Artist Zhao Qingsheng was fascinated by the Shuilu ritual paintings of the Ming Dynasty when he visited Bao Ning Temple in China’s northern Shanxi province three decades ago. He was also alarmed, though, at the way the 136 masterpieces had faded over the course of nearly 600 years.
So Zhao spent 23 years copying them, and the results of his labour are now on display in Bangkok, in the exhibition “Buddhist Faith Art of the Ming Dynasty” at the National Gallery on Chao Fah Road.
Organised to promote Buddhism in Thailand in time for Visakha Bucha Day this Friday, the Bt500-million show is a collaboration of both countries’ culture ministries and Thai Asean+6 Business Promotion Association. The show also tightens Thai and Chinese relations as part of the business- and culture-boosting “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” programme.
Zhou’s 136 copies are on view alongside 10 original Shuilu paintings borrowed from a private collection. The bulk of the originals and other artefacts from Bao Ning Temple are now stored at a museum in Shanxi.
“The core value of the Shuili ritual paintings is in their royal descent and their uniqueness,” the 55-year-old artist told The Nation through interpreter Dongyu Zhao, who lives in Bangkok.
“The paintings were commissioned by the Ming emperor Tian Shun, so they have the highest-possible social standing and are much honoured in Chinese history. They constitute the only complete set of Shuili ritual paintings still in existence.”
Zhou explained that Shuilu paintings are associated with Mahayana Buddhism and reflect its characteristic proselytising – Mahayana beliefs are disseminated so that all sentient beings can gain enlightenment. And this is why the paintings depict figures not just from Buddhism but also Taoism and Confucianism.
The Lord Buddha appears in various incarnations – as Sakyamuni, Akshobhya and Ratnasambhava – and as Vajarapanina Bodhisattva and Amitabha. All of these representations will be familiar to the Thai faithful.
Zhou began his preservation mission at the end of 1980 when he was transferred to the Bureau of Cultural Relics of Shanxi. There he became head of the technology centre, in charge of preserving the province’s treasures.
“The original paintings have weathered more than 550 years of history and most of them are blurred and damaged,” he said. “At times I couldn’t even identify the original colours because they were totally oxidised and blackened. And some parts of the original patterns are missing, so I had to use my professional skills and make assumptions to reconstruct them.”
Zhou is famous in his homeland, having studied under Pan Jiezi, regarded as a master of figure painting, Liang Shunian, a master of the traditional landscape, and Dong Shouping, master of the freehand style. Zhou’s specialities are figures rendered in meticulous brushwork and impressionistic landscapes. His drawings are precisely delineated and his colours rich.
His copies of the Shuilu ritual paintings caused a sensation in Chinese Buddhist circles and earned the praise of Buddhist patriarch Zhao Puchu and Bureau of Cultural Relics chief LV Jiming.
Preservation, Zhou said, is never easy. “The whole process is quite complicated – only experts with the needed background can understand it.”
He simplified the work into four stages. “The first step is drawing a graph of lines to recreate the patterns. Then you create the parts missing in the originals to produce a complete picture without colour.
“The third step is colouring the pictures and restoring the missing colours of the originals. Finally, the paintings have to be antiqued to make them look old.”
Taoism and Buddhism are the predominant faiths in China, and Confucianism – an indigenous practice regarded as the “soul” of Chinese culture – is still widely pursued, even though it evolved as a guiding ideology for a feudalistic society.
“Buddhism has developed in China for more than 2,000 years,” Zhou said. “Chinese Buddhism integrates the other traditional beliefs – in other words it follows the track of cultural integration in China. The Shuilu ritual paintings are important evidence for that integrative development process.”
Zhou hopes his exhibition can share some of the alternate Buddhist tenets in Thailand, where most of the faithful follow the Theravada teachings.
“Thailand is the one of the biggest Buddhism countries in the world and has a lofty reputation in the world of Buddhism. If the people of Thailand can accept this exhibition, I will be very proud and honoured, because my paintings will have been certified by such an authoritative country.
“I also believe this is a good chance for our two countries to enhance their cultural communication.”
Retired art lecturer Wiroj Anantanawong, visiting the show, remarked on the similarity in style between Chinese and Thai traditional painting.
“You see the same technique of painting in watercolour and then making the outlines clear,” he said. “The differences are in the characters depicted and other subject matter.”
Thai and Chinese art and beliefs do have much in common, Zhou said. “I hope this exhibition helps Thais understand the characteristics of Chinese Buddhism so they might see what is similar and what is different.”
Although the paintings are fascinating and truly impressive, the show’s layout provides little information about Buddhist art in general. Unfortunately only a brief biography of the artist is offered, along with a short video about his preservation process.
The paintings are mounted with their titles but without any attempt to explain their meanings, which will make it difficult for the average Thai – even a devout Buddhist – to understand their importance or context.
FAITH AND HOPE
– “Buddhist Faith Art of the Ming Dynasty” continues through May 29 at the National Gallery on Chao Fah Road. It’s open Wednesday through Sunday from 8.30 to 4.30 but will be closed this Friday, Visakha Bucha Day.
– For more details, check Facebook.com/|TheNationalGalleryBangkok.
This source first appeared on The Nation Life.