Artful bliss in the garden of blankness

"To appreciate an ancient Chinese painting you must put yourself in the mind of the artist."

That is where China's long and tumultuous history comes in. One group of artists Hearn has studied carefully are those who lived in transitional periods, through dynastic changes that were almost always enabled by bloody warfare.

"From the fall of the Roman Empire to the French Revolution, Western history is also peppered with drastic moments that marked the end of one era and the beginning of another. But how did it affect art? You don't see it the way you do following the demise of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and the rise of Yuan (1271-1368) in the 13th century. That's because in the West, artists historically were craftsmen, hired hands for kings and popes, while in ancient China they were cultural leaders and officials involved in the process of governing."

This political dimension to the artists informed their works, Hearn says, pointing to the cloud-wreathed mountain and a little hermitage at its foot, from a late 14th-century painting. The turbulent scene hinted at the political storm accompanying the collapse of the Yuan, a storm that would soon overwhelm the artist-the painter, Wang Meng, died in prison after running afoul of the first emperor of the succeeding Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The reclusive dwelling stood for a haven that only had only existed in fantasy.

A desolate landscape might well be a reflection of society, and therefore a metaphorical form of protest. Yet more often the artists chose to cling to their inner poetry by retreating to a dreamed-up ideal, at least on paper.

"This tendency to withdraw into the inner world provides the emotional undercurrent to a large number of ancient Chinese works," Hearn says. "In fact, one of the things that has drawn me to Chinese art is the interest of the practitioners not in exploring the extended world around, but the infinite world of the mind and the heart. Self-cultivation-that's what really matters to the literati, who were versed in painting and calligraphy."