Cai Han (; 1647–1686), was a Chinese landscape painter. She was the concubine of the painter
Mao Xiang
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC ...
and, with his other concubine
Jin Yue
Jin is a toneless pinyin romanization of various Chinese names and words. These have also been romanized as Kin and Chin ( Wade–Giles). "Jin" also occurs in Japanese and Korean.
It may refer to:
States Jìn 晉
* Jin (Chinese state) (晉� ...
, she was commissioned by him with the task of producing paintings as gifts to his guests; they became known as "The Two Painters of the Mao Family".
Names
Cai Han's
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theo ...
on attaining adulthood was Nüluo (). She also went by her
art name
An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ''ho'' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by East Asian artists, poets and writers. The ...
of Yuanyu ().
Life
Cai was the daughter of a member of staff in the house of Mao Xiang in
Rugao. Sometime during the reign of the
Shunzhi Emperor
The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661) was the second emperor of the Qing dynasty of China, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1644 to 1661. A committee of Manchu princes chose him to succe ...
, an artist from
Suzhou
Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trad ...
called Wu Ruixian () sought refuge with Mao. Wu taught Cai to paint and write poetry.
Around 1661, Cai became one of Mao's concubines, along with Jin Yue (). The two women collaborated on many compositions, earning renown as 'the two artists of the Mao family' ().
[
]
Art
Cai Han was particularly well-known for her landscape paintings
Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composi ...
. The ''Guochao Hua Zheng Xulü'' () described Cai as, 'particularly good at painting landscapes, flowers, animals, and birds,' and, 'adept at imitations.' She painted many pieces together with her fellow concubine
Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive.
Concubi ...
Jin Yue 金鈅, including ''Auspicious noon'', now held in the Nanjing Museum
The Nanjing Museum () is located in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province in East China. With an area of , it is one of the largest museums in China. The museum has over 400,000 items in its permanent collection, making it one of the largest ...
. In her depictions of people, Xie Li identifies the influence of Tang Yin
Tang Yin (; 1470–1524), courtesy name Bohu (), was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and poet of the Ming dynasty period. Even though he was born during the Ming dynasty, many of his paintings, especially those of people, were illustrated with el ...
on Cai's technique. In 2001, one of Cai's works painted in 1680, titled ''Shuihui yuan tu'' (), appeared at an auction house
An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...
in Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
, where it was sold for 40,000 RMB[Approximately 6100 USD, or 5140 EUR, at the time.] to an unknown buyer.[
]
References
Notes
Works cited
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External links
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{{authority control
1647 births
1686 deaths
17th-century Chinese painters
Qing dynasty landscape painters
17th-century Chinese women artists