to
mausoleums at Gongxian, Henan province. The Huang - convey power. 240 As a result, Hongwu imagery appears
ling tomb was aligned with the south gates of Zhongdu, a carefully orchestrated, more decorative than descriptive.
triple-walled new capital under construction at his birth- Overall, Ming composition seems compartmentalized
place in present-day Fengyang, Anhui province. When and rigid. The Yuan love of intricate detail also began to
nearly complete in 1376, the Zhongdu capital project was give way to more open space. Representations of animals
abandoned due to a series of inauspicious events. The at the early Ming monuments in Fengyang county, Anhui
construction of Huangling, however, was completed in province, and Nanjing are more similar in proportions
1379. Its spirit road was completed the next year, and and detail to the carved jade of the Song, or the tradi-
consisted of thirty-two pairs of figures in procession, the tional Chinese spirit way figures of the Tang and Song dy-
largest number of stone-sculpted animals and human fig- nasties, than to Yuan animal forms (see Figs. 7.14, 7.32). 241
ures of any Chinese tomb. 234 After twenty years of Yuan-Ming transition with the
These enormous building projects are monuments to completion of Zuling in 1388, it seems that the more for-
power and filial piety made in a new imperial style. Motifs mulaic Hongwu imperial style was firmly established. Ex-
on the sculptures, such as lions playing with balls, were amples of this style are seen in early Ming objects
meant to command respect and celebrate the return of depicting peonies, such as a relief sculpture of a peony
Chinese rule. Finely modeled fantastic animals, like drag- rank badge at Zuling. It is also seen in a porcelain dish ex-
ons and phoenixes, appear against backgrounds of rocky cavated from the Hongwu stratum of the Ming imperial
peaks, auspicious ruyi-headed clouds with trailing tails, kiln at Jingdezhen (Fig. 7.53).
and pines framed by floral sprays and scrolling foliage. The peony had special significance during the
These designs are seen again in the ruins of the palace in Hongwu era, as alluded to in The Great Ming Command-
Nanjing, which was designated Hongwu’s formal capital ment, authored by Zhu Yuanzhang in 1368. The section of
after the abandonment of Zhongdu. 235 the book on rites specified the size of “du’ke flowers” (a
If the reliefs from the Zhongdu palace are compared Yuan term referring to a certain rank) that were to deco-
with the Yuan reliefs of 1343–1345 at Juyong Guan near rate the robes of top-ranking civil and military officers
Beijing, the differences of the Hongwu style begin to and are likely related to developments of rank badges
emerge (see Fig. 7.14). The Yuan reliefs are characterized later in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Ming du’ke flowers
by great intricacy and seemingly effortless vitality. 236 At that were five inches wide were the insignia of top offi-
Juyong Guan, figures are highly animated and imbued cials; a three-inch du’ke flower could be worn by those of
with life, compared to the more formulaic, robust pat- secondary rank. 242 Wives of officials were also permitted
terns at Zhongdu, created around 1376. Ming palace re- to wear cloud collars embroidered with motifs corre-
liefs are somewhat predictable, diligently carved or sponding to their husbands’ rank. For example, wives of
molded in low relief. officials of rank eight or nine wore collars with embroi-
This observable contrast between the Yuan Shundi dered branch patterns. 243 Carved details on a eunuch’s
and the Ming Hongwu imperial styles may point to vari- robe at Zuling, the emperor’s grandparents’ tomb, seem
ances in artistic freedom and changes in period style that to confirm that the du’ke flower of the Hongwu court was
can be seen in both ceramics and textiles. 237 There also the peony. 244
seems to be a shift away from the Mongol approach of Similar representations of peonies are found on a
looking at densely patterned textiles for inspiration while cloud collar textile fragment in the collection of the
turning more to the open space of Chinese paintings, es- Cleveland Museum, and on the reconstructed dish from
pecially those of the Song dynasty. 238 It seems that during the Hongwu stratum of the Ming imperial kiln (Fig. 7.54;
the Yuan dynasty, the designers were free to enlarge on see also Fig. 7.53). The arrangement of peonies, shown
basic plans supplied by the imperial commission, which growing from a typical Hongwu-style rock, is almost

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