The University of Kansas

I Hai, in Japanese I Fukyu

China, worked in Japan, 1698-ca. 1793)
Return to My Mountain Home
ink and light colors on paper
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell Hutchinson, 83.91

Although for centuries it was common in China, Korea, and Japan to execute paintings on walls and other room partitions as integral elements of interior design, many of these paintings vanished along with the buildings they decorated. Another popular painting format that survives, however, is the scroll. Made either to hang vertically or as a handscroll that unrolls horizontally, it is a format that allows for ease of transport and safe storage. Hanging scrolls are meant to hang on a wall for a limited period of time and customarily are changed according to the seasons. Despite the fragile nature of the materials, with care and periodic repairs and remountings the paintings can last for centuries. Other painting forms include album leaves, fans, and folding screens.

An artist creating in ink must mentally compose the work before taking up the brush, since once the ink is set on the silk or paper there is no room for change. A painter practices for decades to acquire the skill to produce satisfactory strokes. The proper mixture of ink and water is of vital importance; an ink that is too light or too dark cannot achieve the proper effect. A brush overloaded with ink can also make a mess on the paper or silk. The most common subject in Chinese painting is landscape, which the Chinese call shanshui hua [mountain-water pictures]. Landscape paintings usually have symbolic meanings and are often objects of meditation. For instance, a small house or pavilion nestled among trees, or a lone figure gazing at a waterfall suggest the idea of retreat into an ideal world.