Page 68 - The Meiji Aesthetic Christie's Hong Kong.pdf

Birds of prey

The eighth-century Chronicles of Japan (Nihon shoki 日本書紀) states that the practice
of hawking was introduced in the fourth century, after which it became an important
seasonal activity at court. Since the Muromachi period (1392-1573), hawking was taken
over largely by the warrior elite, who saw the bird of prey as a symbol of their own bravery
and might. So potent was this symbol that the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616)
banned trade in hawks in 1604 to emphasize his own hegemony. Imagery of hawks in
their wild habitat, in cages or tethered to stands is prevalent on hanging scrolls, screens and
sliding doors commissioned by the samurai elite.

In China, hawking is closely related to royalty and imagery of birds of prey traces back to
the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). Notable paintings by court artists of the Northern
Song dynasty (960–1127) are mentioned in the the Xuanhe Huapu 宣和画譜, a treatise on
painting of the Xuanhe era, 1119–25. In Chinese, ying 鷹 is a homophone with the frst
character of “hero”, yingxiong 英雄. An eagle on rock is a rebus for yingxiong duli 英雄
獨立, meaning the independent spirit of a hero. Such imagery can be seen in Qi Baishi’s
(1863-1957) painting with the same four-character title. A white falcon was depicted by
Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1768) as the last work of his prolifc career in 1765. This
painting is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei.

猛禽

據《日本書紀》記載，鷹狩文化自公元四世紀出現，屬皇宮定期舉行之重要活
動。及至室町時代（1392-1573年），武士精英紛紛崇尚鷹狩，並以猛禽鷙鳥象
徵自身的勇猛擅戰。德川家康（1542-1616年）尤好鷹狩，在1604年起禁止獵鷹
買賣，令鷹狩活動僅由他個人尊享。鷹狩意象在日本藝術中屢見不鮮，常出現於
受武士委託特製之掛軸、屏風及障子，圖案頗豐，有獵鷹棲息野外，亦有獨立籠
架之內。

鷹狩又稱鷹獵，在中國同受達官貴人推崇，其藝術形象可追溯自漢代（公元前
206-220年）。宋徽宗時期內府藏畫譜錄《宣和畫譜》收錄北宋宮廷畫師以猛禽
為題之作品。「鷹」諧音「英」，可引伸為英雄等意思，齊白石名作中有以成語
「英雄獨立」命名。清代宮廷畫家郎世寧（1688-1768年）於乾隆三十年（即公
元1765年）繪著名「白鷹圖」，為其漫長繪畫生涯寫上句號。作品現藏臺北故宮
博物院。