Muqi Fachang
Encyclopedia
Muqi Fachang (Wade-Giles
: Mu-ch'i Fa-ch'ang) was a Chinese
Zen
Buddhist monk
and renowned painter
who lived in the 13th century, around the end of the Southern Song dynasty
. His surname is thought to be Xue; Muqi was a hao or pseudonym, and Fachang a monastic name. Muqi was perhaps from the city of Kaifeng in Hunan Province. Likewise, a possibility is Sichuan. A painting bears the inscription "monk from Shu(Sichuan)." He originally studied at the Wan-nian Monastery on Mt. Wutai. Muqi was doubtlessly drawn to the beauty of the West Lake in Hangzhou and refounded the abandoned monastery
, Liutong Temple there in 1215. He is said to have been the disciple
of Wujun Shifan (1178–1269). The monastery would have its place in the subsequent golden age of Chinese monochrome ink painting inspired by Chan (Zen) Buddhism. Muqi's masterpiece
was the White-robed Guanyin preserved in the Daitokuji
temple in Kyoto
, Japan. This painting and others were to have a profound influence on the subsequent development of ink painting in Japan itself. Muqi's artwork covered a wide range of subjects, including portrait
s, landscape
s, and still lifes. The aesthetic ideals of Muqi and other Zen Buddhist artists were overshadowed by the emerging literati ideals of painting. Yet even in the Yuan and early Ming period his works were copied as evidenced by the c. 14th century copy of the `White Robed Guanyin` reproduced with this article and now preserved in Japan.
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
: Mu-ch'i Fa-ch'ang) was a Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
Buddhist monk
Bhikkhu
A Bhikkhu or Bhikṣu is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni Nepali: ). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline...
and renowned painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
who lived in the 13th century, around the end of the Southern 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...
. His surname is thought to be Xue; Muqi was a hao or pseudonym, and Fachang a monastic name. Muqi was perhaps from the city of Kaifeng in Hunan Province. Likewise, a possibility is Sichuan. A painting bears the inscription "monk from Shu(Sichuan)." He originally studied at the Wan-nian Monastery on Mt. Wutai. Muqi was doubtlessly drawn to the beauty of the West Lake in Hangzhou and refounded the abandoned monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
, Liutong Temple there in 1215. He is said to have been the disciple
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
of Wujun Shifan (1178–1269). The monastery would have its place in the subsequent golden age of Chinese monochrome ink painting inspired by Chan (Zen) Buddhism. Muqi's masterpiece
Masterpiece
Masterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....
was the White-robed Guanyin preserved in the Daitokuji
Daitoku-ji
is a Buddhist temple, one of fourteen autonomous branches of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen. It is located in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The "mountain name" , who is known by the title Daitō Kokushi, or "National Teacher of the Great Lamp," that he was given by Emperor Go-Daigo...
temple in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, Japan. This painting and others were to have a profound influence on the subsequent development of ink painting in Japan itself. Muqi's artwork covered a wide range of subjects, including portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
s, landscape
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
s, and still lifes. The aesthetic ideals of Muqi and other Zen Buddhist artists were overshadowed by the emerging literati ideals of painting. Yet even in the Yuan and early Ming period his works were copied as evidenced by the c. 14th century copy of the `White Robed Guanyin` reproduced with this article and now preserved in Japan.
BOOKS
- Toda Teisuke, Mokkei and Gyokkan, Great Compendium of India Ink Paintings, vol. 3, Kodansha, 1973.
- Max Loehr, The Great Painters of China, Oxford: Phaidon Press, 1980.
ARTICLES
- Shen Moujian, Encyclopedia of Chinese Artists (Zhongguo meishu jia renming cidian), Shanghai, p. 540.
- Sickman and Soper, The Pelican History of Art, Middlesex, 1956, pp. 260–3.
- Jane Turner ed., The Dictionary of Art, Macmillan, 1996, vol. 22, pp. 325–6.