Jiehua

The groove ruler, a lengthy, squared-off stick featuring a semicircular slot, securely holds the brush tip, allowing it to engage with the painting surface.

For example, during the Northern Song era, writer Guo Ruoxu 郭若虚 criticized his contemporaries for depending on rulers when discussing architectural subjects in his work Tuhua Jianwen Zhu (Paintings Seen and Heard 图画见闻志).

In essence, while the jiehua genre emphasizes mechanical aids and subject categories, it primarily recognizes itself as a painting style guided by specific principles or laws.

[8][9] However, the interaction between jiehua and craftsmanship frequently led to two negative consequences: its difficulty to master and a general disdain of the painting genre stemming from literati ideology.

[10] For instance, historical records from the early Eastern Jin dynasty show that Gu Kaizhi 顧愷之 considered architectural artwork as static subjects lacking expressive ideas, and thus ranked it last amongst all other painting styles.

On this note, contemporary scholars assert that it is essential to recognize that even when jiehua painters employed rulers marked with measurements and despite their concern for artistic verisimilitude, their depictions of architecture are generally regarded as lacking in specificity or accuracy when compared to the existing buildings.

[23] This furnishes compelling evidence regarding the genesis of jiehua’s aesthetic principles, which prioritize precision and accuracy in architectural representations, as opposed to the abstract impressionism that characterized literati landscape traditions in later periods.

With the growing popularity of Buddhism, the Sui dynasty saw massive amounts of Buddhist temple construction, which provided copious new subjects and opportunities for jiehua painting.

Moreover, these jiehua paintings such as the “Jiangfan Pavilion Picture” demonstrate increased depictions of secular, everyday themes, alongside the Buddhist and other religious or imperial imagery.

[39] Overall, the Ming period oversaw shifts in jiehua technique, with artists favoring smaller, more delicate representations, instead of “structural clarity” of entire buildings juxtaposed with a mountainous landscape.

[41] Many surviving examples of jiehua during this period are court paintings, as imperial patrons and others in the upper class would hire artists to depict the opulence and splendor that their lives possessed.

These missionary travelers introduced new techniques in linear perspective and shading which allowed a greater degree of realism, and helped further refine the Qing artists’ meticulous attention to detail and bolstered their spatial awareness.

"[46] The revival of jiehua in the 21st century, driven by both traditionalists like Zhang Xiayong and modern artists experimenting with new mediums, has breathed new life into this ancient art form, ensuring its legacy will endure and evolve for generations to come.

During the formative phases of jiehua, the art form remained deeply influenced by various artistic traditions, including color palette, figure painting, landscape depictions, and architectural design.

Moreover, the strategic placement of boats in the upper corners of the painting introduced a tangible sense of distance and depth previously unseen in earlier dynastic jiehua.

As a reflection of established jiehua conventions and a direct inheritance of his father’s influence, “Luoyang Tower” incorporates human figures and an intricately rendered 山水 background in the composition, a practice that enhances the artwork’s scale and depth, elevating its overall aesthetic.

[65] Historical records show that Wang Zhenpeng actively presented his jiehua to the throne and was subsequently placed into a high office position by Emperor Wenzong, painting on the commission of the Yuan court itself.

[70] This work as well as others from Li Rongjin served as a great source of inspiration for subsequent jiehua artists, with copies and imitations making their way even beyond China’s borders to neighboring countries such as Japan.

Xia Yong’s modularity in the “Yellow Pavilion” even extended itself into presenting the roof ridge ornaments in a more abstract and standardized fashion compared to earlier traditional jiehua depictions, which prioritized accuracy and detail,[73] as well as an overall simplification of architectural units within the building structures, such as the complex network of cantilevers.

A prime example of this approach can be seen in his work “Enjoying Antiquity” which stands in stark contrast to the architectural clarity that characterized jiehua during the earlier Yuan dynasty.

In contrast to the resurgence of colorful palettes in Ming dynasty artwork, Du Jin continued the Yuan-jiehua tradition of the monochrome "baimiao" technique, a brush technique that produces a finely controlled, supple ink outline drawing without any color or wash embellishment, while his deep appreciation for the fine-line style of Southern Song painters further showcased his versatility and artistic range as a jiehua artist.

Yet regardless of which category his jiehua fell into, Qiu Ying always utilized a bright, vivid color palette—a unique feature revived during the Ming period—while simultaneously establishing his signature painstaking attention to detail, evident in every aspect of his paintings, from carefully rendered architectural elements to realistic portrayals of figures and landscapes within the composition.

[80] Interestingly, in his rendition of the Agarwood Pavilion, Yuan envisioned the building without direct reference, infusing it with vibrant, rich colors that set it apart as an imaginative piece from traditional jiehua that focused on realistic architectural portrayals.

[81] Within the realm of Qing dynasty painters based in Yangzhou, Yuan Yao emerged as a leading talent, displaying exceptional prowess not only in jiehua techniques but also in landscape art, and the depiction of birds and flowers.

[84] Such modern fusion showcases Jiao’s influence on the matured evolution of jiehua in the Qing dynasty before the art form’s untimely collapse into obscurity with the fall of imperial China.

In the sixteenth century, jiehua painter Xia Yong's name appeared in Japanese sources, and some of his paintings and imitations, like the Yueyang Pavilion owned by Masamune Tokusaburō and the Palace by the River in the Jinyuan Zhai collection, have either survived or circulated in Japan.

[87] Thus, despite being somewhat overshadowed by the flourishing literati landscape, one can confidently assert that jiehua continued to thrive, responding to the needs of both local and overseas markets and permanently influencing the artistic trajectories of China’s neighboring countries, thereby providing a more comprehensive understanding of the East Asian art world in the fourteenth through nineteenth centuries.

For instance, while the architecture depicted in Scenes in and around Kyoto possess distinct Japanese artistic qualities, such as the gold leaf clouds shrouding the city and intense use of color, it still bears a strong resemblance to copies of Along the River During Qingming Festival, particularly several Ming-dynasty copies created by unknown artists in the Suzhou market which are recognized to be a conscious emulation of jiehua painter Qiu Ying’s style,[90] dating the piece to somewhere in the late 1500’s prior to the creation of Scenes in and Around Kyoto in the early 1600’s.

These Kano School paintings such as Scenes in and around Kyoto profoundly impacted the course of Japanese art for future generations, allowing one to confidently assert that jiehua left a permanent mark in the evolution of Japan’s artistic landscape.

[92] This technique of using idealized modules of Chinese architectural elements is a direct inheritance from the jiehua modular system developed in Yuan China with roots extending as far back as the Tang period.