Saehyang P. Chung

Choson-dynasty animal imagery warmth Intimacy tenderness Confucian relations

Although images of animals occupied an important place in Chosŏn-dynasty (1392–1910) paintings, along with landscapes, figures, “Four Gentlemen” (i.e., bamboo, plum, orchid and chrysanthemum), genre pictures and folk paintings, very little research has hitherto been conducted on animal pictures in recent scholarship. This is due to the paucity of documentary sources which can shed light on the content and style of the animal paintings themselves. However, examination of some important Korean animal pictures reveals a number of salient features unique to Korean animal paintings, particularly a warmth and intimacy conveying close relationships among animals. Since distinctive visual elements in Chosŏn-dynasty animal images have not been explored in recent scholarship, it is necessary to undertake a preliminary study of these important stylistic characteristics. This article analyzes a selected number of delightful and moving paintings associated with highly celebrated artists, including Yi Am (1499–died after 1545), Sin Saimdang (1504–1551), Kim Sik (1579–1662), and Pyŏn Sangbyŏk (eighteenth c.). By studying the depiction of animals’ poses, behavior and facial expressions within a broader compositional format, this article elucidates the ways by which major Chosŏn-dynasty artists imparted warm and affectionate feelings through the recurring motifs of animals turning toward each other. Furthermore, this paper explores the possibility that important practitioners of animal imagery perceived a certain kind of order in animals’ social lives, not unlike the Confucian relations among human beings in Chosŏn society.