In this Qing painting, two men of theMiao ethnic group are playing Lusheng, a typical Miao musicalinstrument, while three women are dancing with hand bells.
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"A Blind Singer " |
Painting of "A Blind Singer"(Manggetu) is one of 120 pieces that Ren Xiong, the well-known Qingpainter, drew for Yao Xie, then famous litterateur. In the painting, ablind actor was sitting under a canopy, singing while beating a drumwith brackets. Another man was playing a trichord. Around them was anattentive audience, including women, children and seniors.
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"A Night Banquet at Peach and Plum Garden in Spring" |
Paintings with musical themes gobeyond bringing forth the court splendor or tranquil ordinary life.They can be poems of ancient Chinese literati, conveying theirrefinement and erudition. In ancient China, an educated man wassupposed to spend hours occupying himself writing poetry, painting ordoing calligraphy with melodious tunes lingering around. The painting“A Night Banquet at Peach and Plum Garden in Spring,” by Huang Shen inthe Qing Dynasty, depicts a gathering of Chinese literati. A couple ofscholars sat around a stone table under a pine, with some appreciatingpoems and still some boozing. Meanwhile, two female performers wereplaying musical instruments, creating an agreeable and urbaneatmosphere.
These paintings are used not only tobe seen with the eyes, but also to be heard with the ears. It’s a pitythat no recording machines were available to track those melodioustunes though, these paintings left behind a musical legacy that wouldbe relayed generation after generation. They serve as a key for musicdevelopment in the Qing dynasty, when one after another musical titans,including Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Liszt and JohannSebastian Bach, sprang up in the West, championing the world of music.
