Author ｜
Yu-cheng Yang
Abstract ｜
By tracing back materials such as medieval Daoism, Tao Yuanming’s “Form, Shadow, and Spirit” (Xing, Ying, Shen), Yin Hao’s “I have been with myself for a long time” (Wo Yu Wo Zhou Xuan Jiu), etc., and put especially emphasis on the literati paintings, prints, pictorials, photography, and the vast content of inscriptions from the late Ming to the late Qin and early Republic, this paper explores the changes on the representation of multiple selves (the body outside of body) which can be traced back to the Tang– Song Transformation period, and further examines the history of self-image and its significance in the development of visual culture. The portraits of multiple selves, which were entitled such as “The Painting of ‘I have Been with Myself’” (Wo Yu Wo Zhou Xuan Tu), “The Painting of Two Selves” (Erwo Tu), “The Painting of Reflected Self-Image in the Mirror” (Jingying Tu), or “The Painting of Begging for Myself” (Qiuwo Tu), were developed from early Qing and gradually became popular in the middle of the eighteenth century (late Qianlong period). Revolving around the ideas of self (the body outside of body) and the world (the painting within a painting, the dream within a dream, the world outside a world), this paper analyzes the cultural context woven by the ancient and modern, the Chinese and foreign texts, and reveals an alternative modernity long neglected by academic researchers. Firstly, this paper investigates the portrayal and display of self-image, especially the complicated double images which can be dated back to Tang and Song Dynasties in terms of the tradition of “the painting within a painting” and “the painting of reflected self-image in the mirror.” Secondly, this paper examines the portraits of multiple selves of Cheng Fang and those of Emperor Qianlong of early Qing period, “The Painting of Begging for Myself,” as well as a large amount of photos of people with makeup and those of multipleselves (trick photos) in the late Qing period to explore the issues of selfidentity that gradually became pluralistic and complicated and continued to develop in novels, plays, movies, games and magazines in the late Qin and early Republican period. The significances of the self-image are explored in the light of the related discussions of Liang Qichao and Lu Xun in order to provide a more heterogeneous and diverse landscape of modernity.
keywords ｜
photos of multiple-selves, portrait, “Form, Shadow, and Spirit” (Xing, Ying, Shen), painting within a painting