Culture Maven: Ming Show at Asian Art Museum

September 22, 2008

“Power and Glory”—Asian Art Museum’s Spectacular Ming Show
by Geneva Anderson

If you couldn’t pack this into your summer activities, there’s still time to see The Asian Art Museum’s fabulous Ming show which runs through Sunday, the September 21st before it moves on to Indianapolis www.asianart.org. Timed to coincide with the summer Olympics in Beijing, this spectacular exhibition explores the grandeur and opulence of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), one of the most important dynasties in Chinese history. Visitors have turned out on droves— 85,000 to date—to see these treasures produced for the imperial inner circle. Many of the 240 plus objects-porcelain, paintings, textiles, lacquer, jade, jewelry, architectural elements, and more–are on view for the first time in the U.S. The exhibition represents the Asian Art Museum’s first collaboration with three of China’s most prestigious institutions–The Palace Museum (Forbidden City) in Beijing, the Nanjing Municipal Museum, and the Shanghai Museum and includes some items owned by or loaned to the Asian Art Museum. It is the costliest show the museum has ever mounted.

Ming means “bright” in Chinese and as China’s last native-ruled dynasty, the Ming Dynasty is revered as a pinnacle of cultural achievement. The Ming Dynasty was established in 1368 when Zhu Yuanzhang, an orphan and peasant rose to military power by overthrowing the Mongol rulers of the Yuan Dynasty. In the next 20 years, he conquered most of China. Primary among the emperor’s concerns was to establish legitimacy through a legacy of grand-scale projects with auspicious symbolism that affirmed his power. The imperial capital was relocated from Nanjing to Beijing, the glorious Forbidden City was built, the Great Wall constructed and mass populations were relocated to meet these needs. During this period, the epic sea voyages of Zhing extended China’s influence over much of the known world. Much of the Ming imperial line was marked by stability, economic strength and a dramatic flourishing of the arts. The line began to decay when later generations neglected their duties, officials abused power and civil uprisings erupted. The last emperor hanged himself in the midst of famine-driven peasant rebellion.

Elaborate Costumes: After seizing power in 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming dynasty’s founder, implemented precise rules that revived the traditional appearance of major imperial figures and reinforced codes of etiquette reflecting hierarchical social order. Only an empress, for example, was allowed to wear up to 12 gold accessories and her minions, four. The show includes stunning examples of gold eardrops, including those in the shape of ornate two-inch tall herbal Tao goddesses, that attest to the originality of Ming expression. There was a belt system issued in 1393, stating that 13 of 20 sections of the Emperor’s belt would be worn at the front and seven at the rear. Lesser dignitaries had fewer plaques.

Detail, belt ornament of fourteen dragon plaques, buried 1371, Nanjing Municipal Museum.

Jade Belt: A breath-taking and priceless set of 14 jade dragon plaques buried in 1371 and excavated 6 centuries later in 1972 from the tomb of military general Wang Xingzu is a highlight. This is the finest known example of a jade Imperial belt in existence, representing some of the finest carving on the world’s finest white jade from Hetian, Xinjiang, in northeast China. It was made before the 1393 costume system rules were enacted. Only fourteen sections were made–less than the Ming belt standard of twenty. Six main plaques are decorated with running five-clawed dragons amidst clouds and eight smaller plaques with whirling clouds accentuate the larger plaques. The is the only set of jade-on-gold belt ornaments with five-clawed dragons—reserved for the emperor– from early Ming excavations. The graceful foliage form is atypical as is the high-relief dome carving which stands in contrast to the flat surface or thin body of the majority of Ming belts. How an imperial belt made its way to a high-ranking officer is a matter of speculation—it was very possibly rewarded him by the Hongwu emperor.

Yellow silk fabric, material for court robe, reign of Wanli emperor (1573-1619), Palace Museum Beijing.

Imperial Robe: Not to be missed is a pristine piece of 400 year-old golden yellow silk, a nearly-finished Imperial robe embroidered in four-leaf or “persimmon calyx” design that covers the breast and shoulder area with ornately stitched five-clawed golden dragons with their heads facing out from the garment’s front and back. This treasure was packed away for four centuries during the reign of the Wanli emperor (1573-1619) and was discovered in its original box in storage at the Palace Museum in Beijing by associate curator Li He. This yellow hue was reserved for the emperor and empress as was the five-clawed dragon. Standing in front of the display case, we wonder…how was it intended to be worn? The basic fit was large and roomy and fell off the body, hanging very much like a curtain. The embroidery is a combination of stain stitch, looping, knotting, special stitching for the scales and net stitching. The dragons have white horns, spiky beards and eyebrows, rainbow-colored hair and dazzling gold scales. Below the dragons are vertical rocks and waves, and some of the Hundred Treasures such as jewels, coral branches, coins and wish-granting wands.

During the Wanli emperor’s reign, there was a special bureaucracy set up to handle the textile needs of the imperial family, another to handle those of court officials, another for textiles for rituals and worship and there were silk production centers in prefectures all over China. Records reveal that the court used over 43,600 bolts of satin for imperials robes, costumes and other uses. One bolt of silk (30 to 50 Chinese feet in length) was required to make a single garment. The exhibition includes a stunning number of rare textiles which exemplify new innovations of the Ming era in terms of precious symbols, weaving techniques and spectacular embroidery stitches.

Thangka of the Buddhist deity Raktayamari, the Red Conqueror of Death, Reign of the Yongle emperor (1403-1424), Private Collection.

Thangka: A stunning, pristine 600 year-old silk Thangka of the Buddhist deity Rakatayamari, the Red Conqueror of Death steals the day. On loan from a Bay Area patron, this huge– 7 x10 ft—piece is literally bursting with color and energy. The scene depicts the god Rakatayamari and his consort in passionate embrace at they trample on a god of egoism. The body ad limbs show a masterful graduation of color very similar to the shading technique used in Thangka painting. There is no guesswork as to it provenance. A red legend embroidered in gold appears at the work’s bottom “donated in the reign of the Yongle emperor” and below that are seven dancing goddesses, carrying various offerings. During the Yongle emperor’s reign, superb textiles were made in imperial workshops as gifts to the high lamas of Tibet. Tibet’s dry climate preserved these gifts in pristine condition. This one is spectacular because of its huge size, age and complexity of design.

An adoption story in a portrait: A scroll portrait of Prince Zhu Youyuan in ceremonial uniform (1521-1524) from the Palace Museum, Beijing reveals the delicacy of Imperial succession. In 1521, Zhu Houcong was brought in to succeed to the throne because his cousin, the Zhengde emperor, had died with no son or brother. According to Ming hereditary order, Zhu Houcong had to be named as the adopted son of the Zhengde emperor’s father, the Hongzhi emperor, in order to be the direct line of succession. Zhu did not want to acknowledge the Hongzhi emperor as his father. He preferred to be true to his true filial ties by giving that title to his true birthfather, Prince Zho Youyuan, who was already dead. The portrait on display is thus of the birthfather and not the Imperial adoptive father, a strict break with tradition. This defiance caused conflict that came to be know as the “great rites controversy” that resulted in violent bureaucratic purges. After he was instated as emperor, Zhu Houcong, issued a special dispensation to posthumously elevate his birthfather to the status of emperor, with a lower title going to the true Hongzhi emperor. The portrait is dignified and replete with the validating symbolism befitting an Emperor.

Rare Sporting Scrolls
The exhibition also contains a number of rare scrolls, many exceeding 15 feet in length, portions of which are shown in lowly lit glass curios. The press preview revealed that the decision about which scenes should be exhibited resulted in a fierce debate between the curators.

A rare early fifteenth century painting from the Palace Museum, Beijing, by an anonymous Ming artists captures the Xuande emperor’s (reigned 1426-1435) fascination with archery, soccer, polo, golf and pitch pot (javelin toss). While the Xuande emperor himself was a calligrapher and painter, he was also a frequent subject of highly stylized paintings in abstracted settings of courtly life. In this 22 foot long silk hand-scroll, the emperor, who was a soccer fanatic, is depicted as an avid sportsman engaged in competition with his various court officials. The earliest soccer balls were made of leather stuffed with animal fur. By the eighth century, air-inflated lighter weight balls emerged and by the eleventh century soccer teams were organized and soccer became a habit for most emperors. Golf clubs were initially spoon-like sticks and the object was to hit the ball into a hole in the ground. It was later that the game was played on multiple-hole grounds.

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Daily guided docent tours of the show are at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Families are welcome to visit the Forbidden Discovery Room for a hands-on experience. Guests of all ages can play with puppets, try their hand at brush painting and calligraphy and explore a number of written materials about the Ming Dynasty.