WU HUNG
The TransparentStone:
Inverted Vision and Binary
Imagery in Medieval Chinese Art
A
DIVIDES
MOMENT
the course of Chinese art into two
a
ritual
Before
this
moment,
art traditiontransformedgeneral
broad periods.
political and religious concepts into material symbols.Forms that we now call
worksof artwere integralpartsof largermonumentalcomplexes such as temples
and tombs,and theircreatorswere anonymouscraftsmenwhose individualcreativitywas generallysubordinatedto largerculturalconventions.From the fourth
and fifthcenturieson, however,thereappeared a group of individuals-scholarartistsand art critics-who began to forge theirown history.Although the constructionof religiousand politicalmonumentsnever stopped, these men of letters attempted to transformpublic art into their private possessions, either
or spiritually.They developed a strongsentimenttoward
physically,artistically,
ruins,accumulated collectionsof antiques,placed miniaturemonumentsin their
houses and gardens,and "refined"commoncalligraphicand pictorialidiomsinto
individualstyles.This paper discussesnew modes of writingand paintingat this
liminalpoint in Chinese art history.
CRUCIAL
Reversed Image
and Inverted Vision
Near the modern cityof Nanjing in eastern China, some ten mausoleums survivingfrom the early sixthcenturybear witnessto the past gloryof
emperors and princesof the Liang Dynasty(502-57).' The mausoleums share a
general design (fig. 1). Three pairs of stone monumentsare usually erected in
frontof the tumulus: a pair of stone animals-lions or qilinunicornsaccording
to the statusof the dead-are placed before a gate formedby two stone pillars;
the name and titleof the deceased appear on the flatpanels beneath the pillars'
capitals. Finallytwo opposing memorialstelae bear identicalepitaphs recording
the career and meritsof the dead person. This sequence of paired stonesdefines
a central axis or a ritual path leading to the tomb mound. As indicated by its
ancient designationshendao,or "the spiritroad," this path was built not for the
livingbut forthe departingsoul, which,itwas commonlybelieved,traveledalong
58
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46 * Spring 1994 ?
THE REGENTS
OF THE UNIVERSITY
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OF CALIFORNIA
Tomb
stelae
columns
bixieorqfiin
Directionsofaxis depends on the lie
ofthe land
FIGURE
FIGURE
1.
Standard layoutof a Liang royaltomb.AfterAnn
Road(NewHaven,1991),
Paludan,TheChinese
Spirnt
chart2b. Reproduced bypermission.
2. Stone sculpturesin Emperor Wen'sJianlingmausoleum.
Liang Dynasty,502 A.D.; Danyang,JiangsuProvince.
AfterYao Qian and Gu Bing,Liuchaoyishu(Artof the
Six Dynasties;Beijing, 1981), 35.
the path fromitsold home to itsnew abode, crossingthe pillar-gatethatmarked
out the boundarybetweenthese twoworlds.2
Fifteenhundred yearshave passed, and these mausoleums have turned into
ruins. The stone animals stand in rice fields; the stelae are cracked and their
inscriptionsblurred (fig.2). But the "spiritroad," which never takes a material
formbut is onlydefinedbythe shapes surroundingit,seems to have escaped the
ravages of time.As long as the pairs of monuments-even theirruins-still exist
in situ,a visitorrecognizes this"path" and he, or his gaze, travelsalong it. Like
the ancients, he would firstmeet the twin stone animals, each with its body
curvingfromcrestto tail to forma smoothS-shaped contour.With theirlarge
round eyes and enormous gaping mouths,the mythicalbeasts seem to be in a
state of alarm and amazement. Compared to the bulkyanimal statues created
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59
threecenturiesearlierduringthe Han Dynasty,thesestatuesexhibitnew interest
in psychologyrather than in pure physique, in momentaryexpression rather
than in permanentexistence,in individualityratherthan in anonymity,
and in a
complex combinationof fantasticand human elementsratherthanin uniformity.
The vividnessof the animals even seems at odds withthe solemn atmosphereof
a graveyard.Standing in frontof the stone pillars,these strangecreaturesseem
to havejust emerged fromthe other side of the gate and are astonishedbywhat
theyare confronting.
The powerfulimageryof these stone beasts must have contributedto the
inventionof abundant legends about them: people have repeatedly reported
seeing themjumping up in the air.3In 546, the animals in frontof theJianling
mausoleum, the tomb of the dynasticfounder'sfather,reportedlysuddenly got
up and began to dance. They then foughtviolentlywitha huge serpent under
the pillar-gate,and one beast was even injured by the evil reptile.4This event
must have created a great sensationat the time: it was recorded in the dynasty's
officialhistoryand the famous poet Yu Xin (513-81) incorporated it into his
writings.5This and other tales,obviouslyoriginatingfromthe statues'symbolic
FIGURES
60
3a-b. Mirroringinscriptionson stone
pillarsin Emperor Wen'stomb,502 A.D.
62.5 x 142 cm. AfterZhu Xizu et al.,
Liuchaolingmudiaochabaogao(An
investigativereportof Six Dynasties
mausoleums; Nanjing, 1935), figs.20a-b.
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functionof wardingoffeviland fromthe desire to explain theirdecay over time,
nevertheless demanded and inspired furtherpolitical interpretations.Thus
when a similareventwas later reported to the court,some ministersconsidered
it a good omen, but the emperor feared it as an inauspicious indicationof future
rebellions. Underlyingboth interpretationswas the belief that the stone beasts
carried divine messages to the living.6
Having passed the animal statues,the visitorfindshimselfbefore the stone
pillars.As mentionedabove, these bear two panels withidenticalinscriptions.In
the example shown in figs.3a-b, the passage reads: "The spiritroad of Grand
Supreme Emperor Wen,"the fatherof the founderof the Liang Dynasty.There
is nothingstrangeabout the contentof these inscriptions;what is puzzling is the
way theyare written:the inscriptionon the leftpanel is a piece of regular text,
but the one on the rightpanel is reversed.7
Readers unfamiliarwithChinese writingmay gain some sense of the irony
created by thisjuxtaposition froman English "translation"of the Chinese passages (figs.3c-d): although the contentof the two inscriptionsis identical,their
effectis entirelydifferent.The inscriptionon the leftis a seriesof words forming
a coherentand readable text.But the inscriptionon the right,at firstsight,consistsof no more than individualand illegiblesigns.A temporalreading sequence
Ihe
spiitroadof
Qran(Supreme
w IW
'4enj
Emperor
__
'I_
_
n
9qviW
I
3J
I
I____I_
reversedimages
a
at
reversed
vision
a
a
FIGURES
FIGURE
FIGURE
3c-d (top). English translationof mausoleum inscriptions.
4 (center).Diagram: reversedimages.
5 (bottom).Diagram: reversedvision.
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61
is thusestablished:even thoughthetwoinscriptionswould be seensimultaneously
sequentially.It would not take
from the spiritpath, theymust be comprehended
more than a few seconds fora literateperson to read the normal inscriptionon
the left,but to understandthe inscriptionon the righthe would firstneed to find
clues. Such clues are found visuallyin the physicalrelationshipbetween the two
placementand echoing patternssuggestthat
inscriptions:both theirsymmetrical
the illegible text "mirrors"the legible one. Unconsciously,the visitorwill have
taken the normal textas his point of referenceforthe other'smeaning.
The problem of comparingthe individualcharactersof the two inscriptions
no longer existsonce the visitorrealizes theyare thesame.The "illegible"inscription has become legible because he can read its mirrorimage (fig.4). In other
words,the mysteryof itscontenthas vanished: it is simplya reversedversionof
a regular piece of writing.What remains is the mysteryof its reading: it would
become not onlylegible in contentbut normal in formif the reader could invert
his own visionto read it fromthe "back"-from the otherside of the column (fig.
5).8 Once thisinferenceis made, the reversedinscriptionchanges froma subject
to be deciphered to a stimulusof the imagination.9Controlled and deceived by
the engraved signs,the visitorhas mentallytransportedhimselfto the other side
of the gate. He has forgottenthe solid and opaque stone material,whichhas now
become "transparent."
All thismayseem a psychologicalgame and a quite subjectiveinterpretation,
but the perceptual transformationexplored here is seen frequentlyin the
funeraryart and literatureof the Six Dynasties.During a funeraryrite,the "visitor"whom I have just described would have been a mourner.As a mourner,his
frame of mind would be focused on the functionof a funeraryritual and the
mortuarymonumentsframingit. Who was supposed to be in a position to read
the reversedinscription"obversely"?In other words,who was thoughtto be on
the other side of the stone column lookingout?
A gate alwaysseparates space into an interiorand an exterior.In a cemetery
these are commonlyidentifiedas the world of the dead and the world of the
living.The pair of inscriptionson the twinpillarssignifiesthejunction of these
twoworldsand the meetingpointof twogazes projectingfromthe opposite sides
of the gate (fig.5). The "natural"gaze of the mournerproceeds fromthe outside
towardthe burial ground,whilehis "inverted"gaze is now attributedto the dead
man at the other end of the spiritroad (where his body was buried and his life
was recorded on memorialtablets).
process forcesthe mourner
The importantpointis thatthisreading/viewing
from
this
world
to the world beyond it.
a
dislocation
to go through psychological
Confrontedbythe "illegible"inscription,his normal,mundane logic is disrupted
and shaken. The discoveryof the mirrorrelationshipbetween the two inscrip62
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tionsforgesa powerfulmetaphorforthe oppositionbetweenlifeand death. The
sequential reading of the inscriptionscreates a temporal shiftfrom withinto
without;bymentallydislocatinghimselfto the otherside of the gate he identifies
himselfwiththe dead and assumes the viewpointof the dead. The functionof
the gate is thus not merelyto separate the two spaces and realms. As a static,
physicalboundary it can easilybe crossed,but it is alwaysthere.More important,
the materialexistenceof the gate
to completelyfulfillthe ritualtransformation,
has to be rejected. The underlyingpremise of thisritual transformationis that
viewcan he entertheencircled
onlywhen a livingpersonacceptstheotherworldly
graveyardwithoutviolatingit,and only then can he not only pay respect to the
dead but also speak forthe dead.
In thislightwe can understand the progressiontraced by Lu Ji's (261-303)
series of three mourningsongs.'0 In the firstsong a funeral is narrated as if it
were being watchedbyan anonymousbut dispassionateobserver:
an auspicioussiteis sought...
Bydivination
and driversare roused...
Forearlydepartureattendants
principles;
Lifeand deathhavedifferent
theremustbe a time.
To carryoutthecoffin
A cup ofwineis setbeforethetwopillars;
The funeralis begun,and thesacredcarriageadvanced.
The funeral procession is stillthe focus of the second song, but the description
becomes subjectiveand emotional. The poet speaks for the mourners and sees
throughtheireyes:
thethoughts
ofrelatives
and friends;
Wandering,
theirspirits
are uneasy...
In theirdistress
sound;
The soulcarriageis silentwithout
Onlytobe seenare hiscap and belt,
hispastlife. . .
Objectsofuse represent
A mournful
winddelaysthemovingwheels;
mists.
Loweringcloudsbindthedrifting
Weshakeourwhipsand pointto thesacredmound;
Weyokethehorsesand thereafter
depart.
The point of viewchanges again as soon as the funeralprocessionfinallydeparts
toward the sacred mound. In the thirdand last song, it is the deceased who is
seeing, hearing,and speaking in the firstperson. The poet no longer identifies
himselfwiththe mournersbut withthe dead:
The piled-uphills,howtheytower!
Mydarkhutskulksamongthem.
WidestandtheFourLimits;
spreadstheazureskies.
High-arched
Stone
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63
BymysideI hearthehiddenriver'sflow;
On myback,I gazeat theskyroofsuspended.
Howlonelyis thewidefirmament!
When Prince Xiao Ziliang (459-94) went to Mount Zuxing, he gazed at his
familytombs there and lamented: "Looking north there is my [dead] uncle;
directlybefore me I see my [deceased] brother-if you have consciousnessafter
your death, please let me be buried here in your land."" Ziliang was grievingfor
both his deceased kin and himself-as the survivorof the familyhe already saw
he seems to have set
himselfburied in a dark tomb.Sentimentaland self-pitying,
an example forXiao Yan (464-549), the founderof the Liang and a greatpatron
of literature.Xiao Yan, or Emperor Wu of Liang, dedicated theJianlingmausoleum to his deceased father,Xiao Shunzhi (444-94), whose mirrorinscriptions
have been the focus of our discussion; he also had the Xiuling mausoleum constructedforhimself.During a tripin the thirdmonthof 544, he sacrificedat his
father'sgraveyardand then visitedhis own tomb,where "he was deeply moved
and began to cry."'2One wonders what moved him to tears in thissecond mausoleum; the only possible answer is the vision of himselflyingunderground on
the other side of the pillar-gate.
The concept of "mourner"thus needs to be redefined.A mourner was not
only a livingperson who came to a graveyardto meet a deceased Other,but also
possiblya person who visitedhis own tombto mourn forhimselfas the Other. In
the firstcase, the pillar-gateseparated yetconnected the dead and the living;in
the second case, it separated and connected a man's splitimages thatconfronted
each other. In the late third century,Lu Ji had tried to speak for both the
mourners and the dead; in the fifthand sixth centuries people lamented for
themselvesas thoughtheyweredead. 13 Fromthissecond traditionemerged three
great songs by Tao Qian (365-427), which chillinglyobserve the world froma
dead person'ssilentperception:
Howdesolatethemoorlandlies,
The whitepoplarssoughin thewind.
In theninthmonthofsharpfrost,
Theyescortmetothefarsuburbs.
Therewhereno one dwellsat all
The highgravemoundsreartheirheads.
tothesky,
The horseswhinny
sound.
The windemitsa mournful
Once thedarkhouseis closed
In a thousandyearstherewillbe no newdawn.
Therewillbe no newdawn
And all man's wisdomhelps not at all.
The peoplewhohavebroughtmehere
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eachtohishome.
Have nowreturned,
stillfeelgriefMyownfamily
The othersare alreadysinging.
Whatshallwe say,wewhoare dead?
Yourbodiestoowilllodgeon thehill.14
Tao Qian musthave been fascinatedbythe various possibilitiesof "inverting"
himself-observing and describinghimselfand his surroundingsas though he
had become a bodiless and transparent"gaze," movingalong the funeralprocession likea camera lens. He wrotejiwen-sacrificial eulogies-for his relatives,and
in these pieces he presentshimselfas a livingmember of the familylamenting
dead kin.'5 But he also composed a sacrificialeulogy for himself.Unlike the
funeralsong in whichhe (as a dead man) followsand watchestheentiremortuary
rite,in the shortpreface to his self-eulogyhe placed himselfin the shiftingzone
betweenlifeand death:
The weather
of thepitchpipe is wuyli.
[427]and thecorrespondence
The yearis dingmao
thewildgeeseare on themove;
ismournful;
iscoldand thenightis long.The atmosphere
is
plantsand treesturnyellowand shedtheirleaves.MasterTao [i.e.,Tao Qian himself]
inn"[life]toreturnforever
tohiseternalhome[death].
abouttotakeleaveofthe"traveler's
aresad intheirgriefforhim;theywilljoininhisfuneralfeastthisveryevening,
His friends
of finevegetablesand presentlibationsof clearwine.The faceshe sees
makeoffering
alreadygrowdim;thesoundshe hearsgrowfainter.'6
If life and death are separated by a pillar-gate,the experience described here
musttake place betweenthe twopillarson the gate'sthreshold.Unlike Luji, who
narrateda funeralin distinctstages progressingfromthe livingto the dead, Tao
Qian assumes a positionbetweenthe two.This suspended positionwas not completelyTao's invention,however.We finda classical example in Confucius' life:
ofthe11thofthe4thmoon,Confuciusarose,
In theyearrensi[479 B.C.], on themorning
and then,supportinghimselfwithhis walkingstickin one hand whiletheotherhand
and
to thefrontdoor of hisapartment
restedbehindhisback,he advancedmajestically
words:"The mountainsaintis goingto disappear;themain
beganto chantthefollowing
beamof theempireis goingto be broken;thesage is goingto die!" Aftertherhythmic
in thecenterofthegateway....
he wentand placedhimself
recitalofthissolemnprediction
he expiredat theage of
Aftersevendays,on the18thdayofthe4thmoon,nearmidday,
17
seventy-three.
Withthisanecdote we returnto the themeof the gate,but witha new interest
in the elusive, two-dimensionalplane between its two pillars rather than in the
two spaces separated byit. Guided by thisinterest,our attentionalso shiftsfrom
the actual gates standing in a cemeteryto their image depicted on flat stone.
Beginningin the second century,such imageswere oftenengraved on the frontal
sides of sarcophagi.'8 In some cases an emptygate indicatesthe entrance to the
other world (fig. 6); in other cases horses or a rider guide the wandering soul
Stone
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65
4
Excavated
Ii 195na
Sichuan Province.Collectionof Chengdu Museum. After
Gao Wen,SichuanHandai huaxciangzhuan
(Han Dynasty
pictorialtilesfromSichuan; Shanghai, 1987), plate 90.
FIGURE 7 (topright).A riderguidingthe soul to entera pillar-gate.
Ink rubbingof carvingon rightside of stone sarcophagus
fromXinjin,Sichuan Province;Eastern Han, 2nd century
A.D. Collectionof Sichuan UniversityMuseum, Chengdu.
AfterGao Wen,SichuanHandai huaxiangshi
(Han Dynasty
pictorialstone carvingsfromSichuan; Chengdu, 1987),
plate 86.
FIGURE 8 (bottom).Half-opened gate. Ink rubbingof carvingon front
side of the Wang Hui sarcophagus,211 A.D.; 83 x 101 cm.
Found in 1942 at Lushan, Sichuan Province.Collectionof
Lushan Museum. Afteribid., plate 56.
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throughthe gate (fig.7). A thirdvariationoffersa more complex illustration(fig.
8): a figureemerges froma half-openedgate, holding the stillclosed door-leaf.
The gate is thus half empty and half solid; the empty space recedes into an
unknowndepth, while the solid door-leafblocksthe spectator'sgaze frompenetratingthe hidden space. The figurecrossesthesetwohalves,both exposing himselfagainst the emptyspace and concealing himselfbehind the closed door-leaf.
It seems thathe is about to vanishintothe emptiness,but is stillgraspingthe door
and looking at the world to which he once belonged.'9 This image graphically
signifiesan intermediarystage betweenlifeand death.
We are reminded of Tao Qian's descriptionof himselfin his eulogy: "Master
Tao is about to take leave of the 'traveler'sinn' to returnforeverto his eternal
home. His friendsare sad in theirgrieffor him.... The faces he sees already
growdim; the sounds he hears growfainter."We can imaginethatthe same words
could be murmuredby the depicted figurewho, withhalf of his body inside the
dark sarcophagus,belongs to neitherthisworldor the world beyond it. Both the
implied artistand the poet Tao Qian assume a "liminalposition"on the threshold
of the gate (fig.9). Their visionmaybe called a "binaryvision"because theylook
in the opposite directionsof lifeand death at the same time(fig. 10).
This mode of visualizationis related to a general phenomenon during the
Six Dynasties:manycontemporarywriters,painters,and calligrapherssought to
see the "two facetsof the universe"simultaneously.As we returnto the reversed
inscriptions,the focusof theirinvestigationshiftsfromthe viewer'sperceptionto
the artist'sambitionto create such inscriptions.But who was the artist?Usually
we assume thatan engravedstoneinscriptioncopies a piece of writingand reflects
the original styleof the calligrapher.But if a calligrapher wrote only a single
"regular"text,whichwas then inscribedtwiceas both the frontand back inscriptions on the two pillars,the calligrapher'swork was essentiallyirrelevantto the
finalproduct; he can hardlybe claimed as the writerof the reversedinscription.
But if he had indeed created both versions of the text,it would be far more
intriguing.This would mean that the mirrorinscriptionsdirectlyreflectedthe
artist'screativityand stateof mind,for,as Emperor Wu of the Liang once stated
liminal
viewpoint
a
I
vision
binary
a
a'
a'
Diagram: liminalviewpoint.
FIGURE
9.
FIGURE
10. Diagram: binaryvision.
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67
FIGURE 11. Reversed
inscriptionon a stone
pillarin the graveyardof
PrinceXiao Jing(d. 523),
Liang Dynasty;Nanjing,
JiangsuProvince.After
Yao Qian and Gu Bing,
Liuchaoyishu,fig.284.
himself, "the hand and mind [of a calligrapher] must work in correspondence."20 This, in turn, would mean that the calligrapher had firsttried to
"reverse"himself;beforetherewas any "transparentstone"he had to make himselftransparent.
Two methodsmayenable us to solve thispuzzle. We can check contemporary
literaryrecords for mentionsof reversedor invertedwriting.We can also tryto
find other clues fromexistinginscriptions.In an essay,the mastercalligrapher
Yu Yuanwei (6th century)introduceshimselfas a calligraphicacrobat who once
inscribeda screen in a hundred different
scripts,bothin inkand in color. He lists
all the fancynames of these scripts(such as "immortalscript,""flower-and-grass
script, "monkeyscript, "pig script,"and "tadpole script").Toward theend of this
long inventoryappear two names: daoshu (reversed writing) and fanzuoshu
(invertedand leftwriting).2'Even more fascinating,in the same essay he identifiesthe originof a typeof reversedwriting:
DuringtheDatongreignperiod[535-46],a scholar[namedKongJingtong]
wolkingin
theEasternPalacecouldwritecursivescript[caoshu]
in a singlestroke.His brushstroke,
whichbrokeonlyat theend of a line,wasfluent,
and restrained,
and reflected
graceful,
hisdistinctive
nature.Sincethenno one hasbeenable to followhim.[Kong]also created
the"left-and-right
Whenpeopleexchangedtheirwritings
script"[zuoyoushu].
at a gathering,no one couldreadhispiece.22
Yu Yuanwei'srecordoffersat least threekindsof information.First,the term
"leftwriting"(zuoshu)or "invertedand leftwriting"(fanzuoshu)should indicate
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completelyinvertedor "mirrorcalligraphy,"so that"no one could read" it at first
sight.(As I explain below,the termdaoshuor "reversedwriting"probablyrefers
to the methodof writinga textin reverseorder; thecharactersare not necessarily
inverted.)Second, Kong Jingtongwroteboth regular and invertedversionsof a
single text("left-and-right
writing")and exhibitedthemon a single occasion. As
a giftedand popular calligrapher,he must have firstlearned the conventional
way of writingbut later mastered the invertedstyleof calligraphythrough a
painful self-inversion.Third, Kong developed two differentcalligraphicstyles:
the firstwas the "cursivescript"(caoshu)in a single fluentbrush stroke;and the
mirrortexts.Both writingstylesplace formover
second was the "left-and-right"
content.
To examine existinginvertedand leftinscriptions,we can employ a simple
method: turningover a rubbingof such an inscriptionand placing it against a
lighttable, we should find standard calligraphyif the inscriptionwas made by
,
4.
~ ~ ~ ~
-
.
|5,A ~l~~j1-rW0T
PWq
i|ie
I3
97l Irt-uz~u9
LstismAR
9?1X
t
Wst
c siuu
D u
a s st mt
M
go
ulk
!lwf
`k~WAt
wf,~~~~~UIR
FIGURES
_
spiritroadofthelate
Liang TjnastyPalace
the
Attendant,
Qenerafof
Centrat
Pacificatton
Alnny,
Commander
in
Ulnequaled
of
Honor,iMarquis
Zhong
Wk~~~~i4zping
12a-d. Topleft:ink rubbingof reconstructionof inscription
on pillarin Xiao Jing'sgraveyard;topright:reversalof
invertedinscription.Based on ibid., fig.285. Bottom:
Englishtranslation.
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69
The
fatetheofroadspirit
Liang
rPaflzc
Dyjnasty
theofqeneralAftteant
Alrmy
Centra(
Commander,
rl
Honoriin
wnequaf1ed
ng,
of5ian
WNanping
ijd
I
_____________
'4
'Ifie
spiritroadofthefate
-
Pahfac
LiangEynasty'
Centra1A|ny,
FIGURES
A~ ttend~ant,
qenerafoftfhe
Commandr
Honor,
ZUnequalledfin
King
]ianof~Aianping
13a-d. Leftand center:ink rubbingsof inscriptionson a pair
of pillarsin PrinceXiao Ji's(d. 527) graveyard;Jurong,
JiangsuProvince.AfterKanda Kiichiro,Shodozensho
(Corpus of calligraphy;Tokyo, 1957-6 1), vol. 5, plates
English translation.
54, 55. Righttopand bottom:
reversinga piece of regular writing.The best preserved invertedinscriptionis
found in PrinceXiao Jing'stomb(fig. 11; the counterpart"front"inscriptionwas
unfortunatelylost long ago). Following the method suggested above, I have
reversedthisinvertedinscription(fig.12a) to obtaintheversionshownin fig.12b.
Any Chinese calligrapherof even an elementarylevel would immediatelypoint
out itsweakness: the structureof severalcharactersis unbalanced, and the horizontal strokes generallydrop instead of risingas in normal writing.Both are
typicalsymptomsof reversed writingor left-handedwritingdone by a rightwriting"
handed person. This examinationreveals that the term"left-and-right
hand
his
right
From
to
write.
used
both
hands
that
a
calligrapher
mayalso mean
came a normaland readable text;fromhis lefthand, reversedand illegiblesigns.
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Such ambidextrous skill seems almost supernatural. (Similar legends are still
being created in modern Chinese literature.In a popular martialarts novel by
the writerJin Yong, the heroine LittleDragon Girl [Xiaolongnu] has mastered
the amazing skillof using her leftand righthands simultaneouslyto fightin two
entirelydifferentyetcomplementarystylesof swordplay.She thuscombines two
gongfumasters in one and, by making her moves incomprehensibleeven to a
masteropponent, becomes undefeatable.)
The inversionof an existingconvention,however,mayalso create a new conscriptswere standardized and became a
vention.Suppose thatthe left-and-right
norm-they would lose theirpower to confusereaders and the supernaturalcalligrapher would become merely a humble craftsman. Upon receiving such
writingfrom Kong Jingtong,a guest would immediatelylay bare his trick,and
when a funeralprocessionproceeded towarda pillar-gate,no mournerwould be
intriguedby the pair of inscriptionsbecause theywould now be readily understandable. The stonecolumnswould remainsolid and opaque, and although the
boundary marked out by the gate could be physicallycrossed, it would never be
erased.
All seven survivinginscriptionson the pillar-gatesof Liang tombshave been
(frontand reversedwriting).But if we examine these inscripcalled zhengfanshu
different
waysof reversingor inverting
tionsmore closely,we findthreedistinctly
regular writing.The case discussed above (fig. 3) exemplifies one of these
methods: regular writingis completelyreversedto forma true mirrorimage.23
Anothermethod,representedbythe inscriptionsreconstructedand "translated"
in figs. 12a-b, is to writethe charactersbackward while keeping the standard
sequence in English).24
sequence of writingand reading (left-to-right
right-to-left
The third way is again an inversionof the second method (figs. 13a-b): the
in English),
(right-to-left
normal right-to-left
sequence is changed to left-to-right
but all charactersare writtenin theirregularform.25This lastscriptmaybe identifiedas daoshu,a typeof reversedscriptfound on Yu Yuanwei'slist.
All inscriptions"inverted"according to these three methods were made
during a verybriefperiod of some thirtyyears.We mustassume thatsome profound reason led to such interestin metamorphosis.26Such rapid changes can
only testifyto a deliberateeffortto escape froma fixedpattern.The task is not
easy since a regular inscriptionmustbe paired withan invertedone on the two
pillars so that theycan togetherdefine thejunction of two opposing views,yet
any standardizationwould turnthe inscriptionsinto staticsymbolswithoutpsychological power. It is probablyno coincidence that only the earliest surviving
writing-the pair of inscriptionsdedicated to the
examples of "front-and-back"
of
the
father
dynasty'sfounder-appear as true mirror images. To avoid
repeating the same imagery,later generationseitherreversed the charactersor
reversedthe writing(and reading) sequence. In fact,these threemethodsare the
onlypossible waysto reversea text.The Liang triedthemall.
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7
"Binary" Imagery and the Birth
of Pictorial Space
The period knownas the Northernand SouthernDynasties(386-589)
is commonlyrecognized as a turningpoint in Chinese art history.Major developments during these two centuriesinclude the constructionof enormous Buddhist cave chapels, the emergence of great painters and calligraphers,and a
profound change in visual perceptionand representation.This last achievement
has oftenbeen characterizedas the discoveryof pictorialspace, meaning thatthe
artistwas finallyable to turn an opaque canvas or stone slab into a transparent
"window"open to an illusoryreality.The assertionis not false,but it oftenattributes thisdevelopmentto some masterartistsor treatsit as an independent evolution of pictorialforms.An alternativeapproach advanced in thispaper is that
the new visual formsrebelled against traditionalritual art. While old types of
monuments (the mortuaryshrine, sarcophagus, and stele) continued, surface
patterns(inscriptionsand decorations)began to assume independence. Although
stillceremonial or didactic in content,an inscriptionor pictorialscene engaged
the eye and the mind. By transforminga ritualmonumentinto a sheer surface
for pictures,these formsallowed people to see thingsthathad never been seen
or representedbefore.
A number of stone funerarystructurescreated at the beginningof the sixth
centurybest demonstratethistransition.Dating from529 (and thus contemporarywiththe reversed inscriptions),a small funeraryshrine now in the Boston
Museum of Fine Arts (fig. 14) shows no major differencein formand structure
froma Han shrineestablishedsome fourcenturiesearlier.27What distinguishes
it froma Han ritualbuildingare itsengravings,especiallythose executed on the
singlestone panel thatformsthe shrine'srear wall (fig. 15). Here, a faintlydelineated architecturalframeworkrepresents the timber facade of a building, a
"frame"enclosing the portraitsof three gentlemen.Attiredin similarcostumes
and each accompanied bya femalefigure,the threemen differfromone another
mainlyin age. The figureto the rightis a youngerman witha fleshyface and a
strongtorso; the one to the leftis heavilybearded withan angular face and a
slenderbody.Whereas thesetwofigures,bothshownin three-quarterviewfacing
outward,appear vigorous and high spirited,the thirdfigurein the middle is a
fragileolder man retreatinginto an inner space. Slightlyhunchbacked and lowering his head, he concentrateson a lotus flowerin his hand. The flower-a
symbol of purity and wisdom-originated in Buddhism, which had rapidly
spread among Chinese literatiby the sixthcentury.Lost in deep contemplation,
thisfocal figureis about to enterthe wooden-framedbuilding,leaving thisworld
and us, the viewers,behind.
The modern Chinese scholar Huang Minglan has offered an interesting
reading of thiscomposition.He suggested thatall three images representNing
72
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/
-
FIGURE 14 (left).Shrine of Ning
Mao (d. 527), NorthernWei
Dynasty;138 x200 cm. From
Luoyang, Henan Province.
Collectionof Museum of Fine
Arts,Boston. Photos: Fine Arts
Library,Harvard University.
FIGURE 15 (below). Portraitsof
Ning Mao (?) on the back wall
~~~~of
Ning'sshrine.
Mao, to whomthe mortuaryshrinewas dedicated,and thattheseimages together
narrate the stages of Ning's life, from his vigorous youth to his final spiritual
enlightenment.28
Ning Mao's epitaph, which may stillexist in China,'29 includes
his biography(fig. 16). It mentionsthreedated events:at the age of 35 (486) he
became a clerkat the Ministryof the Imperial Cabinet. A fewyearslater,in 489,
he was promoted to general of the Imperial Mausoleum Guards in charge of
ritual affairs.Afterthe NorthernWei moved the capital to Luoyang in 494, he
assumed the post of chiefof ConstructionCorps in charge of building new palaces and temples.He was promotedto chiefsecretaryof the ConstructionOffice
after the completion of the main palace, but soon fell ill and died in 501.30
Although the three portraitson Ning's shrine do not necessarilycoincide with
these specificevents,theydo show the general contourof his lifeas described in
the epitaph. His positions as ritual specialistand imperial architectmust also
explain the unusually high quality of the engravingson his memorial shrine.
The sentimentconveyedby the portraits-transformationfromengagement in
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73
worldlyaffairsto the internalpursuitof spiritualpeace-was a favoriteintellectual subject during the Northernand Southern Dynasties; Lu Ji and Tao Qian's
poems, quoted above, describesimilarexperiences.But in the pictorialrepresentation,the conflictbetweenlifeand death,betweenworldlyactivitiesand internal
images. Again, we find that lived
peace, is crystallizedin the "front-and-back"
experience ends at the point where someone turnsinward, about to penetrate
the solid surfaceof the stone.
images became a pictorialformula.In
The juxtapositionof "front-and-back"
no
manycases thiscomposition longerpossessed a specificritualor philosophical
implication,but was used as a standarddevice to increase the complexityof representation.Fig. 17 reproduces a scene engravedon a famous NorthernWei sarcophagus now in the collectionof the Nelson Gallery-AtkinsMuseum in Kansas
City.3'Compared withHan depictionsof similarsubjects,thisand other pictorial
storiesof filialparagons, whichcover the twolong sides of the stone box, signify
manynew developments,mostnoticeablya new sequential narrativemode and a
three-dimensionallandscape setting.Framed by a patternedband, each compositionseems a translucentwindowonto an elusive world.
The strong sense of three-dimensionalityin these pictures has enticed
scholars to interpretthem in lightof a linear perspectivesystemusing overlapIn such an analysis the
ping forms and the technique of foreshortening.32
the Chinese example
or
unconsciously,
equates
researcher,either consciously
with post-Renaissance painting that employs linear perspective as the most
FIGURE 16. Ink rubbing
of Ning Mao's epitaph,
NorthernWei Dynasty,
529 A.D.; 41 x41 cm.
From Luoyang, Henan
Province.AfterKojiro
Tomita,"A Chinese
SacrificialStone House of
the SixthCenturyA.D.,"
BulletinoftheMuseumof
FineArtsI 1 no. 242
(1942), fig. 10.
74
REPRESENTATIONS
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FIGURE
17. Storyof Wang Lin. Ink rubbingof carving
on a NorthernWei Dynastysarcophagus,
ca. 525 A.D. 64 cm. (height);fromLuoyang,
Henan Province.Nelson Gallery-Atkins
Museum, Kansas City.Photo: Fine Arts
Library,Harvard University.
powerfulmeans to create pictorialillusions.But if we examine the pictureson
the sarcophagus more carefully,we findsome peculiar featuresthatdo not agree
withthe basic principlesand purposes of linear perspective,but fitperfectlywell
withthe "binary"or "front-and-back"
representationalmode developed in fifthChina. In simplestterms,the single station-pointassumption
and sixth-century
of linear perspectiveis that the artist'sand viewer'sgaze travelsfroma chosen
vantage point to a fixedvanishingpoint(fig.18). The "binary"mode, however,
is based on the assumptionthata formshould be seen fromboth the frontand
the back; when a formis representedas such,itguides the viewer'sgaze back and
forthbut never towarda real or implied vanishingpoint in the picture(fig. 19).
A detail on the Nelson sarcophagus (fig. 17) depictsthe storyof the famous
Confucian paragon Wang Lin, who saved his brotherfrombandits.A tall tree in
the middle divides the scene into two halves. Alexander Soper has boldly suggested that the images in both halves actuallyrepresenta single episode-the
confrontationof Wang Lin and the bandits. The differencebetween the two
scenes is that one is depicted fromthe frontand the other from the rear.34It
seems to me thatin makingthisassertionSoper has gone too far.In the left-hand
scene a rope is tied around Wang Lin's brother'sneck,and Wang Lin has thrown
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75
himselfon his knees in frontof the bandits,beggingthemto take him instead of
his brother.In the right-handscene, both Wang Lin and his brotherhave been
released. These two scenes,therefore,representtwo consecutiveepisodes of the
storyin a temporalsequence.
This iconographic explanation, however,does not rule out Soper's basic
viewsofferedby the two scenes. What
observationregardingthe front-and-back
is most importanthere is not which episode or episodes the picture stands for
(since similar stories had been abundantlyillustratedfrom the Han), but how
these episodes are depicted and viewed. In the leftscene we findthatthe bandits
have just emerged from a deep valley and are meeting Wang Lin (in a more
general sense, theymeet us the viewers).In the next scene, Wang Lin and his
brotherare leading the banditsinto anothervalleyand the whole procession has
turnedawayfromus; all we can see are people's backsand the rear end of a horse.
This compositiononce again reminds us of the reversed inscriptions,one confrontingus and the other showingus its back. But here our vision is controlled
by the figures'motion. In viewingthe left"frontal"scene our eyes take in the
arrivingfigures,but when we turnto the nextscene we cannot help but feel that
we are abruptlyand in a sense veryrudelyabandoned and ignored. The figures
are leaving us and about to vanish; in an effortto catch them our gaze follows
them into the deep valley.
This "binary" approach uncovers the compositional formula of another
famous example of Northernand Southern Dynastiesart: the celebrated handscroll "The Admonition of the Instructressto Palace Ladies" ("Ntishizhentu")
attributedto the masterpainterGu Kaizhi (ca. 345-406).35 This attributionis not
a
FIGURE
FIGURE
76
1~~~
picture
plane
I,~~
at
18 (top). Diagram: single-stationperspective.
19 (bottom).Diagram: binaryperspective.
REPRESENTATIONS
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a'
a
a
a'
a
at
20 (top). Palace ladies adorning themselves.A scene in the
"Admonitionof the Instructressto Palace Ladies." Scroll
painting,ink and color on silk,195 x 347 cm. Attributed
to Gu Kaizhi (c. 304-406) but probablya 9th-century
copy
of a 5th-or 6th-century
painting.Collectionof the British
Museum. Photo: Fine ArtsLibrary,Harvard University.
FIGURE21
(bottom).Diagram: compositionalscheme of fig.20.
FIGURE
secure-there is no pre-Tang DynastyreferenceforGu's depictionof thesubject,
yet a newlydiscovered fifth-century
screen bears a picture almost identical in
compositionto one of the seven scenes on the "Admonition"scroll.36Provided
withthispiece of evidence,we can viewthe scrolland the Nelson sarcophagus as
approximatelycontemporaryworks.Not surprisingly,
one of themostinteresting
featuresof the scroll is the binarycomposition,which,however,has been even
furtherremoved from its original ritual context to become a purely pictorial
mode.
The paintingillustratesthe third-century
poet Zhang Hua's compositionof
the same title.One of the scenes (fig.20) depictingZhang's line-"Human beings
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77
know how to adorn theirfaces"-demonstrates an extremelysophisticateduse of
the binarycomposition.The scene is divided intotwohalves,each withan elegant
palace lady lookingat herselfin a mirror.The ladyon the rightturnsinwardwith
her back toward us, and we see her face only in the mirror.The lady on the left
faces us; her reflectionin the mirrorbecomes implicit(only the mirror'spatternedback is visible).The conceptof a "mirrorimage" is thus presentedliterally
(fig.2 1): each group is itselfa pair of mirrorimages,and the two groups together
again forma reflectingdouble. We may also imagine thatthis compositionmay
be viewed fromboth sides of the scroll:a hypotheticalvieweron the other side of
the canvas would findthe same pictureas we do, but the images he sees would be
reversedones.
No picture like this existed before the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
What we find on Han monuments are silhouettes"attached" to the pictorial
plane. The virtuouswidow Liang holding a mirrorin her hand (figs.22a-b) or
FIGURES
78
22a-b. Storyof Liang the Excellent.Wu Liang Shrine
carving.Top:ink rubbing.AfterRong Geng, Han WuLiang
Ci huaxianglu(A record of the Wu Liang Shrine carvings
of the Han Dysnasty;Beijing, 1936), figs.33a-35a.
Bottom:reconstruction.AfterFeng Yunpeng and Feng
Yunyuan,"Shi suo" (An index of stone carvings),injinshi
suo (An index of bronzes and stone carvings;Shanghai,
1937), 3.46-47.
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I>~
,>+-
___
-i}
-t-tw
sm
\
t
-A
G
<
_ .........Xi
.L_^
S
and '+~
23. Ruan
,g1 Ji'<.4;:
Kang. Detail of "Seven
- ~t7Worthies
f
in the Bamboo
-t.'FIGURE4,8*g<'
y Groveand RongQiqi."Ink
-
-
i
rubbingof brickrelief,
WesternJinDynasty,late
4th-early5thcenturyA.D.;
80x 240 cm. Excavated in
1960 at Xishanqiao, Nan-
jing, Jiangsu Province.
-T"
ILK/
-,
~
#
,
JNanjing
0
~
_,,;
H
Museum. After
Yao Qian and Gu Bing,
Lzuchaoyishu,figs.162,163.
the filialparagon Zengzi kneelingbefore his mother.In viewingthese pictures
our eyes travelalong the surfaceof stoneslabs,whose stripedpatternsonlymake
the medium even more impenetrable.Even picturescreated during the fourth
alterthistraditionalrepresentationalmode. It is true
centurydo not substantially
that the well-knownportraitsof the "Seven Worthiesin the Bamboo Grove"
("Zhulin qixian") exhibitsome new elements: more relaxed and varyingposes,
spatial cells formedby landscape elements,and an emphasis on fluentlines (fig.
23). But the images are stilllargelyattachedto the two-dimensionalpicturesurface, never guiding our eyes to penetrateit. The real revolutiontook place only
in the fifthand sixthcenturies:the figuresin the Wang Lin picture seem to be
comingand going of theirown freewill,and the ladies in the "Admonition"scroll
stare at theirown reflectionsand theirgaze guides us to see them. In both cases
our vision followsthe picturedfiguresin and out, effortlessly
crossingthe stone
or canvas thatis once again transparent.
All these pictorialworks-the engravingson the Ning Mao shrine and the
Nelson sarcophagus,and the painted images on the "Admonition"scroll-testify
to a desire to see thingsthathad neverbeen seen or representedbefore.The new
pointsof view pursued by the artists,however,were not actual (or assumed) station points on earth. The mundane achievementof seeing and representing
could hardlyfulfillthe artists'high aspirations,for art,
things"naturalistically"
theyclaimed, should allow them to transcendobserved realitywithits temporal
and spatial boundaries. The relationship between seeing and imagining, or
between eyes and the mind, became a centraltopic of art criticismat the time.
Sometimesthe relationshipwas considered antithetical.Wang Wei (415-43), for
example, criticized painters who relied only on their physical faculties and
"focused on nothing but appearances and positioning."When a good artist
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79
painted, he told his contemporaries,"it is not in order to record the boundaries
of cities or to distinguishthe locale of prefectures,to mark offmountains and
hills or to demarcate floods and streams.For thingswhich are rooted in form
mustbe smeltedwithspiritualforce,and thatwhichactivatesthe permutationis
His viewmayhave representedan extreme;other criticssuch
the heart-mind."37
as Xie He (fl. 500-35) considered both "physicallikeness"(yinwuxiangxing)and
necessaryqualities of good art; nevertheless
"spiritresonance" (qiyunshengdong)
he placed the latterat the top of his "Six Laws" of painting.38
Simultaneouslythereappeared the notionof an ideal artistwho could realize
the artisticgoals the new age demanded, and whose unrestrainedimagination
would make him immortal:
He movesalongwiththefourseasonsand sighsat theirpassingon,
Peerson all thethingsoftheworld,broodson theirprofusion...
ofvision,reversion
oflistening,
Thus itbegins:retraction
seekingall around,
Absorbedin thought,
[His]essencegallopingtotheworld'seightbounds,
[His]mindroamingtenthousandyards,up and down...
He emptiesthelimpidmind,fixeshisthoughts,
and makeswords.
Fusesall hisconcernstogether
He cagesHeavenand Earthin fixedshape,
Crushesall thingsbeneaththebrush'stip.39
Such descriptionwas notconsideredpurelymetaphorical;when Xie He came
to rank painters based on artisticmerit (thus giving himselfthe status of an
authoritativeviewer),he employed similarcriteriaand found his ideal artistin
Lu Tanwei of the fifthcentury:
He fathomedthe principles[oftheuniverse]and exhaustedthe nature[ofman].The
isbeyondthepowerofspeechtodescribe.He embracedwhatwentbeforehimand
matter
gavebirthto whatsucceededhim:fromancienttimesup tillnowhe standsalone.Nor is
enthusiasm
could[adequately]
praise.Foris he not
he one whomeven[themost]fervent
simplythepinnacleofall thatis ofhighestvalue?He risesbeyondthehighestgrade,and
thatis all thereis tobe said.40
Xie He seems to have feltshortof words. Of an artistwho has fathomedthe
universe and exhausted human nature, there is indeed nothing one can say
givesus littlesense
except to acknowledgehis godlikeexistence.Such glorification
of the actual masterpiecesfrom that period (which have all long since disapstone sarcophagus, created
peared), but the pictureson another sixth-century
when Xie was compilinghis classificationof painters,mayallow us to perceivethe
kind of art he had in mind. Like the Nelson sarcophagus, this example in the
Minneapolis ArtMuseum was unearthedat Luoyang,the capital of the Northern
Wei after494 (fig.24).41 Again, like the Nelson sarcophagus, both long sides of
the sarcophagus are covered witha richcombinationof pictorialand decorative
80
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FIGURE
24. Ink rubbingof a side of a stone sarcophagus,Northern
Wei Dynasty,524 A.D. From Luoyang, Henan Province.
Collectionof MinneapolisArt Museum. AfterOkumura
Ikura, Kaka (Melon leaves; Kyoto, 1939), 258.
images.42At the bottomof each rectangularcomposition,a rollinghillockestablishes a continuous foregroundand extends into the depths along the picture's
verticalsides. Tall treesfurtherdivide thisU-shaped pictureframeintoa number
of subframesor spatial cells fordepictingindividualstoriesof famous filialparagons. Scholars have been astonishedbythe naturalismof these narrativescenes:
well-proportionedfigures-a seriesof famousfilialparagons fromChina's pastsitor kneel on a tiltedgroundor on platformsthatrecede intothedepths. Behind
them are mountain peaks and floatingclouds, whose greatlyreduced size indicates theirremoteness.
This coherent spatial representationserves symbolicpurposes, however.It
groups historicalfiguresof differenttimesand places into a synchronicsetting;
the rationale of this synthesisis thatall these figuresshare the same virtueand
theirlives show a similarcontour.The naturalismof the illustrationsthus diminishes any vestigeof historicalreality.The figuresbelong neitherto the past nor
the present; rather,theyrepresenttimelessConfucian paragons, who are again
abstractionsof historyand human deeds. This may be whythese virtuousmen
are positioned in the lower halfof the pictures:theyare stillearthbound and so
the naturalismof theirportrayalatteststo the truenessof the human principles
theyembody.
The historicalConfucian figures,as well as the realisticpictorialstyleassociated withthem,disappear fromthe upper halfof the composition,wherewe find
fantasticand possiblyTaoist images: an enormousdragonjuxtaposed witha huge
phoenix,beautifulfairiesridingon clouds or exoticbirds,fiercedemons roaring
againstthe wind. Instead of being unitedbya three-dimensionallandscape, these
images are harmonizedbythe swelling,rhythmiclines thatshape them. We may
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81
say that these fluentlines are themselvesa metaphor of the vital energy of the
universe,43from which all these images of the imagination-heavenly flowers,
auspicious birds, mysticalbeasts, fairies,and demons-emerge. Floating and
ever-changing,these line images seem to shiftsmoothlyon the two-dimensional
pictureplane withoutpenetratingit.
The design is furthercomplicatedby a focal image crossingthe upper and
lower halves-an animal mask witha ring hanging fromits mouth. The model
forthisimage is a sculpturedmask made of gilded copper attached to a wooden
coffin.Here it has been transformedinto a flatsilhouetteon stone. A new layer
of visual rhetoricis added: integratedinto the overall two-dimensionalpictorial
representation,the mask seems suspended in air in frontof the surrounding
scenes, which recede and vanish behind it. Firm and unyielding, the mask
remindsus of the stone surfaceand forcesus to pull our gaze (and mind) back
fromthe distantand fantasticworlds,reassertingour own proximityto the solid
sarcophagus. This image restoresthe surface of the picture plane but only to
allow the artistto decompose and recompose it again. On eitherside of the mask,
two windows,perfectlysquare, guide our gaze "into" the sarcophagus. Two figures stand inside each windowand stare at us.44These windows,whichallow us
to see what is concealed behindthe pictorialsurface, thus reject any coherent
systemof pictorialillusionismand any fixedspatial or temporalstation.45
Viewing such a complex picture that integratesso many contradictoryelements,we feel thatthe artistis constantlychallengingus withnew modes of pictorialrepresentation.Travelingthroughtimeand space, he leads us to confront
differentrealmsand statesof beings-to "gallop to theworld'seightbounds" and
to "peer on all the thingsof theworld [and] brood on theirprofusion."He creates
and recreates tension between differentimages and between these images and
the medium: whenevera scene is about to assume itsindependence and become
"real," he brings in a conflictingimage or stylethatdismissesany sense of illusionismand restocksthe pictorialsurfacewithnew possibilitiesto furtherexpand
the visual field. Thus we findthatthe pictureseems to ceaselesslyrebel against
itself-"reversing"itselfand thenbalancingitself.The illusionistnarrativein the
landscape scene isjuxtaposed withthe elusive,decorativeimmortalimagery;the
"relief" animal mask is juxtaposed withthe "sunken" windows. The firstset of
motifstransformsthe pictorialsurfaceintoimages and thuserases it; the second
set restoresthe surfacebecause the mask mustbe attached to it and the windows
mustbe opened on it.46The structuralkeyto understandingthe creationof such
a composition,therefore,is again thebinarymode: theartistdevelops hisimagery
along opposite yet complementarypaths. In making such an efforthe breaks
away fromconventionalrepresentationand pushes the possibilityof human perception to a new limit.
82
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Notes
1. According to the inventoryin Yao Qian and Gu Bing, Liuchaoyishu(Art of the Six
Dynasties; Beijing, 1981), altogether eleven Liang mausoleums have been found:
1) Jian Liang (of Emperor Wen, Xiao Shunzhi; probablybuiltin 535), 2) Xiu Ling (of
Emperor Wu, Xiao Yan; builtbefore 549 when the emperor died), 3) Zhuang Liang
(of Emperor Jianwen, Xiao Gang; built before 552), 4-11) tombs of eight Liang
princes: Xiao Hong (d. 526), Xiao Xiu (d. 518), Xiao Hui (d. 527), Xiao Dan (d. 522),
Xiao Jing (d. 523), Xiao Ji (d. 529), Xiao Zhengli (d. before 548), Xiao Ying (d. 544).
The remains of the Zhuang Ling of Emperor Jianwen,however,are buried and
cannot be seen.
2. The termsshendaoand suidao denote the path extendingfromthe pillar-gateto the
tomb; see Zhu Xizu et al., Liuchaolingmudiaochabaogao(An investigationreportof Six
Dynasties mausoleums; Nanjing, 1935), 100, 202. This is why the word shendaois
alwaysinscribedon the pillar-gate.
3. Ibid., 23.
4. Jiankangshilu(A factualrecord of the historyof Nanjing; Beijing, 1937), 17, 19b. I
interpretthe word suitou,whichmeans literally"the opening of a suidaopath,"as the
place under the pillar-gate.As Zhu Xizu has explained, the termsuidaoor sui indicates
the path extendingfromthe pillar-gateto the tomb mound; see note 2.
5. Yao Silian, Liang shu (Historyof the Liang Dynasty;Beijing, 1973), 90; Yu Xin's "Ai
Jiangnanfu,"quoted in Zhu Xie,JiankangLanlingLiuchaolingmutukao(An illustrated
examinationof Six Dynastiestombsat Nanjing; Shanghai, 1936), 24.
6. Yudizhi (A geographical record), cited in Danyangxianzhi(A gazetteer of Danyang
County); see Zhu Xie,JiankangLanlingLiuchao,23.
7. Here I assume a visitor'sview. Chinese and Japanese authors usually describe the
pillarsfromthe positionof the tombmound (i.e., fromthe positionof the deceased);
thus the "rightpillar"in theirwritingsis the leftone in mine and vice versa.
8. Most inscriptionson the pillar-gatesin the Liang mausoleums face outward; the only
exception are those on Emperor Wen's gates,which face each other and forma pair
of true mirrorimages. My analysishere focuseson the majorityof cases.
9. In other words,the "binary"inscriptionsfirstappeared as somethingexternalto and
independentof the visitor;theythenbecame somethingto be visualized and comprehended, and finallybecame the stimulusforan imagined visionor visualization.For
a concise discussion of images and imagination,see Ray Frazer,"The Origin of the
Term 'Image,"' EnglishLiterary
History27 (1960): 149-61. Here I also borrow ideas
(Princeton,N.J.,
fromPauline Yu, TheReadingofImageryin theChinesePoeticTradition
1987), 3-19.
His Worksand TheirMeaning,2 vols. (Cam10. Trans. fromA. R. Davis, T'ao Yiuan-ming:
bridge, 1983), 1:168-70.
11. Xiao Zixian,Nan Qi shu (Historyof the SouthernQi; Beijing, 1972), 701.
12. Yao Silian,Liang shu,88.
13. As scholars have noted, writingfuneral songs in the voice of the dead was not Tao
Qian's invention;Lu Ji and Miao Xi (186-245) wrote a number of such works (see
1: 167-68). This traditionmaybe even traced back to the Han;
Davis, T'ao Yiian-ming,
the author of the yuefupoem "Battle South of the City"("Zhan chengnan") assumes
the viewof a dead soldier.But onlyTao Qian wrotefuneralsongs forhimself.
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83
ji (Writingsby Tao Qian; Beijing,
14. This is the thirdof the three songs. Tao Yuanming
ofT'ao Ch'ien(Oxford,
1979), 142; trans.based on JamesRobertHightower,ThePoetry
1970), 248.
15. Tao Yuanmingji,191-96.
1:240-41.
16. Ibid., 196-97; trans.based on Davis, T'ao Yilan-ming,
trans. L. F. McGreal, 12 vols.
17. Henri Dor6, Researchesinto Chinese Superstitions,
(Shanghai, 1938), 8:89.
18. For the decorative programs of such sarcophagi and the symbolismof the "gate"
motif,see Wu Hung, "Mythsand Legends in Han FuneraryArt:Their PictorialStructureand SymbolicMeaningsas Reflectedin Carvingson Sichuan Sarcophagi,"in Lucy
fromChina'sPast (San Francisco,1987), 73-8 1.
Lim, ed. Stories
19. In an earlier article(ibid., 74-77) I suggested thatthis figurestands at the entrance
of the otherworld to receivethe dead. Althoughthisinterpretationis not impossible,
my presentdiscussionoffersan alternativeunderstanding.Supported by Tao Qian's
writingsand otherliteraryevidence,thisinterpretationfocuseson changes in perception afterthe Han.
20. Quoted in Li Fang, Taipingyulan(Imperial reviewedencyclopediaof the Taiping era;
Beijing, 1960), 3315.
21. Ibid., 3318. "Master" is based on Yu Yuanwei's self-introduction.In fact,we know
nothingabout Yu and his worksexcept for this piece of writingwhich,moreover,is
preservedonly as fragmentsin laterencyclopedias.
cidian(Dictionaryof Chinese artists;Shanghai,
22. Quoted in Zhongguomeishujiarenming
1981), 27.
23. The only existingexample of this type of inscriptionis found in Emperor Wen's
mausoleum.
24. An example of such an inscriptionis found on a survivingpillar in Xiao Jing's
(Emperor Wen'snephew) tomb.Only two"reversed"charactersin theinscriptiondedicated to Xiao Xiu have survived.According to Mo Youzhi, the original inscription
order; see Zhu Xizu, Liuchaolingmudiaocha
was also writtenin the regularright-to-left
baogao,57.
25. Examples of thistypeof inscriptionhave been foundin tombsof Xiao Hong (Emperor
Wen'sson), and Xiao Ying, Xiao Zhengli,and Xiao Ji (Emperor Wen's grandsons).
26. Accordingto Yudizhi,the stone animals in frontof theJianlingmausoleum (and perhaps other stone carvingsas well) were made in 535; quoted in Danyangxianzhi;see
Zhu Xie,JiankangLanlingLiuchao,23.
27. For introductionsto the Boston shrine,see Kojiro Tomita,"A Chinese SacrificialStone
House of the SixthCenturyA.D.," BulletinoftheMuseumofFineArts40, no. 242 (1942):
98-110; Guo Jianbang, "Bei Wei Ning Mao shishi he muzhi" (The Stone Offering
Shrine and Epitaph of Ning Mao of the NorthernWei Dynasty),Henan wenbotongxun
(News of Henan museums and archaeology) no.1 (1980): 33-40. Here I followTomita'sdating of the shrine.
28. Zhongguomeishuquanji (The great treasuryof Chinese art), 60 vols. (Beijing, 198689), vol. 1, pt. 19; interpretationof fig.5.
29. Laurence Sickmanfirstsaw the stone shrinein Kaifengin 1933. Later,he came upon
a completeset of rubbingsin Beijing,includingboth the engravingson the shrineand
an epitaph on a separate stone; see Tomita, "Chinese SacrificialStone House," 109,
n. 1.
30. See ibid., 109-10.
31. This sarcophagus was probablymade for Lady Yuan in 522. It has been repeatedly
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32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
studied by scholars; for citations,see Cleveland Museum of Art, EightDynastiesof
Museum,Kansas City,and the
oftheNelsonGallery-Atkins
ChinesePainting:TheCollections
ClevelandMuseumofArt(Cleveland, 1980), 5-6.
One such studyis Alexander C. Soper, "Life-Motionand the Sense of Space in Early
Chinese RepresentationalArt,"ArtBulletin30, no.3 (1948): 167-86; forhis discussion
of the Nelson sarcophagus,see 180-85.
There are numerous studies of the historyand principlesof the linear perspective
ofRealism:Geometries
system.For a recentdiscussion,see MargaretA. Hagen, Varieties
Art(Cambridge, 1986), 142-65. For discussionson the Wang Lin
ofRepresentational
scene, see Osvald Sir6n, ChinesePainting:LeadingMastersand Principles,5 vols. (New
York, 1956), 1:58; Alexander C. Soper, "EarlyChinese Landscape Painting,"ArtBulletin23 (1941): 159-60.
Soper, "EarlyChinese Landscape Painting,"159-60.
This paintinghas been repeatedlypublishedand discussed. For references,see James
Cahill,An IndexofEarlyChinesePaintersand Paintings(Berkeley,1980), 12-13.
Both scenes illustratethe virtuousconduct of the Han imperialconcubine and historian Ban Zhao. The screen, which originallybelonged to Sima Jinlong,a Northern
Wei royalrelative,was foundin his tombnear Datong in present-dayShanxi Province.
See Susan Bush and Hsio-yenShih,EarlyChineseTextson Painting(Cambridge, Mass.,
1985), 38-39.
Ibid., 36-40.
Lu Shihengji (Writingsby Lu Ji; Shanghai, 1930), la-4b; trans. based on Stephen
Thought(Cambridge,Mass., 1992), 90-110. See Yu,
Owen, Readingsin ChineseLiterary
ChinesePoeticTradition,33, 35. Owen comments on the expression shoushifanting
("retractionof vision, reversion of listening"),which is intimatelyrelated to the
reversed perception discussed in this section: "Most Chinese exegetes . . . interpret
thispassage as a cuttingoffof sense perceptions,takingshou["retract"]in a common
usage as "cease," and apparentlytakingfan ["revert"]as the attentionof listening"reverting"to non-attention.Chinese theoristsoften spoke of the necessityof cutting
oneselfofffromthe determinationsof the lived world in order to write"(96).
Trans. based on W. R. B. Acker,SomeT'ang and Pre-T'angTextson ChinesePainting,2
vols. (Leiden, 1954), 1:6-7.
The Chinese scholar Wang Shucun recentlyreported that more than ten such sarcophagi have been found in the Luoyang area; "Zhongguo shige xianhua lueshi" (A
briefhistoryof Chinese line-engraving),preface to Zhongguomeishuquanji,vol. 1, pt.
19, p. 1 1.
42. For a studyof thissarcophagus,see Okumura Ikuro, Kaka (Tokyo, 1939), 359-82.
43. I explore this idea at greaterlengthin "A Sanpan Shan Chariot Ornament and the
ofAsianArt37 (1984): 46-48.
Xiangrui Design in WesternHan Art,"Archives
44. These figuresmay representservantsof the deceased: another Northern Wei sarcophagus discovered in 1973 in Guyuan is decorated on two sides withsimilarwindows and figures,and thedeceased is portrayedon the frontside of thecoffin.Guyuan
Cultural Relics WorkStation,"Ningxia Guyuan Bei Wei mu qinglijianbao" (A brief
excavation report of the Northern Wei tomb at Guyuan, Ninxia), Wenwu(Cultural
relics)no. 6 (1984): 46-56.
45. There are interestingparallels,both superficialand profound,between this picture
and Velasquez's famed painting"Las Meninas,"whichalso employssetsof (seemingly)
disconnectedimages to extend the visual field.In particular,directlyfacingthe spectatorin the background,a framedrectangularmirrorholds in its glow two standing
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85
figureswho are staringat the spectator.In Foucault's words, this mirror"shows us
nothingof whatis representedin the pictureitself.Its motionlessgaze extendsout in
frontof the picture,into thatnecessaryinvisibleregion whichformsitsexteriorface,
to apprehend the figuresarranged in that space. Instead of surrounding visible
objects, this mirror cuts straightthrough the whole field of the representation,
ignoringall it mightapprehend withinthatfield,and restoresvisibilityto thatwhich
of the
resides outside all view"; Michel Foucault, The Orderof Things:An Archaeology
Human Sciences(New York, 1973), 7-8. This mirrorimageryis thus comparable with
the windowimageryon the sarcophagus.
46. Norman Bryson has compared Westernand Chinese paintingin termsof theirdifferentnotionsand treatmentsof the pictorialplane: "Through much of the Western
traditionoil paint is treatedprimarilyas an erasivemedium. What it mustfirsterase is
of the surfacewould threatenthe coherence
the surfaceof the picture-plane:visibility
of the fundamentaltechnique through which the Westernrepresentationalimage
classicallyworksthe trace, of ground-to-figurerelations: 'ground,' the absence of
term.... The individualhistory
figure,is neveraccorded parity,is alwaysa subtractive
of the oil-paintingis thereforelargelyirretrievable,for although the visible surface
has been worked, and worked as a total expanse, the viewer cannot ascertain the
degree to which other surfaceslie concealed beneath the planar display: the image
thatsuppresses deixis has no interestin itsown genesis or past, except to buryit in a
palimpsestof which only the finalversion shows through,above an indeterminable
debris of revisions."In Chinese painting,on the other hand, "everythingthat is
marked on the surfaceremainsvisible,save forthose preliminariesor errorsthatare
not considered partof the image." A Chinese painting"cannotbe takenin all at once,
totasimul,since it has itselfunfolded withinthe durgeof process; it consistsserially,in
the somatic time of its construction";Visionand Painting:TheLogic of theGaze (New
Haven, 1983), 92, 94. The engravingon the sarcophagus, however,also shows these
two modes of representationin a single composition:some scenes erase the surface
whileothersrestoreit.
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