Annotation: "“Three Teachings” Converge in the Public Square:

The Northern and Southern Song were periods not only of mounting cities, populations, and..." (Annotation)

Annotation: "“Three Teachings” Converge in the Public Square:

The Northern and Southern Song were periods not only of mounting cities, populations, and..."

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“Three Teachings” Converge in the Public Square:

The Northern and Southern Song were periods not only of mounting cities, populations, and commerce, but also of intellectual and religious ferment, particularly with the rise of Neo-Confucian thought, the proliferation of Buddhist temples and religious societies in urban centers, and the official patronage of both Buddhism and Daoism under diversely sympathetic emperors. As this micro-scene nicely illustrates, moreover, developments within particular traditions or schools of thought did not take place in isolation, but rather in dynamic interaction (at times hospitable, at other times more hostile) between the “Three Teachings” of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism—and no doubt benefitting from the close proximity between them in growing cities like the one depicted in the Qingming scroll. Here we see a gesturing Buddhist monk in seemingly congenial conversation with two literati; just right of these stand two Daoists talking among themselves; directly above, another literatus (noticeably shielding his face with a rounded fan, which was a common accessory for both men and women to carry at the time) strolls into the market square with his dutiful page boy in tow, perhaps carrying some of the scholar’s cherished texts or Classics. While this may be an idealized and essentialized representation of the Three Teachings in close contact, the figures are distinguishable by their attire in ways that are by no means unrealistic for the period: in accordance with their respective social stations (and, for some, in keeping with imperial decree and ritual requirements) the men wear flowing robes reaching to the ground rather than the trousers worn by many of the merchants and common folk bustling about them in the marketplace, yet their robes’ differing colors and adornments, along with their varying styles of hair/headdress, set them apart—e.g., the Daoists wear white robes with their long hair pinned up, the Confucian literati don slightly darker robes fastened on the right and kerchief headpieces of black silk, and the Buddhist displays a simple, light-colored robe and standard shaved head. This is also a reminder that Buddhist and Daoist monastics, rather than remaining aloof from the commercial and intellectual centers of the Song, were visible and active in public life. In fact, it is striking that the Qingming scroll only contains one temple, as numerous religious sites would have dotted nearly any Song cityscape. Clearly, Song-era dialogues among the Three Teachings were not ones merely of pedants buried in their books, but were also marked by lived interactions between socially engaged individuals and traditions with often-porous boundaries. With that said, the gendered nature of the interaction is also telling when one considers the general pursuit of learning as an interest particularly for male elites at the time. Whatever the deliberations, one can imagine the learned men in this scene to be engaged in lively, stimulating discussion.