Page 377 - Chinese Art, Vol II By Stephen W. Bushell

PICTORIAL ART. 123

dynasty figure in the imperial list cited above, viz., Wei Hsieh
and Ku K'ai-chih.
Wei Hsieh was a pupil of Ts'ao Fu-hsing. The figures that he
painted were so instinct with life that it was said he dared not
give the final touch of dotting in the pupils of their eyes lest they
should rise from the canvas. He excelled in the representation
of Taoist and Buddhist divinities and was the first Chinese artist
to sign his name to a Buddhist picture. His masterpiece was a
picture of the seven ancient Buddhas, culminating in Sakyamuni
Buddha ; and he also painted the banqueting of Mu Wang of the
Cliou dynasty in the jade lake-paradise of the west, and, later, a
series of liistorical scenes to illustrate the Shih Chi annals, which
are now being translated into French by Prof. E. Chavannes.
Ku K'ai-chih was a native of Wu-hsi, near the modern Nanking,
and was famous for his scholarship as well as for pre-eminent
artistic power, surpassing even his teacher Wei Hsieh. His range
was wide and comprehensive, including portraits of emperors,
statesmen and ladies of the court ; historical scenes ; tigers,
leopards, and lions ; dragons, and other mytliical beasts ; wild
geese, ducks, and swans ; stretches of reed-clad plain and mountain
landscapes. Most of his work was executed on silk, but he occa-
sionally used white paper made of hemp. A screen painted with
a lake scene and water-fowl is particularly noticed, and fans limned
with graceful figures of high-born damsels. He also painted
Buddhist subjects, and a record remains of the opening of the
Wa Kuan Ssii, a newly built monastery, in the Hsing-ning epoch
(a.d. 363-365), when crowds flocked in myriads to see a mural
picture by him of Vimalakirti, the glory of which filled the temple
and drew a million " cash " into the treasury. The artist had
put his name down for the amount on the subscription list, and
when the monks came to collect the money he said : " Prepare
a wall, shut the door for a month, and wait." He had first attracted
notice by a life-like portrait of a young girl, with whom he had