Landscape

Originally from Anhui, Zhang Ruocheng’s family relocated to the court at Beijing when Zhang’s grandfather entered the prestigious Hanlin Academy in 1672. As the son of a high official, Zhang was granted a minor rank; however, in 1745 Zhang passed the jinshi civil service examination to become an official in service to the Qianlong Emperor (1736—1795). Along with his brother, he enjoyed fame as a painter and calligrapher.

The literati tradition in China, to which Zhang belonged, regarded painting more as an expression of inner virtue than as art. An emphasis on seemingly naïve, calligraphic brushwork, combined with sanctioned subject matter such as this imaginary mountain landscape, bespeaks the sublime concerns of the scholar-official class; below the towering peak, a group of scholars gathers for a discussion, perhaps of poetry, as another gentleman sets out on horseback to enjoy the solace of playing his zither.

Popular courtly trends such as an interest in paintings from the Song Dynasty (960—1279) are merged in this scroll with contemporary, canonical styles such as the Wu school. The dramatic verticality of the cliffs—constructed by layering ribbons of ink in the foreground and light washes in the distant silhouettes—is but one such archaizing tendency. Together with the heavy "pinhead" dots lining the mountains and banks, a characteristic of the Ming dynasty Wu school, hang creates a masterful hybrid of styles in his creative reinterpretation of the past.