Seeking Seclusion on Paper: The Beauty of the 24 Solar Terms in Chinese Painting

This collection of essays tries to present the beauty of the 24 solar terms in Chinese

painting， taking time as the main axis， picking up the classic moments solidified in the depths of history， broadening people’s horizons and enlightening their minds and aesthetics.

Seeking Seclusion on Paper：

The Beauty of the 24 Solar

Terms in Chinese Painting

Hu Yan

China Financial and Economic

Publishing House （CFEPH）

July 2022

98.00 （CNY）

Hu Yan

Hu Yan， now living in Beijing， formerly known as Hu Junjie， a native of Yantai， Shandong province， is a senior media person and a young writer. Her works have won Bing Xin Prose Award and San Mao Prose Award.

Autumn Equinox is a time to enjoy the full moon. I came to a field in the open air and stayed on the vast grassland. The lonely moon was reflected in the pond. The hills extended in the distance， and my thoughts also rose into the air. I enjoyed the beauty of the human world.

Autumn Equinox is also a time to think about the way of life. Among Chinese paintings about autumn sceneries， the most representative one is The Autumn Landscape of Quehua.

Zhao Mengfu made this painting for someone who missed home. This man was Zhou Mi， a talented scholar.

Zhou Mi， a native of Jinan， was a well-known Ci poet in the Southern Song Dynasty. After his great-grandfather moved to the south with the Gaozong Emperor， his family lived together in Wuxing. It was a great pity that Zhou Mi had never returned to his hometown. In the ferial gatherings of literati， Zhou Mi used to hear Zhao Mengfu describe the beautiful scenery of Jinan， and his eyes were filled with yearning. At the thought that his hometown had been at war and there was no hope of recovery， he could never forget his identity as a descendant of Qilu. In his Ci poem， Zhou Mi wrote： “Faraway， I looked back at hometown in my dream; my spirit flew over the sea， and my tears dropped on the land. At the scene， my homesickness was aroused. The geese returned along with the tide， while I laughed at myself for being tired of the journey. It seemed that we were far apart.” The lines were echoed by his friends deeply in their hearts.

On a winter day in 1295， Zhao Mengfu felt very clear， and the scenery of Jinan came into his mind. He thought， “Why not paint them and give the picture to my friend Zhou Mi？” That was how The Autumn Landscape of Quehua was painted.

Zhao Mengfu belonged to autumn. At that time， Zhao Mengfu’s term of office as the General Official of Jinan Road expired. He was summoned to go to the capital. Then， he resigned from the office due to sickness and returned to his hometown Wuxing. In those days， he had tasted the hardship of his official career. He was always criticized when he worked for the Yuan Dynasty as an adherent of the Southern Song Dynasty. As a painter， he was so sensitive and resistant to all this. His yearning for nature was like a fish’s desire to return to the ocean. However， he was not brave enough to give up everything in reality and become a reclusive artist. In middle age， Zhao Mengfu was no longer as confident and ambitious as when he was young. He bid farewell to the lush and vigorous summer and embraced the quiet and lazy autumn. It was just like the realm of The Autumn Landscape of Quehua.

Zhao Mengfu painted two mountains. He arranged the layout horizontally. On the right， the steep one with a pinnacle is Huabuzhu Mountain; on the left， the smooth one with a round top is Que Mountain. The two mountains are located at the farthest position in the picture. They look like two fables of green mountains and waters. They come straight to the point， telling two stories.

The medium and close shots in the picture are vast and immense. Some dots of land， with mangroves and reeds， and several houses partly visible. There are a variety of trees with different shapes and colors. The willows are thriving but begin to look simple. They arouse your memory of The Travels of Lao Can by Liu E， a Qing Dynasty writer who describes the peaceful scenery of Jinan as “every family has springs and willows.” Autumn has spread its canvas. Among the trees， the red maple leaves look especially bright. They are the symbol of autumn. All trees， red and green， old and young， are found there. However， they are well-arranged and look very natural. The fishermen are working among the mountains and waters， quanting poles and pulling nets. Someone is walking in the fields with a stick. In the distance， the cattle are roaming. Everything looks so natural and peaceful.

Autumn in the north is so comfortable. In Jinan， the atmosphere in autumn is indeed stronger than that in Jiangnan. Zhu Ziqing wrote in The Autumn of the Old Capital： “Of course， Jiangnan has autumn， too. However， the grasses and trees fade slowly， the air is mild， the sky looks light， and there is often much rain and little wind... The taste， color， mood and style of autumn can never be fully enjoyed.” He was talking about Beijing.

Jinan also has its unique taste of autumn. I used to travel to Jinan in autumn， when all the trees turned red on Qianfo Mountain. There was an unknown wild mountain in the suburb， where plants were in various colors around the desolate temple. The persimmon trees were full of orange lanterns. The hawthorn trees were covered with red fruits. The autumn wind blew through the Japanese creepers — green， light yellow， goose yellow， orange red， and bright red — dancing with enthusiasm.

When Autumn Equinox comes， Jiangnan is still in dark green. The most impressive is the continuous fragrance of sweet-scented osmanthus， which hit the passengers from time to time.

In Zhao Mengfu’s paintings， the autumn scenery of Jinan is very different from that of his hometown Huzhou. Perhaps he did this deliberately. Recalling his work in Jinan， Zhao Mengfu’s office was located at Dongcang， Jinan， which faced Que Mountain and Huabuzhu Mountain. In his poem Spouting Spring， he wrote： “Clouds and mists steam on Huabuzhu Mountain. Waves roar around Daming Lake.”

Back to the present， when you look at The Autumn Landscape of Quehua for a while， you will find something peculiar — the imbalanced ratio. The two mountains seem to be far off in the distance. However， after comparing them with the houses， you will find them more like two small mounds in the medium shot. They are neither as lofty as Fan Kuan’s mountains nor as steep as Ma Yuan’s mountains. They are plain， like two quiet gentlemen standing there. There is no difference between a medium shot and a close shot if you compare the houses with the trees. Zhao Mengfu made everything — houses， trees， working fishermen — all in the foreground.

Zhao Mengfu was not depicting the real scenery， but restoring the past with his superb painting skills. His theory of creation was： “The key to painting is an ancient charm. If there is no ancient charm， it is useless to work hard. People today regard themselves as good painters when they can make thin lines and use strong colors. However， they don’t know these paintings lack ancient charm and are full of defects. How can they look good？ My paintings look simple， but people who understand them to know the ancient charm， and they like them. Only those who know this can understand my painting， while those who don’t cannot.”

Therefore， The Autumn Landscape of Quehua was painted with ancient charm and simple strokes. Undoubtedly， the landscape paintings in strict proportion are exquisite. However， Zhao Mengfu’s simple and immature style is of greater aesthetic significance. The literati painting， carried forward by Zhao Mengfu， is not limited to real sceneries but focused on the expression of inner feelings. It has expanded a large space for later literati paintings.

In addition， Zhou Mi was a famous collector and connoisseur of cultural relics. He said， “There are many famous paintings and books about painting techniques in my house， which have been collected and recorded by myself.” In his life， he commented on inkstones， imitated painting books， compiled painting history， repaired tea sets， read， collected， proofread and wrote books. Zhou Mi was also a great note-taker in the Southern Song Dynasty. He left a wealth of notes of great historical value. I used to skim through his masterpiece The Old Stories of Lin’an. The book recalled the features of Lin’an， the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty， and described the economy and culture of cities and the life details of citizens in the Southern Song Dynasty with the documentary principle.

In a sense， Zhao Mengfu and Zhou Mi appreciated each other. Through The Autumn Landscape of Quehua， Zhao Mengfu expressed his respect to the scholars who lived in seclusion away from the court.

How profound Chinese paintings are！ How clear and deep autumn is！