Gu Kaizhi and the Beginning of Scroll Painting

Luoshen Appraisal Painting by Gu Kaizhi

Chinese painting came a long way during the 300-year period that saw the rise and fall of the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280), the Jin Dynasty (265-420) and the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-581). Although there was the chaos of wars and many dynastic changes during this period, active intellectual life of different schools provided a great impetus to artistic development. Well known grotto murals, tomb paintings, stone carvings, brick carvings and lacquer paintings were produced during that period, and a number of virtuosos emerged in Chinese calligraphy and painting. Certain painting theories, such as the Graphic Theory and the Six Rule Theory that form the theoretical basis for present-day Chinese painting, were also put forward during this time. Gu Kaizhi, known as the founder of traditional Chinese painting, and his scroll paintings, represented the painting style of the period.

Gu Kaizhi was born into an official family in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. He served as a government officer when he was young, and toured many beautiful places. He had a sense of humor, and was also adept at writing poems and essays. Chinese art history abounds in anecdotes about him.

Once a temple was planned for Jiankang (present-day Nanjing), but the monks and the abbot could not collect enough money for the construction. While they were worrying about the funds to build the temple, a young man came and said he would donate a large amount of money. The abbot did not believe him, thinking that he was boasting. The young man suggested drawing a picture of the Buddha on a wall and collecting money from those who came to see him at work. For three consecutive days, thousands of people crowded the place to see the young man painting the Buddha. When he finally added the eye lines, the Buddha seemed to come alive, and the viewers cheered and applauded the young man's artistry. The money needed for the consummate construction of the temple was raised. The young man was Gu Kaizhi.

Gu Kaizhi paid great attention to details that revealed the characteristics of the figures he drew. Once he was asked to paint the portrait of a man called Pei Kai, who had three long fine hairs on his face that had been ignored by other painters. Gu laid great emphasis on the three hairs, and Pei was very satisfied. Another time, he portrayed the man Xie Kun standing in the midst of mountains and rocks. When asked about the reason, he explained that Xie loved to travel to see beautiful mountains and rivers. This story demonstrates that Gu was skillful at drawing surroundings that enhanced the characteristics of the painted figures.

Nushi Zhen Painting by Gu Kaizhi

Gu also made great advances in summarizing painting theories. His theoretical works included Painting Thesis and Notes on Painting the Yuntai Mountain. He paid considerable attention to the vivid expressions of the figures to show their spirit. His Graphic Theory later became a basic theory for traditional Chinese painting. According to historical records, Gu created more than 70 paintings based on historical stories, Buddhas, human figures, birds, animals, mountains and rivers. His three existing scroll paintings are Nushi Zhen Painting, Luoshen Appraisal Painting and Lienu Renzhi Painting; these are the earliest examples of scroll paintings.

The theme of the Luoshen Appraisal Painting was drawn fromthe article, Luoshen Appraisal, written by Cao Zhi, son of the Wei Emperor Cao Cao. It depicts the meeting of Cao Zhi and Goddess Luoshen at the Luoshui River. The picture vividly portrays the moods when they first met each other and when they were finally forced to separate. Gu emphasized the expressions of the figures; the stones, mountains and trees in the picture are for ornamental purposes. Gu's paintings are similar in style to the Dunhuang murals, and had a big influence on later traditional Chinese paintings.