Ming Dynasty Scrolls of the Subordinate Capital Nanjing:
Colorful Lanterns at Shangyuan and The Prospering Southern Capital

This project, spearheaded by Ina Asim at the University of Oregon, is partially funded by a grant from the Geiss Foundation, which encourages and supports projects of this type.

Project Description

The project "Genre Paintings of Chinese Cityscapes" aims at combining historical and art historical considerations for the study of Chinese genre scroll paintings of cityscapes.

This category of painting, which originated in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and was further developed in the subsequent dynasties represents a rich source of information regarding the economical situation and sociological structure of cities. Since the Song, when cities evolved from ward-oriented to street-oriented administrative and economic centers this economic revolution led to a challenge of the ritual and administrative dominance of the city. Theses changes are vividly captured in the handscrolls depicting scenes of urban life, merchant and artisan activities, and entertainment.

The paintings also provide valuable insight into the painters' artisanship. In addition to the handscrolls which could be read as consecutive scenes of a picture book, small size paintings of city and village life became popular commodities not only among connoisseurs.  A wide market for these paintings which could be of highly varying quality developed in the Ming.

The current project is devoted to two genre scrolls that follow the model of the Qingming shanghe tu in topic and style, but depict the secondary capital of the Ming, Nanjing.

Ming Dynasty Scrolls of the Subordinate Capital Nanjing:   Lantern Festival at Shangyuan and The Prospering Southern Capital

The first part of the project is designed to present a comparative analysis of the two extant scrolls.

The more intriguing of the two scrolls with respect to content and artistic executioni is from the hand of an anonymous painter and dates to the 16^th to 17^th centuries.   It was titled 'Shangyuan dengcai' ['Lantern Festival at Shangyuan'] by the eminent art historian Xu Bangda.  Shangyuan was one of the two municipal districts of Nanjing in Ming times.  The painting is owned by a private collector in Taiwan.

The second scroll titled 'Nandu fanhui tu' ['Scroll of the Prospering Southern Capital'] belongs to the collection of the National Museum of China (formerly Museum of Chinese History) in Beijing/ It depicts a multitude of shops and commercial activities in Nanjing in order to give a representative survey of the enterprises that contributed to the flourishing economy of the city.

Both paintings complement each other in a unique way: While the 'Lantern Festival' scroll concentrates on the pleasures enjoyed by a crowd of predominantly male visitors which consists largely of members of the literati elite, the 'Prospering Capital' painting reveals aspects of the network of economic enterprises and trans-national connections located in Nanjing at the time.

The project aims at completing the production of an interactive CD for educational purposes that allows for studying the 'Shangyuan dengcai' ['Lantern Festival at Shangyuan'] scroll as a whole as well as with a multitude of background information.

The surface screen provides the entire scroll painting and may thus be read like a text.  This layout insures an uninhibited perception of the painting the level of exploration which is of importance for introducing the painting category to first-time viewers.

In addition a rich variety of textual and visual information as well as explanatory details are stored on several levels beyond the surface screen.  They may be called up at any time so that attentive observation can be assisted by selecting and zooming any sector of the scroll to allow scrutinizing of even the minutest details.  Therefore the CD can be used in individual study as well as in classroom presentations:  The painting may be read like a text without any instructional guidance and without confronting the viewer with preconceived ideas and interpretations.  Yet the multilayered structure allows for accessing the wealth of additional information stored beyond the surface which may be chosen by the individual viewer at any time.

Background levels will include information about the political history and social conditions of the location, as well as about the artistic setting in which the paintings were created.  Further explanations about the economic situation conveyed by the panoramic view of shops, services, entertainment facilities, transportation, public buildings, customs and costumes featured in the painting will be included.

The CD as well as the manual for instructors will be bilingual (English/Chinese).  The manual provides an appendix with bibliographical reference material related to the paintings and art objects shown in the presentation.

The advantages of presenting a handscroll on an electronic medium are obvious:  the painting can be viewed by many without harming the original.  Stored electronically the painting can be progressively contemplated in its entire dimensions which is hardly possible due to lack of space and conservatory concerns in a Museum exhibition.

Project History

In the spring of 2003 the Oregon Consortium of Asian Studies (OCAS) has funded the initial phase of the CD-production project.  During this period Garron Hale and Brian Floyd from the Social Science Instructional Laboratory (SSIL) of the University of Oregon have scanned central sectors of the scroll which were then electronically cleaned.  This procedure had become necessary since the aging process of the painting silk left colors darker and details less distinct.  The cleaning process enhanced the clarity of the chosen sectors considerably and improved the visibility of fine details.  It also helped to gain further insight into the quality of the painter's artisanship.

Important details in the scroll were then marked with a highlighting function.  Zoom functions were applied to scanned sectors, and textual background information was added to background layers.

Results of this work were stored on a demo CD (included in the hardcopy version of this application), which during the summer break was introduced to the owner of the painting in Taipei by Ina Asim.  Asim also has described both Ming scrolls of Nanjing in her manuscript Coiling Dragon, Crouching Tiger:  Urban Life in Late Ming Nanjing (in preparation for print).  The demo version CD found instant approval by the owner of the painting.  He generously provided additional ektachrome transparencies of the painting for the completion of the cleaning procedure.

IN Beijing photographs including publication rights for reference purposes were acquired for the Prospering Capital scroll at the National Museum of History.

Drum scans of the ektachrome transparencies have been made by a commercial graphic designer to obtain the highest possible resolution as a work basis for the follow-up steps of the project.

Work Plan

The project will be continued in accordance with the initial work procedures:

The project is envisioned to be concluded by October, 2004.  A conference titled 'Aspects of Private Life in Late Imperial China'  in conjunction with an exhibition to be held in the Museum of the University of Oregon is planned for the same month.  The 'Lantern Festival' scroll will be on display at the exhibition.  Visitors and conference participants will be presented with an introduction to the CD on this occasion.

Project Participants

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