American University Art History Museum Project Yue Li
The Ladies’ Classic of Filial Piety Scrolls
Anonymous. Ladies’ Classic of Filial Piety scroll, Southern Song Dynasty (ad. 1127-1279), handscroll, ink and color on the silk. 43.8*823.7cm. Palace Museum, Beijing.
Fig. 5.1, Chapter 1, “The Starting Point and Basic Principles.” Anonymous. From Ladies’ Classic of Filial Piety scroll, Southern Song Dynasty (ad. 1127-1279), handscroll, ink and color on the silk. 43.8*823.7cm. Palace Museum, Beijing.
Fig. 2.1, Chapter 2, “Empress and Imperial Consorts” Anonymous. From Ladies’ Classic of Filial Piety scroll, Southern Song Dynasty (ad. 1127-1279), handscroll, ink and color on the silk. 43.8*823.7cm. Palace Museum, Beijing.
Fig.4 .1 Chapter 3, “The Three powers” Anonymous. From Ladies’ Classic of Filial Piety scroll, Southern Song Dynasty (ad. 1127-1279), handscroll, ink and color on the silk. 43.8*823.7cm. Palace Museum, Beijing.
Fig. 5.2, Chapter 4, “Elucidating Wisdom.” Anonymous. From Ladies’ Classic of Filial Piety scroll, Southern Song Dynasty (ad. 1127-1279), handscroll, ink and color on the silk. 43.8*823.7cm. Palace Museum, Beijing.
Fig. 4.2 Chapter 5, “Serving the Parents-in-law” Anonymous. From Ladies’ Classic of Filial Piety scroll, Southern Song Dynasty (ad. 1127-1279), handscroll, ink and color on the silk. 43.8*823.7cm. Palace Museum, Beijing.
Fig. 4.3 Chapter 6, “Government by Filiality” Anonymous. From Ladies’ Classic of Filial Piety scroll, Southern Song Dynasty (ad. 1127-1279), handscroll, ink and color on the silk. 43.8*823.7cm. Palace Museum, Beijing. 邦君章
Fig. 2.2 , Chapter 7, “Noble Ladies” Anonymous. From Ladies’ Classic of Filial Piety scroll, Southern Song Dynasty (ad. 1127-1279), handscroll, ink and color on the silk. 43.8*823.7cm. Palace Museum, Beijing.
Fig. 4.4 Chapter 8, “Wives of Feudal Lords” Anonymous. From Ladies’ Classic of Filial Piety scroll, Southern Song Dynasty (ad. 1127-1279), handscroll, ink and color on the silk. 43.8*823.7cm. Palace Museum, Beijing.
Fig.1, Chapter 9, “Common People” Anonymous. From Ladies’ Classic of Filial Piety scroll, Southern Song Dynasty (ad. 1127-1279), handscroll, ink and color on the silk. 43.8*823.7cm. Palace Museum, Beijing.
This exhibition provides an in-depth examination of the Ladies’ Classic of Filial Piety scroll from the Beijing Palace Museum. Southern Song Dynasty (ad. 1127-1279), The Beijing scroll is the handscroll form (ink and color on the silk, 43.8*823.7cm). It opens with a section of painting followed by a section of calligraphy text, setting the alternation throughout. The joints connect each section. The painter of this scroll is anonymous without the signature on the painting. However, the researchers who worked in the Palace Museum assume the period of scroll is approximately during the Southern Song Dynasty (ad. 1127-1279). Connoisseurs recognize the date of scroll according to the feature of the brushwork that is “axe-cut strokes”. The painters of the Southern Song Dynasty used “axes-cut strokes” in the ink landscape paintings to depict the hard and angular texture of rocks and trees. Each section depicts aristocratic figures in the garden, dew platform, architecture, and landscape as the background. Settings of scenes also includes furnishings, textiles, utensils, and plants. Besides, Researchers speculate the author is a court painter. The court painters work for the emperors and they cannot sign personal name on the surface of paintings. Therefore, Beijing scroll should be commissioned by the emperor at the time and its audiences is the emperor and court ladies. For collection history of the Beijing scroll, the evidence comes from the collection seals demonstrating the painting had been passed through the court and personal collections. There are 10 of court collection seal from the Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799), Jiaqing Emperor (1760-1820), Xuantong Emperor (1906-1967) in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and the seal of “ caorong miwan” (曹溶密玩) from the connoisseur, Cao Rong (1613-1685).
