明 夏昶 清風高節圖 軸|Windblown bamboo

Xia Chang

ca. 1460 · Hanging scroll; ink on paper · Asian Art

Bamboo, which bends without breaking, has long been a symbol of integrity and strength. It was also a favorite subject of Ming and Qing scholar-painters. Xia Chang, a native of the Suzhou region, enjoyed a successful official career that led to his appointment as minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices in 1457. He expanded Wang Fu's (1362–1416) style of bamboo painting to become the leading bamboo painter of his time, famous even in Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Applying calligraphic techniques to painting according to the precepts established by Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322), Xia Chang executed his bamboo stalks in the archaic seal-script style and his bamboo twigs in the "grass," or cursive-script, style. Xia Chang's calligraphic mode of bamboo painting was followed by many later Ming and Qing painters.

Artist

Xia Chang

Date

ca. 1460

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink on paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Edward Elliott Family Collection, Gift of Douglas Dillon, 1989