Orchid Pavilion Research Articles

Philosophical values and landscape cognition of Orchid Pavilion in Zhejiang from the perspective of environmental history

Philosophical values and landscape cognition of Orchid Pavilion in Zhejiang from the perspective of environmental history

An Analysis of the Orchid Pavilion from the Perspective of Systemic Functional Grammar

In the 1960s, Halliday’s systemic-functional grammar gradually emerged in the field of linguistic research. It provides a theoretical framework for discourse analysis. The Orchid Pavilion is a widely circulated calligraphy and literary work in ancient China. Nowadays, many scholars have translated it into English, among which Lin Yutang’s translation is especially famous. This article takes the three meta-functions of Systemic Functional Grammar as the theoretical framework, and analyzes Lin Yutang’s English translation of Wang Shichih’s article The Orchid Pavilion from transitivity, mood system, modality and thematic structure so as to investigate the ways in which the ideational function, interpersonal function and textual function are realized respectively. It can also verify the applicability and operability of Systemic Functional Grammar in translation. In all, this article provides a new perspective for understanding and translating The Orchid Pavilion as well as offering a reference in understanding and translating Chinese literary work.

Employ Design Thinking on the Design Creation of the Construction Form A Case Study of the Orchid Pavilion

研究針對「構築」的本質重新思考，以真實的設計創作探析構築行為與形式之間的種種可能。案例透過傳統紙業的形式重新構成，將傳統文化敘事語彙及在地產業構材重新做連結的設計思考方式為研究範例架構，再透過觀察與分析，運用創新的思考模式構想全新的結構狀態及形式可能，並將其文化意涵與結構設計作整體考量，表達出形式構築的具體實踐。研究透過實際的設計操作給予設計者不同面向的思考與體悟，追求構築邏輯至實際操作的重要性，藉由傳統文化歷史的形式與紙材從而構想創新的「結構」詮釋，使抽象的概念能通過幾何元素的具體條件，創造出真實可行的狀態。

조선 후기 산수화의 臨流像 연구

The purpose of this study is to analyze the types and artistic significance of paintings, Imnyueuninsang (hermits idling away the time by a stream) during the late Joseon period. In addition to the paintings, the study is focused on the ancient Chinese literary sources that influenced them, including Lanting Xu (“Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion”) by Wang Xizhi (307–365), Gui Qu Lai Ci (“Returning Home after Resigning”) by Tao Yuanming (365-427), Zhongnan Biey (“Villa in the Zhongnan Mountains”) by Wang Wei (701-761), Yu Fu (“The Fisherman”) by Qu Yuan (343? BCE – 277 BCE?), Heo Yu of Gaoshizhuan (“Biographies of Eminent Officials”) by Huangfu Mi (215–282), and Shanju (“Mountain Villa”) by Luo Dajing (1196-1242). The works studied here are classified into three categories; Imnyubusisang, Imsuganunsang, and Imnyutakjoksang. The images in the first category, i.e., Imnyubusisang (hermits writing poetry by a stream), are related with the effort of human beings to find peace and comfort in nature, which may be summarized by the passage, changseoyujeong (暢敍幽情; “exchange of feelings”). As for Imsuganunsang (hermits watching clouds and having a friendly conversation by a stream), the passage Haengdosugungcheo Jwaganungisi (行到水窮處 坐看雲起時; “reaching the place where the valley stream ends and watching the clouds floating in the sky”) was proved to be related to the meaning of Junghwawiyuk (中和位育; “nurturing in harmony and equality”) in Commentary on the Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong Zhangju) and the Gyeokmulchiji (格物致知; “insightful investigation of things”) in Commentary of the Great Learning (Daxue Zhangju). It provides the main themes, namely a peaceful reign by a holy ruler and a supreme academic achievement of a noble scholar. Finally, in Imnyutakjoksang (hermits washing their feet by a stream), Changnyangtakjok (滄浪濯足; “washing the feet in Changnyang River”) and Seitakjok (洗耳濯足; “washing the ears and feet”) are based on Chulcheojiri (出處之理; “principle of advancement and retreat”), in other words, the idea that a wise man needs to know when to come forward and when to move back.

Between a rock and a tall pine: The ‘grotesque’ as an expression of irony and identity crisis in Chinese art

Abstract I would like to suggest that the genre of the ‘grotesque’ represents a recurrent strategy in the way Chinese artists deal with major changes in the political, social and economic arenas. This article will discuss resonances between the contemporary and the historic, as corresponding epochals of turbulent times, as social commentary, and as a critique of art. The use of the term ‘grotesque’ refers to such strategies employed by artists that have stepped out of the zone of established conventions and acceptability, through exaggeration, distortion and sometimes visceral shock, with irony as a salient quality, by challenging convention and the framework of the time. We will draw on the ‘Eccentrics’ of the Ming dynasty, who dealt with disillusionment using grotesque caricatures of traditionally idealized subjects. The main example is Chen Hongshou (1598–1652), and discussion will be supported by art criticisms of distinguished Chinese art historians James Cahill and Andrew Plak. For the contemporary period, we will discuss grotesque strategies based on modernist tactics by way of creative destruction, to circumvent, ameliorate and negotiate between the past and the present. The grotesque is once again predicated upon exaggerated and expressionistic styles as well as graphic and gratuitous depictions of violence. I will be discussing Qiu Zhijie’s Copying the Orchid Pavilion Preface a Thousand Times (1986–1997) and Cao Fei’s Haze and Fog (2013).

Revisiting the Scene of the Party: A Study of the Lanting Collection

The Lanting (sometimes rendered as “Orchid Pavilion”) gathering in 353 is one of the most famous literati parties in Chinese history. 1 This gathering inspired the celebrated preface written by the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi 王羲之 (303–361), another preface by the poet Sun Chuo 孫綽 (314–371), and forty-one poems composed by some of the most intellectually active men of the day. 2 The poems are not often studied since they have long been overshadowed by Wang’s preface as a work of calligraphic art and have been treated as examples of xuanyan (“discourse on the mysterious [Dao]”) poetry, 3 whose fate in literary history suffered after influential Six Dynasties writers decried its damage to the classical tradition. 4 Historian Tan Daoluan 檀道鸞 (fl. 459) traced the trend to its full-blown development in Sun Chuo and Xu Xun 許詢 (fl. ca. 358), who were said to have continued the work of inserting Daoist terms into poetry that was started by Guo Pu 郭璞 (276–324); they moreover “added the [Buddhist] language of the three worlds [past, present, and future], and the normative style of the Shi 詩 and Sao 騷 came to an end.” 5 Critic Zhong Rong 鍾嶸 (ca. 469–518) then faulted their works for lacking appeal. His critique was nothing short of scathing: he argued

“Galloping Our Minds Beyond the Boundaries”: Exploring Leisure in the Poetry of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering

This study investigates the leisure experiences represented in poetry written by early medieval Chinese literati at the Orchid Pavilion gathering in relation to six determinants of the subjective leisure experience (intrinsic satisfaction, perceived freedom, involvement, arousal, mastery, and spontaneity) set forth by Unger and Kernan (1983). Though there is not a direct correlation between the leisure experiences of the Orchid Pavilion poets and modern contexts in the areas of intrinsic satisfaction, perceived freedom, arousal, and spontaneity, the contrasting aspects help to distinguish important temporal and cultural conceptions in the early medieval Chinese setting. After factoring in an additional aspect of the leisure experience (spirituality) in relation to the “mastery” determinant, the authors have found that the leisure experiences of the participants who produced poetry at the Orchid Pavilion gathering may be best appreciated in relation to the involvement and mastery determinants.

On the Authenticity of the "Preface" to the Collection of Poetry Written at the Orchid Pavilion

One of the most famous pieces of early medieval Chinese prose is the preface written by Wang Xizhi to the collection of poems composed at a gathering he hosted in 353 at the Orchid Pavilion on his estate. In recent years Wang Xizhi's authorship of a large portion of the extant version of this preface has been questioned, most notably by Guo Moruo. A closer inquiry into Wang's attitude toward religious Daoism and the motive for his apparent rejection (as well as that of other contemporaries) of Zhuangzi's view of the relativity of life and death proves that the reasons adduced to question Wang's authorship of the preface are based on a misunderstanding of his thought.