Fan Kuan, Travelers Among Mountains and Streams

“Travelers Among Mountains and Streams” is a representative work by the Northern Song Dynasty painter Fan Kuan, currently housed in the Taipei Palace Museum. Fan Kuan excelled in landscape painting and, along with Guan Tong and Li Cheng, initially formed one of the three major streams of Northern landscape style, collectively known as the “Three Masters of the Northern Song.” Later, he, Dong Yuan, and Li Cheng were referred to as the “Three Masters of the Song Dynasty.” Fan Kuan’s artistic achievements, along with fellow Hua-yuan native Li Gonglin, led to the joint reference of “Liu Fan.”

The painting “Travelers Among Mountains and Streams” depicts the majestic mountains and rivers of the Zhongnan Mountains. With towering peaks, overlapping mountain ranges, deep valleys, and misty clouds, the painting captures the grand and expansive beauty of Northern landscapes. The tiny figures of travelers play a crucial role in guiding visual dynamics. In many Northern Song landscape paintings, travelers serve as guides along the viewing path, indicating a visual route for the viewer. Despite their small size, these figures effectively convey the imagery of travel, embodying the concept of “traveling” within the Northern Song landscape paintings. Through the movement of the travelers, viewers are indirectly placed amidst the scenery of mountains, courtyards, and temples, transforming the act of “viewing the landscape” into “viewing within the landscape,” as if becoming a part of the scenery.

Fan Kuan employs an upward angle to present a “高遠” (high distance) composition in his painting “Travelers among Mountains and Streams.” The main mountain is vividly depicted at the highest point of the composition, emphasizing the majestic and imposing peak. When viewers look upward, the mountain’s elevation creates a sense of immense height and boundless distance, evoking an atmosphere of remoteness and unattainability. In a similar vein, during the Northern Song Dynasty, Guo Xi stated in “林泉高致” that:

The concept of “三遠” (three distances) in mountains includes “高遠” (high distance) when looking up to the mountain summit from below, “深遠” (deep distance) when peering from the front to the back of the mountain, and “平遠” (level distance) when observing a distant mountain from a nearby one.

“深遠” (deep distance) is achieved by looking from the front of the mountain to the back, presenting a profound sense of space in the painting. Yuan Dynasty painter Wang Meng is an outstanding representative adept at utilizing the “深遠” composition style. His work, “秋山簫寺圖” (Temple in Autumn Mountains), serves as an exemplary case. Wang Meng skillfully portrays majestic mountains and rivers with lush and thick landscapes, guiding the viewer’s gaze deep into the mountains as if exploring the unknown depths. As the gaze delves deeper, it gradually unveils the mysterious veil of the mountains, sparking endless imagination about the natural landscapes.

“平遠” (level distance) involves depicting the scenery in the painting from the perspective of a horizontal view when looking from a nearby mountain to a distant one. Fan Kuan’s work, “寒江釣雪” (Fishing in a Wintry River), employs this perspective for its composition. Other notable works utilizing this composition style include Wu Zhen’s “洞庭漁隱” (Fisherman’s Retreat at Dongting), “漁父圖” (Fisherman), Ni Zan’s “紫芝山房圖” (Zi Zhi’s Mountain Retreat), “江亭山色圖” (Mountain Scenery at the River Pavilion), and “容膝齋圖” (Rongxi Studio) by Ni Zan. “平遠” captures the scenery through a unique visual effect by adopting the perspective of looking from a nearby mountain to a distant one. This composition style provides viewers with a sense of expansive spatial perspective. Fan Kuan’s “寒江釣雪” precisely utilizes the “平遠” composition, presenting a contrast between the distant river and snowy landscape, creating a vast and beautiful visual experience. In addition to Fan Kuan, many Chinese artists throughout history have adeptly employed this composition style, with Ni Zan’s “容膝齋圖” being a well-known example. In this artwork, Ni Zan uses the “平遠” perspective from a nearby view to create a unique sense of distance, allowing viewers to feel the vastness of the scenery and the tranquility of the mountains and rivers.

“Travelers among Mountains and Streams”, a panoramic high-distance composition is employed, showcasing the complete mountain and river scenery. In the foreground, imposing giant rocks and towering trees resonate with the midground river valley, creating a composition with distinct layers. The distant mountains dominate the majority of the painting, aiming to shape the prominent and majestic quality of the main mountain. The mountainous terrain is grand and vast, surrounded by swirling clouds, exuding a magnificent and imposing aura. The midground presents a deep and secluded river valley with the sound of flowing water, and a procession of travelers and their animals contrasts vividly with the distant mountains. Additionally, architectural elements such as village hotels are arranged in the foreground, while temples, pagodas, and city walls are hinted at in the distant background, suggesting a path for the travelers and guiding viewers on a journey. The composition of “Travelers Among Mountains and Streams” cleverly utilizes techniques such as high-remote perspective, symmetry, and multiple layers to vividly portray the magnificent mountains and rivers in the area of Mount Zhongnan, showcasing the majestic and expansive beauty of northern Chinese landscapes.

In Fan Kuan’s works, shadows on the main subject are depicted using sparse and light hatching, a technique known as short raindrop-like texture strokes, showcasing Fan Kuan’s proficiency. These strokes, characterized by short and straight lines as well as densely arranged dots, resemble a fine drizzle. The entire mountainous terrain is meticulously rendered with a brush, focusing on each point from the center and creating a sense of raindrops scattering. This technique vividly captures the dense and vigorous feeling of the rocks, presenting a structured yet intricate and clear layering. The raindrop hatching, reminiscent of the meticulous work of a chisel, profoundly conveys the solidity and character of the mountain. The artist carefully applies each raindrop-like stroke to depict the texture and essence of the mountain, portraying its rugged, vast, and majestic qualities in a detailed and expressive manner.

In the mountain-and-river paintings depicting travel scenes from the Northern Song Dynasty, artists viewed the act of traveling as a means to guide viewers into the artwork. This clever technique allows the viewers to feel like explorers, immersing themselves in the scene, surrounded by the landscape. In the moment of entering the painting, viewers bear witness to the presence of the scenery, with mountains, rivers, and trees resembling verses in motion, vividly depicted by Fan Kuan in “Travelers Among Mountains and Streams.” Such landscape paintings are observed and experienced by viewers. It’s as if the viewers can traverse the canvas, walking the mountain paths alongside the travelers, ascending the lofty peaks under Fan Kuan’s brush. At this point, observing the painting becomes an experiential activity where attention and imagination intertwine. The footprints of the travelers in the painting serve as the starting point for viewers to feel the echoes, accompanying the travelers on their exploration of the unknown and distant scenery.