A short handscroll (FIG. 7-21) usually attributed to Huizong
is more likely the work of court painters under his direction, but it
displays the emperor’s style as both calligrapher and painter.
Huizong’s characters represent one of many styles of Chinese callig-
raphy. They are made up of thin strokes, and each character is metic-
ulously aligned with its neighbors to form neat vertical rows. The
painting depicts cranes flying over the roofs of Bianliang. It is a mas-
terful combination of elegant composition and realistic observation.
The painter carefully recorded the black and red feathers of the
white cranes and depicted the birds from a variety of viewpoints to
suggest they were circling around the roof. Huizong did not, how-
ever, choose this subject because of his interest in the anatomy and
flight patterns of birds. The painting was a propaganda piece com-
memorating the appearance of 20 white
cranes at the palace gates during a festival
in 1112. The Chinese regarded the cranes
as an auspicious sign, proof that Heaven
had blessed Huizong’s rule. Although few
would ever have viewed the handscroll, the
cranes were also displayed on painted ban-
ners on special occasions, where they could
be seen by a larger public.
CIZHOU POTTERYSong-era artists
also produced superb ceramics. Some re-
flect their patrons’ interests in antiquities
and imitate the powerful forms of the
Shang and Zhou bronzes. Song ceramics,
however, more commonly had elegant
shapes with fluid silhouettes. Many fea-
tured monochromatic glazes, such as the
famous celadon wares, also produced in
Korea (FIG. 7-29). A quite different kind of
pottery, loosely classed as Cizhou, emerged
7-21Attributed to Huizong,Auspicious Cranes,Northern Song period, 1112. Section of a handscroll, ink and colors on silk, 1 81 – 8 4 6 – 83 .
Liaoning Provincial Museum, Shenyang.
The Chinese regarded the 20 white cranes that appeared at Huizong’s palace in 1112 as an auspicious sign. This painting of that event is a masterful
combination of elegant composition and realistic observation.
7-22Meiping vase,
from Xiuwi, China,
Northern Song period,
12th century. Stone-
ware, Cizhou type,
with sgraffito decora-
tion, 1 71 – 2 high.
Asian Art Museum
of San Francisco,
San Francisco (Avery
Brundage Collection).
Chinese potters
developed the
technique of sgraffito
(incising the design
through a colored slip)
during the Northern
Song period. This
Cizhou vase features
vines and flowers
created by cutting
through a black slip.1 in.198 Chapter 7 CHINA AND KOREA TO 12791 in.