A Study Of The Image Of Childhood In Painting In Late Ming Dynasty

The manservant and maidservant images often appear in the traditional Chinese paintings and wood block, but very few people paid attention to them because they are not the protagonists in the pictures. They always appear with masters or objects. So what’s the difference between the existence and absence of the servant images in pictures? This article attempts to investigate the paintings of late Ming Dynasty, especially the servant images in representative figure paintings and popular print illustration, then try to discussion the following questions:What kind of manservant and maidservant images in the pictures of late Ming Dynasty? What the paintings express by using the manservant and maidservant images? What’s the relationship between these expressions and society and ages? After analyzing the typical manservant and maidservant images in paintings I found:Firstly, some new manservant and maidservant images appeared in Late Ming Dynasty paintings (represented by Chen Hongshou’s paintings which left the maximum number of servant figures), like the ones who hold vase and flowers,the ones who cook ganoderma or flowers and the ones who play and sing beside their masters. Especially the increase of literature and art servant images, and these new servant images began to creat new drawing patterns by combining with the male portraits or masters.this kind of new images and patterns root in the painter’s life and late Ming society-the change idea of servant in late Ming Dynasty; selecting and teaching servants to paly and sing for entertainment and the strong miss for family-country after the perdition of Ming.Secondly, The Golden Lotus as the representative of the print illustration of popular novels and dramas, which have so many different servant images reflect the rich and varied relationships in different class and gender. This also echoes the complex interpersonal relationship in family and society late Ming Dynasty.Especially notable the ambiguity of maidservant images and resulted in redefining lust space.Thirdly, the servant images in the portraiture were used to help to shape the ideal identity or life, to reflect the master’s character and ambition. But people in different classes used in different ways, such as merchants Yuxiang Dou and Wang tingne, they use servant images to pretend to be the literati in the wood block.When I analysis these image, I also use the materials of historical, literary, costume and other related research areas, try to sum up the difference types and using ways of servant images in different visual systems from elite and civilian expression.