Five Dynasties Period Zhao Gan (ca. late 10th c.)
Early Snow on the River
- Handscroll, ink and colors on silk
- 25.9 x 376.5 cm
Zhao Gan, a native of Jiangning in Kiangsu, was a student at the Painting Academy of the Southern Tang ruler Li Yu (937-978) during the Five Dynasties period. According to Xuanhehuapu (Painting Catalogue of the Hsuan-ho Era), his paintings were mostly of southern scenery in the Jiangnan area. This is possibly his only surviving work. At the right margin at the beginning of this scroll is an inscription by Li Yu giving the title and artist's name and position, indicating that it was probably done by Chao while working in the Painting Academy.
The life of fishermen takes place on the water and by the banks in this painting. The artist captured all manners of daily life, including paddling, setting nets, and even cooking . Various naturalistic expressions, even figures shivering in the cold , add to the imagination of the scenery here. Like other authentic Five Dynasties works, the description of the earthen areas was done using washes and without a texture stroke method, apparently a feature of the pre-Northern Song painting. This also appears in the rendering of the trees, which do not reflect any influence of the "crab-claw" branches fmethod found in the early Northern Song style of Li Cheng and Guo Xi. The simple treatment of the trees and earthen areas therefore indicates that this painting could not have been done later than the Northern Song. In this work, the hardships of fishermen in an early snow fall into a genre of painting describing the life of common people. An attached end piece for the scroll is a record by eleven officials of different ethnic backgrounds from the Kuizhang Pavilion who presented this work in 1329. This event took place after Emperor Wenzong (Tegtemur) established the Kuizhang Pavilion, where officials served as connoisseurs for the Mongol rulers and presented this work.
This work, which had also passed through the imperial collection of the previous northern dynasty-the Chin, later came into the possession of the Ming court, such later famous collectors as An Qi and Liang Qing -piao, and finally the Qing court.