中國繪畵의 四時 畵題

Abstract

In Chinese painting, time has a subtle yet strong visual presence which denotes enduring sense of the rhythm of nature, especial in the change of seasons and the transitional time of a day. In ancient Chinese civilization, the concept of time was emerged with the more concrete and diversified concept of seasons. Almost everywhere in China, the year is divided into four seasons which is remarkably consistent, and relevant to various human activities of all social strata. The concept of season also represent aspects of the cosmos from which the myriad things produced. Bird-and-flower painting and sets of showing landscape of the four seasons decorating walls of buildings and tombs, seem to be emerged out of the tradition of presenting the four seasons during the late Tang and Five dynasties period as the landscapes and bird-and-flower paintings of the four seasons are mentioned several times in written records. Figure paintings of the four seasons are mostly based on literary sources relevant to specific season and usually show particular persons savoring time with emotional resonance. The various indication of time in a literary theme and historical records, in which the story is placed and unfolds, has captured the imagination of artists. It was the painters’ task to create the visual translation of specific time of year associated with specific places, literary works or historical figures through visual forms of seasonal motifs. This article examines how four seasons theme emerged and developed into one of the most popular and enduring thematic tradition in Chinese painting through written records and extant paintings from the Song to the Qing period showing distinctive stylistic features of individual painters in various genres and formats. It also discusses what was the meaning they conveyed during the time of those who painted and viewed them. By emphasizing the importance of the concept of time in production and appreciation of painting with the thematic iconography, a fuller and more integrated understanding of stylistic developments and social, cultural background of the production of painting in each period would be achieved.