Landscape after Kuncan’s Painting of a Thatched House on Mount Tiantai

Copying representative works by ancient masters was a major way for Chinese artists to learn about traditional techniques and draw inspiration from the past. Chang Shangpu started to copy the masterpieces she admired as a teenager and maintained the practice for decades. The scenery surrounding her hometown Nanjing (formerly known as Jinling) was a favorite subject for Chang during much of her career, especially after she relocated to the United States.

Here Chang captured the melancholy mood of a painting by the famous individualist Kuncan (also known as Shixi, 1612–1674). After the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644, Kuncan became a Buddhist monk to avoid persecution and retired to a monastery in Jinling. To express his feelings of loneliness and confinement, he often depicted the mountain where the monastery was located. Kuncan’s style and mood (see image at right) is particularly evident in the intense brushwork of Chang’s refined copy. Chang recalls: “By the time I had finished seeking the Dao [Way] around this mountain, my eyes were severely strained.”