Page 14 - Art of the Ming and Qing Dynasty by Johnathan Hay

subtle definition of mood and atmosphere in albums and handscrolls, his lyrical effects are

carefully measured, and extended by his poems (490-91). His social and artistic persona was
bohemian -- another connection with Nanjing -- and this has found a place in the popular
imagination as the romantic myth of the hedonist Tang Bohu. The bold cursive calligraphy of
his friend Zhu Yunming (1461-1527) belongs to the same aesthetic universe, combining
casual, uninhibited execution with rich, pictorial structures.

Beijing and the Court. The rise of the southern cities did not eclipse the court, which
itself became commercially active under the influence of the Chenghua emperor's favorite
concubine, Wan Guifei (1430-87). The court's involvement in commerce was to become a

permanent feature of Chinese life from the Zhengde reign onwards. One of its effects, or
perhaps causes, was the weakening of the commitment to a ritualized environment at the
center of power in favor of the same attention to pleasure that we have seen in Nanjing and
Suzhou. In both ceramics and flower and bird painting, this had diverse expressions.
One style of ceramic decoration was tied to the new developments in the southern

capital. Through the Nanjing aristocracy and officialdom, the style of painting represented by
Wu Wei became popular at court as well, and with it his Daoist, narrative, and theatrical
themes. Wu himself was much appreciated by both the Chenghua and Hongzhi emperors:

this was a time in which ostentatiously unconventional behaviour could meet with admiration
even at court. The free Nanjing style and its more popular themes passed quickly into
ceramic decoration. From Chenghua through Zhengde and beyond, they appear on blue and
white ceramics (the so-called "windswept" style), on fahua wares enamelled on the biscuit,
and in overglaze enamelled decoration (492). Polychrome enamels themselves first came to

the fore in the Chenghua reign (though they are known as early as Xuande), as if to proclaim
the relaxation of austerity through a blaze of color.
If this first style has strong masculine overtones, the other has been thought to be

connected to the female patronage of Wan Guifei. The Chenghua period is noted for its
important number of extremely fine, delicate objects suited to intimate use, decorated in a
style that avoids all forcefulness in favor of a graceful informality. The most famous,
perhaps, are the small wine cups with doucai decoration which combines underglaze blue
outlines and overglaze enamel pigments, approximating the "double outline" technique of

painting (492). Another group of objects demonstrate an elegant naturalism: in patterns with
fish, waterweeds may be painted as if growing from the line of the base, giving the
impression that the fish are seen in water. Yet other objects, including the celebrated "palace

bowls" of the period, playfully subvert the normal rules of flower scroll decoration. Leaves
extend elegantly into spaces that previously would have been left empty, and such exotic
innovations as lilies displace the established vocabulary of flowers.