Honoring those from before

It is normal these days to have one's gadgets — mobile phones, tablets and laptops — filled with photos and videos of family members, so that one can be reminded of the pleasures of family life anytime and anywhere, especially the time spent with those now deceased.

Even paying respects to late senior family members and ancestors on well-designed online platforms is no longer a novelty.

Such kind of convenience would be beyond the imagination of those living centuries back, who showed respect to ancestors by hanging their portraits at ceremonies or at home daily. However, commissioning such a painting could only be afforded by a relatively small portion of the population.

Ancestor portraiture was one of the symbols of the custom of venerating the deceased in a family clan, and meanwhile, it helped maintain and strengthen the connections, physically and emotionally, of family members, according to Hang Chunxiao, deputy chief of the fine arts institute affiliated to the Chinese National Academy of Arts.

Hang has curated Ancestral Worship, an ongoing exhibition of selected works from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, the period that experienced a burgeoning scene of making ancestor portraits in China. Some of the works from the collection of around 230 pieces at Hang's academy are on show, through March, at the Chinese Traditional Culture Museum in Beijing.

Hang says this genre of painting, together with ancestor worship, pedigree and ancestral temples, "formed the basis of a patriarchal clan system that endured thousands of years in the country, and it is of rich historical and cultural meanings that provide samples of social evolutions".

Most of the portraits on show are being viewed by the public for the first time, and they date to different periods and depict figures in different social roles. There are those from high society — bureaucrats and government officials — wearing uniforms in accordance with their hierarchical class, and others, including commoners, whose clothes show refinement and a scholarly taste.

One can see the changes in the costumes of Han people from the Ming to Qing periods, and the way Manchurian men and women of the Qing Dynasty decorated themselves for military training and grand occasions.

Hang says it is noteworthy that the show includes the Bochen school of portrait painting, an important style taking after the courtesy name of Zeng Jing, a professional painter who lived between the late 16th and the early 17th centuries.

Zeng spent much of his lifetime traveling and selling his art in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, the prosperity of which generated a large group of art lovers and buyers. He is viewed as one of the most accomplished portrait artists in Chinese history for developing the style to a new height. His mastery of the rendering techniques added rich dimensions to the subjects under his brush-stroke and presented a vivid atmosphere.

"Ancestor portraiture is an epitome of classic Chinese figure painting," Hang says.

Figure painting achieved prominence in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) but was sidelined as the scholar-official class of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), who promoted the development of painting, shifted their interest to develop the style of literati painting, largely depicting mountains and water to express a detached tendency.

However, the commissioning of ancestor portraiture was preserved because of its practical use and increased demand. It happened as the commerce thrived, cities bloomed and the wealth of civilians grew.

A collection of 11 portraits of a noble Qing family, with hereditary titles, is the highlight of the ongoing exhibition. The works depict princes and their wives spanning six generations.

The intact condition of the artworks allows viewers today to appreciate the vibrant colors and intricate patterns of costumes, which were not only for decoration but also an exclusive privilege backed by distinguished status of the people who wore them. The three-dimensional effect and a minor contrast of light and shadow on their faces reflect an absorption of Western painting styles at the time.

One can find similar treatment of brushwork in the portraits of Yongzheng (1678-1735) and Qianlong (1711-99), the father and son emperors who were introduced to Western art via European missionaries serving in the Qing court.