Beijing

Jing Hao and Guan Tong are the two representative artists of the northern school of landscape painting, the two were also known as Jing-Guan. Apart from leading the same school of art they both found the turmoil in the north of China too much to bear and fled to the remote mountain areas to live in relative solitude. The leaders of the southern school were two great landscapists that worked at the same time named, Dong Yuan and Ju Ran  also known as Dong-Ju.

What are the exact criteria for this distinction between north and south has often been the topic of much debate. This distinction became especially bewildering after the great landscapist and theoretician of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Dong Qichang classified different artists into these respective schools in a  somewhat bizarre and arbitrary manner.

However, in spite of the different opinions it seems like there are certain parameters according to which this classification can be made, the most apparent one being the fact that the north and the south of China are geographically different, the north displaying dry and rocky landscapes with jagged, peaky and imposing peaks, while the south is host to a more mild and lush terrain with rounded hills and abundance of water. This stark difference in terrain led different artists to develop different techniques to better express what they saw, or better yet felt, and indeed, the blurriness between the northern and southern schools of Landscape Painting is due to a difference in the artist’s temperament not necessarily a difference in the artists geographical location.

The northern school frequently used a technique known as Fu Pi Cun, or “Ax Chopped strokes”, this technique is aggressive and forceful, leaving the surface of the paper or silk with grotesque marks that adequately reflect the powerful and vigorous scenes of the north. The southern school preferred the so-called Pi Ma Cun, or “Hemp Fiber strokes” which were more suitable to depict the  luxuriant vegetation, moist and gentle texture of the south. Another essential difference between north and south is that the monumental northern landscapes gave the viewer a grand perspective that could be captured at once, this is sometimes referred to as “full-view” landscape. The northern tendency to glorify the power and vastness of nature was opposed to the more lyrical southern landscapes which usually brought the view closer to the audience to create a more intimate feeling.

Jing Hao was the first great figure to adequately depict the characteristic landscape of the north using new and innovative techniques. He stressed the importance of ink application and in a way symbolizes the amazing changes that took place during the short and chaotic period of the Five Dynasties in terms of painting technique. Not only a great painter Jing Hao is also renowned for his great contributions in the field of theory. His writings are fully presented in a book named Brushwork which was written in the form of a dialogue. In this landmark in Chinese art theory Jing Hao introduces his famous 'Six Key Points' which undoubtedly refer to pre-Tang art theorist Xie He's  famous 'Six Principles'. As opposed to Xie He’s essentials which layed down the basics for painting, in his six points, Jing Hao stresses the idea of “thought” and the importance of ink. These additions clearly demonstrate how conceptualization through thought and not necessarily through imagery or reality is essential. The stress on ink reflects the great changes that took place in technique since Xie He’s time when ink wash methods where almost non-existent. During Xie he's time there was a strong reliance on lines, strokes and coloring of contoured areas. Another important theoretical point Jing Hao introduced was the relation between “likeness” and “reality”, according to him likeness can be a technical method to accurately depict the world we live in but reality is something that transcends visual likeness, it is a totality of elements – emotional, visual and spiritual which compose the intricate and indefinable thing called reality.    

Although not a theoretician, Guan Tong took Jing Hao’s art even further when he beautifully reflected the changes that take place throughout the year as the seasons transform nature. He depicted the characterizing features of the different seasons and the effects of nature's changes on the human spirit. This cyclical feature is central in the philosophy and practice of Chinese medicine and Chinese thought in general. Like Jing Hao he represents the Northern School and uses techniques representative of this school, namely, Ax Chopped Strokes.

Jing Hao and Guan Tong created a new monumental style that adequately manifested the force and splendor of  the northern tradition. Their new techniques gave the texture of mountains and rocks a rigid feeling and solidity that were unprecedented before their time. The technical solutions they developed were an essential gate to the golden age of Song landscape painting which relayed on their influence to advance Chinese landscape painting to a new level of realism.        

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