Gong Kai
Encyclopedia
Gong Kai was a Chinese
government official during the last years of the Song Dynasty
. The latter part of the Song Dynasty, in which Gong Kai lived, is known as the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279). After the fall of the Song Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty
, he became what was known as a scholar-amateur painter. The artists of the Song were mostly influenced by momentary and sporadic pleasures and beauty. However, there is no evidence that Gong Kai painted during this period. Instead, most paintings attributed to Gong Kai are from Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368).
and the Mongols began assembling the oppressed Chinese people of the Song Dynasty to rise up against the current government. Over several years, he successfully brought the Song Dynasty to an end in 1279 with the Battle of Yamen
and established the Yuan Dynasty, also called Da Yuan. The Mongols offered government positions to some servants of the Song Dynasty because they wanted to employ certain aspects of the previous government. However, it was unlikely that they would have asked Gong Kai. Even though he had previously served under the former government, Gong Kai, being from Southern China, was now at the bottom of the social hierarchy under the Mongol Rule.
As a Song loyalist, Gong Kai could not work under the new government. He and many other loyalists became i-min. An i-min was literally a “left-over subject” who chose to live a life of exile. Without a productive method of protest, the i-min turned to forms of symbolic protest, such as their paintings. Quite frequently, they would meet and write poetry about their losses due to the fall of the Song Dynasty. After the defeating of the Song, Gong Kai fled to Hangzhou
on the Yangtze River where he would spend his time writing and painting. He used his paintings as a medium of expression for his thoughts of the new government. This is most reflected in the painting Emaciated Horse. Without his government job, Gong Kai’s family became extremely impoverished. The only sources of income to the family were the sale of Gong Kai’s paintings and calligraphy and the occasional trade for essential goods. Some accounts even suggest that Gong Kai was not able to afford a table and instead laid the paper on his son’s back to paint.
Since he was not a trained professional painter, Gong Kai’s style of painting could be described as amateur in appearance and straightforward. Some scholars believe that reason for his style was due to his appearance. He was reported as being an “imposing figure,” very tall and with a long beard. They feel that his rough looks caused his brushwork to be coarse and added the “oddness of the images in his paintings."
in the Tang Dynasty. Chou Mi, a Song Dynasty scholar and acquaintance of Gong Kai, said that Gong’s horses were “flying like the wind, with misty manes and warlike bones, muscles supple as orchid leaves – truly endowed with all he noble attributes”.
The animal is probably meant to be from the Song Dynasty (even though drawn in the Tang Dynasty style). In previous years, this horse had been a noble, lively, and youthful creature, but now is reduced to a mere skeleton, clutching onto the last pieces of his shattered dignity. One possibility is that the horse is a symbol for the devastated Song Dynasty. Another possibility is that the horse represents Gong Kai and other scholars like himself (especially since horses during this time period generally were used as a metaphor for humans). To Gong Kai, the “Emaciated Horse” is an i-min just like himself.
A poem associated with the painting reads:
“Ever since the clouds and mist fell upon the Heavenly Pass,
Empty have been the twelve imperial stables of the former dynasty.
Today who will have pity for the shrunken form of his splendid body?
In the light of the setting sun, on the sandy bank, he casts his towering shadow – like a mountain!”
Emaciated Horse is very similar to the earlier painting Night-Shining White by Han Gan during the Tang Dynasty.
and his sister are being carried in “palanquins” by several demons. Towards the back of the processional, nine more demons are carrying luggage and other items. The demons are pictured as gangly, grotesque creatures wearing only loin clothes and hats. Some are barely more than skin and bones. The hand scroll containing the painting is over one and a half meters long.
When Zhong Kui originated, he was basically a god of folklore legends who prevailed over ghosts and controlled demons. According to legend, Emperor Minghuang of the Tang Dynasty claimed that Zhong Kui first appeared to him in a dream. In the dream, the emperor watches Zhong Kui slay the demon that had stolen from the emperor. The emperor immediately told his court artist, who then painted a portrait of Zhong Kui by the description given to him. Since then, thousands of pictures of Zhong Kui have been produced. Most often these pictures are painted above entrances to houses and businesses to ensure that Zhong Kui protect them from demons.
However, the paintings occasionally take on a different and more political meaning. This is the case with Gong Kai’s painting. As a loyalist of the Song Dynasty, Gong Kai probably used this painting as a way of expressing that he longed for a being like Zhong Kui to chase the Mongols, or “demons,” out of the country. The calligraphy accompanying the hand scroll indirectly supports this interpretation.
Cai Wenji
was born at the end of the second century, during the Han Dynasty. After two years of marriage, Cai Wenji’s husband died and she returned to Chenliu, the city of her birth. Once there, she was captured by the Xiongnus'
army and forced to marry Zuoxian, a Xiongnu chief, with whom she had two sons. Twelve years passed before the new prime minister and friend of her father, Cao Cao
, sent out a search party with brides for Zuoxian in return for Cai Wenji.
According to some scholars, Gong Kai painted Wenji’s Return to China. However, the style of the painting is so different from Gong Kai’s usual style that no one knows for certain if he is its artist. Nonetheless, scholars attribute this painting to Gong Kai because of knowledge of an illustrated Cai Wenji story done by him. This painting and a similar one, The Captivity of Cai Wenji, are possibly part of that story.
s titled The Three Stars, Searching for Plum Blossoms by Boat, and Fishing with Cormorants.
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
government official during the last years of the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
. The latter part of the Song Dynasty, in which Gong Kai lived, is known as the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279). After the fall of the Song Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, he became what was known as a scholar-amateur painter. The artists of the Song were mostly influenced by momentary and sporadic pleasures and beauty. However, there is no evidence that Gong Kai painted during this period. Instead, most paintings attributed to Gong Kai are from Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368).
Life in the Southern Song Dynasty
Gong Kai was born in 淮阴 (Huáiyīn, modern day Jiangsu Province) of southern China in 1222. His style name was Shengyu (圣予) and his pseudonym was Cuiyan (翠岩). As was traditional in the Song Dynasty, Gong Kai received the standard classical education. As a boy, his teachers saw that he showed great potential in painting, poetry, and calligraphy. Unfortunately, Gong Kai failed to pass the examinations necessary to become a high-ranking government official. During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Gong Kai served the Song government as a minor official in the Board of Salt Revenues. To some extent, he also served as a general’s secretary prior to the invasion of the Mongols.Life under the Mongol Rule
In 1271, Kublai KhanKublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
and the Mongols began assembling the oppressed Chinese people of the Song Dynasty to rise up against the current government. Over several years, he successfully brought the Song Dynasty to an end in 1279 with the Battle of Yamen
Battle of Yamen
The naval Battle of Yamen took place on 19 March 1279 and is considered to be the last stand of the Song Dynasty against the invading Mongol-controlled Yuan Dynasty...
and established the Yuan Dynasty, also called Da Yuan. The Mongols offered government positions to some servants of the Song Dynasty because they wanted to employ certain aspects of the previous government. However, it was unlikely that they would have asked Gong Kai. Even though he had previously served under the former government, Gong Kai, being from Southern China, was now at the bottom of the social hierarchy under the Mongol Rule.
As a Song loyalist, Gong Kai could not work under the new government. He and many other loyalists became i-min. An i-min was literally a “left-over subject” who chose to live a life of exile. Without a productive method of protest, the i-min turned to forms of symbolic protest, such as their paintings. Quite frequently, they would meet and write poetry about their losses due to the fall of the Song Dynasty. After the defeating of the Song, Gong Kai fled to Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
on the Yangtze River where he would spend his time writing and painting. He used his paintings as a medium of expression for his thoughts of the new government. This is most reflected in the painting Emaciated Horse. Without his government job, Gong Kai’s family became extremely impoverished. The only sources of income to the family were the sale of Gong Kai’s paintings and calligraphy and the occasional trade for essential goods. Some accounts even suggest that Gong Kai was not able to afford a table and instead laid the paper on his son’s back to paint.
Paintings
Paintings from the Yuan Dynasty were unlike any others produced in previous eras in China. Due to the Mongol seizure of the Song Dynasty and the difficult economic state, the existence of many professional art schools and painters in China began to decline. Now, fewer artists were working for the imperial courts or other wealthy sponsors. This led to the rise of the preexisting class of scholar-amateur painters, like Gong Kai.Since he was not a trained professional painter, Gong Kai’s style of painting could be described as amateur in appearance and straightforward. Some scholars believe that reason for his style was due to his appearance. He was reported as being an “imposing figure,” very tall and with a long beard. They feel that his rough looks caused his brushwork to be coarse and added the “oddness of the images in his paintings."
Emaciated Horse
'Emaciated Horse' is Gong Kai’s most famous painting. This Yuan Dynasty painting was created using ink on a paper hand scroll. Horses were considered a specialty of Gong Kai, specifically those drawn in the style of the Tang Dynasty. In fact, Gong Kai’s Emaciated Horse very closely resembles the painting Night-Shining White by Han GanHan Gan
Han Gan was a Tang Dynasty painter.He came from a poor family in either Chang'an, modern day Xi'an, Shaanxi; Lantian, modern day Shaanxi; or Daliang, modern day Kaifeng, Henan. As a young man, Han Gan was recognized by Wang Wei, a prominent poet, who sponsored Han in learning arts...
in the Tang Dynasty. Chou Mi, a Song Dynasty scholar and acquaintance of Gong Kai, said that Gong’s horses were “flying like the wind, with misty manes and warlike bones, muscles supple as orchid leaves – truly endowed with all he noble attributes”.
The animal is probably meant to be from the Song Dynasty (even though drawn in the Tang Dynasty style). In previous years, this horse had been a noble, lively, and youthful creature, but now is reduced to a mere skeleton, clutching onto the last pieces of his shattered dignity. One possibility is that the horse is a symbol for the devastated Song Dynasty. Another possibility is that the horse represents Gong Kai and other scholars like himself (especially since horses during this time period generally were used as a metaphor for humans). To Gong Kai, the “Emaciated Horse” is an i-min just like himself.
A poem associated with the painting reads:
“Ever since the clouds and mist fell upon the Heavenly Pass,
Empty have been the twelve imperial stables of the former dynasty.
Today who will have pity for the shrunken form of his splendid body?
In the light of the setting sun, on the sandy bank, he casts his towering shadow – like a mountain!”
Emaciated Horse is very similar to the earlier painting Night-Shining White by Han Gan during the Tang Dynasty.
Zhong Kui Traveling
Gong Kai’s second most famous work of art is Zhong Kui Traveling, also from the Yuan Dynasty. It is sometimes referred to as Zhong Kui Traveling with his Sister. In the painting, Zhong KuiZhong Kui
Zhong Kui is a figure of Chinese mythology. Traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings, and reputedly able to command 80,000 demons, his image is often painted on household gates as a guardian spirit, as well as in places of business where high-value goods are...
and his sister are being carried in “palanquins” by several demons. Towards the back of the processional, nine more demons are carrying luggage and other items. The demons are pictured as gangly, grotesque creatures wearing only loin clothes and hats. Some are barely more than skin and bones. The hand scroll containing the painting is over one and a half meters long.
When Zhong Kui originated, he was basically a god of folklore legends who prevailed over ghosts and controlled demons. According to legend, Emperor Minghuang of the Tang Dynasty claimed that Zhong Kui first appeared to him in a dream. In the dream, the emperor watches Zhong Kui slay the demon that had stolen from the emperor. The emperor immediately told his court artist, who then painted a portrait of Zhong Kui by the description given to him. Since then, thousands of pictures of Zhong Kui have been produced. Most often these pictures are painted above entrances to houses and businesses to ensure that Zhong Kui protect them from demons.
However, the paintings occasionally take on a different and more political meaning. This is the case with Gong Kai’s painting. As a loyalist of the Song Dynasty, Gong Kai probably used this painting as a way of expressing that he longed for a being like Zhong Kui to chase the Mongols, or “demons,” out of the country. The calligraphy accompanying the hand scroll indirectly supports this interpretation.
The Captivity of Cai Wenji and Wenji’s Return to China
Though it is not known for certain, the paintings The Captivity of Cai Wenji and Wenji’s Return to China are believed to have been painted by Gong Kai. These were both painted using ink on paper. Both paintings are kept at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.Cai Wenji
Cai Wenji
Cai Wenji , also known as Cai Yan, was a Han Dynasty poet and composer. She was the daughter of Cai Yong, also a musician. Her style name was originally Zhaoji, but it was changed to Wenji during the Jin Dynasty to avoid a naming conflict with Sima Zhao.She spent part of her life as a prisoner of...
was born at the end of the second century, during the Han Dynasty. After two years of marriage, Cai Wenji’s husband died and she returned to Chenliu, the city of her birth. Once there, she was captured by the Xiongnus'
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...
army and forced to marry Zuoxian, a Xiongnu chief, with whom she had two sons. Twelve years passed before the new prime minister and friend of her father, Cao Cao
Cao Cao
Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...
, sent out a search party with brides for Zuoxian in return for Cai Wenji.
According to some scholars, Gong Kai painted Wenji’s Return to China. However, the style of the painting is so different from Gong Kai’s usual style that no one knows for certain if he is its artist. Nonetheless, scholars attribute this painting to Gong Kai because of knowledge of an illustrated Cai Wenji story done by him. This painting and a similar one, The Captivity of Cai Wenji, are possibly part of that story.
Other Paintings
There are other paintings that experts believe may have been painted by Gong Kai. Still, only Emaciated Horse and Zhong Kui Traveling are known for certain to be Gong Kai’s works. Several other possible paintings of his are the hanging scrollHanging scroll
A hanging scroll is one of the many traditional ways to display and exhibit Chinese painting and calligraphy. Displaying the art in such way was befitting for public appreciation and appraisal of the aesthetics of the scrolls in its entirety by the audience. The traditional craft involved in...
s titled The Three Stars, Searching for Plum Blossoms by Boat, and Fishing with Cormorants.