Cultural Pursuits of Gentlemen in the Mountains
Signed by Tani Buncho (1763-1840)
Edo Period (dated 1820)
Ink and light color on silk
40.5 x 103 cm
Cat.266012
© The Field Museum
This painting depicts a group of Chinese literati gathered on a mountain and pursuing individual cultivation through writing poems, painting, discussing classical works, and drinking Sencha (steeped tea). They form into four groups, each representing an activity of cultivation. Under the pine tree, a group of literati center on two men who are sitting at their study desks, holding brushes above the paper, ready to either paint or write. People are leaning on the desks or standing beside them; they are carefully observing how the two men execute the brushes. Above them, a monk and a literatus are sitting on a rock, seemingly involved in an intense discussion on Buddhist works. To their lower left, two men are standing in front of a standing rock, one of them holding his brush and preparing to write poems on the stone. A boy in red is holding the ink stone for him. Two more literati are sitting at the water's edge, simply enjoying the beauty of nature.
At the bottom of the picture, we can see two boys making tea with a big jar and a tea pot on the table. The style of the utensils reveals that the gathering is a Sencha ceremony held outside. This painting is a testimony to the unparalleled interest in Sencha drinking among Japanese intellectuals of the early 19th century who admired Chinese culture and tried to duplicate the life style of Chinese scholars. The Sencha ceremony is not always formal; it can be served in a natural and causal spot, like in a garden, beside a river, or in a mountain as depicted in this painting. Chinese philosophy holds that harmony between nature and the human body is the goal and final stage of self-cultivation. By placing themselves in nature, the literati create a proper environment in which they can accomplish their cultural pursuit during the slow process of drinking tea.
Tani Buncho is one of the most famous Nanga painters of his period. Nanga, literally meaning "southern painting", is a Japanese school of painting that emulated the subjects and style of Chinese literati painting. Nanga artists claimed to be independent and different from those of the Kano or Tosa schools who painted for the government or the market. According to the signature, this painting was painted in 1820 when Buncho was 57 years old.
(Commentary by Juan Peng)