Shuiluhua
01 · Historical Records
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the shuilu dharma assembly had become a folk religious observance, and shuilu paintings appeared in Guangping as the shuilu ceremony grew popular.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Shuilu paintings are a kind of deity image hung by ancient temples when holding shuilu dharma assemblies; Guangping County in Hebei Province is one of the areas where they circulate. The shuilu dharma assembly is a Buddhist ritual held by monasteries and a folk phenomenon that arose against the background of the “unity of the three teachings” (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism). Shuilu paintings take the form of scroll paintings, murals, and the like, with rich and varied content: not only the deities of Buddhism and Daoism and folk gods, but also figures of the three teachings and nine schools, the six realms of rebirth and four dusts, the ghost hosts of hell, myths and legends, and the origins of the shuilu rite. Shuilu paintings generally include images of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and the Ten Kings of the Underworld, a vivid reflection in painting of the Chinese animist religious outlook. Although shuilu paintings are not unique to Guangping, those of Guangping have their own characteristics. Guangping shuilu paintings draw on the expression of local folk door-curtain paintings, kang-surround paintings, and stove-head paintings, which are mainly ink-based; they include both meticulous heavy-color work and ink-wash rendering. At the same time, the painting skill is exquisite: the outlining and shading are fine down to the smallest hair; the figures combine form and spirit, with flowing lines and bright colors; the layering, texture, density, and atmosphere are all profoundly moving, giving the works extremely strong artistic expressiveness and making them deeply loved by the people. In addition, the materials are carefully chosen: generally a white pure-cotton cloth that has been meticulously sized, which is resilient, smooth, and flat, making it easier to paint on and making the finished work easy to hang and to preserve over the long term. The execution is meticulous: when painting, the artist first lays in the underdrawing with a dry block of clay, then traces the lines in pencil, then defines the decorative lines with a fine regular-script brush, and finally applies and blends the colors with a broad flat brush until the work is complete. As early as the late Ming and early Qing, Guangping County had shuilu-painting artisans; in the area, New Year sacrifices, temple-fair offerings, and rites for the deliverance of the dead all used shuilu paintings.
Ksitigarbha and the ten kings
Ksitigarbha and the ten kings appear in nearly every set, expressing the Chinese belief that all things possess spirits, and Guangping painters arrange the infernal hierarchy in tall panels flanking the altar.
Drawn on door curtains and stove ends
The Guangping painters borrowed the ink manner of local door-hinge pictures, kang surrounds and stove-head pictures, giving temple subjects the familiarity of the hearth.
The Zhang family of Nanyangbao
Transmission runs through families, the Zhang line of Nanyangbao township being the best documented; painters take temple orders, painting in spring and the panels being burned at the year's end.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Shuilu paintings are a kind of deity image hung by ancient temples when holding shuilu dharma assemblies; Guangping County in Hebei Province is one of the areas where they circulate. During the Ming and Qing dynasties the shuilu dharma assembly had become a folk religious observance, and shuilu paintings appeared in Guangping as the ceremony grew popular; locally, temple fairs and Buddhist services ran in parallel, painters mostly lived near the temples, the craft passed from father to son within a family, and the painted designs varied according to the scriptures held and the regulations of each monastery.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Guangping shuilu paintings are transmitted mainly through families: many villages in the county have family-based shuilu-painting artists, among whom the Zhang family of Nanyangbao Township has transmitted the tradition particularly well. The content of shuilu paintings reflects the good wishes of the people for peace and deliverance from disaster, and provides physical material for research on Buddhist history, the history of ancient costume, ancient art history, and religious culture and folk belief; it has value in history, religion, cultural relics, documents, art, and social culture.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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