The Xiao and Xiang Rivers
3 min readPainter:Dong Yuan
Painting Year:the Five Dynasties
Material:silk scroll
Dimension:vertical length of 50.2 centimeters and horizontal length of 140 centimeters
Collection Place:the Palace Museun in Beijing
The Xiao and Xiang Rivers rolls out picturesque south region of the Yangtze River.This is representative artwork of Dong Yuan，a famous painter during the Five Dynasties.Dong Qichang，a famous calligrapher and painter in the Ming Dynasty，believed that this painting showed the poetic connotation of”emperors enjoy this land of happiness on the Xiao and Xiang Rivers.””Xiao and Xiang”refers to Xiao River，Xiang River and Dongting Lake in Hunan.
This ink painting of landscape gives the calm，plain and quiet feeling for people，which refects typicalfeatures of painting of landscape in southern style.In this artwork，mountains are continuous，trees are verdant，rivers are extensive and islands are interlinked.The rainy，wet and misty south region of the Yangtze River is fully characterized.Verdant mountain and fat bank are mainly portrayed by”Fiber-coveringCun”and”SpottingCun”，which is unique creation by Dong Yuan.Ink color is dominative color，supplemented with smalt color and moisture.This painting looks wet and dimly discernible.Figures are outlined with lines and colored，which are refned and exquisite.
GeneralKnowledge
Five Landscape Painters in the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty Five Landscape Painters in the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty refer to Jing Hao，Guan Tong，Dong Yuan and Ju Ran.Jing Hao and his disciple Guan Tong were representative masters for painting of landscape in northern style，while Dong Yuan and Ju Ran were representative masters for painting of landscape in southern style.Their paintings of landscape are milestone in the history of painting of landscape，with great infuence on following generations.
Art Master
Dong Yuan
Dong Yuan was a painter in the Southern Tang Dynasty during the Five Dynasties，who was a native of Zhongling（in today’s northwest Jingxian，Jiangxi）.He could portray landscape，fgure，ox，tiger and so on.
He was good at painting of landscape.He originated”painting of landscape in southern style.
Five musicians perform along the bank, and they seem to welcome the guest dressed in red on the boat. The figures are outlined with thin lines and painted with thick colors. These small-sized fgures are refned.
Ink painting of landscape is a branch of Chinese painting of landscape, which depends on thickness, lightness, dryness, wetness and rich layer changes of ink to portray mountainous stones, trees, clouds, rivers, houses, boats, carriages and other natural scenes, without any coloration.
Flat bank is drawn with Fiber-covering Cun”,i.e., brushwork like messy fber strings. Trunk on the bank is outlined with ink. Leaves are spotted in dense forest. Some people catch fsh with nets on the bank and in the river, who are painted refnedly.
Remote mountain is drawn with”Spotting cun”so as to show the shrubs on the mountain. Abstract spots at the close look and brilliant scenes at the far look are combined. Ink color is smooth, fat, moist and profound.
