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The long and tumultuous tale of Master Tang and his shimingtu
TANG Yin (1470-1524), whose courtesy name is Tang Bohu, is known as one of the “Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644),” along with Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming and Qiu Ying.
Chinese folklore has it that Tang fell in love with a maid called Qiuxiang. To approach the girl, he has himself sold as a servant to an official’s household.
The story is actually fictitious — Tang wasn’t so dissolute in the real world.
His life was filled with ups and downs. Born in Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, Tang had a happy childhood. His father was an owner of a bistro.
At the age of 16, Tang’s talent had already earned him the title of xiucai (applicants who passed imperial examinations at county level).
However, a devastating blow hit Tang when he was 25 years old.
Within just one year, Tang’s parents, wife, son and younger sister all died.
With his family blown apart, Tang decided to work hard in order to have a distinguished civil service career.
In 1498, he came first in the provincial examination in Nanjing in Jiangsu Province.
One year later, he went to the capital in Beijing to attend imperial examination at metropolitan level. He met Xu Jing who was the son of a millionaire in Jiangyin in Jiangsu Province.
Tang and Xu often visited the chief examiner Cheng Minzheng, which led to the accusation of bribing Cheng to leak exam papers in advance.
All three were jailed. Although Tang was released later, he felt utterly depressed. After that, Tang’s hope for achievements in office was dashed.
Returning to his hometown of Suzhou, Tang pursued a simple and peaceful life. He made a living by selling his paintings. The versatile scholar was good at portraying various themes such as feminine figures, landscapes, plants and birds.
Desiring nothing, Tang indulged in paintings and poems. He often drank tea and chatted with his peers.
One of his famous paintings entitled “Serving tea (shimingtu)” depicts Tang’s leisurely lifestyle.
The painting was named after one of Tang’s friends, Chen Shiming.
Coincidentally, Chen’s first name can also be interpreted as serving tea.
In Tang’s handscroll, a cluster of thatched houses is surrounded by mountains, towering trees, cascading waterfalls and a lake.
A scholar concentrates his attention on reading books while sipping tea in a house. The tea set is placed on the desk. In another house, an attendant is brewing tea.
Outside, an elderly man with a walking stick visits the scholar. An attendant carrying a guqin (a plucked seven-string Chinese instrument) follows the elderly man.
Delicate and elegant, the fine brushwork shows Tang’s extraordinary painting technique along with his talent for poetry.
He composed a poem in the five-syllable form. The name of the painting, or the first name of Tang’s friend, is included in the poem.
Another friend, Wen, inscribed the title shiming at the front of the handscroll.
The national treasure was one of more than 1,200 precious antiques that were secretly moved from the palace to today’s Museum of the Imperial Palace of “Manchukuo” in Changchun by Puyi (1906-67), the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The puppet emperor stayed there for 13 years.
After the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, Puyi hurriedly fled the palace and left the treasures.
Many soldiers of the puppet state remained to plunder the palace.
Among them was a man named Jin Xianghui. He had once been an art teacher at a primary school so he knew something about painting and calligraphy. He stole about 60 works, including Tang’s shimingtu.
Jin took some of the loot home.
One day, Jin’s wife was cooking and looking kindling for a fire. She found a handscroll on the table and planned to use that. Jin stopped her immediately and saved the masterpiece.
The painting was later bought by Zhang Boju, a renowned connoisseur and collector born in 1898.
The patriot was dedicated to the protection of precious Chinese artifacts and preventing them from being traded overseas. He even sold his family property to support his passion.
In 1956, Zhang donated Tang’s shimingtu and many other treasures to the nation. The national treasure is now in the Palace Museum in Beijing.
Painting of “Serving Tea (shimingtu)”
Period: Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
Author: Tang Yin (1470-1524)
Dimension: 31.1*105.8cm
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