Prominent among the collection of masterpieces of Chinese painting on display at the National Palace Museum is the striking portrait of the concubine, Hsiang Fei. Subject of many paintings and legends, this favorite of the emperor Chien Lung (Ching dynasty 1736-1796AD) has been brought to life in oils by the Italian artist Lang Shih-ning (Castiglione).
According to legend, the lovely woman was the wife of a Uigur tribesman (one of the Islamic minorities of west China). Chien Lung's conquering armies brought her back to the capital to keep the emperor's company in the palace.
Longing for her husband and distant homeland, the emperor tried to cheer her by building a traditional Uigur house. This, however, did not please the unhappy woman and it was said she carried a knife with her whenever the emperor came near her. One version of the legend says, fearing for her son's safety, the emperor's mother had the concubine killed. Still another source says the miserable woman was finally allowed to return to her home where she later died.
An interesting footnote to this tale is the existence of two gravesites, one in Peking and the other in her native Kashgar in Sinkiang.
The oil painting is 140 centimeters in length and 52.8 centimeters wide. While it has no signature, most experts feel it is the work of the Italian Jesuit missionary Castiglione, who was known as Lang Shih-ning in China. Western painters first came to China during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 AD) following in the wake of Christianity's introduction into the country. By the early years of the Ching dynasty some foreigners had become court painters. Castiglione represents the most renowned painter of this select group. Painting in China for 54 years, he is best known for his portraits, paintings of flowers, birds and especially, horses.
While trained in western painting, the works of Castiglione show the influence of Chinese painting. The smooth, flat full face of Hsiang Fei bears this distinctive hallmark of traditional Chinese painting.
(Gerald Hatherly)