Early Spring (painting)

	Early Spring
Traditional Chinese	早春圖
Simplified Chinese	早春图
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	zǎo chūn tú

Last updated March 26, 2019

Early Spring is a hanging scroll painting by Guo Xi. Completed in 1072, it is one of the most famous works of Chinese art from the Song dynasty. The work demonstrates his innovative techniques for producing multiple perspectives which he called "the angle of totality."

A hanging scroll is one of the many traditional ways to display and exhibit Chinese paintings and calligraphy inscriptions and designs. The hanging scroll was displayed in a room for appreciation; it is to be distinguished from the handscroll, which was narrower and designed to be viewed flat on a table in sections and then stored away again.

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface. The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, can be used. The final work is also called a painting.

Guo Xi was a Chinese landscape painter from Henan Province who lived during the Northern Song dynasty. One text entitled "The Lofty Message of Forest and Streams" is attributed to him. The work covers a variety of themes centered on the appropriate way of painting a landscape. He was a court professional, a literatus, well-educated painter who developed an incredibly detailed system of idiomatic brushstrokes which became important for later painters. One of his most famous works is Early Spring, dated 1072. The work demonstrates his innovative techniques for producing multiple perspectives which he called "the angle of totality." This type of visual representation is also called "Floating Perspective", a technique which displaces the static eye of the viewer and highlights the differences between Chinese and Western modes of spatial representation.

The poem in the upper right corner was added in 1759 by the Qianlong Emperor. It reads:

The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. Born Hongli, the fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796. On 8 February, he abdicated in favour of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor—a filial act in order not to reign longer than his grandfather, the illustrious Kangxi Emperor. Despite his retirement, however, he retained ultimate power as the Emperor Emeritus until his death in 1799; he thus was one of the longest-reigning de facto rulers in the history of the world, and dying at the age of 87, one of the longest-lived. As a capable and cultured ruler inheriting a thriving empire, during his long reign the Qing Empire reached its most splendid and prosperous era, boasting a large population and economy. As a military leader, he led military campaigns expanding the dynastic territory to the largest extent by conquering and sometimes destroying Central Asian kingdoms. This turned around in his late years: the Qing empire began to decline with corruption and wastefulness in his court and a stagnating civil society.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
樹纔發葉溪開凍	shù cái fā yè xī kāidòng	The trees are just beginning to sprout leaves; the frozen brook begins to melt.
樓閣仙居最上層	lóugé xiānjū zuì shàngcéng	A building is placed on the highest ground, where the immortals reside.
不藉柳桃閒點綴	bù jiè liǔ táo jiàn diǎnzhuì	There is nothing between the willow and peach trees to clutter up the scene.
春山早見氣如蒸	chūnshān zǎo jiàn qì rú zhēng	Steam-like mist can be seen early in the morning on the springtime mountain.

己卯春月	jǐ mǎo chūnyuè	(Year of) Yin Earth Rabbit (1759)
御題	yùtí	Composed by the royal hand (of the Qianlong Emperor)

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Guo Xi's Early Spring

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Early Spring (painting)

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