戰勳與宦蹟：明代戰爭相關圖像與官員視覺文化

Military Achievement and Official Accomplishment: Ming Images of Warfare and the Visual Culture of Officialdom

明人文集中關於描畫戰勳圖繪的記錄其實頗多，傳世也尚有少數留存，提供了我們理解明代視覺文化的不同視野。這些當代戰爭題材的圖繪既不屬傳統文人畫的範疇，也非商業作坊所生產的仿古畫作，而有獨特的需求、表現和流傳網絡，因此與近來興起的明代雅俗交錯之文化研究大異其趣。究竟為什麼戰功圖像會在明代盛行？涵蓋的內容為何？屬於什麼樣的生產和視覺文化？值得注意的是，這些和明代戰爭相關的圖繪，經常以個人事蹟為中心，尤其是環繞在特定官員的勳功，與清代中期以後多以交戰對象來表述的方式很不同。為什麼明代牽涉多方的戰爭，多以個人勳績來總結？這種現象與紀念戰功的官員並不限於武職，也包含層級更高兼理軍政的文官間有什麼關係？究竟明代這些和戰爭相關的圖畫出現的脈絡為何？本文先釐清戰爭圖的相關問題，討論其出現與官員視覺文化的關係，並以版刻個案分析明代戰勳相關圖繪的發展，最後略論其影響。 Images of warfare are abundant in Ming literati anthologies. Most of these images depict contemporary battles, an uncommon theme in both traditional literati paintings and in counterfeit antique pictures produced by commercial workshops, and therefore had their unique demands, expressions, and networks of circulation. Such images, set apart from the so-called “elegant” or “vulgar” pictures with which current scholarship is preoccupied, provide us with a different perspective from which to understand Ming visual culture. Why were images of warfare popular in the Ming dynasty? What were the modes of production and of visual culture to which they belonged? Interestingly, many such images focus on the military achievement of one particular individual, whereas images from the Qianlong period of the Qing typically depict wars against various enemies without focusing on any one specific figure. Did this Ming feature have to do with the fact that the protagonists in Ming pictorial narratives of war include both military and civil officials? In what context did the images of warfare appear during the Ming? This article will clarify issues related to images of warfare, discuss the relationship between their popularity and the visual culture of officials, analyze their development through case studies of woodblock prints, and conclude with a brief discussion of the influence of these images.

Images of warfare are abundant in Ming literati anthologies. Most of these images depict contemporary battles, an uncommon theme in both traditional literati paintings and in counterfeit antique pictures produced by commercial workshops, and therefore had their unique demands, expressions, and networks of circulation. Such images, set apart from the so-called “elegant” or “vulgar” pictures with which current scholarship is preoccupied, provide us with a different perspective from which to understand Ming visual culture. Why were images of warfare popular in the Ming dynasty? What were the modes of production and of visual culture to which they belonged? Interestingly, many such images focus on the military achievement of one particular individual, whereas images from the Qianlong period of the Qing typically depict wars against various enemies without focusing on any one specific figure. Did this Ming feature have to do with the fact that the protagonists in Ming pictorial narratives of war include both military and civil officials? In what context did the images of warfare appear during the Ming? This article will clarify issues related to images of warfare, discuss the relationship between their popularity and the visual culture of officials, analyze their development through case studies of woodblock prints, and conclude with a brief discussion of the influence of these images.