An Analysis of 'Chunsansoesong' by Mi Fu - Underlining the Poem within the Painting -

미불의 춘산서송도<春山瑞松圖> 분석 -'화중유시 (畵中有詩)' 의 특성을 중심으로-

Mi Fu, who was associated with Wen Tong, invented the Mijoem Technique (Dotting Technique) in landscape painting with his son Mi Youren. His landscapes, which referred to Dong Yuan's landscape technique and was inspired by the scenery of Jiang Nan, illustrate the mood of a cloud-covered foggy landscape by liberally applying dots with ink. 'Chunsansoesong' which is considered done by Mi Fu, clearly shows the virtues of ink painting's spreading, absorbing and omission techniques. This simply rendered landscape - whose mountains and hills are wrapped in both clouds and fog - displays exquisiteness by using small dots. In 'Chunsansoesong', the characteristics of Song painting: a 'vital energy', a 'poem within the painting', a 'beauty of margin', a 'beauty of one brush stroke, and a 'display of inner meanings' are implicatively expressed This is because it's simple but connotatively delineative. There is the characteristic of a 'poem within the painting' when analyzing the both fragmented and combined 'Chunsansoesong'. The margins support an imaginative space as the height of the mountains get higher which result in deepening both the width and depth of the landscape space. Furthermore, the soft thickness of ink, clouds, pine trees, and pavilion evoke delineative feelings and a desire to write a poem Every thing in 'Chunsansoesong' is enveloped in both clouds and fog regardless of its distance and this delivers boundless feelings of Oriental mystery and urges a desire for 'writing a poem'. The pavilion that faces the cloud and fog-bound mountains especially flames the poetic urge further by inducing viewers' poetic imaginations. As we reviewed above, 'Chunsansoesong's cloud and fog-covered landscape is a good example that clearly showcases the characteristics of a 'Poem within the Painting'.