Home>News Center>China
       
 

Ox or donkey? Tiny animal stirs art debate
By Zhao Huanxin (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-12-16 00:58

A donkey or an ox -- the question is still open -- may be at the heart of a controversy surrounding one of China's most treasured national art works.

The dilemma is whether repairs made over the centuries to a Northern Song Dynasty masterpiece simply added images that were not there. If so, should those repairs be undone or did they become part of the work?

Qingming Shanghe Tu was painted by 12th century imperial court painter Zhang Zeduan during the Northern Song Dynasty (906-1127).

Variously translated as Going Upriver for the Qingming Festival or Peace Reigns on the River, the 528.7-centimetre-long silk handscroll in ink and colours depicts a panorama of daily life, business and social interaction in Bianliang, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty and today's Kaifeng in Henan Province.

The United States, France, Britain and Japan each has at least one copy of this Chinese masterpiece, which experts believe are just duplications.

Only the Palace Museum in Beijing possesses the original, said Yu Hui, a museum official.

But the restoration of a tiny part of the handscroll in 1973 has triggered a heated debate among academics and the public.

At the centre of the controversy is a donkey. Or is it an ox?

A former Palace Museum copier, Wang Kairu, said the restorations changed the original work.

In 1973, a panel of experts at the Palace Museum determined a small part of the painting had been inappropriately mended during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

According to Yu, the experts believed the Ming artists had "mistakenly" thought a pole crutch on the painting was the "horn of an ox," whose body was missing. So they pasted on a little piece of silk and painted an "ox" on it.

So the Palace Museum experts in 1973 removed that little piece of silk.

Over the past few months, however, the now absent piece of silk has fuelled a hot debate.

Yu and other experts claim the Ming addition makes the painting difficult to understand and goes against the spirit of the original work.

"The decision to remove the tiny silk piece from the painting was made after careful consideration and deliberation, with the whole process being photographed," Xu Zhongling, 67, then deputy director of the museum's calligraphy and painting division, told China Daily yesterday.

But Wang Kairu, who has studied Zhang's painting for years and made four copies of the original work in 1997, insisted the small piece of silk on Zhang's original work perfectly fits the scenario of the handscroll, and was likely made with good reason.

And that is only the beginning of the debate.

To many people's surprise, however, Wang believes that the Ming Dynasty restorers did not paint an ox on their silk patch but a donkey in heat.

"A person with knowledge of livestock will see it was a ruttish she-donkey," he said.

Putting the animal in the context of the painting, the donkey could be interpreted as moving towards a jackass nearby, scaring an old man who tries to rein it in while warning a child to avoid, Wang said.

"The Palace Museum experts seemed to not know the behaviour of animals very well, I know animals well since I grew up and live in the countryside," he said.

Ox or donkey, once it had been fixed on the ancient painting by ancient artists, it should not be simply taken away, said both Wang and Feng Jicai, a well known Chinese writer and painter.

Removing the patch made that part of the masterpiece more difficult to understand, Wang said.

He said the art work should be restored to what it was before 1973, otherwise, people throughout the world will never have a chance to see the "undeleted" painting.

But Palace Museum official Yu said removing the tiny part restored the original look of the great work.

He said the museum will sponsor an international seminar on the painting next October, when the museum will give a clear explanation of its restoration efforts.



 
  Today's Top News     Top China News
 

China to build high speed railways next year

 

   
 

New court rules to better guard IPR

 

   
 

754 officials punished for fund misuse

 

   
 

Chen's stance a "threat" to peace

 

   
 

Iraqi defence minister: Iran is "No 1 enemy"

 

   
 

Pakistan, China sign 7 deals on projects

 

   
  Costly National Theater faces financial woes
   
  Experts: Firms need IPR management aid
   
  Forex savings drop by 5.9% in November
   
  Staggered hours to save city power
   
  Hong Kong residents eye life in Guangdong
   
  China to build high speed railways next year
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
China's third generation art and artists
   
Chinese art galleries to see "golden time"
   
Chinese art galleries to see "golden time"
   
Shanghai art lovers in for treat
   
No need to leave home to enjoy the arts
   
Arts awards join forces
   
China Arts Festival kicks off in Hangzhou
  News Talk  
  It is time to prepare for Beijing - 2008  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: bbw巨大丰满xxxx| 亚洲av无码专区在线播放| 美女无遮挡免费视频网站| 国产欧美视频在线观看| 91精品国产高清久久久久久91| 影音先锋在线免费观看| 久久久国产精品一区二区18禁| 最近中文字幕mv图| 亚洲春色第一页| 狠狠色噜噜狠狠狠狠av| 再深点灬舒服灬太大了添学长 | 精品人成电影在线观看| 国产乱人伦精品一区二区在线观看| 国产1000部成人免费视频| 国产精品无码久久久久久久久久| JIZZ成熟丰满| 小婷的性放荡日记h交| 中文午夜乱理片无码| 无码国内精品人妻少妇蜜桃视频 | 国产日韩欧美久久久| 18禁男女无遮挡啪啪网站| 国产高清在线观看| 99热在线播放| 天堂网中文字幕| bl道具play珠串震珠强迫| 女人腿张开让男人桶爽| 一本色道久久综合狠狠躁篇| 成人无遮挡裸免费视频在线观看| 中文字幕日韩精品麻豆系列| 日本19禁综艺直接啪啪| 久久国产精品99久久小说| 日韩在线看片中文字幕不卡| 亚欧免费无码aⅴ在线观看| 欧乱色国产精品兔费视频| 亚洲乱码国产乱码精品精| 欧美亚洲国产精品久久久久| 亚洲国产成人片在线观看| 欧美午夜片欧美片在线观看| 亚洲午夜国产精品| 欧美三级蜜桃2在线观看| 亚洲乱码一区二区三区在线观看 |