Zhan Ziqian

( fl Sui dynasty, AD 581-618). Chinese painter. After the defeat of the Northern Zhou (557-81), he was summoned to Chang'an (now Xi'an, Shaanxi Province) by the victorious new emperor, Wendi (reg 582-604). He became the most influential painter of the Sui period, attaining several prestigious titles. Emperor Wendi promoted Buddhist art and sponsored sculptures and wall paintings throughout China. Zhan Ziqian was among the best of the artists who traversed the land to the growing numbers of Buddhist monasteries and temples, producing wall paintings for Guangming si, Lingbao si and Yunhua si in Luoyang (Henan Province) and Chang'an, for Dongan si in Jiangdu (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province) and for other temples in western Zhejiang Province. Tang period (AD 618-907) writers recalled Zhan's wall painting Eight Kings Dividing the Shari (Skt sarira, the relics of a Buddha after cremation), a popular theme in Buddhist painting during the Sui period, at the Chan Buddhist monastery Longxing si in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

See the Abbreviations for further details.

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Zhan Ziqian, Stroll About in Spring (游春图）. This may be a copy of the earlier Sui/Tang dynasty work^[1]

Zhan Ziqian (Chinese: 展子虔; pinyin: Zhǎn Zǐqián; Wade-Giles: Chan Tzu-ch'ien) (c. mid to late 6th century)^[2] was a famous painter of ancient China from Yangxin county (阳信县), Shandong province. His birth and death dates are unknown. It is known that in the Sui dynasty (581 – 618) he was appointed to the office of Chaosan Dafu (朝散大夫) and later of Zhangnei Dudu (帐内都督)^[3].

According to the historical documents, he painted a number of genres and religion paintings which have not survived. He was especially noted for his paintings of pavilions and people, and horses. His paintings of people were particularly lifelike.^[3] The only painting by him that survives today is Strolling About in Spring, which is a perspective arrangement of mountains.

Notes

1. ^ Barnhart: Page 64.
2. ^ Barnhart: Page 371.
3. ^ ^{a b} CiHai: Page 1075.

References

• Barnhart, R. M. et al. (1997). Three thousand years of Chinese painting. New Haven, Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-07013-6
• Ci hai bian ji wei yuan hui (辞海编辑委员会）. Ci hai （辞海）. Shanghai: Shanghai ci shu chu ban she （上海辞书出版社）, 1979.

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