Art and the Ordered Universe:

Asian Views of Nature: China

A Northern Sung Scroll

This is another example of a hanging scroll from the northern Sung era and it accomplishes the same purposes. This is the solitary temple amid the clear and peaceful. The temple is more or less the middle ground. At the bottom is nature, qi, the scrolls carries you up towards the combination of li and qi, and finally the solitary temple which is pure li. The two northern Sung scrolls have a very vertical emphasis. A little bit later style is Southern Sung and it has more of a horizontal emphasis. The way one views scrolls like this is very personal. One unfolds them it as one looks at them. Viewing the scroll is a very personal sort of experience as the painting unfolds before one's eyes. Southern Sung scrolls have a lot more open space. Notice with the Northern Sung how it is very full of work; there are details everywhere. There are some blank spaces, but not much.

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