화문과 화제의 분류체제

Abstract

This paper is a survey of the systematization and classification of painting divisions(畵門huamen) and painting subjects(畵題huati) from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period to the Song Dynasty period. Painting subjects are titles of works named according to their topic or theme, and painting divisions are kinds of painting subjects sorted by category, such as figure, landscape, and bird-and-flower paintings. Painting divisions, which group the same painting subjects into separate divisions, are also referred to as ‘painting departments’(畵科huake), since they serve the same role as academic departments with respect to paintings. The East Asian painting tradition used such painting divisions to promote the expertise of painters and to evaluate their abilities and used painting subjects to follow the classic works and to propagate and extend them. The intention behind the work, as well as the physical materials used, how the painting is mounted, painting style and criticism, the social status and school, the purpose of enjoymenㅍ t and mode of use, etc. were structuralized and systematized as creative norms and genre conventions under the categories of painting divisions and subjects. Therefore, painting divisions and subjects serve as foundational data in iconological research and provide the core task in understanding the thematic consciousness and substance of East Asian paintings. Discussion of painting divisions and subjects not only elucidates the nature of East Asian paintings, but also is crucial in accurately reconstructing the history of paintings from available materials. The classification of paintings was first mentioned in terms of the Four Divisions(門men) in the 「論畵Lunhua」 by Gu Kaizhi(顧愷之) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty at the end of the fourth century CE. These divisions were further classified into large and small categories in the 『唐朝名畵錄Tangchao minghua lu』 by Zhu Jingxuan(朱景玄), and the 『歷代名畵記Lidai minghua ji』 by Zhang Yanyuan(張彦遠) in the late Tang Dynasty period. The systematization of painting divisions took place in the Song Dynasty. It began in the Northern Song with Liu Daochun`s(劉道醇) 『聖朝名畵評Shengchao minghua ping』(1059), and was continued in Guo Ruoxu`s(郭若虛) 『圖畫見聞志Tuhua jianwen zhi』(1070) and the 『宣和畵譜 Xuanhe huapu』(1123) that sorts the paintings in Emperor Huizong`s imperial collection into ten divisions. In the Southern Song, this was followed by Deng Chun`s (鄧椿) 『畵繼Hua ji』(1167) and Sun Shaoyuan`s(孫紹遠) 『聲畵集Shenghua ji』(1187). This systematization was established by art collectors and critics, all involving classification based on experience, and it is notable that painting activities were sustained through this medium. The collectors and critics aimed to systematize the experiences and outcomes of their historical investigation and evaluation of paintings and artists by locating them in the space of classification, and thereby sought to give a full account of the realm of paintings and its development over time, and also to use this account as a genealogy. Further, during the Northern Song period, a new kind of titling activity became established, along with the emergence of the ‘four-character’ painting subject as ‘wordless poems’, and the adherence to precedents in painting topics.