Metro Pulse/Artbeat/Treasures of the Chinese Scholar

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What:
Treasures of the Chinese Scholar

Where:
UT's McClung Museum, 1327 Circle Park Drive

When:
Through May 6; Mondays-Saturdays: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays: 1-5 p.m.

How Much:
Admission is free. Call 974-2144 for info

Dr. John K. Fong will present a lecture on Sunday, April 1 at 2 p.m.

Enlightenment via some of the ten thousand things

by Heather Joyner

The more one understands of an art object's cultural context, the more one can appreciate it. But when presented with almost 200 intricate objects from a period encompassing more than 2,000 years, a person might well struggle to put it all in perspective. He or she is then left to enjoy the whole shebang on whatever level possible. Whether we approach the McClung Museum's Treasures of the Chinese Scholar exhibit having studied China's history or visit the show with nary a clue as to the significance of a Mandarin homophone or even a notion of who the Manchus were, we're bound to come away with something. Our senses may seem sharpened as we emerge from the gallery and realize that patches of mulch smell like butterscotch or that clustered daffodils are a blazing imperial yellow. That, after all, is one effect of looking at art: it can lead to expanded vision and a lingering enhancement of beauty within the mind's eye.

The Ji Zhen Zhai Collection of Dr. John K. Fong, on loan from the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, is nothing if not beautiful. Translated literally, "ji zhen zhai" means "Collection of Treasures of the Studio"—the studio being that of any number of powerful male literati living during the Zhou Dynasty as long ago as 770-256 B.C. Belonging to these students of Confucian texts, the aforementioned studios provided calm and isolation necessary for contemplation (conditions later acknowledged in Virginia Woolf's A Room Of One's Own as equally important to the cultivation of a woman's intellect and spirit). Scholars also spent long hours preparing for civil service examinations that, once passed, would lead to their appointment as privileged officials. Fine writing accessories, screens, figurines, and ornate furniture were considered essential to a scholar's philosophical growth and moral inspiration. Such items—in addition to calligraphy, painting, and other works of art, be they lacquered or forged or carved from ivory, jade, or stone—make up the current show.

A psychiatrist, Dr. Fong has written, "Collectors embark on the odyssey of collecting for many reasons. Sigmund Freud, himself a collector, made references to the study of archaeology and art as a means of uncovering layers of meaning in a search for our lost past. As a Chinese-American, born and raised in the United States, I lived in cities where other Chinese were few. I [eventually] realized that my interest in Chinese art was inextricably linked to a search for my lost identity." That identity, if indeed reflected in pieces displayed at the McClung, has quite an impact. Like a small but potent pot of jasmine tea, it imbues and invigorates.

Names and descriptions of objects dating through the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.) are themselves lyrical. "Feeling pebbles" and seals are carved from luminous chicken bloodstone. Ceramic coatings are comprised of "teadust" or camellia leaves. One amphora has a "peach bloom" surface and another, "clair de lune glaze." Butterflies on a mallet-shaped vase symbolize a dreamlike existence in a transient life. A lacquered imperial box is called "Precious Box of Abundant Happiness." A small jade demon mask has the inscription "Eats Bad Dreams."

The collection is artfully lit and thoughtfully organized into sections featuring scholars' tools and other items called "Ink and Brush," "Animal Motifs," "Figural Portrayal," "Nature in Symbolism and Materials," and "Related Collections." Given that the three prominent religions of China—Taoism (or Daoism), Buddhism, and Confucianism—emphasize man's oneness with nature, it's not surprising that the form, meaning, and very substance of most pieces is nature-related. Although Confucianism's romantic idealism has struck a major note with scholars, other religious philosophies are inextricably present. Fluttering background music (perhaps made on instruments like the seven-stringed, mother-of-pearl-flecked one displayed) completes the mood. Seventeenth-century Ming dynasty cabinets crafted from yellowflower wood are bold and sturdy-looking yet elegantly tapered. Clever contradictions abound in objects that appear simple until we notice entwined dragon parts or heaps of gleaming eyes.

As for the Chinese language, adequately addressing its complexity and significance to Asian art herein would be quite difficult. Beyond the fact that spoken tones, deflected or with level pitch, express meaning (rather than mere emotion, as in Romance languages), one must consider the degree to which wordplay informs Chinese art. As do homophones, which have the same sound and tone but different written characters and meaning. Symbolic word-sounds known as "literary allusion" do not necessarily assume visual form, but language often plays a part in the objects scholars collected. For instance, an otherworldly carving symbolizing the hand of Buddha reveals that "happiness and longevity" is a homophone for the bamboo it is made from.

Feng shui enthusiasts will be interested in learning the important role that long-revered "folk science" has had in the arrangement of studios. Dr. Fong asserts that "The scholar's studio is influenced by numerous factors directed at creating an environment in which the dynamic manifestations of the outside world are in sympathetic correspondence with objects within the studio walls, and resonate within the scholar himself." The life force "qi" is harnessed, and yin and yang energies are balanced for maximum harmony.

Chinese folklore specialist Juwen Zhang has written, "The relationships between nature and man and between objects and scholars are not simply utilitarian but suggest a spiritual self-identification, a seeking of 'oneness' with the force that moves the universe. It is this feature that distinguishes Chinese symbolism from that of other cultures and has endowed Chinese scholars' objects with deep meaning and great value." Thanks to the McClung, that force may be with you throughout the coming weeks.