| Chapter 1: | The Tang Tradition |
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its beauty in his dual capacity as poet and painter. For him, poetic and painterly imaginations were interactive and mutually transferable in the creative process. The very fact that he sent both the poem and the painting to his friend reflects his perception that although poetry and painting each were capable of rendering scenic beauty, they would both enhance that beauty through synergy and synthesis. It is significant to note that Bai's poem was meant to complement the painting, not vice versa; this explains why Zhang Ji, in acknowledging Bai's present, would focus on the painting in his own tihuashi, "In Reply to Bai Hangzhou [Bai Juyi] for Sending Me Picture of Ascending the City Tower and Looking Afar." As Zhang wrote,
Hangzhou];
The picture was sent to me and reached Changan today.
Surprised to see the scenery coming out of this poem,
I also imagine how difficult it was for the painter to work on it.
Every time my visitors came, they would ask for a look at it.
Seeing that you were intoning about this picture in a leisurely mood,
[May I ask] if you still regret being appointed a local official?
The elevated status of painting during the Tang dynasty is also shown in that many leading painters were also high-ranking court officials, among them the Yan brothers, Lide and Liben (?-673); Li Sixun (651-718) and Li Zhaodao (fl. 712-741), father and son; Xue Ji (649-713); Cao Ba (ca. 704-ca. 770); and Wang Wei. Moreover, several Tang emperors were not only patrons of the arts but also accomplished writers and artists themselves. Zhang Yanyuan noted in his Lidai minghua ji that the founding