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Show casing a hand-scroll from China

Essay Instructions:

When writing the essay the focus should be on answering these questions in a clear way as if presenting to someone and online links to sources/ images used. 1)Show case a hand- Scroll from China who created it? who commissioned it? 2)How is the hand scroll a form that is apt for storytelling 3) Show segments (minimum 6) of the hand scroll and describe the journey 4) Is it intimate? Is it historical or fantasy? Describe its similarity to film Explain. 5) State what you found most interesting (personal response) and what you learned through the research. 6)Include Images with captions and cite your sources.

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The Hand-Scroll
Show casing a hand-scroll from China
The Chinese hand-scroll is essentially a long narrow scroll used to display a sequence of scenes in Chinese calligraphy and painting. The Chinese hand-scroll usually present an artwork in the horizontal form and it could be remarkably long. The hand-scrolls characteristically measure a few meters in terms of length and roughly 25 cm to 40 cm in height. In general, Chinese hand-scrolls are viewed beginning from the right end. They are designed to be viewed flat on a table as one admires it one segment after another during the unrolling as though travelling through a landscape (Holberton 12). In this paper, one particular Chinese hand-scroll is showcased. The showcased hand-scroll from China comprises 7 paintings and the hand-scroll is titled: Lady Su Hui and Her Verse Puzzle. This hand-scroll was created during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in 16th century China by Qian Xuan, a Chinese artist. It was commissioned by a collector named Chiang.
The hand-scroll is a form that is apt for storytelling. It is noteworthy that the key attraction of the hand-scroll for the artist is essentially that it is almost endless in terms of the development of an idea, or a sequence of ideas. Whether the artist is writing drunken poetry or painting a landscape, he will continue until he reaches a logical conclusion, and then he will stop. Hence because of this reason, the majority of the most excellent artists in China created their most significant works as hand-scrolls (Snyder 22). The hand-scroll’s format takes the arts of calligraphy and painting far beyond the mere image; like a film or movie experience, the format of the Chinese hand-scroll allows development, variation, climax, as well as anticlimax, the subtle association of one facet of a theme to another, contrasting with another facet here and another association there (Zhi 180).
The showcased hand-scroll comprises beautiful paintings that the artist developed to be viewed only sporadically. Viewing the Chinese hand-scroll is an extremely involved and personal experience considering that the scroll’s physical traits are as essential to the art as the painting itself (Holberton 14). The hand-scroll is painted on a continuous roll of silk/paper, and this format allowed the artist to tell the story from the start to the ending of the scroll. The hand-scroll is viewed the way that the Chinese language is read, that is, from right to left. Every scene will move the viewer along in the story. Just like the reader of a book will turn the pages to continue the narrative, the hand-scroll’s viewer will unroll the scroll to see what will happen next. It is notable that the viewer of the Chinese hand-scroll can go back and view the earlier images in the scroll, just as the reader of a book is able to go back to the previous pages and read again the favorite pages. In this particular Chinese hand-scroll, the pictorial narrative is very interesting.
Reading the Chinese hand-scroll is a virtually cinematic experience given that the viewer rolls out one segment using the left hand, as he/she rerolls the right-hand part. It is of note that the expansive and long format of the hand-scroll is particularly favorable to the illustration of the scene-by-scene detail. The paintings in this scroll reveal the high level of sophistication of painters during the Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644. Qian Xuan was one of the most celebrated painters of the Ming Dynasty in his time (Zhi 178). Segments of the hand-scroll and journey are shown in the images below.
There are a number of accounts of the narrative of Suhui, the separation of Suhui from her lord Doutao who was a one-time governor of Qinzhou under Fujan of the Qin, as well as her joyful reunion with him through the intercession of her celebrated poem (The Metropolitan Museum of Art).
Scene 1: Lady Su Hui and Her Verse Puzzle (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

At scene 1 above, the hand-scroll opens with a scene of weaving. Suhui is illustrated as seating at the loom with a wistful expression on her face. The lay carrying a tray of tea leaves at the front is a maid who stops to play with a pet dog.
Scene 2: Lady Su Hui and Her Verse Puzzle (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

At scene 2 above, the lady is dispatching her emissary with several attendants in her train carrying parcels, and of which might be containing the woven poem.
Scene 3: Lady Su Hui and Her Verse Puzzle (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

The 3rd scene above illustrates Doutao as he reads the poem, with Zhao Yangtai, the favorite concubine of Suhui’s husband, seated beside him, whilst a grouping of female musicians lay several instruments.
Scene 4: Lady Su Hui and Her Verse Puzzle (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

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