Confucius as teacher and social reformer in classical Chinese thought

Han dynasty, Confucianism has been a central and defining feature of Chinese art and culture. It therefore makes sense that Confucian values and ideals would be reflected in Chinese art throughout the past several millennia. Even when Confucian principles are blended or confounded with the principles of Daoism and Buddhism, the Confucian themes of law, order, structure, and hierarchy become salient. Moral rectitude in the Confucian model means ascription to a patriarchal social order, and obedience to authority. Perhaps the most obvious way Confucian moral precepts are depicted in art is through the careful ordering of the world evident in Chinese scroll paintings. "Admonitions of the Instructions to the Court Ladies" is a horizontal scroll painting that accompanies a literary tale with themes related to "wifely virtue," a prime Confucian moral precept (Kleiner, 2016b, p. 473). Yet is more than just wifely virtue that this scroll painting shows; it is also the importance of courage and selflessness to a strong character. This painting is from the late 4th century CE. Scroll painting has remained one of the most prominent art forms in China, and in the late 12th century, Ma Yuan painted "Scholar Viewing a Waterfall." This painting not only shows how important scholarship and learning is to Confucian morality, but also how important learning is to maintaining the order and structure of the universe. A major feature of Confucian doctrine is social order and hierarchy, but that hierarchy is important insofar as it reflects the cosmic order of the universe. In "Luohan in a Garden Setting," from the Ming dynasty, the artist clearly renders human and cosmic life as an ordered hierarchy. Finally, twelve centuries after Gu's "Admonitions," Tang Yin produced "The Thatched Hut of Dreaming of an Immortal," which reveals scholarly learning within the ordered framework of Confucianism.

Confucian moral precepts for behavior are evident in the faded silk scroll painting attributed to Gu Kaizhi, "Admonitions of the Instructions to the Court Ladies." In this painting, the central figure Lady Feng puts herself between her husband and a wild animal about to attack him. Her courage is displayed as a "perfect model of Confucian behavior" because of her selflessness. Lady Feng is also flanked by two guardians wearing red, whose spears are about to kill the bear. Their military "valor" and their court patronage would have been integral themes in Confucian art (Kleiner, 2016a, p. 1057). The King appears to the right side of the painting, and he is also attended by several figures to his right. The Confucian worldview suggests that the king or patriarch is at the top of the social order. Lady Feng respects this social hierarchy by being willing to die in order to protect the king. Her action also indicates selflessness, the willingness to sacrifice one's own interests to serve the greater good. The same is true for the guards wearing red. Both the king and Lady Feng are elite members of the society and as such, their attendants would be below them in the social order. The artist in fact renders the king and Lady Feng as taking up more space versus the attendants to signify their greater social and political status. Finally, animals are at the bottom of the order. Even though the scroll painting is not ordered vertically, as subsequent scroll paintings were, Gu Kaizhi's work exemplifies Confucian values and moral precepts.

Another aspect of Confucian moral rectitude is scholarship and learning. The Southern Song dynasty era painting, "Scholar Viewing a Waterfall" contains a direct reference to the importance of scholarship and learning to the Confucian society. Painted in the late 12th to early 13th century, "Scholar Viewing a Waterfall" shows that Confucianism had already been heavily influenced by Daoism, as the scholar contemplates nature to supplement his literate learning. The artist renders the scholar as being relatively small in comparison to the tree and the waterfall, again revealing the orderly hierarchy of the universe. No matter how much wisdom a person may attain, he or she remains relatively insignificant compared to the greater elements in the universe. Just as the bear is lesser than the person, so too is the person lesser than the grandeur of nature. In fact, the artist depicts a smaller human figure beside the scholar, showing that scholars are in fact higher on the social status scale than other people in the Confucian society. In the same way the king and Lady Feng are rendered larger than their subordinates, so too is the scholar's attendant rendered smaller than the scholar. This painting includes a large degree of empty or negative space to balance the image, which hints of the Confucian and Daoist preoccupation with harmony, too.

In "Luohan in a Garden Setting," from the Ming dynasty, the artist takes full advantage of positive and negative space, filling the silk's vertical and horizontal spaces. Similar to Tibetan thangkas, the characters in the painting appear in a hierarchical ordering but there is no central figure. Instead, the eye is drawn to different elements of the painting. At the top of the vertical hierarchy are heavenly creatures. They appear with clouds and the depiction of the wind. They are rendered smaller than the human beings, but as they are above them, their relative size belies their status in the cosmic hierarchy. The heavenly beings appear to float above the mundane world of human beings; they are detached from that world and superior to it. They also occupy a realm that the artist renders with curvilinear elements as opposed to the angular elements of the world below. The rectangular shape below the three scholars to the right and immediately below the heavenly beings symbolizes order and structure. The world that is depicted below them is likewise harmonious, and includes books and dutiful studying, which takes place outside in the gardens. Because the men in the painting appear happy, with smiles clearly rendered on their faces, the artist intends to show that ascription to Confucian moral precepts and social etiquette can bring far more joy than materialistic pursuits. The men in the painting may be "junzi," or ideal people who have attained a high moral status because of their just and righteous behavior. Moreover, "Luohan in a Garden Setting" shows how " life, nature, destiny, indeed the entirety of existence, were essentially a "pattern" that could be discerned if closely examined ("Neo-Confucianism in Tang (618 -- 906) and Song (960 -- 1279) Dynasties" n.d.). The men in the painting appear to be contemplating the patterns evident in the nature around them.

Lacking the sweeping mountain vistas of other Chinese scroll paintings, "Luohan in a Garden Setting" shows how the Chinese garden evolved to be the ultimate symbol of Confucianism. The garden is the conscientious reworking of wild nature into a tame, orderly human zone. Within the zone of the garden, human beings can undertake educational activities. Common elements in the Chinese garden are evident here, including steps, which symbolize hierarchy too. Yet wilderness remains a major theme in Chinese scroll painting. For example, Tang Yin's "The Thatched Hut of Dreaming of an Immortal" shows also how Buddhism infused the teachings of Confucianism and Daoism. The human being is continually striving for enlightenment as well as social harmony and moral righteousness. In this painting, the vast majority of space on the scroll is taken up by natural elements including the mountainside, the tree that subsumes the thatched hut, the large rocks flanking the hut, and the empty space or air above. As with "Scholar Viewing a Waterfall," negative and positive space harmonize with one another, reflecting the importance of harmony to the Confucian worldview. Also like its predecessor scroll painting, and unlike "Luohan in a Garden Setting," the individual is a lone scholar in "The Thatched Hut of Dreaming of an Immortal." He has also fallen asleep, which is not necessarily a sign of his laziness but of his hard work and understanding of the natural rhythms and cycles of nature.

"Admonitions of the Instructions to the Court Ladies" conveys Confucian precepts of moral virtue with regards to the need to be selfless and courageous. This painting also demonstrates how important patriarchal lineage was in a Confucian society. Depictions of women became relatively rare in Chinese painting partly because women were lower on the social hierarchy versus their male counterparts. However, human beings are consistently depicted as being toward the bottom of the cosmic order and yet integral to that order. Scroll paintings show how human beings are small when compared with the grandeur of nature and the universe. Paintings like "Luohan in a Garden Setting" also indicate the potential of human harmony to mirror the harmony of nature and the cosmos. This painting is unique in that it also depicts heavenly beings, potentially influenced by Buddhism.

Chinese paintings reveal the structure of the universe and the human position within that universe. Confucian philosophy remained eminently concerned with structure, order, and hierarchy. Moral rectitude depended on ascription to the natural order of the universe. The literary record overtly records Confucian values, as in poetry and storytelling as well as the bureaucratic records kept throughout the centuries. However, Chinese art also shows how important Confucian moral virtues were to artistic expression too. Artists in many different time periods incorporated Confucian moral precepts and in particular the concept of hierarchy and order into their paintings. Moreover, artists showed how important Buddhism and Daoism became to Chinese culture, with the fusion between Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. This fusion can be seen in the way artists depict nature and harmony, the use of positive and negative (yin and yang) spaces, and in the pursuit of enlightenment via contemplation.

References

Kleiner, F. S. (2016a). Gardner's art through the ages: Non-western art since 1300 (15th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Kleiner, F. S. (2016b). Gardner's art through the ages: Non-western art to 1300 (15th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Ma Yuan. "Scholar Viewing a Waterfall." Image: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1973.120.9/

"Neo-Confucianism in Tang (618 -- 906) and Song (960 -- 1279) Dynasties" (n.d.). Retrieved online: http://education.asianart.org/explore-resources/background-information/neo-confucianism-tang-618%E2%80%93906-and-song-960%E2%80%931279-dynasties

Tang Yin (early 16th century CE). The Thatched Hut of Dreaming of an Immortal. Image: http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/chinese_highlights.asp#4