Image 79

Following are notes from Giles

History of Chinese Pictorial art.

to be good at "red and blue" a term
for painting still in use - p 14.

Wang Hsi-Chih (AD 321-379) is
China's greatest calligraphist 王羲之 p 17

The folding fan was invented by the
Japanese and is not mentioned until the
11th century when it is said to have reached
China thru Korea. Early in 15th cent. folding
fans formed part of the tribute sent from
Korea to Peking. One writer mentions as a
curiosity fan folding fans which were given
to him by Matteo Ricci in 1610. p 18 -

王維 Wang Wei, born in 699 AD in Taiyuan
known to Japanese as Ō-i both famous
as poet and painter. The following instance
of his critical acumen is often quoted
"a stranger showed him a picture of a
musical performance, the actual subject
of which was unknown. Wang Wei looked at
it a little while, and then said, They are
playing the first "time-beat" of the third
movement of The Red Robe. The stranger
would not believe this, whereupon Wang Wei
got some musicians to come in and play
the piece over, and it was found to be as
he had stated". - p 57.

A wild, erratic scholar named Fang Kan
added this line, in part, to a painting by
Hsiang Chu of 9th century, "To paint a
cascade you must needs paint the sound" p 70

The custom of drawing faces into oblique
eyes was not in vogue before 10th century AD.
p103