The human figure as a subject in Chinese painting appeared well before such later popular ones as the landscape or birds-and-flowers. The purpose behind the painting of figures in early times was mostly to serve religious or political aims. Archaeological discoveries of paintings on silk and on tomb and cave walls so far offer a glimpse at the development of figure painting from the Spring and Autumn (722-481 BCE) to Warring States (403-221 BCE) periods, to the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), and into the Wei and Jin era (265-420). Unfortunately, paintings on silk and paper, due to their fragility, are difficult to preserve, so almost all of the authentic works by such famous figure painters of the Jin and Tang dynasty (618-907) as Gu Kaizhi (ca. 344-405) and Wu Daozi (ca. 685-758) have long since disappeared. Of the many masterpieces of figure painting in the National Palace Museum collection, for example, only “A Palace Concert” can be considered as representative of the late Tang era.

Starting from the Song dynasty (960-1279), however, the number of authentic works in circulation gradually increased. There was no lack to the detailed fidelity and colorful finesse of figural compositions in various themes and formats, including historical narrative illustrations reconstructing ancient scenes, genre works reflecting the life of commoners, depictions of beautiful ladies, and portraits of personages in painting and poetry modeled after literary works. There were even sketchy and unbridled Chan (Zen) paintings of figures that made their appearance at this time. Shining examples of Song figure painting include Zhang Zeduan’s (1085-1142) “Up the River on the Qingming Festival,” Su Hanchen’s (11^th-12^th c.) “Children at Play in an Autumnal Garden,” Mou Yi’s (1178-?) “Making Clothes,” and Liang Kai’s (13^th c.) “Immortal in Splashed Ink,” which all had a profound influence on later developments in figural art.

This exhibition focuses primarily on the rich and beautiful variety of figure and genre painting from the Yuan (1279-1368), Ming (1368-1644), and Qing (1644-1911) periods. The selection of sixteen sets of works on display includes Wang Zhenpeng’s (fl. 1280-1329) “Dragon Boat Race by the Baojin Hall,” Tang Yin’s (1470-1524) “Imitating a Lady Painting by a Tang Artist,” Qiu Ying’s (ca. 1494-1552) “Orthodoxy of Rulers Through the Ages,” Wu Bin’s (16^th-17^th c.) “Record of Annual Events and Activities,” Leng Mei’s (fl. 17^th-18^th c.) “Illustrations of Agriculture and Sericulture,” and Yang Dazhang’s (fl. 18^th c.) “Imitating a Painting of Jinling by Song Court Artists.” Some of these works are also accompanied by transparency enlargements, offering a detailed look at the subject and brushwork of artists and revealing their stylistic features and technical achievements. As for popular works in the Museum collection that cannot be accommodated in this display, such as “A Palace Concert” by a Tang artist, Qiu Ying’s “Spring Morning in the Han Palace,” and “Up the River on the Qingming Festival” by Qing court artists, viewers can visit the nearby multimedia screening room and appreciate dynamic reproductions in high resolution. With the gallery design featuring both static artworks and dynamic reproductions from the collection, the Museum believes that audiences will be able to learn more in a variety of fields, such as figure painting history, figure clothing and decoration, popular beliefs of the people, and life in the countryside, thus enhancing the value of these paintings far beyond their inherent beauty.