I know of no person who, when talking about art, can go without mentioning Asia’s artistic contributions. These mentions are not simply arbitrary, but rather they are rightfully attributed to a country which was impressively innovative in numerous ways. One area which Asia made a large contribution is in art. But one, particular work of the Chinese Ming Dynasty continues to catch my eye.
Planting Chrysanthemums, Ming dynasty Lu Zhi (Chinese, 1496–1576) Hanging scroll; ink and pale color on paper
This particular work was done by Lu Zhi, who was an artist of many occupations. Some of theses occupations included his love for poetry, and his expertise with crafting ink into masterful works. This particular work was named Planting Chrysanthemums and was made as a gift to Zhi’s close friend and fellow poet, Tao. Zhi also included a cleaver poem which parallels one of Tao’s poems. Zhi’s poem is translated as saying:
I hear you have opened up a “Dao path” near the ocean,
Where clouds of leaves and frost-covered flowers vie in wondrous splendor.
I too have built a new residence at Zhixing Mountain,
May I share some of your autumn colors on my eastern hedge? (qtd in Metmusem.com)
but far more impressive than Zhi’s poetry was his mastery of visual art. In a time where third dimensional art was only just starting to surface in the west, Zhi and many other Asian artists, were using their own traditional elongated canvases to create the illusion of a third dimension. Unlike the Western artists who used canvases that were wider horizontally than they were tall, Asian artists used canvases that were very tall. Instead of giving the viewer the feeling of being wrapped in the canvas like the western art, works like Zhi’s could make viewers feel the same splendor that is experienced in standing at the foot of a mountain, and admiring it’s stature.
But with such a large work, one has to look quite closely to appreciate the extent to which Zhi focused on combining tradition with detail.
Planting Chrysanthemums (close-up), Ming dynasty Lu Zhi (Chinese, 1496–1576) Hanging scroll; ink and pale color on paper
From this ancient example we can see how artists like Zhi were able to start experimenting with, not only the illusion of a third dimension but also, they begin to gain insight into the affect that the canvas itself has on the piece of art.
Works Cited
Metropolitan Museum of art. Metmusem.com, 21 Mar. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1986.266.3
Zhi, Lu. Planting Chrysanthemums, Ming Dynasty. Ink and pale color on canvas.
Nate's Thoughts 
Thank you for sharing this piece! I have noticed a few things you pointed out in this entry just in passing. The first is that when it comes Asians and art, they seem to never just focus on one aspect, they tend to dabble in many different areas. For example, I know it is more common to be a producer, actor, and director rather than just focusing one one single area. Another thing I have noticed is that Asians like to have their artwork more vertical than western artists. I find it amusing what this piece says in it. I also like the incredible detail he put into it, really makes you wonder how long it took to finish it.
I loved the piece of art that you chose for this entry. It is beautiful. It is also very easy to overlook the details in a piece like this one. Thank you for including both views so we could look at it more closely. The little details are something that I would not have noticed otherwise. I like the way you explained the differences between the western and Chinese art of this time. I had never thought about why they chose to use longer, vertical canvases in their artwork, but this is one of the things that I have always associated with Oriental art. I also like the way they incorporate poetry into a lot of the artwork. You did a very good job explaining this piece.