The Journal of Korean Art and Archaeology

Introduction

The theme of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers is believed to have first been painted by Song Di (宋迪, c. 1015–1080) of the Northern Song dynasty (北宋, 960–1127). Over time, the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers became one of the most frequently represented subjects in East Asian landscape painting. Many Korean literati have explored this theme in both poetry and painting since it was first transmitted to Korea during the Goryeo dynasty (高麗, 918–1392). In particular, it enjoyed unprecedented popularity as a subject for both poetry and painting during the early Joseon period (朝鮮, 1392–1910), as evinced by the numerous paintings and accompanying poems on this theme from the period.

Bihaedang sosang palgyeong sigwon (匪懈堂瀟湘八景詩卷), or Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers (Fig. 1) is a work on this theme from the early Joseon era. Initiated by Prince Anpyeong (安平大君, 1418–1453), pen name “Bihaedang” (匪懈堂), and completed in 1442, this scroll originally included poems on the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers composed by cultural luminaries of the day, along with a set of related paintings. The paintings have since been lost, and the poems are now known only in album format. Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers (hereinafter, Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll) serves as an important source for illuminating a range of issues concerning the theme of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers (hereinafter, “Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang” or simply “Eight Views”) as addressed in the early Joseon period, even though the scroll’s original paintings are no longer extant.

Fig. 1. “Preface” by Yi Yeongseo from Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers. Joseon dynasty, 1442. Ink on paper (National Museum of Korea)

Many paintings on the theme of the Eight Views from the early Joseon period exist today, but it is rare to find an intact set with all eight scenes. Given the paucity of complete sets, Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang set previously in the Yūgensai (幽玄齋) collection, Japan, is of great importance, both because it includes all eight views and because it represents a style associated with An Gyeon (安堅, active 15th century), the foremost landscape painter in fifteenth-century Korea. Presumably created in album format, this Yūgensai-collection work presents interesting elements that can be related to other paintings on the theme.

This essay examines the significance of Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll as a key work on the theme of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers in the early Joseon period, and explores its relationship to the Yūgensai-collection Eight Views (Fig. 3).

Composition and Contents of Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers

Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll epitomizes early Joseon-period sets of poems and paintings on the theme of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers. This work included stone rubbings of a series of poems on the Eight Views composed by Emperor Ningzong (寧宗, r. 1198–1224) of China’s Southern Song dynasty (南宋, 1127–1279), a set of paintings on the theme, poems written during the Goryeo period by Korean literati Yi Inro (李仁老, 1152–1120) and Jin Hwa (陳澕, active c. 1200), as well as sets of poems by nineteen contemporaneous literati, all of which were originally mounted together in scroll format. Both the paintings and the copies of Emperor Ningzong’s poems from Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll have been lost; the remaining components have been remounted in album format and today are in the collection of the National Museum of Korea, Seoul.

The paintings of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang originally included in this poetry scroll are attributed to An Gyeon, the most talented painter of his generation who had long been one of the artists most favored by Prince Anpyeong, who commissioned this scroll in 1442. In 1447, An Gyeon would paint Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land (夢遊桃源圖), also commissioned by Prince Anpyeong, which is one of the most famous of all Korean landscape paintings and which now resides in the Tenri University Sankōkan Museum, Nara, Japan (天理大学附属天理参考館). The Hwagi (畵記), or Record on Paintings written in 1445 by Sin Sukju (申叔舟, 1417–1475) lists the paintings by An Gyeon then in the collection of Prince Anpyeong. The paintings of the Eight Views mentioned in this record’s first entry likely are the set originally included in Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll.

An acquisition by Prince Anpyeong inspired the scroll’s commission: the Dongshutang jigu fatie (東書堂集古法帖), or Model Book of Ancient Calligraphic Works Collected in the Eastern Library (Fig. 2), which was compiled in 1416 by Ming Prince Zhu Youdun (朱有燉, 1379–1439) and which comprises ten volumes of calligraphic models by eminent calligraphers and emperors of the Chinese Jin (金, 1115–1234) and Yuan (元, 1271–1368) dynasties. The majority of the works reproduced in this compendium follow calligraphic works in the Chunhua ge tie (淳化閣帖, Model-letter Compendia of the Chunhua Reign) from the Song dynasty (宋, 960–1279). In addition, the Mi ge xu tie (秘閣續帖, Sequel to Calligraphic Works in the Collection of the Imperial Archive), Jiang tie (絳帖, Model Letters Carved in the Jiang Area), Tan tie (譚帖, Model Letters Carved in the Tan Area), and other calligraphic works from the Song and Yuan periods were accessed as supplementary sources. Emperor Ningzong, who was well known as a calligrapher, composed the series of poems on the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers included in the Model Book of Ancient Calligraphic Works Collected in the Eastern Library (hereinafter, Model Book of Ancient Calligraphic Works).

Fig. 2. Dongshutang jigu fatie (Model Book of Ancient Calligraphic Works Collected in the Eastern Library) by Zhu Youdun. Ming dynasty, 1416. Ink rubbing. National Library of China (Cultural Heritage Administration 2008, Fig. 7)

Emperor Ningzong’s poems listed in the Model Book of Ancient Calligraphic Works are titled after the associated paintings of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang and their painters. They are “Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist, by Guan Tong” (山市晴嵐 關同), “Evening Bell from a Mist-shrouded Temple, by Dong Yuan” (煙寺晩鍾 董源), “Fishing Village in Evening Glow, by Juran” (漁村晩照 巨然), “Returning Sails off a Distant Shore, by Li Tang” (遠浦帆歸 李唐), “Night Rain on the Xiao and Xiang Rivers, by Wang Ban” (瀟湘夜雨 王班), “Wild Geese Descending to a Sandbar, by Huichong” (平沙鴈落 惠崇), “Autumn Moon over Lake Dongting, by Xu Daoning” (洞庭秋月 許道寧), and “River and Sky in Evening Snow, by Fan Kuan” (江天暮雪 范寬). These five-character poems also appear in Quan Song shi (全宋詩), or Complete Collection of Song Dynasty Poetry, which conveys almost identical contents with only minor changes in wording and in which the painters’ names are deleted.

Emperor Ningzong’s poems on the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers, as compiled in the Model Book of Ancient Calligraphic Works, are significant for multiple reasons. First, the painter’s name appears below the title of each scene, indicating that Emperor Ningzong appreciated existing paintings on the theme and composed poems inspired by those paintings. However, most of the painters mentioned in his poems were artists active in the Five Dynasties (五代, 907–960) and early Northern Song periods and thus predate Song Di. This fuels doubt as to whether the paintings in fact were actually by these masters. Despite the questionable attributions, Emperor Ningzong’s poems are worthy of note because he mentioned not only paintings by painters from northern regions, such as Guan Tong (關仝, c. 906–960), Fan Kuan (范寬, active late 10th–early 11th century), and Xu Daoning (許道, c. 970–1052), but also works by painters from the Jiangnan region in the south, including Dong Yuan (董源, c. 934–962) and Juran (巨然, active 10th century), indicating that at the time of Emperor Ningzong paintings of the Eight Views reflected various regional styles. Although the paintings Emperor Ningzong appreciated may not in fact have been authentic works by Guan Tong or Dong Yuan, the attributions suggest stylistic affinities to the works of those masters.

Second, the order of the eight scenes found in Emperor Ningzong’s series of poems is unconventional as it proceeds as follows: “Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist,” “Evening Bell from a Mist-shrouded Temple,” “Fishing Village in Evening Glow,” “Returning Sails off a Distant Shore,” “Night Rain on the Xiao and Xiang Rivers,” “Wild Geese Descending to a Sandbar,” “Autumn Moon over Lake Dongting,” and “River and Sky in Evening Snow.” This arrangement differs from the sequence recorded in earlier texts. It diverges, for example, from the order as recorded in the Mengxi bitan (夢溪筆談), or Dream Pool Essays, by Shen Kuo (沈括, 1031–1095), which describes Song Di’s Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers. There is also a discrepancy between the order of Emperor Ningzong’s poems and that presented in a series by Huihong (惠洪, 1071–1128), the earliest known set of poems on the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers.

Fig. 3. Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers by unknown artist. Joseon dynasty, late 15th century. Ink on silk. 28.5 x 29.8 cm (each). Former Yūgensai collection, Japan (Yūgensai 1996, Fig. 3)

It is unclear why Emperor Ningzong altered the order of the eight views, but it is generally assumed that he rearranged the scenes to correspond to seasonal changes. “Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist” represents spring, while “Night Rain on the Xiao and Xiang,” “Wild Geese Descending to a Sandbar,” and “Autumn Moon over Lake Dongting” convey an autumnal atmosphere. It is not obvious which themes relate to summer, but “Evening Bell from a Mist-shrouded Temple,” “Fishing Village in Evening Glow,” and “Returning Sails off a Distant Shore” likely depict either spring or summer scenes.

There is no fixed order for the eight scenes in Chinese poems and paintings of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang. Even so, Chinese artists often followed the order presented in Song Di’s Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers as documented in Shen Kuo’s Dream Pool Essays. Toward the end of the Southern Song period, “River and Sky in Evening Snow” tended to be placed at the end of the sequence. However, the order of the other seven scenes was more flexible. Emperor Ningzong adopted a new sequence in his poems on the Eight Views, and his re-ordering of their sequence had a pivotal influence on the sequencing of paintings on the Eight Views theme in the early Joseon period.

For example, the poems composed by early Joseon literati included in Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll seem to have been reconfigured to follow the sequence of Ningzong’s poems on the Eight Views. In addition, the poems by Yi Inro and Jin Hwa were rearranged accordingly. The original order of the poems by these two Goryeo literati is identical to that found in Song Di’s Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers as described in Shen Kuo’s Dream Pool Essays. Even so, their order was revised to accord with the sequence of Ningzong’s poems when they were incorporated into Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll. More research is needed to determine the reason for the rearrangement of the eight scenes according to Emperor Ningzong’s sequence. It might have been due in part to the Joseon poets’ simple desire to follow Ningzong’s order, but it more likely was due to their desire to organize the eight scenes into a seasonal sequence in accordance with Ningzong’s conception. Furthermore, the wishes of Prince Anpyeong, who commissioned this poetry scroll, appear to have been the most significant factor in determining the order.

It should be noted that the order of the scenes in complete sets of Eight Views paintings from the early Joseon period is generally identical to that of Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll. Only five complete sets of Eight Views paintings from this period are known today. With the exception of the version of Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers with Kim Hyeonseong’s (金玄成, 1542–1621) colophon, for which the original order is unknown, most surviving works follow the arrangement in Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll. In a few cases, however, “Wild Geese Descending to a Sandbar” is interchanged with “Autumn Moon over Lake Dongting.”

The five sets of paintings mentioned above are believed to have been created after 1442, by which time Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll had been completed. Therefore, early Joseon-period painters likely referred to Ningzong’s poems for their works. The paintings of the An Gyeon-attributed Eight Views originally included in Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll presumably also followed the sequence of Ningzong’s poems.

Another point of note is Ningzong’s idiosyncratic manner of arranging the Chinese characters in the titles of particular poems. The wording of the titles “漁村晩照” (Fishing Village in Evening Glow), “遠浦帆帰” (Returning Sails off a Distant Shore), and “平沙鴈落” (Wild Geese Descending to a Sandbar) rarely occurs in this exact fashion in other poems or paintings on the subject. Only the exceptional Korean paintings, such as the scenes in the Yūgensai-collection set of the Eight Views, bear titles with wording identical to that in Ningzong’s poems (Fig. 4). As a consequence, it has been suggested that this ranks among the unique features of Korean paintings on the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang. However, recent research on Ningzong’s poems has drawn scholarly attention to the relationship between Ningzong’s poems and the Yūgensai-collection paintings, as the latter are assumed to have followed Ningzong’s word order in titling the paintings (Park 2007).

Fig. 4. Comparison of titles of Ningzong’s poems with titles inscribed on Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers from the former Yūgensai collection (left: Ningzong’s poems; right: paintings from the former Yūgensai collection)

Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll must have been considered an exceptional accomplishment in the realm of poetry and painting in the early Joseon period, and it is believed to have served as a model for poetry and paintings on the theme. Although the scroll does not survive today, the paintings attributed to An Gyeon of the Eight Views likely were the first on this subject done in the Joseon dynasty. Given An Gyeon’s importance in his own day, not to mention his influence on the development of Joseon-dynasty landscape painting, his interpretation of the theme as represented in Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll would have been considered canonical and thus a model for the presentation of this theme in later periods. With numerous artists of successive generations following his model, it is no coincidence that a number of paintings depicting the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers from the early Joseon period have been attributed to An Gyeon.

Characteristics of Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers from the Former Yūgensai Collection

A rare example of a complete set, Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers from the former Yūgensai collection is considered one of the earliest Korean works on the theme. The paintings were executed on relatively square sheets of paper. The artist remains unknown, but stylistic features associated with An Gyeon are apparent, just as in other Eight Views paintings from the early Joseon period.

The original sequence of the scenes in the Yūgensai set is uncertain, but the paintings likely were arranged in the order of “Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist,” “Evening Bell from a Mist-shrouded Temple,” “Fishing Village in Evening Glow,” “Returning Sails off a Distant Shore,” “Night Rain on the Xiao and Xiang Rivers,” “Wild Geese Descending to a Sandbar,” “Autumn Moon over Lake Dongting,” and “River and Sky in Evening Snow” (Fig. 5). When placed in this order, the scenes are perfectly paired in symmetrical compositions, and the transition from one scene to the next is smooth and harmonious. This order is identical to that found in Ningzong’s series of poems, which further indicates the close connection between the two works.

Fig. 5. Reconfiguration of the eight scenes in Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers from the former Yūgensai collection in accordance with Ningzong’s poems

The title of each scene is inscribed in the upper-right corner in a clerical script (隸書), but the title of “Evening Bell from a Mist-shrouded Temple” is absent. A square relief seal impression reading “An Chung” (安忠, active 12–13th century) appears on the paintings, but it appears to be a later addition. Unconventional titles are given for the scenes depicting “Returning Sails off a Distant Shore” and “Wild Geese Descending to a Sandbar”: “遠浦帆帰” and “平沙雁落” are used instead of the more typical titles “遠浦帰帆” and “平沙落雁.” The title of the third panel is obscured, but it most likely read “漁村晩照,” or “Fishing Village in Evening Glow.” If so, it would correspond to the titles of Ningzong’s poems (Fig. 4). The title of “Evening Bell from a Mist-shrouded Temple” was probably accidentally omitted during the process of copying the original paintings and transcribing the titles. The characteristics of the Yūgensai-collection Eight Views are discussed in the following paragraphs.

The representation of the mountain village in “Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist” (Fig. 3-1) harks back to such Northern Song dynasty landscape paintings as Guan Tong’s Travelers in the Mountains (關山行旅圖). Among Southern Song examples, Dream Journey over the Xiao and Xiang Rivers (瀟湘臥遊圖卷) by Master Li (李氏) from the Shucheng region (舒城) and paintings of “Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist” by Wang Hong (王洪, fl. c. 1131–1161), Yan Ciyu (閻次于, fl. c. 1164–1181), Ma Yuan (馬遠, fl. c. 1190–1225), and Xia Gui (夏珪, fl. c. 1195–1230) are all reminiscent of the Yūgensai-collection “Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist” from the former. In addition, A Solitary Temple amid Clearing Peaks (晴巒蕭寺圖) (Fig. 6) attributed to Li Cheng (李成, 919–967) from the late Five Dynasties or Northern Song period and Endless Mountains and Streams (溪山無盡圖) by an anonymous artist from the Jin dynasty (Fig. 7) reveal close affinities with the Yūgensai “Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist”.

Fig. 6. A Solitary Temple amid Clearing Peaks attributed to Li Cheng. Northern Song dynasty. Ink and slight color on silk. 111.8 x 55.9 cm (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, U.S.)

Fig. 7. Streams and Mountains without End (detail) by unknown artist. Late Northern Song–Jin dynasty. Ink and slight color on silk. 35.1 x 213 cm (The Cleveland Museum of Art, U.S.)

The diagonal compositions and asymmetrical arrangement of landscape elements in the Yūgensai paintings reflect the compositional evolution in landscape painting that occurred during the late Northern Song period. For example, the Yūgensai-collection paintings are closely related to Painting and Farewell Poems to Hao Xuanming (送郝玄明使秦書畵合璧卷) by Hu Shunchen (胡舜臣, active early 12th century) of the late Northern Song period (Fig. 19) and to Clearing after Snow in the Min Mountains (岷山晴雪圖) and Travelers among Pines (松杉行旅圖) from the Jin dynasty. In particular, paintings from the Jin dynasty are probable pictorial sources for An Gyeon’s Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land. Considering all of these factors, the Yūgensai-collection “Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist” presumably either was influenced by a relatively early example transmitted from China to Korea or followed the traditional forms and styles established in Korea since Goryeo times.

Some elements found in “Fishing Village in Evening Glow” (Figs. 14 and 16) are closely associated with An Gyeon’s Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land (Figs. 15 and 17). The empty ships anchored at the bank, thatched houses in the forest, and representations of trees, for example, are all similar to similar motifs depicted in Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land. However, the Yūgensai-collection painting employs short-line texture strokes known as danseon jeomjun (短線點皴, Ch. duanxian diancun) whose usage in Korea became widespread only late in the fifteenth century, indicating that this work was painted later than An Gyeon’s.

The Yūgensai “Fishing Village in Evening Glow” shows a close affinity to Village among Lofty Mountains (山莊高逸圖) by Li Zai (李在), a Ming dynasty painter active in the fifteenth century (Fig. 18). Although the reasons behind the striking resemblance need further research, similarities in the treatment of the foreground are evident. It is unlikely that the artist of the Yūgensai “Fishing Village in Evening Glow” could have seen Li Zai’s Village among Lofty Mountains, so it is more likely that an earlier painting served as the model for each of these paintings, for both their styles and their iconography.

“Autumn Moon over Lake Dongting” (Fig. 3-7) orders perspective and recession into three-dimensional space in three successive planes—foreground, middle ground, and far distance—in which sand dunes and mountains are piled up at regular intervals arranged along three diagonal lines starting in the foreground at the bottom right corner. Pavilions, water, trees, bridges, and houses are scattered in between. The scenery unfolds in a unique tripartite diagonal composition. Considering that this compositional feature is also found in Painting and Farewell Poems to Hao Xuanming (Fig. 19), the origin of this configuration can be traced back to the Northern Song period.

The composition of “River and Sky in Evening Snow” (Fig. 3-8) shares similar characteristics with a landscape with an attached colophon by Zekkai Chūsin (絶海中津, 1336–1405), particularly in the left-hand portion of the latter. Compared with the previously mentioned landscape, however, Snow Landscape (雪景山水圖) (Fig. 8), which is attributed to Xia Gui and which is believed to be represent “River and Sky in Evening Snow,” exhibits an even closer connection to this Yūgensai painting. Elements shared by both works include the “one-corner” composition, protruding hills in the left corner of the foreground, buildings on the hills, and houses placed to the right of the hills.

Fig. 8. Snow Landscape attributed to Xia Gui. Southern Song dynasty. Ink on silk. 47.6 x 32.5 cm (National Palace Museum, Taipei)

As mentioned above, most of the scenes in the Yūgensai Eight Views feature a diagonal composition in which the fore- and middle grounds are placed on one side of the painting and views from a level distance are presented on the other side in order to represent spatial recession. In sum, the compositions of these paintings are characterized by an asymmetrical arrangement of pictorial elements in the foreground and far distance, accompanied by a partial adaptation of a diagonal composition. The artist also aptly applied iconography and motifs typically associated with the theme of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang.

As previously discussed, the Yūgensai Eight Views exhibits a strong affinity with An Gyeon’s Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land. “Fishing Village in Evening Glow” shares such common features with the An Gyeon painting as certain pictorial elements and the conspicuous use of the diagonal compositional arrangement. The various applications of diagonally organized compositions in “Mountain Market, Clearing with Rising Mist” and “Autumn Moon over Lake Dongting” reveal the artist’s technical skill and technique. In the case of An Gyeon’s Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land, the viewer’s eye is guided in the intended direction along a diagonal starting in the lower left corner and culminating at the upper right of the painting.

As already discussed, the Yūgensai Eight Views features unique titles for the scenes representing “Returning Sails off a Distant Shore” and “Wild Geese Descending to a Sandbar”—titles that are only rarely found in other works on this theme. The only other occurrence of these titles are in Emperor Ningzong’s poems. Both the titles and the sequence of the eight scenes in the Yūgensai set correspond to Ningzong’s poems, suggesting that the Yūgensai Eight Views is closely associated with the poems and paintings in Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll.

Given that Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll is lost, we cannot know the exact nature or appearance of the paintings. However, if it indeed is the work described as “each of the eight views having a corresponding painting” (八景圖各一) in Sin Sukju’s Record on Paintings, then Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll seemingly was a set of eight paintings, each depicting a scene from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers as a separate work. Given that this work likely was inspired by Ningzong’s poems on the Eight Views, it is possible that the order and titles of the paintings followed those of Ningzong’s. The Yūgensai Eight Views share common features with Ningzong’s poems—the sequence of the scenes, for example, and the titles of the individual scenes—likely because it was strongly influenced by the paintings in Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll.

In the same vein, the Yūgensai Eight Views exhibits motifs and modes of representation similar to those in Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land. If the paintings in Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll were in fact executed by An Gyeon, it would come as no surprise that there would be numerous similarities between An Gyeon’s Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land and the Yūgensai paintings.

Apart from the similarities between the Yūgensai paintings and An Gyeon’s Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land, there are obvious differences as well. For example, the short-line texture strokes known as danseon jeomjun occur only in the Yūgensai paintings. Because such texture strokes became popular only in late fifteenth-century Joseon landscape paintings, their presence indicates that the artist of the Yūgensai paintings incorporated newly emerging elements into the traditional style of An Gyeon.

Because it likely imitated now-lost paintings by, or attributed to, An Gyeon, the Yūgensai-collection Eight Views stands as an important work of art. Many extant Korean paintings of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang exhibit features shared with the Yūgensai paintings, which proves the formidable influence of the paintings of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers attributed to An Gyeon in the development of this theme in Korea.

Fig. 9. Wild Geese Descending to a Sandbar (Fig. 9-1) and Fishing Village in Evening Glow (Fig. 9-2) by unknown artists. Ink on silk. 65.2 x 42.4 cm (each). Private Collection, Japan (Yamato Bunkakan, ed. 1996, Fig. 4)

The Relationship between the Yūgensai Paintings and Other Artworks

The Yūgensai-collection Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers is closely related to paintings of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang from the early and mid-Joseon periods. For example, Clear Shade of Trees in Mountains and Streams (溪山淸樾圖) attributed to Seokgyeong (石敬, active early 16th century) (Fig. 10) is strikingly similar to the scene of “Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist.” However, the repeated use of abbreviated forms in Seokgyeong’s painting suggests that this work was created later than the Yūgensai paintings. Indeed, Seokgyeong’s work represents the style of landscape painting that prevailed in the early sixteenth century, which is also represented by the Landscape attributed to Yang Paengson (梁彭孫, 1480–1545) (Fig. 11) and Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers in the collection of Daigan-ji (大願寺) Temple in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

Fig. 10. Clear Shades of Trees in Mountains and Streams attributed to Seokgyeong. Joseon dynasty. Ink and slight color on silk. 25.2 x 22.0 cm (Kansong Art Museum)

Fig. 11. Landscape attributed to Yang Paengson. Joseon dynasty, early 16th century. Ink and slight color on silk. 88.2 x 46.5 cm (National Museum of Korea)

While Seokgyeong’s Shade of Trees in Mountains and Streams is dated to the early sixteenth century, the Yūgensai “Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist” probably was painted in the late fifteenth century. Compared to the Daigan-ji Temple Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang River, the Yūgensai painting is executed in a more archaic manner, as evinced by its effective suggestion of spatial recession and description of the spatial relationship of hills and mountains through dexterous brushwork and the use of various tones of ink. Further, it portrays light and atmospheric effects through the deft manipulation of washes of light ink.

Given these stylistic features, the Yūgensai Eight Views must have been painted later than An Gyeon’s Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land but a little earlier than the Daigan-ji Temple Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers. The trees growing atop hills and the pavilions below the foreground hills in the Yūgensai “Evening Bell from a Mist-shrouded Temple” reflect motifs apparent in Fishing Village in Evening Glow and Sails Returning to the Maritime Customs (海關歸帆圖), both by Yi Deok’ik (active 17th century), which reflects the influence of the Yūgensai paintings on these later works.

The expression of the Yūgensai “Fishing Village in Evening Glow” appears to have played a key role in the development of this theme during the later portion of the Joseon dynasty. Fishing Village in Evening Glow in a Japanese private collection (Fig. 9-1) shows an almost identical expression, while a version of the same scene in the collection of Korea’s Jinju National Museum and the scene of “Returning Sails off a Distant Shore” in the Daigan-ji Temple set resemble the Yūgensai painting in terms of motifs and mode of representation. Each of these works features an asymmetrical composition consisting of three planes, but the right-hand portion of the foreground presents a composition similar to that of the Yūgensai “Fishing Village in Evening Glow.”

Although there are slight differences among them, Landscape attributed to Yang Paengson (Figs. 11 and 12), Landscape ascribed to Shōkei (祥啓, active c. 1478–1523) (Fig. 13), and Landscape by Yi Heunghyo (李興孝, 1537–1593) are closely associated with the Yūgensai “Returning Sails off a Distant Shore.” “Autumn Moon over Lake Dongting,” one scene from the Yūgensai set, is closely akin to an Autumn Moon over Lake Dongting in a Japanese private collection. Wild Geese Descending to a Sandbar (Fig. 9-2) included in the same set as the previously mentioned Fishing Village in Evening Glow (Fig. 9-1) in a Japanese private collection resembles this scene from the Yūgensai set.

Fig. 12. Landscape attributed to Yang Paengson. Joseon dynasty, early 16th century. Ink and slight color on silk. 80.5 x 42.5 cm. Former collection of Yūgensai, Japan (Yūgensai 1996, Fig. 11)

Fig. 13. Landscape attributed to Shōkei. Muromachi period, early 16th century. Ink on paper. 79.5 x 40.3 cm. Private collection, Japan (Yamato Bunkakan, ed. 1996, Fig. 9)

Two paintings of “River and Sky in Evening Snow” (Fig. 3-8), one from the Yūgensai set and the other in the series Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers bearing Kim Hyeongseong’s inscription, display a similar composition. Furthermore, Snow Day (雪天圖) attributed to An Gyeon and River and Sky in Evening Snow in the collection of the National Museum of Korea (Fig. 20) resemble the Yūgensai “River and Sky in Evening Snow.” Although there are differences in the composition of the right-hand portion and in the manner of representation, the overall composition and representation of landscape motifs are quite analogous. Among landscape paintings from the mid-Joseon period, Landscape by Yi Heunghyo and River and Sky in Evening Snow by Yi Jing (李澄, 1581–after 1653) likely were influenced by the Yūgensai “River and Sky in Evening Snow” in terms of their composition and depiction of various motifs.

Fig. 14. “Fishing Village in Evening Glow” from the former Yūgensai collection (detail)

Fig. 15. Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land by An Gyeon (detail). Joseon dynasty, 1447. Central Library of Tenri University, Japan (Samsung Art and Culture Foundation 1996, Fig. 2)

Fig. 16. “Fishing Village in Evening Glow” from the former Yūgensai collection (detail)

Fig. 17. Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land by An Gyeon (detail). Joseon dynasty, 1447 (Samsung Art and Culture Foundation 1996, Fig. 2)

Fig. 18. Village among Lofty Mountains by Li Zai (detail). Ming dynasty. Ink on silk (National Palace Museum, Taipei)

Fig. 19. Painting and Farewell Poems to Hao Xuanming by Hu Shunchen. Northern Song dynasty. Ink and slight color on silk. 30.0 x 111.0 cm (Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts)

Fig. 20. River and Sky in Evening Snow by unknown artist. Joseon dynasty. Ink on silk. 35.2 x 30.7 cm (National Museum of Korea)

The comparisons of a selection of landscape paintings with the Yūgensai paintings indicate that the Yūgensai-collection Eight Views is closely connected to Korean landscape paintings in general, and in particular, to early and mid-Joseon paintings on the theme of the Eight Views of the Xiao Xiang Rivers. The stylistic similarities among these works do not automatically mean that they were directly influenced by the Yūgensai paintings. However, the importance of the Yūgensai paintings in the development of pictorial elements and iconography of paintings on the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers in the early and mid-Joseon period cannot be overemphasized. It is natural that Korean painters tended to use formulaic and patterned expressions to render the theme of the Eight Views, which depicts actual scenery in China. For this reason, the transmission of the theme and the chronological succession of influences among Korean versions of the Eight Views theme are overt and recognizable.

The Yūgensai Eight Views is considered a canonical work on this theme from the early Joseon period in that it is a relatively early work and shares a number of features with other works on the theme. The archetypal features of the Yūgensai paintings are related to the paintings’ close connection to Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll and An Gyeon’s Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land. In this context, the Yūgensai paintings most likely were inspired by the Eight Views paintings attributed to An Gyeon and incorporated in Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll. In consideration of all these aspects, the Yūgensai Eight Views paintings, together with Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll, serve as cornerstone works for understanding paintings on the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers theme in the early Joseon period and thus merit further scholarly attention.

Conclusion

Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll and An Gyeon’s Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land stand as definitive examples revealing the lofty accomplishments in the joint presentation of poetry and painting as achieved in the early Joseon period. Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll is closely associated with Yūgensai-collection Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang. The sequence of the eight scenes and the titles in the Yūgensai paintings are identical to those of Ningzong’s poems that were compiled in Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll.

In short, the Yūgensai Eight Views presumably followed the Eight Views paintings by An Gyeon that were included in Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll. This assumption is supported by certain motifs and expressions in the Yūgensai paintings that recall ones in An Gyeon’s Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land.

In addition, the style and pictorial elements and styles of the Yūgensai Eight Views appear to have served as sources for Korean paintings of the Eight Views and other landscapes in succeeding periods. Fishing Village in Evening Glow and Wild Geese Descending to a Sandbar in a Japanese private collection, Clear Shades of Trees in Mountains and Streams attributed to Seokgyeong, Landscape attributed to Yang Paengson, and Landscape ascribed to Shōkei all faithfully follow the styles of the Yūgensai examples. In addition, many other works were strongly influenced by the Yūgensai Eight Views.

The Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll and the Yūgensai Eight Views are the two most important early Joseon works on this theme. They are closely related to each other and both served as models for later paintings of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers.

Further research is recommended for investigating the relationship between Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll and the Yūgensai Eight Views in order to discover information about the An Gyeon-attributed paintings of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang. Such study would also encourage scholarly discussion both of the influence on later periods of the paintings attributed to An Gyeon that originally appeared in Bihaedang’s Poetry Scroll and of the historical development of paintings on this theme in the early Joseon period.