History of Chinese Art from the Five Dynasties

907: The Artistic Emergence of the Five Dynasties

The Five Dynasties period (907-960) marks a crucial transition in the history of Chinese art. While the northern part of the country suffered invasions by non-Han peoples and saw its economy ravaged by conflicts, artists developed an innovative pictorial expression. This turbulent era paradoxically became a crucible of creativity where painters, particularly those who took refuge in the south, transformed their distress into works of unprecedented depth. Two distinct schools emerged: the Northern School (北方画派Běifāng huàpài) characterized by monumental landscapes with stark forms, and the Southern School (南方画派Nánfāng huàpài) with more harmonious compositions and exuberant vegetation.

The Rise of Regional Schools

Political disintegration favored the development of regional artistic centers. In Nanjing, the painter 徐熙Xú Xī revolutionized flower-and-bird painting (花鸟画huāniǎo huà) with his "freehand" style (落墨luòmò), using ink expressively on raw silk. Contemporaneously, 黄筌Huáng Quán in Chengdu perfected the "detail-focused" style (工笔gōngbǐ), influencing court painting for centuries. This stylistic dichotomy illustrates how territorial fragmentation stimulated creative diversity.

Revolution in Landscape Painting

Jing Hao (荆浩Jīng Hào), active in the mountains of Shanxi, theorized in his Bifaji (笔法记Bǐfǎjì) the "six principles of landscape," including the famous "dragon-bone" (骨法gǔfǎ) structuring rocky masses. His disciple Guan Tong (关仝Guān Tóng) radicalized this approach with vertical compositions of steep cliffs. In the south, Dong Yuan (董源Dǒng Yuán) and Juran (巨然Jùrán) developed misty horizontal landscapes using "ink dots" (点苔diǎntái) to suggest lush vegetation.

Narrative and Court Painting

Gu Hongzhong (顾闳中Gù Hóngzhōng) revolutionized narrative painting with his Night Revels of Han Xizai (韩熙载夜宴图Hán Xīzǎi yèyàn tú), depicting over five meters the decadence of a minister through an innovative spatio-temporal continuum. Zhou Wenju (周文矩Zhōu Wénjǔ), an official painter of the Southern Tang, excelled in court portraits using the "trembling wire-line" (战笔zhànbǐ) to render the texture of fabrics. These works document as much as they criticize aristocratic manners.

The Imperial Legacy

Li Yu (李煜Lǐ Yù), the last emperor of the Southern Tang and an accomplished poet, founded the Hanlin Academy (翰林图画院Hànlín túhuà yuàn) which would become a model for the Song Academy. His patronage fostered the synthesis between poetry and painting, inaugurating the tradition of 诗书画shī shū huà (the trinity of poetry-calligraphy-painting). Zhao Gan (赵干Zhào Gān), a protégé of Li Yu, produced the famous Spring Waters Scroll, anticipating the topographical realism of the Song.

Main Masters of the Five Dynasties

Transmission and Influence

The art of the Five Dynasties constitutes an essential bridge between Tang classicism and the Song golden age. Technical innovations such as Dong Yuan's atmospheric perspective (空气透视kōngqì tòushì) influenced the great masters of the 11th century like Fan Kuan. Xu Xi's expressive use of ink heralded the emergence of literati painting (文人画wénrénhuà). This period demonstrates how political chaos can paradoxically give rise to major aesthetic advances, with artists transforming instability into a creative laboratory.