Continuation of Painting

邓椿Jun 2024

4.3

Word count: 28K words
Chapters: 29

Summary

Traditional Chinese thought has a long history and is highly original, inventive, and literary. Early intellectual forms are distinctive: religious theology, classical Chinese medical texts, ancient military strategy, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and the Hundred Schools of Thought, feng shui and metaphysics, the Twenty-Four Histories, and customs and local gazetteers are all profound and extensive. This series, "Classic Chinese Cultural Essentials: Original Texts," preserves the original appearance of the works and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers can cultivate their temperament and subtly appreciate the Chinese classics.

Editor's review

Huaji (A Sequel to the History of Painting) is an art-historical work by Deng Chun of the Song dynasty. It continues earlier painting histories and records painters and painting events from the late Northern Song to the early Southern Song, holding a fairly clear documentary place in Chinese painting historiography. This edition belongs to the "Classic Chinese Cultural Essentials: Original Texts" series, preserves the original appearance of the work, and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional thought and culture. For readers, its value lies not only in a roster of painters but in showing how people of the time recorded artistic skill, artistic lineage, evaluation, and literati taste. It can be read as both art-historical source material and a reader of traditional culture: on one hand, note the painters' biographies, stylistic judgments, and grading concepts in the entries; on the other, appreciate the concision and restraint of the classical Chinese narration. Because the original format is not a modern general history, readers are advised to read selectively by entry and to pair it with background knowledge of Song painting, rather than expecting a continuous story. For enthusiasts of art history, textual scholarship, and Chinese classics, it is a basic text for repeated consultation; general readers should first read the introduction or selected passages before deciding whether to read it through.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying Chinese art history and painting-theory texts
Readers interested in Song painting and painters' historical materials
Students needing to consult entries in ancient painting histories
Readers who enjoy original Chinese classics and have some grounding in classical Chinese

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a modern vernacular general history of art or an illustrated catalog
Those with no experience reading classical Chinese and no willingness to consult annotations
Readers who only want to look at painting images and have no interest in reading texts

Reading tips

First read the publisher's note or preface to understand the format and biographical scope of Huaji.
Read selectively by painter entries; look up names and painting titles in Song painting-history materials as needed.
Read alongside visual materials of Song painting to help understand stylistic terms in the evaluations.
Keep a notebook to record lineage and grading clues for cross-comparison.

版权信息
序
卷一圣艺
徽宗皇帝
卷二
卷三
轩冕才贤
岩穴上士
卷四
绅韦布
卷五
道人衲子
世胄（妇女、宦者附）
卷六
仙佛鬼神
人物传写
山水林石
花竹翎毛
卷七
畜兽虫鱼
屋木舟车
蔬果药草
小景杂画
卷八
铭心绝品
卷九杂说
论远
卷十杂说
论近

FAQ

What does Huaji mainly record?

It is a Song dynasty painting-history work that mainly records painters' deeds, artistic lineages, and evaluations. It continues earlier painting histories and records the painting world from the late Northern Song to the early Southern Song. Readers can learn how people of the time recorded painters, judged artistic skill, and ranked them.

Can someone with no background in art history read this book?

They can read selectively, but it is advisable to first acquire some basic knowledge of Song painting and painting history. The original entries are concise and contain many names, painting titles, and evaluative terms; without background, one may see only a list of names. Reading with an introduction or a general history of painting will make it easier to enter.

Is this edition suitable for reading through or for consultation?

Consultation and selective reading are more advisable. Huaji is organized by entries on painters and painting events, not as a continuous general history in the modern sense. Readers can skip around by figure, lineage, or evaluative theme, or use it as a reference work on painting history for repeated consultation.

Comments

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About the author

邓椿 Author

Deng Chun: basic information about his life, official career, and native place is very limited in publicly available sources, and his authorship can currently be confirmed only through his surviving works. Two of his works are included here, both centered on Huaji (A Sequel to the Record of Painting): one is the original text and the other an unannotated edition, and both may be classified under culture. Judging from the content and format of Huaji, the book continues the tradition of earlier painting histories and painting records, using note-style entries to document painters' deeds, the transmission of works, and critical commentary; it combines historical compilation with artistic evaluation, is concise in wording, and emphasizes firsthand observation. Works of this kind are useful for understanding the ecosystem of ancient painting, painters' social networks, and collecting and connoisseurship practices, and have therefore become frequently cited sources in later research on painting history. Because reliable biographical materials are lacking, a complete assessment of the man and his scholarship must await the discovery of new sources.