When Little Rituals Have Big Meanings

A recent exhibition at the National Palace Museum in Taipei shed light on how ritualistic practices could move our life forward in this chaotic and disrupted world.

Depiction of Ancient Artefacts, Anonymous, Song dynasty
Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Song dynasty (960-1279 AD) was one of the most advanced places in the world. Considered as the Renaissance of Chinese civilisation, Song dynasty witnessed the flowering of literature, philosophy and science. Venetian explorer Marco Polo described Hangzhou—capital of Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279 AD)—as “the finest and most splendid city in the world.”

Visual culture developed by the Song is known for its elegant, ultra-minimal aesthetic. Much sought-after Ru ware is characterised by a colour that mimics that of “the clear sky amongst clouds after the rain.” Literature and paintings—two different artistic modes—were blended into one another by the Song who referred to painting as ‘silent poetry’, and poetry ‘formless painting’.

The wealth of material culture left behind by the Song remains an important source for us to understand—and perhaps to be inspired by—what their life was like. In fact, the so-called “elegant lifestyle” pursued by Song literati was schematised into four activities: incense burning, tea tasting, painting hanging, and flower arranging. At first glance, these activities may seem irrelevant, but each of them correspond to one of the senses, namely smell, taste, touch and sight.

Rituals performed developed by cultured individuals of the Song inspired National Palace Museum’s recent exhibition titled Four Leisure Activities. With an in-depth research on historic texts, paintings and artefacts of the 12th century, this exhibition digs into the various practices that contribute to the formation of a much sought-after lifestyle, shedding light on how we could possibly move forward—through ritualistic practices—in this chaotic and disrupted world.

A hanging scroll titled Depiction of Ancient Artefacts illustrates Yaji (lit. “elegant gathering”), where literati congregate to inspire each other through arts. A party held for learned men, Yaji was also a cradle for nurturing cultural prowess of ancient Chinese civilisation. Wang Xi-Zhi’s renowned calligraphy piece, Preface to the Orchid Pavilion (Lan Ting Xu), was written during such idyllic meeting in the 4th century.

At the centre of Depiction of Ancient Artefacts, a hanging scroll of a monumental landscape painting that recalls Guo Xi’s Early Spring, is seen held up by a man from behind. In China, scholars and affluent individuals alike have been collecting paintings and calligraphy for millenium. On occasions such as Yaji , the host would showcase his painting collection for like-minded individuals to view, appreciate, and be inspired.

According to Southern Song scholar Zhao Xihu, it’s best to hang three to four paintings in a room, and to rotate them every three to five days. Zhao advised that a able should be placed in front of the painting, with an incense burner, a zither, and an ink stone properly arranged on the table to protect the painting. Like a museum curator who wrestles with conservation and preservation of artefacts, Zhao reminds his reader to pay great attention to temperature and humidity so to avoid the paintings from damage.

Dongtian Qinglu (Pure Records of the Cave Heaven), Zhao Xihu
Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei

Early Spring, Guo Xi (1023-1085)
Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei

Near the bottom right of Depiction of Ancient Artefacts, there is a classic-style wood table that’s been turned into a stove. Placed on top of burning charcoal fire is a kettle, which probably contains the water for making tea. A similar-looking vessel in ceramics is on view at the exhibition, with its stylised floral pattern incised on its lid.

Chinese people have enjoyed tea for millennia. During the Song dynasty, people practiced both brewing tea (jian cha) and whisking tea (dian cha). The former—inherited from previous dynasties—involves boiling water with finely ground tea leaves, whereas the latter—developed by the Song—requires adding boiling water to a tea bowl containing ground tea leaves, after which the liquid is whisked—a process akin to the traditional way of making matcha green tea in Japan.

Amid an array of tea bowls on display is one that features silvery spots against a dark tenmoku glaze. Also referred to as Shirofukurin Tenmoku, this particular tea bowl—on loan from the Museum of Oriental Ceramics in Osaka—is listed as Japan’s National Treasure, and is exhibiting outside of the country for the very first time.

The process of whisking tea would produce layer of white foam on top, making dark-coloured tea bowl an excellent choice to serve tea. Besides those decorated with silver spots, tea bowls in a variety of designs—including hare’s fur striations, partridge speckle, as well as leaf design on tenmoku glaze—would all have been used.

In addition to taste (tea tasting) and sight (painting viewing), attendees to Yaji would find their sense of smell already taken care of. Looking at Depictions of Ancient Artefacts, we find a bronze incense burner on a side table. This incense burner, which sits on a red-coloured pedestal, recalls the design of an archaic bronze ding, a type of food vessels with lobed body supported on three legs.

In ancient China, incense burning was a sacred offering made to the Buddha, and a sensory way to sanctify the space and offering behaviours with mindfulness. Incense burning reached its height during the Song dynasty with literati enjoying it as a popular pastime—when they read, stay idle, or find themselves at a Yaji.

It was also during this time when a sophisticated culture revolving around incense took shape. Renowned Song calligrapher Huang Ting-Jian (1045-1105 AD) explored the multiple benefits of incense burning in his poem “Ten Virtue of Incense” (Xiang Shi De), underlining how incense could sharpen the senses, open the mind to divinity, and cleanse the mind of worldly impurities to name a few.

Huang also left behind a recipe for a curious fragrance called “baby scent” (ying xiang). On a piece of paper, Huang hand-wrote a list of ingredients needed to create this fragrance—including jiaochen (the best type of sandalwood from Hainan), clove, borneol, musk and others—that is said to evoke the soft and powdery scent of a baby. Huang’s recipe, however, differs from another recipe, which is based on sandalwood and agarwood.

Looking again at Depictions of Ancient Artefacts, we find—next to the incense burner—a vase, in which some lingzhi-shaped flowers are arranged. Paintings and historic texts have shown that people of the 12th century gave special attention to the harmony between flowers and their vessels. The design of the vessels would’ve reflected the owner’s taste. Bronze vase—that which has been depicted in the painting—shows the host’s fondness for antiquity, whereas the use of porcelain vases, in other cases, would’ve been considered as a fashion statement.

Historic texts give us a glimpse to the kind of vessels—including vase, baskets and jars—that was considered appropriate for different flower type. On display, we see a white-coloured meiping vase placed against a persimmon-orange backdrop painted with what looks like branches of plum blossom, simulating the ideal match of the flower and its vessel.

To complement the section on flower arranging, the National Palace Museum is exhibiting—for a limited period of time—Chimonanthus and Birds by Song Emperor Huizong (1082-1135 AD). Listed as Taiwan’s National Treasure, this hanging scroll features a pair of birds sitting on Chimonanthus, or wintersweet, a genus of flowering plants native to China.

The so-called Four Leisure Activities (si ban xien shi) was first mentioned in Meng Liang Lu by Wu Zimu, who warned that these four activities must not be dealt with haste, but with a professional attitude.

One might ask, but in what ways are these activities from the Song dynasty still relevant to people of the 21st century? If we look closer, we could see how traces of rituals practiced by the Song still permeate our lives—but in different forms.

You might not own an old masterpiece, but you must have enjoyed looking at paintings hung on the wall of a museum or gallery. You might not own a complete set of tea utensils, but you must have made yourself a cup of hot tea on a relaxing Sunday afternoon. You most probably have picked up fresh bouquets at a flower market just to add colours to your room, or picked up some essential oils for that scent diffuser you’ve bought from Muji. Today, these are all but common routines practiced by people from around the world.

You most certainly don’t need to follow the Four Leisure Activities from more than one thousand years ago, but you must engage yourself in the things—if you haven’t done so already—that make you happy.

The ritual of engaging in something you like doing is a soul-touching experience. According to modern scientists, rituals can bring a sense of stability amidst an ever-changing world, and “buffers against uncertainty and anxiety.” Little rituals can be powerful as they allow you to be in the moment, and could bring fulfilment into your life.

The impact of such practice is also underlined in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince:

"What is a rite?” asked the little prince. “Those also are actions too often neglected,” said the fox. “They are what make one day different from other days, one hour from other hours.”

Now, it’s your turn for some self-care.

Reference:

Hobson, Nicholas M., Bonk, Devin and Inzlicht, Michael, 2017, “Rituals decrease the neural response to performance failure”
National Palace Museum, 2022, Four Leisure Activities
Polo, Marco, c.1300, “The Glories Of Kinsay”
Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de, The Little Prince

The exhibition Four Leisure Activities is currently on view at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, and runs through  December 18, 2022.