A Study Of The Elegant Collection Of Ministers And Officials In The Four Ming Dynasties (1436-1521)

Through the ages,gathering of literati activities have emerged one after another,and gathering of literati paintings show new features different from those of the past when it developed to the Ming Dynasty-officials in the Ming Dynasty created gathering of literati painting of officials and officers with novel patterns based on gathering of literati.This kind of images appeared in the four dynasties of Ming Dynasty,namely,Zhengtong,Chenghua,Hongzhi and Zhengde.The image is expressing the atmosphere of gathering of literati while paying attention to depicting the portrait characteristics of characters,adding the story plot of gathering of literati and depicting the elegant garden environment.Besides,the political connotation behind the carefully created gathering of literati painting of officials and officers is as abundant as images.The fighting between officials and officers,the fighting between the North and the South party,the friendship of the peers,and the friendship between fellow countryman are all synonymous with it.After carefully sorting out the development of gathering of literati paintings in Ming Dynasty,this paper focuses on the picture content and connotation of gathering of literati painting of officials and officers with novel patterns in the Four Dynasties,which can be seen that officials have certain ideas and needs for image drawing,that is,to achieve some purposes of self-praise through image drawing,as well as valuing and desiring for the fame after their death.But in the end,gathering of literati painting of officials and officers generally declined after Zhengde like the precarious Ming Dynasty and was replaced by rich and varied individual portraits of civil Officials and gathering of literati of antique themes.All these reflect officials' emphasis on self-awareness and pursuit of spiritual freedom.Officials and scholars also recorded their glorious official experience and spread it to the world through these two ways;On the other hand,it seeks spiritual sustenance in antique to cope with the reality that it cannot face.