Wu Daozi (c. 685–758 CE
or c. 689–759 CE), also known as Daoxuan and Wu Tao Tzu, was a Chinese painter of the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
. The British art historian
Michael Sullivan considers him one of "the masters of the seventh century,"
[''Chinese Landscape Painting: The Sui and T'ang Dynasties''. (Berkeley: University of California press, 1980](_blank)
), pp. 50-52. Some of his works survive; many, mostly murals, have been lost.
Wu lost his father at an early age and lived in poverty. He learned calligraphy from Zhang Xu and He Zhizhang, before specialising in painting. He pioneered realistic techniques, the formal establishment of brushwork, and landscape painting. He painted figures with round strokes so as to show their flowing clothes.
Works
He traveled widely and created murals in
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and
Daoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
temples. Wu also drew mountains, rivers, flowers, birds. No authentic originals are extant, though some exist in later copies or stone carvings. Wu's famous painting of Confucius was preserved through being copied in a stone engraving.
Legends
Numerous
legends
A legend is a historical narrative, a symbolic representation of folk belief.
Legend(s) or The Legend(s) may also refer to:
Narrative
* Urban legend, a widely repeated story of dubious truth
* A fictitious identity used in espionage
Books, co ...
gathered around Wu Daozi, often concerning commissions by
Emperor Xuanzong.
In one, Emperor Xuanzong called him to paint a wall of his palace. He painted a wall mural displaying a rich nature-scene set in a valley, containing a stunning array of flora and fauna and including a cave at the foot of a mountain. The story goes that he informed the emperor that it's not just what the emperor is able to see, Wu Daozi has made this painting in such a way, that a spirit dwells in the cave. Next, he clapped his hands and entered the cave, inviting the emperor to follow. The painter entered the cave but the entrance closed behind him and, before the astonished emperor could move or utter a word, the painting vanished from the wall. This story depicts the spirituality of art. The contemporary Swedish writer
Sven Lindqvist
Sven Oskar Lindqvist (28 March 1932 – 14 May 2019) was a prolific Swedish author whose 35 books range from essays, aphorisms, autobiography, and documentary prose to travel and reportage. He was educated at Stockholm University, and spent a ye ...
meditates on this legend and the challenge that it poses to modern aesthetics in his book, ''The Myth of Wu Tao-Tzu.''
Another legend states that Emperor Xuanzong sent Wu Daozi to
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
to study the green waters of the
Jialing River
The Jialing River, formerly known by numerous other names, is a major tributary of the Yangtze River in the Sichuan Basin. It is named after the Jialing Valley in Feng County, Shaanxi through which it flows.
The Jialing River's most notable c ...
in order to complete a mural of its entire course.
[. ] Supposedly, Wu returned without sketches and rapidly painted the entire river from memory, completing the 300-
li account
[ within a single day. It is sometimes added that his technique was foiled by ]Li Sixun
Li Sixun (651–716 ) was a Chinese noble and painter of landscapes who lived during the Tang dynasty. According to ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', he is considered by Dong Qichang to be the founder of the Northern school of landscape painting.
...
, who accompanied him and followed the traditional practice of working slowly from numerous prepared sketches. To the extent that it is grounded in a real event, however, it probably only reflects Wu's speed of execution and not a lack of reliance on sketches.
Another has it that a painter found one of the last surviving murals of Wu Daozi and learned to imitate the style. He then destroyed the wall, possibly by pushing it into a river, to ensure that no one else could learn the same secrets.
Legacy
''The Presentation of Buddha'' was featured in 2004-5 television presentations in China.
File:EB1911 China - Wu Taotzü- Sakyamuni.jpg, Black and white reproduction of a portrait of Sakyamuni
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
(the Buddha), attributed to Wu Daozi, published in 12th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica (1911)
File:Wu Daozi. The Daoist Official of Earth. Jin-Yuan dynasty. 12-13 cent. MFA, Boston..jpg, Daoist deity of Earth, attributed to Wu Daozi
File:Wu Daozi. The Daoist Official of Heaven. Jin-Yuan dynasty. 12-13 cent. MFA, Boston..jpg, Daoist deity of Heaven
See also
* Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions.
Much of t ...
* Zhou Fang, contemporary Tang dynasty painter
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Daozi
680 births
760 deaths
7th-century Chinese painters
8th-century Chinese painters
Buddhist artists
Painters from Henan
People from Xuchang
Religious artists
Tang dynasty painters